Set a Bat Among the Pigeons

[andthebat]

There's a particularly unusual creature in the aviary today.

 

The Batman isn't happy to wake up at the top of a tree surrounded by birds for many reasons, but chief among them is the fact that the birds are loud. He'd been jarred awake by a parrot screeching right near his ear and his startled motions when he'd jerked into an upright position had resulted in a massive cloud of panicked birds fleeing from the big weird animal. Naturally, they'd raised a cacophony of squawks, chirps, tweets and twittering in the process, and his ears were still ringing a little from the initial uproar. 

But the bird had at least left the Batman alone up there, perched on top of a particularly thick branch several stories above the ground. The height doesn't phase him, but the fact he doesn't recognize the tree- or the massive room it seems to be in- is enough to disconcert him when the last thing he remembers is heading back to the Manor after a long night chasing down the Penguin. 

 

He does wonder if this might be some sort of Penguin-related scheme, but even with the earlier screeching the birds don't seem hostile enough, or even that interested when he's merely sitting around and trying to get his bearings. Not to mention even Penguin wouldn't be dumb enough to leave the Batman untied.

 

Sitting in a tree all day isn't going to get Batman any answers of course, so he unfolds his wings and leaps off his branch, swooping in circles around the aviary and keeping an eye out for anything or anyone that might be able to shed some light on the situation.

Comments

[dustless]

They nod and give another tiny wave. He isn't all that intimidating compared to most of what they're used to at this point. They notice he sounds worried, though, so they're sure to be slow and careful when they move at all.

"I'm Frisk. And this is Gretel." They point to the dove trying to fix their now-messy hair, then take a few steps towards a pile of seeds it seems to like most, gently dislodging it. Too distracting.

They ask over their shoulder, "Been here long? Or are you new?"

[andthebat]

Still on all fours, the Batman slowly moves a bit closer towards Frisk and Gretel. Much like them, his movements are slow and careful, a mixture of his own uncertainty towards the situation and desire not to scare the kid away.

"Woke up in the tree," he says. "Where's 'here?'"

[dustless]

Frisk looks sympathetic. That must have been...a bad wakeup call. It's pretty loud now as it is, enough that they questioningly glance over at the door, to see if he decides to go through it.

"Castle. It's in the sky, and people've been taken from their...homes. Please don't fight anyone," they add, straightforward and serious. "Nobody knows why we're here, and some of them get scared and panic at first."

[andthebat]

As unpleasant as the bird's racket is, the Batman's mostly able to tune it out now. He'll be leaving the door alone for now, in favor of talking more to Frisk.

Especially considering how concerning their explanation of the situation is. Batman thinks over the information: There are a lot of people who'd want to kidnap the Batman, some of whom probably could scrounge up a flying castle (unless Frisk's just confused on that point) but he's not sure who'd manage to snatch him without his notice, nor why anyone would be interested in kidnapping this particular child or any of the unknown someones that Frisk mentioned.

"Has there been a lot of fighting so far?" Batman asks, leaning forward so as to better look Frisk over. They didn't look hurt when he first spotted them, but he wasn't exactly checking for injuries.

[dustless]

"Not a lot." Frisk glances down to see what he was looking at. Had one of the birds gotten gross them?

They look alright. There are a few bumps and bruises, but nothing that looks like they'd gotten into a fight, just anything a normal kid who wandered outside a lot would have. Their fight with S4 had messed up their soul more than anything, and they'd slept enough to recover from that by now.

"Someone did when they were scared, not because they were mean. And there are other monsters here that would be easy to hurt who shouldn't be." Other, because it doesn't occur to them that he might be anything else.

[andthebat]

Satisfied for now that Frisk hasn't been seriously hurt, the Batman backs off again. This place still doesn't seem safe to him, but maybe the child will at least be able to stay out of it.

The other monsters... it doesn't exactly sting, not after all this time, especially since it's clear from Frisk's tone that they don't mean it as an insult, but it does linger in his mind for longer than he'd like. But it at least gives him an idea.

"Who else is here, and what are they? If there's a pattern among the people who were taken, then we might have an idea of why we're here."

[dustless]

Oh. "Pattern?" That sounds like quite the good idea. Frisk angles their head up, staring past his shoulders, trying to think.

"Two--three skeleton monsters, Sans and Papy--S4 and Gaster. They're friends from my world, but they're from...different timelines." Which is troubling for a few reasons, and they look bothered before they rock on their heels and go on.

"There's a man who can fly, an elf lady named Tauriel, a girl named Sophie who's half human and half alien, a lady named Grune who might also be alien? They look human, though. And...a boy named Lucas from some islands called Nowhere." Frisk sighs quietly. "...Think that's all I've met."

[andthebat]

After they finish speaking, the Batman will drum a claw thoughtfully on the ground.

'Skeleton monsters' just makes the Batman think of constructs, though it'd be beyond ghoulish to use actual human remains. And he isn't sure what Frisk means by different timelines, even if it sounds like time travel- but that sort of thing should be impossible, as far as he's aware.

And then the rest, with the possible exception of Lucas, depending on how meaningful the name "Nowhere" is, all seem to be nonhuman or magic users.

There are several questions springing to mind, but Batman figures he'll start with Frisk. "And what are you?" he asks. They look normal enough, but they're also very calm about everything and they claim to be friends with skeleton monsters. Perhaps they're a witch?

merry christmas, sleep doesnt exist

[dustless]

Gretel decides the food is boring and hops between the bat-monster and Frisk, eventually settling on their shoe. Guess they're stuck standing there for a bit.

"Me? Only a human. A determined human." They him closely as they answer. They don't know what kind he is, if he might just be someone underground they hadn't met.

[andthebat]

"I see." Frisk won't get much of a reaction to their answer, even to the determined part, although inwardly Batman is filing that way under ? Children Are Strange, Maybe.

He does note how closely he's being studied, and it belatedly occurs to him that he hasn't introduced himself in any meaningful way. "You can call me Batman," he says shortly.

[dustless]

So then he's probably a different kind of monster. Still nice enough, though. Actually very nice, since he isn't trying to kill them right off.

"Kay." Sounds like Asgore named him, and their lips twitch up.

"...Frisk," they add after the silence stretches on long enough to be a little awkward.

[andthebat]

Awkward as the silence is, the Batman does relax in it enough to flop back onto his butt and straighten his spine, settling into a more human sitting position instead of crouching on all fours. Frisk doesn't seem like they're on the verge of running away from the big scary bat-monster, after all, so perhaps there's no need to try and make himself look smaller.

"Frisk," he repeats. There's the slightest of hesitations before he continues, "How long have you been here?"

[dustless]

Frisk stares at him for a second, then proceed to join him. Thump and a few feathers fly as they sit, crossing their legs after a moment and leaning their head in their hand. They're going to get birdseed in the creases of their pants. At least they were careful about sitting in grosser things.

"A while? More than a month. I wasn't actually counting," they say, sounding apologetic.

[andthebat]

The Batman makes a mental note that if he can't get away from this castle within a day or two, to start keeping track of time somehow. It's only a brief thought, however, before another concern moves him to add, "A month's a long time for someone your age to be away from home."

[dustless]

"...yeah. Know that. I mean, didn't have a home yet, but I was...about to live with some monsters." Their fingers tap along the edge of their own jaw. It's a painful subject, but they've still got their friends in the castle right now.

"Then I was here. I want to go back. 'Cause they're probably really worried."

adds bruce to the list of people who are adopting frisk

[andthebat]

The Batman shifts a little, leaning forward to rest his arm on one raised knee.

"...Do you want to talk about it?" he asks. His tone is a little stiff, but the offer is sincere.

they pick up family everywhere they go

[dustless]

They don't think they've been offered that before. They don't...actually know if they want to talk about it too deeply.

After a long, puzzled pause, Frisk just ends up shrugging.

[andthebat]

He can't say he hasn't been there.

"You can always talk later," he says. "If you want."

Still, he has to admit that Frisk's family issues- while definitely an issue- probably aren't the top priority right now anyway. Not when they're both trapped in some sort of strange castle.

"So. You said this castle's in the sky?"

[dustless]

They suppose. It might be nice, having someone to talk to who they don't need to worry about as much. Maybe.

"Yeah. Don't know how we got here, don't know how to get down...or what's down."

[andthebat]

"Wouldn't be hard to fly down and take a look," he says. To demonstrate his point, Batman will outstretch his wings, showing off a rather impressive span.

"Think you can show me to the edge?"

[dustless]

That is very true. Frisk bobs their head and jumps to their feet.

"It's not hard to find. Just keep going straight anywhere." They beckon and take off out of the aviary and down the hall.

[andthebat]

The Batman considers standing up as well, but with the height difference between them he'd probably outpace Frisk fairly easily. (At least he doesn't seem to need to worry about scaring them off anymore.) Instead, he rolls forward slightly until he's crouching once again, and begins rather matter-of-factly plodding on all fours after them.

He doesn't say anything once they get out into the hallway, although Frisk may notice the curious way he looks about the walls and the ceiling, occasionally glancing at any windows, as if the architecture's going to provide him with any hints as to their true location.

[dustless]

He'll see architecture is mostly just old. Old-fashioned, probably mostly European, or some strange otherworld equivalent.

Frisk pauses glance back at him every few steps, especially once they both leave the sunnier-in-the-center bit of the castle towards the outside, where the clouds start rolling in through the windows and doors. It's a bit chillier.

They don't slow down until they get to the door that groans dangerously when they gingerly push it open, and then it's a straight shot to the edge.

The grass there is darker and thicker than the stuff in the gardens, Frisk notices absently, but they mostly stick to the path. The worn stone goes all the way to and then cuts off at the drop. "Edge," they announce, circling back around him a couple times just because they can.

[andthebat]

It's certainly not the sort of architecture you'd expect to see in Gotham City, that's for sure. (Well, not outside of a few select locations, anyway.)

Even after what Frisk told him about the castle being in the sky, he doesn't quite register the clouds as clouds- it's hard to distinguish it from regular fog.

Despite the fog and Frisk's brisk pace, it's easy for the Batman to keep up with them, although he winces a little at first when the door groans. For some reason he wasn't quite expecting it. But he forgets the pain of the noise once he sees what's outside.

Grass, a stone path, a light breeze that ruffles his fur, and a lot of fog- or clouds- it doesn't sound that impressive but even from the doorway he can see a very obvious cut off at the end of the path, and when he trots down to the end of it and peers carefully over the edge, sure enough, there's nothing there.

The Batman slowly backs up until he's in the center of the path, where he pulls himself to his feet and straightens to his full height. He absently cups his chin in one hand and examines the edge. A bit of a run, and a few flaps of his wings...

He turns to Frisk, and extends a hand.

"Want to see what's over the edge?"

[dustless]

His hand is briefly scrutinized, just because they're not entirely sure how they'll be lifted, but there's not more than a beat before they take it.

"Yes. Very much. Can't see more than a few feet down 'cause of the clouds," they add. They've spent time kneeling at the edge, trying to catch a glimpse of anything and never managing it.

What'll they find? Anything at all? An ocean, another land far below? They're kind of excited.