Chapter Text
Of course there were fucking humans in this weird oblivion.
Vriska’s body instinctively tensed upon noticing two figures approaching her – even after all her time on the meteor and in the dream bubbles with the human players, she still had never quite gotten used to how… different they were from her own, familiar species. This tension coursing through her only intensified as she noticed that the taller silhouette seemed to have… wings? But not the gauzy wings of her people. These were far thicker and darker, with coarse feathers along every edge.
Huh. Maybe they weren’t human, after all.
For a brief moment, the blue-blooded girl considered making a run for it. The very thought sent an immediate wave of revulsion through her, though. Vriska Serket was never one to run from a challenge, for she was the fiercest, bravest, and boldest pirate Alternia had ever seen! Though, a “tactical retreat” could have its advantages…
No. Right now, her curiosity regarding her present circumstances easily crushed any thoughts of fleeing the scene. Besides… she was hungry. And maybe these guys had food or something.
She let a small smirk grace her lips as she placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. She raised her hand in a mocking sort of wave at the approaching men (her eyesight was still quite sharp, even operating at only half capacity).
Only when Philza and Tommy were mere meters away from her did Vriska draw her sword completely. Spreading her wings out as wide as she could in some kind of subconscious attempt to appear more intimidating, she pointed the blue saber at the blonde men as she approached them, quickly closing the distance.
“Give me all your money right now, and maybe I’ll let you live~”
Yep, immediately threatening two natives upon arriving in an unfamiliar landscape is definitely the best way to proceed, at least to someone like the ever-intrepid Vriska. Unfortunately, the girl was not nearly as intimidating as she liked to imagine.
Tommy glanced over at Philza, sharing a beat of silence before breaking into laughter. The latter smiled, amusement clearly displayed across his tastefully aged features.
Vriska narrowed her eyes in annoyance and confusion at the reactions of the men before her. This, unfortunately, only caused Tommy to laugh even harder. This cycle repeated for about 30 more seconds before the troll girl finally snapped.
“Hey, what’s so funny? I’m trying to rob you, asshole!”
“You’re about as scary as a bloody fairy. What, are you gonna dump fairy dust on me?”
Tommy couldn’t help taunting the stranger in front of him, partially due to his nature and partly because of the sheer absurdity of the current situation.
“Yeah, I’m not gonna take any shit from a fucking astrology girl.”
Well, Tommy had noticed the Scorpio symbol on her shirt, at least. Letting her bubbling anger take over now, Vriska took a menacing (well… it was an attempt at menacing) step toward him, when Philza calmly put up a hand in the universal sign for ‘stop.’
Surprised, Vriska obeyed, as did Tommy. Seemingly satisfied, the elder blonde man finally spoke.
“We’re not giving you all our money. But we may still be able to help somehow.”
He took a few small steps toward her. Utterly shocked, the troll girl just stared at the approaching… man?
Bird?
Bird-man?
Man-bird?
Philza glanced at her and her belongings for a moment, before stopping just a foot or so in front of her.
“You’re not from around here, are you.”
It wasn’t a question. There was something about this man… wariness set in as Vriska looked up at Philza, who nearly towered her now – due both to their 14-inch height difference, and to his aura of mystery, wisdom, and skill.
This was clearly not someone to mess with.
“No shit. You ever seen an Enderman look like this?”
Once again, Tommy interrupted Vriska’s internal thoughts with his loud and brash exclamations.
“What are you, anyway?”
“I’m a troll!”
Her response was short and clipped, her disdain and annoyance for the blonde boy made obvious by her tone and body language as she now stood with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. She could have elaborated on her Alternian heritage… but nah. Right now, she wanted to be the least helpful and cooperative as possible, entirely out of spite.
That is, until…
“You also seem lost, and unless that bag of yours has a portal inside it, you can’t be carrying much. You won’t last very long out here alone.”
Right on cue, Vriska’s stomach growled ferociously. When was the last time she had eaten? And the sun was beginning to set in the sky, casting an almost ominous sort of red light onto the quiet and still plains.
Still, could she really trust a pair of strangers? Did they really want to help her, or was this just a ploy to get her to let her guard down?
Tommy, completely oblivious to the mental war currently occurring in Vriska’s psyche, yawned as he pulled out a red cell phone, which softly vibrated once to signal an incoming message.
“Wilbur wants to know when we’ll be back. Dad, let’s go.”
Dad? That was like a human’s ancestor and lusus combined, right? Vriska made a mental note that these two were related, and to learn more about human family units. If only she'd listened to more of June's rambles about human culture...
Philza tilted his head toward the way he and Tommy had come, in a silent invitation for the troll girl to follow.
Snapping back to reality, Vriska hesitated A million thoughts raced through her mind all at once, until one seemed to surface on top of all the others.
Fuck it.
She took a breath, and stepped toward Philza, who turned on his heel and started back toward the cabin.
Tommy was, to put it mildly, not a fan of this turn of events.
“Oi, this girl literally just wanted to rob us! Now we’re bringing her home?! Are you crazy?!”
Philza just chuckled, obviously used to Tommy’s demeanor.
“You’ve done worse.”
Philza's tone suggested that he was merely teasing Tommy, who nonetheless turned slightly red as his voice increased slightly in volume.
Vriska glanced over at them, the younger male yelling about something or other as the elder just smiled and laughed good-naturedly. It all seemed so.. foreign, but, natural too. She couldn’t help but feel some kind of pang in her heart. But what was this feeling?
Just what kind of oblivion had she gotten herself into?