This room smells… like…. dirt.
Its too dark in here to see the walls.
…
..
.
..
…
"Howdy!"
That voice is too familiar.
"Looks like I found you again!"
As much as you would think this is inviting, it is far from it…
"Lil ol' me has a surprise for you…"
No… Not the surprise. You don't want the surprise…!
"Something reeeeaall special…"
…
"A nice.
little.
taste.
of.
DEATH."
Still can't see anything. But there are thorns wrapping tightly around you. They dig deep into your skin. You feel a burning sensation. The pain is unbearable.
"Sparing me wasn't going to solve the problem and you knew it. So don't act so stupid."
You wriggle and squirm with all your might… and yet, you cannot break free.
"How many times do I have to tell you…"
The pain makes it hard to focus…..
"It's kill.
Or.
BE KILLED."
…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-
…
..
.
You wake up.
You are in your room. Sweat covers your neck and back. Your sheets.. no… your whole bed feels like it is sticking to you. It is so cold…
"Frisk? Are you alright?" Toriel's voice comes softly from behind the door. The door opens.
"My child, are you alright? I heard you crying."
You sit up in bed, the sheets peeling off of you.
"Dear child, you are so pale. Were you having bad dreams?" Toriel comes and sits by you on the bed. She places a hooved hand to your forehead. "You don't seem sick… here… come with me into the kitchen and I will make you some soothing tea. Then you should be able to get back to sleep."
…
You follow Toriel into the kitchen. With a flick of her wrist, a small flame sparks under the kettle. Steam starts to whistle out moments later.
"Frisk… have you been having these nightmares a lot lately?"
You sheepishly look to the floor. You don't know how to express the truth, because you don't want her to worry.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it right now. You must be tired still."
Toriel turns back to the kettle, watching the steam flow from its spout. "The water should be hot enough any minute…"
The kitchen looks as clean as ever. And its arrangement spot-on accurate to her old one in the Ruins.
"There." Toriel dismisses the flame before the kettle has a chance to start whistling. She then reaches down into the lower cabinets and takes out a jar labelled 'Chamomile.'
"Sorry… I'm all out of that Golden Flower tea you like so much… its on my list for tomorrows shopping. And besides… I was told by the woman at the store that this tea helps humans sleep."
She takes a pinch of the tea herbs and puts them in a tea ball that was on the counter. The tea ball was placed in a mug. She takes the hot kettle and pours the water into the mug until it is half way full.
"Here you are, my child. Give it another minute and it will have seeped and cooled down."
You blow gently on the tea, feeling the heat tickle the tip of your nose.
"Oh! Look at the time!"
You look over at the hand clock nailed on the wall next to the fridge. 12:02 AM.
"It's officially your birthday now." Toriel says with a warming smile. "Since it is your special day, you will not have any more nightmares. I promise, my child." She gives you a wink.
You smile and take a small sip of the tea. It's still hot but the taste is very soothing.
"I have other special plans for you. But you will have to wait until you wake up again… today." She flashes you another smile. "I also invited a few of your friends over. So you should make sure to get as much sleep for the big day."
You take another sip. The tea is just right.
"Do you like the tea? I can keep getting it if it will help you sleep more. I haven't tried it myself yet… I don't know if it will help monsters sleep. But if it tastes good, it would be a nice, new flavor to have with a pastry or a book."
You gulp the tea down. The warmth settles nicely in your stomach. You feel sleepy again.
"All done?" Toriel takes the mug from you. "Off to bed now, you have a big day."
You start for the hallway. "Oh, one last thing…
Papyrus wanted to make you a special dinner for your birthday…. but… well… I know he is getting better at cooking… but I don't think he's quite got the hang of making edible food. If you don't want him to make the food, I can always tell him I already have a meal planned out. But if you want your friend to make you your birthday dinner, I won't mind."
(What do you tell her?)
I want Papyrus to cook (Go to Ch. 2)
I want you to cook (Go to Ch. 3)
"Ok." She smiles. "Now off to bed."