lifeaftr | Ruins Mingle Log!

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Ruins Mingle Log!

Who: Newt Geiszler

ohnehalfte and EVERYONE
What: So a bunch of people headed up towards the ruins, so they've got to all run into each other and start to congregate, right???
When: Evening of the mingle log and onwardish.
Where: The Ruins
Warnings: Um...same as the mingle log?

The beach curves up a gentle slope until it meets forest, some manner of building visible through the trees. Further exploration of this area will reveal a dilapidated building of sorts; the architecture is indiscernible to even the most skilled eye. Despite looking as if it has seen better days, there are areas that offer some form of shelter...and who knows what else. Just because it appears uninhabited doesn’t mean you won’t wind up pleasantly, or unpleasantly, surprised.

[ooc: Hey y'all! I thought this might be a good place to start getting larger groups of characters together to do some exploring, settling down, banding together and figuring out rations, etc. Feel free to throw up any threads of your own for specific things like exploration groups, a gathering in the entrance hall, whatever strikes your fancy or that you think your character would organize. Have a party!

Edit: Additionally, there is now an OOC Post for those that want to handwave their character signing up for ruin exploration]

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Frisk is more than familiar with magic, so their eyes drop down to the ice cream to examine it more closely. Magic chefs... Muffet was one of those, they suppose, and Undyne... well, Undyne not so much. But if she's using magic, that makes sense. They look back up at her just in time to hear her pun -- and it amuses them, judging by the way their eyes squint into half-crescents and their mouth ticks upward.

"Ice see what you mean," they say, their voice completely flat. Clearly, they're pleased with themself too.

They pause when she does, and after a moment, give her a nod. Setting the ice cream bowl down in their lap, Frisk reaches up and pulls the bow off themself. A wild mess of brown frizz puffs around their scalp like a cloud.

Oh man this kid's deadpan delivery is a fucking riot, and Lup's face scrunches up in an approving snort. She can't wait to show Taako what a precious bean she found in the jungle some time.

But for now, there's a wild mess of hair to sort through. It's not really long enough to get a good braid going, but that's alright, it's thick enough that the flowers will hold. She starts by loosely tousling the mop to let it fall more naturally, and then gently directing Kittu to face the other way so she can reach all around. She carefully combs through the frizz to straighten it out as well as possible and separates it into several strands at the back, leaving two strands to frame their face. As she works on the braid in earnest, she finally addresses the reason she wanted to talk to the kid in the first place. "So is there anyone else with you, someone to watch your back out here?"

Frisk, thankfully, has had some time to grow accustomed to people other than themself and Chara touching their hair. Lup's gentle ministrations force them to bite down on another unbeckoned memory of the castle -- Sanji, with his hands that smelled like smoke and spices, softly working bows into their hair.

It hurts a little, but Frisk lets themself smile. They're kinda bad at not indulging moments like this.

They begin to nod in response to her question, but catch themself. Instead, Frisk answers with their mouth rudely full of another bite of ice cream.

"My sibling is here. We're twins." They pause. "But we don't look the same."

Another kid the same age... maybe with a kinda similar striped sweater? But a hella different demeanor, that's for sure. She's really glad they found each other. "Oh man, you're missing out on so many pranks without an identical twin," she chuckles. "You haven't lived until you've taken turns dating the same person, without them noticing." These kids will probably do alright, especially with the stabby one around. Doesn't mean they should have to, though.

"I think I met your sibling, on the rafts. If you guys ever need anything, you come to Taako and me, alright? I'll tell him you're cool." And maybe not to piss off the other one. "Even if you're good, we could just hang out. Try out some more styles." Because even when you're living rough, not everything should be about survival. She finishes the braid and holds out her hand for the ribbon.

Frisk seems to pause when Lup mentions having met their "sibling". They sit a little straighter, head tilting just slightly, paying deep heed to the tone of her voice as she speaks of them. If she weren't at an angle that keeps them from it, they'd doubtlessly be trying to read her expression.

They prefer to know where people stand when it comes to their Partner.

They don't seem to find anything off about her impression of Chara, though, -- or if they do, they don't mention it. Instead, they compliantly offer back the ribbon for her to tie up their hair. A relaxed slouch returns to their shoulders as the gentle, sweet waft of flowers pillows up through the air.

Speaking of dating... they wink one eye at her as soon as she finishes.

"I'll hang out with you whenever you want."

Hey, she's hardly going to judge anyone for being intense and maybe slightly more out for blood than the average 10-year-old. She remembers what it's like to be that age with a more timid sibling to look out for. If she can offer either of them a break from having to face the world with bared teeth and slyness, she'd be glad to.

With the bow in place, she finishes up by weaving the little white buds into a ring around their head and then nudges them to turn back around. Wait, did the kid just wink at her? Is... is she being flirted with? Can this kid get any more freakin adorable.

"Aw dang, you just made my whole day, petal," she beams delightedly and adds the final touch by tugging the large star flower behind Kittu's ear. "My bro and I are setting up shop by the entrance, you gotta come by and rescue me from all that hard work some time." It's a shame there's no mirrors or reflective surfaces in easy reach, so Lup leans back as if to admire this handsome flower child and shoots them two finger guns. "You're fresh as hell now."

As she draws away, Frisk's hands immediately go up to their head, gently inspecting her work with a series of gentle pats to the buds and the flower's petals. The corners of their mouth stretch, only very slightly - but their eyes squint in a way that suggests their quiet delight.

This was... really nice.

It's impossible for them to resist the positive attention, and as soon as they look up to Lup, a quiet jolt of amusement shakes their shoulders. Eagerly, they return the finger guns in their characteristic deadpanned manner.

"I'm just going with the flow-er." Then their hands drop, and their look turns a bit more careful. "Can I bring my sibling?"

And now they're doing the finger guns too, she wasn't kidding, her day has been utterly made. This sure is the charm sibling out of the two and they're doing a damn fine job of it. She hopes they understand that she's not fooling when she says they can come find her any time.

Lup giggles at the pun, delighted that they're taking to the flowers so much. But she picks up on their caution immediately and makes sure to reassure them. As if she'd only welcome one sibling, pshhh, she might as well wave this new friendship goodbye right out of the gate. "Of course! If they wanna come. Fair warning, I prooobably didn't make the best impression," she shrugs that off, what happened on the rafts stays on the rafts, it's old news. "Tell em I got a wand now."

Frisk shouldn't make snap decisions to trust like this -- it's something their Partner has always been vigilant in providing the foil for -- but as Lup smiles at them and giggles, they judge that she's someone safe. Someone they could trust, if they had to. Flowers and ice cream and puns are hardly great feats, but they're kind ones.

Frisk knows that kind people can still be dangerous. Can still kill, or show an even worse kind of MERCY. But while Kittu shouldn't trust anyone, Frisk still prefers to.

A faint look of amusement slants their brows, because they know Chara well enough to know that there probably doesn't exist a "best" first impression when it comes to them. Then she mentions a wand, and their head tilts inquisitively.

"For magic?"

Oh shit, look at her telling this kid about magic without demonstrating any cool tricks, what an oversight. "Yeah, there's a couple neat things I can do without a wand, but nothing that would've helped us out on the water." It's a little harder to make that sound flippant, what with the unstable nature of magic around here, but that's nothing for the kid to worry about. Instead, she points a finger at one of her ice cream puddles on the tray and flicks a bright blue Ray of Frost into the bowl, freezing it over. Too localized for anything useful like Shape Water, but cool to look at, at least.

"My wand got broken, so I'm sharing my brother's for now." And boy is that gonna be a hoot and a half if they have to keep doing it for much longer. She shrugs and grins. "Just like when we were kids."

Frisk's eyebrows jump with interest as the spell leaps into her bowl, and it reminds them to keep working on their own treat before it needs the same treatment. A small, knowing smile ticks the edges of their mouth when she talks about sharing with her brother. Frisk is an only child, and in honesty, they've only known Chara for less than two years, so they know they can't really compare notes...

But they'd like to think they've experienced exactly how rough sharing can get.

In any case, there's a clear sense of calm thrill as they set their bowl in their lap and clap politely. They're not entirely sure Lup is human, but they've long since realized that magical beings tend to be a little bit more varied in worlds other than their own.

"Is it hard to get them?"

Lup wastes no time offering an elaborate bow in response to the accolades, little wrist flick and all. Then she scoops up the newly frozen bowl and gets comfortable on the log, stretching out her legs and leaning against a tree trunk to enjoy some of that sweet sugary goodness herself. No point in letting all that hard work go to waste, anyway.

"Weeeell," she drawls consideringly, "you can't just use any old stick you find on the ground, natch. Most places I've been to, if they were advanced enough you could usually scare up an artificer's shop somewhere, they'll have all kinds of magic items." She looks out into the jungle, overgrown and shady and kinda forbidding, and then gives Kittu a gentle conspiratorial nudge. "Tell you what, if I run into any stray artificers in the woods, I'll let ya know. Maybe we can cut a deal, two for the price of one."

"I know how to use a stick," Frisk says quickly, puffing up a little bit; not in offense, but somewhat eagerly. They they seem to catch themself, and admit: "But I can't do magic."

It's true. In their world, the only inherently magical creatures that exist are monsters. Humans who have been known to use magic were far and few in-between, and while Frisk may only be a child, they're pretty sure that they don't have that particular gift.

They're not lying about being able to use a stick, though.

"Knowing how to use a stick is important," Lup agrees and nods appreciatively at their pride in their skill. "Magic or otherwise. With a wand, it's really just point'n click anyway, so you're like halfway there already." It gets a bit more complicated than that when you're past farting around with cantrips, but with how shitty the magic has been around here, she's not in a hurry to try and teach a lil squirt any, anyway. She just doesn't want them thinking magic is something they can't be good at without ever trying.

"What sorts of things can you do with a stick?" There's lots of uses for a stick, and she'd love to hear a bit more about her new friend.

Haha, whoops.

It's their fault, honestly, for being so eager that they brought up their skill with a stick without even stopping to consider just what skill they have. It's true enough that they walked two timelines where their trusty, scrawny branch was little more than a walking stick, used to prod poffs of snow and push aside lichen hanging from the ceiling of cobalt-colored caves.

But it would be an outright lie if they said that they didn't have a body count with one.

Frisk shifts, their expression neutral, and deliberates their answer. Finally they give it with a shrug, seeing no reason to lie quite so much as to simply be vague.

"I can FIGHT with it."

There's no indication that Lup finds their response in any way worrisome, aside from a single tense ear flick in their direction. She'd had a hunch, hadn't she. It's still possible they mean fighting with sticks like regular kids, playing at violence with silly games. But she got an up close demonstration of their sibling's conduct with a knife and they sure as shit weren't messing around.

"Good," she says just as neutrally, and she means it. It sucks, so much, that these kids know how to wield knives and sticks with scary efficiency, but it's gonna serve them well here. "But if there's ever anything you can't or don't want to fight, you can come find me, okay? It's alright to run away and get help sometimes." Now she does look down at them, wanting them to see that she's not being flippant or jokey, though her voice is very soft. "I know adults sometimes say nice things they don't really mean? About wanting to help or hang out. But I'm for real. Ice swear." Well, maybe a little jokey.

They set the bowl aside, fold their hands into their lap. It's not proper, not in the same way their sibling is stiff and sharp-edged and proper -- their posture is just a little too loose, with sagging shoulders and the toes of their boots twisting on the grass. They're simply thinking.

There isn't much to think about, though. Words are easy. Although Frisk themself tends to be laconic, they know words in both hollow and heavy qualities; it's never been their design to pull them open and figure out which is which. Lup seems nice, and she doesn't know them, and that's as safe as safe gets on this island.

"OK," they finally say, looking up at Lup. Their face remains neutral, with no tension in their stance. After a moment, they pick up their ice cream and resume eating it.

Or rather, they take one bite before passing it into one hand and lofting it high into the air.

"That's cool of you."

She appreciates Kittu taking their time to think this over, as it means they're taking her offer seriously. And it's honestly just kind of endearing them to her even more, reminding her of Taako and his caution. Trust isn't something kids like these have to spare, so their eventual answer honestly feels like a win to her. She smiles warmly and knocks her bowl against theirs in a gentle toast.

"Well y'know, I go coco for making friends." Alright, that was a bit of a stretch. Puns aren't really her brand, the kid just seems to enjoy them a lot. Puns and flowers and flirting. She doesn't know them, really, but she wants to. Maybe there'll be time for that if they don't all find a way off this dump soon. "We're gonna make our stay here suck slightly less. You've got the charm and I've got the fireworks."

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Ruins Mingle Log!

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