onegreeneye | OPEN RP POST (wip)

"The..." He tilts his head slightly, then suddenly understands what they mean. "...you mean the mushi? Well... yes."

He glances at the few clustered in the trees around him. "...I suppose they seem to." He doesn't sound too happy about it, but he doesn't seem upset either. Just... resigned.

"Are you out here on your own?"

"Mushi? Why do you call them that?" It seems like an odd name to Frisk. They're not like bugs at all!

To the second question they nod with a calm smile. Not like being alone is anything out of the ordinary, after all. "Uh huh! I live here."

"It's what most people call them, actually. Those that have a name for them at all, anyway."

He... doesn't look very reassured by that. "You live out here by yourself?" And then, only after the few seconds of thought that are inevitable before someone like him is going to ask a question like this, "...Do you have a family?"

"Oh. I call them little monsters." They glance up at the cluster in the tree and giggle a little, watching a ribbon-like mushi wind itself around a branch. "They're really fun to watch."

Frisk shakes their head. "No. I just live with the flowers." Oblivious to just how troubling that response is, they reach and tug on Ginko's sleeve to get him to start moving. "Come on! The path is kinda hard, but if we're fast you'll be through by tonight no trouble."

Edited 2016-01-01 06:17 (UTC)

"I... suppose they are." Man he hopes this kid hasn't been touching the mushi or something... though he's starting to suspect that's probably too much to ask.

Before he can ask for further elaboration on that, yes, very troubling answer, they're tugging him to his feet. He stumbles upright, shouldering his pack again after stuffing the map back in. "--Uh, alright?"

How do you think those flowers got in their hair, man?

Frisk hops a little while Ginko gets his things put back together again, then laughs and starts jogging down the path. A little ways ahead they pause and spin around again to be sure that he can keep up. "Where are you going to?"

He keeps up well enough, thanks to the advantage of having much longer legs than this tiny child. All the while, his focus stays on them, his brow furrowed in thought.

"A village on the other side of the forest. I'm going to be investigating a possible mushi infestation there."

Frisk frowns a little but continues on anyways, keeping an eye out for the little hidden trail up ahead. It's fairly easily missed, mostly used by smaller animals and all the trickier to notice for it.

"What's a infestation? Are the mushis sick?" They look back at Ginko and consider him for a moment. "You're gonna make them better, right?"

"It means there may be too many of one kind of mushi there; if there are, they're probably making the people in the village sick."

He hums softly. "Sort of. If the mushi really are the problem, I'm going to see if I can get them to go somewhere else."

The mushi are making people sick? That doesn't seem right...but then, there are some that sting and make Frisk feel funny when they try to pet them.

Frisk is quiet for a few moments, thinking, before that quiet little smile comes back. "You can bring them here. They won't hurt me any, an' there's lotsa room."

Frisk, please never tell Ginko you have been doing that if you don't want him to become very distressed.

"...I had considered relocating them to the mountain, yes." Which also gives him a good chance to ask about something. "How are you so sure they won't hurt you?"

But they're so cute! Cute things can't hurt you, this is a scientific fact.

Frisk shrugs a little, glancing away. "If something happens I'll just wake up again. An' then I won't do it the next time, so it's okay."

A baby once tried to have Ginko assassinated. No.

...Sorry, what. "You'll... wake up again?"

This is getting more worrying by the second.

"Uh huh. So I don't gotta worry about being hurt." Perking up a bit, they run ahead a ways and wave back to Ginko. "It's through here!"

Barely even pausing, they dive right into the bushes, though fortunately the noise made by their passage is easy enough to follow.

Well that explained exactly nothing but there they go again.

"Hey-- hang on, what--" Ginko sighs and pushes through the bushes behind them. This kid's like a freakin hurricane, holy crap.

Hey, to Frisk this is all perfectly normal. Why should it need to be explained?

Frisk does stop and wait in a clearer section of the path, but as soon as Ginko is in sight they set off again, though not at quite such a breakneck pace. "Stay close, okay?"

"I'll try." He will really try, because he doubts this path is even on his map and he would really rather not get lost.

He keeps staying as close behind as he can, his gaze flicking from the ground to the trees to Frisk, but it's getting a little harder to divide his attention. Maybe he should save the questions for later, but...

Nah.

"What did you mean about waking up and not having to worry about getting hurt?"

"Hm?" Thankfully, Frisk slows to a stop and looks back with a confused expression. "I just wake up when I'm not hurt and do it over."

A nine year old amnesiac is not the best person to explain temporal loops.

Maybe not, but Ginko is gradually getting enough information together to be able to form a vague idea of what they might be saying - but that's not to say that it makes a whole lot of sense.

"I see... how long has this been going on? If you can tell." He supposes that the whole... whatever is happening here might make it harder to get an idea.

Frisk frowns and cocks their head, entirely confused.

"It's always happened."

Helpful.

Frisk turns back around and keeps going, though at a reasonable pace this time. Why that is becomes clear once they pass a stand of trees--there's a ditch right along the path here, and while it's wide enough for a child to pass easily, Ginko might have a bit of a hard time. "The ground is tricky this way. Be careful, okay?"

Ginko's brow furrows. Always...? Has this been happening all their life, then...?

Of course, he knows better than most that there's more than one possible explanation as to what that could have meant.

He's quieter as they continue on, sorting out his thoughts and going over past cases in his head as he follows them. When the two of them reach the ditch, he slows down, eyeing the drop uncertainly. "Got it."

He stays a couple feet behind Frisk, focusing on keeping his balance, but it's... not exactly easy. He swears under his breath and hurries forward as a bit of the path crumbles away under his foot. "--That was kind of close."

When the ground starts crumbling Frisk whips back around with a worried look, going back over to Ginko and reaching for his hand. "Are you okay?"

He takes their hand for only the briefest moment, steadying himself, before letting go hurriedly. If he did lose his balance, he really doubted that Frisk was heavy enough to hold him up; they'd probably have a better chance of getting dragged down themself.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just... having a little trouble with the terrain."

Ginko takes another cautious step forward, then another--

--and then there's a crunch of soil and rock coming loose, and the ground falls out from under him.

Frisk yelps and stumbles back as their footing crumbles, flailing and just managing to grab hold onto a bush to keep from tumbling down along with their friend. Once the racket dies down they scramble back to the edge looking down...oh no. They can't tell if the man is alive or dead from here, but that leg doesn't look good, and there's a lot of red seeping into the pant leg. They bite their lip, then squeeze their eyes shut--

They approach Ginko sooner this time around, slipping out of the bushes and padding up quietly behind him only a little while after Ginko enters the forest. Once they're close enough, Frisk grabs onto his coat and tugs to get his attention. "You need to get to the village, right?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject