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Diamond Hunters	By : Worlds_First_Ghost Category: Web Comics > Homestuck Views: 673 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
“Eridan? Nepeta?”
The familiar voice washed over Eridan like cold water, sending his body upright before his eyes could fully open. He frantically blinked, which did nothing to dispel the haze around him since he wasn’t wearing his glasses. But he didn’t need his eyesight to know who that voice belonged to, and Feferi was standing close enough to him that he could see her anyway. He had to squint a little to identify the troll right beside her, but the cracked sunglasses and stink of fresh sweat quickly gave Equius away. They loomed over him and Nepeta, a characteristically aggravated expression plastered on Equius’s face and Feferi wearing a more curious one.
“What in the everlovin’ fuck are you doin’ here?” Eridan demanded. At this point, he grew aware of the dull pain that was throbbing in his arms, and he realized that it was because Nepeta had been squeezing them this entire time. He turned to look at her, but she was hunched over and doing her best to hide behind him. Her eyes nervously peeked over his shoulder, partially obscuring the look of abject dread she had on her face.
“I believe we shall be the ones performing the interrogations, seadweller.” Equius sneered and shifted his gaze to Nepeta. “Nepeta, why have you neglected to answer my messages? Also, why are consorting with this scoundrel? I demand an explanation.”
Nepeta’s eyes dropped to the sand, not wanting to look at Equius directly. Those dark glasses did nothing to shield the disapproval smoldering within his eyes.
“She doesn’t gotta say anything.” Eridan put on his glasses to get a clearer view of Equius’s face before countering with a sneer of his own. “This is her business, not yours.”
“I am her moirail. Her safety is indeed my business.”
“Well clearly she’s in one piece, which should be the start and end of any inquiry as to her personal wellbein’. So with that matter settled, if you’d fuck off back to that land dwellin’ pit you crawled out of, we can end this pointless and, honestly, embarrassin’ exchange.”
“No. Due to the simple fact that she is in close proximity to you, a megalomaniacal lunatic with a penchant for bloodshed and destruction, her life is at risk. I demand that she comes to me this instant.”
Nepeta made a motion to stand up, but Eridan seized her wrist and pinned it to the ground.
“Ain’t you got hear ducts? I said she ain’t gotta listen to you.”
“Yes, she will.”
“No, she won’t.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Okay you two, let’s settle down and start from the beginning.” Feferi’s unwavering smile had little effect on the two trolls, who continued to glare daggers at each other. “Eridan, why don’t you just calmly explain to Equius why you and Nepeta are out all the way out h–” The words evaporated in her open mouth as her eyes drifted down at the sand. Dried splotches of darkened purple and green fluids coagulated amongst the grains and left little to the imagination as to what substance they were. Feferi’s now awestruck eyes looked back to Eridan and Nepeta. “Did… Did you guys really just, uhm…” A deep blush rose to her cheeks as she coughed into her hand. “Out in the open? Wow. Glub…”
Equius followed her gaze, only for his teeth to gnash against each other once he saw what she did. “This… This is absolutely despicable,” he spat. His words were punctuated by abrupt puffs of hot breath that shot through the gaps of his clenched teeth. He pointed an admonishing finger at Nepeta. “Nepeta, I have explicitly forbidden you from fraternizing with the disreputable nobility, and you have defied this order beyond all reasonable measure. I am deeply disappointed in you.” The finger then shifted towards Eridan. “And you. Separate yourself from my moirail at once. I refuse to stand idle and allow your lubricious morals to corrupt her further.”
Each word directed at Nepeta made her wince as if she was being repeatedly struck in the gut. Swallowing the amassing lump of guilt in her throat, she opened her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by a contemptuous cough.
“And what authority do you presume you have to dictate that breed of nonsense towards her and I?” Eridan asked.
“As her moirail, I object to this union. She will not sully herself by having a miscreant such as you as her matesprit.”
A grin cut along Eridan’s face. “Matesprit? As much as I’d relish bein’ the harbinger of your dismay in that regard, this little tryst wasn’t flushed in nature.” He stood to his full posture, pulling Nepeta by the hand to have her stand beside him. His hand squeezed hers tightly, hoping to draw Equius’s attention to it. “The two of us just consummated a true and ardent act of paleness, the likes of which you’d only wish to experience. You ain’t her fuckin’ moirail anymore and, ergo, what I said earlier about her not havin’ to listen to your frivolous twaddle is reaffirmed.”
“Excuse me, WHAT?”
The confident grin dropped off Eridan’s face and his earfins shuddered at the sound of her voice. He was so focused on Equius that he had forgotten that she was still here. His head reluctantly shifted towards his former moirail, who looked upon him with a mixture of confusion, hurt, anger, and even a bit of relief splashed on her face. It was as if she couldn’t decide what to be feeling right now. “Uh… okay, Fef, I understand that this ain’t exactly the best way to break this news to you. Even the best amongst us have our missteps. I had just experienced a very intense moment full of emotions and pale passion cloudin’ my judgment, so I’ll fully admit to not havin’ planned everything out as well as I normally do here. But hey, maybe this ain’t so bad, you know? Now that everything’s laid out in the open, there’s no need to be gettin’ upset, right?”
“I don’t even know why I’m surprised, Eridan.” Her words were frigid. Eridan only ever heard that tone on rare occasions, each one corresponding to a time when he majorly fucked up. “I mean, when was the last time you put forth an effort to make this quadrant work between us? You never talk to me about your problems, and you never seem to care about mine either. It takes two trolls to make a moirallegiance work, right? But I’m always the one putting the sea lion’s share of work to keep you under control and you never reciprocate. So… what are you trying to tell me with this? Do you even want to be with me?”
Guilt weighed Eridan’s lips down as her words pierced him. “Yes, Fef, of course I want to be with you. That’s exactly the goal I’m tryin’ to accomplish here. If you’d just hear me out instead of always accusin’ me of wrongdoin’, it’s incredibly obvious.”
Feferi crossed her arms. “Enlighten me then. How does cheating on me with Nepeta help preserve our moirallegiance?”
“God dammit I ain’t talkin’ about moirallegiance. I meant–”
“I’ve had enough of this,” Equius interrupted. “This petty squabbling does not concern me, and it will cease immediately. This declaration of moirallegiance is a farce. I will take my rightful moirail and leave you seadwellers to sort this matter amongst yourselves.”
“That’s enough, Equius!” Nepeta yelled. She took a step out from the cover of Eridan’s body. The grip she had on his hand tightened so that his fingers were uncomfortably clumped on top of each other. “Stop acting like you can boss everyone around! What the hell is your deal?”
“Language, Nepeta.”
The stern tone made her flinch, but she clenched her teeth and glared at him. “No, I can say whatever the hell I want now! I can make my own choices without your purrmission.”
Equius’s jaw flung open. He balled his fists and sweat continued to dribble out of every pore on his body. “I think we should change the subject. Your abhorrent language is offending my ears.”
“Oh yeah? Well your snootiness is offending MY damn ears!” Although her expression remained fierce, she had to put forth an effort to keep a smile from breaking out. It was fun to let loose in front of him for once.
“I command you to stop. If you utter one more swear, I shall be forced to discipline you.”
Eridan, who had been uselessly trying to fight against Nepeta’s crushing hold on his hand, snapped his attention back to Equius. His eyebrow cocked up in bewilderment. “Discipline? What the fuck, Zahhak, what are you even threatenin’ her with?”
Equius sucked in a long breath through his teeth. This hesitation, however brief, instantly registered to Eridan as a stalling tactic. This was a troll who was not used to having his threats being challenged. “That does not concern you, sea dweller. This matter will be resolved once my moirail and I leave this place and reconvene to my hive. I must correct her abominable behavior posthaste.”
“Mother Grub wept, you’re a fuckin’ embarrassment.” Eridan’s head swiveled to face Nepeta while he threw his free arm out, exasperatedly gesturing at Equius. “These are empty threats, Nep. This guy can put on a fantastic performance like he’s some grand general, but as soon as he’s put on the spot he can’t even make up a convincin’ lie and that’s a fact. The idea that you were ever intimidated by this clown is a mystery beyond even my intuition.”
“It is dangerously unwise of you to persist in making these claims about me.” The muscles in Equius’s arms bulged as he raised his hands so that they were level with his chest. “I strongly advise that you cease these provocations, lest you experience the repercussions of your slander.”
“Hey now,” Feferi said, “Let’s not get too crayfishzy here.” She reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, but pulled back after noticing just how sweaty he was. The slick layer of moisture coating his entire arm was almost reflective.
“Astoundingly forced pun aside, listen to the voice of reason there.” Eridan’s eyes scrolled up and down Equius’s fighting stance, his deadpan expression unchanging. “I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we don’t want to see you gettin’ so worked up that you feel the urge to drop your shorts and start fondlin’ yourself into a fervor.”
“Stop.” Equius’s teeth started to weakly groan as he clenched his jaw even tighter. Every muscle in his body trembled in aggravated unison. “You are making me disproportionately furious. If you continue, I fear I will not be able to control myself for much longer.”
“Yes all that sweatin’ and posturin’ you’re doin’ is really makin’ me quiver in my boots. You know, there’s a real injustice circulatin’ within our friend group when I’m the one nobody gives the time of day to when you’re an exponentially worse person than me. I mean come on, you’ve got issues literally pourin’ out of your orifices.”
“Eridan, will you PLEASE stop provoking him?” A tinge of nervousness clung on the edge of Feferi’s voice.
Eridan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Come on, Fef, you and I both know he won’t do shit. His land dwellin’ code of so-called honor won’t allow it.”
The sand crunched under Equius’s boot as he took a step forward. The weighty sound still hung in the air when a second footstep created its twin. With a menacing hiss, Equius shot his arm out and seized Eridan’s throat before the sea troll had any time to react. Digits curled against flesh, molding deep indents into his skin as Equius effortlessly lifted him high enough that his feet dangled an inch off the ground. One errant flex of his fingers could easily rupture Eridan’s esophagus, but Equius kept his entire body rigid, exerting complete control of his movements despite the torrent of rage roiling inside of him.
“Not one more word out of your impudent mouth.” The rows of jagged, broken teeth were fixed together as Equius’s lips formed his words. “You will renounce this ludicrous attempt at courting my moirail at once, or I will ensure that you live the rest of your days as a mute.”
Eridan kicked and gasped as his throat was squeezed to the width of a straw. His earfins slapped against his gills, an involuntary reflex to try and force in water that wasn’t there. Oxygen trickled into his panicked lungs in small, intermittent bursts and everything in his field of vision began to blur as if his glasses had been knocked off. Darkness encroached on the edges of the fog, but in the center of it all, Equius’s ruthless glare was clear-cut.
“Equius stop!” Nepeta screamed, lunging forward and grabbing hold of his hand. Her fingers uselessly wriggled in their attempt to force themselves under his to dislodge them. Feferi soon joined to help, but even with their combined strength, loosening his grip was like wrestling with a vice.
“Let him go Equius!” Feferi grunted. “You’re going to kill him!”
“I have no intention of doing such a thing.” Equius’s stare remained fixed on Eridan, ignoring the trolls clawing at his hand. “I am only interested in making this experience excruciatingly painful for him until he complies.”
“F-fuckin’ hell!” Eridan managed to gag out. “What do you even want me to say? It ain’t my fault she’s sick to death of you!” His legs flailed wildly in the hopes that he could kick him, but he continued to strike nothing but air.
“Liar. You’ve poisoned her mind. She would never willingly leave me by her own volition.”
“That’s not true!” Nepeta’s nails dug into Equius’s knuckles, drawing out trickles of dark blue blood. “It’s not his fault, Equius! I agreed to all of this. If you want to be furryous at anyone, then it should be me!”
Equius shifted his focus to Nepeta, a small frown now on his face. “Your statements are nonsensical, Nepeta. If you are serious in dissolving our quadrant, you surely would have a valid reason for it. Why would you leave me when I have been nothing but an attentive and compassionate moirail?”
Nepeta’s lip quivered and she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. The kaleidoscopic reflections of her simpering face within his dark glasses caused her mouth to screw up into a defiant scowl. “You’re a good purrson, Equius, but you’re too purrsessive! You never appurrve of anything I want to do, so I end up not doing much of anything. These past few days with Eridan have been more fun than I’ve had in a long time, but the only way I could do that was to avoid your supurrvision. It made me realize that I can’t take it anymeowre.”
Equius stared at her for a long while before letting loose a disaffected huff. “I was only acting in your best interest. Need I remind you that I place your safety as my highest priority?”
“I don’t need to be looked after! I can take care of myself. I take down big dangerous animals and I know how to fight. YOU’RE the one who needs to be watched all the time! I mean, look at what you’re doing!”
Equius turned back to the squirming troll in his grasp, as if he had forgotten he was there. The color drained from his face and he gingerly set Eridan down on his feet. The hand that once held him trembled as its fingers weakly flexed outward.
Eridan clutched his screaming throat, gagging and gulping down as much air as his mouth could fit. The shallow grooves left by Equius’s fingers would no doubt form bruises that would last a few days. “You fuckin’ sweat-drenched meathead! I oughta decimate you right now!” He was seconds away from pulling Ahab’s Crosshairs out of his sylladex before the forked head of a trident was swung down in front of his face.
“Okay, that’s ENOUGH!” Feferi’s twitching lips parted into a scowl, uncovering a jagged array of gleaming white teeth. “I am NOT prepared to clean up any chum today. Both of you need to calm the fuck down!”
Eridan sneered but ultimately slunk back at the sight of her ferocity. From behind the trident’s prongs, he glowered at Equius, who was still transfixed by his quivering hand and now kneeling down on one knee. Nepeta crouched down to his level and stared at him intently, but he made no motion acknowledging her presence. The heat in her eyes swelled as tears started to brew behind them, but she tensed all the muscles in her face to contain them.
“Can you compurrhend what I have to deal with?” She kept her voice low to prevent it from cracking. “Between making sure that you don’t hurt anybody and having to listen to your orders all the time, it’s all too much fur me. It’s like I’m locked in a kennel and there’s nobody who’ll let meowt. This is why I have to move on, Equius. I’m sorry.”
“But what am I to do now?” A burgeoning sadness welled in Equius’s voice. “I have already fallen victim to my aggression today. Without your pacifying influence, the frequency of these incidents will no doubt increase.”
“You’ll just have to find someone else.” Her hands trembled at her sides and though her eyes constantly tried darting away from his face, she forced them to remain fixed. “You heard what Fefurry said: it takes two trolls to make a meowrallegiance work purroperly, and you do too much taking without giving back. I know you need me, but Eridan needs me, too. And I also believe he can help make me a better purrson at the same time.”
“Is that what you truly believe?”
Nepeta nodded wordlessly. With a sigh, Equius brought himself to his full posture and separated himself from Nepeta before looking down at her. The darkness of his glasses continued to obscure his true emotions. “You do realize that according to the hemospectrum, I could easily force you to remain my moirail upon threat of culling.”
“Bullshit,” Eridan spat. “I can wipe you out right now for even entertainin’ that kind of diabolical trickery and nobody would bat an–”
“Let me finish, cretin.” Equius turned back to Nepeta. “With that said, I suppose I am too fond of you to keep you in a relationship you are unhappy with. I relieve you of your obligations as my moirail, and I will take my leave.”
The remnants of Nepeta’s self-control crumbled away as hot, olive green droplets budded in her eyes. She hopped forward to give Equius a quick, very tight hug before slinking back to her original position. “I’m so sorry…” Shallow hiccups rocked her chest as she whispered those words.
“As am I.” Equius turned and trudged away from the group, his heavy boots leaving deep tracks behind him.
Once he was far enough away for his body to completely fade from view, Nepeta sniffled and dragged the sleeve of her coat across her face, drenching it in tears and mucus. Eridan slowly approached from behind and placed a reluctant hand on her shoulder. In response to the contact, Nepeta wheeled around and entrapped him in a firm embrace. Eridan cringed as the moisture from her face seeped into his clothes, but he rubbed her back reassuringly.
“Look Nep, things may seem bad now, but we’ll make it past this. Romance is a fickle thing. We never know who we’ll end up with and if the bonds we forge are permanent. Hell, the very fact that I’m allowin’ your disgustin’ fluids to defile my clothes is livin’ proof of this.”
The warmth of a shaky sigh radiated across Eridan’s shoulder. “Thanks, Eridan…” Nepeta’s words were muffled by a mouthful of his cape. “I just really hope he’ll be okay. I feel so guilty leaving him like this. Even if we can’t be meowrails, he’s still my very good furiend.”
“He’ll be fine. If you’re truly that worried, you can always play matchmaker with him and try and fulfill your inane shippin’ bullshit.”
Nepeta pondered this. If anyone had any clue as to the chemistry between members of their friend group, it’d be her. She lifted her head away from Eridan, her moist face having now mustered a smile. “Okay… I think I can give that a shot!”
Eridan smirked and gave her a few pats on the shoulder. “There, a happy endin’ for everyone. You’re all so fortunate to have me around to solve these dilemmas for you.”
“The ones caused by you in the first place, you mean?” Feferi interjected with an awkward smile, having watched the entire scene play out in curious silence.
Eridan waved his hand dismissively. “Who’s to say what or who is the cause of them? What matters is everything is fixed now.”
“Is it? I mean, Nepeta and Equius might be squared away, but what about us?” She rubbed a hand across her face, bringing forth an expression of deep concern. “I understand if you don’t feel that way about me anenomemore, but I can’t say I’m on board with you running around without me keeping those, err, aspirations of yours in check.”
“I appurrciate the concern, Fefurry,” Nepeta spoke up, “but there’s no claws for alarm. You won’t have to worry about him getting into trouble with me watching him.”
Feferi eyed Nepeta warily before her gaze drifted towards Equius’s trail of craterous footprints. If she was able to keep that sort of monstrous strength under control, then maybe a genocidal sea troll wouldn’t be too drastic of a change.
“Okay,” Feferi sighed, feeling both exasperated and as if a massive weight was pulled off of her. “As long as you feel like you can handle him, I don’t have any objections. However, please please PLEASE do not hesitate to troll me if you have any issues with him!”
“Fef, for fuck’s sake,” Eridan groaned.
“Don’t you snapper at me, mister! If anything, I’m letting you off the hook easy, so you should be more grateful!”
Nepeta giggled. “You can count on me! I’ll tackle him like a furocious purredator if he even thinks about getting up to no good.”
Feferi made a toothy smile as a sign of acknowledgment. “Well, I hope you two get along swimmingly! I oughta head back to my hive before my lusus starts to worry.” With a parting wave, she skipped towards the lapping surf and dove into the water in one fluid, graceful motion.
As soon as she disappeared under the surface, Nepeta thrust her elbow sharply into Eridan’s ribs. “Why didn’t you purrpose your flushed feelings to her just then!? That was the purrfect oppurrtunity!”
Eridan winced. “Use your think pan, Nep. I already made one tactical blunder today what with droppin’ the news of our breakup on her like that. Dumpin’ more needless drama on her like that would only make things worse. I gotta go back to my hive and regroup, think up a new strategy, and then put my plan into action.”
Nepeta rolled her eyes. “You’ll purrobably just end up scaring her anyway! It sounds like you could use some help from a clawlified romance expurrt.”
“Yeah like I’m gonna seek advice for my romantic aspirations from some girl who lives in a cave.”
“Well yeah, duh!” Nepeta hopped onto his back and slung her arms over his shoulders. “That’s what meowrails are for, right?”
Eridan grunted under her weight, but hooked her legs under his arms to help maintain her balance. “We can debate that some another time,” he grumbled as he plodded toward his patiently awaiting lusus. Hopefully he could get them both to their hives before sunrise.
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Diamond Hunters