*Heeeey, @hikaricotta! I’m your summer @undertailsecretsanta ! =D I had a lot of fun going through your AU’s blog to find info to write something for you. I really hope I did it justice; I’m a real sucker for Japanese legends and that particular time period. Let me apologize in advance though if I got anything wrong. ^^; I hope you like it, dear!
Pairing: Frisk/Sans (Suzume/Yuu, as they’re called in the AU)
AU: YureiTale ( @yureitale )
Rating: Teen
Flickering lights floated throughout the moonlit forest clearing as a young woman clad in a kimono lifted her arms and did a slow twirl, taking in the beauty of the sight. Her companion leaned against a tree, carefully keeping an eye(socket) out while her guard was down.
Idly, the skeleton demon found himself wondering just when things had changed so drastically between them.
The shift had been so subtle -- a barely perceptible pivot, if anything. One moment, she was his charge, a spirit still clinging to the notion of life despite everything (one he had protected from the truth on an oath he had regretted) and the next moment, she felt so natural by his side that he actually felt restless during the brief periods when she was away.
When had he begun to see her as more than just a memory he had tried to forget -- the memory of his own demise? Of the cruelty humans showed by nature? Of the well that had become their tomb? Of the darkness that rushed up to meet him as he desperately reached for his little brother?
That darkness had become a part of Yuu when he and his brother, Masaru, left the mortal realm and entered the demon forest. He had been but a little human boy when it happened, but as he grew to adulthood as a demon, the hate festered within. His brother, who had been an infant upon their death, was spared Yuu’s hatred for humanity. On the contrary, humans fascinated Masaru, yet Yuu did all he could to scare humans away from the forest with floating skulls and illusionary magic meant to terrify them. He never actively pursued the humans, of course; although he loathed them, he tried to keep that side of him away from his brother, stamping it down to focus on providing him all the love and support he deserved.
Masaru... Was that when the shift began? When she always showed such kindness to his brother? When she, despite not knowing that she was no longer a mere human girl, but a spirit, refused to cower or fight the monsters of the forest? She had always been so accepting of them, and despite being a person of few words (he’d heard her soft, melodic voice a handful of times), she managed to befriend most of the demons she came across -- including Masaru.
Or was it when she became accepting of him that things changed?
There was a time when his woven hat had flown off from a brisk breeze, revealing the protruding horns atop his head to her for the first time. She had been surprised to see them. Apparently, being a skeleton demon wasn’t that big of a deal, but when horns got added to the mix, she became curious. She had reached out without thinking, and he felt her gentle, exploratory touch along the edge of his horn. Instantly, he jolted back and fumbled for his hat, but she had simply given him a radiant, fearless smile.
He’d felt the ghost of her touch the rest of the night after that.
His hatred was kept stamped down, buried somewhere to shield her from its ugliness. She had been dealt a crumby hand, too, he had quickly realized, and they were kindred spirits in a sense. She had no shortage of friends throughout the forest, yet despite that, she always seemed to be drawn back to his side. She discovered the truth of what happened to her -- and what she was now -- and although she still had moments from time to time where she missed her place among the mortals, she had made it clear that she wouldn’t change a thing.
Death... brought me to you.
The image of her standing before him with a watery smile, her hands clasped together at her chest while she mustered those words was a memory he would cherish for eternity.
That had to be it. That had to be the moment everything pivoted. She was kind to her core; her actions spoke volumes, and even in the cases where she had to run away from a spiteful demon, she did so while wearing a reassuring smile. She had doused the raging fires back to a smoldering ember and helped nurture the laid-back, fun-loving attitude he usually reserved for Masaru.
After all, it was difficult to stay angry at humanity when their cruelty had brought the two of them together.
The demon’s mind slowly wandered back to the present when he realized that the clearing had gotten too quiet, even by Suzume’s standards. He’d noticed her getting closer to the treeline at one point during his retrospect -- had she gone further in to check something out?
“cricket?” he called, pushing away from the tree to scan the area. “where’d you go?”
He fully expected her to come bounding from within the treeline or stand up from where she was checking something out in the underbrush. Whenever they traveled, they always stuck within shouting distance of one another. So, he tried to stay calm as he strode closer to the treeline and raised his baritone voice even louder. “suzume?!”
Yuu paused, straining to hear anything at all, but he couldn’t even make out the usual chirping of nocturnal insects. Panic swelled in his chest, until he suddenly heard a branch break within the underbrush. Without missing a beat, the demon surged forward in direction of the sound. A low-hanging branch knocked the straw hat from his head, the string catching around his throat to let it knock against his back as he ran.
Faint orbs flickered ahead, and by the time he reached them, his horns were illuminated by two flickers of blue magic, and he could feel the strobe of energy spark within his left eyesocket as he prepared to defend what was once his charge.
Suzume gasped when she spotted him barrel forward so frantically. There was a rather large orb of swirling golden light beside her head, but when Yuu came to a halt before her, it vanished.
“cricket, you scared the hell out of me,” Yuu gasped, sounding almost breathless despite the fact that he no longer possessed lungs. The sight of her -- unharmed -- had caused the magic brimming just beneath the surface to fizzle out, his eyelights and horns returning to normal. “why in the world did you run off without telling me?”
Her surprised expression melded into a guilty smile, and he noticed that she was holding something in her closed palm that illuminated the spaces between her fingers.
“did you go to catch something?”
Nodding, she pointed to her kimono, which was decorated with numerous fireflies. Something still didn’t add up; it wasn’t like her to give him a scare like that over catching a bug. Not to mention, her fist looked rather bright to be holding onto a firefly. “just how many fireflies did you catch?”
She held up her index finger as she opened up her fingers like petals unfurling on a flower. Nestled within her palm wasn’t a firefly, however; it was a small orb of bright white light, restlessly dancing across her skin. It only lasted a few seconds before it fizzled out, leaving Suzume to turn her hand from side to side, baffled.
Yuu relaxed. “welp, that explains it. that wasn’t a firefly -- that was the echo of an onibi. they’re also known as will-o-wisps. they lure travelers off the path and deeper into the forest. they’re hard to resist if you don’t know what they are.”
That guilt crept back into her expression. She hadn’t meant to be careless, but curiosity was in her nature, and Yuu knew that. Still, not every demon was friendly -- even to a spirit like her -- and there was always the threat of humans that came into the forest to hunt or exorcise their kind. She may have been too kind to fight, but that didn’t apply to Yuu -- not when he had someone to protect.
Suzume pressed her hands together and bowed her head slightly to convey an apology, while Yuu simply placed his hand on her head. “hey, don’t worry, cricket. they’re a legend for a reason, you know?” She straightened, and he gave her a wide, reassuring grin, his fingers still lingering in her short, brunette hair. “besides, you just wanted to see some fireflies, right? i happen to know a place you might like. it’s beautiful this time of year, and i’m not just saying that to get you fired up.”
She raised a slender brow, her expression brightening at the idea. Nodding enthusiastically, she grasped his hand, indicating that he should lead the way. Yuu chuckled at her eagerness and guided her back to the main path. He knew a shortcut to their destination, of course, but for once, he cared more about the journey. Her hand was soft against his metacarpals, and he shifted his grip enough to lace their fingers together. She squeezed his hand in kind and stepped closer to his side, the fabric from their attire brushing as they walked.
Yuu took the scenic route, past rice fields with footpaths lined with chochinbi that appeared as ghostly, floating lanterns (“the work of mischievous kitsune,” he’d informed her when she stopped to admire the eerie glow) and away from any tsurube-oroshi that might be lurking within the trees, trying to get the drop on them. The full moon hanging low overhead was making the forest dwellers even more active than usual, filled with mischievous energy.
Several times, Suzume had given him a look that he correctly interpreted as her assuming he was lost, and every time, he found some excuse for another detour. When he finally made it to the right spot, however, he turned around to face her and began walking backward toward the edge of the treeline, trying to block her view.
“on second thought, i don’t think this is really that great.”
He caught both of her hands as she tried to push past him, and she was the one to lace their fingers together this time. She arched a doubtful brow as he shrugged, his grin still in place.
“it’s not as enlightening as i made it out to be.”
Playfully rolling her eyes, she pressed forward.
“it wasn’t bright of me to get your hopes up. i just hope this doesn’t tarnish my glowing reputation.”
This time, he winked and was rewarded with her laughter, the sound as light as tinkling bells. Finally, he stepped aside and strode forward with her hand still tucked in his past the treeline.
In the clearing was a massive lake, reflecting both the brilliance of the full moon and the countless stars scattered across the surface like tiny glittering diamonds. But that wasn’t what caused her to gasp and clutch onto his arm, her eyes wider than he’d ever seen.
The lake was glowing. Literally glowing, as well as the surrounding grass and the accompanying pale blue flowers. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, but slowly, she began to shake her head, her jaw agape.
“it’s the plants within the lake. they take in the sunlight and then glow in the dark,” he explained simply. “i thought you might like it.”
When she finally tore her gaze away to turn her bright expression toward him, he knew he was right. She squeezed his arm, and then pulled away enough to lead him even closer to the lake, a skip to her step. Suzume was in a complete trance, and as Yuu watched her, he couldn’t help but think that the way the faint glow reflected in her eyes and highlighted her face made her look even more lovely than usual.
Even more ethereal, too; in this moment, he would have never mistaken her for a mere human. She was so much more.
“.... Beautiful,” she breathed, giving a voice to his thoughts. He nodded along with the sentiment for an entirely different reason than the lake. Before he could reply, however, her soft voice was repeated back into the quiet air.
Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
She jumped, pressing herself to his side and glancing around for what she undoubtedly expected to be a sneaky kitsune or perhaps a mocking kappa. Yuu chuckled, bringing his arm around her and drawing her closer. “echoflowers. they repeat what you tell them, and when it’s quiet and they’re close together, sometimes, more than one can pick up on it. there’s quite a few legends about this lake being haunted, but in reality, it’s just the echoflowers. though... i guess if we’re here, it technically is haunted right now,” he joked, while Suzume stared at the flowers in awe.
After a moment, she turned around in Yuu’s hold, her arms rising to slip around his neck. Thank you, she mouthed, and he shrugged. “would’ve brought you here sooner if i knew you were gonna smile like that, cricket.”
Even in the ethereal glow, he noticed the faint reddish tinge to her cheeks as she met his gaze and leaned in ever so slowly -- an invitation he recognized. Still grinning, he leaned down and pressed his teeth against her soft lips, his arms sliding around her waist to pull her closer. He’d never tire of the feeling of her kiss, of the way her light spread throughout him, driving away all of the shadows. She tasted fresh -- purifying -- while he held a hint of the spicy wasabi he favored. Yuu dipped her back, one hand sliding into her hair as he deepened the kiss, and she cradled the side of his face. She never flinched away from the feeling of bone; instead, she always relished in exploring the smooth planes and trailing her fingers across the base of his horns.
Things had indeed shifted between them, he mused. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened -- when touches were no longer accidental and lingered, when he began tucking her hair behind her ear and watching her blush, when she had become so completely entangled within his life.
He righted Suzume, breaking the kiss, and she ran her fingers through the fur lining the collar of his attire. Her face was even more flushed, lips slightly parted as she held his gaze; the lights in his sockets were as bright as the stars overhead. He saw something flit across her features, and her smile quirked wider. Stepping back, she slowly broke their embrace and held up a finger, telling him to wait.
Things were different now. She used to follow him everywhere.
Suzume bent near one of the delicate Echoflowers, leaned in close, and cupped her hand to the side of her face so Yuu couldn’t attempt to read her lips. A moment later, she straightened and motioned for Yuu to join her. Tilting her head back toward the lake, she arched a brow while her hands went to her kimono sash. The implication was clear: Want to go for a moonlight swim?
The question was rhetorical.
Now, Yuu was the one that would follow her anywhere.
As he moved toward the glowing lake, his fingers working the ties of his clothes, her quiet voice echoed from flower to flower within the clearing.
Heeeey! @hikaricotta I’m your secret santa! oh man, I really love your Aus! they’re cool and so well design <3 My fav is @yureitale and when I saw this comic I knew what I needed to do, so I hope you enjoy my panel redraw? hahaha have a nice day sweetheart!
I’ve finished this piece right before I changed and updated my Commission page. I took soooo much time to actually work on it... but when I did, I had lots of fun.
Lineart version
It was a bit of a pain to draw the flowers (I admit I am no good at it) but then again I am super satisfied with what I did. I like it lots and I hope my friend also does!
These two beauties belong to @hikaricotta and her Untertale Au: Yureitale.
There is not much content now, but you can always check out her AU and ask questions about it! This is especially great for all Frans lovers!
Finally I got my ass to work on this Commission.... I feel bad that I take ages for it again <.<
However, have a preview of my current work!
These two beauties belong to @hikaricotta and her Untertale Au: Yureitale.
Her Yurei!Frisk Suzumushi and her Yurei!Sans Yuu! Take a look, if you’re curious! The designs are awesome X)! (Look at the tags)
I still have to work some more on the lineart (adding flower petals and Sakuras) but I am almost done <3
Then I’ll have to colorate this badass and I hope they will love the result! I’m trying hard :D (I am srsly bad at flowers, but I give it my all, mwehe!)
It’s been ages since I did a proper lineart... phew.. *sweats* I am so messy nonetheless XD
