Find peace, and help the flowers grow

[lostinmyway]

When Grune had first arrived at the castle, Sans had shown her a very fun room. In it, everything is made of candy that grows back when you eat it. There's something else inside the room, too, covered by a strange sort of slippery cloth, but Sans hadn't let her look at it. He'd said it was a surprise present for Frisk. To help him keep the present a surprise, she'd agreed not to look.

But after some time, the memory had faded, and so today, when she steps into the candy room, her curiosity is caught by the big object covered in cloth. (Had that always been there?)

Humming quietly, she steps forward and lifts the edge of the covering.



...Oh.

She pulls the cloth the rest of the way from the giant birdcage and opens the door. It takes some effort to make it move, but soon she can reach in and carefully take the bones from the cage.

At first, she begins to wrap them in the strange cloth, but--she doesn't really like the feel on her hands. It wouldn't be a very nice place to stay wrapped up in, she thinks. And so she leaves the room and instead brings down a curtain from a large bed. It's a faded red and feels much better.

She returns to the candy room and places the bones into that sheet instead. Then, with the remains wrapped up and cradled in her arms, she leaves the castle to find a good place for this person to rest. She only has her trowel to dig, so it's going to take her a long time, but that's all right. This is important.


[OOC: Feel free to encounter Grune at any point during this post, including when she's digging in the garden.]

Comments

[systematicsupport]

The garden is a place S-4 tends to spend a lot of time in. Not only is it peaceful, but it's basically the exact opposite of the laboratories he's used to: bright, colourful, and filled with natural beauty.

Of course, he's still a bit nervous, and more inclined to keep to himself, just enjoying the sunlight and flowers, but when he spots someone he knows, like Grune, he can't help but smile.

"Hello, Grune."

He's about to start making small talk when he sees the bundle and trowel in her hands, and he frowns, confused.

"What is that?"

[lostinmyway]

Grune always has a smile for S-4, every single time she sees him. That's still true, but today her smile is much smaller, and subdued.

"Hello, S-4." Her shoulders drop the smallest amount at his question. "I found someone who died a long time ago, so I'm making sure they have a good place to stay."

[systematicsupport]

He notices her smile isn't nearly as bright as usual, but before he can comment, she answers him.

"Someone who... died?"

His soul aches with pain at that, and he hesitantly reaches for the bundle, silently asking if he can... if he should... look.

[lostinmyway]

"That's right," she says in response to his question. When he stretches out his hand, she kneels down to set it on the ground to make it easier for him. She doesn't open it, instead leaving it up to him whether he wants to look.

"I think they were really hurt. But only their bones are left now."

[systematicsupport]

Cautiously, he reaches out for the bundle, bending his head as he opens up the folds and reveals the bones Grune was speaking of. He lets out a small wince, unable to look away.

Funny, but he's used to bone being a sign of something alive, between his brother and Gaster. Seeing this is so surreal, as confusing as it is depressing.

"...I'm sorry." He has no reason to apologize, but he does. "What are you going to do with these?"

[lostinmyway]

Gently, she sets a hand on his back as he looks at the bones. It's not a very happy thing to see, after all. It's good to know that someone who loves you is near.

"I'm going to put them in the garden, so they can have a nice place to rest."

She wouldn't want to have her bones stay locked up in a cage. She doesn't think anyone would.

[systematicsupport]

"Oh... that's a good idea. Do you need any help?"

He looks up at her, turning slightly, but trying to make sure her hand doesn't leave his back. His and Grune's friendship has been full of affectionate touch, and S-4 is really starting to want it more.

[foundafamily]

Firo's path crosses hers on the way to the garden. Grune will always get a smile and a wave from him, but he soon cuts off his pleasantries with curiosity. "What've you got there? Buried treasure?"

Hardly.

[lostinmyway]

Grune's smile is wan and her voice is quiet when she replies, "Hello, Firo. I'm helping this person find a nice place to stay."

[foundafamily]

He does a double-take at the bundle, jaw dropping. "Uh, wait, that's a person?!" Grune's one of the last people he'd expect to walk around with a body. Surely there's a good reason for it, which... still probably means that there's a sad situation behind this.

"How'd you--?" He presses his hand to his forehead. "What'd you get mixed up in to wind up with something like that?"

[lostinmyway]

"I found them in the room with all the sweets." For a moment, she pauses in her digging and stares down at the small hole she's made with her trowel. "They weren't in a very good place."

Then she resumes her work.

[foundafamily]

"Not a good place, huh?" His first thought is that that's totally gross. His next is that that's really sad--that seems to be how Grune thinks of it, and sometimes Firo finds her kindness almost contagious.

"Is there another shovel? I'll help out?"

[lostinmyway]

"Oh."

She looks around a bit, as if she expects to see a shovel simply lying nearby.

"Thank you, Firo. That would be very kind of you if you could help."

Especially since she's been trying to dig the grave with a hand-sized gardening trowel.

[foundafamily]

He whips his head around as well, then just decides to dash off.

"I'll be right back!"

He's hardly as familiar with the garden, so it takes him a moment to run back with a shovel. It's sized almost like a toy, but he figures it's something. He'll get right to work, digging at approximately the other end of the grave so that he doesn't get in her way.

"I, uh... haven't done this too much. What about you?" He laughs more than a tad awkwardly. Whatever happened to this person isn't so important to him, but he wants to make sure that she's feeling better.

[andthebat]

The Batman's in a bedroom, examining a closet full of musty clothes, when he catches the sound of footsteps in the distance. His automatic reaction is to duck behind the door, hiding from the view of anyone who comes through the hallway outside- he stays there for a little while as the footsteps come closer, then pass by, noticing how soft and slow they seem.

Curiosity overwhelming caution, he steps out from behind the door and peeks down the hallway after Grune.

[lostinmyway]

With the person she found now wrapped up safe and sound in a soft cover, Grune continues on her way to the garden. She cradles her small parcel close as she walks, her gaze unfocused. She's completely unaware of being watched.

i apologize in advance for his lack of social skills.

[andthebat]

She seems lost in thought, the Batman thinks. He isn't sure who she is- Frisk mentioned both a lady named Tauriel and a lady named Grune, but the women didn't get described in detail.

He watches her go until she's turned a corner, then moves quietly out into the hallway and begins to follow after her, relying mostly on his hearing to track her. He's careful to stay at a safe distance, stepping lightly as possible, prepared to duck out of sight at a moment's notice; it doesn't occur to Batman that he might be better off just calling out to her.

It's totally cool! Grune is the one character I play who 100% won't mind.

[lostinmyway]

Grune isn't very observant at the best of times, and so even were she not dealing with the discovery of the body of a murder victim in the sweets room, she would almost certainly not notice that she was being followed.

And so she continues on her way, unaware. From time to time she stops to stare into the distance, her head tilting to one side. Then her gaze lowers to the bundle in her arms and within a moment, she starts walking again. Sometimes, she sighs softly, in sadness.

Let me know if you ever need more to work with btw

[andthebat]

Batman will settle into a bit of a pattern, then, as she makes her way through the castle, stopping when she stops, walking when she walks, pricking his ears up at every sad little sigh. From the glimpses he gets of her, it seems very likely to him that whatever she has in the bundle has to do with what's bothering her.

After a while he notices they seem to be approaching the center of the castle.

Will do! But this is fine. <3

[lostinmyway]

When Grune steps into the gardens, she sighs again--but this time, it's the sigh of a burden being lifted by the smallest amount. She always feels better when she's outside.

It takes her a few moments to locate her gardening tools, and then a moment more to remember which one she wants. But once she has her trowel in hand, she finds a part of the garden she hasn't had the chance to plant with flowers. She lays the bundle down with the greatest gentleness. Then she kneels and begins to dig.

[andthebat]

Once they're outside, the Batman lets Grune get further ahead before he leaps onto the nearest bit of solid structure. He's always been more comfortable following people from above, and while the branches of large trees, edges of the castle, and ivy-covered gateways and walls aren't quite like the rooftops and skyscrapers he's used to, they still make an admirable vantage point from which to observe the strange, blue-haired woman going about her business.

It's when she's settled on the ground and absorbed in her digging that he finally decides to descend to her level, climbing carefully out of a nearby tree to drop softly onto the earth behind her. He'll wait a heartbeat or two to make sure she's still absorbed in her digging, then very gingerly reach out and unwrap part of the bundle.

...When he sees what's in it, Grune will hear him speak for the first time.

"Where did you find this?"

[consultmybooks]

Finding Grune in the garden is not uncommon in the slightest. Even finding her carrying things other than her urn isn't enough on its own to set off Giles' mental alarms. Gardening can be a very messy business, after all.

Then he draws nearer. He notices that the size of the bundle. His first thought is to wonder if it's Sophie. His second thought, upon seeing the look on Grune's face, is to really hope that it isn't.

Approaching from the side, Giles slows his steps and takes care to step on a couple of twigs. It looks as though the last thing Grune needs is to be startled. When he draws near enough, Giles calls out softly: "Grune? Is, um, is everything all right?"

[lostinmyway]

Grune hears someone come closer, but at the same time...she doesn't. She keeps on digging until the person behind her speaks. Her shoulders drop a little and she sighs. She's glad it's him.

"Hello, Giles," she says. Only then does she look back. She smiles a little tiny bit, for him. "I'm all right."

[consultmybooks]

He rests a soft hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently, and then kneels down in the dirt beside her.

"Well, I, I'm glad to hear it." Even if he's not remotely certain he believes it. Giles wouldn't be, in her place. Cautiously, he nods at the bundle resting on her other side, asking as gently as he can:

"Who, um...who is that?"

[lostinmyway]

Her shoulders relax beneath his hands. Everything is always a little bit better when Giles is there.

"I don't know." She looks to the person, then back at him. "I found them in the candy room. They were in a cage."

She shakes her head a little at that. It isn't right. It isn't right at all.