Vamp!tale (Chara x Frisk)

Stress

Chara was outside the building again, Charlotte Orphanage, standing in the shadow of a tall oak tree. It was autumn, and the leaves of the tree were a variety of colours, but they had all been slightly grayed, as if the entire world had lost some of its splendor. The vision itself had trouble staying solid, and it dripped and wavered as Chara looked around. This place was too familiar to them, but they didn't know why.. It wasn't as if they had ever been there before, right?

By some unknown force, Chara was compelled to walk closer and closer. With every step, the cries of children, be them delighted or upset, grew louder. There were even voices that Chara recognized, although they couldn't put a name on them. Once inside, Chara followed the noises into a room that looked like some sort of play room, toys scattered about and children running about. Then they noticed something.. A small child, roughly four or five years old, sitting alone in the corner. In their hand was a small pink blanket, and they were crying. None of the other kids paid them any mind.

Chara approached the child slowly, and squatted down in front of them. The child looked up nervously and wiped the tears from their eyes before opening them. Chara almost stumbled back upon seeing the eyes of the child that gazed into them; it was like staring directly into their own. The iris was a deep crimson, the veins clear and present from crying and a fire was burning within them. They saw something in this child.. Pain, fear, loneliness and confusion.

They tried to shake the thought but something was just so familiar about this child. The way they held themselves, their eyes, the expression, this building.. It nagged and tugged at the back of Chara's mind but they just didn't know why. Then a name was called, and the child looked up and straight through Chara. The name was called again, and this time they were able to make out what it was. Cherice.

But before Chara had time to make the connection, the world around them darkened for a few seconds before erupting into flames; flames that consumed the building around them, and they could see it charring the bodies that littered the floor and the halls. Bodies of the children and the staff, bodies of rodents and pets.. Burning. Chara tried to escape but they couldn't, there wasn't any way for them to get out. A sinister, childish laughter echoed throughout the complex as Chara turned about, trying desperately to escape until they turned a single corner and felt a hot blade stabbing into them.

Chara sat up fast as lightning with a shout of pain and began to look around. Frisk had jumped up from their spot, sitting on the edge of the bed, and dropped a small, black box onto the floor that landed with a gentle thud. Frisk had already gotten dressed, and it looked like they had been up for at least an hour. They crawled over and pulled Chara close, gently stroking their hair as they shivered and panted, gasping for air. Frisk whispered in their ear and assured them that whatever it was, they were okay now. They were safe.

After a few minutes, Chara took in a long, deep breath and sighed, "I'm okay now, it's alright.. It was just a dream. I didn't mean to startle you like that.. What was it that you dropped?"

"O-oh, it's okay. Don't worry about it, it isn't your fault." Frisk replied nervously, rubbing their shoulder reflexively, "You should get changed. Your brother told me that your parents, my mom and that guy, Darcy, would be visiting for lunch, and that's in about half an hour. He didn't say what they wanted to talk about. I tried to say I didn't want to do any work this weekend, but they insisted and said they needed you to be there, too so.. Yeah, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, it's just lunch. It'll be fine." Chara said, yawning and rolling out of bed. They spent a few minutes picking out something to wear before heading to the bathroom while Frisk sat alone on the bed, staring off into the distance. "You'll have to tell me what's bothering you later."

"I.. I will." Frisk promised, waving Chara off as they shut the bathroom door. Frisk slipped off the bed and picked up the small box that had fallen to the floor. They opened it and stared at the small item inside.

"You were supposed to do it already, last night at dinner. What happened?" Came a voice from the door, and Frisk turned to see Asriel. Well, a version of him. In truth, it was a growth of vine and leaves that worked more like a speaker for him to talk without having to leave his room. Frisk wondered how he had learned to do that.

"I was.. I was scared. I thought they might have said no.. I don't know why, I mean, it's practically already done but.. Something's been, I dunno, blocking our.. Connection. I don't know what, or why but we just haven't been able to fully share our feelings like we did before. I guess it has something to do with Chara's nightmares or, or something like that." Frisk let out a heavy sigh of uncertainty, taking out the small object and playing with it in their hands.

"Chara does that, even to the people they love the most. They've always been distant and far off, it's just how they are. Still, you're closer to them than anyone else and it's painfully obvious how they feel about you. You don't have to worry about them saying no, it literally will not happen. What you do have to worry about is the group of four that are coming for lunch that are gonna wanna talk about it." Asriel explained, making all sorts of gestures with the leaves on the vine.

"You're right, of course.. I'll figure something out." Frisk replied softly, placing the object back into the box and sliding it under the nightstand. They gave their hair a quick brush with their hand and headed outside the room. Asriel had taken his vines back to where ever he has to do whatever it was that he was doing.