tossing and turning

[dustless]

It seems that human food doesn't really do much for the SOUL.

Well, maybe it would if it had been special food. Frisk vaguely remembers hearing about food made by dear loved ones can help heal heartbreak, and that might be close enough to count.

But they don't really...have that right now. They just have castle-made candies and cakes and fruit, and while that was better than nothing, none of that stops the uncomfortable ache settled in their chest and pulsing through their body.

They also recall a little rabbit child talking about how sleeping could help with that. Well, sleeping in hotels specifically, but that rabbit had been in a hotel, and the castle could probably be called a hotel, albeit one filled with unwilling residents. 

And so they quest to find a place to take a nap, without having to worry as much about being found by a particular troubled skeleton. They haven't given up on him, nowhere near it, but they'd like to be healthy when they meet again just in case. So their usual resting spot of "in the garden" was discarded, since it's right in the middle of everything.

As nice as it had been to be outside during it, their original plan--to hide out on top of a tower and catch a nap there--was foiled by the rain that came with the storm.

So Frisk carefully steals through the castle towers until they find one with a mostly-empty bedroom almost to the top, and try to rest there.

Key word: try.

The bed is very soft and comfortable, and they hover around the hazy edges of sleep for what feels like hours, but they never quite make it there. They're too worried about...sort-of-Papyrus. And Sans. And their friends they left behind, and their friends here, and just--everyone. They can't focus on a goal until they feel better, but they can't rest unless they stop worrying, and so they just cycle through thoughts over and over and over. And their low HP only distracts them even more.

So eventually, Frisk gives up and collapses into a soft-ish chair by the tower's window instead, watching the sky turn oranges and pinks, and a handful of stars appear between swaths of cloud. Maybe they'll be soothed to sleep by the prettiness of it. 


[backdated in the castle's nebulous timeframe of after their 'fight' with S4 and meeting Thor, but before everything else.]

Comments

[dustless]

"...thanks. I can take care of myself, though." There's nothing boastful in their tone; it's a simple statement of fact to Frisk. They've done it before, many times, and even though they love their family left behind, they're sure they'll need to again.

[lightofthestars]

...Oh, Frisk. Children are rare and precious to Elves. To hear Frisk speak as if they have been neglected, or perhaps treated cruelly, is heart-breaking.

"It is not right for children to raise themselves." She looks directly at Frisk. "If you are lacking a caretaker, come to me. I will look after you as best I can."

[nervously sprinkles background headcanon in]

[dustless]

They had the friends they made along the way, but they did go through the underground mostly relying on only them (and memories that weren't entirely theirs, but close enough). And before that--well. Their human family had loved them, they know, but their parents weren't very good at taking care of even themselves.

"...thank you." They've been saying that a lot. "You're very nice." They think they've been saying that a lot, too.

:Db

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel actually looks flustered, blinking and sitting back. "...You are kind to say so. But I am only doing what is just."

[dustless]

Oh, that was not an expression they expected. Their sheer surprise jars them slightly out of their upset. Or maybe they're just jumping on it to push the upset away for now. "Still nice. Coulda just bossed me around," they say sleepily.

[lightofthestars]

She smiles a little. Perhaps sleep will also work its healing upon Frisk. "I am captain of no one now. There is no need for me to issue orders."

[dustless]

"M? Cap'n?"

They're going to fall into a doze soon, if they're lucky--but they're also interested in learning more about Tauriel.

[lightofthestars]

She softens her voice a little more. "Yes. I am captain of the guard of the Woodland Realm. It is my task to defend my king's people from those that wish us harm."

[dustless]

Their eyes are closed now. (Probably. It isn't always easy to tell.)

"Know somebody like that. You'd be friends. 'Specially since you're not human." They're smiling a little.

[lightofthestars]

"Do you indeed? I would like to meet this friend."

Tauriel has no quarrel with Humans; she hopes this would not bring her into conflict with Frisk's friend. Now, however, is not the time to ask about this.

[dustless]

Frisk appears to be sinking deeper into the chair, somehow.

"It'd be 'citing. Maybe we can learn to visit each others' homes someday."

[lightofthestars]

"I hope we do. Until I came here, I had only rarely left the borders of the forest, and then only briefly. I did not know there were worlds beyond my own. I am certain yours holds many wonders."

She reaches--hesitates--then lays a careful hand upon Frisk's head.

[dustless]

They blink up at her in surprise, and smile again. Not an expected gesture, but still nice.

"Can tell each other 'bout the coolest parts. V'cation plan." Later, of course.

[lightofthestars]

Frisk's smile gives her the courage to try a small stroke, short and light like a rabbit uncertain of whether to flee or remain.

"I look forward to it, but after you rest. Human children, I am told, need much sleep."

Certainly much compared to Elves, who do not truly sleep as Humans understand it.

[dustless]

There's no additional reaction, but it feels very nice.

"Gotta sleep to help grow up healthy. 'S not as fun as up late." They let their eyes close again, and their breathing evens out fairly fast.

[lightofthestars]

"That is true."

She rises, then carefully, gently, she scoops Frisk into her arms to take them to bed.