Grillby awoke the next morning about an hour before dawn, as was his habit. In the next room over he could hear Fuku shuffling about, likely fixing breakfast after a night of elusive sleep. He could already smell coffee. It was that warm smell that managed to draw him up out of bed, instead of basking in the comfort of his morning drowsiness a little longer.
On grey mornings, it always seemed hard to get moving. It made his thoughts slow and foggy.
Outside, the world seemed to echo his sluggishness. The sky was overcast, only barely shaking off the inky blackness of a cloudy night to yield to a slowly brightening grey. The air was cold, Grillby could feel it through the draft in the house even if it didn't bother him. And of course, it rained, the sound against the roof seemingly stuck somewhere between a light falling and a drizzle.
Grillby wandered into the other room to join his daughter. She flickered a tired smile at him, her green fire glinting across the glossy black of the cast iron stove.
"Good morning," they hummed to each other, just slightly out of unison, and Grillby crackled a tired chuckle.
"Pleasant surprise to have you up fixing breakfast for once," Grillby said with a smile.
Fuku shrugged, "Oh I'm sure you get tired of cooking for the whole town every once in awhile."
"How long have you been up?"
His daughter sighed, a sharp curl of smoke flaring through the air as she did. Fuku stared down at the stovetop for a moment, letting the sound of boiling coffee and grits fill the silence for a moment. Grillby ran a hand through the flame on his head, and made an effort to keep the worry out of his voice.
"You know, I'm going to Southforge for shipment today," he started slowly, and before he'd even finished she was rolling her eyes, "I'm sure if I spoke with a doctor there-"
"I don't need no fancy city doctor," Fuku chided in that stubborn, matter-of-fact way Grillby had heard her speak in a thousand times, "I'm not sick and I'm not dying."
"Of course not," Grillby sighed, "But even stars burn out if they don't get their rest, darling."
Fuku sniffed and flashed him a haughty look, "Daddy I don't think you know much about stars."
"Well I know enough to raise one, don't I?" Grillby countered, a smirk on the edge of his flame.
Fuku let out a stubborn huff, but made no reply. Instead she focused her gaze on her cooking, content to ignore his last statement.
Grillby offered her a gentle hug and kissed the top of her head, "Oh don't mind me, just worrying."
Fuku flickered a begrudging smile, "Well worry outside by the coal shed."
Grillby let out a long groan, "Already?"
"That's just the cost of cooking I guess," Fuku grinned, "And you know the rule. Whoever doesn't cook-"
"- get's the coal," Grillby grumbled, "And on a rainy morning no less. No wonder you made breakfast."
Fuku flashed him a wide, mischievous grin, "Hurry up before your coffee gets cold."
"I'm going, hellion."
Grillby just caught the soft crackle of her laughing as he meandered downstairs and into the main dining area. In the corner the shattered remains of the table from last night had been stacked. He'd taken just long enough to inspect it and be sure there really was no repairing the thing before finally conceding to the fact that he'd have to order a new one. In a perfect world he'd have the man who broke it pay for it but... this world wasn't perfect. Coal mining being as it was, the blundering, drunken human could barely afford his drinks on the weekends and the bread he put on his family's table. So Grillby would have to get it fixed himself.
But that was a problem for later in the day - should the rain ever let up enough to allow him a trip out to Southforge. For now, his main objective was the coal shed. Grillby hesitated at the front door for a solid minute, watching the rain patter to the ground and gauging the distance between the front porch of his bar and the shed just off the road. Grillby watched it, and sighed, and then gathering up his gumption walked briskly out to the shed. The rain stung on his head and shoulders like nettles, and sent a stiff chill down his back. By the time he made it to the shed he felt uncomfortable and stiff, and very much like he wished he hadn't gotten out of bed yet this morning.
But it was a quick chore, and Grillby was bounding back up onto the porch again and out of the rain, a bucket full of coal under his arm. For a long second he stood on the porch shivering and sparking and waiting for his clothes to dry and for the chill to wear off, stiff from the unpleasant coolness of it. It took him a moment to realize he could faintly hear singing coming from upstairs. It puzzled him at first. He must have left a window open last night.
It was Fuku, her soft voice rasping like slow burning coals in a fireplace. The song she sang was one he knew, a slow sad tune that took him back to an unforgiving summer that took a toll on the soul to remember. But it made sense that she would sing it.
"Oh say did you see him?
It was early this morning
He passed all your houses
On the way to the coal
He was tall he was slender
And his dark eyes so tender..."
The slow drone of her voice mingled with the soft crunch of gravel. Grillby tilted his head in the direction of the road, where through the pre-dawn haze he could see a figure walking, gaunt and familiar. Grillby flickered a tired smile and waved a quiet greeting.
"... his occupation was mining,
lonely Ebott his home..."
It was Gaster, dressed head to toe in his work gear, looking altogether tired and world-weary - and just a little miserable in the rain. The lights in his eyes shined warmly as he made his way over though.
"What's the news of the day, ill omen?" Grillby called pleasantly, leaning against the porch bannister, making sure to keep himself just out of the reach of the rain. Gaster flashed him a grin.
"Nothing as of yet, and we'll pray it stays that way," the skeleton chuckled, "No news is good news when it comes to the mines."
"That's fair," Grillby crackled with a soft chuckle of his own, and then sighed out a breath of smoke, "You really think all's well up there?"
"It was just before twelve,
I was feeding the children
Ben Moseley came running
To bring us the news-"
Gaster stepped back, hands on his sides as he cast a cursory, searching sort of look up the mountain path - now slicked in mud. He shrugged, "Can't say really. All this foul weather makes me nervous. It's a lot of rain, and the slag up top isn't in a good place for it."
Number eight is all flooded,
Many men are in danger
And we don't know their number,
But we fear they're all doomed."
Grillby crackled a quizzical frown, that either Gaster didn't see or chose to ignore.
"All the old folks are grumbling about rules of threes and foul water as well," Gaster continued before shrugging, "Though I'll admit I'm not superstitious so it's hard to take them too seriously."
"How about you Grillby," Gaster asked with a smirk, "Are you superstitious?"
"So I picked up the baby,
And I left all the others
To comfort each other
And to pray for their own-"
The elemental shrugged but before he could answer rightly, a voice called through the rain towards them. Grillby sighed out a breath of smoke.
"Here comes trouble."
"And here it goes," Gaster chuckled, wincing a smile at the bartender before tipping his rain-soaked cap to the elemental, "Don't enjoy this lovely sunshiny weather too much now."
Grillby sparked a heartier laugh at this, "Oh I'll try."
"There's Tommy, fourteen,
And there's John not much younger
Their own time soon will be coming
To go down the black hole."
The skeleton couldn't have hurried on his way faster, a small skip in his step as he trotted off through the mud and up the hill. Grillby shook his head after him. The monster was pleasant, if not a little bizarre. Quite unlike the man now sidling up to Grillby's now. The elemental flickered a welcoming spark in spite of it.
"G'mornin' Ellis," Grillby chimed, "Lovely weather this morning."
"Bah weather's fittin' for a funeral 'n nothin' more," came the grumbled reply as Ellis stomped to a stop before the elemental, "And so are you if you're not careful!"
"What will I say
To his poor little children?
And what will I tell
His dear mother at home?"
Ellis spat into the mud nearby, and Grillby flickered bitterly against the acrid smell of chewing tabacco.
"That there cackler's bad luck, and we'll feel the bite of it by the end of the season, just you watch."
Grillby flickered a wan, unamused smile, "Because he's a skeleton?"
"Because he's Union," Ellis declaired heartily, "And a newcome, and a monster of death half made of tubes an' cogs. Y'see that damn box he carries around everywhere?"
Grillby glanced up the trail, barely managing to make out the foggy outline of the skeleton as he receded into the grey of the drizzle and the morning. There was a flash of something like purple - the box Ellis mentioned. Grillby had noticed it before, but had never really thought much of it. It was nothing much, just a small box about the size of a sardine can that Gaster carried on his hip, a line of glowing color on the side that always seemed to flash a purple-ish light. Grillby had always just assumed it was some sort of mining equipment - a davie lamp of some sort maybe? Apparently it wasn't.
"And what will I say
To my heart that's clear broken?
To my heart that's clear broken
If my baby is gone?"
"Strange stuff, that monster," Ellis grumbled warningly, "And bad luck."
"Well Mister Ellis," Grillby sighed out a breath of smoke, flashing a pleasent sort of grin, "I don't believe in luck to be honest - save the kind that's printed on paper."
Ellis narrowed his eyes at the elemental.
"And where I come from, it's a sight of bad luck indeed to have a tab overdue for more than a month."
"Now see here, I ain't got my first paycheck out of Asgore's mine that didn't go to rent or groceries for the miss," Ellis said defensively, "I was runnin' on nothin' but scrip out the Magnolia mine!"
"Lucky for you Asgore pays his workers in bills instead," Grillby said with another soft sigh of smoke, "I won't even make you pay all of it Ellis."
The elemental straightened, finally rising from where he'd been leaning against the banister, "But you're out of drinks until you've got some of that tab taken care of. You've got no excuses now."
"Now, if I had the money
To do more than just feed them
I'd give them good learning,
The best could be found-"
Ellis waved his hand with a dismissive huff, finally turning to begin his own ascent up the hill, "I'll get yer money bartender when the week is up."
"Be sure you do," Grillby called after, and if the man heard he was sure he was ignored.
"And tell your girl to stop singin' them dark songs of hers!" Ellis growled over his shoulder, "Damn near enough dark omens going around as it is!"
"So when they growed up
They'd be checkers and weighers
And not spend their life digging
In the dark underground."
The fire monster shrugged before turning to reclaim the bucket of coal and head inside. Quietly, and more vindictively than he'd like to admit, he wished Fuku would sing louder if only to spook the old fool on his way faster - and then sighed a bit regretfully as he thought it. The man meant well he was sure, if he wasn't a bit… bitter… about his advice-giving. Honestly Grillby could care less about the tab - he knew some of the men here were in a hard spot as far as funds. Mining was like that sometimes.
But he had to admit he didn't care for the judgemental talking, especially on a morning that was dreary enough without it.
"Say, did you see him going,
It was early this morning
He passed all your houses
On his way to the coal
He was tall, he was slender,
And his dark eyes so tender
His occupation was mining,
Lonely Ebott his home…"
Author's Notes:
Woah hey so this chapter has been done for like a year now. I didn't realize I'd never updated over here? So ya'll are about to get a bit of spam since I've got another chapter to post. Hopefully thats a good thing!
Aaaaanyway! There is some vocab and research in this!
Firstly, the song is called "West Virginia Mine Disaster" by Kathy Mattea. It is beautiful and tragic (as you can guess from the lyrics). Obviously I changed "West Virginia" to "Lonely Ebott". This story does take place in roundabout Appalachia so technically I didn't have to change it but uhhhh now this carries more weight than it did before, bearing in mind things that happen later ;)
Slag - waste rock that isn't what the miners are looking for. There's slag for every mine, and a lot of times you can find where an abandoned mine was once located because you can find the slag heap (a big mound where you dump all your slag)
Rules of threes - this one is more common, but its the idea that all bad things happen in groups of three.
"That there cackler's bad luck" - a cackler is a name for someone at the mine that lets everyone else do the heavy lifting.
Newcome - actually shortened slang from the term "Johnny Newcome". Its any new hand who starts working in a mine.
Davie lamp - its another name for a safety lamp. New around this time period (my ballpark years for this are 1880-1910) a safety/davie lamp was a special lamp that wouldn't explode if it came in contact with the flammable gasses present in coal mines. They change color depending on the air content - I can't remember for sure but when methane is present i think it glows... blue? Either blue or green.
Scrip - a special type of psuedo-currency present in mining towns run by a mine/coal baron. It was common in Appalachian coal mines for the coal baron (the guy who owns the land the mine is on) to furnish housing for miners and pay them in currency they could only use in grocery stores stocked by the baron. It was originally intended to save the barons money (by short changing their workers) but by the time its use was abolished, it served as a way to keep the miners indebted to the baron and unable to leave the land. Normally the scrip could be traded for regular US Dollers, but always at a decrease in value (around .80 cents for every dollar), making it increasingly hard to spend it other than on the baron's establishments. Depending on where you went as well, some places didn't accept the currency at all.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I think that's all my research from this chapter!