Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch31 - Whistle

Ashe's POV

Nightmare put you back down onto the couch, sighing as he did so. "Ashe. I neglected to ask prior, but is signing your only form of communication?"

You have a so-so gesture. 'I can sometimes manage a few words, but it hurts a lot. Having my HP healed hasn't made a difference,' you explained to him. 'I think forcing it would just make it worse.'

"Sounds like yer migh' be nonverbal," Dust explained. "I get inta what Nigh'mare calls 'verbal shutdown'. Ain't th' same, but I c'n relate to yer." Nightmare nodded at that, seemingly pleased that Dust had spoken up.

'I didn't know there was a difference?" you let out curiously, hoping for a little more clarification on what the terms meant.

"Verbal shutdown is when speaking individuals become unable to speak for some period of time. That could be due to overwhelm, anxiety, or other reasons. Nonverbal, however, is used in the disabled community by those who are not able to speak at all," Nightmare explained gently.

'Oh, that makes sense,' you nodded. 'Is there a reason you're asking though, or just curious?'

"The former. As you are not able to speak, it may present an issue if you are in a situation where you cannot sign but need our attention. As such, I would like you to keep this with you at all times."

Nightmare passed to you a necklace that had a single charm on it. It looked like a whistle, engraved with swirling patterns, though the way it buzzed against your fingertips made you wonder if it was magic in some way. 'It makes my fingers tingly. Is it magic?'

"The tingling means it is compatible with your magic," he began to explain. "It is not quite a whistle, but the function is similar. If you push a small amount of your magic through it, it will send that magic outward in a subtle pulse. Whilst others can, in theory, pick up on it, it is unlikely they will notice that pulse of magic unless they are bonded to you. It will allow you a non-verbal way to 'call out' if you are in danger, but keep in mind the range is much like an actual whistle, so we would only be able to hear it if in the same sort of area."

'Thankyou,' you signed gratefully, putting it around your neck. It was pretty.

"Nightmare... Now that you're done... with whatever... You were doing... please... go eat," Horror let out, sounding more pleading than he did demanding.

"Very well," he let out placatingly. "Ashe. Come along with me to the kitchen so we may speak further."

You nodded, following closely along. 'What else do you want to talk about?'

"I will be assigning Killer to be your partner for the time being. I do not expect you to fight with us, but as we uphold the darker side of the balance, you may become a target to others. It is a non-negotiable that you know how to protect yourself."

You nodded. His explanation did make sense. 'How come you want Killer to partner with me? Wouldn't Dust make more sense since I'm from a dusttale or something similar?'

"Dust primarily uses magic based attacks. Whilst useful, magic will not always be available to you, especially as you share with your sibling. Killer's techniques are primarily close combat based and do not necessarily require magic," he explained. He paused for a moment. "That, and he can be quite the distraction, meaning he can get attention away from you if you become overwhelmed."

You couldn't help but giggle quietly at the way he described Killer. A 'distraction'. He was probably right with his assessment, but it was just so casual and blunt.

Nightmare paid no mind to your amusement, using his tendrils to make himself a cup of coffee. It seemed he liked to drink it bitter and black. You cringed a little at just how much of the coffee powder he used - stars, that would be gross to drink.

"I do not doubt you have some fighting ability with such high LV, but the Stars are a threat not to be taken lightly. Once I have a better understanding of where your skills are at, you will be trained by a mix of everybody in both individual and team settings."

You nodded. 'That sounds like a good idea. I, uhm, didn't fight last time because I was trying to figure out where you and Cross were. I thought it would be better to observe than just jump in without a strategy.'

"Hm. In that case, I believe you would benefit from training with Cross. He is quite the strategist, whereas Horror reacts on instinct and Killer mostly on impulse. You seem to be the observant kind, which is certainly beneficial. Although... Cross does tend to be more of a solo-fighter, and you will need to work alongside your phantom papyrus... Perhaps you will simply need to develop a style of your own."

'He goes by Spooky now' you corrected, to which he nodded in acknowledgment. 'What about you though? Will you be training me as well?'

Nightmare gave a dark grin at that, but said nothing. You had a feeling that meant if you did spar against him, the conditions of that would probably be a surprise. After consuming some of his coffee, he continued to speak. "We will be helping Error tomorrow with distracting the Stars so a few AUs can be destroyed. Would you be willing to join us? I do not want to overwhelm you by getting you involved too quickly, but you seem less overwhelmed than I had anticipated."

'I'll come along,' you signed cheerfully. 'Also, are you going to eat? I feel like Horror wouldn't be happy if all you end up having is a bunch of coffee..'

Nightmare chuckled, using his tendrils to pull a tray from the oven. It seemed like these were the remaining nuggets, left on low heat so they would still be nice and hot when finally gotten to. "I will be eating in the living room with Horror in a moment. In the meantime, I would suggest you ask one of the others to show you to the spare room next to Horror's. You have had a long day, and I can taste your exhaustion. Go rest."

You tilted your head at that. 'What does exhaustion taste like?'

Nightmare chuckled. "It tastes like chamomile, as strange as that may sound."

Satisfied with the answer, you left from the kitchen in search of somebody to take you to your room like Nightmare had suggested.