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

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?"

[lostinmyway]

Grune doesn't jump or cry out at the sound of an unfamiliar voice suddenly speaking so close by. She doesn't flinch, either, when she sees who's speaking. All she does is blink.

"They were in the candy room," she answers softly after a moment. "They were in a cage. That doesn't seem like a very nice place to rest, does it?"

[andthebat]

Normally, in this kind of situation, the Batman would have been on the receiving end of terrified shrieks and attempts to run away, or sheer aggression, or a mix of both. Grune's sheer calmness is thus, ironically, enough to startle him, although it won't show much outside of a momentary widening of his eyes.

"So you decided to bury them," he says.

He believes her, he realizes, even if he doesn't know what she means by the candy room. But the bones looked old and charred, so whoever it was likely died long before this woman found them.

He glances down at the bundle, where the bones in question are still exposed from where he'd unfolded the cloth. He's very quiet for a few moments before stiffly saying, "...The bones are small ones. Whoever it was would have been a child when they died."

[lostinmyway]

"Yes," she says.

She looks up at him for a moment more before returning to digging with her hand trowel.

[andthebat]

There's a silence that goes on for longer than it probably should. The Batman expects her to break it first, and he's almost vexed when she doesn't.

Presently, he'll ask: "Who are you?"

[lostinmyway]

"I'm Grune." She looks up at him again. "Are you Sophie's friend?"

[andthebat]

"I-" He certainly doesn't dislike Sophie, but he's not sure if one meeting really qualifies him for 'friend' status. "-Met her just after I arrived. I'm the Batman."

Grune. Now there's an odd name. He wonders... "Are you Gee Girl?"

[lostinmyway]

For the first time, Grune's expression lightens. "Yes, that's right. That's my nickname."

She sits up a little straighter. Norma gave her that nickname, and so it's very dear to her.

[andthebat]

"Sophie mentioned you," the Batman explains. "Said you were both from Luceti."

He glances down at the grave that Grune is digging. "I could help you with that," he offers.

[lostinmyway]

Even though things are very sad right now, his offer brings a smile to her face. "My, that's very kind of you. Thank you very much."

She looks about. Is there another shovel for him to use?

[andthebat]

The Batman acknowledges her thanks with a brief nod.

Noticing the way Grune is looking around, he takes a guess at her thoughts: "There might be a tool shed somewhere. I can take a look, but if I can't find anything I can always use my hands." Grune probably doesn't need a demonstration, but he holds out his hands anyway- they're large, and tougher than they already look.

[lostinmyway]

"Oh, my, are you sure?"

She looks them over carefully. They do look very strong, but she wouldn't want him to get hurt.

[andthebat]

"Wouldn't be the first time I've had to do some digging," he says. "Though at least I've never had to bury someone before." But he thinks it can't be much harder than crawling his way out of a collapsed underground tunnel, or working in the garden with Alfred.

The Batman gets to his feet. "I'll return in a few minutes."

[lostinmyway]

"All right," she says softly.

She'll keep digging while he goes to look. That way, he won't have so much work.