Chapter 2
Selenia nervously bit her lip as she peeked above the counter of the sentry station. There were fast paced footsteps coming from her left side, so she ducked down.
" 'sup, bro?" Sans stood relaxed, gazing up at a taller skeleton.
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER." The other skeleton was shouting. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVENT… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"staring at this lamp. It's really cool." Sans shrugged his shoulders. "do you wanna look?" At his question, Selenia peeked over the counter, not having noticed the lamp beforehand. It looked a little beat up so she wondered if it even still worked.
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" The other skeleton, Papyrus she assumed, looked like he was throwing a mini tantrum. He was stomping his foot and waving his arms around erratically. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"
She looked over both skeletons as Papyrus rambled on a bit more, taking in their appearances. She and Sans had been about the same height, her being 5'5", whereas the taller one was probably a foot or two taller. She smiled slightly at Papyrus' choice of clothing, a white armor to cover his shoulders and rib cage, a red scarf or cape around his neck. He also wore blue superman like underwear over his pelvic area, red gloves and boots, along with black tight material over his arms and legs. He looked somewhat like a super hero would.
'hmm… maybe there's something behind the counter that will help you." Sans' voice took her out of her thoughts as she ducked back down.
"SANS!" Papyrus started to flail again. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!" Selenia almost chuckled at the word. "YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"
"hey, take it easy." Sans was still calm over his brother's yelling. "I've gotten a ton of work done today." A small pause settled over the two skeletons. "a skele-ton." The shorter of the two started to chuckle, and Selenia had a hard time keeping her own giggling under control.
"SANS!" Papyrus groaned, glaring at his brother.
"come on. You're smiling." Sans turned his pinprick orbs in the direction of the sentry station.
"I AM AND I HATE IT." The taller skeleton sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"
"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone." Another skeleton pun broke the tension.
A laugh burst out of Selenia before she could contain it. She quickly throws her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle the sound. There was a silence as she calmed down, and she quickly peeked over the counter, coming face to skull with Papyrus.
"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THIS… A HUMAN?!" She could tell the skeleton was excited.
"uhhh… actually, I think that's a rock." The shorter one glanced to her right, making her turn to that side as well. There was indeed a rock there that wasn't there before.
"OH…" Papyrus seemed let down.
"hey, what's that beside the rock?" They both looked back to her.
"OH MY GOD!" The taller leaned over to his brother. "IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?" He whisper yelled.
"yes."
"OH MY GOD!" He looked so happy, that Selenia had to smile as well. Though, she wondered if Papyrus had never seen a human before this. In her own excitement, she had blocked out the cold, but now it was coming back, making her shiver and rub her arms. Papyrus was still rambling on about finding a human, but Sans had his eye lights on her, a hint of concern on his expression. He nudged his brother, pointing toward the human.
"Are humans supposed to change color?" Papyrus stared at her, finally lowering his volume.
"N-no." Selenia answered for herself before staring down at her arms. They were very pale with a slight hint of blue around the edges. "C… c-cold." She continued to shiver.
"OH NO!" The volume was back, and she cringed at his loud voice. "WHAT DO WE DO?"
"gotta get the kid some place warm." Sans finally spoke up.
"Warm… warm…" Papyrus was deep in thought. "NYEH-HEH!" he raised a gloved hand to the sky, pointing. "OUR HOUSE IS WARM!" He also pulled off his scarf, wrapping it about the human's face and neck. She was confused at first, before she felt the warmth from the material.
"can you stand, kid?" She looked to Sans before leveraging herself up using the counter. "you really weren't prepared for the cold, huh?"
"Didn't… ex-ex-expect cold." Selenia continued to shiver, but her face felt some of the chill leave thanks to the scarf. "Pap… Papyru…"
"Yes human?" He also had a concerned look on his features.
"Thank… you…" She pulled on the scarf slightly, to indicate the meaning to her words.
"NO THANKS NECESSARY! ALL IN A DAYS WORK FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He 'Nyeh-heh-heh-heh'd' a few times, an orange dust blossoming on his cheek bones at her praise, which made her giggle.
"alright, come on. I know a short cut to the house." Sans pulled the other two with him, walking at a fast pace toward the surrounding forest. A few minutes passed and they were on the outskirts of a small town.
"WELCOME, HUMAN, TO SNOWDIN!" Papyrus shouted, making her jump just a bit. They led her through the town, coming to a two story house on the other side of it. "AND WELCOME TO OUR HOME." He opened the door and pushed her through before forcing her to sit on a green couch.
"go grab a few blankets, pap. I'll keep an eye socket on her." Sans sat beside her on the couch.
"GOOD IDEA, BROTHER! I CAN ALSO MAKE HER SOME SPAGHETTI!" With that Papyrus rushed off.
"He's… eccentric…" Selenia smiled, though shivers were still passing through her being.
"yeah he's the coolest." She looked over at him, seeing nothing but affection in his skeletal features. Her eyes were starting to grow heavy on her, dozing before quickly sitting up straight. "hey, kid, don't fall asleep." Immediate concern washed over him.
"But… sleepy…" Her eyes continued to close, fluttering every now and again.
"don't do it." He prodded her side with two of his fingers, earning a mix of a shriek and a squeal. She was instantly back awake as she turned to glare at him.
"No. That's a no." Her voice was hard; he only grinned back at her.
"HUMAN! BROTHER! I RETURN WITH BLANKETS!" Papyrus rushed down the stairs, quickly coming over to the two. He threw one blanket around her legs and another around her torso. He also pulled out a thick pair of socks, sliding them over her slightly blue toes. "THERE! YOU SHOULD BE WARM IN NO TIME, HUMAN!" He then bounded off to cheerily start making spaghetti.
Selenia curled herself into the blankets, feeling the chill start to wane. "Can I sleep now?" Her voice was muffled, due to the scarf and blanket.
'heh, knock yourself out, kid." Sans also sunk into the green couch. She chuckled slightly before finally closing her eyes and drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Sans watched her sleep for a while, his mind racing. This was the first time this human had ever shown up in the timelines, and it confused him greatly. He would definitely have to keep a close watch on her and see what would transpire from her presence.
She woke up a while later, feeling extremely warm, and very uncomfortable in said warmth. Wiggling a bit to free her arms from the cocoon of blankets, she gazed at her surroundings in a sleep ridden haze. Everything looked like a perfectly normal living room, except for the lone sock and line of sticky notes beside it.
Selenia struggled free from the remnants of the cocoon, relishing the feel of cool air on her skin. She stood with a stretch, many joints popping to her pleasure. "that sounded terrible." The voice came from up the stairs; she turned her eyes up to the shorter of the skeleton brothers, who had a grimace on his features.
"It's pretty normal actually." She watched him thoughtfully. "Though since you're, well… a skeleton, it's a kind of different perspective."
"yeah, we don't pop like that." He looked curious.
"It's hard to explain, since you don't have flesh or muscle." She chuckled. "It just has to deal with tendons or ligaments moving, or gasses escaping the area in between the joints." She had remembered one of her internet searches on the subject of popping joints. She lifted her arm, pushing it forward, the elbow popping in her effort. "Like that."
"so… is it just a human thing or?"
"Well on the surface anything I guess with muscles and such can pop and groan at times. Normally you just hear the big pops and stuff from humans though." A sheepish smile crossed her lips.
"HUMAN! YOU ARE AWAKE!" Papyrus called out from the kitchen. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE ALMOST FINESHED WITH THE SPAGHETTI PREPARATIONS!" She dropped her gaze from Sans, meandering over to where she guessed the kitchen was and took a peek inside. It was normal, mostly; the only thing out of place was the sink and cabinet that almost reached the ceiling. The taller skeleton looked toward her. "ARE YOU FEELING BETTER?"
"Very much, thank you both." Selenia spoke loud enough so that both could hear her.
"no problem, kid." She jumped at Sans' appearance by her side. How had she not heard him moving? A lazy grin greeted her reaction.
"THE SPAGHETTI IS READY!" Papyrus pushed a plate into her arms, doing the same to his brother. The pasta didn't look too bad to her eyes, but the smell that came from it made her nervous. She slowly rolled some up on her fork and took a bite. Her face scrunched up, though she tried to play it off on the food tasting good. "AH! YOU DO ENJOY IT!" The taller skeleton had fallen for it.
"Yeah, it's very good." Selenia hated herself just a bit, for as she looked at it, there were tiny little anchovy heads staring back at her from the sauce. "Maybe we can trade some cooking tips sometime?" She smiled, nervously.
"OF COURSE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD LOVE TO SHOW AND TRADE COOKING IDEAS!" His eye sockets seemed to sparkle at the thought. She continued to politely eat a few more bites before declaring she was full. Sans took her plate, and his empty one, which she stared at with wide eyes, to throw into the tall sink.
"go on and make yourself at home." The shorter brother prompted.
"Alright…" She fidgeted with the scarf still wrapped around her neck. She had to admit she was curious about the brothers, but decided against asking anything due to not wanting to be rude.
Selenia moved back into the living room, to the couch. She fixed the blankets, putting a folded one onto each arm and sitting down awkwardly. She pulled the scarf from around her neck, gently turning it over in her hands and noticing a few holes in it. She saw that as it being well loved and smiled at the thought.
Feeling a shift beside her, she looked to see Sans had come in and plopped down beside her again. She bit her lip, "Um… thanks again for not letting me become a popsicle."
"snow problem." His ever present grin seemed to grow. She could only chuckle at the pun, where there was a groan of disappointment from the kitchen where Papyrus was.
"Tibia honest," She grinned, "that wasn't very punny."
"OH NO, NOT YOU TOO, HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, earning a laugh from her and Sans.
"Sorry they're not tickling your funny bone, Papyrus." She apologized, and earned another groan and laugh. The taller brother came in and sat on her other side, picking up the remote and flicking through channels until he came to a cooking one with a robot host. She took the scarf in her hands, and threw it around Papyrus' neck, gently wrapping it back around for him.
"Thanks again for letting me borrow it. It's a really nice scarf." Selenia watched as an orange glow dusted his cheek bones.
"ALL IN A-A DAYS WORK FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He actually stuttered over a few of the words. The trio sat in silence as the T.V. show continued to play. She noticed that Papyrus was starting to doze and jerk back awake a few times.
She nudged at Sans with her elbow, gaining his attention. She motioned toward his brother, a soft smile gracing her lips. "alright, paps, time to get you to bed." The shorter skeleton heaved himself up off the couch, looking toward his brother.
"But… but the show isn't over…" Papyrus finally used his indoor voice, though it was riddled with sleep.
"it'll be on rerun when you wake up, bro." Sans helped his brother to his feet, then up the stairs. "which story do you want tonight?"
"Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny?" Was the mumbled reply. "Oh, goodnight, human!" Papyrus turned, giving her a sleepy smile.
"Good night, Papyrus." Selenia smiled back, giving a little wave. Once the brothers were out of sight in Papyrus' room, she pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. She looked it over before dialing Toriel's number and holding it to her ear.
After a few rings, there was a click and a yawn heard from the other end. "Hello, this is Toriel."
"Hi, mom." She smiled, listening to Toriel rustle around in her bed.
"Oh, hello, my child." Her voice perked up.
"I didn't mean to wake you if you were sleeping. I just wanted to check in; let you know I'm safe." Selenia bit at her thumb nail.
"Do not worry about it! I am glad to know you are safe." Toriel's voice held relief. "Have you met anyone interesting?"
"Yeah, two skeletons, brothers. They're so nice." She smiled, thinking about if she should tell Toriel she had almost froze. She decided against that. "Anyway, I should let you get back to sleep. I'll check in a bit earlier tomorrow."
"Alright, my child. Have a good night."
"You too, mom." With that she ended the call, staring down at the phone for a few moments in thought.
"mom, huh?" She jumped at the sudden voice as Sans seemed to just appear in front of her.
"Um... yeah…" She looked down, smoothing her thumbs over the phone in nervousness.
"she's the old lady in the ruins?" He tapped the toe of his slippers on the floor, as if dislodging a pebble from between his toe bones.
"You know her?" She was interested now.
"you could say that." He moved to sit back down on the couch beside her. "We're joke buddies." He shrugged.
"You've never seen her face to face, have you?" She watched his face closely.
"Nah, just some jokes through the door, mostly knock-knock ones." His smile was fond.
"She's a lovely goat woman." He seemed to freeze. "Huh? What's the matter?" She was concerned she had overstepped her bounds.
"n-nothing, kid…" She didn't quite believe him. There was something about Toriel he knew and wasn't telling her. She decided to just shrug it off and ask the goat woman more about herself some other time.
"So… um…" She kind of felt like she had over stayed her welcome. "Is there an inn or something I can go crash at around here?"
"oh? Our couch too lumpy for you?" Sans' normal grin was back, though a little tight.
"Nothing like that at all." Selenia fidgeted, awkwardly. "I just don't want to, you know, be rude and over stay."
"don't worry about it. Paps was actually hoping you would still be here so he could make more spaghetti." He winked her way, which begged the question on how a skeleton could wink in the first place.
"He's a real sweet heart from what I've seen." She chuckled softly. "I'll see if I can help improve his cooking though."
"yeah, that would be great." Sans yawned, looking to his wrist at a nonexistent watch. "well, it's late, should be getting some sleep." He stood with some difficulty before moving to the stairs.
"Alright, have a good sleep, Sans." She watched him ascend, and he paused glancing back at her.
"I'll try." He was quiet; she barely heard the words. She watched him continue onto the second door on the upper level of the house before she was alone with her thoughts.
She turned off the T.V. and settled herself to lay with her upper back resting on the arm of the green couch. Recounting the events of the day, or at least what she thought was a day; she had fallen into the underground world filled with monsters. One monster was a tiny yellow flower with a craving for blood lust, another sweet goat woman that she happily called 'mom.' Then there were these two skeletal brothers, one short, one tall, who saved her from freezing to death and opened their home to her.
Selenia smiled to herself, her eyes feeling heavy as she played through the memories. Maybe, not everyone in the world was bad, and she just needed to fall out of human society to find out where she was happiest. With that thought, sleep claimed her.
A/N: Hello lovelies =) Second part is out! Yay! Already working on the next part as well! So I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave suggestions, criticisms whatever =) Have a great day!