It had been a long time coming, and at last, the kingdoms of Abendstern and Morgenstern had been united, thanks to King Ryuuta and Queen Hayato. Once again, land and sea could live in peace with each other, and defend one another from neighboring foes. Things weren't perfect, however, as the peace between the two kingdoms was new, so mermaid flesh could still be found on the Black Market. The king's guards were in the process of cleaning that up. But most of the land and sea folk now knew harmony.
Whatever problems had been plaguing Dave Strider on land, they were no bother to the creatures under the sea. For you see, Morgenstern was still a fragile kingdom, suffering from its losses over the years. It had its own problems to deal with. It was still trying to recover, still training new soldiers for fighting.
Karkat Vantas wanted to be a soldier.
The thing was, he was kind of a puny merman. He was short, battled clumsily, and had a foul temper, one that turned off all the trainers in Morgenstern. Not only that, but Karkat was considered a mutant. He had grey skin, where most of the merfolk had the appropriate skin tones. Grey was not an appropriate skin tone. He also had yellow sclera and claws, and small horns atop his head. Because of his looks, Karkat had few friends, yet he seemed to think he would be an asset to the kingdom's guard, so he constantly hung around the training area, waiting for someone to notice him, oftentimes adding colorful commentary to the trainees' failings.
Today, he was doing the same thing, flitting back and forth just on the outskirts of the training area, spiky red fins shimmering in the water. He was already told to go away several times, and a few of the bigger guards eventually had to chase him off. He swam off in a huff, not paying attention to where he was going. That was how he ended up in shallower waters.
Something suddenly snagged one of his fins. What the fuck?! He turned to see what it was, and discovered a hook. It had sunk so far into his fins that he was having a terrible time of shaking it loose. That was when he saw the line attached to it. Some human was fishing! Here! What an idiot. Well, Karkat was going to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
He thrashed a few more times, still connected to the hook, before darting up to the surface. "Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing?!"
ironically fishing!
Whatever problems had been plaguing Dave Strider on land, they were no bother to the creatures under the sea. For you see, Morgenstern was still a fragile kingdom, suffering from its losses over the years. It had its own problems to deal with. It was still trying to recover, still training new soldiers for fighting.
Karkat Vantas wanted to be a soldier.
The thing was, he was kind of a puny merman. He was short, battled clumsily, and had a foul temper, one that turned off all the trainers in Morgenstern. Not only that, but Karkat was considered a mutant. He had grey skin, where most of the merfolk had the appropriate skin tones. Grey was not an appropriate skin tone. He also had yellow sclera and claws, and small horns atop his head. Because of his looks, Karkat had few friends, yet he seemed to think he would be an asset to the kingdom's guard, so he constantly hung around the training area, waiting for someone to notice him, oftentimes adding colorful commentary to the trainees' failings.
Today, he was doing the same thing, flitting back and forth just on the outskirts of the training area, spiky red fins shimmering in the water. He was already told to go away several times, and a few of the bigger guards eventually had to chase him off. He swam off in a huff, not paying attention to where he was going. That was how he ended up in shallower waters.
Something suddenly snagged one of his fins. What the fuck?! He turned to see what it was, and discovered a hook. It had sunk so far into his fins that he was having a terrible time of shaking it loose. That was when he saw the line attached to it. Some human was fishing! Here! What an idiot. Well, Karkat was going to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
He thrashed a few more times, still connected to the hook, before darting up to the surface. "Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing?!"