Chapter 1: Making an effort
Gaster can't deny that he was feeling particularly curious when he sees the child finally attempt to interact with things today.
Yesterday has been a tiring day as Gaster try to find anything that looks remotely interesting in the garbage dump. Yes, not an ideal place, but the only place in the entire Underground to find human stuff.
It was regrettable, however, to see that Frisk doesn't show any interest in it. Rather, her face visibly scrunches up when she spotted these things.
However, Frisk surprisingly shows an interest in the symbol board scattered around the lab, where he kept his note.
"What… do these symbols mean?" A voluntary question this time…nothing much, but it's a step.
"These words? I'm glad you asked!" A hint of excitement filled his voice "It's a font…well, my font. It's called Wingding, and it's in my name, you see?"
"You are named after a language?" Frisk raised her brow
"No, no…that's not it." Gaster waves his hand to deny the fact "You see, us, the skeleton monster is really unique. From birth, we are basically like any other monsters…but as we grow, we find part of ourselves that our younger minds can't comprehend. A font…we called it, basically a core value that is engraved in our soul. Every skeleton is unique in that aspect, kind of like personalities."
"…"
"Oh, I guess it can be quite confusing. I can understand that." Gaster sighed, obviously for getting ahead of himself "However, I can teach you how to read it if you want."
"Really?!" Maybe noticing the outburst inside her tone, Frisk compose herself "I mean…I don't want to be a bother…"
"Don't worry about that. It's rare for someone to express interest in this kind of thing…most people find my font too complicated and it's not worth the effort." Gaster sighed, disappointment clear show in his feature "So I guess I'm kinda glad that you find it interesting. This is something that can be called a part of me, so I will have no trouble teaching it…if you want to learn."
"…thank you." She said with a tiny voice…
And Gaster still can't grasp any emotion beyond them…
Curiosity is brimming within her soul…
Looking at the tools around the room, with every new discovery her eyes shine brighter.
A brilliant light until it was closed again…it was as if Frisk is scared of smiling. And with that thought, a frown once again cover her face…
Her emotion flashes through so fast, that sometimes it makes him feel overwhelmed.
Apparently, Gaster himself has grown fond of watching this human. Part of him is curious about her…every aspect of her…since a human is not really common down here.
A tiny bit of him, however, doesn't want to admit there is something saddening watching this fragility.
"So, as you may already know, Wingding is a very complex font that uses symbols to express meaning instead of letters. Although it's fascinating, it's not really designed for communicating…at least not verbally. It's really difficult, and there is seemingly no rule so you have to remember what each symbol means, and its equivalent to letters."
"I…I will try my best."
"So we should start with the letter A… it's represented in Wingdings as a side black hand that point to the right. The B, meanwhile, is a side white hand the point to the left…"
Time flies by, and both of them were so immersed in the lesson that they didn't take notice of anything outside of the topic
"Take note as I show my name being converted to Wingding." Gaster said then start signing with his hands "A side white hand point down, side black hand point right, X inside a square, bold X inside a square, side black hand point to the right, and square with a tick inside."
"So…my name will be…" Clumsily, Frisk raises her tiny hand and starts signing while mumbling something "…um…side white hand point up, square with tick inside, side black hand point down…X inside a square, white hand point down…"
Gaster just stands there wide-eyed, unable to utter a word…
"…Mr. Gaster? Is there…something wrong?" In an uncertain voice, Frisk asked
"…how old are you again?"
"I…I'm 8…I think?" Unable to meet the intense gaze on her, Frisk looks away "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry-"
"No, no…the opposite actually. You got it all right…after me explaining the symbol just one time. You are…incredible, Frisk." Gaster can't help but poured out his compliments…
There is also the biological structure of humans and monsters, which leads to varying intelligence. But memorizing the Wingdings font in one go is just…phenomenal.
But before Gaster can continue his train of thoughts, a grumbling noise disturbs the silence of the lab. Frisk's face then turns white as a sheet, a fearful look on her face.
"Oh…is it dinner already? I guess I lost track of time…" A look of confusion replace her expression "It seems like you are not the only one that got hooked into this…"
A chuckle escape his mouth, rattling his bones a bit.
"How's about we get some dinner first? Um…wait for me a second…"
Gaster said before standing up, grabbing two packs of instant noodles.
And to nobody's surprise, he was once again struggling to cook the damn thing. Once again, an uneasy expression filled Frisk's face.
"…I think that's…not how it's supposed to be done?" In a timid voice, she voiced her opinion
"Is that so? You know how to cook it?"
"I think…I saw…someone cooking it before…" Frisk responds, uncertain
"Then you can try…I mean, I have stacks of it lying around the lab."
With an affirmative nod and a determined look on her face, Frisk begins cooking.
Gaster is pretty sure this isn't instant noodle…at least not anymore.
For all he know…instant noodle doesn't have pasta on top of it, and he was pretty sure it contains a lot of water.
"Um…this is spaghetti?" Gaster asked with a skeptical tone
"Are there…any differences?" An innocent question, if not gullible
"You know what? You have done well…I think it looks great!"
"Really?" Frisk said hopefully...which really push Gaster into a tight spot.
Yeah, at least the appearance is acceptable…the taste, however.
Gaster's face immediately scrunches up…
It was an indescribable taste…
Seeing Gaster's reaction, Frisk decided to take a bite. To him, the most shocking thing he saw was the nonchalant look on her face.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Frisk asked, seemingly unaware
"Are you sure you follow the right recipe?" A haggard look on his face, Gaster asked
"I think so? I think it tasted fine…" Frisk said while contemplating
Do human taste buds are also different from monsters? Gaster doesn't know how to describe it, but that spaghetti is definitely not delicious…not like he has the gut to say it.
"Um…my family used to cook this for me all the time…I think it's hard to taste at first, but now it's fine to me." Frisk explained, and a solemn look appear on Gaster's face.
"Don't worry. The food tastes are...alright." Reluctant filled his voice, and Frisk somehow caught into it, but decide not to push the problem "How about you go to bed first? You can leave the dishes to me."
"I…can do the dishes…" Frisk said meekly
"No, no, I insist…we will continue our lesson in the morning, tomorrow okay?"
"…okay." Frisk said before heading back to her temporary room "And…thank you, Mr. Gaster."
Before he could respond, the timid girl was already gone…
Gaster soon notices that Frisk has an exceptionally good memory. She is not so bright at logic…average at best, but she has no trouble remembering things, and recalling things, as shown by the fact she has no trouble learning Wingdings.
But usually, those two come in pairs…maybe it has something to do with her soul trait?
Each human soul has a different attribute…starting from 7 core ones, slowly being mixed into various traits. There are even hybrids between humans and monsters from the war…but they have already died out…
Maybe this is something worth looking onto later on.
Nevertheless, Frisk performs exceptionally well today. Her action has gotten much less reluctant, and she can actually speak her mind.
This prompts Gaster to search for other topics to talk about with Frisk. It was not really successful, as he is not a communicative person, either.
When he tried telling her some jokes, she did giggle a bit…but Gaster have a feeling it isn't because he was funny.
Looking back, despite his best efforts, it seems like a gap still exists between them…Frisk still holds onto her distrust toward him…
She is questioning his sincerity, albeit passively…
And Gaster felt that if he does nothing, the girl will detach herself away from him…
Gaster woke up to a strange sound resounding from inside the lab…
Getting up from his bed, Gaster went to Frisk's room to check on her.
Frisk looked like a mess…a darker tint painted her pillow as she hugs herself, hand gripping onto the hemp of her shirt tightly. Her expression scrunched up as her eyes are closed uncomfortably.
She was crying…
Gaster's expression darkens…these night terror has gotten so frequent…
He doesn't know if it's pity or something else he felt for the girl as she desperately tried to hold herself together…
It's not that he didn't want to help…but Gaster…to be exact, is a coward.
He doesn't know what to do in a situation like this…he is scared he will mess up, and he might do something irreversible. He has succeded so much that he is scared of failing.
Or at least, that's what he told himself.
And so, Gaster clenched his hand and try to walk away-
"…please…don't go…no…" It startled Gaster a bit, but alas it was just Frisk sleep-talking… "I…no…no…no…"
A horrible feeling grasped his soul, and Gaster gave in, if even just for a second…and placed a hand on her head, but his action was clumsy, and he was about to retract his hand, regretting his decision.
But Frisk...stopped her toss and turn, her breathing returning to normal as her expression loosen up…look like whatever that nightmare was, it has gotten better.
A sigh of relief escapes his mouth…
However, afraid that he will wake the little girl up, Gaster decided to stay there, if even for a bit…
The next morning, Frisk would wake up feeling again an unfamiliar warmth…