You punch his arm, as hard as you dare. “And it’s okay to let some humans see you all pathetic and weak like this? Is that what you think? Well fuckass, I am going to keep you alive and drag your sorry ass back to Rose’s house and we’re going to warm you up! And you aren’t going to die because we won’t let you and we won’t cull you even if you’re totally all helpless right now because we are humans and that’s how we do shit! We do it our way!” You shake his shoulder again and his eyes crack open the tiniest bit. “And you know what? If everyone is being dumb then when we finish figuring out everything you can come back with me!”

You grab his arms and tell John to help you and he tries to argue but you won’t hear it. You hoist Eridan onto your back and sure he’s heavy but it’s not impossible and your blood is racing, all angry and strong, and when he tries to slide off your back you take the scarf from around his neck and you tie him to you and keep moving. Nothing is going to stop you! Not fog or rain or cold or tree roots or slippery mud or really big deer or skunks or stupid trolls who don’t listen to their friendleader when he says no killing and do stupid things like trying to kill each other and chasing each other into the woods to freeze to death. You beat the game and Jack and so many bad things that you’d dreamed about for years and years and you won’t let a little bit of grumpiness ruin your celebrations. This is a new world, and it’s for the living - not the dreaming or the dead.

You think maybe Eridan has fallen asleep again, his head against your bare neck and cheek like ice, clammy and sharp - well, his facefin things are anyway - when he whisper/croaks into your ear “…back with you?”

You roll your eyes and step over the deer shit that totally would have made you slip and stop at the edge of the river and wait for John to catch up. “Of course! I’ve got enough space at home, you can set up somewhere on the other side of the island and no one will bother you. And if anyone doesn’t like it then they’re not allowed on my island!”

Oh gosh, I love writing Jade. She’s so headstrong and no nonsense and this fic has been hard in making sure SHE doesn’t figure out what’s going on before I need the exposition to happen. 
One of the main purposes for this section was to both show how determined Jade is post game to make things be right. Dave and Rose are both in varying states of refusing to think things are good and are waiting for the other shoe to drop. John is plugging his ears and singing at the top of his voice because he doesn’t want to admit there is something wrong. Jqde just doesn’t care  if there is something fucked up about this world. SHE WILL FIX IT HERSELF if she has to.

It’s also the first time Jade has had to deal with someone being completely defeatist and suicidal around her, and it scares her because it goes so completely against everything she believes in and even her attitude of tackling problems head on, she can’t FIX Eridan if he doesn’t want to be fixed. She’s never faced that before.

So of course, she first gets furious at the idea of being defeated after all the work and risk they put into beating the game - she so desperately wanted everyone to be alive again, having Eridan and the others be so god damned STUPID fills her with enough anger to fuel her frozen self to further extremes. It also meant I could show Jade being physically strong- carrying Eridan herself- because I hate stories where she’s the weak princess. Fuck that, she could totally bench press Dave. Well, Rose at least.  Dave would probably squirm too much.

And lastly, it’s Jade’s sort of problem solving- Eridan feels like everyone is going to kill him and he has no where safe to go? Her home is a giant island with a shitton of space- notice how she didn’t suggest he live with her? She doesn’t like him as a person much at all, so she’s not in the least suggesting they work together or share her place- just that if he wants to live on the other side of her island, it will be empty of Eridan Killing Trolls and since she grew up there, she figures it’s a pretty decent place to live.

All in all, this is Jade Doesn’t Like Eridan as a Person, but the Idea of Eridan Dying On Her Metaphorical Watch is So Not Allowed. 

I’m also embarrassed about the fuckass. I will probably remove it in an edit later. (I’m also very amused/proud of the deer shit. No one ever mentions the poop in hiking stories.)