just keep your head held high [open]

[determinedest]

Who: Frisk and whoever
Where: Gravity Falls, mostly in the wooded areas
When: February 5th-9th, pick one
Rating: PG-13 for gore and violence because Chara is a Bad Influence
Summary: Baby's first event.
The Story: Beneath the cut, yo.

February 5th - 8th; always look on the wild side of life

There are an awful lot of animals. Some of them speckled deer that remind them of the gyftrot they'd befriended (and in some cases, killed), others patterned or sized in such a way that leads Frisk to wonder whether that's really the general way for animals on the surface. Not very many of them talk, but plenty respond to patience and encouraging smiles and a soft clucking sound with their tongue. They seem used to humans. They must be, considering the kind of place this is. It's not Wonderland, but it didn't take Frisk long to theorize that this must be one of the events Sans mentioned.

A few days in the woods isn't so bad. So Frisk meanders and wanders without much purpose to their trail. There was a building a way back, and they'd woken up with a fat wallet in their pocket (paper bills, crisp and crinkling, so utterly unlike the round heavy gold coins traded and spent in the Underground), but it hadn't entirely interested them. Too many people in once place, too many humans especially, and in any case, there are woods that need exploring.

February 9th; gnome pun intended

It'd been really nice, honestly, to get to see some monsters again. Even if they weren't the monsters Frisk was used to, they still deviated from the human norm, and it had gotten to the point that this was simply what was most comfortable for them. Petting a few here, befriending a few there, and then they'd made the mistake of quirking their eyebrows and wiggling their hips in the flirtatious if incredibly juvenile way (this is how people flirt, right?) that had gotten them out of plenty of scrapes back in the Underground. Maybe it wouldn't have been so heinous, if they hadn't happened to perform this little display to a group of what appeared to be animate garden gnomes.

Now, well, now Frisk is pretty sure they've been inducted into a marriage ceremony of some sort, a gaggle of pointy hats streaming this way and that, and now a few of them seem to be caught up in a heated debate over what kind of title would be bestowed upon the future spouse of gnome's vague approximation of a leader.

Before Frisk can get another word in, a few of tiny hands seize theirs and the whole lot of them start more or less towing Frisk back to, presumably, their no place like gnome. As soon as Frisk realizes what that might mean - flirt they might, but they're pretty certain marriage is meant to happen to people older than twelve - they begin to struggle, but it turns out gnomes are awfully strong, particularly when they work together like that. Frisk squirms, thrashes, pretends to comply before trying to bolt again - all to no avail. Yelling for help isn't something they're especially good at. They can't typically speak louder than a mumble on a good day.

But fill their lungs they must and fill their lungs they do, until finally they manage a single, wordless cry of fear and indignation.

[ooc: as usual, prefer prose but will but will bracket if desired. Feb. 9th will pretty much require a rescue, but unless it's going to be a group effort I'd like to keep that to one thread since different multiple rescue attempts is confusing (and nonsensical, narratively).]

Comments

2/6; sorry it's so late!

[eatsyourscience]

Souji might be working for Stan at the Mystery Shack Mansion, but even Stan can't keep him from wandering around to find cute animals, if there are any in the vicinity. Having gotten pretty bored of working already and not all that worried about abandoning his post, since he's not being compensated for it anyway, he heads out into the woods to wander around and try to talk to animals.

His attempts aren't entirely successful, but like Frisk, he finds that he can coax them if he tries. He doesn't even know what sounds deer make, so learning to speak deer or whatever is beyond him just now, anyway.

There seems to be a dearth of deer in his immediate vicinity just now, however. He stands still, listening for them, but when he hears the sound of something else moving around, turning to look, he finds that it's a person and not an animal. He recognizes them, though, and decides to greet them. He can find out how they're settling in with Wonderland.

"Frisk." He doesn't raise his voice much--he doesn't have to, even if they're a little ways off--only just enough to be heard. He lifts a hand in a cursory sort of wave as well, though it's doubtful he's hard to see. Hair that color and his height neither one make for good camouflage.

it's fine man!

[determinedest]

Thanks to his rather singular appearance, Frisk places Souji instantly and waves with a smile. They haven't forgotten his help in acclimatizing them to their situation, a basic tutorial for which they've been pretty grateful.

"Hi," says Frisk brightly, blissfully unaware of future events involving gnomes and knives and imminent destruction. "Is this one of those events? I don't remember any of this being around the mansion."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji nods, picking his way through the brush to draw closer.

"Right. It seems like this is part of someone's home world." He glances around the immediate vicinity. "It doesn't seem too bad for a first event."

[determinedest]

"It's nice!" The events of the past few days were stressful enough, with Frisk having to learn to once again factor Chara's existence into their life, but the presence of so much interesting wildlife has diminished their usual reserve.

"There's all sorts of animals, have you seen?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji nods, smiling as he stops a few feet from them. He is quite a fan of animals.

"I was following a deer around, but got a little lost." The way he says that, it is clear he thinks it was totally worth the trouble. "I think it was giving me weird looks, though, so it probably didn't mind me leaving it alone."

[determinedest]

Frisk furrows their brow briefly. Their sense of direction isn't really well-polished - treading the familiar, linear paths in the Underground doesn't refine one's sense for navigation so much as a sharper recall - but the forest isn't so dense and impenetrable that getting back to civilization would be impossible. But Souji seems unconcerned, so Frisk doesn't fret about it for now.

"There's lots more." They gesture a little wildly at the woods and brush surrounding them. "Some I haven't even seen before - rabbits with antlers, and, and bright lights, like fireflies, only it isn't dark enough out."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji's sense of direction isn't bad, per se, but he's gotten used to wandering aimlessly and having, at best, only a vague idea of which way is which. Being surrounded by a vast fog and, apparently, little else takes getting used to, but after awhile, it almost felt like home.

"I noticed the rabbits with antlers." He can't remember what they're called, only knows it's an English word he probably couldn't pronounce anyway. "I didn't see the other things though. They look like fireflies, or just light up like them?"

[determinedest]

"They're like little people, but with wings." They'd been here and gone again so quick Frisk had only stolen a swift look, enchanted by the gossamer-thin flutter of dragonfly's wings. "Glowed and everything. Like fairies, maybe."

Frisk hums contemplatively, rubbing at a faint streak of dirt on their chin. "I didn't get a good look before they all left."

[eatsyourscience]

"That sounds like fairies." As though Souji has ever seen a real fairy. He only knows his Persona versions of fairies, but those appear quite a bit bigger than what Frisk is describing.

"I wonder if it's possible to find them again. If they're that alert, you probably couldn't find them if they didn't want you to."

[determinedest]

Fairies certainly seem possible, given the unique kinds of fauna here, though Frisk hadn't gotten a good enough look to be absolutely certain. Gravity Falls might have a specific name for them, for all they know.

"Probably," Frisk admits a little glumly, but they soon shake the sentiment aside. "I've never been here before. Are you one of the people who lived here beforehand?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji shakes his head. "My world doesn't have stuff like that. I enjoy this kind of event, where we get to see other peoples' worlds."

One hand on his hip, he looks around the area.

"Do you want to look for them?" The fairies, that is. He doesn't know if they'd be able to find them, but he's got nothing else to do, and it might be fun. Maybe they'll find something else instead.

[determinedest]

"Sure!" It doesn't take much to get their enthusiasm for monster-chasing worked up, and having a companion to do it with just makes it all the better. "I don't really know where to start, though. Running into them in the first place was kind of an accident."

This isn't too different from the Underground they're familiar with, though it's a little more sun-and-sky than they're used to. But that's hardly something they're about to complain about.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji smiles and nods. "If it was by accident, we could probably start anywhere and be just as well off."

He gestures toward a thick patch of undergrowth. "We can start that way? It looks like somewhere you'd go if you didn't want people to bother you."

[determinedest]

Frisk considers the path - or rather, the lack thereof - for a long moment before nodding decisively and striking off in the vague direction Souji indicated. Tramping through thick copses of underbrush and saplings is different from any kind of Underground landscape they braved on their way to Asgore's castle, but it's a little reminiscent of the sloping peak of Mount Ebott. Hopefully there isn't any poison oak or something worse lurking in amidst the vegetation.

"Do you go exploring often, where you're from?" asks Frisk after a few minutes of silently braving the woodland. They keep their voice pitched low in case any wildlife might be nearby.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji does likewise, speaking quietly as he moves through the brush. It's not so bad that they can't get through it, but it could still prove to be dangerous, should anything unexpected happen.

"I did a lot of exploring, but not in the normal world." That statement needs some further explanation, so he adds, "My friends and I were able to go into another dimension to solve some problems our town was having."

[determinedest]

The sun starts to fade as it gets filtered and less and less through the progressively thicker canopy of leaves overhead. Frisk treads lightly, stepping around the crackling of dried leaves or twigs that look like they might snap.

"A whole other dimension," Frisk murmurs quietly, half-awed and half-curious. "What was that like? Was it way different?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji does his best to mimic the care Frisk is taking, though he's a bit bigger and is used to living in built up areas, so he isn't as successful as he'd like. At least nothing dire is hanging on his ability to move quietly through the forest.

After considering for a second, he nods. "It was shaped based on the thoughts of the people in my town, so new areas grew up every so often. It was hard to navigate, too--there was a thick fog that never cleared."

[determinedest]

"Wow." Frisk's eyes widen subtly. That sounds amazing. "What'd you do? How'd you keep from getting lost? How did - "

Their avalanche of questions abruptly descends into silence as a hovering collection of bright lights catches their eye. Frisk drops into a crouch, reaching up to tug lightly at Souji's arm so they can point wordlessly ahead.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji had been looking at Frisk, already trying to order his responses to those questions in his mind, but their sudden silence and movement is enough of a signal that they've seen something. Crouching down as well, he looks in the direction they're pointing.

Now he's the one whose eyes widen, and he stays still for a moment, holding his breath. He's undecided if they should approach or hang back and watch, and part of him doesn't want to make the first move and have it be the wrong choice.

After a second, he lets out his breath in silence before murmuring, "That's them?"

It's more of a statement than a question, but confirmation can't hurt.

[determinedest]

Frisk nods excitedly, then quickly tempers the motion into something more sedate. They don't know what scares off fairies yet, and if it happens to be sudden movements then that little slip-up would be their fault. They hold a finger to their lips, pausing to peer curiously at the hovering array of bright lights before creeping closer with excruciating slowness.

So far the fairies either don't notice they're being pseudo-stalked or don't care. They keep bobbing idly in place like a collection of beaded Christmas lights, illuminating the clearing with a soft multicolored glow.

[eatsyourscience]

As he watches, Souji is a little hesitant to move, sure he'll make too much noise. Unless those things just weren't paying any attention at all, they heard their not-so-silent approach, so worrying about staying silent now seems a bit pointless, but he doesn't want to be the reason the fairies take off again. After a few seconds of waffling, though, he moves to follow Frisk. If he does nothing, he can't expect anything to happen, good or bad.

Things seem to be going well enough, until a twig snaps under his foot. It's probably not as loud as it seems to him when it happens, but he still freezes and his eyes dart between Frisk and the lights a few times.

[determinedest]

Frisk stretches out a finger tentatively, reaching out to brush against one of them. The sound of Souji treading on a twig makes Frisk jump, startling, and it's enough to send the collation of lights whizzing back into the trees. Frisk's eyes widen and they snatch out blindly with one hand, but the effort is futile. It only takes a few seconds for the rest of the fairies to disappear without a trace.

They straighten up, expression glowing.

"I almost touched one," they whisper, almost reverently. "Did you see?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji straightens as well, feeling a bit bad that the lights ran off again because of him, but relieved that Frisk seems more excited than disappointed by losing their trail. He smiles and nods.

"Yeah. What was it like?"

He'll apologize for scaring them off in a moment.

[determinedest]

Frisk crinkles their nose thoughtfully.

"A little warm," they say after a moment of consideration. "Like touching a lightbulb." They'd felt the heat emanating off those wafer-thin wings a split second before they'd all gone whizzing into the shadows.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji nods seriously. That makes sense, though he wasn't quite expecting it.

"Sorry for startling them."

He looks in the direction they fled in, considering. They probably won't be so easy to find or sneak up on again, but he'll leave it up to Frisk whether or not they give up here.

"Do you want to try again?"