Frisk had been on edge recently. Well, that was a massive understatement. At first they seemed to just be more stressed, more... out-of-it. But recently, it had gotten rather more severe. The human had distanced themselves from the others on most days, preferring the company of themselves. Their eyes seemed more sullen, dark circles heavily underlining them and indicating their lack of sleep. They didn't eat as much, they didn't talk as much. Watching anime with Alphys felt more like a chore than a fun activity with a exercise sessions with Undyne had become much less proactive, much less frequent, despite Undyne's unwavering encouragements. Asgore's bedtime stories could no longer make their face glow with a soft smile as they faded into a restful sleep. Dinners turned awkward and became quite uncomfortable for everyone involved. Even Sans' puns no longer made them break out into laughter with their comical lack of quality, now only bringing forth a slightly amused, stifled exhale from their nose. Frisk hadn't been like this in... well, ever. Everyone was starting to get worried about Frisk's health, mentally and physically.

Having come home from school, they gave Toriel a forced smile, politely and quietly declining her offer of some leftover butterscotch cinnamon pie before dragging their feet all the way to their room, like a puppet held by strings of an impractical length. Their facade faded as they silently clambered into their room, giving the door a dismissive shove. Frisk numbly walked over to their bed. They slipped their hefty messenger bag off their shoulder, collapsing forward on the bed tiredly. The human felt a small wave of relief flow through them after the dreary droll that had been their day, pressing their face into the cool pillow at the end of the bed. Soon, they began to slowly slip away, their exhaustion slowly pushing them into sleep. They tried to fight it, but they just needed to rest for now. They had to. They'd been going all day, night through morning, morning through afternoon. The embrace of sleep slowly closed around them, drawing Frisk into its hold.

"Just a minute!" Toriel finished cleaning out a few particularly dirty dishes, setting them down in a stack before moving at a brisk pace to answer the door. She opened the door, a warm smile settling across her face.

"Sans! How lovely to see you!" the goat mother greeted the skeleton.

"Hey, Tori."

"Come in, come in!" Sans showed his traditional wide grin to her (not that he could make many other facial expressions) as he stepped through the door. "How have you been, Sans? It's been a while!" She asked politely. In reality, it hadn't actually been long at all; it'd only been about a couple days. "I've been, uh, well." The skeleton answered. "How's the kid been holding up?" Toriel's smile faded slightly. "Frisk has… been getting worse." she admits quietly, worry seeping into her tone, a frown replacing the faded smile. "They've been staying up in their room more and more, they hardly ever come out... They didn't even want any of the cinnamon butterscotch pie I made last night…"

Sans' expression became more sullen. His grin didn't go away - it couldn't - but it was clear he was fairly perturbed by that news. "Damn… What's gotten into the poor kid?"

"... Actually, Sans, I… wanted to talk to you about this…" Toriel murmured just loud enough for him, stepping into the corridor to the living room. Sans followed along behind her quietly before they entered the living room, hands deep into his pockets. "What's up?"

Toriel slowly sat into her chair, looking toward Sans. The skeleton climbed onto the couch and plopped himself down, turning his attention toward Toriel.

"... As you… know, Frisk hasn't been doing very well recently… and... I'll be honest, Sans, I really have no idea what could be wrong… I've… I've provided for them, I've cooked them their favorite food as often as I can, I help them with their studying… Am I… Am I not doing enough? Are they upset with me? I… I don't know, Sans, it's just so… so wrong, for them... I fear I might be the one to blame…" Toriel spoke in a soft voice, looking like she was about to cry.

Sans made a quick response, hopping up to his feet and moving over to her. "Oh, no, hey, Tori, you've been great! Come on, you're a great mom. I doubt whatever's happening with Frisk has anything to do with you." The skeleton reassured her, reaching one hand out and placing it on her's. "Come on now, don't be so hard on yourself. Frisk adores you."

Toriel bit her tongue lightly, taking a few slow breaths as she calmed herself down.. "I… suppose you are right… But… could you… do something for me, Sans?"

"'Course, Tori. What is it?"

"I need you to... help Frisk, if you can… I don't know what could be wrong, and I feel that me asking would be… a more uncomfortable experience for them…"

Sans listened, nodding his head slightly. Toriel continued after a moment. "And I think that they'd be more open to you, Sans."

"Alright. I can do that." He says, lightly patting her fur-covered hand.

"Thank you, Sans." she makes a smile to him, letting out a quiet breath of relief.

"I'll go check on 'em right now."

Toriel nods, slowly picking up her book of snail facts. "I think I'll stay in here for a while…"

"Alrighty." Sans says, slowly stepping back from the queen, moving over to the door, and heading up to Frisk's room at his own lazy pace.