lifeaftr | Let's Go In The Garden

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Let's Go In The Garden

Who: Chara, Frisk, and you!
What: Two kids enjoy a classic tale, and a small child decides to intrude on everyone’s personal space.
When: November 13-15th
Where: Near the Storyteller’s Temple, and across the Islets
Warnings: Potential CW for self-harm in the third prompt.

You’ll Find Something Waiting -- 13th

[Just because it’s overcast doesn’t mean that today isn’t still warm. The greatest reprieve to the heat at the height of the day is the ocean breeze sweeping up across the beach and through the trees around the Storyteller’s Temple. It makes for a peaceful area to stop for a while- to sit and think, to wander, to nap. Undoubtedly, a few people would take advantage of this, over the course of the day

Those travelling to and from the islets may hear the voice of one such person relatively close to the mana pool. Their words seem almost practised, spoken in a tone that is almost caught up in what they have to say, almost reverent.]

Yuichi and I are climbing a ladder in the jet-black gloom. Together, we peer into the cauldron of hell. We stare into the bubbling red sea of fire, and the air hitting our faces is so hot it makes us reel…

[A curious person might decide to follow the voice. It wouldn’t take long. And in doing so, they’d come across two children, one reclining against a tree with a well-loved book in hand, carefully holding the pages. The child known as Kidwun continues to read aloud, whilst their Partner….

The child known as Kittu seems to have dozed off. Head in their sibling’s lap, they take no notice of anyone approaching.

Chara does. And whilst their eyes flick up from the pages of the book itself, they continue speaking- continue reading a story that, apparently, they don’t really need the book to read aloud, anymore.]

But the place we are in right now is just too dreadful. It is not a place where two people can make a life together.

Although I had been earnestly daydreaming until then, I suddenly started to laugh. “I see two lovers standing over the edge of the cauldron to hell. Are they contemplating a double suicide? This means their love will end in hell.”

I couldn’t stop laughing.

Right There Where You Left It -- 13 to the 15th

There’s a child with a mission, stalking across the island. Knocking on doors and approaching anyone who doesn’t quite belong in this realm. Not keen on talking with them? Tough, really. If anything, it’s those who seem to be going out of their way to step around them that Chara haunts the most, insistently dogging their heels until they give up, and deal with what the child has to say.

This is their time to shine, after all. Their time, to do what they do best.

“Forgive my intrusion, but may I steal a moment of your time? I would like to ask you a few questions.”

Ignore any signs they’re unwelcome in their continued endeavors to be as invasive as possible.

[[OOC: there’s a handy little OOC post for this; if you haven’t checked it out yet, please do, even if you’d like to thread a conversation!]]

Everything Stays, But It Still Changes -- early mornings, 13th to 15th

If the past six weeks have proven anything, it is that Chara has a weakness they can no longer ignore. Guzma has made mention of it. Connor has made mention of it. More than once, this gap of experience has nearly led to their doom… so perhaps it’s time to do something about it.

Sneaking away from their hut in the early morning, Chara chooses a section of beach that’s not too far from the Storyteller’s temple, but not too close. If they make a serious error, a call for help may still prove fortuitous… and hopefully, no one will stumble across them otherwise. For several minutes, Chara stands at the shoreline. Simply staring out at the waves as they lose themself in thought.

Then they make a face, and pull off their shoes. The knife strapped to their hip follows… and four more after it, stowed away in their pack and carefully hidden from view. The last, important piece? A heart-shaped locket, stowed away in their left shoe. Even if someone were to make their way into their pack without Chara noticing, they wouldn’t find that.

Heaven help them if they did.

And that is all the excuses they have to stall, before avoiding what they must do becomes innate procrastination. Expression still sour, the child steps into the waves, deeper and deeper. When the water reaches their chest, they stop, once again looking about carefully, just to ensure that absolutely no one is watching.

Hours later, they don’t really care. Flopping about in the waves, Chara is clearly making- an attempt at….something. Kicking off the ground and flailing their arms and legs, until they inevitably sink below the surface.

So anyway learning to swim unassisted is going Super Well.

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[She manages to startle them anyway, pulling a flinch from the child before they whirl around, eyes straying to their bag before fixating on Muffet. Nothing's been disturbed...but then, she is a monster.

Stealing probably isn't even in their dictionary.]

Good morning, ma'am.

I'm afraid I am otherwise occupied, if you were looking to discuss something.

[Muffet is familiar with the concept, at least, although she has absolutely no inclination to apply it in practice.]

No, nothing in particular. I just saw you as I was passing by and thought I'd say hello.

[Remembering the swim lessons her family had taken her to as a child, she adds:]

Although, assuming that the number of arms doesn't make a significant difference, I can offer a piece of advice on your technique, if you'd like.

[Oh goodie. She did notice, then.]

[If this endeavor had shown even the remotest signs of improvement, there would be nothing she could do to convince them to take on board her advice. It goes against everything they are to accept it, but

They need it. And that is the most grating fact of all.]

Please, advise away.

[Muffet nods politely, keeping her attitude matter-of-fact. She can understand the importance of pride in oneself, and doesn't want to rub salt in the wound by making more of a fuss about this than necessary.]

With the understanding that it's been some time since I was taught, I recall that we were generally shown how to keep ourselves above water first, and then moved on to actually paddling from one spot to another once we'd gotten the trick of floating properly. You appear to be trying to learn both at once.

Given the lack of convenient pool edges to grip while learning this, my suggestion would be to plant a tall stick firmly in the sand, so that you can hold onto it while you practice.

[The obvious answer would be to have them hold onto the hand of someone standing in the water beside them, but she knows they don't like to be touched.]

[...Her advice makes sense. Better still, it's something they can do on their own- learn to float, before they learn to swim.

It's better than continuing to pointlessly swallow salt water.]

Thank you for your advice. As it stands, a walk to locate the appropriate equipment sounds far more refreshing than taking another dip.

[A slight pause.]

...Would you care to join me, miss Muffet?

It would be my pleasure, dearie.

[Muffet steps politely to the side, so that they can walk up to their things on the shore without bumping into her.]

Whatever else I can say about this island, it does have some lovely scenery, so it's always nice to enjoy the sights without some urgent problem going on at the time.

[They appreciate her respect of their boundaries, collecting their things in short order. Most of their knives are simply stuffed into their pack, hiding how many they really have as they fit two of them back into place.]

That's right- Sans...the skeleton man? Was telling me that you came from Underground.

[Ha ha.]

This must be a rather intense change.

Sans, as ever, knows everyone.

[She says with a tone of fond amusement. It used to annoy her a little that he was better at networking than she was, but now it's just kind of funny.]

It is a striking difference, yes. I've spent over a year on the Surface, ever since the Barrier was broken, and I'm still amazed by the sunrise every time I see it.

[Over a year...

Imagine a timeline in which they'd allowed everyone to have their happy ending. It's almost laughable, and yet, here stands living proof of such a time existing. Chara wonders what it was that they'd found in that timeline that they hadn't in their own.

To some extent, they're almost...resentful.]

I suppose it's just something us humans take for granted- being capable of witnessing such feats of nature.

[Muffet notes Chara's brief hesitation, but doesn't comment on it. At this point, it seems their relationship- as much as they could be said to have one- is built on a foundation of politeness under fire and not asking a lot of questions.]

[Someday, something is going to have to give. But not today and not now, when the island is still early-morning-quiet and the dawn is lovely.]

I have to admit it's not a flaw unique to humanity, taking things for granted. I don't think I ever realized just how much magic was a part of everything we did until I was living among people who couldn't use it. My new neighbors would gasp over a simple bit of green magic, and I'd be staring in shock at the sky they barely bothered to look at.

It made for an interesting sort of trade, showing each other all the things that were normal to us by now and seeing what it was like for them to be entirely new to someone else...

That's fair.

[A soft huff of laughter. They don't seem all that surprised by the term- but then, they already told her they'd been speaking with Sans.]

Magic isn't something that my world had much of, either. And certainly not for humans.

Mm. The idea is still strange to me, but it seems to be fairly common for a lot of people here. What surprises me is that humans apparently used to have magic- albeit still very rarely- in my world, and seem to have somehow lost the ability for it in the modern day.

It doesn't seem like the kind of trait that would just... vanish, not with how useful it is. Then again, I suppose I'm not a historian. Perhaps I'll have to ask that nice gentleman from Waterfall more about it, whenever I return home.

...Could it perhaps have been that sealing the monsters away was the cause of them losing their magic? [A tentative theory, offered with a crease of their brow.] Like a symbiotic relationship- maybe humans offer something to monsters they don't usually have, as well.

[Muffet tilts her head thoughtfully, giving the idea due consideration.]

Hmmm, that does sound plausible. I know there are a number of plants with magical properties that only grow underneath Mt. Ebott, like the echo flowers. Perhaps something about us gives them what they need to grow properly?

[Maybe monsters are to magic what bees are to pollen??]

And humans certainly do seem to have natural strengths in many areas that monsters lack, and vice versa- a sort of balance. It wouldn't surprise me if we made up for each other's weaknesses quite well, working together.

[Yes. The answer to that is yes- something they’d experimented with, using the very flowers Muffet names. But that is something they cannot tell her, and so they do not, nodding their head instead.]

If you can work together. Humans are hardly the easiest creatures to get along with.

[A shame- she'd be genuinely fascinated to hear about it.]

Well, a great many things worth doing are difficult. Thus far, it seems to be working out rather favorably- I can think of quite a few humans that I enjoy spending my time with, present company included.

[Present company included. They duck their head- to avoid her reading their discomfort, rather than due to any sense of shyness.]

You're too kind, ma'am.

[And if she knew who they really were? What then.]

Not something I've been accused of often- but I thank you for the compliment, nevertheless.

[Well, maybe it helps that you're not going around intimidating people into buying your donuts anymore, Muffet. That was not your best business plan.]

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Let's Go In The Garden

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