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Just an idea I had since Deltarune is still living rent free in my head, and I wanted some resolution for my scrunkly goat boy in the meantime.
Summary: Ralsei bakes his first cake for himself and tries to enjoy it despite the final prophecy casting its shadow over him. SPOILERS FOR DELTARUNE CHAPTER 4!
—
Dust glimmered in the dark as Ralsei swept his room. Each swipe of his brush made the specks dance in the air like stars, or what he imagined what stars looked like. He knew a lot of things he wasn’t supposed to. But that couldn’t be changed, no matter how much he wanted it to.
What was the use, getting upset about what he couldn’t control? Ralsei controlled how clean the dark world looked. Every darkner deserved a happy, tidy space, including himself, no matter how much he convinced himself otherwise.
With one final flick of his broom, Ralsei’s room was clean again. He could walk across the floorboards without getting his paws dirty. The ICE-E sculpture smiled its ever-unchanging smile; it was probably happy about the state of the room too.
He had nothing else to clean, then. It was only a matter of time before he had to clean up after the other darkners. With no bed, Ralsei lay on the floorboards, staring at the ceiling.
Everything above was pure black. No lamps, no embarrassing boy band posters, as Susie had once suggested, nothing. If Ralsei stared long enough, the floaters in his eyes painted images on it, like strands of milky white swirling on a blank canvas. With no sense of time, he wasn’t sure how long he stayed there.
Distant laughter echoed from beyond those walls. Then the splat of a whoopee cushion, probably Lancer’s doing. Other than that, all Ralsei could hear were his raspy breaths and the swish of the curtains.
He had no idea how long Kris and Susie would be gone. Time worked differently in the light world. He couldn’t blame Susie if she never wanted to come back at all.
Ralsei gripped the neck of his tunic. So many scenarios swirled in his head of how that night could’ve ended differently. If he stopped the fountain before the titan awakened, if he told Susie about the final prophecy sooner, then—
Ralsei stood on weary feet, padding to the doorway. He didn’t want to think about it; he already had enough to think about every day. His mouth felt dry. Without giving it a second thought, Ralsei headed to his cauldron in desperate need of some tea.
Yes, a spot of tea did wonders. Cybergrass in particular was his new favourite blend. He needed to ask where Swatch found it, as Ralsei was down to a small pile of glow-in-the-dark green leaves in his jar, but it was enough just for one pot.
He popped the lid open, closed his eyes, and inhaled. Its aroma was hard to place; citrus-y and sweet, yet bitter and faintly acidic. Perhaps there was a trace of battery acid in it, but it didn’t seem to affect him. It suited the palates of both lightners and darkners, including his own.
Ralsei splashed water in his cauldron, carefully controlling the flames at the base until it boiled. He siphoned it into his teapot and closed the lid, putting it aside to brew. Swatch didn’t give a brewing time; he just told Ralsei to let it stew until it felt right.
There he waited. And waited and waited. What was the right time? Whenever was it the right time for anything? Even then, he couldn’t help but think of Susie and her snouted face scrunched up amidst the broken glass, and her hand—-
“Say Wanna Know This Number One Self Care Tip, Toothpaste Boy?”
Queen’s robotic voice snapped Ralsei out of his trance, yet she was nowhere to be seen. It sounded distant, as if it came from Lancer’s room.
“Oh boy, I love self care!” Lancer shouted.
“Okay Then You Have To Treat Yourself™️ Every Once In A While.”
“Okay then, what about the other numbers?”
“Thats All I Have Lmao. The Other Nine Numbers Are Treat Yourself.”
“How can I treat myself if I have self treats?”
“I Know Right I Hope Nobody Hears This And Gets Inspired.”
“I’ll inspire you! Treat yo’self to my Lancer Cookie!”
“Oh Ho Ho Silly Goose You Are Getting Gamer Gunk Under My Keys.”
Ralsei chuckled to himself. Their distant chatter made him feel slightly less lonely. Only slightly. He could’ve broken the ice with them… but he wasn’t interesting like they were. What did he have to offer?
Whenever he had nothing to say, he made cake instead. Yet it was always for others: Kris, Susie, and the rest of the darkners who took refuge in his kingdom. He was quite content leaving it that way.
At least until that tea party. Nobody had offered him cake before, let alone his own. He didn’t even need to eat. But it was so yummy, so spongy, creamy and soft, it was almost criminal he hadn’t tried it before.
Ralsei retrieved his old recipe book. The pages had long since faded around the edges, and it was hard to make out some of the handwriting. The owner of the book had written their name, but all that remained behind the front cover was an unknown signature, smudged beyond recognition. He often wondered where it came from; such a silly question when he didn’t know where he came from himself.
He settled for one entry: butterscotch-cinnamon pie. The recipe called for brown sugar, eggs, corn starch, cream, meringue and cinnamon, but he had none. He only had sugar. But all he needed was sugar, spice, and everything nice with a little touch of magic.
Ralsei huddled around his cauldron and closed his eyes. He imagined the pie’s texture: soft, crumbly and creamy. Then he imagined its taste: rich, sweet and spicy. Then he imagined how it looked: a perfect ring of spiced butterscotch and puffed-out pastry.
That was all he needed. Ralsei dumped the sugar and spice into the cauldron, mixed it, and channelled his magic into the flames. The potential his magic exuded reached its peak, then the rim exploded, launching a perfectly-baked pie into the air like a trampoline.
Ralsei bleated as he caught it. It was exactly the right temperature, not burning hot at all. That was the way his magic worked, calibrated so everything was just right.
So now he had tea and dessert: two requirements for any decent tea party. He brought them up to Susie and Kris’ room, still conjoined from yesterday’s tea party, yet he’d stacked the plates and cups. It didn’t feel right to leave it in a messy state, especially if he expected them back.
Even so, this wasn’t for them. Ralsei had to remind himself that he had desires too, even if they were as selfish as having a whole teapot and a whole pie dish to himself. He plated up one big slice, poured his tea, and took a moment to appreciate the mingling smells.
The cybergrass smelled like a cut lawn on a fine, summer day. Just one sip of it blasted Ralsei’s maw with flavour, and lingered on his tongue like mint. His spirits seemed to rise along with his temperature.
Then he lifted a forkful of pie to his snout. His nose twitched at the cinnamon. He was dubious that such a sneeze-inducing spice could’ve complimented the pie’s sweet flavours, but his taste buds didn’t lie. Just that first bite was excellent. Rich as a warm hug, yet as complex as, well, a human like Kris.
Ralsei wondered how they were doing. They told him it was okay not to smile. Thinking about that, their touch, their warmth was like the feeling of Ralsei’s own cooking simmering in his tummy. He wasn’t sure what to do with that feeling. He wasn’t even sure that Kris’ voice was their own in that moment. All he knew was that it was nice.
The pie tasted even better on a second bite, with more cream than the first. It offset the cinnamon, creating a complexity of flavours behind the initial tough bite. Just like Susie, in a way.
Susie was the soul that surprised Ralsei the most. He never doubted her character, not once, but each visit to the dark world brought a little more out of her. Her bravery. Her kindness. Even her anger. Ralsei envied her in a way. He could never bring himself to be mad at anyone, as much as he wanted to.
Susie had plenty of reasons to be angry about Ralsei anyway.
Ralsei struggled to sample the third bite. The fork shook in his clawed hands. The crust seemed impenetrable. Even lifting it to his more took more effort. And for all those efforts, the third bite tasted more bitter than sweet, more cinnamon than sugar.
Ralsei swallowed. He felt nothing. The mouthful disappeared as soon as it ran down its throat, and evaporated into magic energy that coursed through his body.
That was what separated his kind from lightners. That was why he had to stay behind in the dark world. That was why he had to wait helplessly as the final prophecy reared its head.
That was why he never meant to get so attached to Susie and Kris. Yet there he was.
The fourth forkful weighed a ton. Ralsei’s hand kept it hovered in the air as he looked around the two rooms. Susie’s spiky bed, her horned wardrobe, Kris’ fluffy bed, their trophies adorning the walls; he poured his heart or soul into those rooms, as if they were roommates and not guests.
It wouldn’t last. The prophecy said so.
Ralsei couldn’t finish the fourth bite. Whatever organ made up his essence ached. The feeling worked its way up to his throat, which felt too lumpy to eat any more, let alone swallow. Then it wormed itself behind his eyes, and Ralsei was gone.
He dropped his fork into the dish and sobbed.
He hated this. Being strong all the time. Smiling all the time. Being happy. How could he smile with the weight of the world resting on his shoulders? How could Susie and Kris? There he was, selfishly feeling sorry for himself when Susie and Kris’ lives would never be the same again after all this was over.
It was too much. Ralsei had never felt this way before. He didn’t want to feel it. He never wanted to feel anything ever again. Maybe it was a relief if The Roaring swallowed everything in darkness, or when the prophecy ended.
Something bounced into the double room. Probably Lancer. Ralsei furiously swabbed at his moist eyes and donned his smile again.
“What is it, Lancer?” Ralsei’s face strained further, second by second. “Would you like me to bounce you again?”
Lancer’s dough-like face folded.
“Maybe. But maybe you’d like to share your pie with me first.”
“Okay.” Ralsei let out a heaved sigh. This was too much pie for him even to save. He didn’t feel like eating the rest anyway.
Ralsei shoved the dish towards Lancer, expecting him to take it and share it with the rest of the darkners. But Lancer shoved it back.
“Reverse card!” he called, sticking his tongue out. “Jokes on you, now I have to eat in here!”
Ralsei chuckled, despite himself. He let his mask slip for a second after, but Lancer didn’t seem to notice at first. Then Lancer scooched his chair closer to Ralsei and rubbed his back.
“I hope Kris and Susie come back soon,” he said. “Until then, we have to make our own fun and games and eat cookies, not in that order.”
Ralsei didn’t expect Lancer to see the weight on his shoulders. Lancer shouldn’t have to. He was a child. But in his own way, he must’ve understood how Ralsei felt, no matter how much he smiled.
At once, Ralsei had all the answers, yet he didn’t. He knew how the prophecy would end, but not how to cope after it ended, or how Susie and Kris would’ve
coped.
Until they came back, if they came back, Ralsei just had to hold out for a little longer. For the time being, he knew he didn’t need to keep smiling.
Summary: Ralsei bakes his first cake for himself and tries to enjoy it despite the final prophecy casting its shadow over him. SPOILERS FOR DELTARUNE CHAPTER 4!
—
A Tea Party For One
Dust glimmered in the dark as Ralsei swept his room. Each swipe of his brush made the specks dance in the air like stars, or what he imagined what stars looked like. He knew a lot of things he wasn’t supposed to. But that couldn’t be changed, no matter how much he wanted it to.
What was the use, getting upset about what he couldn’t control? Ralsei controlled how clean the dark world looked. Every darkner deserved a happy, tidy space, including himself, no matter how much he convinced himself otherwise.
With one final flick of his broom, Ralsei’s room was clean again. He could walk across the floorboards without getting his paws dirty. The ICE-E sculpture smiled its ever-unchanging smile; it was probably happy about the state of the room too.
He had nothing else to clean, then. It was only a matter of time before he had to clean up after the other darkners. With no bed, Ralsei lay on the floorboards, staring at the ceiling.
Everything above was pure black. No lamps, no embarrassing boy band posters, as Susie had once suggested, nothing. If Ralsei stared long enough, the floaters in his eyes painted images on it, like strands of milky white swirling on a blank canvas. With no sense of time, he wasn’t sure how long he stayed there.
Distant laughter echoed from beyond those walls. Then the splat of a whoopee cushion, probably Lancer’s doing. Other than that, all Ralsei could hear were his raspy breaths and the swish of the curtains.
He had no idea how long Kris and Susie would be gone. Time worked differently in the light world. He couldn’t blame Susie if she never wanted to come back at all.
Ralsei gripped the neck of his tunic. So many scenarios swirled in his head of how that night could’ve ended differently. If he stopped the fountain before the titan awakened, if he told Susie about the final prophecy sooner, then—
Ralsei stood on weary feet, padding to the doorway. He didn’t want to think about it; he already had enough to think about every day. His mouth felt dry. Without giving it a second thought, Ralsei headed to his cauldron in desperate need of some tea.
Yes, a spot of tea did wonders. Cybergrass in particular was his new favourite blend. He needed to ask where Swatch found it, as Ralsei was down to a small pile of glow-in-the-dark green leaves in his jar, but it was enough just for one pot.
He popped the lid open, closed his eyes, and inhaled. Its aroma was hard to place; citrus-y and sweet, yet bitter and faintly acidic. Perhaps there was a trace of battery acid in it, but it didn’t seem to affect him. It suited the palates of both lightners and darkners, including his own.
Ralsei splashed water in his cauldron, carefully controlling the flames at the base until it boiled. He siphoned it into his teapot and closed the lid, putting it aside to brew. Swatch didn’t give a brewing time; he just told Ralsei to let it stew until it felt right.
There he waited. And waited and waited. What was the right time? Whenever was it the right time for anything? Even then, he couldn’t help but think of Susie and her snouted face scrunched up amidst the broken glass, and her hand—-
“Say Wanna Know This Number One Self Care Tip, Toothpaste Boy?”
Queen’s robotic voice snapped Ralsei out of his trance, yet she was nowhere to be seen. It sounded distant, as if it came from Lancer’s room.
“Oh boy, I love self care!” Lancer shouted.
“Okay Then You Have To Treat Yourself™️ Every Once In A While.”
“Okay then, what about the other numbers?”
“Thats All I Have Lmao. The Other Nine Numbers Are Treat Yourself.”
“How can I treat myself if I have self treats?”
“I Know Right I Hope Nobody Hears This And Gets Inspired.”
“I’ll inspire you! Treat yo’self to my Lancer Cookie!”
“Oh Ho Ho Silly Goose You Are Getting Gamer Gunk Under My Keys.”
Ralsei chuckled to himself. Their distant chatter made him feel slightly less lonely. Only slightly. He could’ve broken the ice with them… but he wasn’t interesting like they were. What did he have to offer?
Whenever he had nothing to say, he made cake instead. Yet it was always for others: Kris, Susie, and the rest of the darkners who took refuge in his kingdom. He was quite content leaving it that way.
At least until that tea party. Nobody had offered him cake before, let alone his own. He didn’t even need to eat. But it was so yummy, so spongy, creamy and soft, it was almost criminal he hadn’t tried it before.
Ralsei retrieved his old recipe book. The pages had long since faded around the edges, and it was hard to make out some of the handwriting. The owner of the book had written their name, but all that remained behind the front cover was an unknown signature, smudged beyond recognition. He often wondered where it came from; such a silly question when he didn’t know where he came from himself.
He settled for one entry: butterscotch-cinnamon pie. The recipe called for brown sugar, eggs, corn starch, cream, meringue and cinnamon, but he had none. He only had sugar. But all he needed was sugar, spice, and everything nice with a little touch of magic.
Ralsei huddled around his cauldron and closed his eyes. He imagined the pie’s texture: soft, crumbly and creamy. Then he imagined its taste: rich, sweet and spicy. Then he imagined how it looked: a perfect ring of spiced butterscotch and puffed-out pastry.
That was all he needed. Ralsei dumped the sugar and spice into the cauldron, mixed it, and channelled his magic into the flames. The potential his magic exuded reached its peak, then the rim exploded, launching a perfectly-baked pie into the air like a trampoline.
Ralsei bleated as he caught it. It was exactly the right temperature, not burning hot at all. That was the way his magic worked, calibrated so everything was just right.
So now he had tea and dessert: two requirements for any decent tea party. He brought them up to Susie and Kris’ room, still conjoined from yesterday’s tea party, yet he’d stacked the plates and cups. It didn’t feel right to leave it in a messy state, especially if he expected them back.
Even so, this wasn’t for them. Ralsei had to remind himself that he had desires too, even if they were as selfish as having a whole teapot and a whole pie dish to himself. He plated up one big slice, poured his tea, and took a moment to appreciate the mingling smells.
The cybergrass smelled like a cut lawn on a fine, summer day. Just one sip of it blasted Ralsei’s maw with flavour, and lingered on his tongue like mint. His spirits seemed to rise along with his temperature.
Then he lifted a forkful of pie to his snout. His nose twitched at the cinnamon. He was dubious that such a sneeze-inducing spice could’ve complimented the pie’s sweet flavours, but his taste buds didn’t lie. Just that first bite was excellent. Rich as a warm hug, yet as complex as, well, a human like Kris.
Ralsei wondered how they were doing. They told him it was okay not to smile. Thinking about that, their touch, their warmth was like the feeling of Ralsei’s own cooking simmering in his tummy. He wasn’t sure what to do with that feeling. He wasn’t even sure that Kris’ voice was their own in that moment. All he knew was that it was nice.
The pie tasted even better on a second bite, with more cream than the first. It offset the cinnamon, creating a complexity of flavours behind the initial tough bite. Just like Susie, in a way.
Susie was the soul that surprised Ralsei the most. He never doubted her character, not once, but each visit to the dark world brought a little more out of her. Her bravery. Her kindness. Even her anger. Ralsei envied her in a way. He could never bring himself to be mad at anyone, as much as he wanted to.
Susie had plenty of reasons to be angry about Ralsei anyway.
Ralsei struggled to sample the third bite. The fork shook in his clawed hands. The crust seemed impenetrable. Even lifting it to his more took more effort. And for all those efforts, the third bite tasted more bitter than sweet, more cinnamon than sugar.
Ralsei swallowed. He felt nothing. The mouthful disappeared as soon as it ran down its throat, and evaporated into magic energy that coursed through his body.
That was what separated his kind from lightners. That was why he had to stay behind in the dark world. That was why he had to wait helplessly as the final prophecy reared its head.
That was why he never meant to get so attached to Susie and Kris. Yet there he was.
The fourth forkful weighed a ton. Ralsei’s hand kept it hovered in the air as he looked around the two rooms. Susie’s spiky bed, her horned wardrobe, Kris’ fluffy bed, their trophies adorning the walls; he poured his heart or soul into those rooms, as if they were roommates and not guests.
It wouldn’t last. The prophecy said so.
Ralsei couldn’t finish the fourth bite. Whatever organ made up his essence ached. The feeling worked its way up to his throat, which felt too lumpy to eat any more, let alone swallow. Then it wormed itself behind his eyes, and Ralsei was gone.
He dropped his fork into the dish and sobbed.
He hated this. Being strong all the time. Smiling all the time. Being happy. How could he smile with the weight of the world resting on his shoulders? How could Susie and Kris? There he was, selfishly feeling sorry for himself when Susie and Kris’ lives would never be the same again after all this was over.
It was too much. Ralsei had never felt this way before. He didn’t want to feel it. He never wanted to feel anything ever again. Maybe it was a relief if The Roaring swallowed everything in darkness, or when the prophecy ended.
Something bounced into the double room. Probably Lancer. Ralsei furiously swabbed at his moist eyes and donned his smile again.
“What is it, Lancer?” Ralsei’s face strained further, second by second. “Would you like me to bounce you again?”
Lancer’s dough-like face folded.
“Maybe. But maybe you’d like to share your pie with me first.”
“Okay.” Ralsei let out a heaved sigh. This was too much pie for him even to save. He didn’t feel like eating the rest anyway.
Ralsei shoved the dish towards Lancer, expecting him to take it and share it with the rest of the darkners. But Lancer shoved it back.
“Reverse card!” he called, sticking his tongue out. “Jokes on you, now I have to eat in here!”
Ralsei chuckled, despite himself. He let his mask slip for a second after, but Lancer didn’t seem to notice at first. Then Lancer scooched his chair closer to Ralsei and rubbed his back.
“I hope Kris and Susie come back soon,” he said. “Until then, we have to make our own fun and games and eat cookies, not in that order.”
Ralsei didn’t expect Lancer to see the weight on his shoulders. Lancer shouldn’t have to. He was a child. But in his own way, he must’ve understood how Ralsei felt, no matter how much he smiled.
At once, Ralsei had all the answers, yet he didn’t. He knew how the prophecy would end, but not how to cope after it ended, or how Susie and Kris would’ve
coped.
Until they came back, if they came back, Ralsei just had to hold out for a little longer. For the time being, he knew he didn’t need to keep smiling.
