Partying after the Parting

Martlet was finishing getting ready for the event, at a glance she might look exactly the same as everyday but she made sure to look excellent for today, she ironed her fanciest shirt, took a long deep shower to get all the sawdust out of her feathers and made sure to look the best she could for the special day, it’s the least she can do for clover’s celebration, she for once didn’t take any tools other than her trusty MTT-WH012 hex screwdriver, i mean she must bring the essentials with her at all times right? She made her way to the door and braced herself before starting the long flight to the wild east.

After a few minutes of flying she finally arrived at the entrance of the wild east, a now common sight from her, she had grown accustomed to doing repairs around the town and really got to shine in a town where most things are made of wood planks, the posse even made her a special outfit for her to fit in better and to not break the inmersion but she’d rather not look like she came straight out of a 1960’s movie on her friend’s passing anniversary, she landed near the town bell only to find starlo already waiting for her while supervising his team’s antics.

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she noticed the feisty four doing a tower formation to nail down some decorations she and starlo made a while back to the ceiling, with mooch standing on Ace’s shoulders who was in Ed’s shoulders while moray handed her the decorations. She quickly approached this massive osha violation as she greeted her cowboy friend, who was just standing besides this accident waiting to happen, —hey star! seems like you got everything covered already? — the bird said as the cowboy looked in her direction with a wide grin on his face, —well well well… if it isn’t feathers! glad you could make it safely, i honestly don't know how you manage to avoid crashing’ with all those stalagmites— martlet chuckled as she shook starlo’s hand while responding —believe me it takes a lot of practice and a few accidents to learn… — martlet rubbed her wing in embarrasment as starlo continued —and to answer your question, yeah we’re basically done here’, we’re only missing a few decorations here and there… you should’ve seen dina, she went all in for this, she even bought ice and everythin’! — considering how expensive it was to transport ice from snowdin to the dunes without it melting, martlet knew just how seriously everyone was about the occasion, she looked around to find the entrance of the bar adorned with small paper decorations in the form of yellow hearts and cowboy hats hanging from the ceiling, as well as warm lights to accentuate the festive tone, “clover would have love this” she thought as she took a small peek inside the saloon to find it covered head to toe in decorations of all sorts, as well as an assortment of snacks she knew she’d be digging into later, —really wish the kid would have been more open about their tastes, we could have made this even more special for them… but then again, they were never much to talk about anythin’ in general—
starlo fixed his hat and adjusted his throat after saying that, almost like trying to shake off a feeling martlet knew to well, she nodded along before responding —i mean they definitely weren't picky about what they ate so i think they would have love this no matter what — she took a moment to consider if she should tell starlo about when clover almost killed themselves by drinking acid or keep clover’s memory pristine in the cowboy’s eyes before continuing, —one time as we were making our way through hometown they literally stopped to search in a trashcan they even managed to snag a bottle of… something? i have no idea what it was but they just stashed in their bag like the most common thing in the world, and they did steal a tupperware of corn chowder from ceroba’s house haha… — martlet chuckled now realizing just how many quirks clover really had, not seeing it as something strange but something slightly cute to reminisce, starlo nodded with a big grin on their face, knowing damn well clover ate like four feisty sliders from dina’s bar and a teaspoon of gunpowder during their fight, —so that's where that thing went eh? ceroba was searching for it like crazy weeks after clover’s “funeral” because she needed it, you know how moms are with their tuppers—

Ceroba being mentioned made Martlet realize almost immediately of her absence, considering how punctual and responsible she usually is. It's strange for her not to show up early for events, but then again… last year her absence from the party was very noticeable. Every year around the time of the incident she gets into a depressive state, not being able to go outside of her home until either her or starlo pull her out of it, last year’s was specifically bad because she got drunk on top of it, and as the two of them can recall, a drunk ceroba is a pissed ceroba so it was especially difficult seeing her like that during what was already a difficult time, luckily things didn’t escalate, martlet already had a taste of ceroba’s magic and really wasn’t looking for another.

Worry started to slithered through martlet’s mind, thoughts about her friend not showing up at all, or worse, her rotting on her bed while everyone else partied without her, she started to fear going to her house and finding her wasted on the floor with liquor bottles scattered along the floor, she couldn’t bear watching her friend like that again specially after all that's happened, she thought of flying to check in on her or just message her to see if she's okay at all, but then again she didn’t have a phone and a letter would take too long and-. Starlo, notices the bird’s rampant overthinking and tries to calm her down by patting her hard on the back while chuckling nervously — hey hey calm your horses feathers! if you're wondering about ceroba, she’ll be here in no time. She told me yesterday that she was going to arrive later because she wanted to look good for the occasion, she’s really working hard on herself you know? after what happened im glad she’s now taking the time to improve as a person and let go of old feelings to have fun for once— martlet couldn’t help but to feel a wave of relief wash over her upon hearing that, she felt silly for overthinking when she knew ceroba was most definitely not the same monster she was when they first met, —heh i'm glad to hear that, it's gonna be great having her for the party, for once i'm not stuck taking care of all of you haha… — starlo pretended to be offended by this statement while he responded with an accusatory tone — excuse me! if i'm rememberin’ right you were the most drunk last year pardner! i didn’t even thought you could handle alcohol before you chugged like 2 bottles in almost one sitting—, martlet felt embarrassed remembering that moment, if she was honest she did it completely out of social pressure and a little bit of spite after the feisty four suggested she couldn’t handle even a drop of dina’s booze and she hated herself the morning after, she really wasn’t a party animal like they were and bowed to never drink again after that headache.

Before they could continue bantering about who was the one having to care for the others, Starlo remembered something important —oh uh before I forget, dalv said he needed some help over there with that fancy metal piano, you’re good with thingamajigs aren’t you? please check if there's something you can help with— martlet felt accomplished by being acknowledged as the tech savvy of the group even if she was just an amateur and definitely wasn’t the most professional with her repairs, but hey if it works it works right? —uh sure! there's probably something i can help with, i was also planning to say hi anyways so let me just check what's happening over there— the bird responded as she made her way to the backstage, unaware that, behind her back the feisty four were just finishing putting up the decorations “and… that’s the last one of em’ BANG!” mooch said as she raised her arms in a celebratory manner destabilizing herself who in turn destabilized ace, creating a domino effect that resulted in all of them falling to the ground in a pile of hurt and annoyed cowboys “damnit mooch what did i say about abrupt movements?!” Ace said as he dusted himself off, demanding an apology from the squirrel “sorry you couldn't handle an itty bitty fall ;p” mooch responded before volting out of an annoyed ace’s grasp who immediately turned to chase her demanding a real apology, starlo rubbed his templates as the two members of his posse ran around in circles in an act he had become accustomed by this point.

Martlet approached the stage and made her way to the back where she found Dalv's organ as well as some disassembled pieces scattered along the ground, “yeah this is easy work… probably” martlet thought as she slowly approached the giant instrument “this goes here and that goes there, i think? wait no, because that would mean this goes over there”, martlet said to herself as she slowly realized she had no idea how any of that bundle of pipes actually worked or how they were put together in the first place. She stood there analyzing for a good minute until the vampire returned to his instrument only to find his neighbor standing in front of his most prized position with a face similar to one a dad would make while analyzing the engine of an old car.
—Ah martlet, I see you wanted to help me prepare for the show, thank you so much! — Martlet snapped out of her over analisis mode in a second before facing her neighbor… friend? she didn’t know how to call her relationship with dalv at this point, they’re definitely more than acquaintances and they have shared too many cups of coffee not to call him a friend, but she definitely didn’t hang out as much with him as she would with ceroba for example, so a close buddy it is? Martlet reflected while she greeted dalv, still with a puzzled look on her face, much to Dalv's worry, —heya! yeah… I've been trying to understand how all of these pieces go together but instruments are definitely not my strong suit, unless they’re made of wood, then I would be able to understand them quickly… i think— Dalv gave martlet a small chuckle while he collected the pieces and started assembling them without even looking at them — oh i don't blame you… it took me quite a while to understand how to put this thing together but after four years of having to carry it around the underground for concerts i suppose i learned every nook and cranny of this thing— with a swift motion, and much to martlet’s surprise, dalv assembled the organ in record time while carrying the conversation like it was child’s play, she looked at the instrument while inspecting any nook and cranny trying to understand how he managed to finish putting it together in mere minutes, the vampire felt a sense of accomplishment from impressing her friend with his knowledge in organ assembly and maintenance.

Dalv discussed all of the inner workings of his favorite instrument as martlet took note of every single step on the maintenance of such a machine, trying hard to understand Just how it all came together, before they were interrupted by Dina, who carried two big cold juggs of the life giving nectar known as root beer, they both smiled excitedly noticing just how thirsty they suddenly felt, —looks like you two could catch a break eh?— the armadillo said as the two gulped happily the delicious beverage, dalv cleaned his chin with a small piece of cloth before responding with a much calmer tone —we were just finishing actually… thanks for the drinks Dina— martlet nodded along, she came to realize root beer became one of her favorite drinks after spending so much time in the wild east, nothing clenched the violent thirst of working 4-6 hours under the scorching swealterstone like a tall glass of the root', — don't even mention it, I gotta make sure the star of my show is in top condition for the party heh— dalv blushed a bit from the compliment, realizing just how important his act really was for the celebration, being the main act of the night every year — I'll make sure t-to give my all then…— dalv responded a bit nervously before Dina gave him a strong pat on the back responding with a cocky tone —of course you will vamp, you always do! haha— martlet chuckled at this sight, finding Dina's encouragement towards dalv very intense but in a good way.

During this conversation martlet still felt a slight sense of worry about her friend, she knew ceroba was coming any time now, but she still worried her mental state wouldn't be the best for a celebration in clover's honor, Dina took notice of this and went to reassure the worrying bird, —still worrying about ol’ roba eh?— Martlet blushed a bit from how easily the armadillo was able to read her like a book —ah! E-eh… only a little bit, I know she gets really depressed around these days… I just hope she can enjoy this celebration alongside us…— she responded while Dina gave her an understanding look, —relax feathers, if anything I'd say she's doing great, I haven't seen her in the bar for a while… and when she does come in she only orders water hah! You really should start worrying the moment she orders a shot of tequila, then it's really time to start worryin’— the armadillo said, knowing the Fox’s drinking habits all too well, having seen her go through her worst moments inside her bar for years, she started noticing patterns in her behavior, like the type of drinks she'd usually order depending on her mood with tequila being usually a good indicator that it was time to send her home.

Martlet chuckled a little from how Dina described ceroba’s drinking habits, hoping she was right and that ceroba would show up any minute now. More and more monsters started arriving to the party, some that the main gang didn’t even know about but mentioned clover as a key to an important change in their lives, martlet started to realize just how many peoples lives that little kid had touched in the day and a half they spent in the underground, getting to meet a lot of people she would never thought she’d interact with, including a lot of mechanical wonders she’d only read about in sci-fi books that had apparently been living in the now abandoned steamworks for years, one of them being called axis; at first martlet only though they were neat and really impressive, having a whole developed personality, aspirations and even the capability to feel something as complex as love but she nearly spat her whole drink at the robots face when they mentioned the name of their creator chujin ketsukane, that's the great wonder of robotics her mentor was working on when they got fired?! a robot capable of defend and love monsters as any other would, that had to be the most impressive piece of engineering she had ever seen, only matched by the actual royal scientist’s creation even if it was way less flashy, — EVEN AFTER MY CREATOR HAD LEFT ME TO GUARD THE STEAMWORKS, HE HAD SENT ME SOMEONE TO HELP MAKE ME CHANGE MY RELATIONSHIP STATUS, AS ANNOYING AS THEY WERE— the robot said trough their distorted speakers, martlet was freaking out since the moment the robot started talking, “oh chujin why didn’t you teach me to build cool robots instead of tables and boring wooden stuff?” she thought as she tried to sound as normal as she could to the machine, —so… you chased after clover and ceroba though the steamworks until clover beat you? — the robot as expressionless as they were still radiated a sort of nostalgic but annoyed vibe to martlet, she only hopped that was the only type of radiation she was receiving from them —YES I HAVE TO ADMIT THE KID AND THE TALL LADY OUTSMARTED ME A FEW TIMES, BUT IN THE END I WON BY MAKING THEM MY FRIENDS SO WHO’S THE REAL WINNER HERE CHICKEN NUGGET LADY? — the robot said with a smugness that could only be matched by chujin’s, she chuckled as the robot praised themselves as she tried to analyze all of it’s innerworkings and not looking too much like a creep in the process, before they could continued chatting, the doors of the bar slowly swung open to reveal a tall slim figure that surprised most of the common attendants of the bar, martlet slowly turned to see who was causing all that roccus, considering the wide arrange of attendants in the bar that night it was weird that one of them somehow managed to stun all of the people present by just showing up, that's when she saw her, and her beak dropped in stunned shock.

hours earlier, Ceroba was looking at herself in the mirror as she applied a gentle coat of eyeshadow, she knew she had to hurry, it was already late for the party and didn’t want to make her friends worry about her whereabouts, even if she did stated she was going to arrive a little bit later, graciously putting on some eyeliner to accentuate her eyes, while not looking like a clown of course. Feeling like it had been years since she last cared so much for her appearance, for a public event at least, knowing she had to look her damm best if she wanted to convince everyone of her improvement over the past few years, even if her original plan was to sit this one out, feeling she still wasn’t quite ready, her dear childhood friend already made that decision for her, assuring everyone she was going to attend and even bring some snacks for the occasion no less, of course ceroba almost strangled the star in that moment for roping her into the party without even asking her first but knew starlo only did it for her well being and so she could get out of the house some more.

As she made sure to put on the fanciest kimono she had, that wasn’t torn by moths or covered in liquor stains from years prior of course, she glanced at herself in the mirror and realized just how well put together she was, for the first time in quite some years she actually felt “pretty” and approachable, she smelled like peaches and cherry blossom thanks to the body lotion and perfume she had taken the time to get out of the cabinet for the first time since her last date with chujin, and even made sure to give her only boots a deep scrub to show tidiness like never before, her robes were silky smooth and her makeup showed some confidence the old fox didn’t even know she still had, making her way to the door while making the mental note to buy snacks from the convenience store on her way to the party, knowing it was quite the long trip to the saloon.

On her way to the familiar town that was at least a 15 min walk away from her house, she kept nervously thinking of everyone’s reactions to her appearance, she never gave it too much thought “if they can’t handle my looks then they should stare at something else” she often said while in a drunken state, but this time something was different: everyone clover once knew was going to be there and her friends were really excited to see her joining the party for once, she thought all of her closer friends in that moment; dalv, axis, starlo, that weird raccoon guy that always begged her to buy some of his junk, okay maybe not everyone there were her friend but still, and of course martlet, if she had to thank anyone for her progress towards going out again and working on herself it was definitely that bird; things like asking for her help on projects, to borrow chujins tools and carpentry and engineering books or simply to help her stay awake while she worked on something late in sleep hours definitely made sure to get her out of bed some days, between her and starlo there were days when she just cound’t stay sad while having those two goofballs pulling her into situations. Ceroba really had to thank clover for getting her to connect with such good people even after everything she did, “four years in that awful jar and you keep on giving kid…” she thought to herself as she grabbed some monster chips from the convenience store making sure to get enough snacks to keep everyone in the party for going hungry, —this should be enough— she said as she placed the things in the counter giving the dune cafe’s cashier, who she knew too well, a nice and non at all resentful smile while handing her the gold, the cashier in turn looked at her with an awkward smile while counting the money and trying to avoid eye contact for dear life, after finishing paying and making sure none of the snacks would fall of her tote bag, gifted to her by martlet since it was one of the few things she was given as a member of the royal guard when she first joined (who knew killing kids and slacking off most of the day would have it’s perks?) she started to make her way to the saloon, her tail wagging with anticipation she didn’t even know she had.

As she finally arrived into town on the door of the saloon she encountered her dear friend, taking in some fresh air, —oh hi star… seems like i'm just in time hm? — she said as her best friend immediately jumped back into his “cool persona” stuttering and rushing to make himself more presentable while blushing profusely —i-i uh.. ceroba! just the monster i was thinking of… not that i constantly think of you or anythin’ because that'll be weird i-i mean— he fixed his throat before starting again, seemingly impressed by her looks —you look great! I see you really wanted to give a good impression today, eh? — she chuckled a bit from his nervousness, she didn’t really understand why he acted like this whenever she wore makeup but she didn’t mind at all, she would even find it cute if it wasn’t because they were such close friends and it would be weird for starlo to have a crush on her at that point right? — of course, after you roped me into this the least I should do is look good— she says with a jokingly annoyed tone much to starlo’s embarrassment, —it was either that or having to forcibly remove the alcohol from your hands at home! and angel’s know you’ve already given me enough concussions for a lifetime— the sheriff responded making ceroba embarrassed in return, a pang of guilt for having hurt her friends hitting the back of her head as she tried to maintain calm, she quickly tried to avoid thinking about what she did that night to avoid making things awkward as she nervously said —so.. everyone is already in there? — starlo quickly understood and lowered his hat a bit while taking a more relaxed tone —pretty much… also, feathers over there’ was asking about ya’ i told that worry bird that you were comin’ but you should proly’ talk to her first— the mention of martlet actively asking for her made ceroba feel a little excited, even if she didn’t know why, she guessed it was simply because it meant she cared about her being there and didn’t think much of it —she did? Well then I'll be greeting her the moment I see her— she started to gently walk to the door before waiting for starlo to follow her —you coming? — she said before the sheriff shrugged while responding —eh i'll join y'all in a minute, i still gotta wait for my posse to come back, Ace chased mooch into the desert… again— ceroba chuckled slightly hoping they didn’t roll around in the sand too much —well we’ll be waiting for you on your usual spot once they’re back, just hope you don’t have to hose out cactuses off of mooch’s fur again— she said as she slowly swung the doors of the saloon open.

She moved past the rustic wooden doors as she realized all the looks were on her, she didn’t mind a little attention of course but she’d be lying if she said being the complete center of attention thanks to her looks and mere presence wasn’t cathartic, she looked around the bar and saw a whole lot of different monsters from the dunes she might have interacted with once or twice, before she could find her seat besides Dina thanks to the sheer amount of people all gathered by their encounter with clover, she spotted a familiar set of celeste colored feathers alongside that annoying but kinda charming robot she and clover were chased by so long ago, she moved closer while making her way through the crowd as she slowly arrived to where her friends were standing before noticing martlet’s stunned expression and deep blush, she couldn't quite tell the reason behind her making that face but decided not to pay to much mind as she greeted them with a calm but cheerful grin.

As the tall lady approached her position, martlet couldn’t stop staring at her like she encountered the 8th wonder of the world; ceroba’s slow and gracious movements completely hypnotized the bird, the gentle but very gracefully applied coats of makeup lighted up ceroba’s face intensely and served as a multiplicator for her already high beauty, and her beautiful kimono contrasted with the rustic looking bar in a way that made her look like a goddess among mortals. A million different things came across Martlet's mind as she tried to make sense of her sudden feelings for her friend “wow she really tried very hard to look nice”, “she looks gorgeous in that kimono… why can’t i stop staring?” “Is time slowing down around her, did starlo activate his magic or something?” “oh no, for how long have i been staring?! she’s gonna think i'm weird, oh no…”, she quickly fanned herself with her wing to try to beat the sudden sensation of heat attacking her face when she felt the sensation increasing as the fox gently tapped her shoulder trying to make her snap out of her dazed state —hey feathers… everything alright? you look really flustered— she said while smiling at the bird, who in turn panicked at the fact she probably stared at her friend like a creep for several minutes, she quickly recovered herself and tried to give her most natural sounding response to the fox, despite feeling like she was going to die for embarrassment any moment —uh y-yeah im doing great, and it seems l-like you are too… ha ha…— she wanted to hit herself from how awkward that came out, fortunately her nervous rambling seemed to amuse ceroba a lot, who chuckled while responding —haha relax feathers, im the same old woman under all this fancy stuff, you don’t need to act like i'm the queen of the underground— the fox gave her a little bump on the shoulder as martlet took a moment to calm down, reminding herself that it was just her pal in front of her, as beautiful as she looked, she tried to rationalize why she was suddenly feeling so nervous to be in front of her friend, convincing herself the warm sensation on her face was just a product of the desert heat and nothing else… definitely, —yeah sorry, i guess im just more accustomed to spending time in the snow that’s all— she said as she took another sip of the delicious beverage Dina had served her just a minute ago, —heh, you think you get accustomed to the heat but it always manages to surprise you, thats why i always carry a fan everywhere— ceroba said while shrugging and leaning against a wall, —tsk i thought it was for style points, to look more mysterious and intriguing— martlet said with a playfully dramatic expression as they both chuckled, the tension seemingly dissipating for a moment as they both chatted the heat away.

A few moments later starlo approached the stage, grabbing the mic as all the monsters got quiet. Martlet and ceroba looked intensely as the cowboy prepared to give his speech to everyone gathered there —well… looks like justa ‘bout everyone is here, so i wanted to give a special speech to commemorate the occasion, we’re all gathered here to commemorate the short but important life of the human that changed our lives, it’s hard to believe it’s been four years since our little deputy showed up outa’ nowhere to make an important change on who we were and what we believed in, but i still remember it like it was yesterday! seeing feathers over there walk to town accompanied by this small kid wearing the most appropriate attire— all of the people on the bar turned to face the bird who got nervous almost immediately, waving gently before the attention came back to the starfish who cleared his throat before continuing — and yeah i’ll admit me and my posse weren’t exactly gentle with them upon introduction but can ya’ll blame me? a human so perfectly dressed had to be an act of divine intervention! — the crowd chuckled a little before calming down — of course, I went a little overboard with my excitement and had to be taught a lesson, by who other than the human that caused all the rokus in the first place? unfortunately it had to come to violence before they opened my eyes to my acts, and even then, they weren’t mad or had any ill feelings towards me, that really comes to show just how kind they truly were— starlo takes a pause, looking at the people around the stage before sighing to recover some of his strength — and in the end, despite how much we begged them not to do it, their last act of kindness… no, justice! was to sacrifice themselves for a greater cause, to give their soul to allow the king to break the barrier just so we can see the surface, despite how many of us tried to hurt them for our selfish reasons they decided to grant us freedom and compassion even if it meant they would die, and if that’s not a true hero of monsterkind i don't know what is! — all of the monsters cheered, some raising their glass to commemorate that tiny human that did so much for them expecting nothing in return, others clapped with a sense of dedication and hope that was uncommon to the mostly hopples people of the underground, starlo gave a small smirk while raising his hand with excitement before announcing from the top of his lungs —Thats why, i want everyone to celebrate with all of your strength in honor of our dear deputy Clover who gave their life just so we could keep our hopes and dreams for the future!! — the room erupted into cheers, hugs and noise as all the monsters prepared to celebrate like there was no tomorrow, the feisty four clapped as starlo went down the stage hugging him to commemorate him for such an amazing speech as always.

Meanwhile martlet sensed a feeling of grief she thought she already moved past from, remembering just how small clover’s stance in the underground truly was and how important to her and everyone gathered there they ended up being, she wiped a stray tear from her eye before looking to the side to catch her friend completely erupting into warm tears, ceroba couldn't control her emotions any longer as she began silently bawling her eyes out trying to quickly wipe them out as to not raise any worry to her, in response to this the bird slowly placed her wing on ceroba’s paw, rubbing it in a slow comforting pattern that seemed to calm the distraught fox down slightly as they shared a warm but heartfelt look of understanding, they both knew that, if there was someone that understood their feelings was them.