15 ==> A Poet Born

Everyone all seated in a circle with at least a drink or cookie in hand as Kanaya spoke about future meetings and what was about to take place. You could hardly understand a word from her though, only picking up fragments of words in her sentences. The nervousness of speaking your mind was so pressured, that strait thinking was hazed in worry of embarrassing yourself, making you wish to be somewhere else at this moment of time.

A promise is a promise.' You reminded yourself and looked over to the jade blood sitting next to you.

"-and so everyone is to share any type of poem or writing that explains more in depth about you in general. Keep in mind, this is a judgemental free zone and anything is accepted as art. Obviously, everyone here today has at least something in common." As she finished her sentence, a couple of laughs were heard across the room. "I would also like to thank Aradia Megido for catering the most amazing cookies to such short notice. Her generosity is much appreciated, especially to our stomachs!"

Aradia stood up from her seat and took a curtsy bow with the end of her long skirt. All who attended, including you, started a light applause for her. "Thank you guys so much! I'm just happy to contribute towards this club!" She seated herself down, but you couldn't help to notice a faint blush on her cheeks. Was she embarrassed?

"Now, I will start as an example and we'll follow like a clock." Kanaya had a piece of paper with neatly written cursive on it. She stood from her chair in a graceful manner, the confidence she had was admiring. "My name is Kanaya Maryam and I have a piece called With What I Have:

With the feathery words I speak,

The cloth I mend together is fragile.

Parts of my skin in patchworks of art,

The blood on my finger tips dance just to fall.

With the soft touch of my hand so meek,

Embroidery at it's finest is hardest to handle.

The blood I draw forms a flower monarch,

So beautiful it grows but quickly dulls.

With the thoughtful ideas I sewed into its peak,

Eyes come and go but never at a well enough angle.

The hard work underappreciated tastes so tart,

Tis I will not be satisfied amongst these thread walls."

You knew what the poem represented, but was stumped to why it described her as a fellow troll. It obviously stopped to second guess your piece of scribbled nonsense that took no effort at all. She most likely thought about every syllable, meaning, and letter, and here you are playing with a pile of horse-manure like you know shit about making a meaningful poem. You're a disgrace for even being here.

As Kanaya sat down, she had gotten a few applause and turned to look at the next victim for hopeless social interaction. It went on for a while, each individual having something personalized to their own lives like work, styles, fetishes, the weird olive blood spoke in third person about playing with her pet meow-beast. The next one up was Aradia, and you were a bit more attentive to listen to her than the others. She stood up empty handed, and shyly smiled towards everyone. "Hey, I'm Aradia and I call this poem The Rose:

A few roses are growing in a field, so beautiful they look, so indifferent from the scenery.

They all blend and intertwine together in a nest of comfort, of family.

As the months pass by, all of the roses except one began to lose pedals.

One by one, each pedal was lost and carried away by the wind.

All of them withered away to nothing, leaving just a single rose from the parted.

The rose was alone for the first time of its existence, but it never lost its stance and stands proudly for the memory of what was left.

Still beautiful, still strong, but will forever be missing something unreplaceable."

The red blood finished, a hand coming up to wipe one of her eyes gently as the group gave it's feedback with more optimism. This encouraged a beaming smile from Aradia that made your heart flutter with a tingling feeling. You placed a hand on your chest, a bit confused why she triggered such a strange feeling. Not really denying that you think she's a decent looking female, but you've never felt anything like it before. You guess it's just something to do with the poem she read aloud, it was pretty impressive.

"What the thuck...?" Sollux whispered under his breath as the olive blood shouted meow-beast noises to express her understanding for Aradia. You only rolled your eyes at his comment, but noticed the judgemental one to the right of you was next, nudging him to pay attention. The yellow blood slouched up and pushed up his glasses with two fingers, a smirk finding its way upon his over-bite. "I'm Thollux, and I have a poem about beeth:

Beeth are great.

Beeth buzz.

They are yellow and black.

I like beeth."

The yellow blood took a bow as a few applause broke the awkward silence. You gave Sollux a glare, not because of the lack of seriousness in the poem, but because he obviously is just here to have a laugh. After the poem from the female red blood, it was quite the tough act to follow though. You secretly give him points for at least participating.

"Alright..." You whispered to yourself as you slowly took the stand. Focusing on the messy handwriting that was scribbled in a rush, you cleared your throat to ready the introduction as your hands shook with fear. The room started to spin in anticipation, making it seem you've been standing there awkwardly for minutes just to prepare mentally. As you gave a final glance around, your eyes landed on one eager individual; Aradia. It was surprising to see her supporting you, but this only placed more pressure onto this crappy poem. Finally gaining enough courage to speak, you just wanted to get this over with once and for all. "I'm uh- Karkat and I don't have a title for this, so here it goes:

Sometimes I can't sleep, not from an active mind that I can't seem to settle down, but from fear. The fear itself festers to the unimaginable depths of any dark place my mind can think of.

It sits there, unmoving, waiting for me to close my eyes as it sinks its sharp talons into my flesh and pulls me under the waves of unconsciousness.

No one can save me now. No one can here me struggling to breath as it pulls my body more down. It engulfs around me, slowly tightening and suffocating me, squeezing the life out of me just enough for me to wake up.

I was just sleeping.

It was just a dream."

Your voice had gained volume and confidence as the words flicked off your tongue with emotion. It may have seemed short and sweet, maybe a little rushed, but the pressure that was there had been quickly released. You closed your eyes and respired slowly, finally taking a much needed breath. Reopening your sight to face the group, a flush of heat creeped upon your features as the response of the group lit up with unexpected praise. A twitch of your lips threatened to show, but you quickly took a seat and crumbled up the paper at hand. You were still embarrassed, but not the worst you've imagined it to be.

"Good job, Karkat, thank you for sharing." Kanaya beamed with admiration, placing a gentle hand on the top of your head. You shrugged it off, not wanting to accept any praise you believe wasn't earned. It honestly felt like you barely even tried, yet others besides Sollux, memorized theirs just to impress members.

Since you were the last one to share, some trolls had decided to head back to the snack table for refreshments, while others stayed seated and conversed with their neighbors.

"Okay, the wath mildy entertaining." The yellow blood piped up as he slouched back into his chair and crossed his legs, seeming to get comfortable.

That comment sparked a bit of frustration leaking into your voice, "Sollux, this isn't about having a free laugh. There's meaning into whatever they read and honestly, it wasn't that bad."

Sollux burst out a laugh, "Sayth the guy who didn't want to be here."

With an exaggerated sigh, you let the brewing argument go. You didn't have it in you today to fight with Sollux, though it was your upholding specialty most of the time. It's probably because of the rough couple of hours, your body is finally catching up to it's more physical injuries than mental. Since there's a lingering burning sensation coming from both of your wrists, it was hard to forget the traumatic events so quickly. All you want to do now is go home and reflect on all of the shit decisions you've made.

Your emotionless gaze caught sight of the hypnotic red blood. She was obviously a professional at socializing, laughing and giving a slight tilt of her head at whatever the older rust blood was saying. A drink was in her hand, almost spilling it as she naturally moved her hands as she spoke back. You wander if she has any personal problems of her own, just hiding them under the fake surface of a red glazed smile.

"Huh."

You raised an eyebrow at the yellow blood, "What's your deal now?"

His hand came up and tapped at the frame of his glasses, quickly pointing a finger towards the troll you were starting at. "You like her, that's why you changed your mind."

Almost choking on the air itself, you stuttered in misbelief, not admitting it to your friend. "N-No I don't! I barely even know her!"

"Karkat, I may be half blind and all but you make it so painfully obviouth." His brows furrowed and you just stood there with a glare for the yellow blood.

"You know what I think? I think you should stay out of my fucking business, Captor." With that being said, you decided it was the perfect time to step out and get some fresh air. At least getting away from Sollux for a bit will ease your frustrations.