The meeting didn't start right away, despite what the queen had said. The two spent time nervously chattering, just trying to get into a comfortable atmosphere. The presence of Little Bones made discussion of the matters of the kingdom seem way too… dark for adults. Not to mention, the child refused to move away from Blue once he had settled, staring at the yellow flowers as though their stems and roots would crawl up and swallow him whole. However, this brought to attention that there wasn't much to really talk about between Blue and Toriel; every day was the same, a pattern that always held true.
Well, not quite. But resets don't really count, huh?
Eventually, though, they gave up on small talk. The throne room felt suffocating, despite its massive size. So, with some difficulty, they moved into the cabin-esc portion of the castle, finding their place in the living room. Blue forced himself to pretend he didn't notice Little Bones' attempt to avoid the flowers again.
The living room was homey, the fireplace alight with a gentle flame. The tea had been moved to the scuffed up coffee table, now joined by snacks for the three. The rocking chair was moved closer to the table and couch for a proper meeting. The room was attached to a quaint kitchen and a hallway to person rooms, in which Toriel had disappeared into to gather toys for Blue's charge.
Blue wasn't dumb. He played the part to a tee. Acting as though naivety was his only feature, that he was clueless to the world's faults, that not all the toys in which the queen gave to Little Bones had belonged to the royal children. The toys ranged from dress-up clothes and dolls to action figures and cars. Many of which had not interested Frisk and MK. Oh, no.
Blue had to guard those souls before. His own had ached by the very thought of those poor humans…
But, faced with extinction, population rapidly dwindling, and sickness running rampant, the lonesome queen had very few choices and, though not quite an excuse, her kingdom must come first.
At the very least, those children felt love before passing.
The adults settled into place, Toriel sitting delicately in her recliner, robe removed and Blue stretched out on the couch, though he barely took up one cushion.
Without her signature robe, Blue could see she was dressed up as well. A dress shirt, made of silk, tucked into slacks, coal black. The shirt had ruffles at the neck and careful stitching along the left hand side to create flowers blooming up her torso in chaotic beauty. A silver chain poked from the collar, a pendent which sparkled with a single stone made itself known and, now that he was paying attention, he noticed her fur had been neatly brushed into waves of soft white and her claws had been painted black.
Blue grinned, "blind date?"
"Oh! How'd you know?" Toriel asked, her head tilting to the side, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"I think I met your date on the way here," the skeleton replied, "I think you'll like her."
The two shared a look, Toriel's baffled and Blue's almost mischievous and smug.
Blue glanced to his charge, watching him for a moment before getting back to business. He skimmed the documents one last time and cleared his throat.
"According to this, there's not much to report. Nothing about humans coming from the ruins or nothing… But there have been reports of tremors, especially in Hotland and Waterfall. Magic spikes from the CORE, too. Undyne believes there might be a connection. There hasn't been any damage dealt to these areas, but they seem to be getting stronger."
She took in the news slowly, nodding as each made a connection in her mind.
"I will have to speak to Undyne and Alphys on these matters. I am thinking we will need to make new pathways and fortify what we can, especially around the river," she murmured.
Blue nodded almost, almost absently. His gaze once more wandered to Little Bones. Despite being trained on him, it took the queen's worried hum to notice that the child was not playing. Rather, staring blankly at the toys. Mr. Pah was collapsed against the wall with a purple and yellow themed action figure spread against the bear's tummy and legs. A pile of monkeys stood near the bear, their barrel on its side with a slightly broken doctor Barbie doll discarded near it. And the kid was just staring, mismatched eyes glazed over, arms limp by his side, jaw slack.
Blue blinked, and then Little Bones was staring at him.
The child did not speak, did not move. He looked like he was on trial.
Blue felt like he was the jury, about to condemn an innocent man to life in hell.
He pulled himself from the couch, stretching, "I think Little Bones is getting kind of tired. I am very sorry, Tori. There's more in the report; I'll leave it for you."
"Oh," Toriel replied, monotone, "...I would like to speak to you real fast in the kitchen."
The small skeleton blinked owlishly before nodding, muttering to his charge to pick up the toys and return them, as well as pack up his own. Then, he moved with his friend to the kitchen. He had no chance to speak, as Toriel was turning with an expression that made Blue feel as though he were made of stone.
"That child," She began, "he is not… normal, is he?"
"Pardon-?"
He was cut off swiftly, "-he's not… a normal skeleton, I mean. I do not know much about your species, other than your similarity to humans and your strange stats. What has happened to his bones? Why does he stare at people as though they will destroy him with a simple look? Where on earth did you find him?"
Blue felt overwhelmed with the amount of questions, his head spinning in an attempt to give an answer, spitting out the first that came to mind, "I haven't the slightest clue."
She looked at him with a prompt for more.
"...We found him in the woods. By Papyrus' station. We don't know what happened to him. We don't know why his bones are gray. We… we don't know much of anything."
Toriel nodded slowly, "...he reminds me of Frisk, somewhat. They had that same stare."
Their gazes met, a mournful taste in the air, as they pondered in the names of children who lost, of children who looked at everyone as though they would be killed with a glance
They stopped to get burgers at the NTT emporium before returning to the house with no incidents. Unlocking the door, Blue called out to his brother, finding the place empty and silence as his response.
"Alright, Little Bones!" Blue started, putting his hands on his hips, "go put Papy's dinner in the fridge and we'll color, okay?"
The child took in the words slowly, taking the time to remember what and where the fridge was before grinning and taking off to the kitchen. Blue watched him fondly for a few seconds and then began gathering what was needed for their artistic endeavors.
He heard the fridge door open and close and Little Bones bound into the room. He took one look at the crayons and pencils and immediately grew excited; so much so that, within a blink of an eye, he was at the coffee table, grabbing a piece of paper while Blue was just about to gesture him over.
In this moment, he recalled Error's ability to teleport and resisted a groan. Being one of the few Sanses who did not have this power was annoying and the idea of having a child who could move faster than he could run made it much worse. Nonetheless, he slid down and got his own paper, picking up a pencil and began to draw.
Now, Blue knew he wasn't all that great at art. His skills were sub-par, but he enjoyed it very much. There was something calming about putting graphite to paper and creating something.
He wondered if Error had ever felt the same sentiment. He remembered the glitch's disdain for creation- often times, Blue's very existence had disgusted him. Few things escaped his scrutiny and hatred, not even Error himself. In fact, if there was someone Error hated more than anything else, it was himself.
Why did Error feel so strongly about that?
Did Little Bones feel the same?
Blue paused, realizing his thoughts had consumed him, leaving his hand to lazily darken a circle. He adjusted his pencil and peeking over Little Bones' shoulder.
Children didn't have the best artwork, generally. The idea of 'fine detail' was lost upon the excitement to just draw . Similarly, Little Bones' work was unsteady and wild, weird shapes and awkward lines with either enough weight to nearly tear the paper or with too little to see.
The kid himself had zoned out, gazing at the front door with that strange intensity that children should not bear. The crayon was poised neatly above the paper, hovering above the end of a line.
Despite the heavy implications of a child lost and a drawing with distated lines, the work itself was very cheerful. He recognized Mr. Pah's patches and ears, though the bear was much bigger, towering above two figures and bathed in orange. The other two figures were purple and blue respectively. The blue was short and fat with a neck ornament of some kind, while the purple, much smaller than the blue, had two triangles.
It wasn't too hard to figure out the figures, the short and fat one being Blue, and the purple one Little Bones.
Blue tapped the table, causing Little Bones to turn to the sound.
"What's on your head?" Blue asked, smiling. The child eyed him for a little but before grinning, as well. He rushed off to his things. He pulled out a sweater and came back, presenting it proudly. One hand came up, pressing mismatched fingers into the cat ears on the hood.
"It's m' favorite…" Little Bones declared with a conviction only children and lovers could have.
"Yeah, I liked that one, too." Blue chuckled, warmth twirling into his soul.
He closed his eyes and, for a minute, wondered at the strangeness of this .
Blue never knew he could harbor so much love for someone.
And, really, how cruel is that?