Work Text:
There was a thicket of flowers in a forgotten corner of Waterfall.
It was quiet there.
Echo stayed firmly rooted to the spot in Waterfall where he had first woken up. It wasn't that he couldn't move. He could! Or at least… he was fairly certain he could learn! If he wanted to. But… Echo didn't want to.
He liked it here.
There was something very calming about the way the water rushed past nearby, nearly inaudible, and the gentle breeze that flitted through the caverns. It was dark, but that darkness was very comforting, like hiding underneath a blanket, reading a new book, safe, and warm and home.
Home… well, Echo supposed this was home. It was where his roots were, and he was sure he knew a saying about that. Perhaps the saying was not written for flowers, but it seemed just as true. Besides, if this wasn't home, he was not sure where home could be. After all, echo flowers couldn't thrive in Snowdin, which was, of course, the only reason he would never go there. It was too cold! That might be fine for bunnies and dogs or… or skeletons… but it was simply out of the question for talking flowers! Home could not be in Snowdin, so home was right here, where he woke up. Simple!
He did wish he had a book to read… or a blanket to hide beneath… there was the dirt, he could burrow into it, which would be sort of like a blanket, but it was so… dirty. So nevermind! He didn't need it! And as for a book… well, who needs them! He read all his books, anyway. And all the ones in the libarby. In Snowdin. Not that he would ever go there. If he was going to have a book he would require a new book, because he was a new flower!
Oh. But then again, he wasn't sure if he could still read. He would expect that to be very easy! He was a voracious reader! An avid reader! A great reader! … but he had also been a great speaker. He knew a lot of interesting words, and he'd known exactly how to say them. And he'd had a loud, commanding voice! Commanding of what, he wasn't certain, but his voice had been great, a big part of what made him great, what made him him. But now he couldn't speak at all unless someone said the words first… it was… it was… well it was frustrating! A major inconvenience! But of course, he could endure! He was a very clever flower! He was too great to be taken down by his sudden changes in capabilities!
Because he was The Great…
The Great!
…
Echo, he guessed. There was no point in having a name you couldn't even speak! Better to just be Echo!
The Great Echo!
What mattered was that he was very great. The name was inconsequential. As long as people knew him, it didn't matter what they knew him as! A flower by any other name would be as great!
Echo spent most of his days thinking things like this. Often, he would end up right back at the same thought without realizing it at first. It was a bit maddening, really, but only because it was boring to be alone in a thicket with nothing to do but think, and it was made worse if the things he would think were always the same thoughts. There just wasn't much else to think! What was he spare to think! About… about how he got here? Or… or if Undyne…. if Sans…. or… or why he felt so… so very…
Empty.
None of those things were worth thinking about! They were too boring to think even once! Just dull thoughts that didn't bother him in the least! So he just thought about other things!
He was lonely, but he was used to that, and now it didn't feel quite as harsh, so he endured. Besides, there were other flowers here, so how could he possibly be lonesome?
This wasn't a very popular part of Waterfall. A shame, really. There had been a cave-in nearby. Someone died. Now no one wanted to go there.
It was probably the dead guy's fault.
Luckily, popular or not, Echo heard the sound of someone approaching. He tried not to get too excited, but he couldn't resist! It was unlikely they would stay very long, but couldn't he hope? He wanted to make a new friend! This could be that new friend! And then, he would have 1 total friends!
The other stopped behind him, out of view entirely. Echo felt annoyance spike through him, and… anger, but only a little. Logically, he knew they weren't trying to insult him. Logically, he knew they didn't know they weren't alone. Logically, he knew it was ridiculous to be angry, and he was never angry before! Even after far worse insults… but ever since he became a flower, anger came easier. It was weird. He had nothing to be angry about. Nothing.
He could of course turn around to face them. That was not beyond his capabilities, but it had scared at least a few monsters off, so he would have to take it slow. Instead, Echo waited, listening. Maybe the monster would speak to him! Even if they did not wish to be his friend, a few new words would be very welcome! He listened with great interest, but what he heard… Was not speaking.
The other monster was singing.
It was a high, quiet, lyricless tune, but it carried through the entire corner of the caverns they both occupied. Echo did not know the song. He didn't really understand music; he never liked it before. People had thought that was weird, but it was just a lot of noise. He had never enjoyed a lot of noise. But it'd been a few days since the last monster visited, and things had been too quiet. Noise was almost welcome, now, especially when the source was another a monster. He could practically feel their soul in flux behind him.
So Echo listened to the way the tune changed, the way the notes shifted and their magic danced along. It was a sad song, but it felt fitting for this little corner of Waterfall. Maybe it was a memorial song? He liked to think it was. Echo felt his mood lifting, the other flowers joining in in an off-key harmony, always trailing just a bit behind the virtuoso.
He wondered…
Echo closed his eyes, and tried to match the singer's lead. His voice sounded so high! And he couldn't sing!
But here he was, singing.
Wowie… He was singing! Echo could sing!
He sang along with where he thought the song might go. Sometimes the other changed things from previous repetitions, but he didn't know the changes, and fell slightly out of harmony. He did his best to correct it! It was almost like a puzzle, a game of wits, and that was exciting to him! They were winning now, but he would learn!
…And then it was done, and it was far too soon. A shame, he was having fun! He wanted to keep singing!
He turned around, not bothering to take it slow now, expecting to only see the back of the monster as they left him all alone again. Instead, they were staring right at him.
They were paying attention to him! That was a great sign!
Echo recognized this monster, though he had not known her well. She used to take piano lessons with Undyne, and sometimes she would be finishing up as he arrived early for his lessons. Sometimes he would try to talk to her, though she would always shy away.
She liked to sing, that much he'd known. He'd never heard her before today.
He decided to introduce himself. This was the first such opportunity he has had. “Echo!” He sounded much like the child who had first shouted out that word as they passed. It was not his voice, but he could accept it. He would make it his voice. It wasn't a commanding voice, and Echo wasn't much of a name, but it was his. It was his.
He wondered if the monster could understand his greeting. He hoped so. He watched in anticipation. The monster stared for a moment before a lovely smile, bright and big, crossed her face. It reminded him of Undyne.
“Shyren,” the water monster said, quiet and withdrawn, but curious, happy even.
Someone was happy to see Echo! To meet him! This was a first! This was great!
“SHYREN!” he repeated louder than she had spoken. Shyren was great! Shyren would be an excellent friend!
“Do you like to sing…?” she asked, her voice even smaller. Did Echo like to sing? He… wasn't sure? Didn't he hate it? No, that couldn't be right. He had just been singing. And Shyren like to sing. And they were friends. He must like to sing!
Echo liked to sing! Echo loved to sing! Echo loved music!
Echo nodded enthusiastically, pointing a leaf towards himself. “Like to sing!” He nodded again, proud of himself for for figuring out the answer.
Shyren’s smile stretched wider. She whispered, “do you want to sing with me some more?”
“SING! SING!” he shouted, and she flinched at his volume, but it was fine. She needed to stop being so shy! The other flowers joined in his demands, and Shyren began to sing again, wavering and much quieter than before, but growing in volume as Echo joined along.
Together, they sang a beautiful song. It was a shame no one else could hear. They would have both been stars!
Shyren left eventually, called away by some other monster, leaving Echo alone once again. He wished she would come back, but until she did, he practiced the song she had taught him. It wasn't new words, and he couldn't make up his own songs, but it was something to do besides thinking and thinking and thinking on a loop, and Echo was content with that.
He didn't feel quite so bored or lonely when he sang.
There is a thicket of flowers in a forgotten corner of Waterfall.
Sometimes, it's full of music.