[open] do you know why the body is a prison?

[skelepun]

Who: Sans and YOU! Open to literally everyone
When: Between this and the final judgment call on this.
Where: The Hold.
What: There's a skeleton in the dungeon, come let him rattle his bones at u
Warnings: Probably some mention of murder/death/etc! But mostly pretty tame, I imagine. Will edit if that changes.


The hold was incredible. Three solid walls, one semi-solid wall, a bench-bed hybrid that wrecked havoc on his back, and all the down time a skeleton could ask for. It was perfect. The best vacation he's ever had.

It'll be a real bummer once all of it goes away again.

Whatever the kid is up to, they're biding their time. And the few times a stray unpleasant thought passed through his skull, Sans is able to wave them away easily enough. He didn't care for thinking about Chara's dead body, so he didn't think about it. The worrying notion that, perhaps, this reality experienced time differently from what he knew...

Again: not thinking about it. The perfect cure, really.

Of course, he couldn't exactly stop people from visiting him here. With news spreading throughout the ship of what happened, more and more people were reaching out to him with why spelled out across their furrowed brows. Sans wished he could help them, sincerely. It would be a load off both their minds.

Too bad the answer was just too damn huge.

( ooc: feel free to visit sans in the hold any time, either before or after your character has 'cast their vote (or not)' on his fate. woo! )

Comments

after casting vote, before everything's decided;

[niffin]

It's late, by the arbitrary count of some distant system's clock. They're far from Emiri's sun now, and the stars outside the windows grow huge and bright and pass by again with an unnerving frequency that slips between the easy recognition of night and day.

But it's late. And for that, she hopes to find him without other visitors. Alice leans up against the door, head knocking quietly against the glass.

"Hey," After the holes in this story, she's not expecting explanations. But there's a question or two that still matter, even to those without affection for either party. "Sans, right? We've got a bone to pick."

A small gesture of conciliation; she's noticed the proclivity for puns.

[skelepun]

[Between the knocks and the jokes, she's well on her way to being the most welcome visitor Sans has entertained over the last few days. Chuckling, he even went so far as to sit up from his makeshift bed before shooting her a quick, toothy grin.]

Well far be it from me to stand in your way. [With a shrug, his eye sockets creased a little at the edges.] But tibia honest, I'm a little light on conversation topics.

[niffin]

Yeah, well, femur me anyway.

[ The words feel sticky and sick in her mouth. It's a little too easy to forget that he's just killed a child. But she saw the way that kid went at him, and she's pretty certain he did what was necessary. ]

I'll keep it quick. The kid, Chara. [ She shifts, tugging at her wrist. ] Are they dangerous to the rest of the crew?

[ Alice might not know they're coming back, but she's seen enough recurring faces to know there's a chance they'll pop through the Ingress again. ]

[skelepun]

[To the point, too. Hell. Between that and the jokes, Sans could really enjoy the company of this one.]

Yup. [Sans picks at his teeth, raising one brow bone.] Very.

[Elaboration was going to cost more jokes.]

[niffin]

But you still put them down pretty quickly.

[ Paying a talking skeleton prisoner with shitty puns for information on a murderous child. The whole thing's like some shitty RPG quest. Practically Fillorian. Alice clears her throat, searching for a way to jam some more inappropriate wordplay in. ]

Could anybody do that? [ She looks away. ] Or is there a trick to it?

[ He did what was necessary, sure, but Alice just can't figure out why Sans would be so scared of Chara if they're really just a kid. And the thought of this happening again, of them going after Ryan or Tali or anyone else —

She has to know how to handle it. ]

[skelepun]

Eh, maybe I'm just more dangerous. [Sans laughs, both at the sheer absurdity of that statement and her stealthy body pun. Him, more dangerous than the kid... he wished. Maybe then his job would be an exercise in more than wearing him out.]

Magic helps, I guess. You humans usually take your time getting used to it. [He raised a brow bone, looking downright indulgent.] Why, are you in the market for a lesson?

[niffin]

[ Alice's fingers curl. The wince that follows isn't for Sans — though the laughter might as well. This whole incident carries the sour flavour of the mildly-deranged. It's difficult to pare what's not being said from the natural absurdity of it. ]

Maybe. [ It's no trick to make the words sound a little defeated. ] If that’s what it takes.

[ She shakes her head. ]

If this was ulna about some kind of personal history, I'd stay out of it. [ God, that almost feels not-weird to say. She needs to pun-evac soon or risk permanent wordplay damage. ] I voted the way I did because this can't be allowed to become a normal thing. But I'm not blind.

Just — if they show up again. If they don't go after someone who can take care of themselves.

[skelepun]

[The implication of her words... Sans' has considered it at length. There's always a chance that Chara will reset back further than he expects. If that were to happen, he would be even more powerless than he already feels.

But powerless is a feeling Sans is used to. Smiling, he shrugs.]

I dunno. I mean that, not trying to give you the runaround. Believe it or not, that kid has us all by the funny bone... even if not everyone realizes it yet.

[niffin]

Seems like you could help with that. [ They ought to be sharp words. Instead they're just quiet. ] With the realization. They say two heads are better than one.

[ Alice scuffs a foot, opens her mouth to say something, and stops. ]

I get things being too... too much to talk about. I'm not saying that you should. But you started something here, and for better or worse, we all have to handle it now. It's not just your problem to solve.

[ Or to fuck up worse. ]

Do me a favour, and remember that?

[skelepun]

[Sans blinks.

When you're locked up in your own personal closed loop of existential angst, it's easy to forget other people even matter. There are a few Sans always treasured (well... one), but on the whole... well. Fuck if she isn't right.

Right enough that Sans feels shaken, for all his fixed grin doesn't show it.]

... Yeah. Yeah, I will.

[If he has the chance to, anyway.]

What's your name?

[niffin]

Alice. Alice Quinn.

[ Her hand lingers on the door as she pulls back. ]

I'm on Mero if you ever want to talk.

[ It's amazing how someone so hesitant can move so quickly the hell out of there, but she sure manages. ]