Snow in the Underground

Alanna glanced to Toriel, and then began her slow walk up the slope. The door ground to a close behind her, and Alanna felt once again alone. It was a brief moment of companionship, but it was the only one Alanna had since college. Her leg complained, but she ignored it and continued up the long path, the light becoming less and less purple as she moved along. The air, she noticed, was also becoming colder.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Alanna asked herself after a few minutes of trekking. "I'm taking on a Monster city in order to save a single kid, all because I fell through a hole into Wonderland." She huffed her breath becoming visible in the air. There was a brighter light at the end of the strange sloping tunnel, and Alanna picked up the pace slightly.

She exited a strange looking door that held the symbol of Toriel, and instantly stepped into snow.

"No way," she said reaching down to let her fingers trail through the powder, "how does it snow underground?" Alanna pulled her fingers away from the snow, already feeling the cold through her gloves, and she began to slowly walk through the strange new land.

Large trees lined the small path she followed crowding in close and allowing no sight of what might lay beyond them. A rather large stick, snapped in half, lay across the pathway. Alanna carefully stepped over it and found herself kicking up the snow, almost dancing as she moved along in spite of her leg.

She should be frightened of this entire place. She should be cowering as she walked, looking around for possible danger, but instead she was half-dancing through the landscape. She came across a small footbridge that seemed to span a pit to nowhere. There was a strange….gate….type thing that crossed it set into the sides of the pit. She moved through the gate, letting herself reach out and touch one of the tree trunk sized slats.

For a moment Alanna felt eyes on her. She twisted around, but all she seemed to see was a single yellow flower, braving the snow. It was a strange sight to be sure, but maybe the flowers down here adapted to bloom in snow. Stranger things had already happened.

She continued on, and froze when she saw a large skeleton messing with what looked like a sentry station. The skeleton was huge, much larger than anyone she had ever met. For a moment she felt nothing but sheer fear, and then the skeleton….laughed.

"NYEH HEH HEH!" It was surprisingly loud. The skeleton's voice reminded her very much of Skeletor actually. That couldn't be a nice comparison. Alanna instantly attempted to scold herself.

There were a few moments of him rummaging around and then he stood straight again his hands going to rest on his hipbones with a huff. He was a very well-dressed skeleton. He wore a white puffy shirt that had a few red lines on the right breast and had yellow trim at the arms and torso, a long and very red scarf that matched his very red gloves and boots. He wore what looked to be very short shorts that were blue with the yellow trim. Overall it was a rather nice look for him.

Of course that was when he saw her. Alanna had been so busy staring at the skeleton that she hadn't moved into a more hidden area.

"OH MY GOD," the skeleton said looking shocked. "ARE YOU….ARE YOU A HUMAN?" He asked taking a few steps forwards. Alanna instantly took a few steps back.

"Yes, I'm a human." She said softly expecting the gut wrenching pull at any second. Toriel had said that they would go after her. That they would either kill her or take her to Asgore.

A look of wonder shifted over the skeletons face, and his eye sockets sparkled. "WOWIE!" He said instantly causing Alanna to smile slightly. Shouldn't she be afraid? "ANOTHER HUMAN! YOU'RE MUCH BIGGER THAN THE HUMAN I KNOW!"

He moved towards her coming to a stop about a foot or two away from her. He seemed to be picking up on the slight fear that Alanna was radiating.

"OH," he said pausing for a moment, "THE HUMAN TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF FIRST. HELLO, OTHER HUMAN, 'TIS I THE GREAT PAPYRUS! AT YOUR SERVICE," he added in a softer tone with a tiny grin.

"My name is Alanna, and it is really nice to meet you, Papyrus." She ventured holding out her hand to the skeleton. He shook it…..vigorously. The gloves were rather soft, and she could feel his hand underneath. He was also rather warm. Warmer than she was, at least.

"DID YOU FALL DOWN HERE TOO?" He asked kneeling the smallest bit so that she could see his face better. Even kneeling he was a bit taller than her.

"Wait…you met Frisk?" Alanna asked realizing what his words meant.

"YOU KNOW THE HUMAN TOO?!" He seemed overjoyed.

"I know of them, but I don't really know them." Alanna clarified.

"OH," that seemed to deflate him a bit, "THAT IS OKAY. I'M SURE THE HUMAN WOULD LIKE ANOTHER HUMAN'S COMPANY! AND YOU COULD MEET MY BROTHER, SANS. YOU COULD MEET UNDYINE!" Papyrus said growing more excited with every word. "THEN MAYBE WE COULD BE FRIENDS."

"Friends?" Alanna paused looking into his face. Even being a skeleton he showed more emotion than a lot of the humans that Alanna knew. He seemed to be sparkling with hope at the idea of being her friend. It was adorable. "If I'm being honest, I don't have many friends right now."

"WHY?"

"I only recently came to this town….or at least….that town." Alanna said pointing in a vague upwards motion. "So I don't really know that many people." If you could count a year as being recent.

"IF YOU WANT, YOU COULD GET TO KNOW ME." Papyrus' tone was softer this time. Almost gentle. "IT'S A LONG WALK TO MY HOUSE."

"You don't want to take my soul?" She asked her hands going to touch her chest.

"OH DEAR," he said looking absolutely wrecked by her question, "ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME? I ASSURE YOU THAT I WILL NOT TAKE YOUR SOUL."

"Okay, I guess I can go with you. I don't really have anywhere else to go." She said and then when she realized she sounded slightly rude she quickly added, "I would love to get to know you."

"WONDERFUL!" He said standing straight again. "MY HOUSE IS THIS WAY."