Strider's notes: heh, hell, it's hard to believe we're already at chapter 10. Fuck, time goes fast when you're having fun writing. :D Be prepared for some random ships to happen- SilverWing is a huge Kingding's shipper, so that's going to appear here and there pretty frequently. heh. Skelegoat fun. Anywho, this chapter hedges into some theories on how skeletons have 'mass' under their clothes. The running theory here is that once their magic settles and sort of builds up, it lingers around them and takes whatever shape they'd have as a 'body' of sorts. So, Pap is this buff hunk of yum, Sans is gonna be a pudgy butterball of smex, and Toki's going to have dat ass.

SilverWing notes: I am a filthy Kingdings shipper and i love the idea of these giant bara dads just being cute together. Also, here's the list of monster heights with character's thus far.
Toki - 6' without horns, 6'9'' with horns
Caeruleus - 6'6''
Aliquam - 7'6''
Tenebris - 8'6''
Asgore - 10' without horns, 12' with horns.

She was finally getting to go home again- well, soon. It was going to be a long trip by cart, but it was better than Cae trying to teleport them all back one at a time. He'd probably exhaust himself with that amount of effort. Regardless, Toki was ecstatic. Yeah, home was burnt to the ground- but it was high time that she gets around to cleaning up the ashes that remained.

Everything would be made again- it would just take time. She'd see about cleaning out the shed and staying in that until she could get a house built. Or just use a tent- whatever was easiest, she supposed.

Toki grunts, accepting a crate that was handed to her and toting it to the back of the wagon. She was tasked with arranging the crates- which wasn't all that bad of work, and it made her feel marginally less useless than usual. Problem was, she was running out of stacking space rapidly- and the cart was filling up. She pitied the horses that would be pulling it. "You know, if you could sweet talk your brother into teleporting my truck here, we could get all of this moved and back to my place in like six hours?"

"I'm afraid I don't think he'd be able to transport something as large as a truck..." Aliquam replied.

She ducked her head out the back of the transport to give Aliquam a smile and a soft laugh. "Well, that does make sense. Trucks are big and pretty heavy." And her truck wasn't a small rig by any means. She takes another box, puts it in place, and then hops out the back when she's run out of standing space. "Ah, I can't wait to get home. I've got so much to get done."

"Indeed" he rumbled, "And thankfully, we've got a simply solution to our current residential dilemma." he said with a smile. "So we can move you back home, then rebuild what was lost."

"Indeed! I wonder if my camping tent is still good… The weather should hold through the rest of this month, for camping outdoors." She finishes packing the back of the cart, and gives it a content look as she passes her sleeve over the front of her skull to collect the few drops of sweat she'd earned. Lots of supplies for the monsters back home, which was very pleasing indeed. "I think we're done with this one. Any more, and it probably wont roll."

"Miss Toki." He moved over to her and took her hands, smiling at her warmly. "That's not what I meant." he said simply.

It took her a moment, before her eyes brightened. Her fingers curled over his gloved hands, and she beamed at him just as jubilantly. "Oh! Oh Ali, you're so sweet. I couldn't impose though- you guys just got the house, you'll want to settle in and get acquainted with it without guests, I'm sure."

He shook his head and pulled her hands closer, beaming at her happily. "I don't think I'd have it any other way, Miss Toki!"

"If you're sure your brother and father wouldn't mind, then I guess it wouldn't hurt if I stayed with you three until I can get my home rebuilt." She could take the couch, if need be. She'd be less likely to ruin someone's pillows that way. "Well, that's settled then. Should we go tell the King that we're ready to head off?" It was getting to be more towards evening- the darkening skies above hinting at a possible summer rain storm- but setting out in the dark wasn't really a problem. Flashlights existed for a reason.

He nodded eagerly, straightening and releasing her fingers with a broad grin. "Very well, let's go find Father!"

Well, Gaster and the King did both need to know. Either way it worked. She shrugged faintly as he let her fingers go, and smiled broadly up at him. "We'll check the garden first." She knew it was just a bit off from the Judgement Hall. She hadn't gone in there often- it seemed like such a private place to the King, even if the Garden also doubled as his throne room. "Asgore sure loves his flowers, doesn't he?"

The walk to the throne room was thankfully short. "Indeed he does. He loves gardening." Papyrus all but chirped. Laughter floated up to them from the throne room, and the tall skeleton slowed with a confused sound. "Nyeh?"

Toki tilted her head curiously. "Should we wait? Sounds like Asgore has a guest."

"... Well, perhaps..." Papyrus murmured in consideration. "Father did say he wanted to talk to Asgore."

She nods. "Then we can just send him a text to let him know we're ready. You have your phone on you?"

"Of course." The larger skeleton was better at texting than she was- but he had more practice.

Without warning, a ringtone went off from down in the throne room, and there was an 'Ah!' from that general direction.

"Well, that tells us where your dad is." Toki snorts. Idly she rolls up the sleeves of her sweater, settling the rolled cuffs about at her elbow.

"Should we still wait to go visit?"

She sighs, and shakes her head. "Nah. Lets go down- we'll just be quick." She gives a wide smile and heads down the stairs to the throne room cheerfully.

He chuckled and followed her, listening as they went.

"Who was that?"

"Ah, just my son. He was letting me know we're ready to go."

"A Pity, old friend. I'd so hate to watch you go."

"Your majesty, I'm a busy man, and you know that..."

"Oh yes, I know~"

"A-Asgore!"

The sound of Tenebris' laughter rang out into the hallway and Papyrus felt a quiet chuckle grow in his non-existent throat.

"It's been a while since I've heard Father that happy." he commented in a quiet voice.

It left little to wonder exactly what they were doing- and Toki was pretty sure they were going to walk in on something dirty. She swallows down non-existent saliva, and flashes a smile to Papyrus. "He sounds very happy… Maybe he wants to stay when we go back?" She wasn't sure that he would actually stay if she mentioned it- they were still uncertain about the cracks in her soul, and Gaster was the only soul specialist she knew of.

"Perhaps, I'm not sure though." he said quietly, "He cares about your health greatly." he then smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'm sure he and the king are just having a moment to themselves before Father leaves."

Toki doesn't have the chance to really respond- she peeks into the throne room and pauses, blocking Aliquam from going inside with her body.

Tenebris had his back to a wall, his head tilted up as he was still laughing, his hands entwined with the king's mane-like fur.

Asgore was standing over him, large furry arms trapping the smaller monster between him and the wall. His grinning face was currently buried in the scientist's neck, tickling him by nuzzling him with his furry snout between soft pecks on the white skin. At that moment, he seemed to grant the other mercy and as he pulled his head back.

Tenebris was able to catch his breath. "I- hahaha... I'll never understand h-how you're able to do th-that... normally I'm not ticklish!" The sound from Gaster was undeniably a giggle of some kind.

"I have my ways, old friend." Asgore then leaned his head up and rested it on Tenebris' forehead, letting glowing purple eyes gently look into loving blue

The snuggly pile of monsters in the flowers has her stepping right back out. Her face burns- because she just had the oddest sensation similar to walking in on her parents in the act, even if Asgore and Gaster hadn't been doing anything dirty. She doesn't let Aliquam go far enough to see, before she tugs him back and towards the stairs. "We'll give them a little while before we go bother them. They're, ah, pretty busy in there. So how about you and I go raid the kitchens? I dunno about you, but I'm kinda hungry."

"Nyeh...? Well, if you're sure..." Papyrus didn't fight her as she urged him back up the stairs. "I could make you a batch of my famous spaghetti!"

Toki links her arm with his, and gives him a wide grin as they head back up. Going up stairs is easier than going down, and thusly goes faster. Once they're back in the hall, she's tugging him quietly towards the kitchens. "I was actually thinking I could cook up a noodle dish for us both. It's one of my favorites concerning pasta. It's probably not as good as your spaghetti, but I think you'd like it all the same."

"Might as well give it a try, yes?"

She nods. "If all else fails, we can scrap it and you can make spaghetti. Heh. You mind helping me make it? I'm not very good at dicing onion and garlic up as small as I need it to be."

"But of course!" he grinned proudly. "No one dices onions and garlic up quite like The Great Papyrus!"

She poked his bicep playfully, and laughed whole-heartedly. The kitchens loom ahead of them, and she finds them blessedly empty. Good. "I look forwards to seeing your dicing job then." Toki takes the time to hunt down a large pot. She couldn't find any chicken here, but she could just make it without the meat added in it. It would still taste good either way. "I am surprised the kitchen actually has the noodles that I usually use. I wouldn't think that you'd have Ziti here."

"We have a lot of different kinds of food, More than what a human would assume!"

"I am impressed." She grins happily. It takes a little bit to find what she needs, but soon she's got chicken broth simmering in the pot, and she's finished cutting the broccoli that has to go into it. She'd handed Aliquam two onions and a couple cloves of garlic for him to dice up. "Once you've got it all diced, just dump it into the pot." She starts grating the asiago cheese, grumbling as her bones catch on the grater. Really it shouldn't be surprising that they had all sorts of food here. The king probably ordered some of practically every item so that the monsters could try all sorts of human foods.

Which would explain why they had twelve kinds of cheese in the fridge.

"Yes Ma'am!" He grabbed a cutting board and a knife, and once he rolled up his sleeves, and washed his hands, he started chopping the veggies with the skill of a professional.

She watches him from the corners of her eye and ends up smiling quietly. He was very at home in the kitchen- probably even more than she was. "I used to make this all the time for me and my brothers before they ended up moving out. They loved it. Like me, Roshi has problems eating tomato-based sauces, so he was always so excited when I would make this on my turn to cook for family dinner night."

"Oh dear... I didn't realize you had a problem digesting tomatoes..." he now had a light frown on his face. "I wish I had known sooner."

Toki edged over to bump her hip gently to his as she finished the cheese. The feeling of bone on bone was expected, but it was slightly muffled. Weird. She chanced a glance down- was she filling her clothes out more? It appeared to be so. That was… weird. Perhaps it was a skeleton thing- after all, Cae was just bone, but he still managed to be quite 'round'. "I never exactly put it out there. I still enjoyed your spaghetti regardless, you goober. It was quite alright, I promise."

He smiled at her, and bumped her hip back before he picked up the cutting board, going to the stove and pushing the cut onions and garlic into the pot. Once his hands were washed once more, Aliquam dried them and donned his gloves once more, flexing his fingers in the comfortable fabric.

She grinned at him, and hummed contently. She slid over to the pot, stirring it gently and watching it boil. It took a few minutes, but she was pleased with the resulting smell that wafted up. Adding in the broccoli and the noodles, Toki carefully poured in a little bit of heavy whipping cream, adding a pinch of salt and pepper, and sat back to let the broccoli and the noodles cook. The aroma that was wafting from the bubbling pot was heavenly. "We've got probably ten minutes before the noodles are done."

"Alright, wanna chat until then?"

"Well of course!" She chuckles. Toki sidles up next to him, content to lean on the counter as she keeps track of time. "Are you excited to finally get to move into your house? The whole incident kind of put a damper on the mood."

"Of course we are! With you living with us, it'll feel that more at home too."

"You are so unbelievably sweet sometimes, you know that?" Gently resting her head against his upper arm, Tokiko hummed softly. "I'm excited to get back. It's going to be pretty cool living with you guys for a while. I promise to try and not put any holes in your couch with my horns."

He reached up and began to stroke her head gently. "Don't worry about it," he murmured softly, "It's an old couch."

"Old couch or not, I still don't want to poke holes in it. My horns are a bit obnox- ow, Pap, careful with the crack. It still hurts." It wasn't a stabbing pain when he touched it- but more of a dull ache. It was getting better, thankfully- but touching it still was unpleasant. Toki hums faintly. "I doubt horns are like finger nails… Too bad- it'd be easier to keep them short."

He watched out for the crack, stroking the smooth, unaffected bone around it instead. "They may be, but I don't know."

"I'd rather not test it. They're not always sensitive, but I'd still rather not risk it." She glances up at him and sighs softly. The soft strokes over her skull is horribly relaxing, and she finds herself slumping into him slightly. Idly, she steals his other hand, and examines his bones above his gloves. He had such large hands- but she wasn't sure if that was just glove, or the actual bone under the material. The bones of his wrist and forearm were a lot thicker than her own- but she was a human proportioned skeleton. Papyrus was pretty much a giant.

He watched her then let out a soft 'Nyeh heh heh' and flexed his hand for her, causing the fabric over his arm to flex with it. "See something you like?"

How… How did that even work? It looked as if he had muscles under the fabric, but there was just bone. She looks perplexed, until his words register, and she flushes a bright green. "Ah- well, I was noticing that you have very nice arms, so I suppose I do indeed see something I like." The flirt falls from her mouth before she can stop it. Toki clears her throat faintly, and examines his arm again. "I was also noticing the difference in our bones. You have really thick bones- mine look like twigs next to yours."

He laughed at that. "I always made sure to be tip top with my physical stature. As a royal guard member, I must always be at my best."

She nods slightly, shifting to face him. She investigates his arms again- and realizes that most of his shirt fits a torso, and not just actual bone. "This defies so much logic, Pap. You're a skeleton. But you look like you've got muscle under your shirt. This makes no sense. Unless you have an actual body under there?" Inquisitive fingers brush up his arm and to his bicep- but she doesn't go further. She doesn't want to invade his privacy too much- she was already feeling up his arms as it was.

Damn, he had nice arms.

"Oh but the answer is so simple, my dear." he chuckled, "The answer to your worries." he then turned and lifted up his shirt, revealing only his spine and the bottom few of his ribs "Magic!"

She felt that this was probably the equivalent of being mildly flashed, but laughed softly anyways. Her finger passed through what had been solid with a shirt on, only to feel nothing at all where his abdomen would be. She idly touches one of his lower ribs- and holy crap, it's like nearly three fingers wide. He was built like a rather tall tank. "This is honestly fascinating. But Magic I suppose is the simplest answer- and it's going to be the answer to a lot of my questions as time goes on, I wager."

He tensed and shivered as she touched his rib, "N-Nyeh..." Thick, powerful, and apparently sensitive.

And like lightning, her fingers retreated, and her face exploded into a flush. "I am so sorry about that. Curiosity gets the better of me sometimes- I shouldn't have touched."

"Nyeh, it... it's okay... I'm just a little sensitive..." he murmured.

"It was a little insensitive of me just to shove my digits in your ribs though." She grimaces faintly, and urges him to let his shirt back down. "Very sorry about…" Fondling his rib? "About disregarding your personal space. I'll make sure not to do it again, I promise." She's a flustered mess- so she steps away to check on the pasta on the stove while he collects himself.

He smiled gently and shook his head, "Ah, don't worry about it." a small rub over the rib she had touched and he lowered his shirt, letting the energy pooling in his right eye fade away before he settled down and walked up to stand beside her. "It's alright, you'll learn that our ribcages, including yours, is rather sensitive..."

"I'm pretty sure I've got a lot to learn about being a skeleton." She flashes him a shy smile, stirring the pot with a soft hum. She dumps in the cheese and the last of the whipping cream, and leaves it to simmer for the last few minutes that the noodles need. She's aware of him being close, and gently bumps his hip with her own. "Good thing I've got you to help me learn, yeah?"

He blinked, and then he chuckled. He bumps her back again just as gently as she did him. "Of course, miss Toki~"

Her face cools, and she's glad her blush is fading. When the dish is properly thickened, Toki makes a pleased noise and turns off the burner. She doesn't bother with oven-mitts to handle the hot pan- instead she just carefully nabs it about the bottom and lifts it. It tingles unpleasantly against her bones, but only reminds her of holding a slightly overly warm mug of cocoa. It was, she figured, a nifty trick of her magic- she'd figured she could handle extremely warm things for a short amount of time. Too long, and it burned regardless of how she handled it. She settles it off of the burners, and grins up at Aliquam. "Will you snag some bowls please? This pasta is too saucy for plates."

He tensed up for a moment, watching her worriedly. "A-Aren't you worried you're going to burn your hands?!"

She blinks at her palms, and shakes her head. "Well… if I hold on too long it burns, but I figured it was something to do with my magic? Or something related to it. Could be my high HP making me not notice it? I don't really know."

Once he hands her the bowls, she sets to dishing up two decent portions of the noodles and sauce. There's plenty left over, so the other denizens of the castle would no doubt get several meals from it as well. She offers him a bowel with a spoon, and cautions carefully. "It's hot- you've got gloves, but still, don't burn yourself."

"They're called mitts." he rolled his eyes and cackled, then he took a spoonful and blew on it, before he put the spoon behind his teeth.

She watched him intently, hopping her backside onto the counter so she'd have somewhere to sit. She didn't have a desire to flop into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen- so the counter worked just fine. He had an easier time working the spoon no doubt- she had to work it between her fangs. Interlocking teeth meant she had to widen her mouth further to open it for things- and she really didn't want to make a mess of her sweater if she dribbled sauce down onto it. "Mitts, gloves, hand-shoes, whatever they are, they work for blocking heat." She winks at him, enjoying her mouthful. The garlic blended well with the chicken and the onion, and the cream and cheese made the sauce thick and rich. Hells yes, she had missed this.

Her eyes glow brighter, and following an unconscious instinct from when she had been human, a glowing green tongue forms to pass over her teeth and keep her from making a mess of her face.

He smiles proudly, "Already summoning your ecto-tongue!"

"Eh- whut?" She pauses mid bite, and peers at him curiously. "Ecto-tongue?"

"Look!" he pointed to her mouth, then he laughed. "You summoned one of these!" he then opened his mouth and his own tongue stuck out.

It was glowing orange, like the gleam in his eye, and Toki paused for what was probably a rude amount of time. She just stared. That… Could all Skeletons do that? Hell, that's actually really cool, and explains how skeletons might eat 'nice cream'. "I… huh…" She focuses, recalling the urge to make sure she didn't have any of their meal lingering on her teeth, and summons it again. She sticks it out, and peers down at it. "Mine is green? Really weird." She reaches up to poke at her tongue. Well, she could certainly feel her fingers touching it. It sort of reminded her of very firm jelly, or a soft rubber. "Well, alright then, I'm learning new things every day." With that, she shoves another spoonful into her mouth, and makes a pleased sound.

He laughed again, then took another spoonful into his mouth, "This tastes fantastic!"

She laughs happily, and downs her meal fairly quickly. It was best when it was hot, or cold. Not in-between. In-between in an odd lukewarm state had a weird taste- so she was intent on devouring it before it cooled too much. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Is it almost as good as your spaghetti?"

"It tastes almost as good as it!" He announced happily. "Emphasis on 'Almost', nyeh heh heh!"

She laughed softly as she finished hers, tipping the bowl up so she could drink the last of the sauce. It warmed her core as her magic converted it to energy, the energy solidifying around her bones. Her magic was still 'settling' as it was. "Well, I think that's a high compliment then! Nearly as good as your spaghetti is probably the best I could hope for."

He smiled down at her, and he gave a soft laugh as he pulled her close into a gentle hug. "Haha..."

She leans into the hug, holding her bowl out to the side so their clothes don't get dirty from it as she returns his hug with one arm. How he could feel so solid and not like bones was beyond her. "You done, Pap? I'll handle the dishes if you want to put the rest of the food into some Tupperware."

"But of course!" He replied. He gave her a squeeze, and then let her go as he went to collect the Tupperware.

Toki took his bowl as she hopped off the counter. She headed for the sink, turning the water on as hot as it would go. She rolls her sleeves up past her elbows, settling it around her upper arms. The cheese in the dish liked to stick to whatever it was in- so she had to work to get it off of the utensils and bowls. The pot would be a mess- but she wasn't going to just leave dishes here for someone else to handle. Her mess, she would clean it.

Idly, she hums a quiet tune, content and happy to keep herself busy with the dishes. Bubbles from the soap clung to her radius and ulna, and she couldn't help giggling at the odd sensation. It was pretty ticklish.

He came back after a little with the Tupperware, humming a tune as he loaded the food into the bowls. "One, two, and three, all nicely sealed up to keep the heat in. Nyeh heh heh!"

"I'm sure someone will enjoy it," She smiles over at him, and comes to collect the empty pot from him. She sets it under the running water, letting it fill up as she adds soap and gets to work. The clean bowls are set to the side on a drying rack where they could air-dry. "Ah, I had forgotten how the noodles like to scorch to the bottom of the pot when I make this dish." Her claws scrape burned bits of noodle off the bottom of the pot, and she tosses it into the trash so it doesn't clog up the sink.

Once the pot is clean and rinsed, she sets it to the side and sets to work rinsing the bubbles out from between her bones.

"Mmm, that's always annoying." he huffed, stacking the tubs of food carefully on the counter before he smiled at her, "You just need a good wire brush and it'll come right off!"

"True, but some pots and pans you cant use wire brushes on. It ruins the inside of the pan." When she's bubble free, Toki turns off the water and watches her arms. They shimmer green for a second as the churning sensation strikes again in her bones, and she focuses it. Steam wafts up from her arms, and suddenly she's dry again. Heh. "I guess fire magic has its uses…" She muses quietly, watching her palms thoughtfully.

He blinked once, then he let out a 'Nyeh heh heh heh heh!' "Very impressive!" he exclaims proudly.

"It sort of does that on it's own." She informs him quietly. "Not sure how to control it yet." Idly, she rolls her sleeves down and tucks her fingers into her pockets. Toki gives Papyrus a smile and leans against the counter. "Hopefully it doesn't go beyond steaming away water." If actual flames happened, she would probably figuratively shit herself.

"Well, you'll no doubt get the hang of it, you're already doing so well with your magic!" he assured her cheerfully.

She wasn't so certain. Her eyes dim, and she sighs softly behind her teeth. "I sure hope so."

"Don't be discouraged, Miss Toki! Stay determined!"

She arches a brow at him and chuckles softly. "I'm not discouraged, Pap. I'm just… nervous. My magic is fire based, and, well… Fire and I don't really get along very well now."

"But facing your fear, and harnessing it for yourself, is the best way to conquer it!"

He looked so certain of that, so absolutely sure that it would work. She gave him a soft smile, eyes glowing affectionately at him. Sometimes he was just so… so good and kind that it blew her away. "Sometimes it doesn't work like that, Pap. Sometimes when something traumatic happens, it's harder than just facing it and getting over it."

"I know, but still, there's no point in feeling pity for you when I KNOW you can overcome this, even if you need a little help from a friend."

She simply chuckles, the sound a soft and quiet murmur against his exuberance. "Sometimes problems like this don't ever go away, Papyrus." PTSD wasn't something that really went away permanently, she knew.

He looked at her for a moment, a small frown growing to his usual previous look. Aliquam sighed after a moment, and rubbed his skull softly as he looked away. "Yeah... I gotcha..." he then looked back to her, gaze locking with her own with a firm resolution. "But you know what? I'm still here for you, and I'll be here if you ever feel ready to face your inner demons."

Inner demons seemed to be an apt name for it. She smiles at him kindly, and opens her arms in a silent request for a hug. "I know you will be. I'll try- but there's other things I have to worry about first, before I start conquering personal demons." The cracks in her soul took top priority. She didn't want to leave him without hope though. She's hesitant- that much is obvious by the glow of her eyes- but she speaks with a calm honesty. "You and I can work on conquering my fears though. I don't know how, but we'll work on a way, okay? Maybe start with something small… A candle or something."

Taking a step closer, he hugged her and nuzzled his skull to hers, avoiding the cracked scar between her horns completely as he did. "Heh... Yeah, A candle sounds perfect to start with." he agreed.

Toki sighed softly, and relaxed into him. Her arms looped around his middle, and she tucked her face against his collarbone. She's grateful that her horns slope slightly, or he'd have a face full of them with his current position. "We'll work on it when we're at home." Where she could feel safest, more or less.

"Safe and sound..." he agreed gently, rubbing her back softly.

She shivers as his mitts rove over her back, rubbing over the back of her ribs and spine. "Safe and sound." She echoes softly in agreement.