Still strange to hear it stated so directly, with the sincerity that only a child could have. Why couldn't he manage to speak the words himself, instead of finding rambling, poetic euphemisms to say it without saying it? Why did they always seem to catch in his throat, maddeningly close to being uttered yet impossibly far?
'Because you're a coward and a fool,' his mind said. 'A pathetic, broken man rightly left to lie among the other broken things on this Isle.'
But for the first time in many a year, he found himself able to answer it. 'Perhaps so. But if I'm a fool, I'm a fool who is loved by Chara. Called brother by them and Chell. Called hero by them and Sun. I may not deserve their kindness, but neither will I betray it.'
Outwardly this took the form of a small, and faintly shaky smile. "...You are a truly remarkable child," he said softly, brushing a lock of hair back from Chara's face. A deep breath, then he set Chara gently down on his own desk-come-bed.
"Best to get to it then, I suppose," he said. "Sooner begun, sooner done, as they say." He walked over to the small statue and tried to pick it up so that it could be moved to a more convenient corner. 'Tried' being the operative word; the statue didn't budge. He frowned. "Odd... It shouldn't be that heavy." He tried again, this time simply trying to slide the statue along the floor. Still it wouldn't move.
He stepped back a moment, frowning at all three statues. Not really trusting himself not to try to futilely strangle the one in the middle, he turned his attention to the statue of he unknown young man; being significantly taller, it was easier for him to get leverage. He tried both pushing and pulling the statue from a few different angles, putting much of his strength and body weight behind the effort, without any results. Crouching down, he examined the statues' feet; they didn't seem to be bolted to the floor.
"It seems," he said, getting up and stepping back slightly to frown at them further, "that these statues cannot be moved by force. The question left to us, then, is what will move them?"
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chiming
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Date: 2025-05-26 06:47 pm (UTC)From:'Because you're a coward and a fool,' his mind said. 'A pathetic, broken man rightly left to lie among the other broken things on this Isle.'
But for the first time in many a year, he found himself able to answer it. 'Perhaps so. But if I'm a fool, I'm a fool who is loved by Chara. Called brother by them and Chell. Called hero by them and Sun. I may not deserve their kindness, but neither will I betray it.'
Outwardly this took the form of a small, and faintly shaky smile. "...You are a truly remarkable child," he said softly, brushing a lock of hair back from Chara's face. A deep breath, then he set Chara gently down on his own desk-come-bed.
"Best to get to it then, I suppose," he said. "Sooner begun, sooner done, as they say." He walked over to the small statue and tried to pick it up so that it could be moved to a more convenient corner. 'Tried' being the operative word; the statue didn't budge. He frowned. "Odd... It shouldn't be that heavy." He tried again, this time simply trying to slide the statue along the floor. Still it wouldn't move.
He stepped back a moment, frowning at all three statues. Not really trusting himself not to try to futilely strangle the one in the middle, he turned his attention to the statue of he unknown young man; being significantly taller, it was easier for him to get leverage. He tried both pushing and pulling the statue from a few different angles, putting much of his strength and body weight behind the effort, without any results. Crouching down, he examined the statues' feet; they didn't seem to be bolted to the floor.
"It seems," he said, getting up and stepping back slightly to frown at them further, "that these statues cannot be moved by force. The question left to us, then, is what will move them?"