p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Snell Roundhand'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Long Ago, two races ruled over earth; man and monsters. One day, war broke out between them. After much fighting, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Snell Roundhand'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Many years later…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Snell Roundhand'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Mt. Ebbot 20XX/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"A/spanspan style="font-kerning: none;"ndy always liked adventure. Not surprising news, considering what he was about to do. All his life he had heard ominous whispers about the mountain a few miles from his hometown, and he would inquire earnestly about it. Some say it's dangerous. Some say it's cursed. Some even went to say that there were bad spirits wandering there, ready to turn a wayward adventurer into mincemeat and put them in a taco. He wasn't sure about the whole being a delectable dish for ghosts, but nothing held him back with the thought about what rare treasures he might find up on the ridge. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He slid carefully around a boulder the color of rust, biting his lip as he concentrated on not falling off the ledge he was clinging to. One slip and he would do a free fall for about 10 seconds before getting a face full of sharp rocks. He decided against it. He had better things to do./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy scrambled up onto a smooth plateau, made entirely of the same reddish rock with a few grass clumps poking out from the ground like some crazy green hairdos. Ahead was a dark cave with walls of granite, contrasting sharply with the land around it. It definitely looked out of place, like someone painting the landscape got their work pooped on by a pigeon. Andy didn't hesitate at all to step into the deep shadows cast by the rock./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" It was a relief to get out of the blistering sun. A wave of cool air hit him with full force in the face, which was much nicer than sharp rocks any day./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, what have we here?" Andy spoke aloud to himself. It was a habit of his that weirded out a lot of his friends. Even in the cafeteria when he would spontaneously start muttering to his pizza slices everyone would shoot him a glance like he grew antenna or something. In reality, it helped him process his thoughts. Nothing too weird, right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He shook the coppery dust off of his thick gloves that protected his hands from the wear and tear of climbing mountains. Even the thick callouses he gained would wear off from scrabbling on the orange sandy rock. He readjusted his hat and bandanna and plunged further into the tunnel./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Soon he stopped. He stopped because he didn't want to walk straight into the large hole in the middle of the ground. He crept closer, oddly feeling no fear. He crouched down and peered down, down, down…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Wow! That's, what, a hundred feet down? Wonder where this sinkhole came from." His voice echoed a few times, then he was in silence again./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy felt a low rumble in the ground around him. He scrambled back a foot as the dirt at the edge crumbled away./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emMmm. Unstable./em He made a mental note to ask for a sign to be put up warning about the unstable ground. He tried for the edge again, trying to catch a glimpse of the bottom. He could see some vegetation slick from moisture hanging from the rock, but the bottom seemed drier. Andy leaned forward, enraptured. There was lush vegetation at the bottom, and… were those flowers? That's unusual for a cave system to support such delicate plants./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His hand slipped. He gasped and recoiled away from the edge, but his knee slipped on the gravelly dirt, and he felt his stomach sink with dread as he plummeted headfirst into the crevasse. Andy flipped in midair a couple times before he slammed into the ground. He blacked out on impact./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy's eyes rapidly blinked open. He grimaced. His eyes felt sandy and dry, and he tried to make them tear up to moisten them./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He sat up slowly, and the first thing he noticed were the golden flowers he landed in. Buttercups, apparently. The next thing he noticed was that his clothes were torn, revealing shallow cuts on his arms. Then one more thing stood out to him./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emMy head is killing me!/em Andy rubs his temples with the rubber tips of his gloves. He pauses for a moment to look back up the way he fell, estimating the distance from up there to where he was now./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWhoah! That must be about twenty-two feet or something! How did I survive that?/em He shakes his head in bewilderment. "I guess the flowers cushioned my fall."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His stomach growls long and low. Andy shakes his head again. "Perfect time to be hungry. With emno/em apparent way up, no way to call for help, and no idea what's even in this cave, yet—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stops his berating. He looks up and around himself in wonder. emWait a minute. This… what…?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He expected a rough cavern with stalactites hanging from the ceiling and strange formations on stone walls. But this was different. All around him, the walls were made of brick. Cracked and weathered, sure, but embricks/em? What is a man-made structure doing emunderground/em for goodness' sake?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWait. What if that means… there are people still living here?!/em Andy ecstatically bounced to his feet and called out, "Hello? Hellooooo? Anybody out there? Hey, if there's anyone there, I need help! Uh…" Andy quieted down when there's no reply. He walked over to the exit leading out of the room, and leaned on the wall, taking a closer look at the bricks lining the walls./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emOf course, numbskull. This is /emoldem, ancient stuff. Of course nobody would still be alive down here./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy got the urge to punch the wall, but decided against it. Bad enough to have a growling stomach and a nasty headache without adding a broken fist into the equation. "Okay, okay, let's just see where this corridor leads to."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel perked up her ears and swung her gaze around the Ruins. emWho was that shouting?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She thought she heard a yell from further away in the Ruins. It sounded like someone calling for help, or something to that effect./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emI don't recognize the voice. Who could it be? How could it be someone I don't know? Unless…/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's eyes widened at the thought. emCould it be possible…? /em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She hurried over to the one place where someone could pass through the barrier into the Ruins, and hoped that she wouldn't be too late./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Great. Juuuuust great. Now how do I get through?" Andy wonders aloud./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" In front of him looms a large door, and next to it is a lever. Andy could pull the lever up and down 'till doomsday with no success, and he was puzzled with what combination to use for the pressure plates arranged in a pattern on the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, what do I do now?" He mutters to himself. Suddenly, he hears a scratching and panting on the other side of the door, and after several seconds it slides open with a huge grinding noise. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy does a double take. A surprised yelp comes out without warning from his mouth, "emWhat?/em"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The one who apparently opened the door was a creature unlike anything that Andy ever saw. She looked like a woman, but her head, hands, and feet were more like that of an animal. emA goat, I think./em And she had white, silky, well-groomed fur. Covering her slender figure was a purple robe that went down to her bare feet, and had long white sleeves. Her face was kind, and currently etched with worry, she had long ears that reached down to her shoulders, and small nubs of horns./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy was dumbstruck. His eyes darted up and down Toriel, taking in every detail, and yet still not believing what he was seeing. emAm I hallucinating? Did I hit my head when I fell?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Greetings." The creature smiled down at him. She was at least five inches higher than the top of Andy's head, which didn't help his uneasiness. He quickly recovered from his shock and cocked his head. "Um, hi? Are you… real?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's smile froze on her face, and she looked confused. Then she snorted and delicately covered her muzzle with one hand. "Oh, you are so precious! Of course I am real." She laughed kindly. Andy relaxed slightly. She doesn't sound a bit dangerous, or mad. She continued to giggle, then she brought her hand over her heart. "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. Sometimes it is hard to find things to laugh about when you are alone for a long time. Well, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Toriel, and you are…?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stuck out his gloved hand and gave her a crooked grin. "I'm Andrew Blester, but you can call me Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright, Andy." Toriel took his hand in both of hers and shook it firmly. She bit her lip for a second, then she spoke again, "I understand that this is all new to you, and you must be frightened—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Sorry to cut you off lady, but don't think that I'm out of my wits right now." Andy informed her defensively./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "emWhat /emdid you just say?" Toriel glared at him severely over her snout. The look she gave him oddly reminded Andy of his mom when he got in trouble./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, sorry." He apologized meekly. Toriel seemed satisfied with his answer./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "As I was saying, this is all new for you. I don't think that it would be safe for someone as young as you to be wandering around here by yourself."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting out, emI'm not some kindergartener that needs his hand held all the time! You're acting like I'm four years old! /emAfter the way Toriel looked at him from his previous outburst, he wisely kept silent./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel continued, "So, I must make you an offer. Will you come back to my home with me? You will be safe there, and I can make a meal and give you fresh clothes." She touched her finger to her cheek thoughtfully, "They might be a bit large, but they should do."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy raised his hands in the air, and remembered at the last second to be polite. "Uh, ma'am, I'm not so sure about this whole 'staying in your home' deal, but maybe if you could show me the way out of here, I'd be obliged."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel blinked at him fearfully, then she looked off to the side. "Well, there is emone/em way out." She murmurs softly. She turned her eyes back to Andy's. "It's in my home. But surely you wouldn't leave so quickly? I was hoping that we could… talk for a bit, get to know each other better." She gazed at him hopefully./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy sighed. "Well, guess I can't say no. But just for a while, I need to find my way out as soon as possible. If I'm out here for a whole day, my friends and family are emreally/em going to freak out."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He thought he saw a look of sadness pass over Toriel's face. She tried to hide it with a false smile. "Well, come along then. I'll lead you the right way."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She turned and started to walk away. Andy followed right behind, and they walked through passageways that were all made of the same mysterious purple brick, many were cracked and had thick vines of ivy crawling up the walls. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh!" Toriel stopped suddenly. Andy leapt to her side, ready to face any danger. She looked over to him. "I forgot, there are several traps and puzzles that you must solve to continue. Down this way—" She waved her arm over at an area with water flowing through ditches on either side, and Andy could see spikes blocking the way up ahead, "there is a lever that you must pull to deactivate the spikes."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy got the message. He walked down the path and pulled the first lever he came by./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "No!" Toriel cried, "That's not the right—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Nothing happened. She hesitated, then breathed a sigh of relief. The lever hadn't even moved, it hadn't been used in so long, Andy guessed, that it was rusted stuck. Andy shrugged, then moved on to the next lever. He pulled it down easily, and with a emclick!/em the spikes disappeared down into the ground./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I am terribly, terribly sorry." Toriel groaned. "I have left others deactivated, but some have reactivated automatically. They do that often. I—I was frightened that you might trigger… Oh, I am sorry." /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to say. He wasn't really into the whole "emotional" stuff. Luckily for him, Toriel regained her composure and held her hand out for him once again. "Come. You will need to stay close for this next one."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They went down another path, then it opened up to…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy narrowly avoided exclaiming out loud, he didn't think that Toriel would like that either, but the sight before him made even emhis/em knees knock together. There was water across the expanse between two solid grounds, and spanning the gap was a wooden bridge… completely covered in spikes./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "O-okay, how do we c-cross this?" Andy asked nervously. Toriel didn't seem the least bit worried, much to Andy's disgruntlement./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Hmm. This is a more dangerous one. You must stay right behind me, and step emexactly/em where I step, understand?" She became very serious and stared him straight in the eye. Andy nodded solemnly. "It's not like I can afford a misstep, huh?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "No. You cannot." She walked out confidently onto the spikes, concentrating very hard on where she was going. Andy picked up the pace to keep right behind her, watching his own feet carefully. They turned quite a few times, and Andy had to use all of his concentration to keep on the right path and not dizzily fall to the side. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They finally reached the end of the spike bridge. Andy tried to not look too relieved, but Toriel visibly relaxed. "Oh good, I was worried that you would get hurt. I'd hate to see that happen to someone like you, Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy nodded. emWell, at least she's nice about it./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stumbled along behind Toriel, inconspicuously favoring his right leg. It was a long journey through multiple rooms with traps and puzzles that Toriel easily navigated. Andy marveled at her confidence, and secretly admired her for it. Of course, he would never let her know emthat/em. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Ah, here we are!" Toriel sang cheerily as she swung the door open, "My home! Come inside, Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy straightened and walked in through the opened door. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The room inside had a honey-colored tint to it, giving it a cozy feeling. To Andy's left there was another room that had a fireplace and a comfy-looking cushioned armchair, to the right was a hallway with three doors and a flower vase, and there in front of Andy was a series of stairs that appeared to go down into the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Nice place." Andy commented. He wandered over into the room with the fireplace to get a better look around./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Thank you. I often keep busy by cleaning it, but lately I've been… well, not having as much energy as I usually do. I apologize if there are a few things out of place." Toriel nervously glanced around the room and wiped off an invisible speck from the fireplace with her forefinger./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Nah. It looks great." Andy assured her. "Waaaaaay better than my room at home. This is, like, heaven compared to that trash dump." He flashed another smirk. He had to check to see whether he emwas/em actually in heaven with the house in such order that he was unused to. This place was so different. Nothing was predictable here. Toriel could actually be an angel and suddenly sprout wings and grow a halo between her horns. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stole another glance at her. She was muttering softly to herself as she wiped a perfectly clean vase with the sleeve of her robe. Her fur shimmered amber in the ambient light, giving perfect highlights to the purple fabric./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emNah, not an angel. More like Wife version of Bigfoot./em Andy snorted softly. emAn extremely civilized Wife Bigfoot./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Is there something wrong?" Andy jumped when Toriel suddenly spoke to him. He whirled around and tried to think of a believable excuse./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, uh, that? I just.. uh… needed to sneeze." He offered weakly./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's eyes instantly narrowed. Then she caught herself and waved over to a table with chairs behind Andy. "It will take me a minute to make a dinner. How about you sit for a minute?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy gladly obliged. But before he could take two steps, his knee gave out. He quickly brought up his hands to stop his fall, but the floor came no closer. He hung there puzzled for a second, then he noticed two strong arms wrapped around him, lifting him up from the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emOkay, I am /emnever, everem questioning Wifey Bigfoot again!/em Toriel carried him over to her plush armchair and gently settled him in the seat. He sank slightly in the cushions, but it oddly felt good./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel bended down on one knee and placed her hand on his hurt knee. He expected it to be a lot like a dog's paw; stiff, calloused. But it was soft and warm, just like her personality, just like her home./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh dear, I pushed you too hard, didn't I? I've been so foolish, letting a child—" emThere's that word again! /em"—traverse the Ruins completely on foot. You're hurt, aren't you? Why did you not tell me?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy shrugged. "It's nothing too bad. Not worth mentioning."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Andrew! Of course it's worth mentioning!" Toriel scolded lightly. Andy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. emSecond time today. /emToriel continued, "Here, let me heal you, and then I can get dinner started."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She spread her fingers over his knee and pressed down slightly. A warm tingling sensation seemed to come from her hand and spread its way through Andy's knee, tickling every nerve and vein there, then going down to his bone./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Umm, what are you doing?" He asked nervously. Toriel didn't reply. The sensation strengthened, then faded away just as quickly as it came. Toriel took her hand off of his knee, then stood up to her full height. Andy tried not to shiver when he saw how she towered over him in the chair./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "There, that should've taken care of all your wounds." She patted his shoulder, then turned to the fireplace. "I'll start a fire, and you can stay here and warm yourself." She bent over the ashes in the back, where there was oddly some fresh dry wood placed there. She held out her hand, then—/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy nearly hit the ceiling, then managed to fall out of the chair. A small ball of flame rested on Toriel's palm, it didn't appear to hurt her, or singe any of the hairs on her hand. Just as calm as could be, she held the ball of fire to the dry wood, and it burst up in flames in no time, making a cheery crackling fire that cast flickering shadows on Andy's face./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He hopped back up in the chair and acted like nothing happened. Toriel turned to him, and he tried to look as innocent as possible./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Would you like anything? A book, maybe?" She asked as she smoothed down her garment over her hips with her hands./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Uh, nah, I'm good. I just need to sit for a while." Andy replied. Toriel nodded, then headed into another room in the back. emProbably a kitchen or something. /emAndy let his head drop back in the pillowy softness, and he went over everything that was going on that day./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWhere did I even go to? Did I fall into some other world? Or maybe this is all a dream, maybe I died and now I'm… uh… okay, never mind about that. Wherever I am, I need to find a way out. I'm still not sure about Toriel, as well as looking like a Wife Bigfoot, she seems to be as strong as that, too./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy sighed and sank back even deeper. emYeah, I'll need to keep an eye out everywhere I go. This place ain't safe, not at all. I really need to find a way back, folks are going to get really freaked out. And, it's no fun being dead, either. Yes, I must be strong, I must be determined to get out. But meanwhile, I need to keep an eye on Toriel while I recover. Never know when WB might show her primal instincts… zzzzzzzzzz./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He drifted off to sleep./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Andrew. It's time to wake up." Someone was gently calling to Andy. He cracked open his eyes and blinked once, twice, then a few more times to clear the sleepy film from his eyes./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel was leaning in close, watching his face closely. His eyes immediately popped wide open from her face being in such close quarters./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, good! You're awake!" She clapped her hands together once and backed off. "Your dinner is ready. I hope you will enjoy it, it will be sure to warm you up."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She held out a ceramic bowl filled with a chunky liquid. Andy remembered to pull off his gloves, then he took the bowl in his hands and held it close to his chest, the steam rising from the brew caressed his face and warmed it up considerably. The smell coming from it was unreal./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "This looks tasty. What kind of soup is it?" Andy licked his lips and took the offered spoon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "It's an old recipe of mine, I thought that you might like it. I used to make it all the time back—" She bit her lip suddenly. Andy stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Finally, she finished, as if it were an afterthought, "Back… in the old days." /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh." Andy couldn't think of anything else to say to that. Who knows how old this WB could be? Way older than Andy, since she seems to like calling him a "child"./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His stomach growled angrily at him. He decided he'd better give it something before it starts a full-blown massacre on his intestines. He dipped the spoon in the broth, then raised it to his lips and took a tentative sip./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Golly Moses! This tastes better than it looks!" Andy exclaimed before shoveling in another spoonful. Toriel blushed through her cheek fur and grinned happily. "Wonderful! I have plenty more when you're done with that bowlful."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Great, Miss Tori, I could eat a horse." Andy didn't notice the way Toriel flinched when he mentioned the eating a horse. Once he quickly finished his bowl, Toriel pointed him back to the kitchen to get more. Another bowl of soup down, and he felt full, warm, and sleepy. In fact, he could barely keep his eyes open./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Come now, there's a room down here that you can use." Toriel guided him down the hall that he had observed earlier. By now he was too sleepy to care whether he was being led to a five-star suite or a jail cell. The room that Toriel opened the door to was a small, tidy bedroom that was plain but cozy like the rest of the house. Andy stumbled over to the only bed in the room and fell face-first onto the red quilt./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel giggled. "I guess you must be tired, then."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy made muffled sounds of confirmation./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, I will leave you to your rest. Sweet dreams." Toriel padded out and pulled the door shut. Andy flipped over on his back and pulled the quilt and sheets up and slipped between them. The last things he was aware of were the crispness of the pillow beneath his head, and the faint smell of cinnamon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy struggled to awaken after a mildly disturbing dream about walking in on Bigfoot and his wife. He stared at the ceiling for a minute contemplating his dream, then he decided to go investigate whether all the events he could remember of the previous day were indeed reality./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy gave a jaw-cracking yawn as he sleepily wandered into the living room he remembered from the day before (well, he wasn't entirely sure whether it was day or night, given that he's under tons of rock), and was startled to see Toriel there waiting for him, with her reading glasses on and an old-looking book in her lap./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emYep, still real./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Ah! You're awake." She greeted him with a genuine smile./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "G'mornin WB." Andy muttered around another yawn. He plodded over to the table and plopped down in a chair./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "WD? Who's WD? Is that your nickname?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy almost smacked his forehead. emUgh, no! You just /emhadem to call her that. /emHe grasped onto her misguided idea. "Uh, yeah, that… that's my nickname. WD. Yeah."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel didn't seem to notice his hesitation and cheerily went back to her reading. Andy heaved a silent sigh of relief. emGreat. Now she thinks my nick is WD. Well, that's not too bad, except it makes me sound like some nerdy professor or something./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I paid a visit to Vegatiod this morning," Toriel looks up from her book, "and he gave me some vegetables for breakfast. They're in the kitchen, if you're hungry."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy's stomach apparently forgot the huge meal it received last night, at the mention of food it growled like an angry bear. "Yes ma'am!"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel grinned even wider at his manners. Andy tapped the table a couple of times, then decided to tell her what's on his mind. "Miss Tori? I can only eat then run, 'cause I gotta find the exit to this place."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's hands suddenly gripped her book tighter. She didn't meet Andy's eyes. "You want to leave so soon? We've barely gotten to know each other."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I'm sorry, you're a great… goat, but I really have to go." Andy suddenly remembered something when he looked down at his hands. "Where are my gloves?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, those. After you took them off last night, I washed them. And your bandanna." She held out the items in her hand, clean and dry. "I was going to give them to you before breakfast. I almost forgot."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy went over and reclaimed the articles, sliding on the crisp gloves and retying on the bandanna firmly around his neck. "Thanks."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, if you must leave then at least have all you can eat. And I'll pack a lunch for you as well."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Aww, you don't have to—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I insist." Toriel set her jaw firmly, and Andy could tell that she wasn't backing off./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel stood and went into the kitchen, Andy trailing behind. She gathered together some pieces of food that Andy had never seen in his life, but he trusted her to make it taste wonderful. He turned to the pot on the stove and peered inside, it looked like some kind of steamed vegetables with seasonings in the bottom. The aroma tickled his sinuses, activating his drool./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "What vegetables are these?" Andy asked./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Potatoes, carrots, broccoli, pradishes, and gutroot." She replied promptly. Andy was confused on what the last two were, but he figured that it wouldn't be dangerous if Toriel cooked with it. Right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Here, I made a sandwich, and I threw in a few Monster Candies. This should be enough for you until you find… where you get where you're going." Toriel handed him a bulging sack. Andy took it in his hands and weighed the thing. emThis one sandwich should last me a week./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He got a plate and piled it high with steaming vegetables and took it into the living/dining room and wolfed it down with gusto. Toriel also got herself a plate, but she nibbled at the edges. She finally placed her fork down with a sigh and looked over to Andy. "I see you are done. I will lead you to the exit."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He got up with his sack and followed her over to the flight of stairs leading down into the floor and they descended into a dark basement. It was more of a hall, made out of the same purple stone as the rest of the Ruins./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Come along." Toriel's voice echoed in the empty space. "It's not far."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They made one turn, walked further, then reached a room with a pair of light purple doors with a strange black symbol printed on it. Toriel sighed again, more sorrowfully this time, then waved her arm over at the exit. "Here we are. I cannot go past this point. This is goodbye."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy softened when he saw a single tear trickle down Toriel's cheek, wetting down the fur. He reached over and patted her hand comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. After I get home and rest up for a bit, I'll come over and visit sometime, I promise."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel sniffed and wiped her tear away with the back of her hand. Andy pulled open the door and waved back at her one more time before he slipped through. Toriel watched after him for a minute, tears spilled from both her eyes and dripped down to the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Please." Her voice trembled. "Don't promise."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Snell Roundhand'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Many years later…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Snell Roundhand'; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Mt. Ebbot 20XX/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"A/spanspan style="font-kerning: none;"ndy always liked adventure. Not surprising news, considering what he was about to do. All his life he had heard ominous whispers about the mountain a few miles from his hometown, and he would inquire earnestly about it. Some say it's dangerous. Some say it's cursed. Some even went to say that there were bad spirits wandering there, ready to turn a wayward adventurer into mincemeat and put them in a taco. He wasn't sure about the whole being a delectable dish for ghosts, but nothing held him back with the thought about what rare treasures he might find up on the ridge. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He slid carefully around a boulder the color of rust, biting his lip as he concentrated on not falling off the ledge he was clinging to. One slip and he would do a free fall for about 10 seconds before getting a face full of sharp rocks. He decided against it. He had better things to do./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy scrambled up onto a smooth plateau, made entirely of the same reddish rock with a few grass clumps poking out from the ground like some crazy green hairdos. Ahead was a dark cave with walls of granite, contrasting sharply with the land around it. It definitely looked out of place, like someone painting the landscape got their work pooped on by a pigeon. Andy didn't hesitate at all to step into the deep shadows cast by the rock./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" It was a relief to get out of the blistering sun. A wave of cool air hit him with full force in the face, which was much nicer than sharp rocks any day./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, what have we here?" Andy spoke aloud to himself. It was a habit of his that weirded out a lot of his friends. Even in the cafeteria when he would spontaneously start muttering to his pizza slices everyone would shoot him a glance like he grew antenna or something. In reality, it helped him process his thoughts. Nothing too weird, right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He shook the coppery dust off of his thick gloves that protected his hands from the wear and tear of climbing mountains. Even the thick callouses he gained would wear off from scrabbling on the orange sandy rock. He readjusted his hat and bandanna and plunged further into the tunnel./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Soon he stopped. He stopped because he didn't want to walk straight into the large hole in the middle of the ground. He crept closer, oddly feeling no fear. He crouched down and peered down, down, down…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Wow! That's, what, a hundred feet down? Wonder where this sinkhole came from." His voice echoed a few times, then he was in silence again./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy felt a low rumble in the ground around him. He scrambled back a foot as the dirt at the edge crumbled away./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emMmm. Unstable./em He made a mental note to ask for a sign to be put up warning about the unstable ground. He tried for the edge again, trying to catch a glimpse of the bottom. He could see some vegetation slick from moisture hanging from the rock, but the bottom seemed drier. Andy leaned forward, enraptured. There was lush vegetation at the bottom, and… were those flowers? That's unusual for a cave system to support such delicate plants./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His hand slipped. He gasped and recoiled away from the edge, but his knee slipped on the gravelly dirt, and he felt his stomach sink with dread as he plummeted headfirst into the crevasse. Andy flipped in midair a couple times before he slammed into the ground. He blacked out on impact./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy's eyes rapidly blinked open. He grimaced. His eyes felt sandy and dry, and he tried to make them tear up to moisten them./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He sat up slowly, and the first thing he noticed were the golden flowers he landed in. Buttercups, apparently. The next thing he noticed was that his clothes were torn, revealing shallow cuts on his arms. Then one more thing stood out to him./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emMy head is killing me!/em Andy rubs his temples with the rubber tips of his gloves. He pauses for a moment to look back up the way he fell, estimating the distance from up there to where he was now./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWhoah! That must be about twenty-two feet or something! How did I survive that?/em He shakes his head in bewilderment. "I guess the flowers cushioned my fall."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His stomach growls long and low. Andy shakes his head again. "Perfect time to be hungry. With emno/em apparent way up, no way to call for help, and no idea what's even in this cave, yet—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stops his berating. He looks up and around himself in wonder. emWait a minute. This… what…?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He expected a rough cavern with stalactites hanging from the ceiling and strange formations on stone walls. But this was different. All around him, the walls were made of brick. Cracked and weathered, sure, but embricks/em? What is a man-made structure doing emunderground/em for goodness' sake?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWait. What if that means… there are people still living here?!/em Andy ecstatically bounced to his feet and called out, "Hello? Hellooooo? Anybody out there? Hey, if there's anyone there, I need help! Uh…" Andy quieted down when there's no reply. He walked over to the exit leading out of the room, and leaned on the wall, taking a closer look at the bricks lining the walls./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emOf course, numbskull. This is /emoldem, ancient stuff. Of course nobody would still be alive down here./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy got the urge to punch the wall, but decided against it. Bad enough to have a growling stomach and a nasty headache without adding a broken fist into the equation. "Okay, okay, let's just see where this corridor leads to."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel perked up her ears and swung her gaze around the Ruins. emWho was that shouting?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She thought she heard a yell from further away in the Ruins. It sounded like someone calling for help, or something to that effect./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emI don't recognize the voice. Who could it be? How could it be someone I don't know? Unless…/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's eyes widened at the thought. emCould it be possible…? /em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She hurried over to the one place where someone could pass through the barrier into the Ruins, and hoped that she wouldn't be too late./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Great. Juuuuust great. Now how do I get through?" Andy wonders aloud./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" In front of him looms a large door, and next to it is a lever. Andy could pull the lever up and down 'till doomsday with no success, and he was puzzled with what combination to use for the pressure plates arranged in a pattern on the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, what do I do now?" He mutters to himself. Suddenly, he hears a scratching and panting on the other side of the door, and after several seconds it slides open with a huge grinding noise. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy does a double take. A surprised yelp comes out without warning from his mouth, "emWhat?/em"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The one who apparently opened the door was a creature unlike anything that Andy ever saw. She looked like a woman, but her head, hands, and feet were more like that of an animal. emA goat, I think./em And she had white, silky, well-groomed fur. Covering her slender figure was a purple robe that went down to her bare feet, and had long white sleeves. Her face was kind, and currently etched with worry, she had long ears that reached down to her shoulders, and small nubs of horns./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy was dumbstruck. His eyes darted up and down Toriel, taking in every detail, and yet still not believing what he was seeing. emAm I hallucinating? Did I hit my head when I fell?/em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Greetings." The creature smiled down at him. She was at least five inches higher than the top of Andy's head, which didn't help his uneasiness. He quickly recovered from his shock and cocked his head. "Um, hi? Are you… real?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's smile froze on her face, and she looked confused. Then she snorted and delicately covered her muzzle with one hand. "Oh, you are so precious! Of course I am real." She laughed kindly. Andy relaxed slightly. She doesn't sound a bit dangerous, or mad. She continued to giggle, then she brought her hand over her heart. "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. Sometimes it is hard to find things to laugh about when you are alone for a long time. Well, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Toriel, and you are…?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stuck out his gloved hand and gave her a crooked grin. "I'm Andrew Blester, but you can call me Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright, Andy." Toriel took his hand in both of hers and shook it firmly. She bit her lip for a second, then she spoke again, "I understand that this is all new to you, and you must be frightened—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Sorry to cut you off lady, but don't think that I'm out of my wits right now." Andy informed her defensively./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "emWhat /emdid you just say?" Toriel glared at him severely over her snout. The look she gave him oddly reminded Andy of his mom when he got in trouble./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, sorry." He apologized meekly. Toriel seemed satisfied with his answer./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "As I was saying, this is all new for you. I don't think that it would be safe for someone as young as you to be wandering around here by yourself."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting out, emI'm not some kindergartener that needs his hand held all the time! You're acting like I'm four years old! /emAfter the way Toriel looked at him from his previous outburst, he wisely kept silent./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel continued, "So, I must make you an offer. Will you come back to my home with me? You will be safe there, and I can make a meal and give you fresh clothes." She touched her finger to her cheek thoughtfully, "They might be a bit large, but they should do."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy raised his hands in the air, and remembered at the last second to be polite. "Uh, ma'am, I'm not so sure about this whole 'staying in your home' deal, but maybe if you could show me the way out of here, I'd be obliged."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel blinked at him fearfully, then she looked off to the side. "Well, there is emone/em way out." She murmurs softly. She turned her eyes back to Andy's. "It's in my home. But surely you wouldn't leave so quickly? I was hoping that we could… talk for a bit, get to know each other better." She gazed at him hopefully./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy sighed. "Well, guess I can't say no. But just for a while, I need to find my way out as soon as possible. If I'm out here for a whole day, my friends and family are emreally/em going to freak out."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He thought he saw a look of sadness pass over Toriel's face. She tried to hide it with a false smile. "Well, come along then. I'll lead you the right way."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She turned and started to walk away. Andy followed right behind, and they walked through passageways that were all made of the same mysterious purple brick, many were cracked and had thick vines of ivy crawling up the walls. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh!" Toriel stopped suddenly. Andy leapt to her side, ready to face any danger. She looked over to him. "I forgot, there are several traps and puzzles that you must solve to continue. Down this way—" She waved her arm over at an area with water flowing through ditches on either side, and Andy could see spikes blocking the way up ahead, "there is a lever that you must pull to deactivate the spikes."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy got the message. He walked down the path and pulled the first lever he came by./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "No!" Toriel cried, "That's not the right—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Nothing happened. She hesitated, then breathed a sigh of relief. The lever hadn't even moved, it hadn't been used in so long, Andy guessed, that it was rusted stuck. Andy shrugged, then moved on to the next lever. He pulled it down easily, and with a emclick!/em the spikes disappeared down into the ground./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I am terribly, terribly sorry." Toriel groaned. "I have left others deactivated, but some have reactivated automatically. They do that often. I—I was frightened that you might trigger… Oh, I am sorry." /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to say. He wasn't really into the whole "emotional" stuff. Luckily for him, Toriel regained her composure and held her hand out for him once again. "Come. You will need to stay close for this next one."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They went down another path, then it opened up to…/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy narrowly avoided exclaiming out loud, he didn't think that Toriel would like that either, but the sight before him made even emhis/em knees knock together. There was water across the expanse between two solid grounds, and spanning the gap was a wooden bridge… completely covered in spikes./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "O-okay, how do we c-cross this?" Andy asked nervously. Toriel didn't seem the least bit worried, much to Andy's disgruntlement./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Hmm. This is a more dangerous one. You must stay right behind me, and step emexactly/em where I step, understand?" She became very serious and stared him straight in the eye. Andy nodded solemnly. "It's not like I can afford a misstep, huh?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "No. You cannot." She walked out confidently onto the spikes, concentrating very hard on where she was going. Andy picked up the pace to keep right behind her, watching his own feet carefully. They turned quite a few times, and Andy had to use all of his concentration to keep on the right path and not dizzily fall to the side. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They finally reached the end of the spike bridge. Andy tried to not look too relieved, but Toriel visibly relaxed. "Oh good, I was worried that you would get hurt. I'd hate to see that happen to someone like you, Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy nodded. emWell, at least she's nice about it./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stumbled along behind Toriel, inconspicuously favoring his right leg. It was a long journey through multiple rooms with traps and puzzles that Toriel easily navigated. Andy marveled at her confidence, and secretly admired her for it. Of course, he would never let her know emthat/em. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Ah, here we are!" Toriel sang cheerily as she swung the door open, "My home! Come inside, Andy."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy straightened and walked in through the opened door. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The room inside had a honey-colored tint to it, giving it a cozy feeling. To Andy's left there was another room that had a fireplace and a comfy-looking cushioned armchair, to the right was a hallway with three doors and a flower vase, and there in front of Andy was a series of stairs that appeared to go down into the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Nice place." Andy commented. He wandered over into the room with the fireplace to get a better look around./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Thank you. I often keep busy by cleaning it, but lately I've been… well, not having as much energy as I usually do. I apologize if there are a few things out of place." Toriel nervously glanced around the room and wiped off an invisible speck from the fireplace with her forefinger./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Nah. It looks great." Andy assured her. "Waaaaaay better than my room at home. This is, like, heaven compared to that trash dump." He flashed another smirk. He had to check to see whether he emwas/em actually in heaven with the house in such order that he was unused to. This place was so different. Nothing was predictable here. Toriel could actually be an angel and suddenly sprout wings and grow a halo between her horns. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy stole another glance at her. She was muttering softly to herself as she wiped a perfectly clean vase with the sleeve of her robe. Her fur shimmered amber in the ambient light, giving perfect highlights to the purple fabric./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emNah, not an angel. More like Wife version of Bigfoot./em Andy snorted softly. emAn extremely civilized Wife Bigfoot./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Is there something wrong?" Andy jumped when Toriel suddenly spoke to him. He whirled around and tried to think of a believable excuse./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, uh, that? I just.. uh… needed to sneeze." He offered weakly./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's eyes instantly narrowed. Then she caught herself and waved over to a table with chairs behind Andy. "It will take me a minute to make a dinner. How about you sit for a minute?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy gladly obliged. But before he could take two steps, his knee gave out. He quickly brought up his hands to stop his fall, but the floor came no closer. He hung there puzzled for a second, then he noticed two strong arms wrapped around him, lifting him up from the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emOkay, I am /emnever, everem questioning Wifey Bigfoot again!/em Toriel carried him over to her plush armchair and gently settled him in the seat. He sank slightly in the cushions, but it oddly felt good./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel bended down on one knee and placed her hand on his hurt knee. He expected it to be a lot like a dog's paw; stiff, calloused. But it was soft and warm, just like her personality, just like her home./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh dear, I pushed you too hard, didn't I? I've been so foolish, letting a child—" emThere's that word again! /em"—traverse the Ruins completely on foot. You're hurt, aren't you? Why did you not tell me?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy shrugged. "It's nothing too bad. Not worth mentioning."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Andrew! Of course it's worth mentioning!" Toriel scolded lightly. Andy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. emSecond time today. /emToriel continued, "Here, let me heal you, and then I can get dinner started."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She spread her fingers over his knee and pressed down slightly. A warm tingling sensation seemed to come from her hand and spread its way through Andy's knee, tickling every nerve and vein there, then going down to his bone./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Umm, what are you doing?" He asked nervously. Toriel didn't reply. The sensation strengthened, then faded away just as quickly as it came. Toriel took her hand off of his knee, then stood up to her full height. Andy tried not to shiver when he saw how she towered over him in the chair./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "There, that should've taken care of all your wounds." She patted his shoulder, then turned to the fireplace. "I'll start a fire, and you can stay here and warm yourself." She bent over the ashes in the back, where there was oddly some fresh dry wood placed there. She held out her hand, then—/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy nearly hit the ceiling, then managed to fall out of the chair. A small ball of flame rested on Toriel's palm, it didn't appear to hurt her, or singe any of the hairs on her hand. Just as calm as could be, she held the ball of fire to the dry wood, and it burst up in flames in no time, making a cheery crackling fire that cast flickering shadows on Andy's face./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He hopped back up in the chair and acted like nothing happened. Toriel turned to him, and he tried to look as innocent as possible./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Would you like anything? A book, maybe?" She asked as she smoothed down her garment over her hips with her hands./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Uh, nah, I'm good. I just need to sit for a while." Andy replied. Toriel nodded, then headed into another room in the back. emProbably a kitchen or something. /emAndy let his head drop back in the pillowy softness, and he went over everything that was going on that day./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emWhere did I even go to? Did I fall into some other world? Or maybe this is all a dream, maybe I died and now I'm… uh… okay, never mind about that. Wherever I am, I need to find a way out. I'm still not sure about Toriel, as well as looking like a Wife Bigfoot, she seems to be as strong as that, too./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy sighed and sank back even deeper. emYeah, I'll need to keep an eye out everywhere I go. This place ain't safe, not at all. I really need to find a way back, folks are going to get really freaked out. And, it's no fun being dead, either. Yes, I must be strong, I must be determined to get out. But meanwhile, I need to keep an eye on Toriel while I recover. Never know when WB might show her primal instincts… zzzzzzzzzz./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He drifted off to sleep./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Andrew. It's time to wake up." Someone was gently calling to Andy. He cracked open his eyes and blinked once, twice, then a few more times to clear the sleepy film from his eyes./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel was leaning in close, watching his face closely. His eyes immediately popped wide open from her face being in such close quarters./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, good! You're awake!" She clapped her hands together once and backed off. "Your dinner is ready. I hope you will enjoy it, it will be sure to warm you up."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She held out a ceramic bowl filled with a chunky liquid. Andy remembered to pull off his gloves, then he took the bowl in his hands and held it close to his chest, the steam rising from the brew caressed his face and warmed it up considerably. The smell coming from it was unreal./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "This looks tasty. What kind of soup is it?" Andy licked his lips and took the offered spoon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "It's an old recipe of mine, I thought that you might like it. I used to make it all the time back—" She bit her lip suddenly. Andy stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Finally, she finished, as if it were an afterthought, "Back… in the old days." /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh." Andy couldn't think of anything else to say to that. Who knows how old this WB could be? Way older than Andy, since she seems to like calling him a "child"./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" His stomach growled angrily at him. He decided he'd better give it something before it starts a full-blown massacre on his intestines. He dipped the spoon in the broth, then raised it to his lips and took a tentative sip./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Golly Moses! This tastes better than it looks!" Andy exclaimed before shoveling in another spoonful. Toriel blushed through her cheek fur and grinned happily. "Wonderful! I have plenty more when you're done with that bowlful."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Great, Miss Tori, I could eat a horse." Andy didn't notice the way Toriel flinched when he mentioned the eating a horse. Once he quickly finished his bowl, Toriel pointed him back to the kitchen to get more. Another bowl of soup down, and he felt full, warm, and sleepy. In fact, he could barely keep his eyes open./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Come now, there's a room down here that you can use." Toriel guided him down the hall that he had observed earlier. By now he was too sleepy to care whether he was being led to a five-star suite or a jail cell. The room that Toriel opened the door to was a small, tidy bedroom that was plain but cozy like the rest of the house. Andy stumbled over to the only bed in the room and fell face-first onto the red quilt./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel giggled. "I guess you must be tired, then."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy made muffled sounds of confirmation./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, I will leave you to your rest. Sweet dreams." Toriel padded out and pulled the door shut. Andy flipped over on his back and pulled the quilt and sheets up and slipped between them. The last things he was aware of were the crispness of the pillow beneath his head, and the faint smell of cinnamon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy struggled to awaken after a mildly disturbing dream about walking in on Bigfoot and his wife. He stared at the ceiling for a minute contemplating his dream, then he decided to go investigate whether all the events he could remember of the previous day were indeed reality./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy gave a jaw-cracking yawn as he sleepily wandered into the living room he remembered from the day before (well, he wasn't entirely sure whether it was day or night, given that he's under tons of rock), and was startled to see Toriel there waiting for him, with her reading glasses on and an old-looking book in her lap./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" emYep, still real./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Ah! You're awake." She greeted him with a genuine smile./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "G'mornin WB." Andy muttered around another yawn. He plodded over to the table and plopped down in a chair./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "WD? Who's WD? Is that your nickname?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy almost smacked his forehead. emUgh, no! You just /emhadem to call her that. /emHe grasped onto her misguided idea. "Uh, yeah, that… that's my nickname. WD. Yeah."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel didn't seem to notice his hesitation and cheerily went back to her reading. Andy heaved a silent sigh of relief. emGreat. Now she thinks my nick is WD. Well, that's not too bad, except it makes me sound like some nerdy professor or something./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I paid a visit to Vegatiod this morning," Toriel looks up from her book, "and he gave me some vegetables for breakfast. They're in the kitchen, if you're hungry."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy's stomach apparently forgot the huge meal it received last night, at the mention of food it growled like an angry bear. "Yes ma'am!"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel grinned even wider at his manners. Andy tapped the table a couple of times, then decided to tell her what's on his mind. "Miss Tori? I can only eat then run, 'cause I gotta find the exit to this place."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel's hands suddenly gripped her book tighter. She didn't meet Andy's eyes. "You want to leave so soon? We've barely gotten to know each other."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I'm sorry, you're a great… goat, but I really have to go." Andy suddenly remembered something when he looked down at his hands. "Where are my gloves?"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Oh, those. After you took them off last night, I washed them. And your bandanna." She held out the items in her hand, clean and dry. "I was going to give them to you before breakfast. I almost forgot."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy went over and reclaimed the articles, sliding on the crisp gloves and retying on the bandanna firmly around his neck. "Thanks."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Well, if you must leave then at least have all you can eat. And I'll pack a lunch for you as well."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Aww, you don't have to—"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "I insist." Toriel set her jaw firmly, and Andy could tell that she wasn't backing off./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Alright"/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel stood and went into the kitchen, Andy trailing behind. She gathered together some pieces of food that Andy had never seen in his life, but he trusted her to make it taste wonderful. He turned to the pot on the stove and peered inside, it looked like some kind of steamed vegetables with seasonings in the bottom. The aroma tickled his sinuses, activating his drool./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "What vegetables are these?" Andy asked./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Potatoes, carrots, broccoli, pradishes, and gutroot." She replied promptly. Andy was confused on what the last two were, but he figured that it wouldn't be dangerous if Toriel cooked with it. Right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Here, I made a sandwich, and I threw in a few Monster Candies. This should be enough for you until you find… where you get where you're going." Toriel handed him a bulging sack. Andy took it in his hands and weighed the thing. emThis one sandwich should last me a week./em/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He got a plate and piled it high with steaming vegetables and took it into the living/dining room and wolfed it down with gusto. Toriel also got herself a plate, but she nibbled at the edges. She finally placed her fork down with a sigh and looked over to Andy. "I see you are done. I will lead you to the exit."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He got up with his sack and followed her over to the flight of stairs leading down into the floor and they descended into a dark basement. It was more of a hall, made out of the same purple stone as the rest of the Ruins./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Come along." Toriel's voice echoed in the empty space. "It's not far."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" They made one turn, walked further, then reached a room with a pair of light purple doors with a strange black symbol printed on it. Toriel sighed again, more sorrowfully this time, then waved her arm over at the exit. "Here we are. I cannot go past this point. This is goodbye."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Andy softened when he saw a single tear trickle down Toriel's cheek, wetting down the fur. He reached over and patted her hand comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. After I get home and rest up for a bit, I'll come over and visit sometime, I promise."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Toriel sniffed and wiped her tear away with the back of her hand. Andy pulled open the door and waved back at her one more time before he slipped through. Toriel watched after him for a minute, tears spilled from both her eyes and dripped down to the floor./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"span style="font-kerning: none;" "Please." Her voice trembled. "Don't promise."/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;" /p
