She sits on the roof,
hoodie-covered arms
wrapped around her legs
She watches the stars
and sticks out her tongue;
she's catching snowflakes
as her body shakes
in the freezing cold.
She closes her eyes
and takes a deep breath,
spreads her arms and legs out wide
like she's making a snow angel.
They say she's a dreamer,
and they were right…
Now she's a snow angel...

Snow Angel – poem by Gossamer

Chapter Nine: Snow Angel

Sans had let me across the bridge, through the too wide bars, and on toward the rest of the path. We came across a clearing in the forest where the path widened. To the left hand side of the path was a small wooden building that looked like a sentry point of some kind. Before that, was a strangely shaped violet lamp just resting there on the side of the path for no apparent reason. Off the path close to the treeline, there were two very large balls of snow that had been pushed together in an attempt to build... something.

"Quick, hide behind those two mounds of snow," said Sans as he turned around to look at me.

"Um," I hesitated, my gaze flicking over to the wooden building. "What about that sentry post?"

"No room," he said as he glanced over to the sentry point. "I have all my ketchup, mustard and relish bottles under there. You wouldn't fit."

"Hm," I frowned at the skeleton, wondering what game he was playing at, before I moved off the path toward the two mounds of snow. As I got closer, I noticed they were looking suspiciously like a pair of…

My blush was in my cheeks as I tried to comprehend what I was looking at. Was this skeleton serious? I looked back at him, my brows raised in surprise and skepticism. He seriously couldn't be that bored, could he?

Sans caught the look on my face and a deep chuckle escaped him, though I could see he was quickly ducking his head deeper into the folds of his blue hoodie to hide his face. He looked embarrassed but not apologetic and he simply shrugged in response to my unasked question.

Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps crunching in the snow from the path up ahead, I sighed and quickly went to hide behind the large pair of snow mounds that looked like breasts. I kneeled down into the snow behind the snow mounds, suppressing a shiver as the coldness began to seep through my already soaked jeans from my previous fall. I could not believe that I was hiding behind a large pair of snow breasts…

Not for the first time, I was questioning the sanity of my monster friend.

"Sup, bro?" Sans' voice carried over to my hiding place, a casual greeting to his brother. I was curious about this monster but knew that if I tried to have a look, I would give my hiding place away. I wasn't exactly a small child and I didn't want to risk getting caught by a human hunting monster. They would kill me before I would even have a chance to speak with the king. I couldn't let that happen…

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" said another male voice, this one a slightly higher and much, much, louder pitch than Sans'. His accent was different from his brother's but not one I could identify from those I was familiar with from humans. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T- RECALIBRATED- YOUR- PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp… It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?!" I could hear the repeated stomping of a boot against the snow, the crunching sounding muffled with each repeated stomp. "I HAVE TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

At this point, the Sans' brother went on a monologue as to how great he was and how he would finally get everything he utterly deserved. As I listened to this monster, a part of me couldn't help but hear the distinct loneliness in between the lines. He was craving affection and attention, no matter the source. He had his brother but apparently that wasn't enough for him. He was craving more out of his existence and the only respite appeared to be joining the King's Royal Guard.

The maternal part in me, one I had thought disappeared with my son, suddenly flared to life. I couldn't help but feel for this monster and, before I could even comprehend what was happening, another attachment had grown. These two skeleton brothers were pulling at my heartstrings more than any human had in the last several years…

"Hm," came Sans' voice. "Maybe those two snow mounds will help you."

Was he serious?

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" came his brother's voice in response- Papyrus was his name- and I could hear the stomping begin anew. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERYDAY!"

"Hey, take it easy bro. I've gotten a ton of work done today..."

Oh please don't…

"… a skele-ton."

He did.

I quickly buried my face into the sleeves of my green hoodie, trying not to make a sound as I fought down the laughter that was bubbling up. I had to hold my breath and even then it was a fight. I couldn't make a sound or else...

"SANS!"

"C'mon, you're smiling!"

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" I heard a heavy sigh come from Papyrus and I was finally able to fight off the laughter. I let out the softest of sighs for myself and continued to listen to the two brothers. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"Wow," came Sans' voice and I was already bracing myself for whatever horrible pun he had coming. I stuffed my fist into my mouth, took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I can do this… Don't find whatever bad pun he comes up with funny... "Sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone."

A loud choking sound erupted from my throat and I had to double over to stifle the sound. The tears were burning in my eyes as I tried so hard not to laugh.

"SANS!" came Papyrus' voice, now filled with concern, "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? YOU'RE NOT GETTING SICK, ARE YOU?"

"Nah bro," came Sans' reply and I could hear him coughing, trying to cover up the sound of my choking laugh. "Just got a chuckle caught, that's all."

"WELL, IF YOU'RE SURE..." I could hear the sound of Papyrus' footsteps shuffling in the snow. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK..." He paused and I hoped he wasn't going to follow the same trail of thought as his brother. "PUT A LITTLE MORE… BACKBONE INTO IT! NYE HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH..."

His laughter continued on in such a manner and it was such a horrible laugh but so adorable. Like some kind of villain who was trying so hard to be evil but just couldn't make the cut. My laughter choked out of me again but thankfully Papyrus' louder laugh drowned out any sound of it. I was sure Sans must have heard me but thankfully his brother was already on his way with a last "Heh."

"OK," I heard Sans say after a moment, "You can come out now."

I didn't respond. I simply laid back in the snow and let loose the laughter that had been trying so hard to come out since I was introduced to these two brothers. I laughed and laughed until the tears were streaming down my cheeks and I was nothing more than a gasping mess.

"Hey there snow angel," I heard Sans' deep voice from just above me and I opened my eyes to find Sans staring down at me, his ever present grin seemed filled with warmth. "Are you gonna lay in the cold snow laughing all day or do you wanna get going?"

"You two are terrible," was all I could manage in response.

Sans did not look the least bit apologetic. "Yeah… but you're laughing."

I let out a soft laugh and shook my head. "I am… and I love it."

Sans reached down a hand to help me up. I took it and was pulled up by a surprising amount of strength coming from a monster shorter than myself. I brushed off the snow from the back of my jeans and green hoodie before I grabbed my basket and looked at my friend. "So, what now?"

"Well," Sans glanced at me, his gaze flicking between my own. "Actually, are you in much of a hurry?"

I blinked in response, my immediate thoughts going to my son and to meeting the King. I would say I was but… There was something about this monster and his brother…

"What do you need?" I asked, knowing that this was something my son would have wanted me to do. He would have wanted me to help these monsters on my way to help him… What could I say? I had raised a very selfless child. I don't know if that was a good or bad thing now…

"I'd hate to bother ya but I did promise the old lady I'd look out for you," he said, focusing his gaze down at the fluffy pink slippers he wore. Seriously, did he not feel the cold? "Would you do me a favor in return?"

I studied this skeleton monster, knowing his love for bad jokes and his willingness to keep a promise, I knew whatever he asked wasn't going to be farfetched. "Name it," I said, not caring what he asked. If he was willing to protect me from whatever human-hunting monsters I came across, I would be willing to help him with what he needed in turn.

"I was thinking…" he began, his grin seemed to lose its warmth as his gaze focused off to the trees beyond. "My brother's been kinda of down lately. He's never seen a human before…" He focused his gaze on me. "Seeing you might just make his day."

I was hesitant, if only for the fact that Papyrus was a human-hunting fanatic. Yet, I trusted Sans… It was the strangest thing but it was something I could say with certainty. I trusted Sans and I trusted he would not steer me wrong. "All right," I said before a shiver caught me and I trembled. "So long as you promise me, after whatever he throws at me, you get me somewhere warm that has hot drinks and hot food."

The warmth returned to his grin and the light pricks in his eye sockets brightened. "You got yourself a deal, snow angel."

I paused at the sudden nickname but decided not to think about it. Maybe that was something he said to all females…

"I'm going to have to go this alone," I began as he led me back onto the path. "Aren't I?"

"Don't worry, he's not dangerous," said Sans as he looked at me, giving me a wink for good measure.

I ignored the sudden skip my heart gave and blamed it on the cold. "It's not that," I said, "He's a sweetheart, even I could tell you that. But after him… There will be others… You can't be there for all of them."

He paused at this and I stopped in surprise, nearly tripping over him in the process.

"You..." he said, his voice losing all of its humor. "I'll be there for you… For everything… I promised..."

I glanced down at him in surprise, noting the sudden seriousness his face portrayed despite the ever present grin. I began to worry and a part of me didn't like the fact that this monster was being serious…

"Well... um... By the way," I said, my voice light and teasing. "Did I have to hide behind those snow breasts? Are you sure there wasn't enough room under the counter of your sentry post?" I paused at this and a sudden thought hit me. "How do you even know what breasts look like? Are there monsters down here with breasts? I thought monsters were made of magic... What are the point of breasts for monsters if all that's needed is-"

I paused, catching the sight of the sudden deep, blue hue that now touched Sans' cheekbones. How interesting...

His gaze went from my eyes to my chest and quickly back to my eyes before he let out a loud cough. He turned his back to me and walked at a determined pace back to his wooden building. "You oughta get going," was all he said in response. "He might come back."

He didn't answer any of my questions and, as I watched him walk to his sentry post, I decided it was best to just leave it alone. Maybe he saw a human porno or magazine from somewhere…

Shaking my head, I made sure my basket was firmly set in its proper place in the crook of my right arm and continued onward...