"You are the first human to come here in a long time."
The two humans sat by a pillar as they awaited Toriel's return, having been left behind while she went to... do errands... or something... Chara hadn't been able to focus, following along and only thinking on that, the appearance of their adoptive mother, the fact she'd called herself the caretaker of the ruins... Even now they thought on it while Frisk wrote something on the ground with their stick, trying to focus on too many questions at once.
After saving them, Toriel had told Frisk she would guide them through the ruins. As they left, Chara momentarily stopped to check on their attacker, finding neither flower nor dust in its place. It wasn't dead, and Chara knew they hadn't seen the last of it, but they ignored the awful feeling that went along with that realization and followed along. Of course, Toriel had not been able to see them as she explained to Frisk about puzzles, and mercy, and...
Chara's heart ached terribly, knowing she was within reach and yet...
Why was she here? Where was dad? Where was Asriel?
How long had Chara been gone?
All these things and more bothered them to the point they weren't paying attention, leading them to jump when Frisk reached out to "touch" them. Chara turned to look in the dirt, where a question was asked: "Can I call her Mom, too?" A small heart was drawn next to it, and Frisk was smiling innocently. Chara's first reaction was an unintentionally scornful laugh. "What? I mean, I guess. Just don't forget whose mom she really is." When they caught up with their words and tone, though, and saw how their smile faltered, almost becoming a frown before becoming... an understanding smile... they shrunk back a bit, hugging their legs as they said, "...it's fine. I'm sorry. It's just... upsetting. You get it."
Frisk nodded to signal that they did understand, and quickly erased their words with their shoe. They continued to write once things were clear, and Chara let out a long sigh as they patiently waited. Frisk was the only person who could see them and Chara was being a dick about it. Because of their own decisions. Because of their own mistakes. Frisk waved their hand in front of Chara's face to get their attention again not long after.
"Do you want me to tell her you're here?"
...Chara wasn't sure, honestly. They considered it as they stared for a few moments. Here they were, the ghost of Toriel's adopted child. They had likely hurt her so much with what they'd done, irreparably shattering her and dad's hearts. They had even endangered Asriel's life just because they couldn't accept their fate. And at the same time, Chara thought – no, they knew. She'd love to hear they were there. Even if she couldn't see them, being able to communicate through Frisk would be a joy for both of them. They could get clearer answers from her if she just knew Chara was there. Probably.
"I'll... consider it. While it could be helpful, I don't know if it's a good idea yet. In the meantime... Don't you think we should head after her? She's taking a while, but the ruins only go on for so long. We'd catch up with her eventually." Frisk looked a bit disapproving, which Chara responded to by saying, "Don't give me that look, I know what she said! But we're going to get there eventually anyway, so we might as well go now!"
Written in the ground after a little more erasing was, "Isn't it dangerous?"
"Maybe a little, but... monsters are nice! Usually... They were acting a bit strange. I promise, though, if you're kind to them, most of them will understand you mean no harm. If you really think it's too dangerous, though, we can continue to wait for Mom." Then again, she wasn't really here to protect them... so going on ahead could put Frisk's life at stake. "...that's probably the best option. If the monsters are aggressive, putting yourself at risk just to try and get by them without hurting anybody would be-"
Frisk quickly shook their head, though, putting their hands up in front of them. Their red soul, similar to the one Chara had lost, appeared in front of them with the numbers "20/20" floating, shimmering in front of it. It was... honestly bizarre. Chara had never seen such a thing. "What... is that?" They reached out to touch the numbers, but Frisk immediately made the soul disappear, waving their hands frantically at Chara to warn them away. Maybe it was like that thing from before and would injure them? Either way, Frisk explained as well as they could with just their hands: When the number was twenty, apparently, they were fine (explained with two thumbs up), but when it was zero...
Oh. Oh dear.
"Frisk, how do you know this? What if you get hurt? You shouldn't risk it!" Their warnings were ignored as Frisk picked up their stick and started walking, forcing the ghost to follow. "Frisk? Frisk, please!"
In the next room was a Froggit who pleaded with Frisk to spare monsters, which they seemed to happily agree to. (Which was honestly a relief on Chara's end, but they were still worried about Frisk's safety.) They took a short break to roll around in some leaves, leaving the ghost child maybe a bit concerned with how seriously they were taking things at the moment, momentarily pausing with their back to Chara. When Chara called out for them, though, Frisk lifted themselves up, smiling and deciding to continue on without explanation.
This was going to be a long trip, that was for sure.
