Chapter Text
The auction yard was packed with trolls. The lowest blood color that I could see was barely above teal. Not that this was surprising, really it was something to be expected at these sort of events. Pushing lower blue bloods out of my way I meandered towards the section set aside for highbloods.
"Heeeeeeeey Gamzee!" a cool metal hand gripped my shoulder and turned me around. Vriska looked like a fox in a chicken coop. Her worn gray coat had been exchanged for a pirate captains coat in her deep cerulean and a decorative sword hung at her hip. A smirk twisted her features as she squeezed my shoulder.
I frowned and shrugged out of her grasp. "Hey spidersis." I regarded the dagger smile on her face with vague distaste.
"Soooooooo mister high8lood! What 8rings you here today????????" I could fucking here those eight perfect question marks at the end of her sentence. Asking me that shit like she had any doubts as to what I was up and mother fucking doing.
I scowled bitterly at her. "You know DAMN MOTHERFUCKING WELL why I'm here." As I raised my voice the crowd around us flinched away and pretended to not be listening in on us.
"Hahahaha I guess we're here for the same reason." her laughter was humorless and her words held a sharp edge of hostility.
'THIS MOTHERFUCKING PEASANT BLOODED BITCH HAD DARED TO COME FOR HIM.'
'cull her gamzee.'
'I SAID MOTHERFUCKING CULL HER!'
In a quick motion I grabbed the collar of her coat and yanked her up off the ground till our eyes were at the same level. She yelped and struggled against my grip, scratching and kicking until I shook her hard. Her claws still dug painfully into my wrists but I hardly noticed. I brought her close enough that our breathes mingled and our noses nearly touched.
"you stay the fuck away from him. YOU MOTHERFUCKING STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM SPIDERBITCH. you hear me. DO YOU MOTHERFUCKING HEAR ME?!" I shook her so that I heard her teeth clack before I tossed her away. The satisfaction I felt when I heard the sound of her bony little ass hitting the ground brought a malicious smiled to my lips.
She snarled at me showing off her big fangs while she rose from the ground, hand tensing as she prepared to take out her octet. Something in her changed though and her sneer shifted to a shark grin.
"We'll just have to see who 8ets the highest won't we Makara????????"
With that she turned and swaggered off into the crowd, many of the trolls scrambled to get out of her way, leaving a clear trail behind her. I looked down at my hand to see small beads of purple welling up from underneath my skin. 'Fucking bitch.' I thought with a smirk.
After that I got to the purple blooded section without incident. The bidding had already started on the first troll, a strong green blood. The blue blood that had bought him grinned maliciously when she went up to claim her new possession, leading him away like he was prized cattle. It was fucking sickening.
A couple times I saw Vriska go up and drag off some poor soul. It was easy to see she preferred those that fought back and struggled. If only so she could could crush them with her mind, make them bend to her will completely and totally. She was so fucking loathsome.
By the time he was brought up most of the slaves had been sold. All that remained was cull-bait, target practice for those that could afford it. I was spacing out, thinking of Karkat and wondering if he was ok with scarfbro, but the mention of his name had my attention snapping back to reality.
"Our next item for sale is a brown blood by the name of Tavros Nitram-"
I didn't hear the rest.
They had led him on to the stage.
The world fell silent.
Time froze.
His once well muscled upper body was no more than skin and bones. His ribs jutted out on his painfully skinny frame. His wrists were so small that shackles that held him barley hung on. But the worst part, the part that cause my vision the blur with rage and my hands to shake and the blood to rush loudly in my ears were his horns. His fucking horns. They had cut them off. All that remained were two pitiful stumps.
I wanted to kill something. Anything. I wanted to hunt down the person that had done this and snap their horns off and leave them to bleed. But I didn't. I held myself still. I didn't breathe.
'He needs me here. My best tavbro needs me here, not out killing'
The biding began with Vriska calling out some outrageously high number that could have easily bought her two or three better slaves. I immediately moved to double it. I could feel Vriskas glare as she added another eighty caegars to the price. I added five hundred. She added eight.
I could taste victory. The number was so high now and I knew she couldn't afford any more on her shitty blue blood salary. A ruthless smile quirked my lips and I looked back into the crowd of peasant bloods and met her gaze.
"Add 50 to that brother." I watched her glare at me with rage and hate. I relished the hot burning pleasure I felt at beating her.
"Going once, going twice, sold!"
I turned back towards the stage with a small smug grin still on my face. However as soon as I looked at the stage that smug grin turned bitter and died.
I felt numb as I moved through the crowd and up to him.
Cold as I led him off the stage by a leather lead.
Dead as I looked into his vacant eyes once we reached our shuttle.