lifeaftr | I’ll take my throne, lay it on a mountain

Who: Our volunteer mountaineers
What: Two parties split up to scale the mountain from two sides, planning to meet at it’s peak. Shenanigans occur along the way.
When: September 13th to 16th
Where: Group 1: G3, H2, G2 || Group 2: F3, F2, G2
Warnings: Please note any warnings in your subject headers!

Word spreads quickly in a small community such as this. What was originally intended to be a small party turned into something much larger- and on the day Chara planned to leave for the mountain, it’s not one, but two parties that make off for it’s peak.

Group 1, led by Chara, moves off during the early hours of the morning, seeking to search the furthest part of the mountain by following the river upwards. The path is longer and more winding- however, they are unhampered in when they can travel.

Group 2, led by Ardyn, takes off after the sun has set- due to the needs of multiple members to avoid the sun’s harsh glare. Their route takes them up the closest side of the mountain, which provides an easier path- however, they may only travel whilst the sun is set.

OOC: Welcome to the mountaineering open post! Keep in mind the following;

♆ RNG was happily done blind by our wonderful Guzma mun, with our animals RNG'd by Wade Wilson's! Thank them both for all your misfortune.

♆ Prompts have been provided for each group below! Simply toplevel wherever you wish and treat this like a normal open post!

♆ Since each group will generally be in close contact with one another, consider asking others if you can threadjack here and there; nothing says team-building like being a nosy parker.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Not enough to matter, they say. I could have dealt with it. With a soft huff of breath through their nose, they watch Frisk leap from their perch, expression not so much skeptical as it is grimly accepting. Of course they could have dealt with it.

That's not the point. The point is ensuring they never have to.]

It reminded me of something. This island- the castle before it.

You can never really tell what can come back to haunt you.

[Frisk doesn't believe themself anything other than lucky, in that regard: lucky to have dodged its effects where others were not so fortunate. They don't see the point in wasting time over thinking about what they would have seen, if they weren't so lucky.]

[The flower settles between their cupped hands. Slowly, Frisk stands up, their rust-colored gaze moving up to Chara, bangs loose from their bun and held back only by a stubborn headband pulled over their hairline.]

That didn't happen.

[It's carefully disguised as an assurance that none of the spore's effects was real. Under their cloak and dagger, less than a true reprimand, it's a question: what does it remind you of, enough to risk bringing it up here?]

[A laugh; flat. That didn't happen, Frisk says, and it may not be the effortless blade wielded by their own tongue, but it leaves it's mark. Who are they to remind Frisk of that place, when they agreed to leave it behind?

But for once, that place hardly matters. It is not what they wish to speak of. Their eyes drop, down towards the mana pool; their expression set in a distant smile.

A smile not directed to Frisk, because Frisk would never bear the weight of such a smile. Not intentionally.]

Of course not.

[A pause, for a moment. Their words are shaped carefully; not stumbling but slow, a certain level of refrain.]

There are some things we don't share, you know.

Which is why I would like to request your agreement in something. A promise, even.

[Frisk's mouth pinches into its common line. Moving to the edge of the basin, they nudge the toe of their boot into the cracked wall and boost themself up to the edge, pulling themself back to the top. Their expression is schooled neutral when they turn back around, settling themself on the edge. The flower is deposited with undue ceremony at the near-unrecognizable foot of the nearest statue.]

[There are some things they don't share. Frisk realizes that to be true, but there's a visceral dislike that twinges in their chest, shown not on their face but in the way their hands move into their lap, closed into fists. The look they turn onto Chara, however, is as always -- patient, attentive. Reserving their judgment until they've heard their Partner out in full.]

[Reserving judgment far beyond that, realistically.]

[The only hint of recognition for the irony in requesting a promise is a tilt of their head. Equally, it's an invitation.]

[Go on, Partner.]

[Frisk knows that Chara does not doubt their abilities. They have been separated far too often for them to consider themself the mainstay in their Partner's safety- the reason they've made it out alive through so many impossible situations. As symbiotic as their relationship is, it doesn't hold that same sense of combined self-preservation it may have once had.

They seek each other out through the worst out of an anxiousness to be together- that unspoken assurance that, together, there was nothing that could truly surpass them. A focal point of determination to fuel their SOULs and keep their blades held high.

Frisk knows that Chara does not doubt their abilities. They should know, that Chara understands they can take care of themself, no matter how reluctantly.]

One day, if something happens. And I tell you to run.

[But there are some things they don't share, you know.]

I'd like you to do so, without question.

[Chara would like to keep it that way.]

[Maybe Chara is rubbing off on them in even more ways than they'd thought. An absurd concept, in some ways.]

[But the tight, slanted edge to their smile turns it sardonic, and it's an expression Frisk had long ago culled before it had a chance to ingrain itself into muscle memory. A rueful twist to a smile that broadcasts their dislike. Chara's territory more than theirs; Frisk has rarely dared to have such gall.]

[They're not ashamed of it, because it's their Partner's. But it drops from their face within seconds.]

OK.

[The pause that follows, when they tilt their head as though looking at a line of text only they can read --]

[They don't share it.]

I get it. But it's not a promise.

[They don't like it.

That much is obvious- and yet, sometimes the things they dislike are necessary. Like being here. Like continuing on. Whatever Frisk may think of it, have they not done their best? I, your humble servant, will follow you...

Chara has followed. Here and now, however, it is time for them to resume the lead.

That's all there is to it.]

However you'd like to phrase it, so long as you do so.

I’ll take my throne, lay it on a mountain

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