"I don't know." What a dumb thing to say. Her face heats up a little, and she concentrates on her pie, and on not wolfing it down too fast.
"How can you not know? You asked," Alex says as he watches Clover eat. Good. The hobo is on the ropes now. GOOD. All is going according to a non-existent plan. but then the door opens Oh. It is. Mom. Shoot. "I'm home," Toriel calls from the front door. Alex stands up from the chair and jogs on over to her. She hugs Toriel tightly around the waist. "We have a guest, Mom," Alex says. "You know what I say about running in the house, Alex," Toriel says brushing off the comment about the guest for a bit. Must mom. Must ruffle hair. Robot...hair.
Clover shovels the last few bites of pie into her mouth when she sees Toriel, chewing frantically and then swallowing in one big, painful gulp. She stands up and brushes her hoodie free of crumbs before dipping into a bow aimed at Toriel. "Your Majesty! Er. I need to talk to you, please!"
Toriel smiles widely as she sees her guest. Oh this is just delightful! She continues to squeeze Alex who tries to wriggle away. "Oh! Good evening, my child. There is no need to be so formal. You may call me Toriel," she says brightly, "Ask what you wish, and if you are still hungry I can get you some more pie."
She straightens up, meeting Toriel's eyes. "I'm looking for information on my sister Annie. She went missing 'round here 10 years ago."
At last Alex wriggles free. Freedom gained he runs off, but not too far. He is still suspicious of and curious about the visitor. Got to spy. Toriel meanwhile folds her hands in front of her and walks up towards the girl. "Your sister?" she asks while looking at Clover more closely. She is a rather familiar looking child...Not one she's seen, but one related to one she's seen. Maybe a student of hers? Unless.
Clover ducks down to slip off her backpack, digging through a side pocket before coming up with a bunch of pictures rubber banded together. She hands them over to Toriel. They're all of Annie, at her birthday, during her school play, there's even a picture of her conked out asleep in her bed with a tiny Clover curled up next to her. "Please."
"Of course," Toriel says as she takes the photos from Clover. She looks at the first, struck by the child in the photo. A child she knew, one she had met so long ago. Her heart drops and she looks to the next and the next and the next still until she has looked through them all. It was one of the children she had failed. "Oh."
"Did anyone see anything? I- my dad thinks she's still alive, but I think she went up the mountain. Um. Obviously you can't see everything on the mountain, but..."
"I'm so sorry," Toriel says looking at her sadly. "She is dead." She looks back down at the photos for a moment. That girl smiling happily. If only Toriel had just tried harder. But she hadn't. She'd failed her and her sister.
Clover clears her throat. "She... she fell or something? And you guys found her dead?" That was the best outcome. She hoped to god it was the correct one.
"I. Do not know. I apologize," she says while taking a step closer to the girl. A hug will be needed soon. "I tried to stop her from leaving, knowing the king's decree. I could not."
She steps back, her face suddenly a lot sharper. "The King's decree? What decree? Did he do something?"
