Apologies for that little detour.
I figured, dear watchers, you might want to know what was transpiring elsewhere. Anywho...
At this point, they had reached their destination. And were staring out at the water, with a sense of unwelcome anticipation. The air in Waterfall was naturally quite chilly. Chara honestly, hardly felt it at all, given the magical nature of her jacket. And to the credit of the scarf that Aliza wore, it also provided a warmth to her person. It just didn't cover as much space.
"So...I'm gonna guess that waters a little cold." Chara suggested, hesitantly. "Though, there are rocks around the edge. So maybe we can go hop from-"
Her suggestion, was cut off as it was being presented. As Aliza had already concluded what her next action was to be. A spark of bravery flowing within.
She wanted to prove herself, in some odd way. Stepping out into the water, she was immediately greeted with a chill running up her spine, and cold in her system. But that's because the water was just above freezing temperature.
"O-okay, yeah, i-it's cold." Aliza nodded. "T-that's...very cold."
"I wasn't saying to go test it, dork." Chara noted, before treading in alongside her. "W-wow, okay...colder th-than I thought."
Thankfully for them both, it wasn't too deep. Only coming up, to around half-way to their knees. Which, while still unpleasant, was more bearable than it could have been.
"I-it's not t-too far." Aliza shivered, while continuing towards the other side.
"R-right." Chara nodded, following her counterpart this time.
The pair made a point to walk with careful steps, rather than hasty ones. After all, falling into this miserable cold would be incredibly unwelcome. Thankfully, it didn't wind up taking them that long to get across it, once they got going.
When they reached the other end, and trudged out the two couldn't be more relieved. Sure, the air being cold made the feeling a little worst in the moment. But their clothing items were magical. And this meant the frigid water, didn't stick around, or get absorbed into the fabric easily. So they'd be dry in no time.
Once beyond the room of water, they came to notice that there were pipes breaching through the earth. Similar to the ones in the ruins. Including two that were running across the ground, and then back into it again. Though these weren't the only odd objects present on this path.
The next notable sight, was present a little ways ahead of them. And it was what appeared to be a sentry station. With some symbol on the side, that looked similar to the deltarune, only wonkier.
Aliza noticed. "Hey, it's...your family symbol."
"Er...sort of." Chara hummed, and turned so Aliza could see the symbol on the back of her jacket. "It's not quite right. See?"
Aliza glanced between these two things, and her friend had a point. While they bore similarities, remarkable similarities, they weren't the same. It seemed this new symbol, was just the one Chara was wearing, rearranged or drawn in an odd way. Like a knock off.
"Hmm...maybe...they didn't know how to draw it?" Aliza inquired.
"I mean, it's not too hard, I don't think?" Chara chuckled, the pair stepping over the pipes. "It's a few basic shapes, and the wings."
"I'd have trouble...I think." Aliza admitted.
Chara glanced to the side. "Well...that's cuz...it's new to you. But uh...I'd probably help, ya know, cuz we're friends."
"That could be really fun." Aliza suggested, noting. "I think I wanna be able...to draw a cat."
"I think, I can help with that." Chara assured, her.
The pair drew near to the odd sentry station. A closer inspection revealed it to be fairly new in construction. It was made of the wood from the luminescent trees of waterfall. Which was a fairly pleasant material, and let the whole thing have a soft glow of its own. Ensuring it was noticeable in the dark.
The interior of the building had a chair inside, intended for whoever was meant to be there. And pamphlets that lined the wall. She leaned over the counter, arm drawing achingly close to one. Swinging it for a moment, managing to catch the edge of it.
"Got it!" She declared enthusiastically, while moving back from the counter.
Her stomach hurt a bit from leaning. Ruing, however briefly, that she wasn't super tall. Briefly taking solace in the fact she was a little taller than Aliza at least.
"What is it?" Aliza inquired, wandering nearer. "Oh, it's like...this-" She dug out the cavern pamphlet. "see?"
The girls compared them on a basic level. They had the same folding methods. Had the same general layout. Only, one was much older, and the other much never.
"Good eye, partner." Chara complimented.
"Thank you." Aliza replied, putting her pamphlet away.
A closer look at the one held by the purple eyed girl revealed it to be similar to an advert. It was very similar in design, and execution as the one from Crystal Caverns. Or at least, bearing the same layout. Though, the location in question here, was a placed called 'Happy Town.'
The pamphlet was actively inviting people to come visit. To enjoy local cuisine. Find 'meaning work' and growth opportunities. And enjoy the music performed by a local celebrity of some kind.
Happy Town was being promoted as a safe location in Waterfall. One with good food, and friendly neighbors. It noted they even had 100% genuine wood benches, for when someone wanted to sit down. Which Chara reasoned was someone's attempt to be funny, but she didn't get it.
For her part, Aliza was focused more on the pictures than the words. The town didn't seem that large, if anything it was more like a village. But it seemed fairly idyllic, in itself.
There were smiling people, posing couples, random people in T-Shirts which seemed to also be for the local celebrity, and a generally positive mood overall. There were banners and decorations in some of the photos, bearing the knock-off Deltarune. Alongside images of a couple homes, which weren't very large, but seemed nice and comforting.
Chara noted that it had a map on the back section, which was admittedly small. However it gave directions to this location, as well as a somewhat better understanding of where they were. Relative to it.
It was functionally just north of their present location. It seemed following the path would lead them to a 3 way fork in the road. They would be able to head forward, and continue into the town. Head left, to come to a river. Or right, seemingly to continue on to everywhere else.
While examining it all, Chara pondered why the whole thing seemed to make her feel anxious. It wasn't that long ago that the thought of such a cheery place would have made her excited. That it would have made her curious, or interested. That she'd be seeking any justification to go explore it.
But now, when she looked at it, she found it unnerving. She was dubious, and didn't trust a single sentence or image. Wondering if this 'happy place' was some awful death trap. Created by creatures to lure them in, and kill them.
"Are we, gonna visit?" Aliza inquired.
"Do you wanna visit?" Chara glanced. "It uh...may not be around, anymore, as a note."
"It...well, we need...somewhere to wait, right?" Aliza asked. "And...if it is..."
Chara had noticed something, out of the corner of her eyes when Aliza spoke sometimes. And she noticed it again now. The other girl ran her fingers along the soft fabric of the scarf. Almost petting it, like one might do a cat, or a dog.
Thinking on it, she only recalled the girl doing so in nervous moments, uncertain instances. It appeared to be a coping mechanism, for stress. Was it that stressful to suggest an idea to her?
"Uhm. Yeah, we can, definitely...check it out." Chara replied, before adding. "I mean, we're going that way anyways right?" She noted. "And, maybe they'll...ya know, Papyrus, and Metta will know it's there, and check for us or something?"
"You really think so?" Aliza asked.
Chara did not. "Sure. Never know right?"
Aliza pouted some. "If...it's it's a bad idea...you can say so."
"It's not a bad idea, Aliza." Chara assured. "You dork."
"Then uhm..." Aliza recalled something that Chara had done, and struck a pose. "Onward to Happy Town!"
It was fairly clumsy. And largely consisted of pointing in the direction they were meant to be going. Her scarf hanging off to the side, a little smile on her face.
"Pretty good, very cool." Chara replied, adding. "Here, try, like this."
She stepped over beside the other girl. Brushed off the sleeves of her sweater, below the cape. Turned to face Aliza, who observed curiously. Watching while the other girl began moving her left hand over her stomach.
Before snapping her vision to the side, which in this case, was the direction they intended. Her arm rising, with a sudden motion, causing the jacket to part. Aiming a finger gun at the way they were headed, alongside a wink and a smile.
"Oh." Aliza commented. "That's..." She hesitated briefly. "super duper cool."
"I mean, that's kinda basic. But ya know. We can work on those later." Chara said, breaking the pose. "A bit of practice, and you'll be set."
"I'll...I'll do my best." Aliza assured, while giving a thumbs up.
"If it helps. I believe in your power." Chara snickered, as they started off.
Next stop - Happy Town, Waterfall.
