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The poor skeleton blinked, staring up at Gaster. Oh. Okay. Now he seemed… happy for some reason? Such a reaction was clearly unwarranted - Jazz did not give any solid advice, really! - but oh, well, if blurting a bunch of nonsense while still on the verge of panic made the other happy, Jazz was more than ready to swing with it.
But then this Gaster-but-not-really-Gaster jumped up, chirping an invitation in his strange melodic voice, and Jazz felt torn again. Of course he always wanted to help people - to be friendly and nice - to never turn down offers and requests, because he knew how it felt when you were denied all that; but he was still not a bit shaky and unsteady, and… no amount of preparation would get him ready to run somewhere together with a Gaster.
Even if that was a different, better Gaster.
But there was a part of him (that he thought he silenced forever) that had him stand up before he could think twice, that set him into motion even though his Soul beat frantically in his scarred tortured chest. He watched his own body move in accordance to a command he’s been given.
he had been ordered to come. he had to obey or else
Jazz nodded, dream-like, and made a step forward.
“OKAY”, he said. “I CAN DO THAT.”
Because he had no other choice.
He never had one, really.
Gaster was not an intentionally cruel person. The very concept of harming another being for one’s own pleasure was liable to send him into a state of panic if he dwelt on it for too long. If he had realized that the other was acting automatically and not out of genuine agreement, he would have stopped and made an attempt to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, he had the tendency to become absorbed in his own thoughts when overly excited, and thus was completely oblivious to his acquaintance’s discomfort.
The fact that the other was, by all outward appearances, just fine with the idea of joining him didn’t help the matter, either.
So it was that Gaster began walking off further into Waterfall, the reluctant skeleton in tow. He did not attempt any conversation – probably for the best – but as time passed, another sound joined the crunch of pebbles and trickle of flowing water.
Gaster was… humming. For one who didn’t have the best command of words, it was an interesting past-time to partake in… but then again, his manner of speaking was quite musical already, wasn’t it?
The soft sound accompanied the pair the rest of the way to their destination. It didn’t take long for the dark tunnels to give way to a wide and relatively brightly lit area, illuminated by the glow of bioluminescent plants, the water, and the stones sparkling above in the cavern ceiling. Bridges crossed over the meandering shape of the river, connecting a number of small patches of land populated by short grass and echo flowers. On one of these was a glowing orange figure, holding something in one arm and holding onto something with another.
|(¾) i am here! | i am here! || the skeleton called out, moving forward as quickly as he could with the picnic basket and seemingly forgetting that he had an acquaintance with him. The other figure moved to meet him, as well, and it became clear just what sort of people the visitor was going to have to deal with.
The glowing orange figure was a fire elemental, wearing a small pair of glasses and a casual yet chic shirt and slacks combo. This person seemed to be around the same age as Gaster – which was very much not the case for the other two that accompanied them.
They were very small skeletons, dressed in the basic children’s attire of T-shirt and overalls. One was held up in the fire elemental’s arms, asleep, while the other was… all over the place. Attached to a child harness and leash which the elemental held tightly in one hand, this skeleton was eagerly poking at grass, dirt, flowers, and any and everything else within reach.
Until they spotted Gaster’s companion.
For a few moments, they stared wide-eyed, and then bolted right for them, scrambling down on all fours and stretching the leash as far as it would go. The elemental quickened their pace so as to prevent the little one from getting hurt, until finally all five caught up with one another.
| (¾) he-llo, he- | llo, grill-by, || Gaster beamed. | (¾) here is the | bas-ket, and | here is a | new friend ! ||
