❝HOPES & dreams·

  No response. Not at first.

  Instead, in its place he would remain firm; he’d stand by what he had previously said of not robbing the child of what points had been accumulated. There was little point, the balloons proved no threat to him, unarmed as he was and popped with ease. The score he had come to sit upon was a comfortable amount that grew with each chance that provided itself; with each balloon that left itself open.

    “Hm.”

  Low was the sound he provided, allowing the sound to carry on thoughtfully was the child spoke. Muramasa’s gaze carried doubt at what response he was provided, but he let his eyes stray away to their nearby surroundings.

    “It would have been in the way had I not.”

   “Besides, the loss of a mere hundred won’t do me any harm.”

  Still, eyes remained trained on the world around, watching in the distance as different balloons of similar nature fluttered through the streets. Catching glimpses of other civilians either chasing or being chased – by balloon or person alike. Much like, what he assumed, was thought of him upon his arrival. 

  Had he been better equipped, perhaps he would be one of the few that chose to hunt others the moment they came into view. However, such a task would require knowing if said target was of substantial value… and if the world could do without them.

  The innocence of a child such as this would not be stripped by his hands. Already has he been made to sit back and watch that happen, and those footsteps would not be followed. 

    “ – very well. If you truly believe yourself to be fine as you are, I won’t argue. My assistance was merely temporary.”

“... oh, it... won’t, huh...”

“Golly...”

Right... of course this was easier for some people to do than it was for him. If the balloons hadn’t had some semblance of -- he didn’t know, not humanity, but -- but their own sort of SOUL, maybe, even if not in the way he was used to -- then it would have been no issue. If they had just been normal balloons... without faces... or personalities...

(Once upon a time he might have even cried over normal balloons popping. He probably had.)

“--w...wait!”

He hadn’t had such volume to his voice in a long while. Despite everything, speaking up for himself still wasn’t an easy task. Maybe -- thinking it over -- maybe it was harder now than it ever had been, given he was trying so hard to make sure he didn’t... make any... mistakes. That was a good word to use for it.

Mistakes.

  1300 … 1400 …

  2500 … 2600…

  Although stripped of the very weapon he was meant to portray, its loss hardly did much to hinder him within the events of this little catastrophe. A joke, if he had anything to say about it. The threat only lied in those that sought others for the promise of a few extra points when the ease of merely popping a few inflated cat-like balloons seemed much easier, if perhaps a bit stale after the first ten or so.

  Familiar sound of nails swiping together sounded in his ears as fingers folded, tucking away his hand into the confines of a pocket for the time being. He needed only enough to keep himself in a comfortable positive, so there was time to rest between each batch he chose to take care of.

  It wasn’t until sights found themselves upon a wandering child stuck in the midst of this foolish game. From body language alone the poor thing looked rather frail, but determined none the less in what they seemed to be doing. He had no intentions of throwing them off with his approach.

  However, before he bothered to respond to the little one a hand was withdrawn and a nail jutted forward with the sound of a sudden – pop! Darkened plastic of a balloon fluttering to the ground shortly after. Make his score 2500, again.

    “Calm down,” he finally began, “I’m not here to rob you of what you’ve collected.”

    “You seemed caught up in other matters, it wouldn’t do to have that interrupted by some bad luck.” A small glance to the previously popped black calloon. 

    “… you’re alone in this mess, I take it?”

“You’re... not...”

He was still on edge -- Asriel knew that words couldn’t be trusted at face value -- but he doubted that he looked like much of a catch if this man was going to do anything to try and blindside him. It probably wouldn’t be worth the effort to lie to him, right? That’s... how it must have seemed. So maybe... maybe he should relax a bit.

          Kill, or be killed.

A bit.

“Um... right now, yeah.”

His reply was hesitant, of course. Was it smarter to pretend that he was just waiting for someone to get back? No... no, that probably wouldn’t do. If no one showed up... or even if Asriel seemed vulnerable enough--ugh, he hated this! He didn’t want people to keep trying to steal his points and he didn’t want to keep doubting himself like this. He hated feeling this scared.

He just wanted to pretend to be strong.

“You didn’t need to pop that one,” he finally added, after a moment’s pause. He’d figured it out early enough that the black ones were bad news. “I would’ve been fine. Golly, you should probably be on your way, right?”

       “ does it? i’m - i mean, yes! it does! of course. read it all, obviously. after the…after eating it. wondered why it tasted so horrible, had to read it after that. i read things all the time. ” he hurried to lie; reading was easier, but he still avoided it whenever possible. good thing he couldn’t die from eating things no human was ever meant to.

         “ oh! they called this ‘bubble’ tea, i think? though they said ‘bubble’ in a funny way…like ‘boba’. is that a word? hmm…have to look that up later. it’s fantastic, though. thought the bubbles would pop, but they’re chewy! which…i guess is popping them, actually. did - do you want to try it? ” here, he offered the young monster the plastic cup and almost comically large straw.

“Oh,” he replied, a little more deadpan than he would have liked. That was a weird response, wasn’t it? Maybe -- no, maybe it was just that this man was nervous all the time, about different things? Asriel could understand that, and no doubt it would explain why he was talking the way that he was. He wouldn’t pry, then. He didn’t want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was.

“Bo...ba...” He’d never heard of it before... that explains why the tea wasn’t something he recognized. It had piqued his interest, though, so he hesitated little in taking the cup and having a (rather small, really; he was too nervous to take a bigger one) sip of the drink.

It was sweet -- and just like he was told, when he bit down into one of the bubbles, it was chewy! His face lit right up, the drink being held back up to the Very Long Man.

         ⟡ « @rielfunny » ⟡

If it weren’t for their catculator, Chara would’ve lost track of all the points they had accumulated. They were picking off any lasting stragglers, both balloons and people, to assure they would make it out of this terrible game alive. It had only been a few hours or so since the game began, but Chara was starting to find their motivation for it dwindle steadily. Their sole purpose was to survive- because they owed themselves that at least. After all, dying the first time around didn’t work so well for them, did it? 

They felt themself wander the side streets, watching as white and black calloons avidly go out of their way to avoid them. Whether it was due to the strange aura they emitted or subconsciously knowing their high points, Chara couldn’t say. Instead, they decided it would be nice to find somewhere they could take a quick nap before going about this game again. 

That, of course, didn’t happen. Up in the distance, they saw Asriel, fending off as many black calloons as he could muster without popping them. They watched for a brief moment as many began to gang up on him- and in an instant following, Chara bolted over there, wooden knife in tow. They popped seven of them without hesitation, their hands shaking. Standing between Asriel and the rest of the calloons, their once listless expression now occupied with a smile.

“You balloons should know better than to gang up on us kids, you know.” They aim their knife at the remaining cat balloons as their expression changes again- to one hardened with determination. “If you don’t leave, I’ll pop every last one of you. 

Asriel didn’t like this.

He didn’t like any of what was going on, he didn’t like that he had no choice but to participate in it as long as he was outside, and he really didn’t like that he hadn’t been able to make it back to his apartment yet. He’d been trying to stay out of the way as much as he could -- racking up points and defending himself when he had to -- but that was proving far easier said than done.

Easier said than done in the sense of a series of black calloons had swarmed on him when he paused to rest for a moment.

He’d figured it out early enough that the black ones were bad news, and with how many were there -- he wasn’t happy with the cushioning his points would give him if they dropped from him having to take care of all of these.

“Um... um...”

Asriel’s arms had raised, occasionally shoving a balloon or two back but trying to touch them as little as possible. His eyes darted from one calloon to the next, trying to see if he could find a way to escape, a way to get out or make a path with popping as few as possible...

...and then, from the swarm, a series of them popped. Chara was there in an instant -- Asriel shouting their name out of instinctive surprise -- with their wooden knife raised in defense of him.

He can see their hands shaking.

“Chara, you -- you--!”

They're talking to the balloons, he knows. Threatening them, trying to scare them off. Trying to save Asriel them both. It seems to be working, to some extent. Some of the balloons have floated away.

@rielfunny

Toriel was not one to often wander aimlessly, though when the environment is as foreign as it is on this island? Perhaps any moving whatsoever would be wandering until she caught her bearings. So here she went, going around the odd Cotes Ward. She had to admit that it was quite pretty here and that she might visit more often once she figured out where everything was. The maps obviously helped but she’d gotten rather used to the Underground and it’s somewhat quaintness. 

Of course, something had caught her eye. Something she hadn’t seen in such a long while that it gives her pause. Toriel’s eyes were locked on the young child in the distance that made her vision blur with tears. She simply didn’t believe her eyes. Paws gently grasp her dress as she tried to will herself to speak. She was scared to be proven wrong, like she had an awkward amount of times prior.

“M-My… My child?”

There was always something relaxing about Cotes, especially on days after he’d had nightmares. It was nice to be able to go and wander among the falling petals, or spend time in the Fox Village (the foxes there reminded him of Monsters; it was comforting), and just get his mind off things for a while, especially when his thoughts would otherwise be racing.

No matter how much time he spent in Spirale -- no matter how much he should have started to forgive himself more -- he never seemed to be able to... to fully be at peace, as close as some moments could come.

Asriel wasn’t wandering with much purpose today, simply going wherever his mind drew him around, heaving a few too many sighs in the process. He had just made up his mind to stop and find something proper to focus on when a voice reached his ears -- a voice he knew all too well, but that he hadn’t ever expected to hear again. Not here.

With a start, he turned around. Maybe with some foresight, he could have thought to conceal his emotions better (not that he was ever a very good actor), try and pretend that he was an Asriel that didn’t know he had died. Make things easier for everybody.

But his eyes were already brimming with tears, and his voice was far too small and nervous when he spoke.

Pop.

What was that now... five... five hundred?

He’d lost track of his points somewhere along the way and, honestly, outside of making sure that he wasn’t in the negative... Asriel wasn’t too preoccupied with keeping up, and if he hadn’t been in Golden to begin with he couldn’t begin to think that he would’ve wanted to be here.

He’d probably have been hiding.

It was probably what he should have been doing, anyway, given how many people seemed to think he was an easy target and how many black balloons he’d had to run away from, but he didn’t--he didn’t want to just--

--he wanted to be brave.

And he thought he was doing a good job of it, too, until the sound of footsteps from behind him caused him to jump ridiculously high and absolutely noticeably.

Oops.

He turned slowly, trying to look a lot more composed than he felt. It probably wasn’t working that well.

Asriel had probably looked like an easy target.

He didn’t blame the man for trying to backstab him, of course. He didn’t blame him for doing what he thought he had to do to survive. Asriel could understand it -- he understood the desperation, the violent need to further oneself -- even though he wished he couldn’t.

He wished it hadn’t been so second nature for him to lash out while in a panic, and wished even more still that he’d been able to stop himself before unleashing a barrage of fireballs into the stranger’s chest.

Asriel stood over them -- they hadn’t moved yet, but he was sure that he couldn’t have done anything fatal... right? -- with his hands clenched into tight fists, shoulders heaving with each heavy, shaky breath that he took.

He could hear footsteps approaching him. Backup, maybe. Someone else who saw the scene and was trying to get the upper hand now that Asriel had clearly used up the limit of his strength for the day.

Fake it ‘til you make it, he guessed. He wished it didn’t sting his heart so badly.

“Stay--stay back!”

He whipped around, hands held out in front of him in some mock form of self-defense.

soraka nods, understanding. she returns to her full height, looking around for such a vendor in the hopes one would be nearby. the smell is certainly indicative enough of the close distance, but there are none in her line of sight. it looks like this would have to be a hunt after all.

❝ that sounds just fine. i do believe we have a bit of a search ahead of us, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. we’ll stay out of the crowds. ❞

the starchild turns back to her young companion.

❝ ah, but i should introduce myself. my name is soraka. what’s yours? ❞

“That’s no problem at all!” He’s gone and lit back up a little already, simply glad to have some company. Despite the tears in his eyes, which he makes a quick job of rubbing away with his sleeves, he manages to get a smile back on his face. It might be a little wistful, but it’s there, and that’s what matters. “I’m sure it’ll be worth it.”

“Oh, golly--sorry, I didn’t even think of--!” Introducing himself had slipped his mind entirely. With an apologetic laugh he commits her name to his head -- Soraka, huh? he likes how it sounds -- before continuing. “Um, I’m Asriel. It’s nice to meet you, Soraka!”

He pauses for just a moment, trying to remember something from just before he’d gotten overwhelmed and scurried away.

asriel lives in golden so would have been there when the chaos broke out and has basically been roped into playing against his will. he isn’t too big on it.

Almost instinctively, Chara reached to their chest to clutch the locket, a slow but rising dread rise from within them. It would’ve been fine if Chara had lived the rest of their lives out in the darkness of the Underground. It would’ve been fine to have lived in this strange, awful world and never once see his family again. Thoughts raced through their mind; some happy, some sad. They had so many things they wanted to say, right then and there, but no matter how they tried to get it out, they couldn’t make the words form. 

I’m sorry. It was all my fault, all because–

The thought starts to form but Chara doesn’t let it finish. It wasn’t Chara’s fault! It was theirs. 

Humans.

That’s why they wanted things to change. That’s why Chara had to do what they had to- or else, nothing would get better for the monsters. For his family. For Asriel. Instead, here they both were. In the end, it really was all Chara’s fault. There was no denying their humanity- in all their selfishness, this was the outcome. 

“I…I see. I just got here today.” Chara admits, pulling their hand away to rub their arm. They couldn’t even look at Asriel. “It’s different than before. I’ve- I mean. This isn’t my first time, but it’s been a long time.” They couldn’t even come up with the words to say and, instead, felt compelled to joke or tease the other, even though they knew that maybe would make things worse. 

“…you know. I’m kinda happy. You’re okay- I thought for sure after all that you’d be…” 

They shake their head, unable to finish that sentence as they finally turn to look at Asriel. 

“Say. Don’t you have anything better to do? You’ll probably get sick if you stay out here talkin’ to me. I need to go find my new home.” 

“Different than before?” He doesn’t know if they mean what he thinks they mean, but he understands, in a way. He was grabbed away before, too, but to someplace different. It had been a different city, not this one, but he’d left -- and then -- then, next thing he knew, he was here, in Spirale. His eyes watch Chara’s hand move from the locket and he averts his gaze himself, shrugging his shoulders with a bit too much exaggeration.

“... thought I’d be what? Fallen down? Dead?”

For a moment, the tone of his voice isn’t him -- but, no, it is. He could laugh if it didn’t sting so badly, not just the pain of knowing that he shouldn’t be allowed to even stay like this in Spirale but the hurt of everything he did and everything he went through. A planted seed left to brave the wilderness by itself when it doesn’t know how will not blossom into a beautiful flower.

It was that horrendous flower that seemed to have spoken for a moment before Asriel swallows harshly and makes himself stare at Chara in return.

“I was. Am. I don’t know the rules here, but I--there was a lot more that happened. After... after our plan.” Maybe he’d tell them one day. Maybe. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to, even though everything had turned out alright in the end. He doesn’t want to burden Chara with all of that knowledge the way that he’d been burdened with it. “It doesn’t matter though. Not really, I guess.”

“Uh...” Anything better to do? He didn’t, not really. Their words echo in his head and for a moment they sound like him. Be careful in the outside world, okay? Despite what everyone thinks, it's not as nice as it is here. “... it’s nothing I can’t do later. And you--you might get sick too, you know? Do you, um...”

Gosh, he wishes it was easier to talk to them. He wishes he didn’t blame himself so much. Maybe then the words would come easier.

Penny glared at the retreating back of the thief, mechanical muscles pulled taut until he rounded a corner and she felt it was safe to assume that he was gone for good. Ironwood would probably be disappointed in her for not going after the thief, but it didn’t seem that he’d stolen anything and there were more important things than trying to catch him.

She relaxed, smiling down at the boy. “You are very welcome. It is my job to help people, I could not allow him to steal from you.” And even if it wasn’t her job she would’ve stepped in.

“Are you unharmed?”

“May I please escort you to wherever you were headed? I would like to assure that you get there safely.”

Oh, she talked funny. There was a certain cadence to her words that had Asriel tilting his head at her slightly, but otherwise he wasn’t bothered. It must have been her thing, talking like that, and that wasn’t an issue. It was good for people to have their own something to hold onto. Lots of Monsters were like that.

“I think I’m alright, yeah...”

She seemed really nice. It is my job to help people, huh? Golly. Asriel could understand that. Having your job be to help...

...well.

“Oh, um--!”

his response does well enough to set her at ease.

❝ oh, there’s no need to apologize, ❞ soraka says, in an effort to assuage him. ❝ it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes, especially in a place like this. ❞

she stands back up, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. the starchild can relate to the boy; crowds and a mass of noise have never been her favorites.

❝ would company help you feel better? ❞

“I... I think so.” He’s always preferred company to loneliness, even if there was a point in time where he couldn’t feel the loneliness. It still stings, knowing that there was a time where -- flower or not -- he had been alone in the world, one way or another. And even despite all the people in Spirale, he... still kind of was alone.

          ⟡ « @rielfunny » ⟡

Once again, Chara found themselves in a large metropolis and, once again, they had to deal with the hustle and bustle of people passing by. The first time they had arrived, it wasn’t as terrible. Frisk was there, along with new kids that Chara could play with- but then they returned to the darkness of the Underground, and despite that, Chara was fine with it. 

Then a light appeared, just as it did the first time, and Chara found themselves where they are now; a different city than before, but with all the same issues as last time. It was annoying to have to be with the very people Chara hated most. Humans. Was this their punishment? Probably. They were starting to miss the Underground, very much so. It seemed that for now, Chara was going to stay here. Alive, not just as a voice, not just as a guide, but as themselves, as they were before…

Their thoughts trail off to a different time but they couldn’t dwell on that right now. Right now, Chara had to find their new “Home”. (As if anywhere else but that place could be their home.) So, after taking a calming breath, they make their journey towards their new home. With a chocolate bar in hand, they wandered. 

Their journey didn’t lead them far. Trying to understand the directions on paper was a little tricky and Chara thought to recruit a fellow kid’s help to understand it better. Instead, however, they came across someone they never thought they’d see here.

Someone they thought they’d never see again.

“A-” They couldn’t even get their name out, as if butterscotch stuck to the roof of their tongue. Chara tried their best to keep their composure and took a step back, careful to keep their distance. “Asriel…what are you doing here? You…you’re not supposed to be here.” 

Asriel had woken up with a craving for chocolate.

That wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, to be fair, but it was enough to get him out of his apartment on a day that he otherwise might have just spent inside doing what he could to keep himself occupied and out of the cold winter air.

So he’d bundled up as best as he could instead and headed out.

Cold weather aside, he was in a good mood. That didn’t often happen here; with guilt for all he’d done constantly looming over his head, it was all he could ever do to keep himself even slightly distracted from the burden of carrying all the weight that he was. It was too much for someone so young... too much for anyone. But he’d rather it be him than someone else. No one else deserved this pain, after all, so if he could deal with it... he would.

Maybe the mood was fate. Maybe the chocolate craving was fate.

Who knew? Who knew what power ruled over this island?

Whatever power that was must have drawn him here, somehow. Had him hearing that voice.

It only took his name to have Asriel freezing up. He hadn’t been facing them and had startled upon hearing them talk, but slowly -- surely -- turned, his eyes widening as he realized he definitely hadn’t made up whose voice it was.

“... Chara?”

“I--I’ve been here for months.” It was the only thing he could think of sputtering out in response, taken off guard as he was. “I... didn’t think you would be here too. When did you...” But he couldn’t bring himself to finish; only stare.

@rielfunny // sc.

      “ hey look at this! this tea has bubbles in it! but not like the little bubbles that the soda has. or the bubbles that dishwashing soap has…not going to make that mistake twice - tasted terrible. wouldn’t recommend it. the soap, i mean- this is wonderful. ” 

“You ate soap!?”

✧ @rielfunny || starter call.

❝ are you alright? ❞

it’s a common enough question from soraka. in this case, however, she is rather vested in her addressee’s immediate safety, concern plain on her face. they are a visibly distraught child, alone in the middle of the market with no apparent guardian.

perhaps the crowded stalls and noise overwhelmed them. she crouches slightly in order to be a bit closer to their eye level.

❝ might you be lost? is anyone with you? ❞

It was difficult for him, even after all his months of living here, to get used to doing things alone. There were times he’d get overwhelmed simply doing tasks that should have been rudimentary, finding himself overwhelmed with worry and anxiety when he least expected it.

Which had been exactly what led to nothing more than a little run to the market (he’d been craving some sweets) ending up with him off to one side, trying to avoid being seen, tears brimming in his eyes.

But then--

“Um--”

Ah... he’d been noticed after all. Maybe a child off to one side looking like he was having a miserable time was more conspicuous than he’d planned for. Gosh.