Rainbow and arrow

Rainbow and Arrow
By Seth

It was one of the great misfortunes of life, according to Equius, that it was frowned upon to obey one's superiors these days. It might seem like an old-fashioned thing to do, but it was only proper to know one's place in life. Equius certainly knew where his place was, and none of his superiors had ever had anything to complain about where he was concerned. He had always aimed to please, and seemed to have succeeded reasonably well, given that no one had as yet expressed overt hatefulness of any kind, be it platonic or romantic.

At that moment his husktop beeped, and Equius leaned forward, frowning slightly. Most probably it was Vantas again, attempting to tell him what to do. Well, if it was, the loud-mouth would have a piece of Equius' mind. He opened the husktop, but to his surprise he found not a wall of grey text, but gently waving lines of purple.

TerminallyCapricious [TC] began trolling centaursTesticle [CT]
TC: HeLlO mOtHeRfUcKiNg BrOtHeR.
TC: hOw'S eVeRyThInG uP aNd HaNgInG oVeR tHeRe?
CT: D --> Greetings, highb100d
CT: D --> Might I inquire why you would be asking such 100d questions
CT: D --> It seems rather unbecoming for one of your social standing
TC: DoN't GeT yOuR uNdErWeAr AlL uP iN a BuNcH mY bRoThEr
TC: It'S cAlLeD a FiGuRe Of SpEeCh
CT: D --> I see
CT: D --> I apologise most profusely for my rude reply
CT: D --> What c001d I have been thinking of
TC: DoN't SwEaT iT mAn
TC: It'S aLl CoOl
CT: D --> Do you not take e%eption to my ine%cusable behaviour
TC: ShIt HaPpEnS tO tHe BeSt
TC: I'lL lEt It SlIdE tHiS tImE
TC: bUt ThErE wAs SoMeThInG i NeEdEd To DiScUsS wItH yOu
TC: tHiNk YoU cAn SpArE mE a MoThErFuCkInG mInUtE?
CT: D --> Of course
CT: D --> I assume it is about something important
TC: yOu MoThErFuCkInG bEt
TC: I'vE bEeN tHiNkInG sOmE tHiNgS oUt
TC: It'S aBoUt YoUr BoWs

Equius hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He had been trying not to think of archery too much these days. It was quite embarrassing that he could not even properly hold a bow, let alone shoot one, but he was not about to bother a highblood with his pitiful anxieties. The other probably had enough to deal with as it was, and just the fact that Equius had apparently made the other think about him was inexcusable.

CT: D --> There is no need for you to concern yourself with any shortcomings of mine
CT: D --> Please do not bother
TC: No BoThEr At AlL mAn
TC: I tHiNk I mAy HaVe A sOlUtIoN fOr YoUr PrObLeM
CT: D --> A solution for my problem
CT: D --> I did not guess that such a thing was possible
CT: D --> Nothing I have tried until now c001d stand my STRONG handling
TC: iT dOeSn'T eXaCtLy LeAp To ThE eYe
TC: It'S a MyThiCaL bOw MaN
TC: CaN hAnDlE tHe FeEt Of ThE gOdS tHeY sAy
TC: wIcKeDlY mAgIcAl
TC: BuT i ThInK iT cOuLd WoRk If YoU cAn GeT hOlD oF iT

A magical bow? Equius had never yet heard of such a thing, but then again, highbloods had their own mythology of which someone as lowly as he surely knew nothing. Perhaps there was really such a thing as a magical bow which could stand his strength, he thought hopefully. It would be a relief to finally be able to shoot... he would never have to endure being ridiculed again.

CT: D --> If it is not to impudent of me to ask
CT: D --> Where could I find this mythical bow you speak of
TC: wElL
TC: iT's MiRaCuLoUsLy HaRd To GeT aT
TC: hIgH uP iN tHe MoThErFuCkInG sKy AnD aLl
TC: OnLy ApPeArS wHeN iT mOtHeRfUcKiNg WaNtS tO
TC: gUaRdEd By LePrEcHaUnS wItH pAiLs FuLl Of GoLd
TC: WhAtEvEr ThOsE mAy Be
CT: D --> Perhaps one needs to
CT: D --> Engage in 100d behaviour with these 'leprechauns'
CT: D --> For them to give it up
CT: D --> That would be e%tremely troublesome
TC: MiGhT bE aLl WoRtH iT bRo
TC: NeVeR gOnNa KnOw UnLeSs YoU tRy
CT: D --> That is certainly true
CT: D --> C001d you tell me how I should look for it
TC: NoW tHaT's WhErE iT gEtS tRiCkY bRo
TC: YoU nEeD tO gO oUtSiDe WhEn ThE sUn'S sTiLl OuT
TC: bUt WhEn It'S aLsO mOtHeRfUcKiNg DrIzZlInG
TC: tHeN yOu'Ll Be AbLe To SeE iT
TC: aNd LoOk FoR oNe Of It'S eNdS tO gRaB iT bY
CT: D --> That sounds like a formidable task
CT: D --> Are you sure you can entrust me with it
TC: I bElIeVe In YoU bRoThEr
TC: ShOw Me WhAt YoU'rE mAdE oF mAn
CT: D --> I hope your trust in me turns out to be correct

Equius closed his husktop and leaned back in his seat. The day was not far away now, he could feel the air getting warmer. Or perhaps it was him getting warmer. Damn, he needed a towel. As he mopped his forehead with the piece of cloth he began devising a plan. This bow sounded too good to be true, but if there was a shred of a chance that it existed he had to try for it. Perhaps this was the god-tier weapon he had been looking for.

And so Equius prepared himself for battle. Clad in heavy armour which would protect his skin from the sun and with his eyes shielded by dark glasses, he waited until he could hear rain clattering on the roof of his hyve before venturing outdoors. The result was not too encouraging; the metal weighed him down immensely and the rain prevented him seeing anything else than grey clouds. But the highblood would not have lied to him, so Equius kept it up bravely, waiting and waiting in the rain until his armour had started to rust and he was wet to the bone. Days and days he spent outside, waiting for a sign from the heavens. And then, after three weeks, he finally caught his first glimpse of it.

He had been about to give up his search for the day, wet and grumpy as he was, when he saw something glittering from out of the corner of his eye. He whipped around, creaking and clanking as he did so. And there it was, clear as day, shining over the hills in the last rays of sunlight... the most magnificent bow he had ever laid eyes on. It glittered with all the colours of the blood spectrum and stretched all across the sky and out of sight beyond the horizon.

He fell to his knees, humbled by the sight of such a heavenly weapon in front of his unworthy eyes. It would be difficult to get at this bow, very difficult indeed... but he had to give it a try, he simply had to. And so he set off towards the horizon, searching for the end of the bow as Gamzee had told him to do. He did not wonder how he was going to hold a bow this huge, nor where he was going to find arrows to shoot with it. He did not even wonder how he could possibly touch it. He believed blindly in the truth of the story about rainbows.

That is… until he woke up the next morning, covered in sopor slime and reeking of faygo. That's when he decided that perhaps, it was good to disobey one's superiors every once in a while. Especially when it came to taking drugs and stories about magic.