There was a feeling like falling. Slipping away, and into nothing. Then, a flicker of something. The shattered pieces of the soul shining, pulling somewhere. Grasping at something that had been...forgotten.
She opened her eyes. Sitting across from a human teenager. He had curly dark hair, and rings beneath his eyes. His foot tapping anxiously, as he smoked freely. A cigarette in his lips, just hanging there.
The sensation of smoking wasn't something Chara had ever participated in. Given her parents distinct warnings against doing so. Though, the feeling of it was...intense. Her senses shared with the young man, prompting her to feel every impatient little tap. To feel the sense of nicotine in her head.
He wore a patch that read West Kingman Highschool. And was toying with a rock in his off hand, while he was hanging out. Debating things in his mind, that she sometimes caught glimpses of, or, at least, felt in some strange way.
"H-hey...Mychal?" She drifted nearby.
"Eh, oh, hey, what's up kid?" He replied, blowing his smoke away from her.
"You shouldn't smoke." She cautioned, prompting him to roll his eyes. "I-it's...bad for people, even mom says so."
Mychal took the cigarette from his lip, held between two fingers for a second and examined it. "Nothing is good for you. But you know that, right?" He remarked, flicking the ash and then smoking again. "Hell, especially you, being fuckin dead and all." She frowned. "Besides, it's like you said with all that...stuff you did. Even if I die, I just 'reset' right, long as we stay determined?" He asked, brushing his nose. "Like what happened, when I fell over that edge?"
"Well maybe, b-but you still shouldn't." Chara huffed. "She'd be really upset." The girl explained. "And you might get sick like I did. The reset doesn't...work when that happens."
"Oh yeah, like you smoked?" The Teenager chuckled.
"No...I didn't...I, well, I ate the buttercups, and.." She trailed some. "It...hurt, but I wanted to help, and-"
As she talked, his foot tapped faster, and faster. His anxiety was spiking, and she could feel it. Even as he took a long drag on the cigarette. Finally, he let out a loud groan, stopping her mid-speech.
"Ya know what-" He laughed some. "No offense kid, but your mom isn't my concern." He remarked, flicking the cigarette at her. "Nor is you getting yourself all fucked up and sick like that." He said. "Eating those damn things like a moron." She glanced away. "I'm surprised you didn't...didn't uh..." he trailed off some, as the realization came back to him. "Uhm..."
The two sat in silence for a time, the teenager pushing his hands against his head. He felt like a jackass, and it was fairly all consuming. The phantom that had accompanied him since he woke up in the ruins, floating there. Looking upset and hurt.
Mychal cursed himself internally. He hadn't meant it like that. He was stressed. His dark blue jacket contrasting with the faded red wall. Though, he wasn't the only one, and he knew that. It wasn't like their first attempt went well. Especially when they tried to tell said phantoms mother about her presence as a ghost. Something he was...very glad they hadn't done the second time.
He could deal with that much...with all that again.
"Fuck, I'm sorry...Chara." He apologized, awkwardly. "Look, it-it uh, all I mean, is that...it doesn't really matter, see, I'm not staying here." He noted. "I can't, right?" He smiled a half-smile. "I've gotta go home. So, I can't...be sitting here, being concerned about what she wants, ya know?"
"But-" The child began. "You can't leave...she...she won't want you to leave."
Mychal rose from his seat on a rock, stretching out some. He bounced the rock in his hand, looking at the wall across from them. With a motion he tossed it. Ricocheting it off the floor, against the wall, and back to his hand.
"Look, kid...she seems pretty nice, I'll give you that." He tossed the rock in water, as he stepped across a small bridge. "But I've lived in cities less cramped than this joint, yeah?" He remarked, while pulling out his switch blade, toying with it. "I've got stuff I gotta do." He told her. "And sides, she doesn't exactly seem the cougar type, so I'm pretty sure I ain't gonna get laid."
"Well, she's a goat." Chara noted. "And...laid?" She asked, floating beside him, watching the knife.
"Admittedly I think it's the eyes. Always gets me...that sort of soft, caring person." He smiled sly. "Always wanna fix you...have faith in you...when like, you just..have it in yourself." A huff escaped his lips, as Chara felt his sadness for a moment. "Plus, they tend to be real demons in the-"
"What does laid mean...is that a thing?" The child inquired.
"Whataya mean, what's laid mean?" He scoffed. "It means fu-" He had a sudden realization. "Err right...you're a kid...and Tori's your...Mom...huh." He hummed, glancing, and chuckling nervously. "Know what, nevermind." He commented in embarrassment. "Just, forget I said anything."
"But-" She moved forward, floating in front of him. "Why did you want it?" She asked. "And why would mom have it?"
"Chara, kid, you're killing me. Just-" He made a waving gesture with his hand. "Please, just forget about it. Your mom's...great, nice person, I'm just an idiot k?" He huffed. "I'm sorry I said anything, right, just let it go."
Chara considered what he may have been trying to say, wondering on the implications. It took a moment, but she eventually discerned, what she believed he was after. Giving him a knowing look.
"Wait, wait...you mean the necklace thing?" She asked.
"What?" He asked.
"Those are called lays" She stated, rolling her eyes. "Me and Asriel read a book about it." She told him matter of factly. "I guess...Mom did help us make them, but I doubt she still has any."
"The what-" He began, before smiling some, as it clicked. "Right, yeah, those. Those flower necklace bits...yeah, you got me. I've uh...always wanted one, ya know?" He gestured to himself. "Figured it'd bring out the blue of my eyes, or...something. Leave it to you to get the word right kiddo."
"Can't believe you really called it a laid." She snickered, sounding a little arrogant. "And you're in high-school?"
"Never said I was a good student." He smiled a more genuine smile. "I'm just a big idiot who can't do words right." Making her laugh a little, while folding the switchblade into his pocket.
They headed into another room, and then hooked left. The soft purples and yellows of the ruins, all around them. Guiding steps, as they entered into the large space before the home. With a brilliant tree in the center. With some of the leaves having fallen off, leaving a few barren branches. Below it, a bed of flowers, in its infancy.
A monster present, resting on her knees as she watered them. She had a softness to her eyes, and a perpetual little smile. Off ever so slightly, hiding some sort of pain. When they approached, her attention turned to them.
"Good morning Mychal." She said warmly.
"Oh...morning, Tori." He responded, briefly glancing to Chara.
"You left before I could make breakfast...I hope you slept okay, at least?" Toriel slowly got to her feet. "I know the bed is a little small, but I'd hope it was comfortable...at least?"
Chara noted the look of fondness in Mychal's eyes, conflicted as they were. "Yeah, it's fine, I've slept on worst, so...it's cool." He shifted his posture. "Sorry to bail out like that, just thinking on some things."
"That's perfectly alright." The woman assured him, as Chara dissipated from beside the teenager, like a shadow in sunlight. "I hope you're feeling well-" She sounded nervous. "I know...the ruins can be a lot to take in."
He glanced to where Chara had been. "It's not that big a deal, promise." He considered something. "Hey, listen, I need to ask bout something."
"What's wrong?" She inquired. "Are you okay?" She asked. "If you need something, we can head to Old Home, and-"
He let out a sigh, looking guilty "N-no no, it's not that..it''s just." He glanced away. "How...what's uh...what's beyond the ruins?" He asked, noticing her shift. "Cuz, you got that door in the basement. I wager...that's the way out?"
"I asked you not to go down there," Toriel noted, glancing back towards the house. "Beyond that door...it's dangerous."
"And...if I needed to get out?" Mychal asked, meeting her eyes.
"Mychal...I don't think you know what you're asking." Toriel responded.
Chara felt the click of the switchblade in Mychals hand. As his eyes searched her mother's own, his brow furrowing. An uneasy silence setting in, as his smile began to fade. This new sensation, this emotion he was feeling. It filled Chara with dread. His lips opening to speak-
The memory faded.
|Continue|