Upon Wings of Starlight and Determination (Undertale Yellow)

[Harry Leferts]

Clover is gone, but the lives that he touched go on. None more so than that of the bird monster, Martlet, who is grieving the young human and what could have been. Yet, in her grief, she starts having wierd visions, remembering things that never happened. What is going on and why, is a mystery, and one that she will solve. Others take note of this, and a flower plots in the darkness as the world begins heading towards a new dawn...

 

[Harry Leferts]

Seeing Ceroba's expression falling and the fox monster closing her eyes, Martlet felt as if a giant hand had wrapped itself around her chest and squeezed, "C-Clover… a-are they…?"

Very slowly, Ceroba nodded with a small sigh, "… Yes, I just heard them stop breathing."

Closing his own eyes, Starlo lowered the brim of his hat, "… Goodbye, Deputy, ride on into that there sunset, cowboy."

A sob choking out of her beak, the bird monster covered her own face with her wings, "Clover… I… I am so sorry…"

Each of them stood there for minute or two in silence for the young human who had done so much for them and touched their lives so. Then, seeing Martlet turn and begin to walk away, Starlo blinked some, "Feathers? Where are you going?"

Pausing, it was obvious that Martlet's cheek feathers were wet with tears, "I… there's a store nearby that sells containers for dust, urns. I… I'm just going to quickly head over and get one be-because… s-s-so that I can gather Clover's dust a-and gi-give them a p-proper send off."

She was about to turn around again when Ceroba spoke up softly, "Martlet… humans don't turn into dust when they die."

Upon hearing that, the bird-monster stopped and turned with surprise on her face breaking through the sadness and grief, "T-they don't?"

Very slowly, Ceroba shook her head, "No, they don't." Far off look on her face, she was silent for a few moments before continuing, "Us monsters, when we die, we turn to dust because our magic was holding us together. Humans… don't need magic to do that, so when they die, they're bodies just… stay around. F-from what I heard, th-they rot or are eaten by animals and-" Spotting Martlet moving towards where they had come from, the fox monster blinked, "Martlet?"

Reaching the entrance to the staircase that would take them to the roof where Clover was, Martlet paused before turning her head slightly, "I… If Clover is there, I'm not going to just leave them laying there for s-something to happen to."

With that, she turned back to the entrance and entered it. It did not take Martlet long to reach the balcony where the fight happened and she came to a stop for several moments as she considered if she wanted to see what Clover looked like. Briefly closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the balcony. For a moment or two, the bird-monster could only see the petals swirling in the air before they spotted them.

There, against one wall, was Clover, sitting with his back against the wall and head lowered.

For a brief moment, Martlet could almost convince herself that said child was just taking a nap, they looked so peaceful. But… then, she noticed that their chest no longer rose or fell, but just the same, she took a step forward and spoke around the lump in her throat, "C-Clover? Clover?!"

But no one answered.

Hands clenching, Martlet released another sob as she felt yet more tears trickle down her cheeks and she bowed her head. Giving herself a few minutes, she then raised her head and looked at her friend through blurry eyes before walking over. Upon reaching him, the monster observed Clover before brushing their hair away from their eyes. Seeing Clover's brown eyes which once sparkled with joy, excitement, and life now dull and cloudy made her chest ache all over again.

Gently, she reached towards him and paused for a moment before carefully closing those eyes for the final time. Shoulders shaking, Martlet sobbed more before placing her wings under him to support his body. Ever so gently, she lifted him up and his head rolled limply before she shifted her wings to place it against her shoulder to support it as she stood, her voice a quiet whisper as she buried her beak into his brown, mussed up hair, "I have you, Clover… I have you…"

Pulling back for a moment, she looked at him as he laid in her arms and felt her very soul ache as she could once more almost imagine that he was just sleeping. And, for a moment, Martlet imagined a never-will. Where Clover had taken her offer and come to stay with her. How she would likely pick him up after a day of playing with the Feisty Five, with him falling asleep in her arms as she carried him back to Snowden. And how she would tuck him into his bed and nuzzle his hair with her beak-

Quickly shaking such images from her head as it felt like her soul was once more going to break, the blue-feathered monster took a moment before turning and walking towards the exit from the balcony.

Both Starlo and Ceroba were waiting for her once she returned carrying Clover's body, with a new wave of fresh tears trickling down the two monster's faces. Walking over, the lone male softly sighed as he took in his friend, "... He looks like he's just sleeping."

Voice soft, Martlet just nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat, "And I wish that he just was..."

After a few moments, the Sheriff looked towards the Royal Guard, his tone gentle and understanding, "Do you want me to carry him for you?"

Unconsciously, Martlet's hold on Clover tightened, "No... I... I'll carry him."

Her two friends simply nodded as they fell in behind her as they began to walk towards the castle. It did not take them very long, with various people watching, some quietly whispering to each other in excitement at seeing the contained human SOUL. Seeing that, it took everything for Martlet to not snap at them as she felt anger bubble up inside of her. How dare they... HOW DARE THEY CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF THE BOY IN HER ARMS!?

It took a great deal of effort, but... she managed to shove down her anger and instead keep walking, though she could tell that Starlo and Ceroba both were equally angry as she was and for the same reason.

Finally, however, they reached their destination and entered the castle, though it did not miss Martlet's notice as they walked through the Judgement hall that there was a figure in shadow with a glowing blue eye watching them. After a moment, said eye winked out and the person simply gave them a nod of respect before walking behind one of the columns... and vanishing into thin air. Deciding to ignore that, she just kept walking and soon arrived at the throne room and found Asgore watering flowers there. Swallowing, it took a few tries for Martlet to speak before she managed, "Y-your Majesty... we..."

A hum escaping from him, Asgore turned and gave them a smile, "Ah, welcome, would you like to sit and... have... a... tea...:" Upon seeing what was in their arms, his expression fell, "Oh. I see." Slowly walking forward, the boss monster sighed, "I had heard that another human had fallen into the Underground-"

"Clover."

Blinking, Asgore turned towards Martlet, who was shaking some, "I'm... sorry?"

Shoulders shaking, Martlet raised her gaze to him with burning intensity, "Clover. His name is Clover! Not Human. Not Yellow SOUL. His name is CLOVER!" Looking back down at her face, another sob broke free of her throat, "He... he gave up his SOUL to free us, willingly giving it up. B-because he wanted us to be free."

Moments passed before the King bowed his head in apology with his gaze softening, "My apologies, I had not heard Clover's name before." For a second or two, he was silent before sighing, "You were close?"

Not trusting her voice, Martlet simply nodded in answer as more tears escaped her eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice was rough with emotion, "Very, your Highness."

Just silently considering them, Asgore then held out his hands, "May I take him?"

Clutching Clover closer, the blue bird-monster shook her head, "I... I don't... no, I..."

Very slowly nodding with an understanding expression on his face, Asgore softly sighed, "I... lived among humans, before the Barrier. I know of their ways when it comes to their dead and..." Releasing a breath, he shook his head, "They would be either buried under the ground, or in mausoleums. The first is... not possible at this time, and so I had the second done, and there Clover will rest."

Her beak moving as she looked between Clover's still form and the King, Martlet shook her head, "I... I just... I don't want to let him go..."

Eyes closing, Asgore gently embraced her as she sobbed, "I know... I know..." Giving her several minutes, he then pulled back with understanding on his face, "... Please, follow me then." As he turned, it looked like he carried the weight of the Underground's entire ceiling on his shoulders as the three other monsters followed. Near to the entrance of the mausoleum, which itself looked like the entrance to the Ruins that Martlet had seen once in Snowden, Asgore guided them into a small room that had a stone bed and a chest nearby. Considering the room for a few moments, the King then turned towards them, "Humans often buried their dead in a shroud of sorts, and so, I wrap the Fallen Humans with bandages of monster spider silk contained in the chest here. It helps slow down decay, and so that when the Barrier is broken, they can be properly buried."

Nodding, Martlet looked at the other two, who were waiting and her eyes fell on Clover's hat, which Starlo was holding. Then, she turned towards Asgore and shook a little, "Can... can we leave some things for Clover?"

With his own eyes suspiciously wet, the King simply nodded, "Of course."

Then, he took a step back and allowed for Martlet to lay gently lay Clover on the stone bed. Fingers brushing through his hair, the bird monster shook her head, "Clover, I..."

Silently walking up, Starlo placed a hand on her shoulder before turning towards Clover. Contemplating him for a time through his tears, he then reached for his badge and removed it before carefully pinning it on the human's vest, "Almost... almost forgot, Deputy. Ya need your badge, after all."

Joining them, Ceroba took a bell from her outfit and placed it in one of Clover's pockets, "I... I am sorry, Clover. So very sorry, for everything."

Both of them then stepped back as their blue-feathered friend stood. Then, Marlet reached for some of her feathers and yanked them out with a wince before charging them with magic. She then placed them in one of Clover's hands and curled the fingers around them, "I... this way, you have a piece of me with you, Clover... forever, like I'll have a piece of you in my SOUL."

All of them gave Martlet a few moments to simply sit there as she had her hands over Clover's, before the bird monster stood back, letting go of Clover's hands reluctantly. Nearly as soon as she did so, both Starlo and Ceroba were there to comfort her. Together, the three of them watched as Asgore carefully and gently wrapped the silk bandages from the chest around Clover's form. Bit, by bit, he disappeared beneath the cloth wraps, until he was finally covered from head to toe with the bandages.

Reaching for the human's body, however, the King paused as the bird monster was there instead. With a glance in his direction, Martlet gently lifted Clover off the stone bed as she softly murmured, "… I'll do it."

Very slowly, Asgore gave a nod of agreement, "Of course, my apologies."

Backing away, he watched as Martlet shifted Clover's body some before she nodded as she held him close. They then followed the King out of the room and to the nearby mausoleum where they found stone coffins, many of which had a carved gemstone representing the SOUL of the human that they contained. One of them, Asgore came to a stop by and slid the lid off to reveal it to be empty before he backed away with a bow and a soft murmur.

Her feet feeling as if they were made of led, the blue-bird monster made her way towards the coffin and paused as her arms shook. She… she did not want to leave Clover here, she wanted him with her. To see him breathing and laughing and smiling, and everything else with her. Not… not the heavy weight in her arms that did not move, and not to leave him in this cold room under the castle.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned and found Asgore looking at her with a kind, understanding gaze, "I am so very sorry for this…"

Just turning her head away, Martlet nodded, "I know…" Sniffles escaping from her as she felt her eyes tear up once more, she looked into the coffin, "… I… I know your declaration, your Majesty. But… I was going to try and… and convince you to let Clover live with me. I was going to take him into my home and we'd spend time… I even had a room picked out and… and now…"

If anything, the King's gaze softened, "Ah, I see… you may not believe this, but I do understand where you are coming from. Truly, I actually do…" He closed his eyes and shuddered some before shaking his head, "… As well, I wish that there was another way, that you would not have to suffer this pain that I am so familiar with."

Still looking into the coffin, Martlet said nothing as her vision blurred before she spoke up, "I… Starlo? C-can you… can you come here?"

Making his way over, the star-headed monster placed a hand on her arm, "Of course, Feathers, what do you need me to do?"

Briefly glancing at him, Martlet took a deep breath before releasing it, "Can… can you hold Clover for me? Just… just for a moment?"

Gently smiling, Starlo held out his arms with a nod, "You don't even need to ask."

Once Clover was out of her arms, the Royal Guardsman took a deep breath and reached for the hem of her sweater, which she pulled up and over her head. Then, carefully, she folded it first in half, then again, until it was a square that she set into the coffin. Gently taking Clover back, Martlet turned back to the coffin and set Clover into it with his head on her sweater, "He… he didn't have a pillow for his head."

Nodding, Asgore gave a murmur, "Ah, of course… forgot about such things."

Just standing at the side of the coffin, Martlet listened as Starlo and Ceroba gave their last goodbyes, the fox monster finally handing over Clover's SOUL to the King. Placing one hand on the glass that separated her from the yellow SOUL, part of the bird monster swore that it was warm, with her other on Clover's body, "… Goodbye for now, Clover. O-o-one da-day, we'll s-see each other a-again and… and we'll fly together, i-in the blue skies and clouds… together."

Unable to meet her eyes as she sobbed, Asgore turned away for several moments, his own eyes closed before he reached for the coffin lid and slowly slid it into place.

Far too soon for any of the three non-Boss Monsters, they were back in the throne room and were about to leave when the bird monster stopped as she remembered something, "… Your Majesty?"

Turning towards her, Asgore blinked and nodded as he came out of what inner thoughts plagued him, "Yes, Martlet?"

With a glance towards Ceroba, Martlet took a deep breath, "Clover… he had one request, before he gave us his SOUL."

Eyebrows raising, the King gave a small bow, "If it is possible, I'll grant it."

Giving a shaky nod, Martlet turned fully towards him, "He… wished for Ceroba to have access to his SOUL so that she… she can save her daughter with an extract."

Rather surprised, Asgore looked towards the fox monster, "An extract of his SOUL?"

Her shoulders shaking, Ceroba nodded, "My… daughter was exposed to an extract turned into a syrum made from the Integrity SOUL. B-but be-because they had killed monsters… it was impure. Clover never killed a monster, his is pure and… and should counteract the original…"

Simply nodding, the Boss Monster smiled sadly, "Then, in this case, I see no reason not to grant such a request."

At that, Ceroba's shoulders slumped in relief, "… Thank you, your Majesty."

With that, the three of them turned and left… feeling like they had left a bit of themselves behind as well in the end…

 

[Harry Leferts]

Opening her eyes, Martlet slowly blinked away some wetness from tears as she stared at the ceiling above, "… Dreaming about that again… I hate that dream, reliving it again and again..." Swallowing, she shook her head a bit, 'Then again… I deserve reliving…'

For a few more minutes, she continued to just lay there, wiping at her tears before finally sitting up with a sigh and swinging her legs over the side of her bed. Yet again, Martlet stayed like that as she fought a part of herself that just wanted to lay back down on the bed and stay there. Her face in her hands, her shoulders shook some as she swallowed thickly, "Come on, Martlet… Clover wouldn't want you to waste away. You got to eat something at least…"

It took several tries, but she managed to get to her feet, swaying for a few moments. Then, slowly, she made her way around the various messes on her bedroom floor and out into the hallway of her house. A brief stop in the bathroom found her splashing her face with some cold water, just as much to wash away the tears on her face as to wake up more.

Looking at herself in the mirror, bags under her eyes with said eyes being red rimmed, Martlet sighed a bit, "… I look like I feel… a piece of flaming garbage." Yet again, she felt tears well up in her eyes as a broken laugh escaped her, "But that's what I am after all… couldn't even save Clover. Fucking useless."

Despite her best efforts, her mind flashed back to the dream she had, of Clover's death as a small sob escaped her beak, "Completely and utterly useless piece of garbage… By the Angel, I hate that dream… Only ones worse are…"

Right then, her mind flashed to other dreams that she had. Such as the ones where she actually killed Clover when they first met, by accident on her end, but still. How she could feel the horror rip through her as she saw the snow slowly turning red around the child, the realization that she had killed them tearing through her even as she apologized and begged for them to live. Their blood staining her feathers as she held them as they breathed their last.

Quickly jerking away from the sink, Martlet gasped some as she held her head in her hands, shaking her head, "No, no, no! I… C-Clover never died like that! I didn't kill them! I didn't!"

In her head, a accusing voice whispered back, "Really? Are you sure, they are so real though… like a memory."

Gasping, Martlet shook her head again, "No! Not a memory! C-can't be a memory and…"

Upon raising her head and looking into the mirror, her eyes widened and she jerked back at the reflection in the mirror. Because the sight that met her was not of her usual light blue feathers and yellow beak. No, rather the facial feathers were black with what looked like stars shining with the beak being hooked and a cold, icy blue as ethereal hair flowed behind it. All the while, piercing yellow eyes looked into hers.

With a squawk, Martlet leapt back and hit the wall, stars springing up in her vision as her head bounced off it before she shook it off. Shaking, she looked back into the mirror as her chest heaved… only to be relieved by the sight of her normal appearance, "I… r-right, seeing things. C-Clover would never kill everyone… never…"

However, briefly, her mind went back to a conversation with Clover, when she had commented on how relieved she was that he wasn't like the humans that they were warned about…

************************************************************************************

Happily looking around at the scenery of the Wild East as they took a short break, Martlet realized that her companion was silent. Smile falling away, she turned towards the human, who was looking down at his boots, "… Clover?"

Jerking some, Clover looked up at her with his brown eyes before shaking his head, "Sorry about that, Martlet."

Frown deepening, the bird monster moved over to him and placed a wing over his shoulders, getting a jerk from the human, "Clover? What's wrong?"

Once more looking down at his boots, Clover shook his head, "I… I almost was."

Blinking a little at the confession, Martlet frowned, "What do you mean, Clover? It is kind of hard to imagine that from you, you know?"

Grimace on his face, the cowboy looked away, "… There's legends, back in town, about how monsters sometimes snatch children and kill them. How, years and years ago, a Monster came down from the mountain with a dead child in its arms, having viciously murdered them for their soul. That it tried to kill other children as well alongside the villagers before being driven off, taking the dead child with it."

Very slowly blinking, Martlet furrowed her eyebrows, "I… a monster coming down from the mountain?" She the then shook her head a little, "I remember hearing about how Prince Asriel died at the hands of humans outside the Barrier."

At that, Clover looked at her in surprise, "Wait… a monster did? But… did he…"

Continuing to frown, the monster shook her head, "Um, Princet Chara had grown sick and died, with Prince Asriel taking their SOUL so that he could carry them back to the village to lay them in the golden flowers there. But… the humans attacked them and Prince Asriel only barely made it back through the Barrier before he died, turning to dust. Afterwards…"

Realization on his face, Clover nodded, "Afterwards, King Asgore made the declaration to capture any humans, huh?"

Slowly, Martlet gave a nod of her own, "Um… yeah."

A snort escaping from him, the young boy shook his head, "Golly… no justice on anyone's side here. And I almost fell into the same trap. No justice at all."

For a moment or two, Martlet chewed over what she just heard before turning back to him, "… What… what were you going to do, Clover?"

With a shrug, Clover shook his head some, "Find the missing children, and either rescue them… or avenge them."

Very briefly, the Royal Guard next to him had the image of Clover, covered in dust and a gun in their hand before shaking it off. With a deep breath, Martlet placed a hand on his shoulder, "But you didn't."

Nodding, Clover smiled a little bit sadly, "But I didn't." Looking up towards the ceiling of the Underground, he released a breath, "Something told me that I should listen, get ta know the reasons behind it all. Now I do… Justice may be blind, but I'm not." Turning towards her, the boy smiled some, "Thanks to that, I've gotten to know you all. And you're all good people… just in a bad situation. That's all."

Tears springing to her eyes, Martlet gave him a smile of her own, "Thank you, Clover."

Only nodding, the human reached over and pulled her into a hug, which she fully returned. Both of them thankful that things had turned out the way that they had. With the two of them being friends rather than enemies…

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Shaking her head free of the memory, Martlet ran her fingers through the feathers on the top of her head, "… R-right, Clover made a choice not to go down that road. He was a good person, always was." Then, with a small sigh, she leaned back against the wall some and looked at the ceiling as she remembered another part of the same conversation, "… Though, considering what he told me, I suppose that it would make sense…"

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Eyebrows furrowing, Martlet frowned slightly as she came to a stop and looked at Clover, "Clover? What do you mean that everyone keeps hurting you? I mean…" Very briefly looking down as she remembered how she had attacked Clover, then she shook it off and turned back towards him, "You sound like everyone keeps coming and attacking you, even nice people?"

Grimace on his face, Clover nodded and pulled the brim of his hat down as he kicked at a stone, "I mean… almost every time I meet a monster, the first thing they do is attack!"

Utterly lost now, the bird monster shook her head as she tapped her beak with her finger feathers, "That… that doesn't make sense. I mean, if they were Royal Guards, but…"

Scowl on his face, Clover looked away, "I shoulda knew tha' ya'll wouldn't believe me, Martlet…"

Quickly moving in front of him, Martlet placed her hands on his shoulders as she crouched down to better meet his eyes, "I'm trying, Clover, I really am. But… I am just really confused, because that doesn't match up with what I know." She then shook her head a little bit, "Most monsters don't even know what a human really looks like! Even some of the Royal Guards don't." Tapping her chest, a frown crossed her face, "I mean, I know because I spent time guarding the Royal Labs and Chujin was a mentor of mine."

Completely gobsmacked, the human stared at her for several long moments, "I… how the heck can ya'll not know what a human looks like?"

With a shrug, Martlet shook her head and weakly chuckled, "Well… besides the odd one falling down? Been… well, centuries since the last time we saw a lot of humans."

Jaw hanging low, Clover looked up at the ceiling of the Underground, "… You all have been down here, trapped, for centuries?"

Sigh coming from her, the bird monster also looked up, "Yeah… I mean, while we us monsters can live for centuries, there's only a couple that remain from the time of the War. The King is one, the Queen, wherever she is, is another, Gerson, I know was also there… But… not many know what a human looks like." Grimace on her face, Martlet shook her head as she turned back to Clover, "Heck, I know that at least twice someone from the Far East had Royal Guards try to capture them thinking that they were humans."

Mouth moving for several moments, Clover exploded, "Then why would people keep attacking me with magic?!"

About to say something, Martlet then blinked as what Clover said filtered in, "Wait… you say that monsters attack you using magic? Are they… acting nice before?" At the unsure nod, she snorted some and shook her head, "Clover, they're just greeting you…" Of course, that was when the fact that the human was staring at her caused the Royal Guard to frown, "Clover?"

Odd choking sounds came from the young boy before he waved his hands around, "What do you mean they're just greeting me?! That's… that's like another human trying to stab or shoot someone as a greeting!"

Rapidly blinking, Martlet raised an eyebrow, "Um… they're not trying to hurt you like… what you just said, Clover."

Scowl on his face, Clover shook his head, "Then why does it hurt me!"

Taken aback, the Royal Guard stared at him, "Hurt… that shouldn't hurt! I… I'm not understanding this at all! Monsters don't really attack, and… what?"

Just as he was about to say something, Clover stopped and frowned as he glanced away mumbling something under his breath. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was deeply frowning with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Then, the boy's eyes drifted down to his hand and he took a deep breath, "I… let me try something, Martlet…"

Not sure where this was going, Martlet slowly nodded as she watched him undo the sleeve button on his wrist and start rolling his sleeve back, "Um, okay…"

After he was done, he slowly nodded and held out one hand, shaking, "Martlet… can… can ya greet me? Like ya said, b-but aim for my hand?"

Briefly glancing at him, Martlet waited until he nodded and took a deep breath before the area around them darkened as she summoned one glowing feather. With another glance, and getting another nod, she fired it at his hand, 'That should help him realize-'

Much to her horror, when it hit, Clover yelped and a red line appeared on his hand before it wept blood.

Panicking, the bird monster flapped her hands, "I, what?! I was only greeting and… why did you hurt and… here, give me a moment, I know some healing magic!" Quickly, she grasped his hand and green enveloped it, healing said wound, "There… we go, Clover, all better."

Very slowly nodding, Clover just clenched and unclenched his hand, "Um, thanks, Martlet."

However, when he looked at Martlet, he could see that she was still distressed, running her hand through her head feathers, "I still don't understand what happened! That… that was a greeting spell! You should have gotten a feeling of hello from it… b-but it hurt you? Why?"

Looking at his hand, the young human put it together moments before the Royal Guard, who looked horrified did, "Ah think… maybe… if ya'll greet a human like you would a fellow monster, it would hurt them instead…"
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Back against the wall, Martlet slowly sighed before shaking her head as she opened her eyes, "No wonder any humans that fell reacted the way that they did… they thought that we were attacking them, even when we were just greeting them…"

With another small shake of the head, she stumbled out of her bathroom and made her way down the hallway. Pausing briefly in front of a closed door, she felt tears spring to her eyes and opened it, to reveal a mostly empty bedroom. The only pieces of furniture inside was a bedframe and a dresser.

For several moments, Martlet just stood there looking in the room with the morning light streaming in. Closing her eyes, she opened them to reveal that the room was now filled with life. The bed had a mattress with a cowboy themed blanket on top, there were various posters and pictures on the wall. And there, seated on the bed, was Clover, who smiled as he looked up at her, "Howdy, Martlet."

Then, slowly, the image faded away and left the empty bedroom there once more, with the bird monster sighing, "… Howdy, Clover."

Nearly a minute passed while Martlet was standing there, looking into the bedroom, seeing what could have been. All the while, her soul felt like it was almost breaking from the sorrow and grief that she was feeling. Eventually, she was able to force herself away from the doorframe, slowly closing the door until it was shut with a click.

Leaning against the wall, she could feel hot tears drip down her cheeks sobs broke free and her shoulders shook, "I'm sorry… I am so, so sorry, Clover… I just… I wish… I am sorry… please… please forgive me…"

Once she had herself under control, she turned, hesitantly, away from the door and made her way down the stairs until reaching the bottom. Passing the living room, she could almost see Clover's ghost watching her television before it faded. Instead, it revealed a living room with various things laying around such as fast food containers. Looking them over, Martlet slowly blinked, "… I should clean that up, but… why bother…"

Very slowly shaking her head, she ignored the mess and made her way to the kitchen, mumbling some as she checked the various cupboards, which were almost bare, and fridge, which was similarly empty. Blinking, Martlet grumbled a bit as she shook her head, "… Should probably go shopping as well… maybe…"

Only releasing a sigh, the bird monster opened the cupboard and turned on the kettle as she pulled out a packet of instant oatmeal. Soon, the kettle was done and then she poured the hot water in. Waiting for it to be done, her eyes drifted closed as she dozed a bit…

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Relief going through her, Martlet had a bit of a small smile on her face. Yes, Clover had killed a number of monsters. But she knew that the little human actually wasn't all that bad. There was good in him, it was just a matter of bringing it out. Hopefully, things would be better now.

Walking up to him, she opened her arms and hugged the human, a happy look on her face as she felt her smile widen. She had grown fond of Clover, and couldn't wait to show him her home, and everything els-

Suddenly, the breath was driven from her as she felt a stabbing pain go through her. It took her a moment or two, but she realized that she had been dealt a fatal wound. Mouth moving, she could only blink with a feeling of betrayal go through her as she looked down, "C-Clover…"

Then, she saw the green vine sticking through her stomach from her back, a hooked end waving in the air, and the horrified look on Clover's face before her vision faded to black and she felt herself become dust, realizing that it wasn't the human, it was-

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Jerking back to wakefulness, Martlet fell out of her chair with a loud gasp and a short scream. Eyes wide with fear, she could feel the stab wound through her stomach, which was covered by her hand. Shaking for almost a minute, the ripple of pain going through her, she slowly looked down at her hand and gulped. Then, slowly, very slowly, the bird monster moved her hand away from her stomach, expecting to see dust on it…

Only to see nothing and no wound at all.

Very slowly blinking, Martlet swallowed some, "I… what was… what was that just now? I… wait, I never got stabbed… but it felt so real… and… and feels like it had been stabbed…"

Confused, she continued to look in confusion, wondering what had just happened…