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“Lure. Luure.” A soft, melodious voice called out, filling the forest with her sweet song. The violet flames on her limbs seemed to brighten as she drew nearer to a cavern, dappling the dark shadows with purple stains. She paused here, looking about, almost nervous, before her song continued, daring to immerse herself into the darkness, lit only by her own essence.
She froze when two red glows lit up at the end of the cave, a massive growl shaking dust from the rocky walls. But she couldn’t let it stop her. “Cha… Luuuure!” Her flames grew stronger as she approached.
A massive roar was her response, her magic doing nothing to quell the beast. The area shook with his stomps as he came charging out for her. “Lure!” Her flames nearly doused out from her panic as she backtracked, only her ability to float keeping the monster’s vicious jaws from crushing her delicate body. She moved well out of range, ducking behind some tree branches, watching the dragon pace and rage in front of his cave for several long moments before, with a final snort, he turned and slipped back inside.
“Cha…Cha!” She turned, flying away, frustration making her body flare up again. This was never going to work! He was too strong for her tricks. If only she had some way to make that brute focus on something else. Then she could... she could-!
Laughter made her stall and she was quick to duck behind some more leaves. A voice and heavy paws grew near and before long a woman and a dog were walking past. A trainer! She was picking up sticks and setting them in a sack the dog held between his teeth.
She watched them go, a plan forming. It seemed, perhaps, she had found her bait.
“Just a few more and then we’ll head back.” Frisk said, finding another branch. She rapped her knuckles along it, the hollow sound telling her it was dry. Her Arcanine snorted, head lowering immensely when she added it to the rest, as if just that single stick had increased the weight exponentially. “Don’t be so dramatic. Don’t you want a nice campfire?”
He rolled his eyes, turning his head away with a huffy little, “Arc!” He continued to look that way, even when she gave him a placating pat on the head.
“I guess a fire pokemon doesn’t need that, do they?” She said, searching for more firewood. Just as she was bending over to pick up another, a sudden clatter startled her. She looked back to see the bag on the ground, some of the sticks spilling out across the dirt and her petulant dog darting into the trees. “Take!”
She took off after him, only to pull up short when she found him nose deep in a razz berry bush. “Really?” He looked up at her, smiling around already pink teeth, tail wagging excitedly and topping it all off with a begging whine. He may have evolved, but he never did quite grow out of his puppy dog look.
It still managed to sway her.
“Alright, alright.” She chuckled, patting his flank. “You enjoy. I’ll finish up. Next time though, don’t just run off like that, got it?” He gave her a bark that she hoped was a ‘Yes ma’am!’, before devouring another bushel.
She headed back to the trail, leaning down and placing the firewood back together in the bag, leaving it where it had fallen for Take to get when he finished. She started down the path again, inspecting and picking up more pieces as she went. Without her friend’s company, her mind wandered, thinking of her family back in Nimbasa, wondering if they had finished packing and hit the road yet. Normally, she would travel with them, but with their next show weeks out, the opportunity to travel ahead with her girlfriend was too appealing to ignore. Agreeing to meet up with their crew at the next performance site in Lacunosa, Amelia and she had both gathered their things and left this morning with Chara and Asriel.
Now, it was late afternoon. Lostlorn Forest’s sharp, vibrant colors were being dimmed in the gentle, warm orange of a sun stretching for the horizon. She could hear birdsong in the distance, lullabies bringing their children back to their nests. Chilly spring breezes created a low rustling noise and even in her light sweater, she shivered. She really hoped the others had set up camp; she just wanted to snuggle down into her sleeping bag – preferably with Chara – as they had dinner and stargazed.
The thought made her smile and, eager to return, she hefted her load a little higher, starting to turn back.
“Luuuure.”
She paused at the whispery call, looking over her shoulder. Further down the trail, she could see a hazy outline of several purple balls of light that were nearly lost in the darkness the canopy of tree branches cast. “Hello?” She called.
“Luure. Cha-Luuuuure.” The creature continued, its’ pretty song captivating her. She faced towards it and as she drew near, she was able to better pick out the creature’s dark, swirling limbs from the forest around them, along with its rotund head that held a flame in its center.
It was a Chandelure.
“Oh!” Frisk exclaimed. “Was that you singing? It was very beautiful.”
Though the ghost didn’t exactly have a mouth, the line between its round, yellow eyes seemed to smile. It started to croon again, softer than before, swinging side to side. The gentle, calming tones seemed to wash over her, making a pleasant tingle run down her spine and shiver along her nerves. She shut her eyes, letting the music overtake her completely, the pokemon’s flickering purple lights leaving aftereffects on her eyelids as she swayed along.
When Frisk opened them, she found herself no longer in the forest but in Asriel’s backyard – if it could be called that. The estate sat on an impressive five acres of land, so it was practically its own neighborhood. The house, which only seemed look further each time she wandered to the rear gardens, was situated at the other side of the field. Still, even from this incredible distance she could see a white shape moving around the back door.
“Frisk, my child! The pie is ready!”
The voice was faint but still she smiled at Miss Toriel’s familiar, motherly drawl. “Coming!” She called back, beginning the trek home.
Behind her, a pile of sticks had been left behind, dropped into the very same begonias Chara had fallen into a decade ago.
“Okay so, it’s actually really easy. From the top, make horizontal cuts like this, but don’t cut all the way down. Then turn it the other way and slice through opposite them.” Asriel was saying as he sliced through a tamato berry to his extremely attentive audience. Which was a grand total of one.
Chara peeked one eye open, seeing Amelia’s gaze wasn’t quite directed at his hands but in the general vicinity of his torso.
Well, she was attentive in some way at least.
“And then you just turn it on its side and cut some more, and voila! Perfectly diced.”
“Oh, wow! That’s amazing.” Amelia was saying while totally not looking at all at the perfectly diced tamato but instead at the way the falling sun made Asriel’s eyes glitter – or something equally absurd that one would find in a trashy Poke-Romance Novel. Of which, Chara knew Amelia owned several.
The geek.
“Hah, ah not really! You know it’s just, cutting. Slicing. You know.” Asriel said in a totally smooth, not awkward at all way.
Equally suave, she responded, “Well, I’ve never seen it done so uh nicely! You have a um, great technique!”
Oh Arceus help them.
“You really think so?”
Or maybe help her; poor unfortunate her having to listen to this train wreck.
“Yeah, definitely. What else can you show me?”
He tried to pull a charming smile, but his nervousness was turning it more into a grimace. “Oh well, if you really want, I can show you how to deseed a pomeg?”
“I would love that.” Annnd now she was trying to flutter her eyelashes. Okay, time to bail.
Chara sat up from the blanket she had been lounging on, announcing, “Well, while you two chitter at each other like Swannas, I’m gonna go find Frisk.”
“Huh?” Asriel cocked his head, ears following the motion.
Amelia, not quite as naïve, was bright red. “N-No we’re not!”
“Mmhmm.” Chara waved over her shoulder, already heading for the trail. “See ya.”
She wasn’t quite out of hearing range when she heard her friend’s confused, “What was that about?”
“D-D-Don’t worry about it.”
Chara shook her head, snorting back a laugh. Wow, seeing someone flirt that badly really made her appreciate having someone who could execute it with at least some technique. She and Frisk might just have to give the two pointers if they were just going to continue to tiptoe around their feelings.
She was on contingency plan D of ‘Operation: Hook up her dorky best friend and potential future-sister-in-law’ when a whine cut into her thoughts and she focused on the path ahead, seeing a familiar tiger dog sitting beside a bag of firewood.
“Take?” She called, the canine looking round. Upon seeing her, he gave another whine. She stepped up beside him, giving him a pet along his fluffy neck. “Where’s Frisk?”
“Arc!” He barked, inclining his head in the direction the trail continued.
Huh, weird. “And she didn’t take you with her?” He looked back at her guiltily, lolling out his tongue, revealing its bright red color that she knew he only got when he munched on too many razz berries. Which, considering they were his favorite, he did way more often than was recommended.
“You glutton.” Chara reached down, picking up the sack and saying, “Let’s go find her.”
He got to his feet, large paws padding along as he heeled at her side. Of her girlfriend’s pokemon, Take had been the first to warm-up to her, quick to lavish her in doggy kisses and yielding easily to her commands as long as belly rubs were promised. She’d say it was because of his canine nature but Satia, Frisk’s Absol, continued to regard her mostly with indifference despite the fact two years had passed. So, she figured instead that it was because he liked seeing his trainer happy that he had been so quick to accept her.
(That still sometimes blew her mind. That she was what could make Frisk happy – it was just so absurd to comprehend yet so alluring to witness the ways her blue eyes lit with surprise when given a gift or her face flushed when they’d kiss; how she’d smile so widely at her after they’d been apart awhile or her expression softened when Chara told her ‘I love you’.
But some days she just couldn’t wrap her head around that truth. She couldn’t get how Frisk was the happy one when just those small actions of hers were enough to make not just Chara’s day or week or year but her whole life.)
A yap startled her from those thoughts, Take shooting forward from her to skid over to a pile of sticks, sniffing at them intensively, tail stiff behind him that had her on guard. He rose his head, putting his paws on the tree to lift himself up higher and snorting at the air. A massive growl emitted from his throat.
“What? What is it?” Chara said as she came over, on edge. The Arcanine pushed away from the tree and whirled on her, golden eyes blown out and wild. There was a sensation that overcame her then, like the pressure of an omen looming over her shoulder that made her stomach drop and her skin crawl and all her mind knew was something was very, very wrong.
Without warning, Take’s snout pushed between her knees and he tossed her up onto his back. “ACK! Ta-shit!” She gripped fistfuls of his fur as he charged down the trail, saving herself from being bucked right off from the momentum while he threw his head back to let out a loud howl that left her ears ringing.
Having ridden Take often enough, it was practically instinct how she angled her legs to keep herself seated and where she held onto his tufts of mane to help her balance, though she wasn’t used to going quite this fast. The trees were a blur of green and brown and dust clouds bloomed around them as the tiger dog kicked up the dirt. His paws hitting the ground were synchronized with the frantic pounding of her heart. She had no idea what they were racing towards, but she could only focus forward, looking for any signs of her girlfriend and mentally fighting the gruesome images that tried to dart through her mind’s eye.
Take let out another growl, scattering the picture of Frisk face down in a ravine, as he pulled up. The road inclined sharply down, the tress becoming sparse and making way for a meadow. The dirt path that cut between the flowers and grass lead straight to a cavern set along the grey wall of a mountain. And heading for that opening was – “Frisk!”
Her girlfriend neither turned around nor seemed to acknowledge her at all, merely continuing forward. Something about her walking was off, unnatural in the clunky way her legs were lifting or her arms swung at her sides, reminding her more of Mettaton’s stiff, mechanical movements then the natural grace she regularly exuded.
Take gave another snarl, but Chara clenched her fingers in his fur, ordering a sharp, “Wait” before scanning the area, quickly spotting something amiss. Had the pokemon not had a natural flare to it, she might have missed it entirely; but there it was, hovering in the safe camouflage of the trees. The Chandelure was about thirty feet away, back to them, too focused on its task to notice them despite the noises they had made. “That’s it.” Chara said, slipping off the dog’s back. “That pokemon is controlling her.”
It was said that if a trainer ran into a Chandelure to beware, because it would only appear when hungry and would use it’s abilities to put unsuspecting humans into a trance and bleed their life essence dry. Though mostly the subject of bedtime stories designed to scare children and keep them from going outside after dark, she knew the hypnotic and soul-sucking powers of the Litwick line held at least some truth to them. They did drain people of their energy for sustenance, but no one had ever been reported dead from the act itself, though some accidents had occurred where a woozy trainer fainted into a river or tripped over a cliff. The pokemon was probably just trying to feed its friends or children.
But despite its likely harmless intentions, she wasn’t about to let it hurt her girlfriend. She turned to Take, saying, “I’ll snap Frisk out of it. Sneak up on it and take it down. Try to go easy on it, okay?”
The dog gave a huff but nodded, before he stalked along the line of trees towards the other fire-type. Once he was within ten feet, Chara started to jog down the trail. She was halfway to her girlfriend when a flash of flames danced in the corner of her eye that was quickly followed by a panicked cry from the ghost. Its concentration must have broken, because she saw Frisk stumble suddenly, mere inches from the mouth of the cave. Her head shook, a hand raising to her head as if to ward off a headache. “Frisk!” Chara called, trying to grab her attention again.
Instead of an answer from her though, a low, rumbling growl echoed from the cave.
That wasn’t a Litwick.
Suddenly apprehensive, Chara started to sprint, her voice rising to a shout. “Frisk! Move!!” But it was drowned out by the crashing noise of stampeding feet as something bulky and large came charging out of the cave. And whatever was coming, her girlfriend was right in its path.
Determined to beat it there, Chara pushed herself harder, running faster than she ever had before in her life. Her vision was trained on her girlfriend’s back, getting closer as she cleared the gap between them. Around her, she could see shadows shifting as the other beast grew near.
“Wha-?” Frisk jerked upright, her brain finally catching up to the situation.
Something red and bright gleamed as it caught the rays of sunlight encroaching from the mouth of the cave.
Chara slammed into Frisk, throwing her out of the way.
Agony along her back streaked her vision in white flashes when she failed to do the same for herself.
She saw her girlfriend’s body twist even as she skidded along the dirt, looking towards her, expression going from shocked to horrified.
Her mouth opened and she screamed, “CHARA!!”
Then Chara saw the ground rush up to meet her and everything went black.
Everything was buzzing. The noise in her ears, the feeling along her skin, the thoughts in her head. Nothing made sense except that Chara was lying on the ground mere feet from her, a massive wound along her back that was quickly turning her green jacket red.
Frisk scrambled on her hands and knees to her girlfriend’s side. She could see one side of her face, hair covering most of it and her shaking hand reached out to push the strands aside. Chara’s eyes were closed, her face slack and pale. Her eyes drifted to her backside, seeing the absolute bloody mess of the cut gorged horizontally along her back, just below her shoulder blades. “Oh Arceus…”
A growl made her look up, seeing a towering figure stamping around. It was a scaly, green beast, that stood on its hind legs and had a powerful tail swinging behind it. As it turned to her, she could see its angled head and the sharp red blades that jutted from its snout. One was dripping with Chara’s blood.
The Haxorus’ eyes zeroed in on them and its head lowered, stomping aggressively towards them. Frisk’s breathes turned sharp and reedy, fear and panic consuming her as she helplessly threw her arms across her lover’s shoulders as if it would be enough to protect her. “Please!”
Shadows cast over her as something sailed over her head and then suddenly, Take was landing between them and the dragon, bearing his fangs fiercely at the other. “NINE!”
“T-Take?!”
The dragon reared back from the other pokemon, giving a furious roar, before it lunged forward.
“DRAGONBREATH!”
The call seemed to reverberate off the wind before green flames were splitting a line between the two combatants. The Haxorus stumbled back, giving a confused snarl. Take backed away as well, angling himself sideways so he didn’t accidentally step on Chara behind him.
Frisk looked up towards the source of the attack just in time to see Sorin dive from the sky, pulling up to land near her Arcanine. She and her sister’s gazes met briefly, before Amelia’s eyes were dropping to look at Chara and then towards the dragon, quickly putting the pieces together. “Asriel.” She called to her extra passenger.
“Right.” Needing no further instruction, the goat monster slipped off the dragonfly’s back.
Her twin gave them one last look before her hands tightened on the reigns she only put on him when traveling, her Flygon heeding her direction and soaring across the dying flames to hover by the angry pokemon.“Hey scissorface! Come and get us!” Sorin swung around, the end of his tail smacking into the dragon’s neck before they went shooting across the field.
The answering roar rattled her eardrums, Haxorus charging after the two.
“Amelia!!”
Worry and fear felt like a sick thing in her throat as she watched her sister get chased down, but Asriel gave her a hard shake, bringing her attention to him. “Frisk, what happened?”
“I-I don’t know!” She cried, trying to make sense of the mess in her head. “I-I thought I was in your dad’s garden and your mother was calling me. Just as I reached the house, Chara was shoving me away and-and then… she…” She looked down at the unconscious woman. She had bled so much now that the road around her was red. A rattling breath escaped her as tears fell down her cheeks, “C-Chara? Sweetie? Can you hear me?”
She felt Asriel’s strong paw squeeze her arm before he reached out for his best friend. But despite his efforts to seem calm, his voice was shaking as he spoke, “S-s-she’ll be fine. I can heal her.”
Frisk watched as the green glow enveloped the older woman, and prayed.
There was only one thing on Amelia’s mind: lead Haxorus away.
Her heels kicked in and they gained altitude, the wingless dragon blasting under them only to skid to a stop and wheel back to face them. Just the look of rage on the other was making her Flygon falter and drop a few inches in the sky. She had to press her heels in harder to gain them back.
Sorin had zero battle experience. She had gotten him leagues after her amateur attempts at being a trainer – or even later from her slightly more flashy years at being a coordinator before Mettaton discovered her and her sister and decided to offer them a more secure profession. Even if it would cut his speed some, she had to stay on his back. There was no way she could guide him verbally; he’d never understand her orders quick enough. And she didn’t feel confident enough switching out and bringing this battle to the ground instead.
She ran a hand along his antennae, feeling the way they shook under her hand. “It’s okay. Just think of this as another show. I’ll be here with you.”
“Gon!” His head bobbed in understanding, though he didn’t relax. But he trusted her and that was the most she could ask for right now.
“RUUUUUS!”
Amelia looked down at the commotion, seeing the dragon slam its tail into the ground irritably, angling its head towards them. As it did, a ball of multicolored energy started to form at the tips of its bladed mouth.
Oh. That didn’t look good.
Amelia lent forward, tapping her toes in and Sorin followed her guide, shooting forward over the other’s head, missing the blast of energy that went storming into the sky where they had just been. She turned, coasting left so they went flying above the line of trees. When she glanced back, she saw the Haxorus had taken to racing after them on the ground. It was outlined by a glow of red and while she wasn’t sure what move that was, she knew it was trouble.
She ran her fingernails up along the back of Sorin’s antennae and he immediately pulled upwards and in a cartwheel so the dragon passed under them once again. As they started in another direction, a furious roar chased them, loud stomps shaking the ground hard enough to make the trees sway. When she heard the splitting crack, she thought maybe one had fallen – and then her Flygon started to make panicked cries. She looked back just in time to see a tree flying up to meet them.
Amelia screeched, yanking up hard, and Sorin’s wings beat rapidly to obey.
A smack hitting his tail and a cluster of branches whipping along her backside told her they didn’t make it. Gravity changed as the weight brought them down, wind whistling as they plummeted fast. Sorin hit first, crying loudly, while momentum briefly sent her airborne. Amelia felt the impact jar her whole body, vision going white. A snap, not unlike the sound of the splitting tree, resounded in her ears.
And then all she was aware of was pain.
Asriel couldn’t compute what was happening.
Even as Frisk got up and jumped on Take, charging into battle with a scream of fury, he still sat there several moments longer, just staring at the acrobat there, crumpled and unmoving, before it registered in his brain he had to move.
He shook his head hard, looking back down at Chara. He had stemmed most of the bleeding. Her heartbeat was strong for now. “I’ll be back for you.” He told his unconscious friend before he was getting to his feet and running across the meadow. In the corner of his eye, he could see Take slamming into the dragon, driving it backwards with his heavy, powerful paws. Giving it no time to recover, Frisk started to have him race circles around the Haxorus, spewing flames at it.
Asriel reached for the Pokeball at his side, throwing it towards the downed Flygon. In a burst of light, his Sunflora appeared, looking around with a disgruntled face. “Flowey, get that tree off of Sorin!”
“Sun!” The other retorted gruffly.
He waited just long enough to make sure the other was going to follow his orders before he hurried to Amelia, dropping down beside her. She was shuddering, eyes shut tight, harsh, rapid breathes and whines emitting from her throat. He struggled to focus on his magic as he rose a paw over her, yellow light radiating from his fingertips to scan her vitals and health.
Rapid heartbeat. Abrasions on the back. Scrapes in various places. And - Arceus, no wonder she was in so much pain – a broken clavicle and scapula, dislocated shoulder, along with a fractured sternum and several cracked ribs.
He ran his claws through her hair, but she was so lost to the pain she didn’t react. “You’re gonna be okay, I promise.”
His fangs bit through his tongue as he forced himself back to his feet, the effort to do so harder than he could ever imagine. As he ran to where Flowey’s vines were just setting the tree aside, he kept telling himself her organs and muscles looked fairly unscathed; she wasn’t in danger of dying.
It still hurt to leave her there, alone and injured.
He quickly did the same spell over Sorin. Several vertebrae in his tail were crushed along with one of his knees and he had various other cuts and wounds. Like his trainer though, he was going to be alright.
Asriel took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he stood. Okay.
He turned to face the battle, fury beating hot in his soul. “Let’s end this.”
Flowey’s petals curled as he grinned menacingly.
“Look out!” Frisk grunted as they bounded to the side, narrowly missing the tail that cracked open the ground behind them. They sprinted around, Take letting loose another fire spin that caught the territorial dragon right in the face.
“HAAAAAX!” It gave an angry cry, charging through the fire after them.
Frisk kicked inwards. “Go!” Her pokemon loped across the flowers, allowing them to be chased. If they could just wear him down a little more, they could get him to faint.
“Grass knot!”
The faint call had her jerking her head around, seeing vines wrapping up around creature’s legs that brought him down with a massive crash. Beyond him, she could see Asriel and Flowey standing there. Even from this distance, she could tell something was wrong with the goat’s eyes; his fur was streaked with black.
“Toss him!” Asriel ordered.
“Flora!” The sunflower punctured its leaves into the ground, and underneath Haxorus enormous roots erupted, tossing him into the air. Frisk flinched as the dragon’s body went flying into the forest, loud rumbles and snaps being heard as it went hurtling through the trees.
“Arrr….” Take whined.
“Come on.” She said softly, before they cut around and started back the way they had come. Thanks to her dog’s added height, it wasn’t hard for her to place a hand on the goat’s shoulder once they reached his side.
He spun to her, pupils like the last tiny stars left in a black universe. She didn’t recoil from him, just called to him patiently, “Asriel. You did it. It’s over.”
For a few unnerving moments, nothing happened. He just continued to stare at her with that hateful gaze. But then, finally, he shut his eyes and sighed slowly, wisps off black fading off his fur and turning snow white again. When he looked at her again, his eyes were green. “S-Sorry.”
“Sunflora.” Flowey snorted, crossing his leaves disdainfully. He, of course, wasn’t sorry at all.
Frisk smiled, though it was thinned with worry. “It’s fine. Let’s just hurry and help everyone, alright?”
“Right.” He nodded. As they started to turn away though, there were several loud stomps that made them turn back. They both watched with mixtures of awe and horror as the Haxorus came stumbling from the forest with a growl. Asriel clenched a fist. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Even after all that?!”
“We’ll get him this time.” Frisk replied, jaw setting with determination. Just as she was angling her body, preparing to have Take rush forward once more, something bright and flaming flew past her shoulder and came to hover between them and the dragon. “Wha-?!”
“LUUURE!” The chandelier pokemon yelled at it, causing its focus to shift onto her. When she knew she had its attention, her five flames grew taller and she started to sway and sing. As they watched, Haxorus’ body seemed to go slack, before he turned and lurched away, stalking something they couldn’t see. They all winced when it smacked its head into a tree, hard enough it knocked itself out.
“Was that… confusion?”
“Ah! That’s what it used on me!” Frisk said, mind reeling. She looked up at the ghost with a frown. “Why did you do that?”
The ghost turned to face her, guiltily sinking towards the floor, uncoiling on of her arms to point behind them. She followed it, seeing the cave – but this time there were two little Litwicks floating uncertainly at the edge, little wax hands holding one another’s cutely.
“Your family? Did they get stuck in there?” She guessed.
Her whole body seemed to nod in response, little tears welling in her yellow eyes. “Chandaaa.”
Frisk sighed some, before jumping off Take to walk over to the ghost. She smiled at her, petting along her round head. “I’m sure they missed you a lot. Go take care of them, okay?”
“Lure.” She gazed at the three injured, shame making her flames even weaker.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got them.”
The mother hesitated a moment longer, before nuzzling into her hand and hurrying past them. Frisk came to stand beside Asriel, watching the Chandelure sweep each her children into one of her curly limbs. The two candles cried, hugging onto her as she floated away.
“They look so happy.” The goat mumbled.
“Yeah.” Frisk smiled, before she looked around at their devastated team. “What now?”
He looked from one to the other with a considering frown. She noticed how he lingered longest on her sister and the effort it took to turn away. “Chara first. Can you get Amelia on her back? I’ll need to get to her shoulder.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” She watched him go to her girlfriend, letting her own gaze hold a few extra seconds, before she headed over to where her twin lay. As she knelt before her, she found she had passed out which, considering the twisted angle her arm was at, was probably a relief for her.
She reached out, brushing a hand along her forehead affectionately. “You got to stop swooping in to save me like this.” A warm drop hit her hand, and Frisk reached up to rub the heels of her hands underneath her eyes. “You both do. You jerks. Hah, might just die of worry over you idiots instead!”
She bent over herself and, just for a little while, allowed herself to cry.
“How are you feeling?”
Chara’s eyes opened up to a sky full of stars haloing around her girlfriend’s beautiful face as she bent over her. She smiled up at her, waving her hand in a ‘come here’ motion.
“Mm?” Frisk leaned in closer, only to make a tiny noise of surprise when Chara rose up to close the gap between them, sealing her lips over hers. The younger hummed, drawing her arms around her neck and leaning down for a better angle. When they broke apart, she could see a pink flush along her cheeks. “Ah, Frisky. I see.”
“No feeling Frisky when I’m still within ten feet!” Asriel called from the other side of the campfire. “Or feeling Frisk for that matter!!”
Amelia choked on air, nearly dropping her chopsticks. “Can you all just not?!”
“Sorry, sorry!” Her sister replied, giggling against Chara’s neck as she settled on the blanket beside her. She rose a hand to rest it along Frisk’s hip, tugging her even closer. Amelia continued to watch them mistrustfully a few beats longer (probably a wise decision), before she went back to struggling with her dinner.
Though Asriel had done his best, she, along with Chara and Sorin, were going to have to do some healing on their own too. Without the balance from his tail, Sorin was grounded until further notice, meaning for the most part they were traveling on foot until they reached town and could call Papyrus to come drive out and get them. Chara herself still felt a little woozy from blood loss and the cut, while much smaller, was sore and certain to scar. As for Amelia, it was unfortunate that the arm she damaged was her dominate one and was now wrapped up, keeping it from shifting too much so the breaks could heal. Now she had trouble with just about everything.
There was a frustrated huff as the little clump of rice the woman managed to get went falling back into the bowl.
Chara inclined her head towards where her best friend was stirring the fire. “Hey As’?”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you should feed Amelia.”
“WHAT?!” This time, she did drop her chopsticks.
Asriel blinked, nose turning pink, “Oh, g-golly!” And then, completely unaware of his own effect, he turned to the acrobat and asked, “Would you like it if I did that?”
“Huh?!” She all but squeaked out, turning as red as that tamato berry he had sliced for her.
Her girlfriend’s eyes lit up mischievously. “Ah, Asriel you’re so nice to my big sis.”
“Huh? Well of course I am. I really like her!” At that response, Frisk buried her head into Chara’s shoulder, quaking hard as she restrained her laughter. Oblivious of them, the goat turned back to the other girl, saying, “Can I, please? I feel terrible I can’t help you fully heal, so at least I could do this much for you.”
Amelia swallowed as she stared down at her dinner, and mumbled, “Just get over here.”
“Okay!” He said, practically skipping to her side. (Huh. She’d never seen Asriel’s tail wag that hard before.)
Chara smiled with her girlfriend, the two of them sharing an unseen fist bump.
Now that was being a good wingman.