After departing from the Royal Boy, Sollux wandered into Derse's streets for a while, headed for the tailor where he bought cloak. He couldn't afford something too fancy, so he had to choose from whatever they had ready-to-wear rather than getting it tailored, but he definately wanted something cool looking, something that would make up for his lack of style since he had to wear those plain shades instead of his regular red and blue glasses.

Sure, trolls didn't care much for fashion or the way they looked, but he always thought of himself as kind of a cool guy and wanted to project that image. He took a little while picking what he liked since he had a limited budget, but in the end he was pretty satisfied with the one he picked. Onece he was ready to go and rebel in style, he walked out of the store and started to look for the HQ again. He knew it was somewhere in the low districs, he had visions of it before but like usual they had been rather unclear and confusing.

He put his hood up, carefully passing his horns through the holes designed for them. He had to have a second hole pierced on both sides since most other troll hoods were made for a single set of horns. It cost him a little bit of extra money but was definitely worth it.

He went about the streets of the low district for a while. They were suprisingly busy, there were dersites buzzing about every corner. He remembered the market was open today and that it would probably be like that all afternoon. He sighed.

"Guess I'm up for another headache today", He thought to himself. At least there were not too many highbloods in sight so he didn't have to worry about them for now.

He didn't dare ask around for help, partly because he didn't trust anyone, partly because he was not comfortable interacting with strangers in general. In a normal situation he would simply levitate above the district to scan the area, but he couldn't afford displaying his powers in such crowded streets since the Condesce's rise to power.

He was now standing close to the area where his old appartment once was. He looked around a little, hoping to spot someone he knew, a familiar face. Many in his neighborhood had been taken away or slain when the Empress first came to cause mayhem. He wasen't sure he would ever see either of them again...

The liquor store door closed behind her with a light click as she descended the front steps. Aradia was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically... she'd spent all day going over strategy, things that still needed to be done, and helping with transporting things using her abilities. She loved it when Dirk asked her to go recruit new members, but today there had been other things that needed doing!

The fresh air was clearing her mind a little bit, though. Maybe she would take a walk. Yes, that was a good idea! Aradia's mind shut down and she let her dragging feet plot her path. A cool breeze began, and she sighed in contentment, her strides speeding up as they neared her destination. As she had lived in the low district almost all of her life, she knew the area like the back of her hand. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the moment.

"Aaah!"

Her tranquil mood was shattered in an instant when she almost walked into someone heading in the opposite direction. Apologizing profusely, Aradia blinked rapidly and tried to place where exactly she was in the low district. For a moment, she was completely bewildered. Then, she caught sight of the familiar buildings. She frowned. Oh, not here.

Sollux's apartment. When they'd started losing contact, she had come here almost every single day, but since she was so busy with the rebel movement, she hadn't stopped by in months. She had no idea if he even lived here anymore! Gog, she missed her friend. She laid a hand on the golden wall, feeling sentimental, and slid down onto the curb while she gazed out at the small crowds without really seeing them.

A cloaked someone was gazing around, just like she was, and she felt her eyes drawn to him. Wait, was that who she thought it was? His face turned so that she could see it... it was! Those double horns were unmistakable. She hesitated a moment, then shook herself off and ran towards him, shouting in a whisper. "Sollux?!"

A familiar voice echoed in the psiionic's ears right when he was about to take his leave. How long has it been since he had last heard this voice. He located the source of the call pretty quickly and for once it wasen't in his head. The tall, skinny female troll had made her way across the distance separating them and by the time he turned around, she was standing in front of him. He could never forget that thin silhouette framed by that long, wavy mane.

Before him was standing the only friend he ever had since the night before, the only person to whom he had opened up. Aradia Megido was there, right before him, after he had looked for her all over Derse since the coup d'état. He took a step forwards and scanned her. It had been a while, but the young female haden't changed much. She did seem like she had a little something different, like an infinitely subtle change that would have happened while he couldn't see her. Maybe he was the one who had changed, that was also a possibility. Since the Condesce's rising, everyone's lifestyles had to take a dramatic turn in order to survive in a world that was transforming way faster than they could ever imagine.


"Hey, long time no see", is all he managed to come up with once he finally managed to open his mouth.

He wanted to say more, but the truth is he had missed her very much and was fighting the outrageous urge to hug her. He'd never dare do that out in the open, for all to see. He simply shifted a little, obviously unable to think of anything else to say. He had never been an ace at social interaction in general, but right this moment he probably beat his own record of awkwardness.

He messed with his hands for a little bit before managing to speak again.

"How have you been since all that shit happened? I mean, I haven't been able to contact you at all since they took over the neighbourhood. I was starting to think something might have happened to you. ", he finally dared admitting.

She just stood and stared. Wow, how long had it been since she'd last heard that voice, with the familiar lisp? Her mouth opened and she tried to reply to the questions he asked, but no words came. She just couldn't believe that it was him, standing there in front of her...

... and without really making a conscious decision, she had grabbed him in a friendly hug. The smell and feel of him was so comforting - it really was Sollux, the same Sollux. "I missed you so much, I missed you so much!" she mumbled into his back. She could feel the day's fatigue drift away like clouds in the wind, and she relaxed, happy knowing her friend was back and safe.

Her face broke into a wide smile as she let go, looking up at him. He looked almost exactly the same, maybe just a little bit taller since she'd last seen him. Knowing Sollux, he was feeling ridiculously uncomfortable right now, and she laughed a little at his expression - it was priceless! "How have I been? Me?! What about you? I've been looking for you everywhere! Where have you been? I knew I'd see you again, they told me I would, but I had no idea it would take so long!"

As embarassed as he was, he let his arms slip around the familiar figure and enven squeezed her a little. He had missed his friend too much to push her away, even though he never really enjoyed being touched. It was okay, just for this once. It was the first time he actually hugged anyone, which made things even more awkward. Sure, Aradia had (forcefully) hugged him in the past but it was the first time he fully returned one.

By the time they pulled apart, a light shade of yellow was tinting his cheeks. He tried to hide it with his cloak's hood but it was probably too late, no use trying to hide his emotions from Aradia. She always figured him out amazingly easily. He wouldn't openly admit it, but deep down he was extremely grateful for it.

He sighed and rolled his eyes when she made fun of the look on his face. Of course, she had noticed his embarassment.

"Eh, I've been as good as one can be after getting his habitation completely wrecked and having to live off the services he can offer, alone in this stupid purple city, hiding like a thief to save his skin.", he replied. He made a face when he realized how bad his statement about "services" sounded.

"I mean I had to lend a hand in pubs and inns for a place to stay, I can barely afford to eat right now but hey, things could be worse right? Highbloods could have found me out and taken me to be one of the Empress' slave. Surely it will happen though, I can only hide my identity for so long..."

A bit of worry made his voice quiver slightly. He remembered his episode in the alley with that male human... He shouldn't have used his powers in the streets and he knew it. The voices in his mind amplified as he started fretting over the matter.

"Besides, I've been trying to locate you forever now, Megido! Where the fuck have you been hiding all this time?"

She listened to him talk, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet and feeling almost giddy with relief. When he made a face, she didn't quite realize why and was about to ask when it hit her. Rolling her eyes at him, she decided to let him continue talking.

Concern welled up inside her as he talked about getting caught. Aradia really disliked it when he was so downhearted, and she wanted badly to make things better. She caught the slight hitch in his voice and an almost imperceptible twist in his facial expression, and she narrowed her eyes. What exactly had she missed? "Did something happen?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light and conversational. Gog, he sounded so worn-out. Again, she wished that she'd found him sooner.

At the change of topic, Aradia raised her eyebrows and considered how to answer his question. They were standing in the middle of the street, so she could hardly say outright that she was working for the rebellion. Even so, she needed to let him know.

Sudden inspiration hit. Her eyes widened. The rebel group was the solution! Sollux could maybe have a place to stay if he chose, but he would definitely benefit from their protection, just like she had. Maybe it would ease his stress a little. They would also be able to spend more time together. Knowing Sollux, he would have mostly avoided socialization with others while she was away. She felt a pang of guilt and regret for losing him. Friends were supposed to stick together! Maybe Sollux would make some new friends among the rebels. He really did look quite lonely.

"I've been... working," she said in answer to his question, giving a slight nod in the direction of the Condensce's palace. She hoped Sollux would get the hint - she would never join the Condensce, because of all of the crap she'd gotten from seadwellers in the past. He knew this, so she hoped he would reach the conclusion that she was working against the Condensce.

"You look tired. Why don't we head to the liquor store? I haven't had a drink with you in too long, and we can continue our conversation there." She gave him a meaningful look - another hint. They had never had a drink together - in fact, he knew she didn't drink at all. She hoped he would understand she was up to something and knew what she was doing. Gog, she was so tense, she couldn't help trying to will him to understand, although she knew it didn't work that way. Her greatest fear was that after being apart so long, the connection had been broken.

It took him a while to catch on to Aradia's hints. His head still felt heavy from his night drinking with Roxy, he wasen't used to drinking at all. He frowned when his friend said she had joined the Condesce's ranks. It made no sense at all, she would never side with someone such as the Empress! Aradia had always fought for the rights of the lowbloods as long as he could remmeber. That's when it stroke him that she might not be saying what she really wanted to say explicitely out in the open like that so he tried to pay as much attention to her words as he possibly could. Maybe she had found the resistance group he had been looking for! That would be the best news he had in a while.

He shuddered a little at the mention of liquor store and almost gagged when she talked about "having a drink" together.

"I think I'll pass on the booze if you don't mind, but sure, if you wanna talk there I don't see why not.", he replied.

He had picked up on her subtle hints. He knew she meant only to find somewhere safer to talk, somewhere where undiscreet ears wouldn't threaten them, or worse even! Agents. They were roaming everywhere and always had a reputation of being unpredictable and extremely well organized. The worse that could probably happen to them would be to run into one of those. He would surely have his ass handed over to the Condesce and be converted into fuel for one of her spaceships. Psiionics were rare and they would go for a high price, you could even start to see bounty notices to capture them and bring them alive to her Imperious Condescention. He had to be on his guards at all times.

He noticed he wasen't the only one to be tense. Aradia seemed stressed out, which was very unlikely of her. She didn't have a habit of fussing over things, not like he did. He decided not to comment on it just yet. He'd keep all his questions for when they were safe to talk openly.

"Alright let's go, this neighbourhood gives me the creeps now..."