Let Fly

[andthebat]

The castle courtyard might not be the safest place to be today.

Not because there are any particularly malignant forces on the loose, but because Bruce recently woke up in the castle with no idea of where he was or how he came to be there. And in order to get even a slightly better idea of where he is, he's attempting to fly around and scout out the area from above.

Unfortunately, Bruce at age fourteen is considerably less adept at flying than Bruce at age twenty-eight.

Every now and then someone in the courtyard might hear a loud fwump as Bruce miscalculates his flight path, gets hit by a strong gust of wind, or tries to dodge a bit of architecture or a tree, resulting in him toppling out of the air and landing heavily in a snowbank, sending flakes flying everywhere.

But to Bruce's credit, as heavy as the impacts might be he always stands up, shakes off the worst of the snow, and launches himself into the air again.

In the meantime, the courtyard is becoming increasingly littered with snow craters.

Comments

[collectyourfriends]

Behind a tree, clad in a robe that's far, far too large for them, an itty-bitty Frisk can't smother giggles.

They don't know what that is, but it's doing a really bad job at staying in the air.

[andthebat]

Bruce was really hoping he wouldn't encounter any residents before he managed to... escape, or get his bearings, whichever. But just as he's shaking off the snow from one of his unfortunate landings, he catches the distinct sound of a small child giggling.

Not that it means there's anything there, necessarily- see, earlier in the day when he was trying to find the source of the singing around the castle- but it's different enough from last time that Bruce slowly turns towards the tree Frisk is hiding behind.

[collectyourfriends]

They stay still as they can manage, twitching giggles aside, behind the trunk, listening for the sound of those wings flapping again.

...

Nope. Nothing. And they're not patient enough yet to keep themselves from peeking around after the silence keeps on going.



Their tiny mouth drops open. It's looking straight at them! But they don't hide again.

[andthebat]

There is, indeed, a small child there. A very surprised looking one.

A pity that Bruce isn't sure what he's supposed to do with them. They're not running away, and grabbing them for interrogation seems pretty harsh- they're so small.

After a few moments of competing staring, he starts cautiously moving towards them.

[collectyourfriends]

They watch it get closer, fingers curling over bark.

Running does occur to them, and battling--maybe running and then battling, because Sparks is just inside, eating stuff he probably shouldn't.

Black fur, got spikes, can crash into things, wings. "Flying. Dark type?" they ask, not expecting an answer. "No fighting," they add, just in case. Some Pokémon can understand people, or so they've been told.

[exuviiated]

Aaron ventures out of the kitchen eventually, when his hair is neatly braided and tucked up around his head. Out of the way. Short.

The chill nips at his bare arms, his cheeks and nose. Unlike Gotham, the chill doesn't sink into his bones or make them ache. The creature he sees flapping across the courtyard looks to be warm, at least.

Aaron's worry is sparked when he sees it divebomb headfirst into a snowbank.

"Hey! Are you alright?" He slips from his spot at the edge and moves closer to Bruce.

bruce meeting a new person: "time to act weird about it"

[andthebat]

Bruce whips around at the sound of someone's voice and quickly assesses the stranger: Smaller than him, younger than him, not at all dressed for the weather and not particularly dangerous looking. Nevertheless Bruce takes a cautious step or two back, before abruptly leaping an impressive distance up on top of a bit of garden statuary half-buried in snow.

From there, Bruce will peer down at Aaron, for all the world like an incredibly bizarre gargoyle.

"...Who are you?"

Bruce attempts to sound gruff, but it's hard to entirely remove the edge of Fourteen Year Old Boy from his voice.

dammit.

[exuviiated]

Bruce may be fourteen, but Aaron is twelve and he's far too used to making himself look smaller than he already is. He looks about three inches smaller even in the jacket, all within the span of a few seconds.

"I'm, uh, Felicity." It tastes bitter. "Who are you?"

Aaron holds off on asking about why he happens to look so furry.

[andthebat]

Bruce was hoping for a bit more along the lines of 'I'm someone who lives/works here and I will happily explain this place to you' but he'll settle for the name. Aaron's question, on the other hand, is trickier.

He's already tried telling someone who he is, and he knows it isn't going to work, so he just shakes his head.

"That doesn't matter. Where am I?"

[exuviiated]

"Yes it does," he says, because he asked a question after answering one and that's just how this worked-- if you answer a question, you get to ask one yourself, and receive an answer. It just makes sense. "And I don't know."

He rocks back onto his heels and meets Bruce's eyes. Goose pimples pop up on his forearms, and he hugs himself, hoping it looks more defiant than cold. This isn't the first time a big kid has tried to push him around even if it is the first time a big kid has looked like this.

[andthebat]

"Thanks," Bruce says, with all the sarcastic wit that a teenage boy can muster. And then he feels a bit guilty because this kid seems about as confused as he is. And they look more small and cold than actually threatening, the more he watches them.

So he's a bit more contrite sounding when he asks his next question. "Did you just wake up here?"

[mettaton_rex]

Someone else is out flying around, although not exactly for scouting purposes. There's just so much sky...

When he sees another monster, he starts over to greet them - and then winces as they crash down into the snow. That looked nasty.

"Darling, are you all right?" he calls, floating closer. "The wind up here is so unpredictable, isn't it?"

[andthebat]

Bruce stares up at the stranger with a slightly befuddled expression- not because of the crash, but because the stranger appears to be a cartoony looking ghost with long eyelashes.

"...Still getting used to the wind resistance," he mumbles. He pauses to brush some snow out of his mane (which is rather less thick than it eventually will be) and settles on the blunt approach: "Where's 'here?'"

[mettaton_rex]

That gets a little sigh. "I wish I knew. Beyond 'a castle on the Surface', that is. Our hosts don't seem inclined to explain anything, or... make themselves known at all. Not that I'm not grateful!" he adds, slightly louder, just in case anyone's listening.

[itstheend]

This is a snow crater. And this... is also a snow crater. Snow crater...

But this Frisk never had and never will have a narrator. Still, they're intently following the snow crater trail, stopping at each one curiously. What's making these?

There's the sound of wings, and they turn and manage to duck just in time for a bat-monster to fly overhead and... land. Sort of.

They don't wince, but they do start trotting just a little faster over to the crash-site. After a long stare and no bullets (some monsters are just very enthusiastic), they stick out a hand to help him up.

Snowdin has been a place monster teens have hung out even in Frisk's day, and even if they're well aware by now this isn't the Underground, the familiarity helps a little.

[andthebat]

Besides the sound of wings, Frisk will be able to hear a startled yelp as Bruce spots somebody standing right in his flight path. He does some extra flapping in an attempt to compensate, sets himself off balance, and flies a few more feet forward before dropping into a snow bank.

Add another snow crater to the count.

Bruce rolls onto his back, taking a few moments to quietly breathe in and out, waiting for his head to stop swimming. Presently, he spots a hand in his peripheral vision, and shifts partway upright to stare at the person offering it.

It's... some kid, one who's at least a few years younger than Bruce, and strangely unperturbed by the giant bat monster that just crash landed in front of them. He blinks a few times at their hand.

"...Thanks, but I think I'd just knock you over if we tried," he says. So saying, he begins to slowly get to his feet, still shooting them curious looks.

[itstheend]

Welp, they guess that's one mystery solved.

"'K," they say, and step back a little. Monsters are pretty light, being made of magic instead of physical matter, so they're pretty sure they could have pulled him up, but maybe he needs to flap his wings for balance like a bird.

They look at the snow crater that's just been made. It's pretty big, like all the others, and they look back up at him. Their face is shuttered, expressionless, and they tilt their head a little.

"Hurts?"

They think they have some monster food on them - they can give him some to heal him if he needs it.

[lightofthestars]

Even in winter, there are still tasks to be done in the garden.

Tauriel walks lightly atop the snow, strong string in hand to tie back the weaker bushes, when she comes across a deep hole. She frowns; what could have made something so large?

Her question is soon answered when she hears the sound of a heavy body strike the wall over her head. She leaps aside in time to escape something (someone?) big and black landing where once she stood.

"...Are you well?" she asks the being as they stir.