Grillby considered himself a organized and smart monster. He managed to run a business rather well, and even though it was small he still had a number of devoted customers. He was a good cook, well at least in his eyes, and he didn't need to hire any cooks as well. He got a average pay and he got through his life rather well. So, yes, he considered himself well.
Which was why he was mighty concerned when he figured out that he wasn't getting as much ketchup as he needed.
Grillbz bought his condiments from some monster company, and he would normally get a crate full of anything he needed - i. e. mustard, ranch, etc -. The amount of size varied on what he ordered, but it averaged around twenty to thirty bottles a crate. Grillby would usually keep them out in the back of his restaurant for a few days before taking them in, as nobody really stole from him anyway. But the fire man knew that now he would have to take them in when he gets them.
Sighing ever so slightly, embers swirling in front of his face, Grillby shut down the place for the night. He would have to go get the crates now, before whoever was stealing them would get to them first. As the male stepped into the kitchen, he thought. Why would this thief only steal ketchup, of all things? Well, of course in his own little opinion he thought that ketchup was rather tasty, but... Grillby wouldn't judge others opinions on the whole 'that's better than this' thing. He just wasn't like that. He would never be like that, probably, either.
His fire-y like hand flicked on the light near the door, adjusting his glasses with his other free hand. Man, he was tired. It was a rather busy day, even though he still had his normal share of customers like normal. Maybe he was getting a bit old, and that was why he was getting tired more often... Grillby reminded himself to light a few matches in his body to lighten up a bit more.
Ha, puns. Even someone like Grillby enjoyed them. Even if only a little bit.
The male looked over the stocks - all normal, thank god that the culprit only took condiments - and did the dishes, quietly humming to himself as he made sure that he didn't get any water on his arms. He had pulled on some gloves that kept his limbs safe from any water, he never forgot to put those on! Then he put the dishes back where they were supposed to and double checked that he hadn't left one thing out of place, and began his journey to the back of the building to get the crates.
But when he had reached the door, he paused. Could he hear footsteps? Leaning his burning head against the door gently, he listened intently. Ah, yes, there was. He heard the soft crunching sounds of footsteps outside the door. Heh. Grillby let out a soft laugh, straightening himself back up. He had caught the thief red-handed! Grillbz opened the door, walking out into the snow as he looked back and forth. There was foot prints in the snow, and- Ah. Right behind the tree that was a few feet behind him. A crate had been knocked over, and - of course - there were a few ketchup bottles spilled from the box. There was no doubting that this was the culprit.
Grillby walked calmly over to the box, bending down on his knees so that he could pick up the bottles. There was no need to get angry, at least not right now. Grillby had to stay calm so that the other would think that they wouldn't be getting in trouble, then the fire man could get a little angry at them. Maybe not screaming, but just to slap them a few times before making them pay for all the things they stole. The male, as he picked up the things, heard a whooshing sound above his head.
With a wave of his hand, without even looking up, he burned the bones to ashes before they could hit him.
There. He was finally done picking up. Closing the box, he pulled it over to the door with fire magic and pushed it inside, following the other crates. One he was done he shut the door and locked it with a key chain he had in his pocket. All locked up for the day. He stared at the door for a few moments, thinking, before he slowly turned and began to walk towards the tree. Oh, there it was. He had expected this. The thief had turned and tried to run away. But, too late for them, Grillby had them with his magic. He held them in place, walking up to them and picking them up delicately with his hand by the back of their jacket. He had put the temperature of his fire down, so that he wouldn't burn them. Raising a eyebrow made of pure flame, Grillby said "Look who we have here." in his usual calm and silky voice.
He had expected the culprit to be bigger, but it seemed that Grillby would have a easier job talking sense into the other. They were, to be frank, a rather tiny skeleton. Obviously very young in age. They were wearing a bright blue jacket that was clearly way to big for them - the sleeves hung limp from his small arms - and some shorts that also were big for them. They were also wearing rather small but adorable little yellow boots. Huge eyes stared up at him, white pupils piercing into his own as he looked down at them. There were a few missing teeth in their mouth, which was in a surprised frown. Grillby honestly thought that if this little thing wasn't stealing from him, he would have thought that they were really cute. "So this is the one who's been stealing my things." he said in a slightly amused tone, eyebrow still raised. The skeleton shook their head, saying "I didn't sthteal no thing!" They crossed their arms. Hmm. Grillby put his free hand thoughtfully under his chin. "Is that so?" Using his fire magic, he pulled out a couple ketchup bottles from the skeleton's huge sleeves. "Then what are these, exactly?"
The small child grinned nervously. "Uhm- Uhm-" They sputtered, obviously trying to come up with an excuse. Grillby put a finger up to their mouth. "Shush. There are no excuses. Tell me your name." The small skeleton, trying to look intimidating now, puffed up and stuck out a glowing blue tongue at Grillby. "Why sthhoud I tell you that?!" Grillby yet again gave the other a fake thoughtful look. "Hmm, let's see. Because if you don't tell me I'll make sure that you wont be getting out of this as good as you are right now."
The skeleton looked very scared at the saying. He played with his sleeves, nervous grin melting away into a scared look. He didn't say anything, until Grillbz gave him a look and he mumbled "Sthansth." The fire man then looked satisfied, and let the other drop to the ground. The skeleton, dubbed Sans, didn't do anything but sat there. He was looking up at Grillby expectantly. ".." Grillby thought to himself, before he turned to Sans and said "Why were you stealing them for so long?" Sans looked at the ground. "I don't know. I like ketchup I guesthth."
"Well, liking ketchup doesn't explain why you were stealing. You could of come in the building when it was open and ask for some. I would of probably given you some if you asked nicely."
"Oh." Sans scratched the back of his skull, looking paranoid. "I wasth justht a bit... Sthcared of you." This had Grillby quietly laughing to himself, before he offered a hand to help Sans upwards. "Scared? Of me? I wouldn't burn a fly!" Sans looked scared at the offer. "Don't be afraid. I wont burn you. I'd say I'm a bit chilled out now." The small skeleton giggled at the pun, and grinned before he took Grillby's hand. Helping Sans up, the fire man said "See? Nothing to be afraid of." He looked down at the other before he walked over to the back door, unlocking it and opening the door. "Come in. Even though I know you wont be stealing anything else anytime soon, I still think you should be the least bit punished for it. I'll tell your guardian when you go home. I bet they'll understand." Sans didn't look so happy anymore. He slouched, sticking his tongue out at Grillby a second time before he trudged over to the door. But he didn't enter. "Why doesth it sthay 'Fire Ex-sthit'?" He squeaked curiously, pointing at the sign on the door. "Shouldn't I not be able to come in?" The fire man, paused, before he piped up "Just come in. I put that there so no one would try to come in. Nothing will burn you." Sans entered, looking a bit frustrated and angry that he was going to have to do something that he probably didn't want to do. Grillby chuckled at the other's behavior.
"This is for your own good. So that next time you'll know not to steal from me. Capiche?"
"...Capiche."