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canyouhearthelight · 4 years

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The Miys, Ch. 79

This was another chapter that was soooo fun to write. Don’t worry, I’m not getting off the plot, swear. So, thank you @charlylimph-blog for helping me flesh these pranks out. Also, thanks to @satan-parisienne and @baelpenrose for beta-reading.

Disclaimer: Food mentions below the cut. I also want to clarify that I do not hate brussels sprouts. I did, for several decades, though, and added that to one character in this chapter.

Given my track record with handling ship-wide issues in a personal capacity, I made a point to set up an actual appointment with both Grey and Xiomara to discuss our concerns. Unfortunately, that meant it would be a few days before we all had time in our schedule. All I could do in the meantime was try to do my actual job and pay more attention to odd behaviors of people around me.

I would like to submit for the record that I wasn’t succeeding with focusing on work terribly well. And I wasn’t the only one.

“Seventeen,” Alistair greeted me as he arrived. For what could only be dramatic emphasis, he removed a scarf and flung it over the back of the chair across from me.

“Ark’s temperature controlled,” I pointed out, staring at the scarf. It actually looked soft.

“Seventeen different individuals,” he continued, ignoring my comment. “In a sum total of six groups, between three and eight people per group. Several were in more than one group.”

Wow. Go, Detective Worthington. “This was just on your way from your quarters to my office?”

“From the cantina on deck fourteen, actually.” He stalked over to the food console, returning with a plate of food and two beverages.

“So, one, that’s an even shorter walk than the one from your quarters.”

He nodded around a forkful of pasta before swallowing. “Which makes it even more concerning.”

“True.” Taking the tea he offered me, I gestured at his penne. Part of me was pleased to see it was one of my recipes from Before that I added to my profile once I learned how. “I thought you just ate?”

“I attempted to, certainly. However, there have been several issues with the consoles in the cantinas. I was given to believe they were resolved, but somehow I still ended up with brussels sprouts instead of capers.” He glared at me archly. “You are well aware of how I feel about those atrocities.”

“Even if you did like them, I can’t imagine substituting capers for brussels sprouts and still coming even remotely close to whatever you asked for.”

Already, he was standing to dispose of his empty dish. “I was sure that your console would be safe, but I selected a dish without capers, either way.”

“That’s fair.” Although I was mildly confused why he thought the console in my office would be ‘safe’ from the malfunction he just mentioned, but I also had no idea about the consoles in the cafeterias acting up, so he may have a point.

I was about to ask for details regarding the people he had seen. I really was. However, I was preempted by the actual trumpet from the Book of Revelation started screaming from the speaker in the ceiling of my office.

“BAYYYYY-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE shark, do do do do do do!”

I screamed and jumped hard enough to fall out of my chair, while Alistair had flattened himself against the wall in an effort to escape the cacophony. Covering my ears, I begged Miys to disable the speaker. I was reasonably certain I was yelling it, but either way the noise cut off abruptly and I was able to get up off the floor.

“What the bloody hell - bloody hell!” Alistair jumped abruptly at the figure that was now standing in my office. I wasn’t surprised, either, when I looked.

Standing right by my now-closed door was a shorter-statured figure, wobbling on its feet. I couldn’t even really see the face, because my eyes would not look away from the top of their head. Specifically the earmuffs perched on there.

Five. Pairs. Of. Them. One pair was standard noise cancelling, but two were fuzzy - one neon green, another sparkly purple - and the other two, while not fuzzy, did have patterns in similarly bright colors: one set pink and green plaid, one fluorescent yellow and blue stripes. Yet another pair was dangling around the figure’s neck, along with what appeared to be two pairs of earplugs. I was getting the idea that the blaring music was something they were familiar with, against their will.

While puzzling at the noise-blocking hardware, I finally noticed the words across the figure’s hoodie. It very clearly said ‘Fuck this shit’, framed by delicate vines and flowers. “Charly?” I asked, completely confused, before realizing she likely couldn’t hear me. I gestured for her to remove the headphones, and once she did, I tried again. “Charly. What is going on?”

“I have not had a hot bath in two weeks. Every time I walk through a door, the room plays that awful song until I leave the room, and cold spaghetti squash should be illegal! Very, VERY illegal!” As she spoke, her voice choked up more and more, and by the time she finished she was crying in my office. Again. “I can barely eat, I can only sleep if I’m exhausted and practically pass out…” She trailed off.

I got her seated and rubbed her arms. Turning to Alistair, I spoke softly. “Can you please bring some of the stew from screen six in my file? And probably water for now.” To Charly, I reassured her. “It’s your beef stew recipe, the one you gave me. For whatever reason, my console here and the one at home never glitched out when the ones in the cafeterias did.”

She sniffed and nodded. My assistant quickly returned, gently setting down the stew and warm bread, along with some butter. He narrowed his eyes at me, sharply. “I took the liberty of also getting some butter for the bread, because clearly some of us are heathens who serve warm bread without butter.”

“Some of us like to spread cheese sometimes,” I defended myself. “Okay, hon. First, I need you to drink at least half of that water so you don’t dehydrate from crying.” A very tiny white lie. The real reason was an old trick I learned back Before - humans aren’t wired to be able to cry and swallow at the same time, so we stop crying if we are drinking something.

Once that kicked in, I let her dig into the stew. Keeping a careful eye to make sure she didn’t accidentally inhale anything in the literal sense while demonstrating the figurative sense, I tried to figure things out. “First and foremost, has anything else happened, anything that could have caused you injury?”

“Juss annoyig,” she told me around a bite of bread. Swallowing, she clarified. “Anytime I try to bathe, I only get cold showers. No hot water, even the sonic function gives me cold water. I’ve had to resort to letting a bucket of water sit out long enough to be room temp. Anytime I try to get any sort of food or drink other than water, all I get is cold, icky spaghetti squash. You saw what happens when I walk into a room.” She gestured at the speaker on the ceiling. “I’m not even sure how you stopped that.”

“I had Noah disable the speaker entirely,” I admitted. “So, all mid-range psychological torture? All irritants, nothing actually dangerous in and of itself?”

“Except the fact that I’m so jumpy I can’t sleep, I guess. This is the first thing I’ve eaten in two weeks that wasn’t something Coffey had to go get from a canteen, bring it back, and give it to me. And even that only works if it isn’t something I actually like.”

“But there are over a dozen full-time food vendors?” I was so confused.

She rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t trust other people’s cooking. Yours, yes. Tyche’s, yes. Mine, of course. But that’s it.”

“Miss Harper,” Alistair interrupted, gentle but horrified. “You said it’s been two weeks….”

She waved the concern away. “Two weeks of eating food I don’t like but don’t gag on is way better than cold, yucky spaghetti squash or food that may have… crawly things in it. You do know that some people cook with…. those things, right?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Objection withdrawn,” he sighed. “However, I do believe that part of what you are experiencing may be part of the wider issues we’ve been having with the food consoles.�� All of the public ones have been malfunctioning recently, and every time they are reset, it happens again. I nearly ate brussels sprouts today, for heaven’s sake!”

“Okay, seriously Alistair? They aren’t that bad. Stop being dramatic,” I scolded. When I turned back to Charly, she was staring at her lap, very focused on the hem of her sweatshirt. Fear spiked through me like ice. “Charly? What is it? Did something else happen?”

“The consoles might be acting up because of what’s happening with me,” she admitted quietly. “Not the other way around.”

Huh? “What do you mean? You think the same person who is doing this to you is going to target everyone?” I could feel my panic levels rising. Suspicious people, maybe a cult, were increasing in numbers throughout the ship. Maybe they were sending a message? It was pretty well known that Charly was close with Tyche and myself -

“IthinkthisishappeningbecauseofaprankIpulledandsomeonegotmad.” Once she finished blurting out her statement, she screwed her eyes closed and seemed to be waiting for something bad to happen. When nothing happened - I don’t think Alistair even understood what she said, and I know I didn’t - she cracked one eye to peek at our faces.

“In English?” I asked, shaking my head.

“I think...I may have...broken? The food consoles? I might have played a prank? And someone didn’t like it?”

I fought the urge to go entirely limp as all the panic and dread I had been building up rapidly plummeted. “So, all of this… you broke the ship… it’s all a prank war?” She nodded, face scrunched up in embarrassed apology. I pinched my nose before running a hand down my face. “And you started it, you believe?”

“It wasn’t on purpose!” she cried. “It was a harmless prank, I freaking swear. I programmed the food consoles to give boba tea as every one hundredth beverage dispensed. That’s it. I even made sure to program it to be sugar free! Just matcha tea, lactose-free milk, sugar substitute, and the little boba pearls. At most, someone would get it, go ‘hey this isn’t what I asked for?’, try again, and get the right thing.”

“Except that’s not the worst thing that happened,” I prompted.

“No, it isn’t! After about…five days? Suddenly all thiiiiiiis,” she flailed expansively, “started happening! There is no way you can tell me that I deserve all this for erroneous boba tea here and there.” Charly stared at me, pointedly.

To be honest, it really did seem like overkill.

“Well,” I sighed. “The good news is, only a select few people have that level of access to the ship to do something so far reaching.” My fingers drummed on the table as I tried to think of ways to narrow our list of culprits further. “Obviously, they don’t mean you any actual harm, just a significant level of annoyance and inconvenience. And it would have to be someone who would take boba tea to be a grievous insult apparently…” Fuck.

My head snapped up as I leapt to my feet and bolted for the console. Once I had a boba tea, exactly the way Charly described, I took a huge pull from the straw. Chilled, clean flavor, no notable texture, not terribly sweet, no aftertaste…

And chewy boba pearls. Like little candies. Most importantly? They were squishy.

“Mother fuck….” Charly and Alistair both gave me questioning looks. “I will one-hundred percent admit that your prank had very innocent intentions. But before I tell you who did this, I want to be clear: absolutely no retribution, and no more dinking around in public resources. Deal?” She nodded so hard I thought her neck may break. “Someone with an enormous food aversion to anything ‘squishy’ ended up with one of your drinks.” I jiggled mine for emphasis. “And I am willing to bet they got a mouthful of tapioca before they realized it. They absolutely knew there was no error - they only drink water, and they are extremely sensitive to caffeine. Once they realized it was a deliberate error? There was no saving you, girl.”

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and I could see everything falling into place. “Oh no. Nonononononono. I didn’t think Derek used the public consoles! I never would have done it if I knew that! Or exempted him, or something… Oh gosh, I have to go apologize. I feel awful!” With that, she bolted from the room, throwing a “thanks for the stew!” over her shoulder on the way out.

Alistair just shook his head. “She really pulled a prank on the one person we can’t keep out of anything on the ship, who we have to rely on his good intentions?”

“Obviously, not on purpose,” I pointed out.

“It still doesn’t explain the small cabbages that contaminated my lunch.”

Taking a long pull from my tea, I tilted my head side to side. “It really kind of does. Charly hates capers with a passion, based solely on what they look like.”

“Madam Councillor. Brussles. Sprouts. Surely there was a better option.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #science fiction #found family #aliens #apocalypse #humans are space orcs #original fiction #food #earth is space australia

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proxylynn · 5 years

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Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #16

Chapter 16: Surge WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another day, another start to a hopefully non-resetting timeline. At least, that's what Sans mumbled to himself as he woke up uncharacteristically early in the middle of the night. No nightmare this time, just randomly woke up and now finding it annoyingly difficult to zonk out again. He tossed and turned, moving all over the mattress to find that sweet sleeping spot, but nothing was working. Damn random insomnia. Can't a guy get a decent night's rest? Maybe he could kill time till passed out from boredom. He could try the books again, but at the risk of learning things that would make him want to drink bleach, he gave that idea a hard pass. What time even is it? Looking at his phone showed it was too late to go out but too early to start getting ready for work. Argh...Well...There is always the backup idea. It had been so long since he last tried it. What if he made too much noise? Papyrus almost barged in because he thought Sans was hurt or under a surprise attack. Fuck it. It's his room. He can have some "personal alone" time if he wants. Using a bit of magic to lock the door and seal it with a couple bones should allow for some decent privacy. Now to make himself cozy...Won't be needing his clothes for this bit fun. Besides, they'd only get dirty if they stay on and the last thing he wants is Papyrus asking what the weird stains are from. So after stripping down to bare bones and covering up in his messed up bed sheet, Sans stared up that the nothingness of his darkened room's ceiling only to realize something. "what do i even fantasize about?" It had been so long and nothing really got his soul glowing like that in forever. Hard to really find the time to get turned on when a human kid runs around cutting off heads and shit. But he's a normal monster man, he can get creative if he really tried, he's just need something to start at. Think...What makes him feel good? Jokes are a thing. Who can he think about that tells him jokes and likes his? Toriel is an option. Not like it's not too weird. Sure, she's married and royalty, but she gave that stuff so it's not like he's jerking off to a hardcore committed woman. Though he does have one issue...He's never actually seen Toriel. At his best guess, she looks like a female Asgore. The idea made him shudder. But again, it's just a starting point till something better forms in his skull. So with that in mind, he shut his eyes and let his hands begin to roam over his bones. "mmmm...damn it's been so long i forgot how good this could feel...mmmm...maybe...maybe now is good enough..." So, with the power of imagination and removing the maleness from his picture of the King, this version of Toriel pops into his head. She slowly approaches him on the bed, one hand softly rests on his ribcage as the other holds his jaw and rubs small circles with her thumb. "*coos* oh yeah...mmmmmm...this will work just fine..." She leans down and whispers to him. Why did the skeleton play with himself? His cheekbones began to color. "oooh...tell me why...please...?" Because he had no body. A soft moan turned into a small chuckle. "come on...you can do better than that. give me something raunchy." Have you ever known me for telling, as you put it, raunchy puns? "uh...not really." Then how am I to do so? "um...because i want it. aren't ya supposed to just do what i want because i'm making you up?" Fine, be that way. Force me to just be your little fantasy. You are no different from that fool, Asgore. "whoa, where the fuck is that coming from?" You tell me. After all, am I not your dream fantasy? "hell no." Then what is it that you do want, Sans? "for starters, you can go away." With a huff, the mental image of Toriel blows away. "sheesh...crazy bitch. what i want is someone that can make me laugh and isn't shy about how they do it. someone that knows a thing or two about how to treat a guy right. someone..." Need some help, Sansy-boy? That made his sockets widen and his spine shiver. "nope! nope! not happening. not going to think about her. nope. big fucking nope." Wow, not even gonna give me a chance? You gave Nanny a shot and she's married, to the King no less. He covers his earholes with his hands. "la la la, i can't hear you, la la la, i'm not listening, la la la..." Sans... Maybe it was just his imagination acting out, maybe it was just the way the sheets settled after he moved, but for whatever the reason, he felt something touch his leg and he swore the human was there. At least let me try. It's the least I can do after you helped me. Eerily he could honestly picture that being something she'd say. "no funny stuff?" Depends. What is your scope of 'funny stuff'? "just don't wig out on me like the first attempt did." Dude, it's me. You know me. When I wanna help, I do it. "i guess you're not wrong there." Plus I'm in your head, so whatever you want goes. That made him sit up. "wait...then why did she go all nuts if you're the same thing?" Simple, because she is like that. Remember when Paps told her he hurt me? She was gonna bring hellfire to us all had we not calmed her down. It's not her fault really. She's been in the Ruins for so long all by herself. She's just lonely and the lack of people make her social skills kind of suck. You can forgive her, can't you? His imagination had her kneeling beside him and again he could feel her hand timidly on him. As much as he hated it, so far, she wasn't not doing it for him. Maybe he could use this and switch her out later. "*sigh* fine." He plots back down on the pillow and points into the darkness. "but the second you fuck this up, real you is going to pay for it." She snickers and moves a bit closer. I figured as much. So...What would you like me to do first? He gave it some thought as his sockets closed again. "touch me." Where? "anywhere. i don't fucking care." Chill, man. I've never done this before. I don't want to piss you off or hurt you. "ugh...just...feel around. i'll let ya know how you're doing." At least this one was pretty damn accurate with how she was in real life. Once more he let his hands skim along his bones and after a bit, it didn't really feel like it was him doing it. "mmmm...okay, doing good..." Mind if I try something? She moves and now he pictures her kneeling behind him with his skull resting on her lap. How's that? Cozy? "not bad. mmmm...tell me a joke..." A naughty one? "heh...yeah. give me a really good one." Very well...What's the hardest bone a skeleton has? "mmmm...i dunno, what?" I'll tell you after we bone~. He both moaned and cringed at the joke. You're uncomfortable, aren't you? "just...not really wanting to do this with you. no offense." None taken. Can't say I blame you. I mean, I did try to kill you. "come on, that wasn't you. that damn black soul was the one that wanted me dead. at most, you want to hug me. and...sometimes...it's okay to do so." Really? "don't get hung up on it." Yes, sorry. Heh...Thank you though. But...um...I think I know how to fix it so it's less weird. "how?" You remember the image you saw in that anatomy book, right? Of the human skeleton? A heavy shudder leaves him and slowly the human starts phasing out from exactly looking human to more of an eye-pleasing sight. At least to him anyway. Gone was her skin, hair, and anything fleshy. Leaving just her form in bone. Is this better for you, Sans? It still had her voice, but that wasn't the part he was currently mentally staring at like a horny teenager. "oooooh...so much better. mmmm...tell me another joke..." What instrument do skeletons play during sex? "*moan* shit...mmmm...tell me...tell me it slow..." A tromboner. That time it was getting to him. The fantasy playing out of her as a skeleton, telling him dirty puns and feeling on his bones was starting to make his magic flair in power. And the longer he delved deeper into this enjoyable scene, the more his soul began to emerge from his chest. For non-typical anatomical monsters like Sans, the soul is more than just the core of their life, it also is a handy reproductive tool. Monsters like him, that don't really have natural reproductive organs, still need to procreate to keep their line going. So that's where the soul comes in. When such a monster seeks to make a child their soul will link with that of their partner and the mingling will act as normal coitus would. One partner acts as the giver of the genetics while the other is the receiver and will be the one to conceive the offspring. That's not to say, much like normal genitalia, the soul can't be played with for one's own benefit. Even the more normal monsters will use their soul in a similar manner. However, in this world, finding someone you can trust in intimacy with your quite literal life is not an easy thing to do. Coupling is rare, family units even rarer, and children the rarest of all. So a little self-indulgence isn't all that unheard of in the Underground. Doing this involves, well, rubbing the soul rather intimately. Sans...You really are one hunk of bone. Dare I say...You're a bony builder that can lift a skele-ton. "*groan* don't get all corny on me now...mmmmmm...i'm getting so close..." Sorry. Just thought I'd be a little sweet on you is all. But if you really want me to keep going... "ffffuck...*moan* keep going...please, keep going..." Heh, I didn't take you for the begging type. "*groan* don't tease me, kitten..." Oh, this is purrfect. Just pawsome. Your moans are meowsic to my ears. The things I plan to do to you...Sans...You'll whisker that I never stop~. "aaaah...yes...yes...mmmm~. touch my soul...oooooooh...fuck, please..." Those ghostly hands of hers were driving him mad. One danced its fingers along the length of his spine while the other tickled his ribs and would teasingly touch his soul ever so softly. If only this was real. If she was really here and treating him like this he'd have himself a great fucking time. In fact...He quickly turns over and moves the pillow to be under him, in his fantasy however it's her skeleton. Sans? "no more teasing, kitten. it's time to make you purr." In a motion akin to normal pelvic thrusting in traditional sex only reversed, Sans embraces the pillow tightly so that it presses against his soul and he rocks his chest in a steady yet heated rhythm. The pillow being a soft and slightly warm presence is a very convincing substitute for his mind to let his needs enjoy as he grinds into it. And as such, the fantasy goes with it. Oooh...Sans~. "yeah...*grunt* say my name, kitten...moan for me..." Aaah...Sans...Oh, Sans~. "good girl...*moan* gonna...gonna give it to ya good for that..." Is that a promise~? "you're damn right it is...*hard grunt* fuuuuck...this feels so gooooood..." The more she responded, the closer he came. It wasn't till after some pretty sultry dirty talk and several minutes of rapid thrusting did his soul begin to surge with the sense of release coming soon. Physically, the soul will also alert its owner of such pleasure by brightly glowing and secreting concentrated magic that has the consistency of slime. This soul goo acts as a lubricant and sensation enhancer. The stronger the feeling during such intimacy, the more goo is made, hence why things can get rather messy. "oohh fuck...ooh ooh...sooo close...i-i'm...hhnng...hnnhanh...ahh...ah hhnnn...i-i'm gonna..." Aahnn...ahhhnn...Sans...oooooh...Fuck...yes...yes...Sans~! "uauhn ahhh...it's happening...hahn aaahhnn...i'm...ahhhh...!" With not much else of a warning, his soul throbs out its climax in a release that he's certain will stain completely through his pillow, but so worth it to have that surge of euphoria throughout his body. "ooohh...ooohhhh y-yeeaahhh...ahhhhnn...mmmmmm...i so needed that. *coos* you were amazing~." No voice replied back, the fantasy was over, and in that split second of realizing it, Sans felt sick. "holy shit...i just did that to her...*gag*" With his magic drained, things he did with it before faded away like the bones at his door, and he felt tired. But now wasn't the time. Donning his shorts, he made a quick rush the bathroom to hurl. As pleasing as it all was, the fact still remained he just masturbated his soul to a fantasy of the human. He felt disgusted, dirty, and gross overall. Hopefully, a long hot shower could wash this feeling off and drown out those nasty thoughts from his skull. He stood in the streams for a long time, watching as his magical essence slid down his form and swirled into the drain. "ugh...how did this happen? when did i become such a sick fuck? she's human for fuck's sake! pretending she's a skeleton doesn't stop her from being human! *heavy sigh* life...why do ya hate me?" The water is turned off moments later and, after drying off, he returns to his room now clean but still feeling like scum. The wet and dingy pillow is cast to the floor where he feels himself to belong, yet, fuck the floor if you have a bed. At least he was tired now. Maybe some sleep will do him some good. At least get thoughts of her out of his head. Besides...It's not like he or she has any feelings for each other. After that thing with Grillby, and that kiss, it's kind of obvious how those two are. Wait... "*weak* Sorry about that...I know you trusted me with your first kiss...but I don't think I can take care of it anymore..." Was that the thing that happened in the bar the other day? What the hell?! No one told him shit! Then that moment when he came to the bar and Grillby was acting funny... "Sans...Can you watch the bar for a moment?" The pieces began clicking together and the internal screaming started loudly. Grillby has the hots for the human! [Hours pass] Papyrus woke up to a rather odd morning. He could smell something cooking but he wasn't the one doing it. It couldn't have been the human, after her initial break-in, he secured the window and bolted the door. So this smell was cause for slight alarm. Only slightly because the maker was about to pay for breaking into his home. But what to use? The bone club? The bone saber? The bone and arrow? So many choices. Maybe the bone mace? It hasn't seen action in ages and it would be a shame to not let this poor soul known what true pain was like. Leaving his room with the weapon in hand like a ninja, Papyrus silently crept downstairs and noted the intruder was dumb enough to turn on the lights. This joke of an invader was as good as dead, given that the top of their shadow could be seen and gave away his exact location. Closer now...Just a bit closer and it will only take one blow to end this. *clang* "fuck! god, damn butter fingers..." The seer levels of confusing shock almost made Papyrus drop the weapon. Sans in the kitchen is nothing new. But cooking? Hell must have frozen over. He walked into the entryway. "SANS?" His voice spooked his brother who, apart from being just in his shorts, juggles to hold onto the pan he just collected from the ground. "papyrus! h-hey...i didn't wake ya, did i?" Not the smartest thing to do, waking a sleeping Papyrus. But now wasn't the case. "NO. I AWOKE BECAUSE OF THIS SICKENINGLY SWEET SMELL INVADED MY ROOM." "oh...uh...what's with the mace?" He glances at it a moment before putting it down. "I THOUGHT SOMEONE BROKE IN AND WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO STEAL OUR FOOD." "huh...sounds reasonable." Sans put the pan on the stove and Papyrus looks around. There are plastic bags on the floor and items he knows they didn't have earlier. "I SEE YOU DID SOME LATE NIGHT PILFERING OF YOUR OWN. WILL I BE GETTING AN ANNOYING CALL FROM THE RABBITS LATER?" "i put some gold on the counter. she can't bitch about it if most is paid for." "MOST?" "i'm not paying 300G for eggs! that's bullshit!" Papyrus merely nodded. "AGREED. WELL DONE, BROTHER." Sans starts stirring something in a large bowel and it made Papyrus curious. "DARE I ASK WHAT IT IS YOU ARE DOING AT THIS HOUR? ASIDE FROM SHOPLIFTING." "what does it look like? i'm making pancakes." "...WHY?" Sans huffs a few times through his nasal hole, clearly pissed off but trying to stay calm. "because...i woke up super early and can't sleep. i get hungry when i don't get enough sleep." That is true. "WHY NOT HAVE THE HUMAN MAKE YOU SOMETHING? IT'S ONE OF THE FEW THINGS SHE'S ACTUALLY DECENT AT." Sans's stirring gets a bit harsher and sloppy. "i don't need her help. i'm fine. i can do this." A not entirely false statement. Sans wasn't incompetent when it came to cooking, so long as he was hungry enough his laziness wouldn't have him half-ass things. But his laziness was king, so him passing on a chance to have someone else do the work for him was a sign that something wasn't right. "ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT?" "i'm fine." "YOUR BEHAVIOR SAYS OTHERWISE." "i said i'm fine!" "OKAY, FIRST OFF...DON'T YOU FUCKING YELL AT ME!" This is the part where Sans would shirk and apologize. But that's not the case. He stands his ground and glares back at his commanding younger brother. "AND SECOND, IF SOMETHING IS BOTHERING YOU, JUST SAY SO. DON'T TRY TO ACT LIKE NOTHING IS WRONG WHEN CLEARLY SOMETHING IS." "i'm fucking fine. just leave me alone." Papyrus growls with a stern face. "FINE. BE THAT WAY. IT'S NO SKIN OFF MY BONES." Checking the clock, Papyrus collected his weapon and headed for the front door. "where are you going?" Papyrus said nothing. "paps!" The door slamming was the reply he gave. If Sans wants to be a dick, then he can be a dick. He'll just give him the silent treatment. But now that he was fully awake, he might as well get the day started before work time. And that includes fetching the human so that she will make him something to eat. No way he was eating anything a grumpy Sans was bothering with. So he enters the shed and turns on the light, but it bursts almost instantly. Must remember to fix that later. Passing through the bars, he uses his eyes natural glow to find her body curled into a ball on the pet bed. He pokes her with the mace. "WAKE UP, HUMAN. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE SUITABLE SUBSTANCE FOR ME." She didn't move or make a sound. This didn't please him. "I SAID...WAKE UP!" He yelled, shaking the snow off the roof of the shed. But she remained still as stone. This only ticked him off further than he already was and he kicked side her. Yet again, after several hard kicks, she didn't move. Not even Sans could sleep this deeply. Kneeling down, he put a hand on her neck. He didn't know much about humans but he knows that they breathe. He checked for the feeling of her doing this. He couldn't feel it. That's not right. So he uncurls her body with a bit of difficulty as she was rather stiff in the cold. Strange marks, almost like hand prints, appeared on her wrists and forearms. He was close to checking for more but made still at the thumping soft colorful glow emanating just under her shirt. "HUMAN?" She wasn't dead, at least not yet. Her soul would be fully out if that were the case. As much as it would be benefiting to let her parish, this was not the allowed way he would take her soul. Time to do his one random good deed for the year. He scoops her body up over his shoulder and carries the girl back to the house, perhaps the warmth will do her some good. Once inside, he plops her body down on the couch and checks her breathing again. "pap...can you let me apologize without leaving again?" Papyrus didn't speak as he then entered the kitchen to find something. This now had Sans's attention. "bro?" "DID YOU HAPPEN TO GRAB ANY ELIXIR WHILE YOU WERE OUT?" "uh...no? why?" "SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT WITH THE HUMAN. SHE'S NOT BREATHING." "...what?" Sans stopped his pancake making to see for himself. Papyrus finds an old medical kit in a cabinet. "what did you do?" Mixing a few random things in a small medical kit will have to do for now. "I FOUND HER LIKE THAT." He returns to the living room while shaking a vial of colored liquid to see Sans staring intently at the glow of her soul. Scoffing to make Sans move away, he props the human's head up and opens her mouth, pouring the vial's contents down her throat. Some slight rubbing on the sides of her neck induced swallowing and he let her be when done. "H-Hey...?" Great. Now the flower is awake. "What's going on?" Not wanting to double down on being generously nice, he ignores the flower and returns to the kitchen. Seems he'll have to cook for himself after all. But first, to clean up the shitty mess Sans made. Sans on his end wasn't sure what to make of things. Especially after his 'personal time' moment. Part of him was concerned for obvious reasons. While another part of him was trying to stab that worried side to death and hang it off a cliff. "Sans...?" He flinched at his name being said that softly. "Is she okay?" It's just the flower. Calm down. No one knows about what you did. "dunno..." Hesitantly, he put a hand on her forehead. She's bone cold. "damn. she's like ice." "Oh no, not again..." Sans looked at the flower funny. "again? this happened before?" Flowey nods. "This sometimes happens when she has the 'really bad' dreams." Judging by the talk he had with her that can mean anything. "care to be a bit more specific?" Flowey shakes his head. "She doesn't tell me about them She only tells me that the dreams weren't good ones." "*sigh* typical." She tells her brother nothing about it. God, she acted like him. Woman get out of his head! Ignoring the crap in his skull, he gives her a little looking over and that's when he sees them. The marks. Those same marks she showed him before. She was with Gaster now. This got him curious about her soul, knowing how Gaster was with his fascination with the damn things. "Hey, leave her alone." Putting out everything else from his mind except her soul, Sans pulls down her shirt's collar to get a better look. "W-What are you doing, Smiley Trashbag?! Stop being a pervert!" He couldn't hear Flowey at this point. The soul had his attention. Part of it just breached the surface of her chest and the colors...there were so many and the way they swirled...mesmerizing. But that spell couldn't take full effect, not with that show of black among the bright colors and those large hand marks surrounding it like a cage. "*mutters* the hell are ya doing, g?" "SANS! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!" That he heard. "keep an eye on her, weed." It was an order. One that didn't have to be said twice as he went to his brother in the kitchen. "yeah?" "*SIGH* I'M ONLY GOING TO ASK THIS ONE MORE TIME...WHAT WAS WRONG WITH YOU EARLIER?" Maybe if he words this right it won't be so awkward. "okay...let's say i have this friend, right?" "THAT NARROWS IT DOWN A LOT." "dick." "JUST TELL ME ALREADY." "again...i have this friend. and this friend, who shall remain nameless, i think has gotten himself into something i think is wrong." Now Papyrus was interested. "SUCH AS?" Sans rubs the back of his skull nervously. "i...i think he has feelings for someone. someone that no one would approve of." "AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT? IS THIS PERSON A COMPLETE SACK OF SHIT AND NOT WORTHY OF THIS 'FRIEND'?" Now the hard part of wording this. "no...it's, uh...quite the opposite actually. they get along really well." "THEN WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?" "um...ya know how cats and dogs don't get along? like, they're natural enemies and junk." "YEAH?" "well...this friend and the person they like are technically enemies. but they seem to like each other anyway even though i'm certain all the underground would preform mob justice on them if they came out as a thing." "REALLY? THAT BAD?" "oh yeah." "AND THIS BUGS YOU WHY?" "because!" Sans rubs his face to calm down. "*huff* because...i don't want my friend to get hurt." Papyrus cocks his brow. "BUT THIS ISSUE DOESN'T REALLY EFFECTS YOU TECHNICALLY. JUST, FOR SOME REASON, EMOTIONALLY IS CAUSING YOU DISTRESS." "uh...i guess?" "THEN THE ANSWER IS CLEAR." "r-really?" "YES. YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS. YOU CAN EITHER IGNORE THIS ISSUE AND ALLOW YOUR 'FRIEND' TO PURSUE THEIR 'OTHER PERSON'..." "yeah...not gonna let that happen." "OR...YOU DO WHAT YOU MUST TO BREAK THEM UP SO THAT ALL HOPE OF THEM GETTING TOGETHER CRASHES AND BURNS MORE POWERFULLY THAN A TSUNDERPLANE THAT LOST ITS SENPAI." That's really bad. "that would make me a humongous asshole if i did that." "THEN FOREVER SUFFER IN INDECISIVE SILENCE." "...that's not helpful at all." "SO SAYS YOU." Papyrus returns to his cooking and Sans groans with irritating annoyance. "*gasps and coughing*" The sudden sound had them peeking out into the living room where the human was found on the floor now and convulsing violently as the flower pathetically tries to restrain her movements with vines. Papyrus is the one that puts an end to this display with a bit of the old blue magic and holds her in the air by her soul till her flailing ceases. "CALM YOURSELF, HUMAN." The look on her face was one most recognize. Pain. It was etched into her eyes. As if something awful happened during the night. Her hands kept flexing in these claw type motions that had a stiff recoil. It's sort of like she was thawing out from being frozen. Odder still was her constant stare forward. "*shaky* I...I'm okay..." "ya sure?" She nods and Papyrus turns his magic off, letting her drop to her feet. Now under her own control, she crosses her arms over her chest like the folded wings of a gargoyle and shivers harshly. "*shaky* Can I trouble you for something warm please?" Her eyes kept forward, not looking at the brothers as she made the request. Papyrus, whether or not he was going to do this, returns to his cooking. Sans, on the other hand, approached her with caution. "kiddo?" "*shaky* H-Howdy..." "do ya need a moment?" She nods and he tries not to imagine if anything in his fantasy would've also given her such a reaction. "*shaky* Sans..." He both wished she would look at him and yet keep not doing so at the same time. "yeah?" Her eyes made a slight glance his way but looked at the floor. "*shaky* I...I need to talk to you later." Maybe this could work in his advantage. Talking with Grillby about this would be super awkward. "sure. i kinda got to talk to you later too." She shivers a bit more. "*shaky* Fuck...I hate the cold..." "probably be a smart move to take a hot bath. pap isn't likely to..." Papyrus walks past his brother with a steaming mug that he shoves at her. "DRINK." She looks at the mug in surprise. "DO NOT BE THIS SLOW, I'M NOT IN THE MOOD." She takes the mug with a hiss, burning her hands till she can get a proper hold. "*shaky* Thank you...um...What is it?" "WATER. NOW DRINK." "you boiled water?" "OF COURSE NOT. THAT WOULD BE TOO SLOW. I USED THE MICROWAVE." Sans shakes his head as the human moves to the couch, sits down, blows into the mug, and drinks. "*soft sigh* Much better...And here I thought you wanted me dead." Papyrus sneers. "DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A SHOW OF GOOD FAITH. I AM MERELY MAKING SURE MY PET DOESN'T MEET A STUPID END. I'D BE A POOR MASTER IF I LET SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THE COLD KILL YOU." This is the part where she'd retort with something witty, mocking, condescending, or just a biting comment. But no. All she does is smile and continue drinking. That earned her a few odd looks. "What? Is something wrong?" "ARE YOU NOT GOING TO FIGHT BACK?" "To what?" "I'M DEMEANING YOU, PET." She shrugs. "Eh, go ahead. If it makes you happy, then I'm okay with it." The odd looks only get stronger and Papyrus pulls Sans into the kitchen with him. "SANS, SOMETHING IS INCREDIBLY WRONG HERE. THAT IS NOT THE SAME HUMAN." "i don't know. looks like it's her." "CUT THE CRAP, SANS. CLEARLY, SHE'S DEPLOYING SOME SORT OF TACTIC. TRYING TO LULL US INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY BY BEING AGREEABLE AND PLEASANT." "for what reason would she have to do that for? if she was really that wicked, don't ya think she'd have tried to kill us ages ago?" "IT'S CALLED PICKING YOUR BATTLES. SHE'S JUST WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO STRIKE." "so sparing the dogs and not raising her LV is all part of the sinister plan?" "CLEARLY. JUST LOOK AT HER..." Papyrus sneaks a look into the living room. The human smiles in peace, finishing the water and going over to the flower to show it affection. "GENIUS...I'VE UNDERESTIMATED THE CUNNING OF THIS GIRL." Sans rolls his eyes. "or, and this might sound crazy...she might actually be an okay person." "THAT'S JUST WHAT SHE WANTS YOU TO THINK. CLEVER BITCH. MUST BE A TRAIT ALL FEMALES HAVE. MONSTER AND HUMAN." "speaking of monster bitches, we need to start getting ready for work. unless ya actually like hearing undyne screech for four hours." Papyrus glared at the thought. "DAMN WOMEN. WHY MUST SOMEONE AS GREAT AS MYSELF BE BOTHERED BY SUCH LOWLY SOULS?" Sans shrugged and teleported to his room, leaving Papyrus to walk upstairs to his chambers but first... "HUMAN..." "Yes, Papyrus?" "GO TO THE KITCHEN AND FINISH COOKING WHAT I STARTED." She salutes and does as told, making him glare. He doesn't buy this act for a second. No one pulls the wool over the eyes of the great and terrible Papyrus! [About half an hour later at Grillby's] "Grillby!" I'm willing to admit my lack of subtlety in being happy to see the fire bartender is childish as hell as long as no one judges me on my super non-normal greeting of pulling the guy over the bar and hugging his chest like I've not seen him in years. Not that he complains. He's a bit more confused if anything. "Heh...Nice to see you too, pussycat." Grillby pats my head as Papyrus snarls and I shyly release the poor guy to return to standing by Sans. "Gentlemen." "sup, grillz." "GRILLBY." Grillby smirks and fixes his glasses. "So, Papyrus...Did you think about my offer?" Papyrus folds his arms. "I MAY HAVE GIVEN IT THE FAINTEST OF THOUGHT." "And?" Papyrus looks at me and I try to be my regular self, but I'm too fucking happy because Grillby's alive! "I WILL AGREE TO THIS RIDICULOUS IDEA ONLY AFTER A WEEK'S TRAIL. IF SHE FAILS TO PREFORM TO MY LIKING, THEN NO DEAL." Grillby cocks his head. "Oh? And how would you judge this?" "SANS WILL REPORT ON HER." "what?!" Sans is not thrilled about doing more work. "Sounds fair to me. He is here often enough to see her progress." "don't i get a say in this?" "NO." "this is bullcrap!" I give a small tug on Sans's sleeve to get his snarling attention. "what?" I lean close to his skull and for a second I thought he trembled. "*whisper* No worries, dude. I got you." "the hell does that mean?" "*whisper* Half of whatever I make goes to paying off your tab." I pull back to see the shocked look come to his face. "for real? you'd really do that?" "It's what good buddies do. You help me and I help you. Sound good?" I offer my hand for him to shake and he gives me this look of uncomfortable uncertainty. "You okay there?" He eyes me before looking away and ignores my gesture. "whatever." Maybe he's just in a bad mood or staying in character of being a dick to me. I know I hide how I feel a lot. But I'm disappointed that this buddy thing we have is always a push and shove deal. "WHEN WILL THIS TRAIL PERIOD START? I HATE HAVING MY TIME WASTED." "She can start now if you want. Though the uniform will take a little longer." My ears perk at that. "Uniform?" Grillby smirks. "I'm going to need your measurements, pussycat. Unless, of course, you want me to do that for you~." I get flustered at his tease. "she'll get them for ya later. don't be weird about it." Grillby and I both look at Sans's defensiveness oddly, but you know, say nothing about it. "COME, SANS. AND YOU..." Papyrus eyes me. "I'M ON TO YOU." I tilt my head in confusion as the brothers leave. "They seemed to be in a good mood." Grillby comments and I shrug. "I have no clue what any of that was about." "So...about those measurements...?" I sigh. "What did I say about being creepy?" He puts his hands up in a playfully defensive way. "I know, and I'm trying to be 'that guy'. I'm asking as your boss, not your friend. You can size yourself in the back if needed." I wave dismissively at the suggestion. "Whatever it is, I wear large to extra large. I'm not big, but I like the free space. Makes me feel comfy." "How cute..." "What?" "Well, for one, you don't know how to fit yourself. And two, you think I'm giving you a choice." I'm suddenly getting flashbacks to when I first met Grillby. The man has charm, no doubt there, but he is intimating and forceful if needed. "Now, be a good girl and go through that door. I'll be with you shortly." "Yes, sir." Wow...That felt weird to say after being all chummy with the guy. I walk around the bar, past the poker table, and make it to the only door that won't have me going out into the snow. Above it is a small sign that reads "FIRE EXIT". I feel that's a joke. "Go on. It's not locked." I look back at Grillby and there's this almost impatient gleam in his glasses. It makes me shiver as I enter this door. Though the feeling chilling down my spine both stays and goes once I'm on the other side...It's his house. I'm in his house. The door behind me is the only exit and I'm in his fucking house! "Shhhit..." Quick! Brain! Think of something! What do I do to not piss off the man who's got me in his house?! But I got nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. My head draws a blank. All I really do is just move a little bit further inside so that he doesn't collide with me when he enters. From this small entryway, I can see his home is the reverse of the skeleton home. His upstairs living space isn't that large, the living room with its comfy looking sofa and kitchen are nearly joined, separated by an island counter with bar stools in front of it. A stairwell leading down must be where his more private rooms are. Make sense in a way, even if snow is covering the ground, under the ground can have temperatures that are far more enjoyable. I bet it's really warm down there. Kind of is warm right now. Really warm. The hell is...? "Boo!" I yelp, flying a good five feet onto the floor and gripping my chest in panic. All the while Grillby smugly grins at me. "My, aren't you jumpy. You act as though you expect something bad to happen." I blink a few times and hold my breath to calm my heart down. He approaches and offers his hand. "No hard feelings, right pussycat?" My hand trembles to take his. "No cool, Grillby. Very not cool." He pouts and pulls me up onto my feet. "Are you frightened of me?" I shake my head a bit too quickly. "It's not nice to lie." I play with my hands a little. "I don't mean to be." He sighs and puts a hand on my head. "I don't mean to scare you. I just take my work very seriously. You are now part of that and therefore..." "I understand...sir." "Don't call me that." His tone is calm yet has this harsh crackle that makes me flinch. He notices and lets that hand slide down to rest around my shoulders. "Lynsie? Are you alright?" "I don't know anymore." He rubs my shoulder and I try to think straight. "Do you want to talk?" "Maybe." "Okay...Go into the living. I'll come back with what I need and you can tell me what's troubling you while we do this. How does that sound?" I sniffle a little. "Sounds fine." He taps my shoulder and I walk away into the living room as he himself goes downstairs. When I know he can't see me I wipe my eyes. Something is wrong. I can feel all these nerves going off inside and my emotions are fluctuating. What's wrong with me? Is this what PMS is? Oh shit, when was my last period? What the hell is happening to me?! This is your fault, stupid soul. If it's not the black one trying to kill people than it's the pink one making me all hormonal and shit. I can hear his steps coming up the stairs and I try to settle down before he sees the mental train wreck showing on my face. When he's back on my level, he has a notepad with a pen in one hand and the measuring tape of a tailor in the other. "Are you ready?" It's okay. He's being professional. Just calm down. Calm the fuck down! "Y-Yeah." "Nervous?" I crack a weak smile. "Just a little." "I promise, I won't cross any lines." Am I capable of making a joke with a straight face right now? Here's hoping so. "So no fondling the side-boob this time?" He blushes for a moment, snickering lightly before smirking. "Not unless you want me to." Okay, this is at least normal. It's what we do. We make flirty jokes. Everything is fine. I am fine. "In your dreams, hot stuff." "At least you seem better. Now stand straight for me, pussycat." I do as requested and he begins to render me into numbers. Starting with the neck, he wraps the tape around my neck and has it resting on my shoulders, putting one finger between the tape to allow for some extra room. "So...Anything you want to talk about, dear?" "Well...I kind of want to say some things and yet...not." "Personal matters?" "Mostly." Next up is the chest, the measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around my chest at the widest point. Something that he enjoys as I blush. "I won't make you talk if you don't want to. But you may feel better if you got some of it off your chest." I groan loudly. "Oh my god, Sans has tainted you." "Heh...I saw an opportunity and I went with it." "By the way...Who's watching the bar while you do this?" "Big Mouth is in exchange for free food for an hour." "The clock is ticking while you do this, right?" "You know it." "Heheh...Clever boy." Now we have the waist, this measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around my waist just above the belly button. "Can I ask what this uniform will look like?" "And spoil the surprise? I think not. Although...I know it will be something no one will be able to take their eyes off of." "That both sounds awesome and foreboding at the same time." "Trust me, it'll have you rolling in gold." "Now it's really ominous." Another part that has me blushing is my seat, aka the ass. The seat measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around my butt at the widest part and I try not to squirm at the feel of his hands. "You okay, pussycat?" "You're doing that on propose." "Doing what?" "One, overusing that pet name that you know bugs me. And two..." I give him a playful wink. "Not asking for permission before you touch me." He bites his tongue and exhales slowly. "Close. You almost had me there. No point for you." "Dang. Thought I had an easy one there." He chuckles to himself. "What's so funny?" "Nothing really. Just thinking that you enjoy teasing me just as much as I do to you." He's not entirely wrong. "I can't lie, you are a fun playmate." "Same to you...Pussycat." The shirt length measurement is taken from the top of the shoulder, close to the mid-side of my neck, following my body down to the point where he wants the top to end. "This...This feels nice." "What does?" "Just talking with you. I always feel so comfortable around you. Well...until I don't." "Like earlier?" "Yeah." "Again, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." "I know. It's just..." I struggle to speak. There's so much I want to say to him. "Take your time, dear. There's no rush on what you want to say." When it comes to shoulder width think of a line going from the armpit straight upwards to the shoulder. He measures between those two points and holds the tape measure straight. "Grillby..." "Yeah?" "Have I...Whenever I was, you know, drunk...Did I...*flustered* Did I ever...kiss you?" He flinches in his writing on the notepad and his flames flash for a moment in his blush. "*nervous* Um...W-W-Why would you think that?" I can still hear his confession in my mind. "*weak* Sorry about that...I know you trusted me with your first kiss...but I don't think I can take care of it anymore..." And his nervousness is also a big ass clue. "I...I heard it from someone in the bar." His face starts to heat up and he looks away. "It...It might have happened...once. B-But nothing else happened, I swear!" Wow...I gave him my first kiss and I don't even remember it. That's...really sad. He's all messed up now and I keep quiet so he can regain his composure. He next measures my arm length, the sleeve length measurement is taken from the point of the shoulder and following my bent arm down to where he wants the sleeve to end. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this awkward." He doesn't say anything and I feel awful as he continues to work. The wrist measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around the wrist. The biceps measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around the biceps. The last one he does is my hip, doing the hip measurement is taken as a circumference measurement around the hips at the widest part. Though unlike with the other past measurements, he lingers close to me and I'm hesitant to say or do anything about it. "...Are you upset with me?" Okay, remember how to talk. He needs to know everything is fine. "Why would I be upset?" "Because...I didn't have the nerve to tell you myself." In another timeline, my friend, you did just that. "I don't care." He looks at me funny. "You don't?" "No. The part I care about is how far things went. And with it just being a kiss...It proves to me that you're someone I can trust fully. For a lesser soul would've taken advantage of that situation." His eyes soften and he leans his forehead on my own. "You can't be real." "I assure you..." I take his hands in mine, letting him drop the notepad and tape. "I am very real. And...I...I feel bad that I don't remember it." I can feel his heat getting stronger. "You do?" My face gets really red and I find it hard to keep looking him in the eyes. "Unless it was bad, then, I am super sorry about my shitty kissing skills." "N-No! No...I mean...It was nice." "It was?" Now he's the one trying to be sweet. "Well...Yeah. For an unexpected kiss, it wasn't bad. Not too long or too short, with just the right amount of care." Realizing what is coming out of his mouth has his face blushing big time. But now I'm curious. "Really? What did it feel like?" The words leave me before my brain can filter them. His eyes widen as his flames burn brighter. Though his normal cool self comes through with that playful smirk of his. "R-Really? I mean...If you're really curious about it, I wouldn't say no to doing a quick demonstration." If that dead timeline taught me anything, it's that he isn't joking and will do it if I say yes. I remember his kiss as he said his peace before death. It was so sad. I want to know how he feels when he isn't on his deathbed and has no tomorrow. So I take a deep breath and let his hands go to put them on his chest. "I'm okay with that." His hair of fire grows larger in excitement. "Are...Are you serious? No joke?" I nod. "I'm being very serious, Grillby." "And you have no issue with me being a monster?" Now I understand dream Grillby's frustration at the constant doubt when the intent is painfully clear. "If you have to ask then I don't want to know anymore." My hands begin to slip off him but they don't get to leave their perch on his chest. His hands clasp me by the shoulders and pull me into his smoldering kiss. The impact was rather abrupt, but the kiss itself is gentle and slightly timid feeling. My wide surprised eyes meet his burning ember orbs and the look they hold has mine slowly close. Most of that dream of him seems to be real. His face is as solid as his body looks and just from the feel of his mouth alone I know it must be very hot in there. He pulls back only a little bit, our faces still close enough that my nose still brushes against his fire. It kind of tickles. "So...How was it, Lynsie?" There is so much I want to say, yet can't find the words. "*coos* Whoa..." That will have to do. I mean, I did have a fire pun at the ready, but it's not really the right moment for it. My reaction has him getting the cutest look on his delighted face. "Glad you liked it." I can't help the smile on my face. "I like you, Grillby..." I give him a quick peck where is nose would be. "The kiss is just a bonus." His face is blank for a moment before he grins. "I think this is the start of an interesting work relationship." "Yeah...About that..." I can't get out of his grip, not that I'm trying, but I back up a bit so we're less likely to smooch again. "There's still a bit more 'personal' stuff I have to tell you about that I really don't want to affect our current situation." He titles his head. "How so?" I rub my cheeks trying to delude the red burning them. "Okay...Promise me that this never leaves this room. And I mean, all of this, is never spoken about." "Pussycat, give me some credit. As if I'd ever share the things you tell me." "I mean it." "Is it that one of them hurt you?" That had me for a moment before his words register in my head. "What?" "You're ignoring them, but that doesn't make them invisible to anyone else." He grabs one of my arms and holds it up, showing the bruises. "Did they do this? Papyrus I can believe, but I have doubts on Sans. But if they did this to you..." "They didn't. This is a whole different issue." "Don't defend your abuser." "I'm not defending shit. It's my problem, I can deal with it. Don't make this a big deal." "It is a big deal!" His grip harshens, burning my skin. "*wince* You're hurting me." He releases my arm with immediate regret. I hold my arm and rub the red mark. "Like I said...That's a different issue that I will deal with. Not you. Are we clear?" "Y-Yes." "The thing I want to tell you...I don't want it to bleed into this thing we got and influence anything. If something happens, fine, but not while this whole 'job' thing is going on." "How bad can it be for you to be so serious?" "Trust me, it's something big that even now I'm having trouble getting ready to say." "You're over thinking it. If you just relax..." "My soul surged because I dreamed of you!" It came blurting out rather fast, but after a moment or two, Grillby's eyes widen as his fire strengthens. "Wha...W-What?" I'm not about to repeat that. I let the flustered blush on my face speak for me. "So that...That thing the other day...?" I look away and nod, not noticing him biting his lower jaw. "And it was because...*deep crackling shudder* You dreamed of me?" That sound has my soul threatening to jump out so my head has me spew out words in distraction. "It just happened so randomly. Maybe what that guy said influenced my thoughts and you've been so good to me...Oh my god, this is so embarrassing. Why am I even telling you this like it won't affect things? Of course, it's going to affect things! I'm a freaking moron to think otherwise. I...I..." I get distracted by a sudden glow coming from Grillby that isn't part of his flames. This soft dull gray is on his chest, almost blending in with his clothing. Grillby sees my eyes staring curiously and when he follows this vision trail his reaction reminds me of when I had the surge the other day. He pulls away from me very sharply, covering his chest with this look of humiliation and fear, turning away from me. "Don't look at it!" I turn away feeling super uncomfortable. "I saw nothing!" I can hear him huffing and puffing, faint smoke plumes on the ceiling like a chimney burning logs. "Um...Do you...Do you want me to leave?" There's this steamy hiss that draws out of him. "*raspy* Give me...Give me a minute..." Don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid! "Did...Did I make you surge?" What did I just fucking say, you stupid git?! I regret so much once I asked that. Because suddenly he's breathing in my ear and his fire is intense. "*heated* It wouldn't be the first time...Lynsie..." So much internal screaming! I literally can't move. The only thing that I do, is let out this weak pitiful yelp because my body can not fathom what the fuck it is to do in this situation. I'm fairly certain a scan of my head would show a bunch of little people running around and screaming in panic. But then...he starts chuckling. "*lowly* Got you, pussycat..." It takes a bit for my messed up brain to put the pieces together, but when they do... "Did you...Did you just tease me?" "*huff* My point. So far...I'm winning for today." His breathing is still smoky. He may have teased me but he's still messed up. Let it go. Leave him be. "Heh...I'll try harder next time." I give a tiny glace over my shoulder to see his very heated colored face. The way the dark to light blue really highlights his purple fire. Wow, that's cute. "I'm gonna go make sure we still have a bar to work in. Will you be okay without me to tease for a bit?" He nods. "*puff* Use the time to get familiar with being behind the bar. I'll be there shortly. I...I need to make a phone call." "Will do. See you soon...boss." I snicker to myself as I take leave of his home for the attached bar, all the while feeling his eyes on me. "Hey look! The girl is still in one piece and not a pile of ash. Miracles do happen." Punk Hamster is starting early. Super. "Don't make me cut you off and force you to be sober for more than whatever time it takes for you to pass out at home. Because I'll come over there, little man." He grips his glass possessively. "You don't have the balls, woman." "No, but I do have tits. And I'm willing to bet my pair is larger than your nuts." I glare harshly and he tries to match it but can't. "*scoff* You're not worth it." "That's what I thought." One asshole took down a peg. Not bad for just starting this shift. "Yo, Big Mouth, you're relieved of duty. I got this." The big toothy plant monster turns my way. "What about my food?" "You'll get it. Grillby's coming back. He's just making a phone call." It moves to its usual spot as I go behind the bar. There's so much back here. How the hell am I to remember all this and what to do with it on top of mixing recipes? Damn it, Papyrus, I make one drink and you think I can handle all this? This is not the same as working the register at that pizza chain. There's beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, among other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks. Some snack foods such as potato chips, mixed nuts, and peanuts. That's just the basic stuff without glossing over the kitchen's main food menu and the little add-ons that go with it all. Fuck my life now. "It looks scarier than it is..." Grillby returns from settling down and joins me. "But once you get a groove going and learn a few cheats, it gets really easy." "Dude, just warning you now, I am going to try my damnedest but there is no way I'm picking this up in a day." "Come now, pussycat, nothing is ever learned so quickly. Just be my shadow and learn from watching me. You can do that much, right?" "Ha ha, I get it. I shall become the sponge and hope to soak up some of your great skills." He pats my head. "Start with something simple to get a feel of things. Cut up those lemons and limes for me." "Alright. How many?" "Do about six of each, cut four into wedges and two into thin slices. I don't use them all that much. Only on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays." "Why those days?" "Those first two are when I do ladies night. And Friday is happy hour." "I've heard of those, but never understood what they were." I get to work as Grillby started to look stern again. And grumpy Grillby is not one I want to mess with. "Well...Ladies' night is a promotional event where female patrons pay less than male patrons for the cover charge or drinks. Happy hour is a marketing term for a period of time in which a venue offers discounts on alcoholic drinks, such as beer, wine, and cocktails. Free hors-d'oeuvres, appetizers, and discounted menu items are often served during happy hour." "Huh...The more you know. And after I cut these?" "There's not much to do that I haven't already got ready for. That and I've only been open for a little bit, so things are slow. But when you're done with that I'll go over a couple of the regular drinks that 90% of the time they'll order." "I think I already can handle one customer's usual with no problem." "Oh? And who would that be?" "Sans." I point to a line of mustard bottles near the icebox and he chuckles. "Yep. And knowing that, I think you'll do well here." I smile and focus on my cutting. "Grillby..." "Yes?" I don't look away from my knife work. "That stuff we talked about..." "I know. Workplace fun is for after hours. Our little game is on pause." Not exactly what I was going for, but that's okay I guess. But I can give him some leeway, I mean, I do want this fun we have to continue. And if something happens, like emotionally, that's fine too. I like Grillby. I can guess he likes me too by the few clues I've got from him. Who knows. It might be nice. "Sure. Glad we understand. After hours and break times." I glance at him and he looks at me flatly before smirking. "It's a deal, pussycat." "Oooooh~..." Punk Hamster is really testing my nerves. "Sounds like someone's getting lucky tonight~." "What did I tell you? I will take that glass and cram it up your..." Grillby's hand on my shoulder makes me pause. "Now now, pussycat, that's not how to treat a customer." Punk Hamster laughs mockingly until Grillby's gaze falls on him. "Let me show you how to properly deal with someone that isn't respecting establishment authority." Grillby approaches Punk Hamster, who looks like he's about to shit a brick, and slams his head onto the bar. He holds him down and leans to his ear, whispering something I can't hear. Though the look on Punk Hamster's face screams fear to me. When done, Grillby lifts him back up and pats his head a tad roughly like an old pal would do before turning back to me with that charming nonchalant grin of his. "So...Ready to learn some mixology, pussycat?" I'm a little unnerved but I need to learn that messing with fire can get you burned. Here goes nothing. "Uh...Sure. Teach away, oh master of the flame."

#undertale #underfell #Anomaly #Lynsie #sans #papyrus #gaster #grillby #grandpa semi #flowey #napstablook #mettaton #Asriel #asgore #toriel #chara #frisk #alphys #undyne

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pasthegate · 6 years

Text

The Serpent man and The Fairy Godmother

The air tasted stale. Like a room untouched for many years. The rain had miraculously stopped, the sky overhead clear of clouds and stuck in blood red sunset. Oak folded away the umbrella and Tine squinted up at the building far ahead. The normal house that had been before him was gone, replaced by a tall hunching behemoth of a mansion. Four stories tall and stitched together with brick and wood, the shingles on the roof so thick the house looked like it was curving inward, with any of the massive chimneys atop ready to fall at any moment.

The garden was filled with trees bearing multitudes of fruit, their branches drooping with the weight and their roots entangled with garlands of flowers with spots of mushrooms peeking through the petals. Curious, Tine reached up to pick a pear off a tree as they walked up the winding pathway of black pebbles leading to the house. Bringing the fruit to his lips he sniffed it first and took a bite to examine its insides.

Black and rotting with millipedes and maggots squirming around each other within the fruits fleshy skin. Tine merely spat the piece from his teeth and tossed the pear away.

“Her sense of humour is much the same as ever.” A muttering under his breath. Appealing on the outside and toxic on the inside. If anyone who approached this house took a moment to check the delicious looking fruit they could save themselves. Yet so many literally walked away from salvation. A cruel joke.

Honestly he would like her if she weren’t such an unbearable cun-

“Good evening gentleman. How may I assist you?”

They had reached the door already and now stood before a figure wearing a purple and white striped suit, a cat mask with an ear to ear smile covering their face. Despite the mask covering the figure’s mouth their words were not muffled and they extended a a striped glove hand in greeting.

“I regret to inform you there is no party tonight. If you have come for a private show please-”

“Call the witch down.Tell her the shape shifter wants to make a trade.”

The cat masked figure pulled their hand back and nodded in understanding, taking a step back and stepping inside the house. Left to stand before the porch Tine removed his coat and hat to hand off to Oak and straightened out his vest.It was a rather strange situation he found himself in. While he had no qualms using any means to get what he wanted he usually held all the cards or at least had a hand he could bluff with. In this particular scenario he was yet to be dealt anything and the name of the game eluded him. The ace up his sleeves could be worthless or the key to his winning. All of it was up in the air.

Speaking of up.

Pale eyes flicking to above the porch Tine smirked with an amused chuckle.

Perched on the aged cherub statue was a creature of great size, human in shape but hunched and crouched like a beast. Covered in thick black latex from head to toe, the material pulled tight over solid muscle lined with protruding veins. Two glass half spheres bulged from where its eyes should be, a yellow glow dimly shining under them and a large zip running across the mouth from ear to ear.

The creature didn’t move until the door opened again, leaping from its perch and landing in front of Tine to block his view of the porch. It stood to its full height and came up only centimetres short of the twin giants own eye line. Tine continued to smile, cocking his head as he looked over the body builder physic and casually spoke up as thought it wasn’t there.

“Your guard dog is rather poorly trained. I must say I am taken aback my good lady.”

A dry soft laugh came from the doorway and a quiet frail voice replied.

“I must refute you on that. Atticus is merely ensuring his master’s safety.”

Slowly the beast slowly stepped out of the way and Tine’s gaze shifted to a small and thin elderly woman standing hunched with a welcoming smile. Silver hair tied back in a loose bun with a violet ribbon and a lavender dress buttoned up to the neck, hem brushing the ground and black slippers peeking out from under, she stood the picture of a kind elderly grandmother, a black velvet shawl draped over her shoulders to keep out the evening chill.

The cat masked figure carefully held the woman’s arm as she stepped onto the porch, her steps small and reinforcing the fragile appearance she gave off. Slowly she raised a thin wrinkled hand dotted with liver spots and cupped the underside of the black clad beast’s jaw.

“How curious to see you again shapeshifter, here I had thought you wished to wash your hands of us for good.” Faded red eyes, like those of a wilting rose bud stared from behind oval spectacles rimmed gold and resting on the bridge of her slim nose. In her youth she would be quite the beauty, sharp in chin and cheekbones. Old, she held a certain dignified beauty but her sharp features were rounded out with loose skin and bubbles of fat lingering over the aged muscles. “Time has been good to you shifter. Or should I say, ignorant, of you?”

“The latter I would concur. For you dear lady it has been most attentive.” Smirk slipping into a full smile Tine bowed at the waist. “Yet its efforts have stolen none of your splendour.”

The old woman laughed in her throat, a sound that could have been taken for a cough and took her hand back from the beast to wave at the air between them.

“Save your flattery for the fools shifter. Why have you come?”

“I wish to make a trade.”

“A trade of what?”

“I require a spell from you.”

“And your offer?”

“What do you desire?”

The old woman’s lips pursed in thought and red eyes looked over the gentleman in deep consideration.

“I want... your life.”

In a blur of black the beast swiped its paw out at Tine’s still bowed neck, aiming like a guillotine to sever his head from his shoulders. Its impact was cut short by a large hand grabbing the creature’s thick wrist and wrenching it back. Ash squeezed the wrist until he felt bone’s bend and Atticus dug his heels into the porch’s concrete to keep a steady foothold as he pulled for his arm’s release.

Tine straightened, Ash forcing the beast’s arm back further to keep it from his employer. Atticus struck out with his other hand and that too was caught by the giant, his own arms cris-crossed from where he stood. Shoulder’s hunching the beast’s skin tight clothing squeaked as he crouched and launched himself at Ash, a heavy knee connecting with the giant’s jaw. Ash took the blow and stumbled back, using his grip on the arms to throw the beast down towards the orchard of trees.

Atticus landed on his feet and flicked out his arms to regain the feeling, crouching to all fours and preparing for another lunge. Ash looked back to Tine for but a moment before removing his jacket and handing it to Oak. Cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders Ash began to walk towards Atticus .His walk growing to a run. Then sprint. Then a full on charge.

The crouched beast lunged at the charging giant and aimed an elbow for his temple. The blow connected but lost its impact as Ash’s own elbow struck out at its stomach and pushed it over head. Grabbing at Atticus’s ankle the giant swung the beast at the ground, the gravel jumping off the earth at the force of the slam. The attack did little to rattle the creature however as it kicked at Ash’s shoulder and dislocated the ball from its socket. Ash dropped the creature limply and grabbed his own arm to set the bone back in. Atticus rolled back to his feet and the flesh under the black spandex rippled with the resetting of bones and muscle.

Both beings stared each other down for several seconds before each launching into a second round of blows.

Back at the house Tine and Oak watched the fighters for a few more seconds before Tine turned back to the woman and cocked his head to the side.

“Well now, shall we begin negotiations?”

Another cough laugh and the woman waved a hand to the cat masked fellow, the servant stepping back and clapping their hands. From within the house two small creatures exited carrying a table. The first was a young harpy, her wings plucked and bound with thick chains around her wrists and neck. Patches of her skin were burned and stripped away, the flesh on her shoulder so thin the white of bone could be seen jutting against the skin.

The second was, difficult to discern what it could have been. There was fur. Feathers. Scales. Many different parts of different creatures sewn onto its body and obscuring its original form. The sewn on parts appeared to have no physical purpose either. No, they were merely woven in on whims, flights of fancy like adding new accessories to a handbag.

They set the table down between Tine and the woman and scurried back in to retrieve two chairs. As the malformed children prepared the furniture the cat masked figure set out a table cloth and retrieved a tea seat from inside.There was never a bad time for tea and negotiations went much smoother if you had something to occupy the silence in between contemplating deals. It was easy to lose your composure if all you can do is watch the other person sit silently for minutes on end, hence the refreshments and the little show going on behind them.

The mutilated harpy set his chair down behind him and Tine spared her any gawking or useless sympathy. He did not enjoy seeing children done harm, in fact he took a certain pleasure from the torture of paedophiles and child beaters that other offenders did not supply, but this child belonged to the old woman and her house and nothing he said or did now would change their fate. If anything he would make it worse.

Waiting for the woman to sit he took his seat after and watched in silence as tea and biscuits were set out on the table. At his side Oak took care to rearrange the tea set to his master’s taste so the table looked split in two, the porcelain and silver the same but the arrangements notably different.

“So.” Tine began “I fear I must reject your first offer given such a trade would make any benefits mute to I.”

“I suppose it would. Forgive an old lady her indulgences. Atticus hasn’t been getting near enough exercise as of late.”

“Big dogs are a chore to be certain.”

“But so loyal. You should look into getting one yourself.”

“I have my own preference of beast to keep as pets.”

“So I have heard.” If her tone didn’t make her displeasure clear the small pull down at the corner of her lips did. “But we are getting sidetracked. What spell are you after?”

“The Witch’s House spell.”

“That’s quite a heavy priced spell.”

“I reiterate, name your desire. Excluding my life of course.”

The cat masked fellow poured a cup of tea and the elderly woman took a thoughtful sip.As she considered her price Tine glanced back at the ongoing battle below.

Ash’s shirt had been torn apart, shreds of white fabric hanging off the belt around his waist. Atticus appeared unscratched but his movements had become more sluggish. The two were locked in grappling, each trying to push the other back as their feet crushed the earth beneath them.

In a sudden move Ash stopped pushing and allowed Atticus to lunge atop him, one foot lifting to kick against the dog’s stomach and launch him over head. Atticus tightened its grip on Ash’s hands and twisted its body to try and brace the impact but only half succeeded, striking the ground on its side and sweeping a leg out to try and claw across Ash’s head. Ash raised his head in time to avoid it but was slashed across his shoulder blades. The cuts were deep and the pain made the giant stagger and struggle to stand. Releasing his hands Atticus rolled onto all fours and lunged again, aiming for the jugular. Ash grabbed an extended black clad arm and flipped the dog over his shoulder, closing his legs around Atticus’s body and holding it down as he began pulling the captured arm away from its shoulder. Atticus clawed at Ash’s legs, tearing his pants below the knee to strands of bloodied fabric and flesh. The onslaught did not stop Ash from applying more and more strength to pull the arm free from its shoulder socket and snap the muscles holding it in place until-

Skin and latex tore with a flurry of blood spraying across the grass and ash’s face, the arm in his grip going limp as the last stretching pieces of muscles broke under the strain. Atticus made no sound of pain and only hesitated in its attack for a moment before continuing with renewed vigour. Ash, wishing to save his legs before the bone could be exposed dropped an elbow against Atticus’s temple and spread his legs to roll backwards to his feet, unable to stand on them and falling to his knees to ease off the pressure and pain it caused him. Atticus too rolled onto its feet, grabbing the shoulder that had lost its limb to try and stem the bleeding.

A quiet cough in her throat alerted the dog to its master, Atticus’s head snapping towards the porch where the elderly woman placed her cup down and adjusted her glasses to stare down at the two fighters. Another small show of displeasure crossed her face before she daintily touched wrinkled fingertips to her lips and gently blew a soft whistle between them. A high but short sound that made the dog look back to its enemy and reach up with its good hand to unzip the zip around its mouth.

Beneath the latex a strong dark skinned chin speckled with black hair along its jaw line could be briefly glimpsed. Brief, as the human feature quickly began to twist and contort into an elongated snout, black fur sprouting up in clumps and coming together to cover the brown skin beneath. There was no nose at the end of its snout, only two nostrils and a series of stitches that the fur quickly covered over. The latex around its body already pulled tight was stretched further as the form beneath it began to grow and pulse with a new raw energy.The beast grew in size, doubling its original height and width with a symphony of snapping and cracks within its body. The exposed shoulder shuddered and from its wound a bony hand burst forth , muscle, fat, flesh and skin coating it from its fingertips slowly. From the ivory wrist the beginning of an ulna and radius pushed the hand out further from the bleeding wound. Raising its head Atticus parted its jaws and revealed two sets of sharped elongated fangs with a mighty roar. Ash watched the transformation and discarded the lost arm, climbing to his feet in intense pain but the threat before him too great to ignore. In a moment of sympathy, or perhaps understanding, the giant noted the beast before him was missing its tongue. The moment quickly passed and digging his heels into the dirt he launched himself at the werewolf to do as much damage as possible before it could regrow its arm entirely.

“I want something of yours.”

The answer returned Tine’s gaze from the fight back to the table. Oak poured a cup of tea for him and added three sugar cubes, Tine taking the cup with a tilt of his head.

“Anything specific? If you are referring to my current companions I am afraid they come as something of a set and would prove less than efficient working for someone other than I.”

“No. I want your body.”

“....” Tine took a long sip. “In the literal sense I take it?”

The woman laughed dryly and touched a hand to her chest.

“Goodness me sir, do you think I so bold?” Lazily she moved the shawl aside and stroked over her covered bosom in a manner intended to be alluring. “Though if you were to insist.” Tine finished his cup and held it out for Oak to refill, his expression neutral even as he downed the second cup in a single gulp. That was a mental image he could have done without. The woman laughed again and fixed her shawl back in place. “I don’t recall hearing any complaints after the first time we had such an encounter but no, you are correct, I meant a piece of your body.”

Tine put the cup down and held a hand up to stop Oak refilling it again.

“And which piece has caught your eye?”

The woman smiled.

Left knee cap shattered. Three fingers broken on left hand and right thumb lost. Open wound between neck and shoulder, non-lethal but bleeding heavily. Vision impaired by blood loss and balance thrown off from damaged shins. Ash calculated the damage to his body as he ducked the snapping jaws aiming to take his head clean off. It was not often he fought a creature larger than himself and its regenerative abilities put him at a great disadvantage. If Oak was with him victory would be guaranteed regardless but he was on his own and rusty.

Claws swiped. Left shoulder caught and deeply scarred. Keep as much damage to non dominant side as much as possible. Aim for the solar plexus. Use the monster’s size against it.

Ash landed a punch in Atticus’s gut but the blow barely winded it, his own size a disadvantage as it made slipping between the beast’s limbs difficult. The punch was followed up with a kick to its knee but the impact was like hitting a thick tree.

Keep moving. Keep attacking. Avoid the teeth. Use its impaired sight to advantage. Don’t be deceived by its slower moments it moves swifter than appearances allow.

Yet even being careful Ash could not avoid the clawed paw that landed in his left shoulder and pulled him back, a second newly grown set claw landing in his right shoulder. The new arm was covered in thick black fur and twitched with the constant quick pulse of the creature’s heart. Watching the arm regrow had been something horrific and as Ash tried to pry the claws out of his shoulders they were no weaker from being new than their counterparts.

Atticus held oak out, yellow hues barely visible behind the glass circles that covered its eyes and regarded him a moment before beginning to pull at the shoulder blades connected to his collar bone. It was only fitting. It lost an arm to him so he should lose two to it. Digging the claws in deeper until the tips scratched bone it began applying more and more pressure until the first stretch of muscles rubbed against its claws.

A sudden poke to its back made the creature pause, turning its head to see the blond man and the second giant standing behind it, the man’s cane poking at its side.

“Our business is concluded. Drop him.”

Attitcus regarded the man a moment before looking to its master still sitting at the porch watching. No order came to stop and so it continued to pull apart the giant in hand.Yet as quickly as it decided to continue Atticus found itself freezing up, unable to move. There was a presence. A bigger animal. A bigger hunter watching and preparing to attack. Instincts told it of the threat and looming danger that was closing in on it.

Right behind it.

The presence eased off, still present but enough to let Atticus release the giant. The second one rushed to his twin’s aid and helped him toward their master. Without looking back Atticus hunched down and leaped to the top of the garden, landing in front of the porch.

“Run back to our bitch with tail between your legs... my dog is better. “ Even if the stubborn bastard wouldn’t wear a collar.

Ash found it difficult to stand even with aid from his twin and at his employer’s comment he looked up with blurred vision to a confusing and alarming sight. Part of Tine was missing. Gone and traded. In his hand clutched in gloved fingers was a small orb that swirled with a purple hue. The deal was done and he wanted out of this farce of a wonderland.

From the porch the old woman watched the shapeshifter and his goons pass through the gate to the other side, leaving her world and only a mess at the end of her garden and empty tea cup behind in their wake.

Oh and of course the piece of the shapeshifter she now had floating in her own tea cup. Such a proud and strong creature he was, so arrogant and self assured of his superiority. Now she had a part of him. Something no one else could ever have. Her sense of humour was indeed the same as it ever was.

Atticus turned its lumbering head towards her and with a scowl she promptly chucked the tea pot and the remaining scalding tea inside at it.

“Will you get out of that hideous form? You played too long and looked what happened. You are worthless. Useless! A stupid monstrous lumix of an existence! You-”

And she stops. And she turns her head.

And she stares at you.

Yes you.

She sees you now, spectators and peeping toms, voyeurs of the night’s sordid affairs. She looks to you and she smiles kindly.

And you are outside the house, staring at an ordinary house with dull cream bricks and a neatly trimmed lawn. She has pushed you from her realm. Did you enjoy it? The sights you saw? I should hope so!

What? You want to know who she is? Or is your concern what part of himself Tine traded off? Well you’ve come this far I could give you some reward.

She is The Fairy Godmother.

And the second answer is yet to come.

#drabble #dragoncanefangs

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