PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

Oh no I let it set in Chapter 60

Frisk lurched upright, breathing heavily, lost in her surroundings and the blue of her hands for an instant until she toppled over from the poor balance she had up on one arm. She thumped onto her back, eyes skimming the star-prickled, blue and orange sunrise-sky, feeling grass underneath her as she rolled over. This wasn't right, she thought. Open sky? Dangerous. She would never have picked this sp—

Her thoughts stalled at the touch of a hand running through her hair and along one of her floppy ears. Her focus shifted to the sounds around her. The tweeting of unfamiliar birds, the wind whistling softly; the faint crackle of fire. Someone pet her again. She carefully sat up and caught Asriel's arm falling away from her. He smacked his lips and his hand ran over the grass lazily. He was still asleep.

Frisk rubbed the side of her head and looked around as her heart thumped uncomfortably. Asriel was sprawled out in the grass, looking rather comfortable despite not a scrap of bedding to be had. Sans, too, was fast asleep beside the smouldering remains of a fire, slumped on his back, arms behind his head. His peaceful, sharp-toothed smile was aimed at the stars. Papyrus had dozed off sitting up nearby, elbow on knee and cheek on fist, with his lyra resting carefully at his side

"Hey." Chara's voice beckoned at a whisper.

Frisk whipped around to find the other girl sitting at the peak of their hill's slope, the sheen of the rising sun flitting off her hair. Even in shadow, her irises had a subtle shine. She patted the ground beside her. Frisk got up and tiptoed through the grass to take a seat at her side. The way Chara looked in this light reminded the kid a little of the first time she'd even got a glimpse of her, in the sunset on the plateau of Mount Ebott. She was a phantom then, stained through with sharp, orange light, extremely pale and gaunt, with shorter, scruffier hair and stark red eyes. She looked a lot healthier here, Frisk thought. She had to stop from rolling her eyes at herself— of course she did, she was mostly alive here.

"You okay?" Chara asked. She gestured back to Frisk's spot near Asriel. "Sat up pretty fast. Something happen?"

"Wh...? Um." Frisk rubbed her head. "...Bad dream, I guess."

"And the old you would've never slept out under the sky like that." She smiled wryly. "That happened to me a lot, too. Don't worry. You're safe."

Frisk blinked. "But how'd you—?"

"You didn't forget already that I was inside your head, did you?"

"A-Ah!" Frisk squeaked. "H-How much did you see?!"

"Enough." She cut her eyes at her. "Don't worry. I was like you, too. Still not totally over it. Out in the air; under a roof, doesn't matter sometimes, does it?"

"...Yeah." Frisk rubbed her head. "Even back home. Sometimes I'd just... have a dream or something and wake up all weird." Her eyes widened and the fur on her cheeks flushed a faint purple. "Um! P-Please don't tell anyone!"

"Don't worry." Her gaze drifted away to the sky. "I... never told anyone my whole deal, either. Mom'd never let me out of her sight again."

"Right?!" Frisk said.

"But... Who knows? Maybe it would've been better." Chara smirked. "Guess that'll always be a mystery, yeah?"

Frisk flinched. She was overcome with an ache in her chest. She snuck a little closer and reached out to hug Chara tight. The girl jolted, looking at the shorter kid with wide eyes.