Chapter 37: Converge
They sniffed the air as they stepped onto the frosted snow. *Crik* The hardened layer of untrodden snow crunched satisfyingly underfoot—they placed their foot down on a new patch and smiled at the sound.
"Come on, let's go- "Chara grumbled as they stepped outside into the weak sunlight *Sniff* "Oh man that smells good."
Frisk nodded in agreement, the air was slightly scented with a warm sweet smell, it felt familiar… cinnamon!
That way! Frisk pointed and glanced in Chara's direction expectantly; grabbing their hand Chara grinned and sprinted toward the smell.
*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*
Papyrus closed the door with a soft click and glanced around with narrowed eyes, putting a hand up to block the sunlight. Now where did the human go?
"Hello Papyrus" A firm grip on his shoulder "Feel like filling me in?"
~O*O~
"It's coming from here!" Chara stopped walking and turned toward the small building, a wooden sign declaring "Shop" matched the rest of the snow-covered cabin quite well; the smell wafted from one half of the log shaped building which was composed of two small houses joined together—the other half was labeled "Inn."
The area seemed quiet enough… "Frisk, what do you- Frisk!"
Their ward waved at them from the doorway before grinning and disappearing into the shop; hissing in frustration, they followed.
The sweet, mouthwatering scent of buttery pastries intermingled with soft spices rushed toward them as soon as they entered the warm room and enveloped the slightly chilled child in a cloud of warmth.
"Hello Traveller. How can I help you?" A slightly surprised but nevertheless warm voice greeted them.
Frisk began to dig out their notebook when Chara opened the door, letting in a gust of cold air, and stood beside them, looking around.
"We'll have two of whatever's baking" They studied the details that met their glance: a young full figured monster with lavender fur stood behind a small counter, a couple of tall stools were pulled close to the wooden counter, a scroll on the wall was stamped with the royal insignia and it gleamed in the golden candlelight, a sturdy locked chest rested on a counter behind the monster, above on the wall small shelves held books and bottles, nothing of value.
"Hmm? Sure thing!" She turned around and picked up an oven mitt before opening the door of a small oven and taking out a spatula "it's been decades since I've seen a fresh face around here! So where did you come from? The Capital? You don't look like a tourist, are you here by yourself?"
Frisk shook their head before reaching into a pocket for a pen—Chara put a hand on their arm. "Wait" a whisper.
"I'm just passing through you know, I got bored of life back home and decided it was time for some adventure, you know, a bit like cabin fever?" Chara drawled casually before stepping forward and taking the gooey pastries by their wax paper wrappings, cinnamon rolls.
They stepped back to hand one to Frisk by its wax paper wrapper before placing a couple coins on the counter and taking a seat at a counter stool next to their ward.
"So, what can I do here in town?" They shifted on their stool so their feet tensed in a crouching position.
Frisk heard Chara shift and shrugged before biting into the warm flakey pastry, the buttery warm filling was filled with bursts of brown sugar and pecan pieces and the frosting had an oozing hint of sweet vanilla. It was delicious.
"Well Grillby's has food, the library has information, and if you're tired-…. And if you're bored you can sit around and watch those wacky skeletons do their thing."
Frisk smiled and gave the monster lady a thumbs up before glancing at Chara. Why weren't they eating?
"Thanks, but we have to go now, lots of sights to see you know?" They pulled Frisk after them "thanks a lot!"
The shorter child winced, their guide's grip was tight. As they turned back to give the nice lady a thank you gesture they felt a sharp sting on their neck but when they felt the area there was nothing. Oww, what was that?
"Come again!" The shopkeeper smiled as the door closed with the small chime of a hollow bell.
~O*O~
They passed the door to the inn, the other half of the store and Chara narrowed their eyes, there was no one there, the shop was dark. As they strode past a flicker of blue blinked into their peripheral vision and without turning their head they stole another well measured glance. Nothing.
((We forgot to get a cinnamon roll for Papyrus!)) Frisk pursed their lips into a pout as they scampered after Chara who was walking in long angry strides back in the direction from which they came.
"He can have mine." Chara shoved the pastry into their ward's hand before opening the door. "He's not in here, you can go find him."
Clutching the roll through the wax paper, they could feel heat still emanating from it. Alright, it was up to them to deliver this important parcel! Turning toward Grillby's as Chara closed the door they stumbled. Why were they lightheaded? Perhaps they had eaten too quickly, they smiled and walked slower, they would be alright.
Chara slid down the door into a sitting position and set their head onto their crossed arms. They needed to think.
Step one. Compile the facts you have:
The younger skeleton is dangerous and skilled with magic.
The older skeleton is soft at heart but also has ambition.
The whole town seems empty for a settlement this size.
The lady in the shop seemed different, overly determined, there was something they were missing.
Step two. Form hypotheses:
The younger skeleton is hiding something, something… dangerous, something he hides from even his brother.
The elder has a mental state which is too young for his body size. No. This one was true, they could tell by the way he acted.
They thought the lady was trying to poison Frisk, but they hadn't shown any reaction when eating the cinnamon roll. Strong poisons usually had strong tastes… at least the ones monsters knew about. Nevertheless, if it was slow acting they could figure out where to get the antidote, what they couldn't figure out was the motive. Why?
They were missing something.
*Crash*
Something fell behind the house, narrowing their eyes, Chara headed toward the sound.
A shed. How strange.
*babump* *babump* *babump*
They twisted the handle. Locked.
Putting an ear to the door they grinned, no buzz of magic, their specialty.
As they predicted it only took a few seconds to wiggle the lock open, pocketing the hairclip they opened the door with a creak.
*babump* *babump* *babump*
*thump*
Something far away fell with a crash.
"HUUMAANN!" A shriek cut through the air.
*BABUMP* *BABUMP* *BABUMP* *BABUMP*
Their eyes widened,
And
Spinning around,
They ran.
(notes)
I was dreading writing this chapter but in the end it turned out way more fun than I expected.
I should really plan out my thoughts before I start typing, but when my mind wanders I come up with a lot of interesting plot twists… :0
Dectective Chara is in the house.
Oh man writing this made me hungry for cinnamon rolls. X-x
My last tournament this year is next Saturday, whoohoo!
I watched a couple of low-level animes and am just fed up with the amount of fanservice, like come on, guys! If your show is good you shouldn't need that! :[
I've been trying to drink the daily recommended amount of water lately and I never realized how much water it was, lol :p
*Pulls out magnifying glass* But it's not the time for answers yet!~
(oh man I feel myself succumbing to author madness)
~PhysikLily UwU