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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?"
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?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-02-23 02:35 pm (UTC)He doesn't need a mother. It might be nice to have one, depending on what one is, but he doesn't need one to be happy like that baby bird was happy. Sans-Serif doesn't even need to work very hard to convince himself of this, because it is fundamentally true. As long as S-4 is here with him, he's happy.
"maybe they'll have a book about making kites. i asked frisk if they wanted us to make them a kite, like in the story. and they said yes, but we should probably practice first. otherwise we won't get it right." And they need to make the very coolest possible kite to give to their friend.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-10 08:59 pm (UTC)And that's really all he needs. If people like Sans-Serif and Frisk are here with him, then he'll always be happy.
"That's a good idea. I'd like to make a kite. A... A big red one! And it'll be even better than the one in the story!"
Spurred on by this idea, S-4 stands up, grabbing his brother's hand to tug him off to the library.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-11 06:46 am (UTC)And wouldn't it be just perfect if they had a big, red kite to give their friend to properly welcome them back once they did?
Sans-Serif takes his brother's hand and hurries along with him the best he can. Fortunately, the castle in general doesn't seem to move around as much for him as it does for others. Maybe that holds true for S-4, or maybe it just makes a difference that Sans is with him. Either way, they'll find the library, or at least one of the libraries, without too much trouble.
Sans-Serif stands in the doorway, regarding the array of shelves with his arms folded and his head tilted.
"okay...we should probably start where we found the first story about the kite. so you can find another story, and i can find out more about kites. that's probably where they put all the books about making kites, anyway." He nods decisively. That makes sense.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-18 08:20 pm (UTC)"I'd like to read it again! And, and it would be great if we had a kite to fly right after the story."
He does notice that with Sans-Serif's guidance, they find the library a lot faster than S-4 usually does alone. That's a little strange, but Sanses in general are unique, and that's why S-4 cares for them so much.
He looks around the room and taps his jaw with a finger before pointing towards a collection of shorter bookshelves.
"Okay! The kite book is over there. Come on!"
He tugs Sans-Serif over, getting down on his knees to peer at the titles of the various colourful books.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-20 12:13 am (UTC)Fortunately, for all the library's size, for all the hundreds of books crammed into it, it actually doesn't take them much longer to be successful in their search. It all starts with him finding a book on building boats, and searching much more carefully from there. A book on kites is three shelves down and four to the left. Sans-Serif pulls it out and holds it up with a delighted gasp. "here it is!"
Hastily, he sits down right there on the floor and opens it up to a random page. And he can scarcely believe what he sees when he does - rather than the simple square of red from the story, the kite detailed in this part of the book looks like some enormous monster, as big as a Snort.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-01 06:43 pm (UTC)Sans-Serif's gasp of excitement quickly lures him over, though, and he hurries over to Sans-Serif's side, placing the stack of books beside him, only to gasp in surprise at the picture he sees.
"Wow... It's really big! And it has a face. Is it supposed to have a face?"
He flips the page, and it shows another kite, just as large, but designed to look somewhat like a frog.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-01 07:37 pm (UTC)Then he remembers - "some of them do have faces! frisk said we could paint a 'kitty' face on it, if we wanted! but i didn't know what one of those was." And he doesn't know how to paint. Learning how to paint and learning how to make a kite seems like it might be a bit hard, even for the two of them.
He sets to work flipping throuh the pages one way, and then the other. Fortunately, a page almost at the very beginning of the book has what they were initially looking for. Sans-Serif's eyesockets widen, and he taps a finger against the page. "there!" A picture of a kite that's just a bright, simple diamond shape with a ribbony sort of tail.
"i tried to get us some fabric already. i left it under the bed." It's a respectable amount of torn curtain.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-04 11:12 pm (UTC)Because S-4 certainly doesn't. It sounds very silly, though, so who knows if Frisk would enjoy it? Maybe S-4 will just have to ask, and then if they really want one, he and S-4 can work on figuring out how to put a face on the creature.
As Sans-Serif flips to the page that shows the simple design, S-4 grins.
"That looks really cool! And it shouldn't be that hard to figure out, right? Can I see the fabric?"
He hopes it's the right shade of red.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-05 04:12 pm (UTC)And indeed, once they return to their room, Sans-Serif crawls about halfway under their bed, only to gingerly emerge holding a large bundle of material in his hands. It's more a dusty sort of pink, rather than proper red. The fabric is flimsy and even a little bit see-through, but at least that makes it light enough for even Sans-Serif to carry.
"now what else do we need?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-07 03:01 am (UTC)"Oh, that's smart! We probably do need a lot of practice... I hope we can find red fabric soon though."
The dusty pink is nice enough, though, and light, so it should be able to fly on the wind well enough, right? S-4 looks over the material before he remembers the book, and checks the page.
"Um, we need two sticks, string, and a pair of scissors... Those should be easy to find, right?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-08 04:29 pm (UTC)Hm. Scissors. Sans-Serif frowns thuoghtfully, staring straight ahead at nothing very much - that might be trickier. He's not sure he's seen something as mundane as a pair of scissors all while they've been here.
"...the other me might have some." Sans had gathered a lot of strange and sharp instruments for his makeshit lab. "or maybe we can borrow one of tauriel's knives."
He moves to smooth the pile of material out over the bed. It's enough to almost look like a second blanket. Maybe they can get two kites out of this.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-11 06:25 pm (UTC)The scissors, though, will be an issue.
"Hopefully they'll let us borrow them. Do you want me to go try to find them?"
Sans-Serif is busy with the fabric, after all, and S-4 wants to do something to help in the meantime.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-11 08:48 pm (UTC)"and if anything bad happens, we can just call each other."
Nothing bad should happen. Chara is locked up safely. But it's a big castle, and even Sans doesn't understand it all yet.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-17 07:25 pm (UTC)He knows Sans-Serif will, and he knows he'll be called if anything bad does happen, but he still finds it important to remind him, before he goes running off to find the scissors.
Shockingly, the lab doesn't seem to have any, but the kitchen does have a pair. S-4 looks around to make sure there isn't anyone to ask if he can borrow them, but no one is cooking, so he hopes no one will notice they're missing for now. He carefully carries them back to the entrance of the library, and then as he waits for Sans-Serif, he looks them over, snipping at a piece of scrap paper just to make sure they're sharp.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-18 01:28 pm (UTC)He can just barely see over the top of his pile, but it's enough to see that S-4 has been successful in his half of the quest, too. The little skeleton's expression breaks into a smile of relief. "oh, good, you found them!"
He lets the sticks clatter to the floor by the bed, sits down, and immediately goes to work sifting through for a likely looking pair to tie together. The actual tieing might need to be done by S-4, however - the sticks keep slipping out of place when Sans-Serif tries to do it alone.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-25 08:09 pm (UTC)"Yeah! I think they'll work, too. We just have to be careful."
He looks at the sticks Sans-Serif has picked out, and they seem to be the right size, based on the diagram. When he sees his sibling struggle with the string, he takes it from him carefully.
"Just hold them in place, okay? I can do it."
With Sans-Serif's help making sure they don't slip away, S-4 slowly but effectively ties them together into a cross shape, just like the book says. He even leaves extra string to hold the kite by.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-04-30 06:12 pm (UTC)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?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-05 05:43 pm (UTC)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?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-07 12:58 am (UTC)...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.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-10 08:27 pm (UTC)"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.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-12 06:45 pm (UTC)"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?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-14 07:22 pm (UTC)"It's okay! I bet we can find some. Um... maybe there's like some in a workshop? Carpenters used glue, right?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-14 11:23 pm (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-15 05:37 pm (UTC)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?"
(no subject)
Date: 2016-05-16 10:47 pm (UTC)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.
(no subject)
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