:):
Thank you for the lovely reviews!
...
That quote definitely seems appropriate for the upcoming chapters, Marionette. :D
xxx
Stone of Protection
xxx
Hazel eyes widened in surprise as Frisk stared down at her mother's Sunstone. She would recognize it anywhere. How... Why did he have it? Emotion filled her as the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She didn't know how to feel right now. Since she couldn't find it, she had been nearly certain that she had left it behind back at Fauna, but seeing it here and now knowing that it wasn't lost forever...
Spotting the unshed tears in the teenager's eyes, Sans felt slightly uncomfortable as he tried to explain. "this was your mother's, right?" he asked rhetorically. "the kid brought it with her when she came to the underground. i've seen her use it before and i'm pretty sure this thing makes the type of light you're talking about. so, do you think this would work against the vines?"
Nodding, Frisk gave her friend a relieved smile. *It's perfect.* She silently confirmed.
Letting out a slow improbable breath, the skeleton forced himself to continue. "i know you probably don't ever want to go back in those ruins, and believe me, i don't want you to, but as you can see, this thing doesn't work for me." he reluctantly admitted as he stared down at the runic stone. "you're the only one, save for your little sister, that can operate runes in the underground. so, i guess what i'm trying to say is, i... need you to come with me. think you're up to it?"
Giving the skeleton a look of determination, Frisk nodded as she placed her hand on the stone. Secretly, she dreaded the idea of going back into those ruins, but she'd do literally anything to save her baby sister. Not to mention, now she might be able to protect her new friend as well. The thought of him going back into that place all by himself bothered her greatly, but now he wouldn't have to go alone. Knowing this gave her an undeniable sense of relief.
Turning the human's hand over, Sans smiled as he placed the stone into her open palm. "great. in that case, i should probably get things ready before we head out. gimme a few minutes, k?"
Giving her friend the universal hand gesture for 'OK', Frisk nodded before sitting down on the bed next to her little sister.
After folding the map as carefully as he could, Sans tucked it away into his jacket pocket for safe keeping. Now he just needed to pop on down to the kitchen, grab some stuff, and then leave Papyrus a note that he could definitely read this time. Hopefully, they'd be back before he even got a chance to read it, but just in case something went... wrong, he needed to at least give his brother some kind of explanation if he was a bit late getting back.
A few minutes passed as Frisk waited patiently for her friend to finish preparing. Spending that time with her little sister and the small white dog, the mute girl was reminded of the worrying scene that she had witnessed the moment she had first arrived into this room. It had been chaotic and dangerous. Was it safe to leave Fearia alone here? What if that happened again?
If she was being honest, that event had looked suspiciously like a haunting. A poltergeist, perhaps? If there was a ghost in this house, a small defenseless body devoid of a Soul would be highly appealing. Exorcising an unwelcomed spirit was always difficult, but fortunately her little sister had yet to be possessed. Somehow, she needed to make sure it stayed that way.
But... what could she do?
Leaving the vaguely informative note on the dining table, Sans returned to his bedroom only to find Frisk sitting at his desk once more. "i'm ready when you are." he said as he casually walked over to her. Not surprisingly, she had a message waiting for him. Picking up the paper, he arched an eyebrow bone as he read the odd question.
*Do you know where I can find a stone?*
"a stone?"
Nodding, she handed him another paper with a prewritten message already prepared for his obvious response. Slightly humored by her sense of foresight, the skeleton smiled a little as he read her next message.
*I need one about this big.*
Below that sentence, a circle about 4 inches in diameter was drawn. Inside the circle, she answered his next question before he even had the chance to ask it.
*Because I do.*
"heh. you're kinda strange, y'know that?" Sans chuckled as his smile widened into a grin. "alright, doll, will any stone do?"
*It needs to be smooth.* Frisk replied silently.
"gotcha." the skeleton replied with a slight nod of his skull. "be right back."
Not even three seconds later, he had reappeared holding a stone in his boney grasp. Placing it down on the wobbly desk, he shoved his hands back into his pockets and waited for an explanation. "i know you two like stones n' all, but this one's not gonna do anything."
Not bothering to give her friend a reply, Frisk collected the smooth roundish stone from the table and examined it. For some reason it was covered in sprinkles of brightly colored specks of paper. Why? She couldn't tell. Either way, this rock would work perfectly.
Picking up the dull pencil, Frisk carefully began to drawn something onto the stone's smooth surface. Thankfully, this runic symbol for Protection wasn't a complex one, it was just a small heart held within a triangle that was encircled by a double ring. Finishing the design as well as she could, she set the stone aside for a moment as she wrote an incantation from memory.
Now came the iffy part she thought as she picked the rock up and held it out to her friend. She used to have a natural talent for creating runestones, however, that ability was stolen from her the day she lost her voice. If this was going to work, she needed him to recite the words perfectly.
Perplexed, Sans stared down at the rock that had been placed in his hand. He honestly had no idea what the hell she was doing. Before he could ask, though, a paper was held up for him to read.
*I think there is a sinister presence in this house.* Frisk tried to explain. *Before we leave, let's try to make a Protection stone for Fearia. I can't do this myself, so would you please help me by reading aloud these words?*
"wait," Sans started, completely dumbfounded by what she was asking. "you want me to help you make a runestone?"
Nodding, the mute girl held up the incantation for him to read.
"uh, i don't know how to break this to ya, sweetheart, but I can't exactly do human magic..." He tried to reason as his grin faltered slightly.
With a small reassuring smile, Frisk gave the skeleton a silent reply as she placed her hand on top of his. *I'm going to help you. Please try.*
Releasing an exhausted improbable sigh, Sans acquiesced to her odd request. Studying the strange words, he felt his grin go flat. This definitely wasn't a language that he knew. Good thing it wasn't that long.
"hanc petram... praesidiis?"
Accepting the awkwardly spoken spell, the rock flickered between their closed hands as a soft blueish light leaked out from the cracks. When Frisk slowly lifted her hand, the skeleton's eye sockets widened in surprise. The pencil markings that she had drawn were now seared into the hard mineral, and from within the grooves, a bright blue light could be seen. Once the light had finally died down to a gentle glow, an obvious engravement was left behind on the stone's otherwise smooth surface.
Did... Did they just turn his pet rock into a runestone?
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, Frisk looked positively delighted by the outcome. *Good job.* She silently praised. *You read it perfectly.*
Still slightly mystified by what had just happened, Sans felt his smile widen a little as he processed her silent words. Frisk was pleased with him, and damn if her praise didn't make him feel strangely happy for some dumb reason. Giving an apathetic shrug, the skeleton downplayed his success. "eh, that was just a bit of beginner's luck."
Smiling, the mute girl wrote her reply on the back of the cluttered piece of paper before handing it to him.
*Maybe. But I think you might have a natural talent for runes. We should do this again sometime, just for the fun of it.*
"heh, i think you just want to hear me say more fancy words." Sans teased sarcastically.
Rolling her hazel eyes, Frisk gave her friend a subtle smirk as she retrieved the new runestone from his boney hand.
The skeleton simply grinned in amusement.
...
Once the Guard Stone was placed within Fearia's small hands, Frisk gently tucked the covers around her little sister a bit more snuggly to try and keep in as much warmth as she could. After that, she leaned over and pressed her lips lovingly to the sleeping child's forehead. As much as she hated leaving her again, at least now Frisk felt a little more confident doing so. This stone, uniquely imbued with a mixture of magic, was definitely powerful enough to keep this entire house safe from greedy spirits. Fearia would be safe until they returned.
"ready?" Sans asked once Frisk was finished. Seeing her nod in confirmation, the skeleton held out his hand. "let's do this then."
xxx
I know this seems like a shameless use of magic, but it's important to the story later on. :)
...
A little side note here - Sans was supposed to say "I bestow this rock with my protection."
However, the literal translation was simply "This rock guards." lol
...
In the next chapter - When Sans and Frisk return to the entrance to the Ruins, they are met with a most disturbing sight!
xxx
Thanks for reading!
If you are enjoying this story, why not take the time to leave me a friendly review?
Sheii Bae~
