Clover paces in front of the suburban house, fiddling with her pockets. She'd spent the past week in a hotel outside the gated monster neighborhood, and her money was finally out. It'd have to be tonight, but she was still nervous. She ran a hand through her curly mane of dirty blonde hair, before turning her eyes to the neat white door. This was supposed to be the house of the Monster Queen, but it didn't really look anything like she imagined. Sure, it was larger than her old house, and if Clover's family had anything, it was money. But it looked very... comfortable. Loved. Neat. It wasn't intimidating. With a sigh, she chucks her tote bag of luggage on the welcome mat, adjusting the straps of her stuffed backpack. She rings the doorbell, bouncing up and down on her heels.
Oh fucking god why was the doorbell ringing. It was not "be amused by people at the door" time it was "read and enjoy some time alone" time for Alex. Both of these times were important and they never mixed. Alex ignored the door entirely for a moment, deciding to keep reading. Still the thought nagged at them. The annoying thought of his mom talking about how he should check the door every so often because, oh, you shouldn't keep people waiting and you're a big kid now. What horse shit. It was horse shit that they could only ignore for so long though. Grumbling Alex dogears the page they are on and sets it aside, far more carefully than some expected of the child, and heads out of his room, down the stairs, and to the door. As feared Mom is not here or even heading to the door. Because Mom is busy. At the library or something???? Alex can't recall. The door is opened and Alex is there, strange robot child of no discernible gender. A smile on his face they say, "Hello there!" why is there baggage
Clover glances at the kid, then down at her bag. They're only a little shorter than her, but who knows how old they are. He is? Immediately, all the words in her mouth seem to dry up. She'd planned for what she was going to say to the queen, but she hadn't expected this, and it jars her into silence. The longer they stare at her, the harder it gets for her to speak. What are they expecting? Is she going to say the wrong thing? She doesn't have MONEY to go back to the hotel. She's not even supposed to be here - she hopped the fence. If she doesn't say something soon, someone's going to contact her parents, and she'll either have to go home, or they'll say they don't WANT her. That's the thought that breaks her tongue loose. "I need to talk to the Queen. I've come a long way, and... and if you don't let me in I'll sleep on your fucking flowers and bite the cops."
...seriously? That'd wreck the flowers. Cops be damned, but who the hell is this hobo threatening the flowers? WHO? Still Alex continues to smile away and says, "Mom's not home right now, sorry 'bout that. You can wait inside, I guess. I'm sure she won't mind." They step aside to let the strange girl in. Maybe with all her crap. Urgh. "You can leave your stuff near the front door if you want," Alex adds on that note.
She picks up her bag and clutches it to her chest like it's everything she owns in the world, which, technically, it is. She does kick off her battered boots, though, and when she sits on the couch she does so gingerly, like she's afraid touching it will ruin it. "...I didn't know there were robot monsters. I mean, besides the pink one. Metatron?"
The couch has already been through hell and back. And it would complete that journey another ten times still. Alex is not so dainty and flops down in Toriel's reading chair. "I'm human," he says with a hint of exasperation. God you show up in a robot body and everyone assumes you're a monster too. "Also his name's Mettaton. Or MTT," he says far more casually.
Asriel might actually leave her to own devices trustingly. Or maybe he would stick around wanting to talk with another kid for a bit. Alex was not so trusting or welcoming. He would stick around to keep an eye on the guest. That and get a grip on who they were. What was their purpose and so on. Alex might be a huge brat, but damned if they'll let someone just waltz all over Toriel's home and the woman herself. He pulls his legs up on the chair and sits in a lazy sort of half lotus. Burmese style a pedant might point out. "I can't stick around to get to know you? Mom might not be back for a while. It'd suck not to have company," Alex says cheerily enough.
"Not much to get to know." She looks at him again, and there's a blankness in her expression before she wrinkles up her nose with a forced smile. "Really, I ain't going to be around long! Got stuff to do and people to see. I've just got to, to tie up some loose ends here. For other people. Before I can go."
"Oh? Know someone who's a friend of Mom?" Alex asks, wasting no time. This girl is growing rapidly suspicious as time moves on. "I'm Alex, by the way," he adds, "Alex Dreemur I guess technically. You?"
She hesitates, debating giving a fake name. But if she did, they'd find out eventually. She didn't plan to be here when they did, but... "Clover. I'm looking for my sister." There's a beat. "Hey, kid, when you were down there, did anyone mention a girl named Annie? Or... finding a body that looked like me?"
"You're a kid too you know," Alex says pointedly. The sweet and adorable act had limits and people being upstarts was one of the limits. "And no I didn't see anyone like you, but then I've been dead for a long time," he adds in a casual tone, hoping that it will weird the girl out. It's not as if it was a secret or anything. Kind of hard to be when you were one of the beloved royal children.
She makes a fart noise with her lips, not even looking at him. "I kinda figured you were. But it's not like you're not seeing and hearing and interacting right now, even though you're dead. Not that I know how that works, but they say monsters have weird magic, you know?" She settles back into the couch, head lolling back over her backpack. "I think you're trying to weird me out and distract me."
"I've been dead and not a robot. Does that help any? I really don't know anything, sorry," Alex says entirely ignoring her last statement, "This is kind of a recent thing. The body."
"Okay." She closes her eyes and sits there in silence. She doesn't really have the energy for a lot of talking, and all of a sudden she's tired right down to the bone. She could sit like this indefinitely, except a few minutes in, her stomach gives off a loud growl.
"We have pie," Alex says automatically. ... ... ... Damn Mom and all her pie loving ways she has gotten Alex doing it too. Soon he'll be baking on his own AND EVERYTHING. ...though baking is kind of fun. Alex stretches out before hopping off the chair. Ostensibly to get the pie but also to hide the chocolate. Clover SAID she wasn't going to take anything but that is what everyone says when it comes to chocolate.
"I don't-" She starts, but he's already going through the door. She sighs. She does want to eat. Heck, she needs to eat. It's just oddly uncomfortable. "Any savory pies?"
"We got snail," he says while walking off to the kitchen. The fridge is opened. He searches. There it is. The chocolate bar that is still not finished. It is waiting to be savored. He picks it up and hides it behind the milk and eggs. No one will be the wiser. Stash safe Alex gets a plate down and cuts out a slice of the pie for the guest. Cinnamon and butterscotch because he doesn't feel that mean. He places a fork on the plate next to the pie slice and walks back out. He hands it out.
She takes it with another smile, this one genuine if tired. As she eats her first bite, she tries to think of a conversation topic. "I didn't even..." She pulls a face, then starts again. "I didn't think monsters were... real. If I did, I'd have tried to help."
