Chapter Text
Cold, that was all complete darkness could ever feel like . A contrasting color could never produce heat, and yet, she felt both cold and warmth, but maybe that was for different reasons. Waking up alone was quite the struggle, seemingly enough; anyone who could fall from such heights shouldn't even be considered a living person, any more so than the flowers that spread beneath her. Or maybe she was dead? She could hardly tell at this rate, it at least felt like she had, but perhaps she was just oddly dramatic. However, on closer speculation, most of the ones surrounding her body's indented area seemed to have died due to the unwelcoming impact. "Great, now I'm a flower killer…."
Rising to a sitting position, her body couldn't help but protest at her sudden uninvited movements; this sudden spike of pain alone could've been considered brain jostling. It was hard to open her eyes, especially when all she could see was total and utter darkness except... for the little light that surprisingly reached down to her stationary presence.
'Odd …' you'd think, by the distance of how far she had fallen may seem rather dull compared to that from a building if it wasn't for the distinct look within the off-shaped cavern, 'no light would possibly reach me from here. Odd… very strange indeed.'
The flowers alone seemed relatively soft and appealing; if it were any other day, she'd believe it to be the same as that of a bed back in the overworld, but due to the unimaginable pain she was going through, her body would love to say otherwise. Unable to stand appropriately, she slowly supported herself enough to waddle down the room, or to at least a comfortable attempt to move into the next stage. Slowly approaching the next corridor —completely and purposefully ignoring the ominous cave sounds that fluttered about— or maybe those sounds were just a figment of her imagination? for all she knew, it could've been deadly silent. Her mind would have easily been playing some disturbing tricks on her sanity. She hated the dark.
She leaned against the walls as she passed, slightly admiring the detailing within the carvings; The girl couldn't help but to adore the strange art splattered across the room; it looked so surreal, so… humane- or at least from what she could see . It was an odd life-changing event, never had she thought that one day she would be able to personally find and; somewhat discover old cave art and strange formations from what could've been centuries before her time.
The door was her next target, or should she say opponent, seeing as she could hardly even open it. With what little power she could muster, she somewhat managed to crack it open enough to fit her skeletal frame. Giving the next room a long and hard glance, from what she could tell, she was practically surrounded by nothing but a colorful mass of blurry images. Her frustrations silently released throughout her entire being; she could at least say she was trying her best to continue on her way, anyone without planning on giving up.
She was just about to pass another mass of fallen flowers, the same as those of which caught her falling form, only to suddenly be stopped by the unsuspected shrill of what sounded to be from…. a child of sorts? 'What was a child doing down here all alone?'
"P-p lea se do n't hu rt m e… I sw ea r, I- I d on 't- "
Stumbling to keep on her toes, reluctant to move but had no say in the matter as now her body began to move on its own - Confused, she noticed a little yellow blurry flower facing slightly away from her, and it wasn’t enough for her to not see it shaking. 'Well, this strangely feels iconic for what I said mere seconds ago…' Finally, forcing her body into motion, she took a few steps closer before slowly situating herself in front of the other individual, perplexed by the idea that it had just spoken to her. She gave the flower an uncertain look before she faintly found herself reaching out for the little thing, gently stroking along the flower petals like the lost girl would do to any other plant they would’ve come across; she was a florist, after all.
She didn’t think much of her actions; if anything, she found the movements quite soothing , but it had seemed utterly difficult for the receiving end of the party. But from an unexpected turn of events, She could hear a whimper from the direction of the flower, such a sound barely shocking her but most definitely still managing to scare it.
“Oh.” She spoke, unsure of how to take into consideration how surreal this must’ve been for the flower and certainly for her.
Leaning closer, giving it her complete and utter attention, leaning whatever weight she may have to spare onto her feet, slightly using her legs as a seat, she slowly but surely became face to face with the tiny creature, giving the poor whimpering thing a gentle smile.
"I won't hurt you." She finally spoke, giving a rather faint but reassuring smile for a mere moment; it was a way for her to show her trust and kind nature, a way to help the other feel a little more stable with her nearby.
"Y-.. You won't?..." She watched patiently as the flower slowly started to face her properly, slightly rubbing at its still rather tear-filled eyes. It bugged her seeing such a small thing cry; she was always weak to the little things, especially if said thing was a somewhat child crying for being scared of her.
Placing her body into a natural criss-cross sitting position, she placed both elbows against her inner thighs and rested her face between her hands, trying her best to seem more relaxed than dangerous. It was a shot worth taking, especially if it meant making amends.
She gave the other a sympathetic smile before she offered the flower a simple nod; placing her hand against the other's puffy face, the girl gently stroked its flower-like cheek, which somehow helped the other’s emotional outburst as she continued to rub the tears away from his damp petals gently.
"Of course not; what cruel person would ever want to hurt another soul, much less one like you?"
It gave her a faint smile, momentarily relieved with the words she had stated, but something shifted within the little guy's gears , or at least she believed it to be accurate, for that small child-like smile soon switched to a somewhat dwindling frown. "Yo u… w-w ouldn ’t unde rstan d… th e wor ld yo u m ig ht co me from… It ma y n ot be t hat w ay up th ere, b ut d ow n h ere… I- it 's a ki ll or b- be ki lled w-w orld … n o on e's s afe d ow n he re… espe cia lly y ou."
She gave the innocent little flower a quizzical look, unknowing whether to believe the poor thing or not, but either way, it wasn't something she was apprehensive about. Even humans had a certain tendency to use violence rather than verbal explanation, so she was quick not to judge a person based on their performance. "Beggars can't be choosers, besides! You wouldn't hurt me!.... Would you?"
"N-No! Of course not! I'd never… I couldn't- Wouldn't dream of it!" He frantically squirmed about, trying to seem sincere but failed miserably the moment he began to cry.
"Then see? I've got nothing to worry about! If you won't hurt me, then who can say others won't reconsider? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, after all.” It was hard for a person to believe there was good in everyone, but if the said person lived as positively as she could, anything could be possible, even if it meant the unimaginable. Taking a moment to stand to the best of her ability, she began her unsteady stride down the corridor and tried her best not to hurt herself on her way through the catacombs.
" But I-... W-wait! Where are you going?" Briefly stopping to give the other a sideways glance, she hummed to herself before finding a suitable answer.
"This way."
"B… -but you can't! If you go down there, then the mean lady will-" But the sudden pause in the flower's voice could do nothing but help the girl spin her full attention towards the cowering little fellow. She was expecting to see it crying again or shuttering in fear, but instead, she had seen absolutely nothing there.
The only visible thing left from where the flower stood was the slightly obscured amount of dirt that appeared to have been uplifted by some roots here and there. She was confused by sight, but all the same, she hadn't the time to dwindle on a distant thought. So she turned, expecting to see the next door to where she'd possibly be out and far away from this strange place, but instead, she was faced with something quite peculiar.
"Oh!... I’m sorry, I didn't see-"
"Poor, innocent… youthful maturity, mistakes… utter, blissful, confusing mistakes. It is alright now, don't worry any longer; the pain will only last for a short while. Rest at ease, for this is the only chance you'll ever receive a peaceful everlasting slumber."
But before the girl could question or ponder what the other had meant altogether, she could already feel the faint sensation or something within her burning with such velocity. It didn't become such a surging pain till the burn dug deep into her angelic skin. A sickening squelch was the first thing she heard, and the last thing she remembered before a violent full-on picture of her own pulsating heart was all that remained to rest. Watching as her own heart pulsated every few mere seconds, watching as it blackened in color due to the eternal flame now nestled within her chest.
Blood tried its hardest to seep from her exposed wound only to bristle to a crisp as chard black muck slowly dripped to the lowest part of her abdomen. As her eyes finally closed, leaving her once more within the outer darkness, never to be heard from again, she couldn't help but wonder how beautiful it was to see such a strange anomaly. 'So… this is how I finally die, huh? Strange, I figured it would've been from the-'
"Human? Human!... Human, wake up!... Please… " Or so she thought .
The physical pain was almost too much to bear, now with the other phantom dull throbs lingering within her chest, it was even more challenging for her to stand, but the weakness wasn't something she liked to showcase. So she slowly stirred awake, ultimately facing the little flower which she had met not long ago.
"Ouch, I didn't know death was so painful.” Rubbing circles around her injuries, faintly soothing the lingering soreness, she couldn't help but stare at the sudden faint burn marks that lingered right below her collar bone. 'So the wounds stay? That's rather startling… but I got a cool scar out of it... "The more you know, I suppose…."
"Seriously? That crazy goat lady had just killed you, and you're already cracking jokes?" The flowers' flustered face, now seeing the human's slightly bare chest, was enough to cause the girl to glance in his sudden direction curiously. Still, she thought nothing of it now as she continued to stare off into the distant room the girl lived knew she would eventually have to stride within. 'Was death going to be this inevitable?' ; "You're as bad as that stupid trash bag." A sentence spoken so quietly, he was sure the human wouldn't have noticed, but she did; she only chose not to mention anything about it. Once again, stumbling her way up onto her toes, she was now better aware of the faint feeling of something that was throbbing by the side of her head.
"H-hey wait!-… Do- Do humans… normally grow flowers? On the side of their...head?"
"What?- Uhm… No?-… Why?"
The flower is what he may, didn't know how to exactly explain the thing currently drilled within the human girl's head without somehow freaking her out. "There's a... Uh… a flower in your hair. I can't tell whether or not it grew there or if it's from one of the flowers you woke up on…."
Acknowledging the other and its pleads, she gave a considerable thought of it before swiftly trying to take the little flower out of her hair, only now noticing that there were two nestled neatly between her ear, as she tried her best to tug the little things out from within her hair, she couldn't help but it since from the pain that followed.
"Huh… guess that answers our question. Wonder why they're growing… " she gave her new apparent forever companions a little patience as an apology for nearly trying to rip them out of her before she once again bounced back into action. The flower could do nothing as he watched her form once again walk steadily away from him. He would've quickly let the girl go if it wasn't for the fact that he knew she was bound to continue with this deadly facade, since she was already killed once again. So the flower continued to try and persuade her to reason with her in some way, but he knew she'd never listened.
"Human, please! Rethink your actions; if you prance on your merry way back in the catacombs, you'll surely be killed again by that woman-"
But his feeble attempts of persuasion ceased to replenish his shaken form, for it was once more already too late. He merely just sat and watched as the human continued her way down, lingering every so often to look at the faded paintings that marked the walls; he couldn't help but to ponder over the expressions she made along the way, how delighted she had seemed upon discovering them as if they were something she's never seen before. It was amusing to watch but a total waste of time, and he knew she understood that as well.
"Come on… human, please- you shouldn’t just dilly dally about; there’s a crazed Looney out here looking for ya! You can't just-" but once again, there he was, speechless by how quickly his own words came to bite him, for he couldn't help but to stare at her lifeless form slowly drop to the floor without so much as a fair warning. The sounds of a lingering flame still embedded within her lower back, the sight of tendons and muscle burning to a crisp, alongside a rather prominent looking bone from a spine slowly poking out within the chard mass was enough even to make him falter.
He hated this; seeing such gruesome things like this, how she always seemed to come back to life in a bubbly mass of pure blissful joy was beyond him. He couldn't take it, the sight of her dying form, he may have just met the human, but that didn't stop him from crying for the said girl to lay there lifeless, once again to reappear lying within a golden bed of flowers, same as before, only now she seemed more serious, more thoughtful than before.
And so, as he sat back and watched, he couldn't help but wince every single time a flame or some other form of a tool silently killed the poor human over and over again without any remorse. He knew that any other human would've given up or at least tried to hide, but no, not her; she just continued trying her best to get past those doors but never once did she prevail, so here they were, lying on the ground doing who knows what while staring off within the distance as though they were trying to come up with some plan.
He was concerned that maybe you were genuinely dead at first, but that thought soon dissolved once he noticed the sudden movement of her arms solemnly being placed atop her curly-covered head, scarcely lingering against the newly formed flower now entangled within her black-framed hair.
"Uh… human? Are… are you alright-"
"Toki, you can call me Toki."
The flower couldn't help but jump at the sudden sound of her voice, sure. He’s heard her speak many times, but not with how defeated she had sounded, as though she had given up on everything entirely. In his head, he finally huffed with satisfaction; 'Good, now she'll finally understand she won't get anywhere with how she's living now,’ but then he couldn't help but regret those thoughts, even now upon paying more attention to her.
She looked defeated, sounded defeated, and acted defeated like there was nothing else going on for her within this life. He never really cared for another person before hut he couldn't help but worry for her. Now that the flower had gotten to understand her a little after a while, they had small conversations. However, most were of him trying to convince her to give up and follow his direction while others were of little personal snippets of life, including the one he once loved, or at least he phrased of as though it were of a completely different monster entirely.
"Chara… that was the name of the human who had first fallen. They were adopted into the Royal Family and became best friends with the prince. After their death, they were buried beneath the very flowers you landed on." When he glanced in the humans- or now known as Toki’s direction, he couldn't help but suddenly stumble with his words in hopes to convince her that it was okay.
"No-no, don't worry! I'm sure they don't mind. They're dead, after all... Sorry, that didn't come out right… I mean to say that they were a very nice person; I’m sure they wouldn't mind. Besides, Chara would want you to be alive and well, so if it means allowing you to land on their mound. I’m sure they wouldn't… I'll stop talking." And with that, he hurried off, flustered and embarrassed. He knew leaving her wasn't the most incredible idea, but in the spare of the moment, it was a decision he believed he had to make. Besides, the flower already knew he’d meet her right back in the same spot as always once she resets.
She listened patiently as the little flower continued about a heartwarming story between the monsters and their first encounter ever with a human. It was a sweet tale, even she couldn't help but be engulfed with such a tale, but once word came out about how the girl was buried within the very ground she laid upon, she couldn't help but feel a little concerned, not only for her but for the lingering spirit.
Alas, even the flower had realized her discomfort, which led to a stuttering mess form from said monster. It was a delight to witness, but concerning once, she watched the little guy walk away. And so, once again being left to wallow within her thoughts, she decided to sit up for once and pay her respects to the child for saving her life more than once.
As Toki turned towards the bed of flowers, she bowed lowly to the ground; both hands flung straight in between her eyes as she prayed for the child's lingering spirit to find its way in the skies and to have a peaceful afterlife. She stayed there for a whole, remaining as though she could feel the eyes of the spirit resting within her soul, as though they were deciding on whether she genuinely meant her actions or if it were just for show, but over time, they knew.
Toki would've continued her little silent prayers if it wasn't for the sudden sound of approaching feet and the violent sound of something being dropped as though whoever it was holding such items was surprised to see a human; little did she know, however, it was for an utterly different reason altogether.
"Young one… why are you here? Sitting so peacefully across the ground in such a demeanor?"
The human continued to pray for a little longer before releasing her hold against her own hands to finally fave the being that still lingered from behind. She gave the monster a saddened smile as a small stream of tears filtered within her eyes before they begrudgingly ran down her chin and dripped within her loose clothing. "Someone had told me… a child was lying within this beautiful bed of flowers. I was merely paying my respects and wishing the child a safe afterlife among the stars from above. In my culture, we pray and speak with the dead in hopes to bring them enough hope to last them an eternity."
And as if she were to pray once more for the wandering spirit, she was beginning to help turn herself back towards the flowers before she felt a pair of heavy hands land heavily against her shoulders. If it weren’t for the fact this person was the same one to have killed her all those times ago, then she probably would've started to cry and accept this loving feeling. Still, for that reason alone, she couldn't help but to shutter, in fear that she'd feel another fireball aimed straight for the heart or even her backside, but to her surprise and welcoming relief, no pain had come, only the feeling of a motherly embrace.
"Do not fear my child; I will not hurt you." And as she said these words, she couldn't help but hardly believe in them. After all, the monster had already killed her more than once before.