exsiliumlogs | (no subject) (part 2)

The food didn't even catch his interest, but those horns sure did. All familiar-like in shape even. It made Gamzee feel pleased to look on, so he ambled over, all too long limbs and sharp edges, topped with his own pair of gracefully curling horns jutting out of an only marginally tamed mass of hair.

His smile was full of daggers, but didn't have any active menace in it. For now he was curious and content just with looking, and getting down with some chatting. "Bitchin' rack you've all got up out of your nub, my brother."

Ico looked lost. His eyes wandered over Gamzee's face and up to the top of his horns. Moments passed and he still had yet to understand what the troll was trying to say. Nub? Rack? He could not tell if he was talking about the animals or something else.

"Brother?" he asked. "I'm not a troll." He did not know why he said that when it was so obvious.

"I've never seen you before," he quickly changed the subject. "What's your name? I'm Ico."

"You up and being a new kind of human? Never got my lookstubs on a human with horns before."

But the other boy looked human, the rest of him, so Gamzee had to honestly ask the question. The horns were still nice, though. Very nice.

"And I'm Gamzee. Look at us motherfuckers getting on our first gander at each other."

He grasped one of his own horns and he ran his nail across the blackened tip of it. It had been a while since he last spoke about his horns. For a while, he had forgotten that it was unusual.

"I'm human. I have horns because I'm a Sacrifice."

It was still difficult to understand Gamzee completely. He mentioned a gander so Ico offered him a rope that had a goose tied to it. "Do you want one?"

"You be giving that fine featherbeast all at me?"

He looked touched, almost. And confused. What was kindness and how did it work? But the featherbeast did look nice, and was all colors, and he bet he could do things with all the fancy feathers. So after a moment he reached out to take the goose.

"And what's that up and meaning, brother? Sacrifice?"

Ico smiled once Gamzee took the goose. It was a brief smile and it vanished as he considered his next question.

"It means I'm taken to the Castle in the Mist once my horns grow out. All children with horns are taken there and put into stone coffins. I was in the castle when the Initiative took me."

Gamzee might not have known coffins originally, but he'd had enough experience by now to recognize the word and that it had to do with death.

"You don't look like you're all corpsy, little brother. What's the low down all on these coffins and this motherfucking castle?"

He liked this kid, with the almost familiar horns and the gift of the goose.

Low down? Ico looked hesitant. It sounded like Gamzee wanted more information so he continued.

"I escaped. The coffin broke because of my Mark." He placed his hand over his chest. "The coffins made all the other Sacrifices turn into shadows. I destroyed the stone coffins. Every single one."

"That sounds like some bad motherfucking mojo you up and got the drop down on."

But he smiled wide at that, pleased with the story. "And that must be a bitchtits mark to be breaking you out of that box."

Ico smiled because Gamzee smiled. The sharp teeth did not disturb him. While he remained confused, Ico was slowly beginning to understand him more.

"It's blessed with the Light," he said in an agreeing tone, assuming that Gamzee was complimenting the Mark.

"Gamzee, have you met the other trolls here? There's a lot. Do you know them?"

"How's a brother getting light all down in a mark?" He asks that curiously, but then adds something odd. "No wonder you all got out like that. Light's up and giving motherfucker's all the luck."

But he does follow up by nodding at the question. "Yeah, got some past knowing kicking with most them. You down with my troll brothers and sisters too?"

"I've met Sollux and Feferi and Equius." From the way Ico smiled, it showed that he liked all three.

"Your horns are all different. Do all trolls have different horns?"

"There's trolls what are having horns alike, but not ones that are kicking around all at the same time, you be digging that? Called motherfucking ancestors to us trolls what are being alive right now. That's what a brother be hearing around, at least."

And he had nothing in particular to say about the other three so he just answered the question happily.

"Ancestor?" Finally, a word Ico knew. "My ancestor had horns, too! We all have the same horns."

He laughed quietly to himself. "I didn't know horns could grow in so many different shapes. I like Sollux's horns." Out of all the trolls he met, Sollux's horns looked the most practical.

"Motherfucker's got himself two sets of those horns, he does. But you haven't gotten your look at even a little of all the horns what are being out there. Were. Big motherfuckers and little, curved and straight and waves up like the sea."

He moves his hands as he describes them, going through different shapes.

Ico copied the way Gamzee moved his hands to understand the shape of the horns. It was not a good description. He wondered how horns could be like the sea.

"I guess I like shorter ones because sometimes my horns get stuck." He quickly added, "But I wouldn't trade them for anything."

"I know how that's motherfucking being! I got a bro who's up and got horns going out what like yours do. My own are being hard for some shit too."

Though they didn't stick out, they did stick up, and Gamzee was already dreadfully tall. Especially here, with smaller doors and buildings he'd come up with things where he'd bang his horns if he forgot to duck, and that sent shocks all down through him.

"Get them all banged up on the doors."

Just hearing about it was enough. Ico had hit his horns on doors before and he rubbed his head as if he felt the pain running through it.

"There's a troll with horns like mine? What's his name? Is he here?"

"His name is Tavros, and he's being the best of bros." The first part was said happily enough, but it was hard to hold onto the cheer when the next question was asked. "Not being here, but more motherfuckers are always showing themselves."

Even as he said that, he couldn't muster up the hope to really believe it so it fell flat.

Ico frowned as Gamzee's cheer left. It must have been upsetting for him. However, it did not seem right to hope that his friend be brought into a war.

Without knowing the words to say, Ico simply reached over to pat him comfortingly on the shoulder.

That was a surprise. He wasn't very used to being touched, even lately. But it was... nice, so after an uncomfortable moment, Gamzee granted Ico a smile. Little motherfucker really was all reminding him of Tavros.