Papyrus silently stalked down the winding, narrow alleyways of the dull town. Although there was no shortage of people to be found, its constant dreariness and the rather depressing, unwelcoming mindset of the locals made the entire place seem utterly vacant. The grey skies and gentle pitter patter of bitter cold rain did not help to lift the slender skeleton's mood in the slightest.

His usual route home provided little to no shelter from the steady downpour, and so the monster was forced to take a longer path through the inner alleys of the small city. To most the wild array of side passages may have seemed like a maze, but Papyrus had managed to map out each twist and turn in his mind within a few short weeks of arriving on the surface. It was always useful to have a thorough knowledge of the surrounding terrain; be it a snowy forest deep underground or a quiet city street.

The street was narrow, almost uncomfortably so, and the path was made of an uneven cobblestone that made it slippery and difficult to navigate at the best of times, let alone in the rain that flowed down from the rooves overhead. Various puddles dotted the ground in numerous places and had already seen to saturating Papyrus' boots. How he wished he had been wearing his old ones from Snowdin. Perhaps if the weather continued as it was he would have to fish them back out again.

The tall skeleton gave a soft sigh as he dodged yet another murky puddle. He sometimes found himself missing his old home. Sure, it was a bleak and highly dangerous place to call home, but at least life was somewhat more simple than up on the surface. He could recall the constant silence, save for the occasional scuffle between monsters, and although it might have been more than a little off-putting to most, he found it a damn well better than the constant noise and disturbances on the surface.

It was for that reason Papyrus stuck to the backstreets when he could, to avoid unnecessary confrontations with people. Well, that and it was partially out of old habits that had yet to die. The constant need to be vigilant, to have his guard up and senses heightened when in unfamiliar territory, it was all from surviving the hell that had been the Underground.

Finally, the co-head of the Royal Guard met with his destination, breaking off his train of thought. Again he sighed, his mood still almost as damp as the weather. It was for this very reason the creature that stood at his heels snapped her attention to the skeleton. "Papyrus?" she breathed, her feminine voice thick with concern, "whatever is the matter?".

"Not now," he growled back with a dismissive wave of his hand, "save it until we're inside.". His daemon simply stared, unimpressed with his current attitude, but decided it was best to not comment on it for the time being.

Although his daemon said nothing aloud, Papyrus could practically feel her stare and frowned further, the pointed teeth that lined his jaw grating against one another in irritation. "I said later, Amarisa," he grumbled with a sigh for the umpteenth time that day. He could still sense the apprehension the large animal was feeling through their bond, but pointedly ignored it.

Amarisa was known to worry over Papyrus, she always knew when something was bothering him. When Papyrus was young, and Amarisa had yet to settle, the daemon had always favoured canine forms. For a while they thought she would take the form of a Labrador, or perhaps a Golden Retriever, but the Underground was full of constant danger, and gradually Amarisa began to change into wilder and larger animals for strictly protective purposes. It was no wonder in the end the daemon chose the form of a large Grey wolf. Her pelt was a coal black, and her eyes a stunning golden colour. The canine could simply disappear into her surroundings, and coupled with her large size, brute strength, blinding speed and dazzling agility, it made her the perfect protector and counterpart of the Royal Guardsman.

Deeming the conversation over, Papyrus darted out from his sheltered pathway and across the empty road. He leapt up the sidewalk before slipping through a large gate. He easily closed the distance between himself and the front porch, taking the stairs to the front door two at a time.

The building that stood before him was what most would call luxurious. It was built from solid brick, with thick wooden framed doors and windows, and a substantial, immaculately kempt garden surrounding it. It consisted of several living quarters; five in all, and a bottom floor that served as a reception. The accommodation was reserved for only the highest ranking monsters, as the humans thought it best to keep monsters within a close proximity of each other, for the time being at least. Several monsters, including himself, had been indignant that humans would think that they knew what was best for monsters, but had decided not to argue about it at a time when tensions were so high between them.

Papyrus scraped off the bottoms of his boots on the large mat just outside the building, stamping off any excess water they had accumulated. He brushed any droplets of water off his skull and patted down his coat. The moment he thought himself dry enough, and was about the enter, the wolf at his feet shook out her pelt, spraying him with a fresh coat of water. He scowled down at the canine disapprovingly before brushing himself off once more.

The lanky skeleton pushed the door open and allowed his daemon to enter before closing it again after them. All eyes within turned towards them, but quickly averted once they realised who it was. The interior was lavishly decorated, with fine furnishings, and elegant décor. The white stone floor was polished expertly, and there was neigh a spot of dust to be found upon anything.

Papyrus made his way towards the stairs. His brisk pace and irritable disposition sent monsters fleeing from his path, all too fearful of the Royal Guard's wrath. He swiftly began ascending the steps that were covered with a red carpet that was soft underfoot. There had been an elevator to the side, but Papyrus always preferred to take the stairs if at all possible.

Eventually, he reached his floor and marched over to the door. He produced a key from his coat's front pocket and set about unlocking the door. Once a satisfying click was heard he pushed the door open, closing it again after his daemon. There was a shuffling sound from one of the rooms at the rear of the house, and eventually a timid figure made their presence known.

"B-Boss?" asked the stuttering voice. Papyrus recognised the voice's owner even before he had spoken, and knew it to be his older brother, Sans.

"What?" he wearily growled back, trying unsuccessfully to keep the aggressive edge from his voice. The angered tone in turn caused both Sans and the creature lurking behind the shorter skeleton to simultaneously flinch. Papyrus was forced to take a deep breath to quell anything that remained of his temper, and turned to focus the white pinpricks of his eyes on the stout little skeleton.

The curious thing about his eye sockets, was that they displayed his emotions. When calm or relaxed, his eyes were mere pinpricks of white light, when angered or irritated his pupils disappeared and became entirely black, and when he lost his temper, they sparked a blood red, egged on by his volatile magic. It was because of this the first thing Sans always sought out were Papyrus' eyes to get a grasp on his current mood.

Fortunately, Papyrus' eyes were a calm white despite his slight irritation, and this seemed to calm the older monster. Eventually Sans had evidently mustered up enough courage to continue, "H-How was your day?" he gingerly asked, anxiously wringing his hands together in front of him and shrinking further into his black jacket, hiding amongst the fur lining.

"The usual; stressful and exhausting," he grumbled, placing away his coat, and unbuckling the boots from his feet, "These humans grate on my nerves with all their unnecessary requirements – there are near constant arguments back and forth – not to mention all the monsters who've gone missing since we arrived here…" Papyrus tossed his boots into the cupboard before heading off further into the apartment with Sans in tow.

Amarisa took a moment to properly greet Sans' daemon, Caellian, by gently rubbing her face against the feline. Caellian, who had taken the form of a rather lithe Cheetah, was happy to return the greeting. When the two moved to follow their respective counterparts Caellian leapt into the air, his form shifting in the blink of an eye into that of a raven.

The bird gave a fluttering of its wings, adjusting to the new form before gliding after his monster.

"Your daemon still changes?" Papyrus asked, making no effort to hide the weary tone from his voice. Throughout childhood a monster or human's daemon would have the ability to change their form until eventually reaching an age where their personality had fully developed and they would 'settle' on a final form for the rest of their life. Caellian, however, had never settled. Sans had always said he felt Caellian would have a fairly large form, the only problem with that was the fact that larger daemons drew more attention, which was exactly what he didn't want to do.

A daemon was always the opposite gender to its counterpart, but for some reason both Sans and Caellian shared a gender, which already made them stick out, adding a large, dangerous, unsettled daemon to the equation would only draw more unneeded attention. Every day the two would try out different forms trying to find their final form to no success. They'd tried every known feline, every conceivable canine, every possible reptile and amphibian, they'd even tried out aquatic species during a trip to Waterfall, but still, no luck.

Eventually, they had agreed that Caellian would maintain the form of a cheetah, pretending it was his daemon's settled form to avoid any suspicion from other monsters. They of course continued to experiment with different forms, again with no result.

"Yeah," Sans sighed, sounding just as tired as Papyrus was, "I've been tryin' bigger forms, but I still can't find the right one." Caellian flew over to Sans, perching himself on his shoulder before nesting himself down in the lining of his hood, giving a soft chirp, happy to have a nice soft place to rest close to his counterpart.

Papyrus made his way over to their old green couch, near enough collapsing into the cushions. He immediately regretted the decision after a spring dug harshly into his spine. They really had to get a new couch. Regardless, all the tension he previously had, had all but fled his tired body now that he was in a slightly more comfortable position.

He watched as Amarisa moved over to him, seating herself calmly at his feet and resting her head on his leg. The canine closed her eyes, exhaling softly, content with finally being back home. He reached out a hand, tenderly ruffling the wolf's fur.

They only had a short while to rest before they were expected at the King's residence to further discuss plans. Sans and Caellian would most likely be joining them, they hadn't seen the human Frisk and their daemon Chara for a good while. While they had been at first frosty and spiteful towards the young human, both Papyrus and Amarisa had soon taken to them, eager to help their cause in any way they could.

Eventually, Sans had made his way over and sat himself down beside Papyrus. He reached up to stroke the feathers of his daemon for comfort before speaking up again. "We still no closer to finding out what happened to them monsters?" he asked.

Papyrus' frown deepened, "no," he said simply massaging his temples to ward off the headache that was threatening to form. He had been asking the same question for weeks, demanding why the humans were less than concerned about a 'few' missing monsters. "Speaking of the missing monsters, I don't want you going out alone until we've sorted this out" he continued, finally turning to look his older brother in the eye.

Sans was evidently more than a little insulted by what Papyrus was implying by the angry expression he currently wore, "I can look after myself, Boss," he growled narrowing his red eyes on the younger monster. It was a well-known fact that it is was monsters of a low LV or HP count that went missing, or as the majority of the monster community assumed, were taken. It was for this reason Papyrus didn't want his one HP brother wandering the dark streets on his lonesome.

"Sans, just promise me that- it won't be for long, and it would be one less thing for me to constantly worry about," he tried to reason, frowning further. Some foolish, naïve part of him had through that the transition from Underground to surface would be easy and finally he wouldn't have to be so stressed. That was of course far from what actually happened.

Sans said no more, conceding defeat in the matter, at least for the time being. No doubt he would bring it up again later on when Papyrus was in a less irritable mood. But for now, they rested in silence, waiting to be called upon by the King.