what use is a present if you just leave it to look pretty

[dustless]

For all the time they've been at the castle, Frisk's never really hung around the Edge.

What would the point be? There's a lot more inside, where the rooms are ever-shifting, and the gardens are always full of sunlight and only a few clouds high above. If they really wanted to watch clouds moving, they could just go into one of the towers or higher halls and watch out the windows.

...and the Edge was a reminder that the castle's all there really is, and they don't...like thinking about that all the time.

But now that they've been guiding newcomers there to prove yes, this is all real, they've realized...it's not bad out there. It's beautiful, seeing the clouds close up like that, and the grass is comfortable, and the wind is nice against their face, even if it's kind of cold. And that last bit is helpful in another way, too--

High above the Edge, maybe even visible from the castle's other towers and the gardens, a red kite flies--after several attempts, almost staying in the air before falling out of sight again, once, twice, three time, four...eighth time's the charm.  It's Frisk's gift from Serif and S-4, with its kitty face, though that's impossible to see from so far below. 

Frisk themselves is just sitting cross-legged in the grass, holding onto the kite's spool tightly, watching it disappear and reappear with the clouds' movements. 

They hadn't thought about how that would telegraph exactly where they are, but that's fine. They won't mind if people come to keep them company.

Comments

[oldmantiger]

Whoops! He grins down at them anyway, before taking a seat on an available patch of ledge beside them. Then he tips his head back, to admire the effect of the kite wobbling its way determinedly through the sky.

"Mostly just not a lot of room to fly 'em, unless you go onto one of the higher levels of the city. Sternbild's a pretty crowded place." And there was always the risk of your kite getting tangled up by a passing Sky High. Then he frowns, momentarily distracted. "I wonder what a fake kite would even look like..." Are they a thing? They must be a thing, right?

"Where'd you find it?"

[dustless]

"On top of the skyscrapers and stuff?" That would be good for flying kites, probably. Maybe they just were unlucky, never catching sight of them before--or maybe the kites have to be really high up--or maybe there's some reason that's a bad idea that Frisk doesn't know about.

Fake kites? No idea, but that doesn't matter all that much--Frisk's grinning. "Didn't find it! It's a present! My brothers--" w a i t no. Wrong word. They're sure of it, and they hope their face doesn't betray the weird icy feeling they get in their belly at it slipping out before they shrug against the grass, correcting themselves: "--well, family, sort of, made it for me."

[oldmantiger]

It does, just a little, although Kotetsu has no possible idea why. The word brothers just gets his attention, and so he's paying a little more attention to their face than he might otherwise be. He frowns briefly, a little troubled but mostly confused, and tries not to press the point.

"Oh, yeah? You mean the skeletons and other guys, right?" He's only met one of the skeletons so far. That was...that was an experience he's not about to forget in a hurry.

Kotetsu tries though. And so, a little more brightly, he carries on: "That was nice of 'em. What was the occasion? Are there any kind of holidays or things around here? I haven't really seen any calendars."

[dustless]

The frown is noticed and quickly ignored. No reason to start in on those confusing feelings. They're just flying a kite that was a present for fun.

"Yeah! Papyrus and Serif, they're the ones that did it. Papyrus is the tallest, Serif's the shortest. Taller than me now." With that, mock offense crosses their face. They don't mind that much...but it does feel weird. After all, he's still a baby.

Frisk pulls the spool closer to their chest. "They just did it 'cause they wanted to. I dunno 'bout holidays, either. Hasn't been anything for them yet. Stuff sort of seems...the same. No...you know, seasons."

[oldmantiger]

That about fits in with what he learned from Sans. Though Papyrus and Serif sound quite big for being babies.

...Kotetsu is distracted from how exactly one tells the age of a skeleton (what even is his life) by Frisk carrying on. Hm.

"No seasons, but the fountains randomly freeze over and sometimes there's snow on the ground. That's...not gonna lie. That's weird. Guess there's no point asking you how long you've been here, then." But he is, in a roundabout sort of way. He'd meant to ask, during their tour. He hadn't, because he hadn't been entirely sure he was ready to hear the answer. Even just accepting that he needed to pick a room to sleep in here had been something of a mental battle.

[dustless]

"Well, that wasn't randomly. Jack Frost does that. He has ice magic--can fly, too--and he likes using it." It's pretty and fun, so Frisk doesn't mind at all.

Frisk sits up, finally. "...dunno how long I've been here, actually." There's no calendars here, like Kotatsu said. They have a little bit of a gut feeling about it, though, but it's not perfect.

[oldmantiger]

"Jack Frost? Like in the stories?" Okay. That is actually pretty cool, so to speak. And with a name like that, he actually finds himself capable of believing that it is magic at work, rather than a NEXT power like Karina might have.

He wishes he could fly. Properly fly. And not just because it would give him an extra edge in finding a way out of here.

Especially since that answer is...about as bad as he thought it would be.

"It's...really easy to lose track, yeah. Sometimes it feels like I've just been here for a few hours...but it's been days already." Days. He's been missing for days. Kaede and his mom and his brother must be so worried about him. Everyone else...well. Everyone else wouldn't expect to be seeing as much of him anyway.

[dustless]

"...maybe? Never heard that name before he came here." Maybe a difference between where they're from. Maybe Jack is from Kotetsu and Barnaby's world.

They look a little sad. Days. Days isn't that much, and they're pretty sure he's going to be here for a lot longer than that.

"...'f you guys find a way out, make sure you find a way to tell other people how, too."

[oldmantiger]

"Of course we will!" He offers Frisk a thumbs-up. "We wouldn't leave you guys behind. And I figure all the pictures I'm taking might be able to help everyone back home find this place. That way, we can make sure no one else gets stuck here after we're gone."

Even if Frisk has family here, surely they have a home to go back to, right? Somewhere safer than this.

He goes back to staring at the sky, leaning back on his hands a little. "But in the meantime, at least I found Bunny. Thanks for your help there, Frisk."

[dustless]

Pictures of a place that's always changing, in a whole different timeline? Frisk has their doubts. "...Maybe. Some people might want to stay here, you know." They don't want to leave Sans and Serif and S-4-Papyrus behind, ever.

"Welcome. How's he now?"

[oldmantiger]

"...maybe. We definitely wouldn't drag them back." Except Croc. Kotetsu looks somewhat skeptical that anyone would want to stay here. But when Frisk says that, he doesn't try to argue the point.

"And I think he's...okay." As okay as Barnaby really could be, without having really had time to recover from certain events. So Kotetsu sounds a bit hesitant in giving that assessment. With a long-suffering sort of sigh, he adds: "He, uh, kind of went and picked a fight with the big lizard, too. Went a little better for him than it did for me, but he's still gonna need to heal up for a little longer. Says he managed to beat the guy up pretty well, though."

His tone is light on the surface, but there's definitely a tension vibrating beneath. His knuckles are a little whiter where his hands rest in the scrubby grass. Kotetsu doesn't like that Barnaby got hurt. He doesn't like that it happened while he was without his powers and wasn't there, that he sent Barnaby off alone to fight something like Croc. He shouldn't have done that. Should have thought of another way. It was the best possible choice in a bad situation. More people could have gotten hurt if Barnaby hadn't intervened. But Kotetsu still left him alone. He shouldn't have fired off his powers like that, he should have gone anyway, he really wasn't that badly hurt...

Their's is a strange, symbiotic relationship - each complaining about how the other doesn't take care of themselves, to one another and whoever else will listen. Each completely failing to see the irony involved. And so these thoughts have been chasing themselves around the back of his mind for a few days now.

[dustless]

He'll learn, they think.

They think of second chances and bad places, and they wonder what Kotetsu and Barnaby-bunny's story might be.

They huff. "Just 'cause you're heroes back home doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. You two should probably just stay away." What would beating him up do, really? Killing him would just bring him right back, and locking him up in a tower...won't work. He's not a kid, he's huge and tough and could probably break out of anything.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu huffs right back, folding his arms stubbornly. "We're not just heroes back home, we're heroes here, too! What are we supposed to do, just let him keep going around and attacking people? You've seen how fast he is! And he's pretty quiet when he's not talking about how he's going to rip you limb from limb."

He doesn't know how they'll deal with Croc. Of course he's too big to lock up anywhere, at least anywhere that Kotetsu has found. And...he doesn't kill. Heroes don't kill. That's not an option. But if the alternative is staying away and just letting him wander around loose...no. That is equally unthinkable.

He and Bunny will think of something. They always do. They're not huge, but they're tough, too.

"And besides. I was careful. I didn't get my ribs broken."

Look at Kotetsu, throwing his partner under the bus in front of the small child. But really, it is a rare and alarming day when he proves more cautious than Barnaby. It pretty much never means anything good, and so Kotetsu is still finding himself unsettled by the memory.

[dustless]

Ah, there's that unimpressed look again.

"...Dunno what you should do with him exactly, but--" they jab their kite's spool in his direction, as close to an accusing point as they can manage at the moment "--you still need to be careful, ribs broke or not. You still got in a fight and got hurt. You should try to take care of yourself, and Barnaby-b--him too, first."

[oldmantiger]

There's that unimpressed look again. Kotetsu could carry on, could tell them all about how his powers practically give him a responsibility to take on danger so that normal people can be safe. He could ask them just what happened to make them forget the fact that adults are supposed to do whatever it takes to make sure children are in danger.

But if they're lecturing him about being careful, that probably means that Frisk is, at least, being careful themselves where Croc is concerned. And he doesn't want to give them any ideas that they should be otherwise. So Kotetsu more-or-less tunes the first part of their lecture out. He's had practice.

Besides. The latter part of their lecture gives him plenty to work with. He raises an eyebrow at Frisk, fighting not to grin.

"...were you just about to call him Barnaby-bunny?"

Kotetsu is genuinely not sure if that's the most ridiculous or the most adorable thing he's ever heard. And this from the man who first arranged it so that Barnaby would be "Bunny" forever in the first place.

"Anyway. Of course I'll take care of him." He says it in the same tone of voice one might say Of course the sky is blue. And, as an afterthought, Kotetsu adds: "And myself, of course. I just don't need as much taking care of as he's probably told you! I was a hero for years before I met Bunny. And part of taking care of him is finding a way to get him home. He was supposed to be able to start living his own life again, after everything he's been through, but instead he barely made it home to sleep before he wound up dragged here and it's not..."

Babbling. Despite his earlier resolve, Kotetsu is babbling again, even if this time it's about something much more important. Normally when the words come this thick and fast, he has to break them up somehow - a gesture, a sound effect, something to break up the tide of thoughts. This time, however, he just...sighs, sounding and feeling old and tired. Kotetsu stares down at one of his hands where it rests beside him, picks up a pebble laying nearby, and tosses it dolefully over the Edge.

"...it's not fair," he mumbles.

[dustless]

"No!" they loudly lie. It's obvious, too, because their cheeks flush a little, and they need to turn their face away even as they swear in their head about it.

...And they end up feeling glad they did. He probably shouldn't see the worry that flicks over their face at most of his little ramble.

After everything he's been through. It's not fair.

"'Everything' musta been pretty bad." They toss their embarrassment from just a minute before to the side and slide closer. Physical nearness to make them both feel better, for them to hear him, for him to hear them. "'S not fair, what the castle sometimes does. But there's...it's usually...it's good to think here. Croc's kind of different from usual. Maybe, maybe it's good to be able to...start living in a place with food that never runs out an' you can sleep whenever you want an' all that kind of stuff."

Frisk is lying again, just a little, but it comes out a lot more smoothly. It's not worth being embarrassed about, but Kotetsu and Barnaby don't need to have more things to worry about. Best to try to see the good in the situation.

"And...at least you're not both alone."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu doesn't protest them moving nearer, of course. Though this time, he barely seems to notice it. He just keeps staring out into the mist, his gaze distant, his expression sad.

"'Everything' was pretty bad, yeah." He won't go into detail beyond that, though. It's Barnaby's story to tell, even and perhaps especially if he's already told Frisk some of it. But Kotetsu has always tried to protect Barnaby's privacy. And besides, how does he even begin to describe how, when he says "everything", what he means is the past two decades of Barnaby's life?

Even if he doesn't outwardly react to the nearness, though, it does help him hear them. It helps their voice cut through the fog of righteous indignation in his mind and...maybe start to see things from a slightly different perspective.

"...maybe." Maybe it's good to be able to...

When Frisk puts it like that, Kotetsu doesn't sound unconvinced. When Frisk puts it like that - that this is a place where people won't always be making demands on Barnaby, where he'll have time to think. Maybe he can even try to pick up some new hobbies in between their search for a way out. Besides, hey, free candy.

...and they're not alone. That means something. Kotetsu can be there to help. Kotetsu can be nearby when he has a nightmare. If he can't be with Kaede...at least he can be there for Bunny. And Kotetsu knows that he would personally have gone insane by now, had he been without his partner instead.

He nods slowly, and when he lets out his breath in a sigh, it sounds like he's expelling some tension with it. Then he looks down at Frisk and offers a somewhat more sincere smile.

"Thanks, by the way. For being nice to him. God knows he can always use more friends that aren't me or the other heroes." Though when he lets himself, Kotetsu knows that Bunny has a knack for interacting with kids in a way that even Kotetsu doesn't always manage. But any positive socializing he gets outside of the hero business has to be progress.

[dustless]

Good, it worked. They hope that's right, too. They don't know enough to be sure yet, about 'everything'. They're confident they'll figure it out eventually--and hope that eventually won't come too late, either.

Kotetsu nods and Frisk matches him. "You're welcome." Even if him thanking them for that makes their chest feel a little tight. 'Everything.'

"'M happy to be friends with him, and you! 'Nother thing the castle's good for, making weird friends that are super different and sorta a surprise. It's nice."

[oldmantiger]

"Wait...we're friends, too?"

Kotetsu taps a finger against his chest, and then...he actually looks quite cheered, to realize as much. Frisk will then find themselves the recipient of a brief sideways hug, as Kotetsu actually says: "Yay! I'm glad you think so, Frisk."

He settles back once more, still grinning a little, and kicks his heels against the edge of the world.

"Besides. I guess I can always use more friends outside the hero business, too. Especially since I was, um...kind of supposed to retire, back home."

That plan didn't work out so great. He hasn't even had time to finish packing up his apartment in between all the things that came up between him reaching that decision and being brought here.

[dustless]

"Yeah!" Wow, what a kid. They love it and hug him right back--well, once they adjust their hold on their kite.

They don't quite back off at the second bit, eyes examining his face. "Really? But you're not old?" Aren't really old people the ones who retire? Kotetsu's hair isn't even grey.

[oldmantiger]

Oh, good, it's okay to hug Frisk. He does try to pay better attention to physical boundaries where children are concerned. After all, much as he adores his own child, she's at the age where hugs are still considered uncool outside of life or death situations. So he especially doesn't get many, which is a drag sometimes.

If they don't quite back off, he won't quite back off. He'll even reach out a hand to help steady their kite, if it proves necessary - even without his powers, his reflexes are good. It's just his luck and timing that's terrible.

At their question and incredulous expression, he laughs, scratching at his head and looking faintly embarrassed. "That's really nice of you to say, Frisk. But, well, I am kind of old." He shrugs, carelessly. "Bunny even always used to call me 'old man' when we first met." As payback for being called "Bunny". "Heck, I was tied for oldest of the heroes with a high school buddy of mine."

He doesn't necessarily want to mention the real reason for his retirement. Not when he's still trying to get Frisk to not worry about him.

"When he actually started calling me by name, it was one of the best days of my career."

[dustless]

"...how old are you?" Maybe...superpowers make people look younger than they are, or something.

Incredulity fades into neutrality; neutrality slowly warms up into a big ol' smile. That's...really, really nice. And cute. And-- "Cool," Frisk says, nodding. "Took you guys a while to get along?"

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu lifts his chin proudly. "I'll have you know that I will be turning thirty-seven soon." All joking aside, Kotetsu has never been too sore about the fact of his age. He's lived a full life in a short time and he's grateful for it.

He knows he's luckier than some to have made it so far.

Kotetsu lets out a short bark of amused laughter at their question. "You could say that." Along with a few much more emphatic and less delicate things about their first couple of months as partners. He draws a knee up to his chest and rests his free arm across it, staring into the distance at nothing very much. "Bunny was just starting out in the hero business. I was...hah. As far as everyone else was concerned, I was kind of a dinosaur in the business, by that point."

Much as he blustered and complained about that assessment, while keeping up a good front and aggressively continuing to crush things for justice anyway, hearing as much so frequently and relentlessly from so many sides had started to wear Kotetsu down a little bit. Especially since he hadn't been unaware of the fact he reveals next. "They...pretty much paired us up because they thought I'd make him look good. I'd been a hero for probably a decade by then, and I was supposed to be his sidekick." That had stung. That had hurt. And it certainly hadn't made Kotetsu more inclined to give his new co-worker a chance for a while. "Neither of us really wanted a partner anyway, but it's like I said before. If the sponsors say 'jump', usually you've at least got to stand on your tiptoes."

He half reaches up in a habitual attempt to tug his hat down a little over his face, before remembering that it's still missing. It's his usual response when emotional subjects come up. But right now, talking about emotional things doesn't hurt quite so much. Maybe because, ultimately, he's still mostly talking about Barnaby. And Kotetsu likes talking about him, nowadays. "At the start, I thought he was just a hotshot kid who only cared about scoring points and giving interviews. But...I guess we got used to each other. I got to know him. And I guess he got to know me, too, because before I knew it, I was rubbing off on him. And he didn't even seem to mind."

Kotetsu thinks back to a bar after a fight. Remembers how he'd had a drink in his hand, how he'd been seething and at his wit's end, and how he'd looked up at the screen. He'd seen Barnaby there, in an old interview he'd never even known his partner had given, talking about the one man he most respected and admired. Talking about how he hoped to live up to that person's standards and make him proud. And Kotetsu remembered setting the drink aside.

"We had a pretty rocky start. But if I do say so myself...I think we turned into the best damn team that city ever saw."

[dustless]

Thirty-seven, wow. They woulda just thought thirty.

They stick their tongue out at the 'sidekick' thing. "Not fair. 'Sides, you don't seem like a sidekick."

'Points' are relegated, in Frisk's head, to something like 'points of pride'. And 'partners'--they rapidly reassess that behind their grin, that maybe, maybe they were right about the Undyne-and-Alphys comparing stuff before. That they weren't actually dating.

Time for some gentle prodding with words. "You guys're good friends. You were both really worried about each other right when you got here."

[oldmantiger]

"We both were? Huh." That's...actually kind of heartwarming to hear, even if it shouldn't be remotely surprising. Kotetsu's smile widens a little further, before he shrugs expansively once more.

"Well, I mean, we'd just had a pretty worrying time of things. Bunny got kidnapped, I almost died." Among other things. So many other things. Despite this, Kotetsu's tone remains very casual. Even genuinely casual. "I guess we were both hoping things would settle down a little after that. Especially with both of us retiring. But...hah." He gestures at the sky above them and the castle around them. "Not so much. I guess he thought I'd still be a little banged up from that fight. And trust me, having him go missing on me once before was one time too many."

"Besides. When there's trouble, we have to be the first one each of us thinks to call. That's just part of being a good team." He glances down at his wrist - it's still weird, not seeing his communicator there anymore.