[closed]

[justiceisdue]

Characters: dungenessmaster and justiceisdue
Location: Congo
Rating: PG
Time: January 14th (backdated)
Description: Karkat and Selendis head to Africa to investigate a Witches’ outpost, and their findings are rather ominous

Comments

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat didn't mind being carried as a Weapon as much as he had when they first started out, but he was totally fine staying on his feet. Keeping pace with Selendis wasn't such a difficult thing, and after months in the desert the humidity was welcome. It felt more like home to him, too.

Still, by the time they reached their destination he was sweating a little. He pulled up beside her, fanning his shirt out to cool himself off, and checked out the entrance to the witch's den. "Looks almost like a ruined Denizen temple," he muttered, then added: "Or a cheap game show set, maybe. Decipher the runes and win a thermal hull."

Karkat reached for Selendis's hand without even looking up. No way for him to know how fresh the scent was, or even if the place was occupied, but after what had happened in Linz he knew better than to wander from his partner in enemy territory. His perception was better in weapon form anyway, and he didn't know how to make the shield appear without it.

[justiceisdue]

Selendis caught the motion of him fanning himself, but didn't look down, intent on their goal. All this walking might even make her feel sore later, but they'd been on patrol and sparring this morning. It made for a long day. She accepted his hand without hesitation, already feeling comfort from its weight, as well as the boost

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat wouldn't have admitted it, but he was glad for the rest. A lot of people had kicked his ass at training that morning, or at least tried to. More so than usual, actually. He had no idea what he'd done to deserve that, but his legs and shoulders especially were sore.

Being a weapon didn't allow him to see through walls or anything, but he still had a much better feel for their surroundings. There were definitely no kinshin eggs, and if the place was boobytrapped, there was nothing obvious. No hidden pits or tripwires or surveillance, anything he knew to look for.

"Maybe we'll get lucky," Karkat answered through resonance as they entered the abandoned lair. "Maybe all the intelligence will be spread out on a computer system I know how to use, or something obvious. Like a really detailed diary someone forgot to bring along."

He fell silent as they went in. He still didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. At least it was dark inside; he'd always been more comfortable in lower light.

[justiceisdue]

The dim light didn't bother her either, and her eyesight adjusted quickly. Most of the sunlight came in behind them, and some through the ceiling as well. It wouldn't last long, as the sun was getting closer to setting, but she didn't worry about that. The place was deathly silent, no running electronics or any errant wildlife to speak of so far.

"I would not depend upon them being careless,," she said, stooping down to clear a smaller threshold. The outpost wasn't very large, and every room she looked into had been empty. There was trash and litter, as well as furniture left behind, but nothing damning. "They did not leave much behind, and it appears to be as abandoned as reported.Despite that, she was still pretty tense. Karkat would point out anything that slipped her attention, but by now she was starting to think there wasn't anything left to find. The main corridor was high enough for her to stand, and she walked the final length of the outpost. There was a large door at the end, and it looked guilty of hiding something