thecrossinglogs | Wind In the Desert Just Sounds Like Music

Wind In the Desert Just Sounds Like Music

WHO: Sunny and You! (This happens right after the therapy meet, but it’s OTA. If you weren’t attending the meeting, you can still see Sunny running off ^^)
WHAT: Sunny got upset and ran off. Now he’s lost in the Desert. Help?
WHERE: The Desert (and Dunes. Really he might end up at one of the inserted locations too, TBD)
WHEN: Post-Therapy Meet, Pre-Second Crossing
WARNINGS Most likely signs of PTSD and anxiety. Will update in Subject as needed :)

Sunny didn’t know where he was. He remembered getting upset, running off… but he didn’t recognize any of the surroundings nearby. He wasn’t in the Oasis… and, because he had spent all of his time in said safe haven before now, that fact filled him with dread…

He needed to find his way back. But… that meant finding everyone else, which would probably lead to more questions. Questions that he didn’t want to answer. Questions that caused his stomach to cramp and his breath to come short all over again.

Maybe it was better to stay here…

[OOC: OK! Here’s the search log for Sunny! I’ll be making several prompts below, and whoever ends up finding Sunny will be left to random draw to keep it fair ^^ But feel free to mingle, join the search with someone else, etc. Any of the locations added by us are fair game to explore too!]

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[Human books sometimes describe deserts as "vast," and this search is really driving home the truth of the phrase. It's a vast place, and compared to the underground it really feels like it could go on forever. And with only a dozen-odd people awake and moving around above the River, it feels astonishingly empty, too.

There's the wraiths, of course. The most silent but persistent cheer squad, faithfully following the skeleton in his search. He keeps choosing to interpret their presence as an encouragement, anyway. Just like he keeps reminding himself that everyone says they're passive outside the crossings, and that the next crossing is still weeks away!! Maybe they're a little unnerving to look at sometimes, but it's nice not to feel entirely alone in some of these emptier stretches.

And there are the various landmarks, too - changes in scenery preventing it from being sand on sand on sand. Places like the oasis itself, and the cliffs, and the River, and other things beyond. And one of them, which he first learned of when one of the others (likely searching the sands now) described it to him, is a gigantic dragon's skeleton.

It's not his first time heading there, by any stretch. Standing and marveling up at it, occasionally calling up a greeting just in case one of these days it offers a greeting back... That's become one of his routines.

(In fact, that's what he was up to when the others were first gathering for their therapy thing. While they gathered to talk of feelings and home and the people hopefully left behind, he went to hang out with... well, something of a reminder of some of those people. The skull's not quite the right shape, but it reminds him of magic, and his brother, and his friends, and that's close enough.)

Returning to it feels like retracing his steps, but in the interest of thoroughness he doesn't want to skip it. And there's a promising sign as he rounds one of the vertebrae and sees a short figure with even shorter dark hair - possibly black hair - in front of it.]

Hello, over there? Would you happen to be wearing orange cloth on one eye?

…!

[Sunny hadn’t been expecting anyone to call out to him, so when the unknown voice did? The boy practically jolted where he sat, sole eye searching out the source and almost as wide as the moon itself.

He did, indeed, have an orange cloth wrapped around his missing eye - Nagito had been so kind to clean and return the article, as promised - and the teen in front of Papyrus did have astoundingly dark hair, especially in comparison to the fine grains of sand and the bleached dragon’s bones nearby.

He certainly seemed quiet and skittish, as he had been described, and a series of various emotions flashed through his gaze: shock, bewilderment, and finally settling on… somewhere between blank and surprise. His mind couldn’t wrap the fact that he was looking at a skeleton.]

U-um…

[The teen looked between the dragon bones behind him and the newcomer, like trying to piece a puzzle together, and then prompted pinched himself.

Ouch. Apparently he was awake.]

[That jolt is exactly one of the reasons he's spent parts of his search crouching and sneaking, just in case jolting turned to bolting in a fleeing sort of way.

Thankfully, the human teenager - fitting all the descriptors he's heard of Sunny - doesn't do that thing. No motion of feet, just a quiet motion of hands that... don't hold any weapon, the skeleton notes, without acknowledging to himself any reason why he'd not something like that. Hands moving in a mild pain-inducing way...?]

Oh, are you 'pinching' yourself awake? I've heard of doing that, but...

[Briefly, he looks down at himself, then spreads wide arms with gloved hands but otherwise visible bones. Nothing much to pinch, here.]

My incredible visage is no dream, I assure you! I guess word of me really hasn't reached everyone...

[The complaint is mostly joking, and he stays in place, the better to let them both get used to the situation without anyone panicking.

Very likely, the polite people who'd offered to spread the word just, hadn't known how to describe him. He can understand not wanting to understate his coolness, or otherwise downplay the impact of meeting him. And maybe they, like Sunny, got distracted by a fresh bout of grief or some other upsetting enough thing to seek privacy instead of conversation over. There's a lot of that to go around.]

[The interaction is so strange that Sunny almost forgets why he is upset, the fact that he should be upset, the idea that everyone might be angry at him…

Almost forgets.

(He can’t let himself forget, not that. The guilt burns too hot in his stomach, a knotted mess.)

But… this skeleton didn’t seem angry at him. And, contrary to the teen’s belief that he might have been two seconds away from an unarmed boss battle (unless they count using their arm bones, to which Sunny would lose anyway), the stranger… isn’t attacking him.

The words coming from the skeleton don’t even sound like the introduction to a boss fight so…

Sunny relaxes, maybe a bit too much, as the fear-spiked adrenaline that had been coursing through him fades. He all but flomps against the vertebrate of the bone dragon behind him, not sure what exactly to expect.]

Y-yeah… you’re… new…?

[That was an easier subject to start with. (Not “why are you lookin for me,” “how do you know me,” “why do you care,” etc.]

[Watching that sagging against the dragon's spine (skeleton! supportive and comfortable!), the skeleton relaxes from his own readiness to give chase. It seems as if the human's - Sunny's - fight and flight potentials alike have lost out to an even more powerful energy: flop.

(It's one he's seen the victor in his brother more times than he can count, to his maybe-eternal irritation. One that manages to defeat most people for hours a day, every day...)]

Yes, in the sense of the river and oasis, very new! It's only been... several days...? Maybe a couple weeks...?

[He frowns, briefly perturbed by the reminder of the ambiguity of such things now, then shrugs.]

Well, you know how it is. Without calendars, or clocks, or any old routines... Time passes strangely. But I'm new enough I haven't met everyone yet. Thanks for helping me narrow that list down a little further!

[Not that there's actually, physically, a list he's keeping of faces he's encountered or names to match to them - the only list of names on his person is the one for himself.

Mentally, though, he knows there's only so many people around to interact with, and he's been both looking forward to and dreading the end of that series of introductions. Once he's done with it, it'll be the same few people to interact with for the indefinite future... But for the purposes of talking with this almost familiarly quiet human, he can frame it as helpful and cheer them for interacting with him. It's some kind of positive reinforcement.]

[Sunny was definitely defeated by the flop. It was such a common occurrence for him that it shouldn’t have been a bother, but here… it was dangerous. At least there were no sandstorms or thunder or Wraiths (even though he knew they had to be close by) to bother them.

It was hot, but the shade the giant skeleton provided them both was actually welcoming. The line of shadow provided Sunny a sort of safety net - it hid him from the sun, and so was hiding him from everything else that he couldn’t handle, right?

The teen nodded though. The weather, day and night, everything around here wasn’t easy to keep track of. Not that Sunny was good at categorizing the passage of time anyway. He hadn’t been for four years.

And… the skeleton was thanking him…? He wasn’t sure what to say.] H-hi… [That was as good as an official greeting as he could get. While his expression didn’t change, something swam in the depths of his sole eye as he looked at his bony companion.] You… were looking for me… too…?

[That staring and reluctance to vocalize much of anything sure is familiar. But the nervousness is familiar in a different way, and the flop in yet another. There's no single person that Sunny is completely reminding him of, which is a relief! They can interact as their own people.

But still, the skeleton knows how to talk so that he's the main one keeping a conversation going.]

'Too', huh? [He almost-quietly notes the word choice, but he doesn't dwell on it. Instead, he barrels on like he's already forgetting having echoed it, voice raising to his usual volume.]

Yes, I was looking for you! I heard someone say you went for, a privacy walk, after that therapy thing. But such a high-paced walk they were worried you might get lost... So, I'm here seeing whether you're lost! And whether you have your phone with you.

[He's... assuming phone is the option here, anyway. If not, maybe the quiet teen will correct him. And maybe not.]

[Sunny noticed his own slip of term only after the skeleton repeated it afterwards. Oops… some part of him still hoped someone was looking for him.

What if everyone was so angry that they didn’t want to find him…?

The thought had his heartbeat racing just a bit faster in fear. What if they didn’t want him back…?

But… Papyrus’s explanation implied that someone had been looking - or at least that everyone knew he had left - but the wording… was a bit confusing. There was one thing he could refute though.]

Phone…? [Sunny rummaged through his backpack, pulling out his notebook. That’s what he used to communicate, and thankfully he had held onto the pages when he left. It wouldn’t do to get lost in a desert and not have an inventory…]

Oh! [The skeleton outright blinks at the notebook.]

That's... extremely un-phone-like, and rather more papery. That's what you use for talking with people...?

[He considers, thinking back, and concludes:]

I suppose there is a lot of handwriting. And some artists. Using paper, instead of some 'tablet' thing...?

[Another reason it's a real shame that he's dead - he can't tell anyone about the bizarre and baffling magic at work in making what looks like real actual paper send messages that a phone can read, and not in the 'take a picture of it' sense. Death really is full of mysteries, and not all the obviously meaningful sort.]

Well... I imagine there's messages from others in there for you, whenever you look through it. No need to rush to do so! The first priority was making sure you didn't go burrowing in the sand until the 'crossing.'

[Sunny nods… the notebook was what was given to him for communication. Some people got phones but… Sunny preferred this.

It reminded him of drawing (which he couldn’t do with a phone), and was overall more comfortable.

(Thinking about how inconvenient it would be to carry around a wall phone in a desert…]

Papyrus is right - there are messages from others scribbled in his notebook, ones that he… was afraid to look at. So he flipped through the pages, showing the skeleton his various drawings.

Papyrus might even notice a familiar looking chili pepper.]

[Yeah, that's what he figured. While the Great... Skeleton strives to be prompt and helpful with always responding to his messages, he knows that's very much an evidence of his particular greatness. A lot of people struggle with it, and some seem to go through actual pain at the idea of picking up the phone at all...

So he doesn't push the matter, instead enjoying the sight of the various sketches - until he jolts in surprise.]

Huh?! Wait a minute, go back!

[In his enthusiasm, the personal space bubble is pierced by a finger jabbed towards the book, albeit still a couple feet away.]

Not to the messages, that drawing-- was that a pepper?!

[Sunny can’t help the way his heartbeat speeds up like he’s been jumpscared when the skeleton’s finger suddenly pops the (metaphorical) personal space bubble and focuses right on the notebook.

The teen freezes like a deer in headlights, the page he was on half-turned to one with hamsters and a stick figure, before…

He nods shyly, turning back to the familiar drawing of the pepper. But why would that catch the skeleton’s attention…?

He tilts his head, questions swimming in his visible eye.]

It was!!

[This is partly, verbally confirming that they're both indeed seeing a drawing of a pepper. But furthermore:]

That's the incredible 'hot pic' someone shared when I lamented about the lack of selfies... Was that artist you??

[He's not disbelieving, by any means. The question is more rhetorical - an invitation for more shy nodding, or perhaps even enthusiasm. He remembers a decent length conversation following that drawing, after all - but he also knows some people are far more talkative behind a screen (or, uh, notebook?)]

[‘Hot pic’… the chili pepper drawing…

Everything was clicking in Sunny’s head. The nod he gave to the skeleton’s question was almost automatic, so in awe he was in the moment to have met…]

Spicy Bones.

[He says the words like they are some great revelation. Truly, they had talked in length about spice and puns and dreams. Any fear that Sunny may have felt had now dissipated completely.

~~Why was he out here again? What had he come here for? That wasn’t important right now.~~]]

I… like drawing… [As a way of explanation, but also… Sunny did feel much more comfortable talking using the notepad. It was less exhausting on his windpipe (not that certain things were needed here), and it gave him more time to formulate a response.]

[It takes a second to recognize the capitalization and name-shaped tone of the declaration, and... Oh no, the skeleton realizes - it's a skeleton joke.

He starts to move his hand, intending to pull out his list of suggestions and rules for the suggesting of names, so as to complain and explain and ask for a new one. But that tone, like a realization and relief have struck at once. That clearly diminishing tension in body and face and voice...

..But he can't do it. He can't bring himself to rain on the parade of this naming notion.

...At least Spicy as an adjective adds a whole new spin and some, nyeh heh heh, spice to it. Maybe it'll even get shortened to 'Spicy' most of the time! With that encouraging thought, he's able to smile more sincerely.]

Well, it warmed my day to see your art! And my night, though I'm afraid to say... I didn't go hunting down any peppers for an enhanced nap attempt.

[Sunny really had tried his best with the nickname. It was inevitable to be a bit cheesy, as the remote corners of Headspace were filled with such puns… but then he realized that the skeleton might have a name and it’s probably more polite to call him that…?]

Is it… ok…? [His question is hesitant, full of the potential rejection and the idea that maybe the skeleton wouldn’t want to talk anymore if he was given an unknowingly bad moniker.

If there was one thing Sunny was good at noticing, it was body language - and that slight twitch of a bony hand spoke volumes. Of what, he wasn’t sure, but it was still movement, like something begun and halted.

But then they’ve moved on to Sunny’s drawing, and the teen’s eye lights up a bit. Oh, he liked it! And he remembered!] Is ok. No peppers here… [It was true. Not that Sunny had searched outside of the Oasis till… today… and that realization brought him back to exactly why he was here and…

The teen wilted a bit, growing quiet. What… was he supposed to do now?]

[Rather than directly acknowledge that quiet question or the quieter wilting, the skeleton squints up at the ribs towering overhead.]

No, there don't seem to be any peppers around here. I suppose in the shadows of a gigantic skeleton isn't the best place for gardening.

[He telegraphs looking around the area, still not looking particularly long at Sunny, and nods as if to himself.]

Maybe there isn't enough water. Seems our pepper odds are better by the River! Or the Oasis. Such a shame, we'd have to go all the way back there to grow any...

[A subtle and cunning hint, he thinks to himself. Or maybe the very overtly obvious kind, but framed in a device that makes it easy to avoid talking directly about the matter at hand. Truly he's flexing his conversational expertise as honed in the underground, and mastered in his mutually evasive conversations with his brother.]

[Sunny can’t help it - he outright shivers at the mention of the River.

Not just because of his fear of water - he’d faced it back home, but here was a different story - but also…

There had been too many people accidentally smacking him when they arrived. He had sworn off visiting.]

Too… violent… [Those peppers would grow up to be hooligans stealing candy or something if they were planted there!]

[It's a little disappointing to see his cunning hints go so far awry, as that shiver gives away the renewed discomfort or fear... for some reason or another. It's unclear to him what's wrong, even after Sunny offers a couple of words on the matter.]

...The... River?

[He hates to put the teen on the spot for needing to answer. But, as great as he is at holding a conversation pretty much by himself if needed, that comment seems completely tangential. Maybe even cosinal.

The River was unpleasant, with the mud that seemed to fill every cranny of his bones, the way floating in it had frozen him in that last living moment. But the salted mud itself was salty mud, and seemed pretty content to sit or slowly flow in place. Had there been some explosive eruption before his arrival? Bodiless souls forming bodies out of mud to properly flail at people with? Something else??

...At least the question is ultimately a yes-or-no sort. Elaboration would be helpful, but he can shoulder the talking again with as little as a nod or shake of the head.]

[Sunny nodded, an affirmation. But… it would probably be better to explain a bit… if he could…]

People… arrive there… but… it’s scary… [Sunny had been the object of sudden jump scares in the form of arrivals, accidentally be smacked or (in one case) ordered around by a very pompous yet large bird. OK, that last one was more along the lines of what he had expected, but when a hand had risen through the mud like something out of a horror film, Sunny almost felt his (non-existent) heart stop.]

A bird… and people… and flailing limbs…

Oh! I see. I suppose the River is... a downstream destination for various violences.

[Personal murders, political assassinations, illness, disasters... All sorts of circumstances leading to their respective demises. And while he was relatively calm, if shocked and betrayed, anyone who went down swinging?]

And you've been attacked by a few who hadn't... exactly realized they were somewhere else, now. I hope they realized their mistakes quickly! But I guess that doesn't make the riverbank an enjoyable relaxation spot. Exciting, but maybe not enjoyable.

[And that's a person, a fairly quiet and subdued one. How would peppers fare in that bank, if people go scrabbling up out of it...?]

Maybe the oasis would be better.

[The Spicy One had the right of it. Sunny had sword off going to the River (till the Crossing at least) in case any such incidents would occur again - and this is part of why he wasn’t there now, aside from the fact that his flight had been blind panic. He always felt better near the Ferryman, and probably would have been safer there but…]

Do I… have to go… back…?

[His question takes time, voice smaller than previously. Everyone… was looking for him, but they would probably be really, really mad, right? In a way, Sunny is glad that this skeleton found him first.]

To the river? I would never shove someone back in there!

[He isn't in a state of recently-murdered flailing panic, after all. It takes him a minute to realize that the question, as quiet and slow as it was even for this teen's apparent norm, probably didn't mean that. If that meant back to the therapy session, or whatever, no. But if the idea of going back is distressful...]

If you mean back to the oasis... I think that's for you to decide. Sometimes teenagers just have to run away from home!

[Somehow, unlikely as it might seem - he isn't joking. He's thinking back to days underground, of one of the drake's infamous rebellion - and the frequent loitering out by the sentry stations. Even when the pack of teenagers gathered together, they tended to go no closer to town than his painted bridge, which... The reminder helps him continue.]

I think it's traditional for other teenagers to bring them packed lunches, but... we haven't really been eating... So I hope you'd let the people out searching know where you are eventually, even if they don't bring you sandwiches or whatever.

[…well… it was at least good to know that, should Sunny ever end up back at the River, he had at least one dependable set of bones near him…

And despite the joking tone that the skeleton took…] Run from… home…? [In all of the times that Sunny had felt overwhelmed, his father’s words (now forgotten) echoing in his head, the specter of Something floating behind him, all of his fears… he had never thought to run away.

Not physically, at least.

In fact, it’s the almost stunned silence that follows which has Sunny realizing… this was a first. Running like this.

Running from his problems was something he did often. He didn’t like confrontation, especially when it concerned the darker parts of reality (and his mind, though there it was easier to reset). He didn’t want to have the bitter and uncomfortable guilt that swirled inside of him to come out on accident… so it was easier to just not.]

Won’t… that make them… angrier?

[It seemed, for all the talk of the people back in the Oasis being worried, that the stronger (and more volatile) emotion was what he was afraid of. The longer you put something off, the larger the explosion when everything did come out, and…]

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Wind In the Desert Just Sounds Like Music

But will hide-and-seek become a game of tag, instead?

Sunny’s had so much running, if that happened he would probably expire again XD

And then we'd all learn how the skeleton grotto gathers its bones...

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Here’s a Nickname for You XD

hehehe

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Papyrus, so considerate <3

Deflective! But the best kind of deflective is the kind where it's also considerate

Sunny surely is painting the worst mental image of this XD

having met the bird, he can imagine the initial reaction

Is a big bird XD

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CW: brief hint of parental abandonment