songs for the fallen

frisk learns to fly

Frisk
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 The cold doesn't sting so much, this time around.

Papyrus has led them out to the clearing again, conjuring a wind that kicks up snow around them, swirling and spinning and churning in the formerly still air of the cavern. They're braced for it, though. They've slept, they've eaten, they've showered and sponged the blood off their sweater. They feel much better now.

It isn't really morning. According to Sans, scientific reasoning put the time around noon when they woke up. The false sky was bright when they fell asleep, and bright again when they woke up, even though they slept long enough to feel rested. Still, it feels like morning. They had oatmeal (this time without the pasta!) for breakfast. They're ready to take on whatever the universe throws at them today.

It's remarkable what a good mid-morning nap will do for an upset, cranky kid.

"NOW, HUMAN, WE MUST BATTLE FOR REAL!" Papyrus declares, though Frisk isn't totally sure how much faith they have in him actually doing that. He was supposed to capture them, and took them home for dinner instead. They can see him conjuring up a bone attack (as the voice in their head very helpfully points out as well), but they get the sense that he plans on going easy on them. They really embarrassed themself yesterday, didn't they?

"Hell yeah!" they cry out, preparing themself for the now-familiar blue attack. They aren't so tired now. They're a little apprehensive, still, but they know they can get through this. They steel themself, closing their eyes as a wave of heavy blue magic washes over them.

They stay standing. They barely feel the weight of it at all.

"DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus threatens, shooting a wave of normal bones at them. They just barely manage to dodge--one clips them in the leg still, but it doesn't hurt as badly as attacks hurt last time. Are they stronger? Or did getting sleep just make them feel that much better? "HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP?"

Is he trying to give them a hint or something? They don't know if they can jump in these circumstances. They prefer not to jump in general unless they absolutely have to--it bothers their knees, so they'd rather keep both feet on the ground. Plus, his magic is still weighing them down, even though they're still standing. It's...probably worth a try, at least once. If it doesn't work, they can go back to just trying to duck out of the way.

At the next volley of bones, they spring up with all the strength they have. Their knees ache at the effort of getting off the ground, but, by miracle or chance or magic or something, they clear the whole line of bone bullets in a single leap. They land smoothly, softly. It feels more like floating than falling.

"YOU'VE GOT IT, HUMAN!" Papyrus calls out in encouragement, clapping his gloved hands together. "FIGHTING IS MUCH EASIER WHEN YOU WORK WITH YOUR OPPONENT'S MAGIC, RATHER THAN AGAINST IT! AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT UNDYNE TAUGHT ME. I HAVEN'T BEEN IN MANY FIGHTS." They smile at that--it makes sense. He doesn't seem like the type. Then they think over everything he said, and do a bit of a double-take.

"So...was me jumping right there...magic?" they ask. It feels silly to say something like that. But also, if it's true, it's really, really cool. The weird saving thing is probably magic too, depending on how you define magic, but somehow this is way cooler to them. "That's...kinda neat, actually."

Don't get too full of yourself, the voice in their head snaps. Despite their good mood, it's been sullen since they woke up. You're still annoying and useless. Being able to jump really high doesn't change that.

"Nobody asked you, asshat," they mumble under their breath, focusing on Papyrus's next attack. They're kind of getting the hang of this. His magic manipulates gravity, and when they jump, they manipulate it right back the other way. That's actually pretty neat. They wonder if they practice enough, they can start landing their jumps in those poses superheroes always do after they jump off really tall buildings or whatever. They always thought superheroes were kind of lame, but this is cool. This is definitely cool.