August 17th 2024: Qurairu
Cera sat on the porch, attempting to do her assignments. Rex was out of the house-almost certainly with Frisk-but she didn't mind that so much. She raised her head, tilting it as she heard noises coming from town.
That sounds like the pups...someone has them excited.
She jumped with a gasp-maybe-she placed her work down and hurried off. There were few things that got the whole litter going.
Sure enough, she quickly found Papyrus, just outside of the town square. He was completely surrounded by the little furballs, and was laughing as he tried to give all of them his undivided attention simultaneously.
"Yes, the great Papyrus missed you too!"
"Pappy!" Somehow, little Canis was already clambering up him, trying to get herself a perch where she could be comfortable. Cera couldn't help a little smile at that...she missed this.
"Yes, Canis, I'm here." Papyrus petted her gently and adjusted her position on him to keep her more comfortable. "Now then… who would like a treat?"
Canis whipped her head up in attention while the other four started running in frantic circles around him, crying their joy at the idea as Cera slowly began her approach.
Papyrus reached into the small satchel he wore at his side, and produced a small bag of dog treats.
"All right, one at a time," he called. "Everyone gets one! And, if you behave yourselves today, you may get more!" He glanced up for a moment as he opened the bag, noticing Cera and giving her a bright smile and a wave before returning his attention to the clamouring pups.
Canis watched the skeleton patiently, while the others were just about falling over one another in uncontained excitement. "With luck, you'll have them all worn out for dinner," Cera called as she came over.
"Luck and no small amount of skill, I might add!" Papyrus replied proudly. He carefully administered a treat to each pup, saving Canis for last before returning the bag to it's satchel.
The main litter wolfed their treats down, while Canis snuggled into her spot, holding it as she slowly started to nibble. Cera's smile was bitter sweet for a moment. Such fortunate pups...friends to play with-and parents to go home to.
"Now then," Papyrus turned to the girl. "I don't believe we've met?"
"Not directly, no," she replied. "I'm Cera-Rex's sister."
"Oh!" Papyrus's sockets widened a bit in recognition. "Yes, Rex has mentioned you a few times! I am happy to make your acquaintance! I am the great Papyrus! Nyeh-heh-heh!"
Cera dipped her head politely. "Though they're not the only one to mention you these days."
Papyrus tilted his head in confusion for a moment before it seemed to dawn on him.
"Oh! Emerald mentioned you too! You are partners in her class, yes?"
Cera nodded. "Something like that." While they were talking, the other four pups grew bored, and began romping in the snow to amuse themselves.
"Then it is doubly good to meet you! Is there anything that I can help you with?" Papyrus adjusted himself a little, keeping a socket out for the pups to make sure they didn't wander off.
"Actually, there was something I had wanted to ask…" Cera murmured as Canis cast her a glance, before focusing on her treat again. "About Emerald…"
"Ask away!"
Cera gave a hum of thought. "What does she like? ...I...was thinking we should meet outside of class-then maybe we wouldn't be so awkwardly formal around each other."
Papyrus seemed to light up.
"Why, I think that's a wonderful idea!" he exclaimed. "She could certainly use a friend! Hmm, now let me see…" he rubbed at his chin in thought.
"Well, I know she has enjoyed going out with friends, to malls and such. I seem to recall seeing her at some arcades as well. Though I don't think she's gone out for a very long time…"
Cera tilted her head, a soft frown coming to her. "...has something happened with her friends?" she asked.
"Not… as such." Papyrus's tone was suddenly a lot more careful than it had been before. "You could say that something happened to her… and after that she didn't really want to spend time with them anymore." The skeleton let out a small sigh. "I offered her the job hoping that she'd have a chance to meet more people, but…"
The reptile nodded. "I see-in that case...is there anything I should avoid?" She wasn't intending to pry far, but she was trying to seek out her boundaries. Something was up...but she had ideas on that as it stood.
"Try to engage her fun side!" Papyrus advised. "I know she still has it, but it hasn't been used for a while! If you can make her smile or laugh, then you know you're on the right track!" He lowered his voice a bit.
"And perhaps do not bring up… dating and so forth. I believe that is still a bit of a sore spot for her."
"Oh…" Cera murmured as it dawned on her. "Alright-boys are not a conversation starter. Gotcha." She nodded. "That gives me some ideas though, thank you."
"Anytime! I am more than happy to help a potential friend of Emerald! I think you would be very good for her!"
Cera dipped her head. "Anyways-I have schoolwork, and you've got a litter of pups who want to play, so I'll leave you to it."
"Wait! One more thing…" Papyrus opened his satchel again and produced a small notebook and a pencil after a moment's rummaging. "Here." He scribbled something down and tore out the piece of paper, handing it to Cera. "This is her phone number! Now you can get in contact with her even when you're not at school!"
Cera perked, and happily accepted it with her magic. "This will make things a lot easier-thank you!"
"Of course! Good luck!"
The reptile gave her version of a wave, before darting off, while Canis looked up at the skeleton-still nibbling the very edge of her treat.
August 18th 2024: Qurairu
The cream scaled Monster bit the tip of her tongue in concentration as she peered at the number Papyrus gave her, double checking it, before finally hitting enter as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
The phone rang a couple of times, before there was a clicking sound as it picked up.
"Hello?" a deep, unfamiliar voice answered.
Cera perked in alarm, before managing to regain her composure. "I'm sorry, um...I was calling for...Emerald?" She squinted at the number. Did she get that right…?
There was quiet for a moment, then the voice said;
"I'm sorry… who is this?"
"I'm Cera-Emerald and I are partners in our Psychology class…?"
"Ah, I see. One moment, please."
There was the faint sound of thudding footsteps and the creaking of a door. Then a quiet; "It's for you."
A moment later, it was Emerald's voice speaking through the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Emerald-it's Cera-sorry for the surprise call."
"It's alright," was the demure reply. "Was there something you wanted?"
"Well, not exactly," Cera replied. "We have a long weekend right now, and I was thinking maybe we could hang out? I'm not picky about the details if we do, soooo…"
"You want to… hang out with me?" there was a sliver of surprise in the elemental's voice.
"Yeah, we don't really get the chance to in class."
"I don't know…" Emerald mused. "It might be-"
There was a small series of confusing noises, then another woman's voice came on over the phone.
"Of course she would!" the voice proclaimed. "She doesn't have any plans over this weekend, so anytime then would be good really."
Cera had to bite back a laugh, though she couldn't stop her smile. "That'd be great-we'd just need to work out the details!"
"I think you'd know better places than me to go… or her, at this point. But we could say… saturday for the day? I might be able to drag her out of bed by eleven…"
"What does she think of a mall? I know one on my side has got some new things there."
"The sounds wonderful, dear! Let us know where it is, or where she should meet you, and she will be there, I promise you."
"I'm okay with meeting at the Rift, seeing as the cities are so different…"
"That sounds good to me! Does eleven or twelve work for you?"
"Let me check the time difference…" Cera muttered softly under her breath for a moment, going to a little note Rex had stuck on the fridge eons ago to remind them of the difference. "Yeah...oh, that works out just fine-she just might be back sooner than anticipated just because we're a few hours ahead."
"Ah, right. I forget about these things," the woman chuckled. "Thank you so much for calling, dear. It'll do Emerald some good to get out of the house for a change."
"I could always stay up late," Cera partially joked. "Anyways, want my number-just in case something comes up?"
"Oh, yes! That's a very good idea! We may need to see about getting Emerald a new phone of her own…" the woman trailed off, mumbling to herself a bit.
Cera frowned in slight concern. A new one…? While Papyrus had been vague, Cera's mind couldn't help but wander to it, and wonder just what had happened to the elemental. "Well," she said, her tone remaining chipper. "If you're ready."
August 20th, 2024: Qurairu
"Where did the time go?" Emerald murmured confusedly to herself. She stared at the time displayed proudly on a large sign on the street, tilting her head slightly, contemplating whether or not it could possibly be accurate.
Cera giggled. "We were kinda focused on those arcade games-plus!" She leapt ahead, and turned, hopping backwards as they went. "It's not as late on your side."
"True…" Emerald glanced at Cera. "You were pretty good at those games… do you play often?"
"Used to play whatever I could get my magic on," Cera admitted, as she turned, ending up beside the elemental.
Emerald simply nodded.
"It's been a while…" her voice sounded slightly distant, as if she was remembering something.
"...want to do it again sometime?"
Emerald paused, narrowing her eyes in thought while her flames crackled quietly.
"I… I do…" she said after a while. "This was… fun."
Cera smiled. "Glad to hear that. Wanna do it next weekend if school doesn't devour us alive in work?"
A small smile of pale blue flames appeared on Emerald's face for a moment.
"I'd like that."
The reptile gave a jump. "Great! Maybe this time we'll find the arcade sooner instead of walking in circles and bumping into that kiosk for the hundredth time." Though the reptile giggled at the memory. "Next time, I'll let you be in charge of directions. Apparently, I can get lost all by myself."
"I'll keep that in mind… good thing the Underground is mostly linear, right?"
Cera gave a sheepish laugh. "Just don't get me started on Waterfall."
Emerald gave a little shudder, her light dimming.
"I won't, believe me."
"Though there was that one time Hotlands puzzles got reactivated," Cera continued, quickly trying to save her error. "I spent so long trying to get around them that when they finally turned off, I was on the completely wrong side of the place...at least the elevators were functioning again by that point, or I would have been super late getting home."
"I remember that…" Emerald mused. "I got stuck between a laser and a cliff. At least I had a friend to keep me company until… until Frisk came through."
"Ouch," Cera murmured. "...at least they got turned off…" She tilted her head, noticing something was up.
Emerald looked away, falling silent. Even her flames barely moved, not even ruffling the light blue top and skirt she wore.
The smaller Monster frowned. "...Emerald...you okay?"
"I'm fine," The response was immediate, almost instinctive. "I just don't want to be late getting back."
"...right. Here-I may not know how to navigate the mall-but I do know how to quickly get us back to the mountain..." As bad as she was-it was hard to miss something like that.
"Thank you…"
Hours later, Emerald sat alone in her room, the light of her flames the only illumination. She held the phone her parents had already gotten for her in her hands, staring at it. After a time, she began typing.
-Hey, Cera. I just wanted you to know that I'm… not good at saying it, but… I had a really nice time today. Thank you.-
As an afterthought, she sent;
-I hope we can do it again soon.-
The reptile had been dutily writing in her room, glancing up when her phone brightened. She peered down...and smiled in relief.
-Whenever you're up for it! = D-
