Haunting a reaper in training

The only balance that's actually working

When the light, almost feather like feet touched the bright green grass, she knew who her visitant was. Toriel, or rather Life as some people call her nowadays, didn't even need to wait for said grass to wilt and die, turning to no more than mere crumbles of dust to be scattered to the wind. She was rather lonely, didn't get visitors often, but when she did she was able to tell them apart by mere presence and aura. And this one was a visitor she would always recognize, no matter where or the circumstances, for he was her opposite. They both belonged to the same alternate universe, the same duty, the same balance.

Death the Elder, Reapertale's very own Sans, had just arrived.

Toriel spared a last look to the blooming flowers beneath her touch, smiling softly in the irony of her having been nurturing white lilies at that precise moment. How the universe loved these little snippets of spoilers and chaos, usually unnoticed. The flowers would thrive even if she left them be for now, so she went to greet her guest.

It was not every day her dear old friend Reaper visited her and she was all too happy to have some company. Toriel had more than her fair share of loneliness after having banished herself to her little garden, struggled with the long hours spent in solitude and meditation. Despite that, she didn't feel ready to go back with the rest of the Gods, probably wouldn't ever be. And that was okay, too. She was taking her time to heal, even if it seemed like it would never end and days blurred. It was okay.

Each and every visit she got was a welcome one nowadays, even if being disturbed had been a cause for worry in the not so distant past.

"Heya, Tori."

Smiling, she bowed her head in greeting, which was reciprocated by Reaper. Toriel was glad to see that her friend looked well, bones a healthy milky white and his trusty black cloak surrounding his form as ominously as ever.

And he called her Toriel, too. Life's smile turned just a touch more genuine, more tender as she appreciated the friendly gesture. It would feel weird for Sans to address her as anything else after so long, but there was always the possibility of it after having so much exposure to the Multiverse. She wouldn't begrudge him if he chose to call her by her nickname, for it was also her title, but it was nice to be called by one's own name.

"Hello to you too. How unusual to see you here, my friend."

Reaper shot her a dubious look, to which she responded by a light teasing giggle.

"Not that unusual."

"Still" she persevered, shaking her head softly. Even if their perception of time had always been messed up due to their godly nature, she had noticed the skeleton's absence lately.

Was it so hard for her counterpart to believe his company had been missed? Actually, she didn't want to know, because the sad part was that, probably, the answer to such a question was yes.

But she had missed him oh so much indeed. Not just his company, but his presence in Reapertale as well. She was always able to notice Reaper's aura when they were in their home AU, a warm reassurance that no matter what happened, her friend Reaper would be there to assist her. It was disconcerting for her to have her counterpart of the Life and Death balance outside, which happened more and more as years passed by. Not that she could fault him for that.

"It's been such a long time since you visited me. I had even started wondering if you had forgotten about this old lady" a smile, warm and friendly disposition. Their friendship had always been such a comforting one after having passed all those hardships and initial rocky meeting.

Besides, the old lady joke never got old, proved correct once again as Reaper cracked a smile and caved.

"C'mon, Tori. You're not that old" Reaper drawled out as he lazily lifted his feet from the ground. The magic around the pair of Gods quickly got to work to restore the dead grass left behind by the Death Touch, condensing and twisting in gold strands only visible to the two of them. "Not by God's standards, at any rate."