Jett's eyes shot open as she darted upright from her lying position in the leaves, the dazed girl quickly surveying around the room for a frantic moment to take in her surroundings.
"…God dammit." She silently cursed at to herself with the realization that she had fallen asleep in lieu of her short break. She was lucky that nothing decided to sneak up on her and do harm to her while she was carelessly snoozing away merely a room away from where she was attacked by that flower.
She shuddered as thoughts of Flowey invaded her memory, her brows scrunching up as she let out an audible sigh. She put herself on her knees before lifting herself off the pile of crunchy leaves that she had made her resting place, dusting off any lingering leaf remains from her pants and jacket while she mentally berated herself for accidentally wasting time not looking for Frisk.
Jett's suspicion on whether Frisk had also fallen down into The Underground before he did had significantly grown after her encounter with Flowey, after the mention of 'another human' falling down here recently. It's not every day people wander into the woods surrounding Mt. Ebott because of the legend about it, so she was more determined than ever to find out whether or not this person was her brother.
Not wanting to waste any more time, after a short stretch of her arms, she took her first step forward. The sound of crunching leaves disappeared behind her as she followed the unmarked path up the short set of light purple stone stairs to advance in to the area of this unknown terrain.
She studied her surroundings some more as she approached the arched doorway in wonder, thinking to herself that this place has a very unique and aged beauty to it that she would, under normal circumstances, find peaceful enough to sit around for hours in. The only real thing that would probably deter her away from her tranquility would defiantly have to be the whole 'Monster's wanting to take her soul' thing, which defiantly made the area significantly less enjoyable.
In her careless trance off of the path she was walking towards, Jett ended up slamming her body straight into a solid yet soft object when she tried to go through the doorway. She let out a surprised grunt and squeezed her eyes shut from the force as she was sent backwards, tripping over her clumsy feet and stumbling back towards the small ledge where the red leaf pile rested in between the two sets of stairs about five or six feet below. She braced herself for the fall, knowing well enough that she wasn't going to be able to save herself from the scraped knee that she'll probably get for her inattention.
"Oh no!" A startled voice reached Jett's ears, a mature female by the sound of it this time, as a considerably large and warm hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the ledge to save her from the unimpressive fall below. Her hair fell over her face from the sudden change of momentum, the hand around her wrist gently resting whilst another hand was softly planted on her other arm to help pull her back away from the edge and make sure she was steady on her feet.
"I am terribly sorry for that, I must not have been looking where I was going! How careless of me…" Jett shook her head to shake her daze and brushed the hair blocking her sight off to the side to see who her savior was. She almost wish she didn't, however, her face flushing of color and her stomach sinking at what was before her.
Standing in front of her was another Monster.
Jett gasped and swiftly withdrew her wrist from the woman's gentle grasp to take a few nervous steps back and get some distance between the two. After a good yard or two away, Jett was able to get a better look at the puzzled woman who oddly resembled a goat in many ways.
She was covered in well kept, short, snow white fur from head to toe, with two petite horns no larger than maybe three inches long resting on her forehead a few inches above her friendly hazel eyes. Two long, floppy ears rested from the side of her head, falling softly right over her shoulder where they met her unshapely royal purple dress, the sleeves of the dress cut right where her armpit was.
The dress reached to right above ground without room to spare, the material gently lying over her large furry, animalistic bare feet that poked out from underneath. The neck of the cozy looking, long sleeved white turtle neck shirt that was underneath the dress rested loosely around her throat, its sleeve length covering her arms completely to complete her modest attire.
Her dress had a noticeable design on the front, outlined in white and resting on her chest. It consisted of an outline of a large upside down triangle, which had three solid triangles inside of the outline sitting towards the bottom. One of the triangles in the middle was a little lower than the others and also faced with its pointed end downwards, while the others rested slightly higher with their pointed ends facing upwards.
Above those triangles was a picture of a solid white circle with wings, a bird or fairy maybe? Even though the Monster woman looked nice enough, Jett had learned her lesson about not judging from appearances with her encounter with, what would initially look to be, a kind flower Monster. She kept the thought in the back mind that it may all be a façade and finally responded back to the Monster woman, trying to not show that she was too afraid of her.
"..A-are you here to take my soul too?" Jett' voice cracked as she asked the woman her question, instinctively placing her hands over her chest where her soul rested.
So much for not appearing fearful…
The woman tilted her head looked in confusion from Jett's question, but then gave a small smile as she softly laughed, shaking her head side to side.
"No, my child. I have no need for something like that." She crossed her hands over each other as she rested her arms loosely in front of her. "I am Toriel, caretaker of these Ruins. I pass by here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. I can honestly say that I am surprised to see that someone has fallen down again so soon though!" She gave another friendly chuckle at this as Jett connected the dots in her mind, something that Flowey had mentioned to her whilst talking about the other human that had fallen down.
Lucky for him, that stupid woman in the ruins saved his soul from becoming mine. But that dumb woman only comes down these parts of the ruins once a day...
…IS IT ALREADY THE NEXT DAY!?
Jett crinkled her brows and internally damned herself some more for resting for so long, letting her guard down a little around Toriel while still keeping a safe distance away from this new stranger.
"…My name is Jett, I fell down here through a hole while I was looking for my younger brother on the surface. I think that he may have fallen down here too." Toriel's smile faltered slightly, her bright expression dulling a little at Jett's words as she continued. "I came across this little yellow flower yesterday, and it had told me that another human had fallen down here not too long after I-"
"A yellow talking flower?" Toriel interrupted as she eyed Jett with concern. "Oh, he just doesn't want to give up! Did that foul creature hurt you at all, child?" Toriel went to reach a hand out towards Jett, but Jett wasn't about to get touched by a strange Monster she just met. She took a big step back and placed her hands up defensively in front of her with a sheepish look on her face.
"Uh, well no, I'm fine actually... I mean he tried to take what he called a 'soul' from me… but that's beside the point, my wellbeing isn't as important right now. All that I care about is finding my brother, and I was told that someone had saved him yesterday from that flower..." The air felt heavy as silence fell between the two for a few awkward moments, the both of them knowing very well who that person was.
"...Oh dear, I do believe that the flower you spoke with was speaking of me then." Toriel smiled as she finally found her voice to speak up, rubbing the back of her head nervously while hope swelled once more inside Jett with Toriel's confirmation.
"Do you know where this person is now, or what they look like, or anything? Please…" Jett felt so overwhelmed by all of this that her eyes starting to water a little with the return of her mixed emotions dancing throughout her mind.
"...Please, follow me child." Toriel held her large hand out towards Jett. "I will tell you everything that you would like to know, but let us go someplace other than here." Jett eyed her fuzzy hand with a raised brow, thinking that it was a little odd that Toriel wanted to hold her hand. She defiantly didn't get any bad vibes off of her as of yet, unlike with Flowey where she caught on to his bullshit after a few words with him. She may also be a huge help towards Jett's goal of finding Frisk, so she should probably show some kindness back to her to gain her favor.
So, putting all hope into her instincts to trust this woman and swallowing down her reasonable fear, Jett accepted Toriel's offered palm. The Monster woman smiled warmly down at her as she closed her fingers around her small hand, seeming delighted that Jett had taken the open hand. "Let us go then, child. To my home."
The walk to Toriel's home would have probably been a little quicker and less bizarre if she wouldn't have tried teaching Jett how puzzles worked in The Underground every two minutes or ten steps. Jett found it tedious and unnecessary, but she easily solved whatever puzzles that Toriel had thrown at her to be nice, if you even want to call flipping a few switches that were already labeled for her 'solving' anything.
She didn't really mind the simplicity of these odd puzzles that were implemented, considering doing all of this pointless stuff just means that she'll be one step closer in getting more info on the human that had fallen in to The Underground just yesterday.
Toriel had also mentioned something about 'sparing' other Monsters that Jett crossed paths with as an alternative to fighting them, that Jett simply needed to talk to the Monsters and dodge attacks instead of harm them. She didn't fully understand that concept of that at all. Usually, when confronted with someone who is threatening, when fleeing isn't an option, than a Human would fight back in self-defense. It called 'fight or flight' instincts, not 'let them attack you until they get bored or flight' instincts.
It was odd with the way things worked a little differently down here, and she wasn't too fond on the idea of shaking hands with an attacker if they were trying to take her life. It was a little confusing to the girl, but she didn't put too much thought to it since they had gotten to Toriel's home after a reasonable amount of time had passed. Both women approached the entrance of the quaint home, Toriel releasing Jett's hand from her kindly grasp.
Toriel had a modest home in what she called 'The Ruins', the front of it scattered with the same kind of red leaves that Jett had seen back at the entrance and all throughout the Ruins. A large, bare tree rested peacefully a few yards away from the home, leaves that she had only assumed belonged on its long branches once upon a time, also littering the bottom of the dark colored trunk. The purple bricks of the home seemed to be very aged whilst clean and taken care of, the home including an open doorway placed in the middle of the brick home and two simple windows on both sides of the entrance.
Toriel flashed a warm smile in Jett's direction.
"Welcome to my home. Let's not linger too long out here and go inside." Probably not a wise idea to go into a strange home after knowing someone for less than an hour, but Jett was going to do so anyways, whether or not it was going to be a good idea.
She wasn't going to expect the inside to look that much different style-wise as the rest of the Ruins, and if she had to guess, she would assume that Monster homes would be wildly different from what she was used to on the surface. This assumption was promptly dismissed of what would have she thought to be an accurate representation.
The interior of the home looked just like any other regular house that a human would live in on the surface. A very simple, welcoming, and warm home. Birch hardwood floors creaked quietly under her feet as she surveyed the tan colored walls, of which were decorated lightly with paintings and pictures. She noted the stairway right in front of the entrance which lead into the lower part of the home, a hallway to the right of Jett with had three doors off on the left of the hall, and a doorway to the left that lead to another cozy looking room, presumably the living area.
"Please, come this way." Toriel cut off Jett's thoughts as she walked ahead into the room to the left, Jett following obediently into the combined living and dining room. Upon entering, Jett saw a brick fireplace that was currently dark and ashy was on the wall to her right, and to the left of the fireplace rested a bookshelf full of literature with a single brown armchair to the left of that. On the same wall as the fireplace and right behind where the armchair rested, there was a brightly lit hallway which lead to, what Jett thought to be, the kitchen.
Over in the far left corner of the room was a light colored, wooden dining room table with a vase that fostered plants unrecognizable to Jett sitting inside of it. Three matching wooden chairs were on each side of the table, with the exception of the side that lay closest to one of the single window in the room on the left wall where a third chair sat, Jett feeling as though it had not been moved in a quiet a long time.
Toriel walked over to the table that Jett had just finished examining and pulled one of the chairs out, the legs making a light scraping noise against the floor as she was gestured to sit.
"Please make yourself at home, I'll go grab us some tea and pie." As if on cue with the mention of food, Jett's stomach growled throughout the room, causing a blush to creep on her face as she quickly gripped her abdomen in a poor attempt to silence it. Toriel just laughed kindly in response to her embarrassing bodily noises. "I'll make sure it's a big piece." With a wink at the flustered girl, Toriel made her way into the kitchen, humming sweetly to herself as she disappeared to the next room. Jett took the offered seat, relieving her sore feet as she promptly took her purple hoodie off, revealing her simple white tank top that was hidden underneath, a few dirt stains now taking residence on it.
So far, Toriel hasn't shown any signs that she was actually up to no good. In fact, she seems like a wholesome and genuine person… eh, Monster? Is it weird to call a Monster a person..? Do they call each other persons… maybe Mersons..? Whatever, person works. Hell, she's less of a 'Monster' than some of the humans she has had the displeasure of meeting before, so person will work fine for this well-mannered woman.
Jett patiently waited for Toriel, eyes grazing over the cozy room as she sat in comfortable silence with her useless mental debate, waiting for the Monster woman to return. She didn't have to wait long at all however, Toriel coming back to the table quicker than Jett would have expected. She hummed happily with a tray in hand, two servings of tea and a single plate of pie with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream clearly visible from Jett's seat. Toriel stopped her humming and casually chuckled to herself as she walked towards the table.
"Jett, dear, I have a question for you! What kind of pie do ghosts eat...?" Toriel asked with a big smile, impatiently waiting for a response from her guest. Jett grinned a little, having a feeling about where this was going.
"I don't know Toriel, what kind of pie?" Toriel almost couldn't stifle her giggles at this point as she tried to calm herself for her retort.
"Boo-berry pie with a side of I-scream!" Toriel couldn't hold back anymore and let out a loud but sweet laugh, Jett quickly joining her, letting out an unexpected giggle-snort. She blushed at the noise she had made as she continued to laugh along, just a little more quietly to avoid making another weird noise.
There were many things that Jett enjoyed in this shitty, way-to-serious world, and one of those things defiantly have to be puns of any kind. Toriel put the tray gently on the table before placing a plate of the sweet smelling pie and ice cream in front of her, the cup of hot tea following after.
"The pie isn't boo-berry however, despite the joke. My apologies if I may have caused confusion, but it is Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie! I had some leftover from yesterday..." Her words trailed off as she placed the other cup of tea on the table, pushing the tray off to the side and out of the way a quiet moment later.
Jett eyed the delicious looking pie in front of her, jumping suddenly as Toriel lightly ruffled Jett's hair in a loving manner, not even noticing Jett's startled jolt. It was unexpected, but strangely enough, it was a comforting gesture for her. It's almost as though the gesture itself had filled Jett's body with a warm and almost euphoric feeling, something that she hasn't felt in a very, very long time…
"Please wait just another moment. Allow me to light the fire, then we may speak." Toriel turned away and made her way over to the fire place, pointing her palm towards the firewood that sat among the ashes once she finished the short walk over. Jett looked at her weirdly as she cut a bit of pie with her fork to take an impatient bite, but jolted in her seat once more as small fireball shoot out of her hand and into the pit, instantly setting the wood in the fireplace ablaze for a moment before settling.
It happened so fast that Jett couldn't fully process what she had just witnessed happen right in front of her, eyes wide and her body frozen in the middle of her bite of food as she starred in wonder. Toriel casually walked back over to the table and took the next available seat closest to Jett, excluding the one that looked to be untouched. Straight up, she just shot a fire ball out of the palm of her hand and was acting so nonchalant about it!
"How did you..?" Jett started, starring back and forth between the freshly lit fire and the furry white Monster sitting across from her. "...What was that?" Toriel took a sip of her tea, letting a content sigh out as she placed the cup back onto the saucer resting in her other hand.
"The fireplace?" She starred at Jett with some confusion for a brief moment before understanding Jett's question. "Oh! I apologize. I should have realized that humans these days are unfamiliar with magic!" She adjusted herself to sit up straight in her seat, smiling sweetly at Jett's curiosity. "Most Monsters can perform magic. Our souls are attuned to magic, and our beings are made up of it as well. "
She took another long sip of tea before continuing, Jett nodding her head to show that she was listening as she shoveled a spoon full of pie and ice cream mix into her mouth. "Because of this, it is far more common for Monsters to be able to perform magic than it is for a human. In fact, very few Monsters are not able to use their magic. It is still possible for a human to use magic however, but it is quite difficult for them to tap in to the magic within them. To my understanding, magic wielding Humans are not as common as they once were."
Jett swallowed the desert that she was chewing before replying back to Toriel. "So, what would a human need to do to be able to use magic, and what kind of magic can Monsters and Humans do?" Toriel pondered on the question for a moment, seeming to pick at her brain for the answer.
"Well... I do believe that a Human who is familiar and attuned with their soul, such as a Monster, would be able to use magic. It is far more difficult since human souls a more closed off than a Monster's soul, but possible none the less. As for what kind of magic, it all depends on what kind of Human or Monster that individual is. I have fire magic, as you have seen just a moment before."
Toriel held her palm up to form a small ball of fire in her hand, its flames silently dancing in the air. "Others may have the ability to summon weapons, creatures, or other elements and abilities." This was all very fantasizing for Jett, almost like a child's story. It's like her dreams of getting a letter from Hogwarts one day actually coming true, except it's in The Underground and all the Monsters are the magical ones. She swallowed her last bite of food, feeling content with her full belly as she let out a small chuckle in the momentary silence between the two.
"Hmm? Is something funny, my child?"
"It's just..." Jett hesitated as she picked up the cup of tea now that it had cooled down enough for her to drink. She wondered if she should even speak her thoughts right now, not wanting to make this sound awkward, but decided to proceed anyway. "I just think that this… this is kind of nice."
Jett took a long sip of her tea, warming up her cold throat from the ice cream and pie she had been devouring before she continued to speak.
"You see, my brother Frisk and I, we're both orphans. For a very long time, we haven't had someone really take care of us like you've been taking care of me, some strange human girl that you had just met an hour ago."
Starring at her empty plate on the table as she spoke, she kept her eyes fixated on the crumbs that she had left behind while she felt Toriel's gaze on her.
"This is weird, because I hardly know you and you hardly know me, but… what I'm trying to say is that... right now, with someone like you. This is exactly how I pictured it would be if Frisk and I were lucky enough to have been adopted. To have a family of our own." Jett's eyes lowered as she felt a faint blush crawl on her face. "And I don't want to sound any weirder or anything, but you have so many motherly traits, and I think that that's a really nice thing to experience after going so long with it." There was a moment of silence between the two, Jett feeling the instant regret settle in as she mentally berated herself for opening her mouth. After the long pause, Toriel broke the silence.
"Jett, child… it makes me very happy to hear that you see me this way. If you'd like, you are more than welcome to stay here with me." Jett's head shifted up towards Toriel, the kind woman sweetly smiling at her. She didn't even know how to respond to the kindness that this woman that she had only just met was showing her. Not in all her time at the orphanage had Jett met any caretaker who was even remotely as loving and nurturing as Toriel. She smiled back at Toriel, feeling grateful for the kind Monster in front of her.
"I wish someone like you came by sooner." Toriel responded to Jett's comment with a bashful expression, some pink managing to be visible through her white fur. "I'm sure Frisk would have loved to have someone like you in his life as well…" She felt her whole body tense up as her concern come back instantly upon reminding herself of the whole reason she was here in the first place. She needed to get back to business and find Frisk, and Toriel may know whether or not the other human she came across was him.
"Toriel, speaking of my brother, I do still need to find him. Did the other human that you had come across yesterday speak to you at all?"
"Huh..? Oh, right!" Toriel seemed a little saddened at the change of topic, but adjusted her posture to show that she was at full attention. "The child that had fallen just yesterday was a young boy, I believe at least. He didn't speak very much however, and would only once in a while give one word answers to most of my questions. He never did give a name, unfortunately."
So far so good, the description defiantly is fitting so far.
"Could you tell me what the boy you met looked like?"
"Ah, yes. The child had brown hair, which came to about their chin, and he was about this high." Toriel held her hand up at the approximate height the human was at before continuing, Jett feeling more hopeful while she took note that the height Toriel guessed was about the same height as Frisk.
"As for his clothing, he was wearing a blue shirt with two purple stripes going horizontally across, and he was also wearing a pair of long blue pants."
Jett stood up so suddenly that the dishes on the table rattled around, startling Toriel slightly. With the clothing description, Toriel had done it. She described what sounded exactly like Frisk. Jett was so overwhelmed with this news, she felt as though she could cry.
"That has to be my brother… That's Frisk! I know it is!" Jett clasped her hands excitedly together, giving a small jump of joy. "Please, Toriel. Could you tell me where Frisk went?" Toriel fell silent at Jett's request, her sad eyes avoiding Jett's glance and staying glued on the ground.
"…Well, he had left The Ruins and ventured further in to the rest of The Underground"
"That's okay! I can follow him!" Jett took an excited step forward, grinning ear to ear. "Could you please show me to the exit of the Ruins so I can find him?"
"…" Toriel didn't respond, gaze growing sadder while still aimed towards the ground.
"..Um, Toriel?" She finally looked back up towards Jett, the kindness that once resided in her expression now gone and replaced with something blank and unreadable.
"I… am sorry, child. I cannot."
Updated: 5/12/2018
