FIFTEEN ♋

[selfhatred]

I'M NOT GOING TO THE REST OF MY CLASSES TODAY.
COULD SOMEONE PICK UP THE HOMEWORK FOR ME AND HAND IT TO ME LATER?

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i don't know

it's

Uncle Sal, Aunt Di...dad's here.

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[selfhatred]

HE'S ALIVE, NEP.

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[moirailcompass]

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[...]

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[moirailcompass]

:33 < is he ok?
:33 < hes not like
:33 < hurt or anything is he?

[Give her a moment, Karkat. She's still trying to get her head around this]

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[selfhatred]

NOT FROM WHAT I CAN SEE. THERE'S NO BLOOD OR ANYTHING.
WHICH IS WEIRD CONSIDERING WHAT HIS GHOST LOOKED LIKE.
I'LL TAKE HIM TO MS. MARYAM AFTER WE'RE DONE TALKING TO UNCLE SAL AND UNCLE KANKRI.
MAYBE EVEN SHOW HIM AROUND.

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[moirailcompass]

:33 < well that is good at least

[Everything about this feels wrong. Nepeta isn't really sure how to feel at this point and she gets a queasy feeling in her stomach.]

:33 < what about you?
:33 < how are you f33ling?

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[selfhatred]

[It feels wrong to Karkat too. His dad is standing in front of him talking to his uncles, fully fleshed and unharmed, unlike his spiritual form.]

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL.

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[moirailcompass]

:33 < where are you guys right now?

[She may not understand what is happening with her uncle or how to feel about it, but one thing she does know is the one who must be most confused but this is Karkat. She needs to be by his side right now]

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[selfhatred]

CHARMS CORRIDOR.

[She's right on the fact that he's confused right now. So confused and unsure of what to do. He knows he should be grateful of the fact that his dad is alive but...somehow he doesn't know what to make of this mess.]

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[moirailcompass]

:33 < ill be there soon

[And indeed, so similar to what he did when he figured she had been bullied, Nepeta raced towards the Charms corridor. Thankfully she was quite the fit girl so she wasn't out of breath when she turned he corridor and stopped at one end of it.]

[selfhatred]

[When she gets there, he'll be standing away from the adults, letting the three Vantases talk. His eyes are trained on the older man in military uniform, his face pulled into a worried look, hands in the pocket of his hoodie and bookbag over his shoulder.]

[moirailcompass]

[Nepeta looked towards the Uncle she had never gotten to meet. Up until recently she had never gotten to meet either of her uncles--at least not to her recollection. She forced herself to look away and she went over to Karkat and she lifted a sleeve-covered hand to rest at his arm.]

[selfhatred]

[When he looks at her out the corner of his eye, it's pretty clear that his father's presence is disturbing him. The look on his face was something like what you'd see on a kid after waking from a bad dream, and he closed his eyes, a small noise leaving him.]

What do I do?

[moirailcompass]

[Nepeta didn't want to squash some of Karkat's potential happiness, but at the same time she'd equally hate to see him get excited over what could only be an illusion or trick of sorts. The school was always doing strange things. Admittedly bringing the dead back to life was its most amazing feat to date but. But there were just so little that was known.]

I think. I mean you know how the school is. It seems to throw these random tantrums where weird crap just starts happening and then usually it blows over? I don't know. Maybe he's back for good. Maybe he isn't. I guess the best way to go about it is to enjoy him while he is here, catch up but. [But what? Telling him to be prepared for disappointment might make any potential interactions with his father impossible.]

But I guess we should ask around. See if this has happened with anyone else and...you know. Treat carefully.

[selfhatred]

[He sighs. He hadn't really gotten his hopes up about any of this. Looking back through the journal, there'd been several comments about strange things happening, but he couldn't imagine how this could transpire.]

I know...I know he mightn't be around for much longer. I just don't know what to...say or do. [He bit his bottom lip.] Last time I saw him before Parent's Day was at the airport.

[moirailcompass]

[For Nepeta that was much easier to handle. She looked at her brother and gave his shoulder a small squeeze]

There is no roadmap for how you should act, Karkat. You don't need to fulfill any obligation, don't need to do anything other than what you feel most comfortable with. If you can't think of anything to say? That's ok. I'm sure your father is probably facing similar questions but you two just need to be there for each other. Maybe something will come, maybe something won't--honestly I think that is kind of a Vantas thing. [She gave him a small smile]

Just remember that he came here for you, that he loves you, and that he'll understand that you need to take thing at your own pace.