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

[ojisankink]

The Edge isn't that bad. It's away from everything else. It's scenic. It's a nice place to just... sit and think.

At least, that's what Barnaby tends to believe. And now that the excitement from Kotetsu first getting here is over with, he's been doing a lot of thinking.

He doesn't notice someone is in his usual spot until he's already almost there. He's been focused on his ring, twirling it around his finger, trying to remember where exactly he got it. It's a good thing he's on his way to the Edge, since if he digs up some bad memory associated with it, he can just... toss it over the side.

He looks up and catches a glimpse of red. A kite? Following the string, he finds Frisk sitting in the grass. There's a brief moment where he wonders if he should leave, his social ineptness warning him this will likely go poorly... but Frisk is kind, and he gets along better with children.

Besides, they look like they might have some trouble keeping the kite up. He walks over with a cautious smile.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

[trombones]

Kites are sort of new to monsters. The idea of flying a thin object under some wind wasn't a bizarre concept, but they didn't have much wind under a mountain to begin with. Not real wind, anyway. So when Sans catches the red object out of the corner of his eye, curiosity gets the best of him and he follows it.

Thinking about it now, Sans hadn't been out to the edge much either. By the time he finds Frisk, he's mostly staring between the ground... and then the kite again.

"Hey, bud."

He nods up.

"That's called a... kite, right?"

Probably gonna bring in Sans later after seeing how things shake out with Croc.

[antitemporal]

Serif has actually come to find himself spending a lot of time around the Edge. It's quiet, and safe, and he likes finding pictures in the clouds.

Now that the castle is so...noisy, and dangerous, and people are running off and getting hurt, he finds himself retreating here even more often. He knows he's not strong enough to fight a monster that already did so much harm to two of his older selves. Maybe the best thing he can do is just keep himself safe, so everyone has one less thing to worry about.

He still tenses when he creeps out of the castle and towards the edge, when he sees someone sitting there. But then his eyes are drawn to the flash of red overhead, and Serif smiles in relief as comprehension dawns. Relief, and even joy.

He doesn't emerge right away. He risks a hasty trip back to his room for some supplies, and returns bearing some sticks and cloth and glue in his hands. Precariously balancing the bundle, he makes his way over to sit beside and a little behind Frisk.

"...hi. can i sit here?"

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu is healing up nicely. And besides, it's not like it's hard to climb up a castle wall when you have a grappling hook to work with.

He's been trying to get a better look at the terrain. Up on the higher floors seem the best way to do that. And from there he hoped to maybe, possibly, get enough height to see through the clouds. Of course, Frisk had mentioned that this place had people who could fly in it. But they were probably all concerned with finding a way down, rather than up.

...so far, he hasn't found anything useful up there. At least until he catches a flash of red in the otherwise aggressively blue and white sky. It takes Kotetsu a little while of staring at it curiously...before recognition dawns, and he gasps aloud.

From there, he makes his way quickly but carefully back down to ground level, and - using his newfound knowledge of the layout of the castle - directly back towards he remembers the Edge being. It takes a little longer than it might otherwise. The castle is already proving to enjoy messing with his already shaky sense of direction. But eventually, he emerges back out into the mist, looks up, and his suspicions are confirmed.

"Hey! A real kite!" It's been ages since he's seen one of those.

[sansational]

It does telegraph exactly where they are, and after recent events, that is a very great relief.

Sans doesn't announce himself right away. He's halfway across the empty space between them before he thinks to give a desultory arm rattle to let them know that it's at least one of him, rather than one of the surprisingly many newcomers around the place.

"mind if i join you?" It's quiet here, and he could use a little of that. He definitely looks more than his usual degree of tired.