> Nepeta: Ascend to the highest point of the bar.

[nepetaleijon]

A just-barely-adolescent catgirl troll is perched happily in the rafters, surveying the bar.

There's just something so satisfying about being where you can see everything and nothing can reach you.

Comments

[crabbycustomer]

Maybe so, but it's hardly dignified to go scampering around up there. Karkat wouldn't be caught dead up there, unless he was killed by a leopard and dragged up there, he guesses. But he doubts it.

Instead he is camped out on a couch, watching something on the crabtop and eating what appears to be a starfish sandwich.

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta spots Karkat, and starts sneeeeeeaking along the rafters to find the spot as close as possible to directly above him.

[crabbycustomer]

Karkat is unaware of her location, and would never set an obvious trap by hanging out all oblivious and vulnerable.

Obviously.

MAN WHAT AN ABSORBING ROMANTIC COMEDY FILM THIS IS. HE SURE IS OBLIVIOUS TO HIS SURROUNDINGS RIGHT NOW.

[nepetaleijon]

Sneeeeeeak.

Sneak sneak sneak.

POUNCE FROM ABOVE

[crabbycustomer]

BLARG BLARG BLARG BLARG okay.

Karkat dumps her off his head and onto the empty part of the couch and retrieves his sandwich.

[nepetaleijon]

Nepeta bounces cheerfully on the empty part of the couch.

"Hi Karkitty!"

[crabbycustomer]

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL ME THAT, I KNOW I HAVE TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT," he grouses.

The crabtop courteously repositions itself to make the screen visible to both of them, prompting Karkat to try to kick it, but it dances back adroitly. It's used to it.

[nepetaleijon]

"What're you watching?" She peers at the screen. "Is it any good?"

[crabbycustomer]

"I DON'T KNOW YET." He elbows her out of the way. "DID YOU EVER WATCH THE BIRTHDAY MOVIE I SENT YOU? IT'S GOT THE SAME GIRL AND THE SAME WRITER."

[nepetaleijon]

"Oh yes!" She moves out of the way, and instead sprawls along the back of the couch where she can watch over Karkat's shoulder.

[crabbycustomer]

"OKAY THIS IS MUCH WORSE." He doesn't make a move to dislodge her, though.

"HE MADE A LOT OF THESE, THERE WAS ONE ABOUT SOME WRIGGLERS IN HUMANSCHOOL WHO GOT IN TROUBLE THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE GOOD BUT THEY IGNORED A LOT OF INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS TO FOCUS ON REDROM, TYPICALLY. I SHOULD'VE KNOWN IT WOULDN'T PAN OUT WHEN THERE WERE ONLY FIVE OF THEM, YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH FIVE."

"THIS ONE IS APPARENTLY ABOUT A ROMANCE BETWEEN A HIGH-CASTE HUMAN WRIGGLER AND THIS LOWBLOOD GIRL, AND THEN THERE IS HER DOPEY MOIRAIL CLEARLY NURSING SOME FLUSHED ASPIRATIONS. PRETTY BASIC."

[nepetaleijon]

She considers. "You could do some things with five," she points out, "just not a full four-quadrant story, which human rawrmances never do anyway ..."

[crabbycustomer]

"YEAH BUT YOU WIND UP WITH SPARES. VERY UNTIDY." The proper thing to do narratively is to kill the spares, but humans are sentimental. "WHICH HAPPENED ANYWAY WITH THE FIVE WHEN THEY PAIRED OFF, THE FIFTH GUY GOT TO HAVE A ROMANCE WITH HIS SCRIBELEAF AND INKROD."

[nepetaleijon]

"Yeah. Oh and speaking of untidy ..."

She folds her arms, eyeing him sternly.

[crabbycustomer]

"NO NO NO, THE POWER OF SUMMARILY CHANGING THE SUBJECT IS RESERVED TO ME AND ME ALONE, IT'S MY THING, LIKE CAT PUNS AND WEIRD SMELLS ARE YOUR THING. THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION REMAINS THE UNEARTHLY BEAUTY OF A YOUNG MOLLY RINGWALD AND NOT WHATEVER YOU HAVE YOUR TAIL PUFFED UP ABOUT."

He doesn't even know what she's mad about yet, but you can't give up control of the conversation like that.

[nepetaleijon]

"Maybe if you wanted to k33p the power of changing the subject, you should have b33n more careful to clear the alchemiter record after you use someone else's without purrmission."

Someone is not amewsed.