Chapter Text
Forests were nothing new to the group. Vaugarde was covered in forestry, trees and wildlife being the foundation of most of its terrain. The trees were sometimes thick enough to blot out the sun’s light, dappling the floor with darkless spots. The flora could sometimes be difficult to traverse through, thorns and branches and leaves catching on their legs and clothes whenever they tried.
It was never dense enough to impede their travels, though. Always, even with a little struggle, they’d manage to power through it, albeit coming out looking a little disheveled and unkempt afterwards.
After a day of practical, and almost literal, hand-to-hand combat with this forest’s overgrowth, Siffrin felt confident enough to say this was the thickest forest they had encountered yet.
Cutting through another vine with his rapidly dulling dagger, Siffrin managed to squeeze through the claustrophobic growth of bushes and tree trunks he couldn’t see. It wasn’t as difficult for slim folk like him, Bonnie and Mirabelle, but the taller ones of the group were definitely having trouble. Odile’s coat kept snagging on things, which she made very clear was grinding her nerves. Isabeau kept walking into low-hanging branches he hadn’t known were there. Pétronille, the newest addition to their little family, had been startled more than once by leaves suddenly brushing against the back of her neck.
“Remind me again why any of us thought this was a good idea?” Odile grumbled, managing to successfully wriggle through the tight gap. She brushed herself off, frowning in Isabeau’s direction in particular. “Isabeau.”
“I’m telling you– gah!” Isabeau yelped as stumbled through the gap, nearly losing his footing in the process. “It’ll be worth it when we find that old temple!”
“Hm…” Mirabelle sounded politely skeptical. “Not to discredit that old man from the village, but… are we sure the temple… exists?”
At this rate, Siffrin was starting to believe it didn't.
“Then what are we fighting this crabbing forest for!?” Bonnie exclaimed, their glare swiveling towards Isabeau.
Isabeau lifted his hands innocently. “I’m sure it’s real! He did say it was supposed to be really, really well hidden!”
Pétronille did not look convinced. “And when we pop out on the other side of this forest, no temple treasure in hand– or whatever we’re finding there– I’m feeding you to the sea.”
“Aw.”
“Treasure?” Bonnie echoed in sudden interest.
“Don’t get greedy now, Boniface,” Odile said, her lips perking into a small, amused smile. “The chances of there being any treasure is slim.”
“Even if there was, I don't think we should take it!” Mirabelle exclaimed. “It’s not ours, you know? It might belong to whoever lived there before!”
“We don’t really have room to carry any treasure, anyhow,” Odile agreed.
“Aw, boo!” Pétronille gave them a thumbs down. Bonnie followed suit.
Siffrin was only partly listening now. He gazed inquisitively at the map, something that had been supplied by that old man Isabeau and Mirabelle encountered in the previous village they visited. According to that man, there resided an ancient temple deep within the thickest parts of the west forest. He explained it belonged to a long-forgotten religion, one that had only existed in the earliest days of the Change belief, and that was really all Mirabelle and Isabeau could get out of him. He had skittered into the crowd and vanished immediately after.
Why Isabeau had been so excited to walk into a forest that even Sadnesses avoided, Siffrin had no idea. Though they supposed it was easier to be less afraid when you had faced scarier.
Shaking their head, Siffrin rolled back up the map and tucked it into their cloak for safe-keeping. He had long since lost track of where they could possibly be, likely due to the map being decades old, but if they were lucky, the temple should be close. How close, he wasn’t sure, but he was throwing shots into the dark– or, more fittingly, the trees– and hoping for the best.
He hadn’t seen the stone pillar until he was already walking into it. They fell backwards with a startled oof.
His family all exclaimed his name behind him, varying levels of concern and, in Pétronille’s case, amusement. As much as his forehead now ached, they lifted their thumb up.
“Found it…” he announced from the ground, adding a bit of a groan into his voice for extra effect.
“I told you it was real!” Isabeau shouted triumphantly. “Following a mysterious old man’s aimless directions into the woods was a good idea!”
“Yeah, somehow I doubt that,” Pétronille snorted.
Rolling her eyes affectionately, Mirabelle was the one to help Siffrin to their feet. He gave her a small smile of appreciation, earning one back.
“Yahoo, we found it,” Odile deadpanned, which Siffrin expertly interpreted as relief. “So, Isabeau, did this mysterious old man tell you how to get in to the temple?”
From Isabeau’s hesitant silence, Siffrin figured that the mysterious old man had not, in fact, told him that.
“It’s a building, right? It has to have a door somewhere,” Siffrin decided to come to his defense. “We just follow the outside walls until we find one.”
“And if that doesn’t work, we can always climb into a window or something!” Isabeau agreed.
Bonnie’s lightless eyes sparkled. “Can we climb into a window anyway?”
“No,” Odile immediately shot them down. “I’m not going to climb through a window if I don’t have to.”
“Aww,” Bonnie pouted, their shoulders slumping. “You guys never let me climb into windows…”
“Hey, cheer up, Bon. You can climb into as many windows as you want when you’re thirteen,” Pètronille reassured them with a patronizing head rub. Bonnie batted at her hand, puffing out their cheeks in outrage.
“Well, we’d better get looking for that door…” Mirabelle sighed.
“Please, yes. Let’s get going,” said Odile. And, with a sharp look at Isabeau, she added, “before he owes me any more drinks.”
“I’ll buy you as many drinks as you want, Madame!” Isabeau replied earnestly.
As his friends moved ahead, trusting Siffrin’s lack of interference to continue on, Siffrin fell into step beside Bonnie, who was still pouting. He playfully nudged their shoulder, grinning.
“We can climb through a window,” Siffrin offered cheekily.
Immediately, the smile returned to their face, and the two of them shared a mischievous look. A look that he knew his family was not unaware of.
“If Bon’s climbing through windows, I’m coming with.”
Ah. And Pétronille.
It wasn't that Pétronille disliked him– they were pretty sure she didn't dislike them, anyway. She may seem hostile towards him at some points, but Pétronille had a very broad presence in general. She spoke boisterously and firmly with everyone, so Siffrin didn't know why she’d speak to him any different. Her words could come across as harsh sometimes, sure, but Siffrin had long since realized he didn't have the best track record for accurately interpreting his family’s tones.
That, and she tended to be a little protective of Bonnie. Understandable, of course– she was frozen in time for months, unsure of where her little sibling could have possibly gone, or if they were even safe. Come to find out they had gotten themself tangled up with the saviors of Vaugarde, and yeah, if Siffrin were in her place, they’d be as proud as they would be mortified.
(If he were in her place, he wouldn’t like the thought of Bonnie being around someone like him, either. Unsettlingly quiet, having to be reminded not to smile, repeating lines over and over like clockwork. Especially with how he acted around Bonnie at times.
It was after a nightmare, very shortly after arriving in Bambouche. Siffrin had half-consciously staggered out of bed, frantically looking for Bonnie in the haze of a nightmare-induced fit. He had just needed to check, he needed to be sure that Bonnie was okay. That that large hand, gradually tightening, squeezing–)
“Oh! Oh! I have an idea!” Bonnie announced loudly, yanking Siffrin out of their thoughts. “Okay. Hear me out.”
“You have the floor, Bonbon!” Isabeau declared.
Still dead serious, Bonnie lifted their hands. “Thank you. Okay. What if… we split up. Belle, Za and Dile can look for a door since Dile’s old and doesn’t wanna climb through a window, and me, Nille and Frin can climb through a window since we’re young and I really wanna do it.”
On one hand, the thought of splitting up in a new, unknown environment was horrifying. If Siffrin wasn’t there to call out traps for their family…? What if one of them got stuck, and he couldn’t help them? What if there was a lingering Sadness that needed their combined strength to bring down?
After exhausting himself during his loops, and then overexerting himself in a reluctant fight against Loop, his Craft had yet to right itself out. Last week he had tried to use Tear You Apart, and he had collapsed in a twitching, pathetic heap. Odile chided him for overdoing it too early– which it had been months so when would it stop being “too early”– and told them, not for the first time, that using their big-hitting Craft moves was a horrendous idea.
So, may not be very useful in fights right now, especially against any Rock-type Sadnesses, but he could still help! He could heal his family, or tank hits for them! Having more hands on deck was better than none!
…however, on the other hand, Bonnie was looking at them very hopefully. Since Pétronille joined them, they hadn’t gotten to spend much time together. Now would be a pretty good opportunity to do so.
Think about it this way, he tried to soothe himself. Mira, who defeated the King. Isa, who’s big and strong and wonderful. And Odile, who’s good at everything Craft in the world. Versus, Bonnie, a child, and Pétronille.
Of any group of three they could make barring Siffrin, they figured that those three were the best possible combination.
“Splitting up…” Odile mused. She glanced around at everyone, taking in their initial reactions. “I’m fine with it. I think we can handle ourselves. Pétronille?”
“We can handle some creepy old temple,” Pétronille agreed with a large, toothy grin. “We’ll meet up inside anyway, so I don’t see an issue!”
“I’m fine with it,” Mirabelle offered.
“Same here!” concurred Isabeau. His considerate gaze fell upon Siffrin, his eyebrow lifted in questioning. “Sound good to you, Sif?”
He shrugged. “I’m outvoted.”
…uh oh. He wasn’t liking the stares they were sending his way.
“I-I mean…” Siffrin shrunk backwards, smiling sheepishly. “Yes? I’m okay with it.”
That seemed to be the right answer, because Isabeau grinned back.
“Alright! We’ll meet up back inside!” Isabeau decided.
Bonnie whooped. “YES!”
“And if you run into any trouble, feel free to holler,” added Odile, a little more sternly. “And don’t be afraid to retreat if something poses too much of a threat. Siffrin.”
Yeowch, why were they being targeted? “Yeah, yeah. I’ll think thrice before fighting something I can't.”
Isabeau barked a laugh, alleviating some of the weight on his heart. Bonnie and Pétronille groaned loudly in unison.
“That was awful,” Odile formally informed him. Siffrin stuck out his tongue playfully. “Alright. Let’s get going before Siffrin makes any more terrible puns.”
“Yeah! The forest ones were bad enough… I don't think I can take any more,” Mirabelle agreed, and Siffrin had enough practice now to know it was a playful jab.
“I thought his puns were tree-ific!” Isabeau said as they began walking away, eliciting melodramatic groans from the other two.
Still smiling after them, he was wholly not prepared for the hard hand that came down on his shoulder. He automatically wretched himself away, hand almost flying for his dagger before realizing it was just Pétronille.
If she thought anything of his extreme reaction, she didn't comment on it. She jabbed her finger over her shoulder, her hand on her hip.
“Let's find ourselves a window to haul butt through,” she said, gesturing for him to follow. “No more wasting sunlight! Let's go!”
“Let's go!” Bonnie parroted eagerly, all but vibrating from excitement.
Pétronille ended up taking the lead, Bonnie close behind her while Siffrin trailed after the two of them. He almost offered to take over as the leader when she straight up punched a bush, but with Bonnie cheering her on, it was a little difficult.
Don't get them wrong, he didn't not like Pétronille. She was big and loud, but so was Isabeau. It was just… he didn't know how to act around her. She was Bonnie’s sister, somebody he had laid awake at night worrying about meeting. He didn't want to give off any worse of an impression than he already had.
Following the outside, Siffrin realized that the temple was actually a lot smaller than he’d thought. It didn’t tower high in the sky, nor did it take up a huge amount of land. It was humble in its size, taking only what it needed to, while the forest grew wild around it. He breathed in the lush air, letting it fill his lungs and calm his anxious heart. He would never stop being grateful for the fresh air, something that had started to feel foreign to him in the House.
…maybe he should stop thinking for a bit. Before he upset himself.
“Aye, Siffrin!” Pétronille’s voice made him jump, and he snapped back to attention. “If you’re done reconvening with nature, Bon found a window!”
Bonnie had, indeed, found a window. It was a decent size, albeit a little high up– he doubted he or Bonnie could reach it even if they jumped– so they’d have to depend on Pétronille for aid.
“Can I–” Bonnie tried, and nope. Siffrin knew exactly what they were about to ask.
“I’ll go first,” Siffrin said over them. Seeing Bonnie’s dejected look, they clarified, “so I can check for traps and whatnot.”
“Oh.” Though a little disappointed, Bonnie seemed to find the logic in that. “Okay! Nille, throw ‘em up!”
Pétronille cracked her knuckles, eyeing Siffrin with a large grin. “With pleasure.”
“What–?”
Siffrin’s question was cut off into a rather embarrassing squeak as Pétronille lifted him from behind, hoisting him into the sky. He regained his senses quickly, scrambling for a hold on the windowsill as Pétronille tossed him upwards.
Luckily, he caught the edge, and was able to successfully pull himself up. That didn't change the fact their heart had almost flown out of their chest, but a win was a win, he guessed.
“You make it?” Pétronille questioned from below.
“I bet he falls,” Bonnie said unsupportively.
Finding purchase on the edge, Siffrin held out an affirmative thumbs up.
Ignoring Bonnie’s “aw!”, Siffrin turned their attention to the inside of the building. It was pretty dark– Siffrin standing in the window doing it no favors in the light department– but he couldn't see anything that’d be immediately dangerous.
In fact, the room looked a little like a bedroom. He could see a very dusty, very old bed tucked in the corner, books stacked atop a stone slab that acted as a nightstand. An ancient, heavy looking wooden chest sat at the end of the bed, its wood decayed and fragile. Across the room, he could see what he assumed was a desk, a wardrobe(?), and some sort of animal’s skull mounted on the wall. Some type of large mammal, if he had to guess.
“It looks safe,” Siffrin called down to his waiting family (could he call Pétronille that, yet? Family? Bonnie was family. The only thing they lacked was blood relation, which Bonnie had with Pétronille.).
“Heard’jya loud and clear!” Pétronille shouted back up. “Alright Bon, your turn!”
Bonnie cheered loudly as Pétronille picked them up. “WOOHOO! Frin, catch me!”
UM.
“M-Maybe we can do a little less throwing this time?” Siffrin frantically suggested, not at all confident in their ability to catch Bonnie should they be tossed. “The window’s really slim, and the stone kind of hurts.”
“I’ll throw them a little bit,” Pétronille compromised, which did not at all sound better. “Ready? One, two–”
“Is this really a good–”
Siffrin did not get to finish his sentence. His body moved before his brain did, catching Bonnie by their wrists as Pétronille boosted them upwards. Thank the stars they weren’t actually thrown– that would have been a disaster.
With the worrying part out of the way, Siffrin was able to pull Bonnie through the window no problem. His acquired strength from his time in the House really was no joke– Isabeau had been caught up on it for weeks when Siffrin beat him in an arm wrestling match. It was kind of endearing.
“Ow,” Bonnie whined as they landed. “The stone does hurt. And it’s cold.”
“Solid rock tends to do that,” Siffrin replied, looking out the window down at Pétronille. “Do you need me to catch you?”
“Probably,” Pétronille said. “I just don’t wanna yank you outta the window!”
Siffrin blinked. Is she calling me weak…?
“I’ll hold onto Frin!” Bonnie shouted down at her. “Frin! I’m gonna touch you! Nyeh!”
Siffrin felt their arms wrap around his midsection, firm and not at all grounding. Still though, he looked back down at Pétronille, who looked far less skeptical than what was probably warranted.
“Good enough for me! I’m coming up!” she decided. “Siffrin’ll catch my hands, and then both of you pull me up, alright? Alright! On three!”
He didn't even have a chance to troubleshoot the plan. Pétronille moved very fast, he was starting to learn.
Her first jump, he missed catching her, their fingers barely brushing against each other. But leaning out a little further, Siffrin successfully managed to catch her hands, wincing at her iron-clad grip around their wrists. Immediately, he started pulling her up, Bonnie tugging them backwards as they both tried to carry Pétronille’s weight.
With their combined effort, Pétronille climbed safely into the bedroom, even if her trip up had been a little more rocky than theirs.
“Whoof!” Pétronille let out a heavy breath. “Crab! That was a lot funner than taking the door! We should do that with every haunted temple we visit!”
Bonnie nodded. “See?”
Siffrin doubted the temple was haunted. He had seen haunted, and this place hardly gave off the same energy.
While Pétronille and Bonnie fawned over the chest, yelping when a single, curious poke dented the wood, Siffrin decided to check ahead. He pushed open the rusty old door, poking his head out into the hallway ahead.
A straight shot across from the bedroom door, he saw another open doorway, the door seeming to have withered in its age and broken off. The hall was very dimly lit up by tiny, floating orbs of what he assumed was Craft, the surviving lights clustered along the ceiling like fireflies. The hallway curved a little further ahead, each wall lined with faded tapestries and old statues here and there.
Those tapestries could potentially be an issue, but other than that, it seems pretty clear of traps. Siffrin stepped out further into the hall, looking inquisitively at an old tapestry. Most of it was too faded to be coherent, though in what remained, he thought he could make out human figures, bowing before something in the middle. The sky backdrop was lightless, speckled with contrasting white dots.
Siffrin blinked. Stars.
He wondered what the tapestry represented, and what was being worshiped. Hadn’t Isabeau mentioned something about this place existing before the Change belief became widespread? Was this, perhaps, one of the earliest forms of the Change belief?
“Woaaaah.” Bonnie commented from beside him, nearly scaring him out of his skin. They were looking up at the tapestry, their eyebrows furrowed deeply. “What’s this mean?”
“They’re worshiping something, I think,” Siffrin told them. He lifted his finger, tracing the form of what he was sure was an illustrated person. “They’re all bowing to what’s in the middle.”
“But what are they worshiping?” Bonnie pressed.
“I don't know,” he admitted. He was curious about that, too. “Maybe… the beginning of the Change God?”
Bonnie squinted doubtfully at the incoherent being in the middle. “That doesn’t look like the Change God.”
“Yeah. Change God’s really recognizable,” Pétronille agreed from behind. “They wear the same thing so everyone can recognize Them. It’s just Their face that’s ever-Changing. Capital C.”
Siffrin very carefully stopped themself from pointing out he had met the Change God in person. He didn't even know how he’d explain that one without explaining the loops.
(Ah, right. Pétronille still didn't know he had been looping through time. He had no plans to tell her about it, either– who knows what she’d do if she found out he had trapped her little sibling in time for Universe-knows how long? She had almost had their heads for bringing Bonnie into the House at all.)
“Also, I think Za said the religion was… long-forgotten,” Bonnie recalled very slowly, carefully pronouncing the lengthier word. “So! It's probably not the Change God! ‘cause no one’s forgotten about the Change God.”
Oh. Siffrin had forgotten about that part. Oops.
“Maybe if we stare at some old pictures for a little longer, we’ll find some answers,” Pétronille suggested dryly.
That wasn't a half-bad idea, Siffrin thought. He gave her a nod, advancing forwards to the next tapestry he could see. Bonnie rushed past him, eager, while Pétronille only sighed. He wasn't sure what that was about– he was doing what she wanted– but he was too invested in this mystery to care. He’d dwell on it later tonight.
“Frin! Frin! What about this one?” Bonnie asked, pointing up at the next tapestry.
This one was a little more intact. It was a figure outlined in white dots– stars. It was star art. That had a word, he knew, it was– something, constesomething–
“Constellations,” Siffrin murmured out loud.
Bonnie deadpanned at them. “Constawha?”
“Pictures in the stars,” Siffrin explained, shoving away the jab of deja vū that struck him square in the skull. “It’s their god, outlined in the stars. That’s what this tapestry means.”
“The stars?” Pétronille echoed dubiously. “The balls in the sky? Is there something important about ‘em?”
(There was nothing more important. They were his, the only thing he had left, the one thing the Universe couldn’t rip away from him–)
“Frin loves them!” Bonnie told her. “I don't really get it, but Frin really likes the stars.”
Pétronille cocked a brow. “Is that why he’s always staring at the sky? I thought he was daydreaming. Or… night-dreaming.”
“Night-dreaming is just normal dreaming, you crab,” Bonnie huffed. “And yeah! He's, umm… star… stargazing! Yeah! It's where you lay down and watch the stars. Sometimes, Za says they’ll even fly across the sky super fast!”
“Really? Wait, the stars move!?”
Siffrin decided against letting her know the sun, an always-moving object, was actually a star. He turned to look back up at the tapestry, suddenly feeling very small beneath the illustrated stars. It was pretty rare nowadays for anyone to feel as close to the stars as he did, let alone even know what a star was. To know that people, even people hundreds of thousands of years ago, had looked up into the inky night sky and felt that same spark… it made something within his chest feel warm.
If this tapestry was based off of any specific stars, they had probably changed by now. This place was absolutely ancient, so some of the stars immortalized in this tapestry were probably gone. As much as the thought ached, that over time, the stars he walked under would be gone long after he was, he also felt an odd sense of serenity. Gone ad they may be, they weren’t forgotten. That was more than they could say about most things of theirs.
Maybe he should start charting the stars. So few people left in the world shared what he had, so he might as well try, right?
My country, he reminded himself, squeezing his eyes shut against the dull ache in the front of his head. It was mine. I can't say it, but it's mine. And I won't let it go.
He wasn't going to forget what he had lost. Certainly not after the whole King fiasco.
Bonnie and Pétronille had moved on, allowing him to stare wistfully at the tapestry. Bonnie was cooing at another tapestry, while on the other wall, Pétronille poked around at an old statue. It was set up on a little pillar, displayed for all to see and touch. It was a little statue of a person, he thought, holding their arm out, with what he thought was a book held in their other.
Something snapped in the air, so subtly no one but Siffrin noticed. It was like getting hit by lightning, cold shocks running through their skin as they realized.
That statue was pointing at the tapestry across from it. Directly at Bonnie.
Pétronille gently pushed her finger down on the arm, testing.
Two things happened at once, very fast.
One, the tile beneath Bonnie slid open. And, not expecting it, they lost their footing, letting out an alarmed yelp.
Two, Siffrin.
Siffrin was the fastest one on the team. He was the strongest, possessing strength no one could even begin to dream was necessary in such a peaceful country like Vaugarde. The House had left its mark on them, putting them at a power scale much greater than his family, and any foes they came across. Siffrin was strong. Siffrin moved the fastest.
Three taps of his heels against the stone floor as Siffrin launched themselves forwards, thinking desperately, not Bonnie, not Bonnie, not again!
It all happened in the span of not even five seconds. Siffrin wrapped their arms protectively around Bonnie as, suddenly, they were both falling, falling, falling. Bonnie shrieked, understandably, and Siffrin only held them closer, as close as he could.
He hit the side of a dirt wall with a painful thud, only temporarily slowing their freefall as, suddenly, he was falling at an angle, rolling down a dirty, dusty slope.
At least it won't be a solid impact, he managed to think dizzily, a solid half a second before his entire body was submerged into ice cold water.
For a moment, he was sure he blacked out. Reality cut out completely, every sense completely shutting off as soon as his body made contact with the flat water.
When they came to, coughing and hacking on his side, not in the water, his theory was confirmed. He had blacked out. And may have also bruised every single bone in his body, because, ow. Everything hurt.
“Fr-Frin! Frin!” Bonnie’s frantic voice washed over them, and he felt their trembling, wet hand on his shoulder, urgently shaking him. Frin, are you okay!? A-Are you hurt?”
“Gh…” Siffrin rolled onto his back, breathing in deeply. “I-I’m fine, Bonbon. Are you hurt?”
Now that his vision was clearing, he could see that Bonnie was crouched beside him, worried tears in their wide eyes. They looked a little scuffed up, still dripping wet from their shared, abrupt bath, but they didn't look injured.
“I'm fine…” Bonnie replied shakily. “B-But, you hit like, everything! Are you sure your bones aren’t broken!?”
Siffrin managed to give them a grin. “It’d be a bone-ified disaster if they were.”
The joke didn't land. Bonnie still looked anxious.
And it was in that moment realization hit him like a horse.
Having fallen from stars knows how high, he was now stuck in some ancient trap of a cave, lit up only by a single Crafted torch on the wall above a dungeon door. The way up was too steep to even think about climbing, and too high to reach in the first place.
And usually, this would be fine. Siffrin didn't have a problem with this kind of uncertain danger when he was alone.
But Bonnie was here. Bonnie, stuck with the most useless adult they had in their family. Somebody who couldn’t even use most Craft without getting woozy. Someone who couldn't protect them, couldn't uphold his side of the deal, because he had been stupid and pushed it too far, too far, every blinding time he began to heal. And if he had only been smarter, if only he could–
–go back–
“Frin? Frin!” Bonnie shook him by his shoulder, sounding close to tears again. “Frin, you’re smelling like sugar again–!”
Siffrin inhaled deeply, the air pressing against their constricting lungs like a heavy rock. He pushed himself into a sitting position, looking down at their shaking hands and trying not to hyperventilate too hard. The air down here was stiff, and he really did not want to find out how much of it there was to spare.
What was it Bonnie had said? They were smelling sugar?
…oh.
Because Siffrin was panicking.
(A while back, when they first set off with Pétronille, they had all been having dinner. A rather uncomfortable one, as Siffrin stared blankly down at the pineapple pie Bonnie had proudly made that night. He couldn't eat it– physically could not, he would die– but the thought of telling their family, of telling Bonnie, made him feel even more nauseous.
The chatter had been broken by Pétronille’s discontented grumble. “Alright, seriously. The crab’s up with that sugar smell?”
Siffrin had been silent, feeling as if the floor had opened up beneath them. The way Odile and Isabeau had looked at them certainly did not help.
“Sugar smell?” Bonnie had echoed dubiously.
“I keep smelling, crabbing…” Pétronilel had scrunched up her nose distastefully. “Cane sugar, or somethin’.”
Mirabelle frowned. “I don't smell anything…?”
“Nille’s got a really sensitive nose!” Bonnie informed the group. “She can sniff stuff out like a dog!”
“Sugar, you say?” Odile’s eyes had narrowed, and she tilted her head slightly towards Siffrin. “And how often does this occur?”
“Madame…” Isabeau murmured hesitantly, but didn't stop her.
Pétronille looked between the two of them, her eyebrow raised. “...a lot? Is there something I’m missing here? Bon, your friends are being secretive again.”
“Yeah. They do that a lot,” Bonnie had told her unworriedly, too busy stuffing their face with their (second) slice of pie.
“Excuse us, Pétronille. It’s just… related to our quest before,” Odile had told her. “And I’ll give them the chance to speak up about it now, if they’d like. But know you’re not getting out of talking about it.”
And one, unfair. He hadn’t even known he was doing it this time! How was that his fault! Lame.
Two…
(“Please. You’re going to have to talk to them, from now on.”)
…
He didn't want to hide it from his family. Not when he had promised Loop.
The words had felt like knives in their throat. Begging not to be let out, trying desperately to burrow back into his stomach and brew there until it couldn't. But, he had managed to say…
“Sorry.”
All eyes turned to them, and he almost considered eating the pie just to distract everybody.
“Siffrin,” Odile said coolly, prompting him to continue.
“I didn't know it was happening, if that helps…?” He had managed a hoarse chuckle. “I, um… don't know how to make it stop.”
“Maybe we should stop for showers more often,” Pétronille suggested entirely seriously, almost startling them into laughing.
“Wait.” Realization dawned on Mirabelle’s face. “Siffrin? You’re not…”
“I'm not trying to,” Siffrin reassured her. “I just– I don't know. I'm sorry.”
“Don't apologize, buddy! If you couldn't help it, you don't need to apologize!” Isabeau reassured him warmly. “It’s happening ‘cause you’re distressed, right? Something upsets you enough to make you feel like you need to… “go back”?”
“Or, more specifically, their body,” Odile added. “I believe you when you say you’re not consciously trying to go back. It must be something entirely subconscious.”
“Um. I… guess so…? That’d make sense.”
“And if Pétronille was smelling it now…” Mirabelle had shot him a look full of so much concern it made his heart ache. “Is there… something wrong? Did we say something?”
“Did Nille accidentally insult you again?” Bonnie immediately threw the blame towards their sister, who had been surprisingly quiet while listening to everyone talk.
“Again?” Pétronille echoed in alarm. “Wait, when did I insult them before?”
“You called him short when you saw him a few weeks ago.”
“That's not an insult! He is short!”
“Children, please,” Odile softly chided them. She turned back to Siffrin, her eyes surprisingly gentle. “Siffrin. Please tell us what is upsetting you.”
And that was exactly the position he had not wanted to be in. Everyone worried about him, staring at him, waiting for him to spill his heart out.
He couldn't help but look down at his untouched pineapple pie.
Bonnie noticed immediately.
“W-Was it something you can't eat?” they asked anxiously. “I know you didn't like pineapple slices, but–”
“No, no, you didn't– it's not something I didn't like,” Siffrin had rushed to reassure them. “I actually did like those. It’s just, um. I can't eat them.”
“Why not?” Mirabelle’s voice sounded so soft, like Siffrin had been about to reveal something utterly earth-shatteringly devastating about themself.
Siffrin smiled sheepishly, looking away. “I'm… kind of… allergic.”
“OH!” Bonnie had leapt up, and before Siffrin could even blink, they had swiped the slice out of his hands. “Then you REALLY shouldn't eat this!”
“Oh, that's it?” Pétronille’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Well, crisis averted! Bon, you’re gonna have to make ‘em something else.”
“I can do that!” Bonnie declared with a fierce nod. “Gimme a few minutes, Frin! I'm gonna eat your pie for you, since you can't.”
Siffrin had actually laughed as Bonnie shoved half of the blinding thing into their mouth. It felt nice, and he felt the pressure on his chest alleviated.
“Siffrin, why didn't you tell us?” Mirabelle asked, apparently not done fretting. “An allergy is really important to know! Really, really important!”
“I didn't know I was allergic until we got to Dormont!” Siffrin protested, lifting their hands innocently. “And then I… kind of forgot about it.”
“You forgot?” Pétronille echoed. “Just how allergic are you?”
That, Siffrin had not been able to answer without a wary look at Bonnie. Odile, ever-perceptive, had caught on immediately.
“Are you serious?” Odile had asked him flatly. Her voice smoothed again, and stars, she looked worried again. “Siffrin, that's dangerous.”
“Don't worry!” Bonnie had thrown their hands up, grinning determinedly. “I’ll never let Frin touch a pineapple again!”
“Yeah! Don't worry, Sif! Bonbon will protect you from any evil pineapples!” Isabeau exclaimed. “But seriously, any other allergies we should know about?”
Siffrin had shaken their head. If there were any others, they didn't know about it, and there was no Loop to warn him ahead of time now. And should there be any others, he really hoped they weren’t as deadly as the pineapples. Dying of anaphylaxis was not something he wanted to repeat.)
The conversation then had shifted away from the topic, but it was brought on by the discussion all the same. During the loops, Siffrin had become so accustomed to being able to escape an issue by looping, that his body had apparently adopted it as some sort of fight or flight response. Time Craft in itself was strenuous to use, especially without the back-up of Wish Craft, but trying to use it in their current condition? That was deadly.
So it really didn't help when his body decided that's how most issues should be dealt with. He didn't want to have to walk the line of life or death every time he panicked.
That meant he needed to calm down. What was he doing, panicking at a time like this? He had faced far worse odds with his family. It had never been just him and Bonnie before, but that didn't mean they were totally doomed. Bonnie was a child and couldn't fight, so Siffrin couldn't regress into himself right now. He needed to step up and protect them, just like he had promised to do.
Breathing out slowly, he opened his eye again.
“Sorry, Bonnie,” Siffrin murmured to them. He wanted to lift his hand to their scrunched up face, to cup their cheek in his palm and brush their tears away, but he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't. “I'm okay.”
He was starting to realize where Bonnie got their skeptical expression from. It was almost picture-perfect to their sister’s.
“You’re doing that creepy smile again,” Bonnie informed him, folding their arms tightly across their chest.
Siffrin wilted. “Am I?”
“Yes. You are.”
Well, they weren’t really sure how to fix that one. He ran his hand down one side of his face, turning his head to look at the door.
It was the only way out of the little room they were trapped in. It looked heavy, the kind of door you'd see in an ancient dungeon. Which, he supposed, this technically was, so it all checked out.
“Let's just work on getting out of here.” Siffrin stood up, wincing at the throb in his head as he moved.
Seeing them up and moving must have calmed them down a bit, because they nodded vigorously. “Yeah! Nille’s probably freaking out right now! We gotta get back up there!”
Yeah, Siffrin really wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Five minutes into the building and he had been stupid enough to let Pétronille activate a trap. It was such an obvious one, too! He already knew he was bad at his job, but really? He overlooked the classic statue-lever? Come ON.
Breathe. In and out.
“So– So what do we do?” Bonnie asked him. “Do we climb back up?”
“I don’t think we’d be able to reach even if there was solid ground.” Siffrin gestured to the pool of water. Bonnie let out a quiet “ooh”, their brows furrowed in thought. “We’ll have to break down the door and deal with whatever’s on the other side.”
Turning towards the dungeon door, Siffrin drew their dagger. He knew Rock Craft would be a better fit against a solid object like this, but the only Rock Craft skill he knew was Rock Bottom, and that was a little off limits due to multiple fainting spells. As ineffective as Scissors Craft would be, it was the only thing Siffrin could safely use.
Lifting their other hand into the Scissors sign, Siffrin rushed forward, bringing his dagger down hard against the door. Reverberations of shock shot up his arm, making him feel almost knocking him off his feet, but he wasn't giving up yet! He tried slashing it a few more times, all in rapid succession.
Not a single dent.
“Let me try!” Bonnie drew their wok, tightening their fists around the handle in what he recognized as the Rock sign. “Hiii-YAH!”
This time, Siffrin could see Bonnie’s arms vibrate, and they stumbled back several steps.
“OW!” They yelped, dropping their wok. “T-The door hit me back! What the heck!?”
“You okay?” Siffrin asked them anxiously.
All the emotion drained from their expression at once. They picked back up their wok, dead serious.
“Frin. We’ve gotta kill the door,” Bonnie told him.
He was going to interpret that as a “yes”. He breathed in, and out, and lifted his dagger again.
After several strikes against what he was starting to suspect was solid rock, not only was he sure his blade was very sad, but his arms were, too. He took a step back, breathing heavily as he glared daggers at the stupid, impossible door. Bonnie had had their fair share of hits too, all in vain. The door looked untouched.
“Stupid crabbing door,” Bonnie fumed. “Za could blow this thing up in a few minutes.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they’ll find a way to open it from the other side,” Siffrin suggested wryly.
Bonnie looked up at them, and then at the door handle. They stepped forward, wrapping both hands around it and pulling.
The door creaked open with ease.
…
Bonnie turned to silently look at him, their expression not having changed an inch.
“Wow,” Siffrin commented. “I can't believe we broke down the door. Look at you, Bonnie! So strong!”
Bonnie only stared at them. “I'm using this as whitemail forever.”
“Blackmail.”
“Blackmail. I'm using it as blackmail.”
“Please. I'll do whatever you want.”
“I’ll think about it,” Bonnie told him. “I'll think about it while we go find everyone else!”
Oh stars.
Siffrin sheathed his dagger, still smiling nervously. “Alright. I’ll lead the way, then.”
Pushing the door open fully, Siffrin glanced down the hall. The cell they were in seemed to be at the very end of a long, dark corridor, those same light orbs as the ones above hovering about here and there. Siffrin squinted into the darkness, straining his ears for any potential audio cues, but he heard nothing. Just the breathing of Bonnie behind him, and… the dripping of water, maybe?
“Stay close to me,” he instructed Bonnie, starting forwards. “Hold on to my cloak, if you need to.”
“I'm not scared!” Bonnie huffed defensively. “If there's any Sadnesses down here, we’ll beat them into Sadness bits!”
“I think we should avoid Sadnesses, if we can,” Siffrin pointed out. “Without back-up, things could get messy.”
“Oh, right… and you get sick when you use Craft, so we could reeeally be in trouble…” Bonnie agreed with a thoughtful nod. “So we’re going… stealth mode?”
He nodded. “Stealth mode.”
The tunnel, thankfully, wasn't too long. It led out to a bigger hall, branching off to three different routes: a hall to the right, another sturdy looking door straight ahead, and a second, rather imposing door to the right with an almost comically oversized lock.
“A crossroad!” Bonnie exclaimed at an alarming volume, their voice bouncing off the close walls.
“Shh,” Siffrin reminded them anxiously. “We don't know if we’re alone down here.”
Bonnie deadpanned at him. “This place is, like, a million crabbing years old. The only people down here are us, Frin!”
“It’s still good to be cautious,” Siffrin pointed out. He didn't like the feeling this place gave him, like there were a million eyes bearing into the back of their head. “...also, we’re pretty deep underground. I don't want to know how much it takes to bring the ceiling down on us.”
That seemed to be a sound argument for Bonnie. The color drained from their face as they looked upwards, eyeing the ceiling as if it planned on suddenly dropping on them.
Their lip wobbled. “Frin, I don't wanna be here anymore. Can we leave?”
Ack. Yeah, good going, Siffrin. As if they weren’t already scared enough. Stars.
“We’ll get out of here,” Siffrin reassured them. He didn't allow his voice to be too gentle, knowing Bonnie hated that tone, but he made sure his words were soothing nonetheless. “Besides, it’s not like we haven’t been anywhere more dangerous. Remember when we walked into that fake village?”
Bonnie’s eyes widened at the reminder. “That was scary! I thought Belle and Dile were gonna be brainwashed forever!”
“See? This old cave’s got nothing on us,” Siffrin pointed out. He pointed towards the conspicuous door, the one with the large lock. “I’m guessing we have to find a key for that door.”
“Maybe it leads to stairs, and we can go up and kick Nille’s butt for dropping us into a hole!” Bonnie suggested, considerately keeping their voice down.
Siffrin couldn't help but smile at the rekindled fire of determination in their lightless eyes. He would be lying if his own words hadn’t reassured himself as well, if only a little bit. He had faced plenty of scary things in their life– the King, time, himself in more ways than one– and came out (physically) unscathed. This was simply another adventure he and one of his family members got to go on, one they’d all reminisce on around the campfire in a few months.
That, however, required them to actually escape. By now, he was sure Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile and Pétronille had met back up and discovered what happened. They had to be worried sick, and Siffrin couldn’t, in good conscience, let that worry fester.
He lifted his fist, and Bonnie, recognizing the cue, connected their fist with his.
“Let’s get the crab out of here,” Bonnie said, smiling.
Siffrin smirked back. “Then let's go find that key.”