Work Text:
You look around the room and your eyes land on the sick troll trying her best to clean as her whole body rattles with horrible coughs. You look to Zebruh, rhen to her, then look back to Zebruh who shows no sign of worry over her current state. You gaze at him meaningfully to indicate that something is wrong with the guest. However, as he has done the entirety of your brief period of time knowing him, he takes this in the wrong way by smiling and winking at you. You attempt to smile back, but it probably looks incredibly fake, which he wouldn't notice.
You suddenly get the idea to ask if you both could go downstairs and talk about- er, lowbloods? You say something like that to get his attention off of the clearly uncomfortable he put you in. As you both exit the room you glance at the servant cleaning the floor, almost completely hunched in on herself.
Okay, you may be desperate to make friends, but you aren't quite stupid enough to not realize this guy is a hypocritical sleazeball that you strongly dislike. It's one thing to be a real creep to you, it's another to just do this to people. These are not guests.
You walk down the steps in a daze, tripping once and causing Zebruh to catch you, rapping his arms around you and getting all in your face unnecessarily. You tell him he is a good Friend for helping you, and push him away.
You both make it all the way to the dinner table without another event like this shockingly, and Zebruh goes on and on about him being an ally this and quadrant that. You scan over all the food on the table which won't all be eaten by you, or Zebruh, and you doubt it'll go to the servants considering how one came too close tothe table and recieved a warning huff from the Zebra lusus. Lusee?Lus? Lusii? So the food will probably mostly be wasted. Your eye catches something simple nearby and you sneak what could be a bread roll, or some type of fried bug or something, into one pocket, and another one into the other. You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom.
"I could guide you there, I know it might be difficult getting there without my help". You immediately decline his offer, since he'd already showed you where it was during the tour and it's a cultural thing for humans to go alone. "And I totally respect that" he says with a nod.
You all but run up the stairs to get away from the guy, mainly because you don't want to cause yourself to bleed more internally. You walk down the hall and slip back into Zebruh's room where the servant from before is still sitting on the floor. You kneel next to her, causing her to jump and burst into a more vigorous coughing fit that she immediately tries to quiet down. Your eyebrows draw together and you get a good look at her sickly state. You aren't the one to talk with your broken and bruised everything and all, but she looks terrible.
"I'm ok," she says, about to continue before you begin pulling out a piece of the strange alien food from your pocket. Her lips smack dryly, but she looks away from the food. You offer it to her.
"No, I can't." She gets up from the ground she's been cleaning spotlessly and staggers to another part of the room, almost falling after walking two feet. You get up and stand next to her, worried as she wheezes and wraps an arm around herself. You ask her again when you hear her stomache rumble loudly, insisting that she eat and rest. She finally gives in numbly as if she's failed some test and expects punishment, looking guilty with each bite of food. Anger boils in your gut as you help her sit down and turn to the door, shoving it open and marching out of the room.
You reach the stairs where Zebruh greets you, apparently coming to check on you. "Hey, I was wondering why you'd took so long. But I was really hesitating so I could give you your space." He looks as if this was a great accomplishment on his part that he should be praised for and you know what? no. No. It is not difficult to give someone space and just because he did doesn't mean he deserves a pat on the back! He's a fucking jerk and acts like he's the best ally in the world, which he is not, and is gross and hits on people who aren't interested in that way and just want to be platonic friends. Then, even worse, keeps lowbloods in his house in terrible conditions like exactly the people he hates! And he's super invalid!
You poke his chest as you say all of this and Zebruh looks so shocked that he doesn't notice when he begins to fall backwards and down the stairs. You reach out of instinct to stop his fall but he's already tumbling. You and everyone else not currently falling down the stairs eyes widen.
Then all chaos breaks out.
Zebruh's lusus pet zebra parent looks at you with pure hatred in its eyes. You sweat with panic. Two servants help Zebruh up as half of the others take their chance to run and escape and the rest still try to figure out what just happened, but you are not given the same luxury as the furious Zebra whinnies and leaps over Zebruh and gallops up the stairs top speed. There is no exit for you to run to as the lusus, lusii? Reaches the top of the staircase and charges directly at you with its head down and you ready yourself for a gut full of Zebra.
Well, at least this encounter could have ended worse. Maybe, occasionally, you shouldn't try to be friends with some people. Sometimes. In some cases.