"This is a game Kris and I used to play." Asriel explained as he got the board out. "We used to hide in an old classroom that was connected to a supply closet- used to hide in there to avoid tests, heh…"

Orenda rolled her eyes at such an idea; Asriel avoiding a test? He must have really wanted to get on her good side if he was willing to lie to her.

This was their first date, although Asriel refused to call it such. Maybe it was because he was afraid to take her anywhere public, so they used the empty diner instead. Or maybe it was because he was just afraid to admit that he liked her that much. Regardless, here they were with a game board out and the stereo playing Orenda's favorite Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds. They weren't dressed up for anything fancy either; Asriel in sweats and an old sweater Toriel had made for him some time ago, and Orenda shoeless after far too long and dressed in a black tank top with a deep orange Romani skirt Norma had found a week or so ago for Asriel to impress her with. It didn't seem to matter as everything felt like it should be and -best of all- at peace.

"Orenda Sera… the Imperturbable." Asriel softly noted as he wrote down the name on the character sheet before handing it to her.

"Why can't you just say 'the calm?'" Orenda teased as she took the sheet from him. "Or 'the still', or hell, maybe even-"

"Because it's an RPG." Asriel quietly mumbled. "And I may or may not have had your character planned since I first saw you..."

"Wow, you really are a nerd, aren't you?"

There was nothing the goat monster could agree or disagree to, so he gave a small shrug as his face started to flush a deep red.

"Now," Asriel then decided to explain, "Before we actually started our adventure, Kris and I would always use the same place to get our brains into gear, so to speak, to think in the world we created as we created it."

"Oh really?" Orenda teasingly mused. "What was it?"

Asriel, more than excited that she was willing to go along with this so far, gave her a wide, mischievous grin.

. . .

The first thing Orenda did when she came back to the world of the conscious, was take such a deep inhale that you would have thought she emerged from underwater. Beside her, sitting on the floor as she laid on the couch, Asriel jumped.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper born from anxiety. "Thank goodness, I was getting really worried!"

"I, uh… I brought you to my dorm." Asriel then sheepishly admitted. "I, um, I didn't know where you lived and I wasn't just going to leave you there… I mean..."

Orenda's head was throbbing too hard for her to answer him, or stop him from fumbling any further. Preoccupied with other matters, she tried to sit up but found herself too weak. Asriel didn't even try to hide his concern as she plopped back down and let out a small sigh of annoyance. He hesitated for another moment or two before finally asking,

"Are you alright?"

That was when Orenda finally looked over at him, as if she was just now realizing he was there, and stared. She seemed to get some sense of where she was before looking down again.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled, not sure of what else to say. This only seemed to worry Asriel further as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"Do… do you want me to take you to the doctor?" Asriel carefully asked her. "I mean, if something made you faint..."

Orenda looked over at Asriel with an expression of feigned disbelief.

"I'm not pregnant Asriel Dreemur." She put on a light smile before adding, "We don't kiss enough for that."

Asriel immediately started to flush a deep red as he sheepishly started to scratch the back of his head.

"But seriously," the goat monster tried again, "If you need a doctor, there's one here on campus that could see you. I… I think she can see you, anyway, this side of campus is for monsters only. She might not be trained to treat humans."

"I think I'll be fine with an aspirin." the young woman replied. "Or whatever magical equivalent you have. My head is literally about to kill me right now."

A certain thought crossed Orenda's mind and she asked, "Aren't you and Norma roommates? Where are they?"

"Classes." Asriel replied almost instantly. "They planned their classes earlier in the day- I like the later classes because there's less people."

"They can't be too late," Orenda pointed out with a teasing tone traced in her voice, "You and Norma always arrive a little after the dinner rush. I'm sure there's a reason behind that."

Asriel just looked at her as his face grew even more red than it was before quickly looking away.

"Aspirin..." he mumbled, "You want aspirin, right? I think we have some..." and with that he left the room to look for pain medication. Orenda gave a short giggle before falling back on the couch to rest a bit more. She had no notion of going back to sleep, so after a few minutes she opened her eyes again and looked around the dorm.

It was a very comfortable place, she gave it that. The dorms that the monsters occupied on campus had been designed as hotel rooms more than proper dorms; the kitchen and living room areas were separate from Asriel and Norma's separate rooms. Not all of the monster dorms had bathrooms, but it seemed that Norma and Asriel's did. That would come in handy later- Orenda still had the dead shift tonight.

"Alright," Asriel said as he came back over to her not long after, "So we don't have aspirin, but I did find something similar. I think I can use a healing spell if you need it? But my magic's rusty, and I don't want to, you know, hurt you or anything."

"Let's deal with the not-aspirin first," Orenda decided as Asriel sat down on the couch next to her feet. "Then we'll experiment with your rusty magic."

Uncertain for a moment, Asriel gave an affirming smile before handing her the medicine and a glass of water. Orenda wasted no time in downing the medication and gave a small sigh of relief as most of the pain in her head was immediately removed. With her head clearer, Orenda came to realize something.

"Az, what happened before you brought me here?"

"You don't remember?" Asriel questioned, almost a bit too quickly. When Orenda gave a small shake of her head, Asriel could feel his heart drop. He knew he should have called the ambulance last night. Geez, sometimes he really was just as insensitive as…

No.

No, he wasn't going to go there. Not now, anyway.

"We were at the diner, and you had stayed behind to finish the dishes."

"I remember that much."

"But then you just… screamed, out of nowhere. And you just… screamed for three whole minutes. And I… and there was nothing I could do. I just stood there, watching, just hoping you'd stop..."

"Did you call 911?" Orenda then asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

Asriel hung his head in shame when he admitted, "No. I didn't. I was… I was scared."

"Of what?"

To this, Asriel went silent and refused to look at the human.

"I..." he eventually croaked, "I was afraid that… someone would assume that I… I had..."

The skeptic look on Orenda's face softened. "Asriel..." she softly mumbled as she reached for his head to bring closer to her. Gently, she placed a small kiss on his forehead before telling him, "You worry too much."

"I know..." he quietly admitted as he shook her off his head so he could give her a return kiss, "I know..."

"I'm going to get in the shower, and then I'll make breakfast." he then informed her. "Do you want anything in particular?"

"No," came the answer, "Just some toast."

Asriel gave a small nod before giving Orenda one last peck on the cheek. "Be back as soon as I can," he promised, as if he were going on a trip instead of taking care of his personal hygiene.

With Asriel gone to the bathroom, Orenda finally got to realize what she was wearing. Apparently, Asriel had gotten her out of her work uniform and into one of his sweatshirts. It was far too big for her, that's for sure, with the sleeves just barely covering her hands and the bottom reaching mid-thigh on her legs. She wasn't even going to complain about it either because it was just so warm. If only she could put on some leggings and wear his sweatshirt all day; that would have been great.

But there wasn't much time to dwell on how comfy her boyfriend's clothes were- she remembered a bit more than what she was willing to admit about last night.

"The vessel has been created..." she mumbled to herself. A vessel? A custom being that was ultimately rejected- but how would she know that?

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

And just like that, the splitting headache was back. But Orenda knew better than to scream- not with Asriel so close and already worried that he had screwed up last night. But it hurt so much…

"I'm not a witch." she grumbled to herself, hoping that it would clear her head. "And I don't care about some stupid vessel..."

Knowing that nothing was going to be accomplished by just sitting on the couch, Orenda got up on wobbling legs to make herself breakfast.

"Maybe I am pregnant," she jokingly mumbled to herself as she fiddled around for a cup, "It would explain the headaches... but not the intrusive thoughts."

A witch…

"I'm not a witch."

Kill her.

And with that, Orenda blacked out again.

A/N: Urg, whatta slog. If you made it this far, then I humbly commend you. And since you're here, there's something I'd like to ask: the next chapter can take several different routes and YOU get to help choose which one we follow! I have planned more RPG first-date flashbacks, more focus on Orenda and a certain scientist (at least during the first bit), or just some introspective on why Asriel and Orenda are together to begin with. Feel free to comment or PM me of your idea, so long as it still doesn't conflict with the 'world' we have in this story (which means no more OCs, and yes, we will get to see the Darkners eventually).

Thanks for reading and remember the Kokomo!