castle_perrault | [open] There's a word for that, what does it start with? A word for that, I'll sound so smart

It's been quite the stressful week for most of the castle's inhabitants. S-4 wasn't any different. With losing Frisk, fighting with Sans-Serif not to take any souls, struggling with the overwhelming emotions the funeral brought up, and then trying to deal with his dear friend's return as well as attempting to take care of his siblings (even Sans, despite him holing himself up in some mysterious room in the castle with that weird human), S-4 was a bit exhausted. But he wasn't about to sleep without a bedtime story.

Sans was too busy, so S-4 didn't want to bother him by asking. Sans-Serif would have helped, but he was still learning to read, and S-4 didn't want to frustrate him. It would probably be fine to just read it to himself.

He takes one of the picture books to the lounge, and is slowly flipping through it, a fingerbone pressed to the page underneath the words so he can keep his place.

"Out... came... the baby... bird."

Sophie called him a baby. He knows what that is. And a bird are those singing, flying creatures up in the trees. But the one in this book talks. Maybe only little birds can do that?

"'Where... is my... mother?' he said..."

Now that's a word he doesn't know.

"Mother? Mother... like brother?"

They rhyme, so it must be similar. But what exactly is one? Does he have one?

He's frowning at the book until he realizes someone is watching him read. Usually, he'd have a moment to be embarrassed about being caught like this, but right now, his question is too serious to be ignored for shame.

"What's a mother?"

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Sans-Serif grins in relief ash is brother takes over. "thanks!" Holding the sticks in place proves to be a much easier job - especially when his hands are so small, since it means that S-4 won't have to worry so much about accidentally tying one of them up in the kite. His relief looks even more pronounced when S-4 remembers to leave the extra string. That much had completely slipped the smaller skeleton's mind.

Once S-4 is done, Sans-Serif happily holds up the frame and swings it this way and that, testing. The sticks hold quite steady, though he shouldn't have expected anything less from his brother. Then he sets the frame back on the bed and gathers up the fabric instead.

"how do we cut it out?"

S-4 looks pleased that he figured it out himself. He is finding this to be a bit easier than he expected, honestly. Maybe he doesn't need to worry! Maybe their practice kite will be just as good as a regular kite!

At least, he thinks that until he looks at the fabric, and then he seems a little confused. How do they cut it?

"Um... if we put the sticks in a spot and cut the diamond shape out around them, maybe that will work?"

"but we also need to cut extra, so it stays on and so it can go all the way around. don't we?" Sans-Serif tries to mime the actual wrapping with his hands, though he still sounds a bit uncertain. Here's where working with a picture works against them - in the picture book, it was impossible to tell what the back of the kite was supposed to look like. Some of the kites in the instruction book have fabric that goes all the way around, and some have gaps. Which one is this supposed to be?

...he thinks he might be right, or at least he thinks the book might be wrong if he isn't. The kite will look better this way. But either way, he offers the scissors to S-4 to cut with. This is definitely a job for the bigger brother, either way.

"O-Oh, probably. Um..." He squints at the instructions in the book, and eventually notices that the one they're following explains how large to cut the fabric. He tries to estimate the length, and then makes a very small cut, before moving the sticks out of the way and cutting a fairly large square. It's a little jagged on the edges, but at least the fabric seems to be the right side.

"Do... do we have to glue the fabric around the sticks or something?"

This is turning out to be more complicated now, but surely the two of them are smart enough to figure it out together.

Sans-Serif stares down at the kite for a moment, and then facepalms hard enough to rattle faintly.

"i can't believe we forgot the glue!"

He lets out a faint "aargh" before collapsing back onto the bed beside the half-finished kite. "where are we supposed to find glue? what did they even use for glue, in castles like this?"

Usually, S-4 would be concerned to see Sans-Serif so upset, but he can't help but find his frustration kind of amusing. He giggles softly.

"It's okay! I bet we can find some. Um... maybe there's like some in a workshop? Carpenters used glue, right?"

It probably helps that it is only frustration, innocent and unpressured and entirely his own. It's not anger borne of pain or conditioning, it's not the anxious, agitated fear borne of failure. Frustration on its own is still fairly new to Sans-Serif - he wouldn't even really know to put that word to this feeling. He's just put out that their fun has been interrupted by what seems like such a minor issue in the grand scale of things.

And indeed, when he hears his brother giggling, Sans-Serif moves a hand away from one eyesocket to offer his brother a sheepish sort of smile. Some of the tension bleeds out of him, and he pushes himself back up into a sitting position.

"maybe? i thought they mostly used nails. but i guess you can't use nails for everything. so let's go look!" A carpenter's workshop is as good a place to check as any. And besides, maybe they can find a better pair of scissors there, or some more string for later.

Frustration on its own is harmless. S-4 is learning quite quickly that emotions are not as simple as Gaster's flash cards led him to believe. There's no one simple word or expression that defines them. They layer on top of each other, and it's when they layer that he really needs to worry. Frustration paired with fear, anger, sadness, or guilt is dangerous. Frustration completely on its own is a little easier to understand and handle.

So he grins back at Sans-Serif, even as he sits up, and then makes a curious face at what his brother has to say. There might not be any glue, but... it still is worth looking, especially when Sans-Serif can navigate the castle quickly. He grins and slips off the bed, offering a hand to help his brother to his feet.

"If it's not in there, maybe there's... an art room or something?"

Sans-Serif takes that offered hand quite happily. His earlier frustration is, if not forgotten, then certainly once again subordinated to the sheer pleasure of getting to play with his brother. To the point that he gasps aloud at the alternative his brother suggests, one hand going to cover his mouth for a moment. Then he gives an enthusiastic rattle, staring up excitedly at S-4. "maybe! and, and we'd have to find an art room anyway! so we can paint a face on frisk's kite! let's go look!"

And that's not the only reason Sans-Serif suddenly wants very much to find an art room, though of course it is the most important reason. He suddenly finds himself seized with curiosity at the idea of...maybe painting something for himself. Just to see what happens.

With a renewed purpose, he sets off alongside his most important person. They'll probably be looking for a while - if Sans-Serif doesn't know what a room is or what it looks like, it's harder for him to zero in on wherever the castle has deposited it on any given day. But the castle is a big, mysterious place in general, and it will eventually provide them with a suitable destination.

Actually, now that S-4 thinks about it, and especially now that he sees how excited Sans-Serif is about the possibility of finding one, an art room sounds pretty nice. He already liked colouring pictures at the lab, and an art room would have lots of things he could use to do just that. And maybe there's even stuff to make crafts like the ones he's read about in the library.

He beams as his brother rattles away, and nods happily. "Yeah! I bet we can find it!"

Setting off next to him, he lets Sans-Serif mainly lead the way, as they peek from room to room. It takes a bit of time, but eventually, S-4 peers into one with an easel all set up, holding a half-finished painting of a basket of apples.

"This must be the art room!"

[open] There's a word for that, what does it start with? A word for that, I'll sound so smart

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