macaboney | Inbox for forestcovered

Tempus, How do you feel about baking lessons? -Teufel

[Straightforward and to the point.]

BAKING LESSONS?

HOW EXCITING!

THIS IS A SIGN OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP!

I DIDN'T KNOW I WOULD BE SO AWESOME AT MAKING FRIENDS!

[She doesn't know about true friendship, rather that she'd like him to be a bit better in the kitchen.]

When would be a good time for you?

ANY TIME IN THE EARLY EVENING ON WEEKDAYS AND ANY TIME ON THE WEEKENDS IS APPROPRIATE.

OTHERWISE I WILL BE WORKING AT THE CAFE, REGRETTABLY.

Evening, Tuesdays? How does that sound?

IT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! I WILL MEET YOU NEXT TUESDAY?

I'll be in the employee's kitchens.

[It's been a hell of a week. Well. More like there was one hell of a day and not all the pieces had been picked up yet. He figured the aftermath of that curse would hurt, but not quite like this.

Serif didn't sleep until people started coming back.

...Well, maybe sleep isn't the right word. Pass out is a little more accurate.

Even now that they were back, he hasn't exactly been resting all that well. He's sure the same goes for a lot of other people. Serif has actually been getting up early - not 'cause he wants to, but he's awake anyway, so whatever. Not that he's actually doing anything productive. Instead, he waits outside his brother's room every day.

First he was waiting for him to come back.

Now he's waiting for him to be back to normal again.

He's there now, a little later in the day. He figures Tempus will be getting back from work soon enough, so... he'll just sit by the door, for whenever he comes by. If there's one thing he's good at, it's doing nothing, so he doesn't mind waiting.]

Edited 2015-12-27 00:14 (UTC)

[If it's been a week, Tempus hasn't exactly noticed it yet. The moment he woke up... woke up from dying, from crumbling into pieces in front of his brother and his best human friend, from taking a knife to the chest that would have only taken his brother down if he hadn't intervened...

...the moment he woke up, he checked the clock, got dressed, and went to work. He was stopped by his brother in the hallway, but... oddly enough, Serif didn't seem to protest when Tempus told him he would be late. He just let him leave.

Since then, he's simply going through the motions, taking orders, delivering food, running errands. He doesn't seem to be upset when most of his friends want to avoid him. He doesn't seem to be much of anything.

He's returning back to his room for the afternoon. His shift at the cafe was an early one, and he's done now. When he gets near his room, he spots Serif sitting on the floor, and for a second, he wonders why...

Before it all floods back. He drops the bag in his hand, eyesockets going wide, his whole body shaking like it might crumble apart again. And honestly, his body hurts so badly he worries that might actually happen.

He can't walk, he can't breathe, he can only reach out to his brother, voice hoarse and so devoid of his usual confidence.]

Serif...

[The sound of someone walking doesn't register. He's heard that plenty of time throughout the day - the past few days, really. After a while, he stopped looking up when he heard it. Then he stopped really hearing it at all, letting people pass by him without a thought.

So it's not until he hears the sound of something dropping to the ground that he actually reacts, looking up in surprise. And when he does, he's almost frozen at the sight of Tempus, looking like...

Like...

Oh.

Oh.

The sound of his brother saying his name snaps him out of those thoughts. Serif is up on his feet before he even realizes it, closing the distance between him and Tempus in an instant. He puts his arms around his brother right away. Serif isn't always great at initiating hugs, but this time there's no hesitation at all.]

Hey bro.

Edited 2015-12-28 23:02 (UTC)

[He sees Serif approaching, but he doesn't really see. The world is spinning and blurry with his tears, and he doesn't really know what in the world is happening to him. He feels like he might float away or something, and it takes Serif's arms around him to cause him to feel even slightly grounded.

He clings back tightly to his brother, hands shaking, and for a long while, he just cries, because he feels so bad for what happened and so confused about what really happened and so upset Serif had to go through all of that...]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I just... I didn't... She... I couldn't feel anything and I...

[He'd almost started to become numb to everything, but that's undone in a second when his brother starts crying. Even after everything that happened, nothing hurts quite like seeing his brother in pain.]

Hey, c'mon. It's okay. Not your fault, bro.

[Serif keeps holding him tightly, pushing his own hurt away to keep his voice steady. It's hard giving good hugs when you're half the size of the other person, but he's putting all his love in it anyway.]

No... no, I should have listened to you. I thought there was another way besides fighting and I should have listened to you... if I had just listened, they wouldn't have...

[They wouldn't have taken advantage of Serif's lack of concentration, and Tempus wouldn't have taken that hit. He clings to his brother in an attempt to keep himself grounded, and slowly, his breathing starts to settle back into a somewhat normal rhythm.]

Nah, bro. Don't be sorry for trying to end things peacefully. You couldn't have known.

[No one outside a handful of people could've known.]

I should've been faster. Hell, I... I saw them way before that, but I let them get away, I just let them--

...Anyway. It... was that thing's fault.

[Just that thing. Not Tempus' fault. Not the kid's fault either. Definitely partially his own fault, since he should've known better. But it's that curse that takes most of the blame.]

They were, uh... really... determined. Took me... Took me a while to get rid of 'em.

Then you didn't know either... You let them get away because you were scared. Anyone would be... I mean, Grit is just a child.

[...Just a child. He keeps getting the inkling that he's wrong when he thinks that, but he doesn't know if he wants to find out what the truth really is.

He hugs Serif a bit tighter, knowing that no matter what Serif says, he feels like it was his fault.]

...But you took care of them, right? You didn't get hurt?

...

[Serif knows they're not just a child, of course. They should be. But they aren't. And he knows that very well. So he should've known better.]

Still shouldn't have let them. Almost broke my promise to the kid...

[As soon as he ran into the shadow, he should've ended things. That's what he's been thinking for the past several days now.]

Nah, I got through it okay. They gave me quite a workout, but... I made sure they didn't hurt anyone anymore.

They mentioned that, didn't they? You promised to kill them? What... were they saying exactly?

[There must have been a reason why his sibling would agree to do something so horrible. He would never do that if there was any other way to solve the problem.

He's looking over Serif as he answers, but the response only confirms what Tempus sees: his brother doesn't have a scratch on him.]

Thank goodness... I don't know why they wanted to hurt everyone but... it's good you stopped it.

Yeah... Apparently I'm good at stopping them.

[He's the one that got them to quit in that other timeline, after all. That's what they told him, anyway. Not like he really remembers it. Not clearly, anyway.

As for the other part... Well.

Yeah. There's that, isn't there?

Not so long ago he would've denied even knowing anything about that. But now... Hey. He said he'd start being more honest, right?]

A few weeks ago, the kid, uh... They were upset about, I dunno, something. And they asked... [He sighs.] The kid asked me to promise them that if they killed anyone... I'd kill them.

...

I said I would.

...You say that like you've stopped them more than once.

[But Grit has never needed to be stopped. Or... that's what he's assumed. But apparently, he's died at their hand more than a few times, just with no memories of it.

Not like the ones Serif apparently has. He definitely needs those memories to be shared. Even if they haven't technically happened, Serif still lived through them, and he needs support.]

I understand... It must have been hard to promise that. I don't think I'd have the courage to say yes.

[He'd never hurt Grit... not even if they asked him too. He just can't bring himself to do that to someone he cares about.]

...That's 'cause I have.

I don't, uh... remember doing it, but... [He pauses there. Doesn't he? Maybe not technically. Not in the way memories should work, maybe.] ...Nah. Nah, that's not entirely true. I don't remember it clearly, maybe, but I... sometimes... I dream about it.

It's a little, uh... complicated?

[So he isn't entirely sure what the best way to explain it is. But he does need to explain it. Just... slowly. Step by step.]

It didn't really feel very courageous. Dunno if promising that was the right call or not. But I guess I never really thought I had much of an option.

...Think the kid knew that. They wouldn't have asked if they thought there was a chance I'd say no. [It's weird, thinking that's something he could be counted on to do. It probably doesn't say anything good about him.] You, uh... remember that one night, right? A little while ago?

[He doesn't need to specify. They both know which night. The night he'd been a total wreck. The night Tempus had finally gotten frustrated with him. They night neither of them had been very happy about anything.]

...That was why I couldn't sleep. Guess, uh, heh... that promise kinda got to me. Just a little.

...So you dream about things that have... sort of happened, then? In those other timelines you were talking about? Why does that happen to you and not anyone else?

[He's almost certain he's never had a dream about another reality. But... who knows, maybe he has. Maybe those dreams about becoming a Royal Guard are true, in another reality. It's all very complicated and confusing... he can't imagine what it's like for Serif.]

I can't tell you if promising was what you should have done... but I understand it was hard. And I understand why you wouldn't have wanted to tell me.

[Tempus had already been angry and hurt hearing Sans admit he needed to kill Grit. How would he have reacted if he had heard it in the middle of the night, both of their emotions laid bare and both of them on edge?]

...I'm sorry.

Heh... Hell if I know. Maybe it's 'cause I already know about the timelines?

[He can't say for sure. Hell, maybe they're not even really memories. Maybe his imagination is just trying to fill in the gaps. Who knows.

...He still hasn't actually bothered to really explain those, has he? With everything that's been happening, it just kinda... slipped his mind.]

Guess I should, uh... probably tell you 'bout those in more detail though, huh?

[He hasn't had to explain them to anyone yet. Hell, he didn't think he'd ever have to. But here he is now.]

...

I'm sorry too.

Right... it might be best to just start from the beginning. There's not a lot that makes sense right now...

[Surely it'll make more sense if he can get the entire story, and fit the pieces he has into the story's thread. Like one big long puzzle.

He just nods at Serif's apology. They both were a bit stupid. He knows that even if Tempus did overreact, this could have been avoided if Serif had been more open.]

S'kind of a long story, so... bear with me here.

[How to lay all of this out. Start at the beginning... Right, okay, what exactly qualifies as the beginning? Well. He's got some idea for that.]

You remember when I, uh, used to be busy with a whole lot of science stuff? [Tempus should remember that part fine. Just not... who he used to work with. Even if it seemed like such a long time since he worked on all that...] One of the things w- I got involved with had to do with time. It was just one part of all the research, y'know, trying to figure out more about what makes it tick. Heh.

'Cept uh... the reports that came outta that were kinda... weird?

[He pauses for a second, trying to figure out the best way to put this simply.]

Time's got a certain way it's supposed to move. Y'know, linearly. I mean, some weird things are bound to pop up, I dunno, still a lot that's kind of a mystery, but... This wasn't like that.

Timelines were just... jumping around all over the place. Looping back around, branching off everywhere, always repeating, all kinda things that shouldn't happen. Until suddenly everything just... stops.

[Serif remembers when he first got those results. Back then, it was terrifying. Now it just sort of... was. It's amazing, the things you get used to.]

[A long story. He was kind of expecting that. Tempus keeps silent and lets Serif find a place to start. Where he does begin isn't really unexpected.

He definitely remembers the time Serif worked at the lab. A lot of it is fuzzy, but the smile on Serif's face when he came back home discussing their findings... that is as vivid as if it happened yesterday.

The mention of time, though... that's when Tempus starts to realize just what is going on. Something out there was messing with time itself, and only Serif had the research to prove it. But... how would Serif remember all the research?]

Wouldn't your research have been erased if things started looping back again? How do you remember all of this?

Inbox for forestcovered

Note under the door, 11/14

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action; whenever tempus gets his emotions back, whatever day that is

I do believe it should be the 27th

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