Frisk's heart flopped and the blood drained from her face.
Her ears flattened against her head upon seeing the pitch black eye sockets. It felt like they were pulling her soul from her body and into their dark depths.
"I-I… y-yeah…" Frisk stuttered.
A crystal clear image of powder blue petals and a haunting grin pushed its way into her mind.
Sans blinked. The lights in his eyes returned, and it was as if his serious expression before was nothing but a transformation.
It still didn't shake the deep feeling of dread that had pushed its way into the core of her being.
"Ah, so you know all about it… the echo flower. They grow even in these cold conditions. They're really special in that regard. And, as you should know," his eye lights flickered. " they repeat anything said to them, over and over. Now, somethin' interesting has been happening to Paps recently. He says he has meet a talking flower. This flower gives him flattery… advice… predictions… someone must be using an echo flower to play a prank."
The hairs on the back of Frisk's neck stood on end as her heart throbbed.
Papyrus talks to Flowey? If that's true… that's bad… but…
Sans sighed and stretched, his eyes moving from her to something behind her.
"Cool, the grubs here." Sans stated.
Frisk turned her body to face Grillby. He placed two containers of perfectly cooked fries in front of them before walking back to the cup he was cleaning before hand.
Frisk wasn't hungry anymore.
Sans took the longest one from his container and placed half of it in his mouth, the other half sticking out.
"Hey, sorry if I looked pretty fri-ky before. Didn't mean to scare ya."
Frisk forced herself to stiffly shrug and then halfheartedly eat on of her fries. They were nice and warm, with little salt. They had a small new taste that fries from aboveground didn't have, but it wasn't bad.
She ignored his pun.
Sans's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer.
"Heh, you get scared by everything. There a reason for that?"
Frisk shook her head.
"Not… really. I've always been a jumpy and introverted person… and being here doesn't exactly help… no offense!" Frisk added the last part hastily.
Luckily, Sans didn't seem to care.
Sans turned to his food. He grabbed a glass ketchup bottle to his right.
"No offense taken. I'm sure a monster would be pretty jumpy up on the surface for the first time too. I'd probably be, heh."
Frisk nodded softly. Chances are, a monster wouldn't make it five minutes before someone shoots it…
The thought made Frisk feel guilty.
Monsters are so much more accepting… maybe Because of how different they all are. None of them fit into a single puzzle, but they've made their own puzzle to fit into.
Frisk looked over again, thinking about adding a little ketchup to her fries.
Sans was drinking out of the bottle like it was a normal beverage to be had while dining.
"…Sans?"
Sans looked over at her and lowered the bottle, wiping his mouth.
"Yeah?"
Frisk glared at him.
"…no"
Sans raised a brow-bone.
"No?"
"No. That's just… no."
Sans gave her a taunting look and raised the bottle to his mouth again.
"Come at me."
"Sa-"
Sans continued his leisurely drinking.
Frisk scooted a few inches away.
"People. Use. That. Why? Not only is that unsanitary, but it's just nasty!"
Sans placed the empty bottle down on the counter.
"Naw, you think it's nasty. I don't. And what are you gonna do about it anyways?"
Frisk looked down at her fries angrily.
What am I gonna do about it? I'm gonna… er…
"…"
"Huh? Is that silence I hear?" Sans taunted.
Frisk got a light bulb.
"I could…" she grinned.
"Give Papyrus the TALK"
Sans reeled back dramatically.
"Wha? How'd you…"
"Come one, the guy practically screams sheltered."
Sans pointed his finger at her.
"Don't you dare corrupt my baby brother." Sans huffed.
"Shouldn't have taunted me then." Frisk said and smugly raised a French fry to her mouth.
Sans threw one of his fries at her, and she tried to catch it in her mouth.
It ended up bouncing off her nose and onto the floor.
"… awww… I missed." Frisk stared down at the poor stick of potato.
She could hear "hello darkness my old friend" in her ears.
Sans started laughing loudly.
"Oh dear lord you looked like a dog missing a treat! That was good."
Frisk's cheeks burned.
Last time I try to act cool
"Awmygawd do it again." Sans huffed, picking up a French fri.
"Come one, noooo…" Frisk replied.
"Pweeeaaaassse? Try to catch it!"
"…fine. If you do it."
"We'll take turns."
Sans threw the prize, and this time Frisk caught it.
"Take that." She leaned back and rested her elbow on the counter in a pose.
"Your turn."
Frisk picked up one of her fries.
She tossed it towards Sans, but when he tried to catch it it went through his nose-hole.
Frisk grabbed her gut and started laughing so hard she cried.
"It-it went….oh my god."
Sans hit his head on the table and started hysterically laughing. He also sneezed… somehow.
Grillby walked over to them and leaned in, making Frisk a little nervous she would catch one of them on fire. His voice was soft and crackled like a fireplace.
"Ssanss… I know you're having fun with your new girlfriend… but pleasse sstop throwing friess like a cchild."
Frisk raised an eyebrow while Sans glared at Grillby with an unamused expression.
"Don't think it works like that, pal."
Grillby waved a hand at Sans and walked away.
Frisk looked down.
I don't think that works at all… I… hope? That'd be creepy…
Frisk shivered thinking about it.
Sans picked up an apparently empty container of fries.
"Welp, I'm done. Hey, why don't you explore the town while I go do my job? Ya know where the house is, right?"
Frisk looked over at him.
"…yeah… I guess."
"Good. Oh, and I'm flat broke right now. Care to foot the bill?"
Frisk felt her ears and tail fluff up.
"…"
Sans chuckled.
"Don't give me that look, I'm just kiddin. Joking. Hey Grill, put it on my tab."
With that Sans dumped his container in the trash and left, the bell chiming softly after him.
Frisk's eyes lingered on the door.
She still couldn't get a hold on how she felt about him.
Frisk turned back, staring at the bottles lined up neatly across the counter. The dim lights reflected off their shiny, spotless surfaces.
At moments he scared the everliving crap out of her, and then two minutes later was making her laugh her heart out.
Frisk scratched the back of her ear.
Before… he knows who Flowey is. That echo flower stuff… he knows… and he wasn't happy. But is he unhappy with me or the flower?
Frisk mindlessly lifted the last of her fries to her mouth.
He still has that aura around him that I don't like. But it's probably the… wolf thing. I forgot to ask about that… crap.
Frisk mentally hit herself before getting up and throwing away her trash.
The wind had picked up outside, and it blew clusters of snow into the air.
Frisk stepped out into the cold, wrapping her arms around herself.
She heard a soft click behind her, like nails on a floor. She stiffened, her ears becoming like posts.
"You cold?"
The voice was rough and deep, with a growl to it that turned her blood to ice. Frisk turned slowly.
Standing in the doorway was the cloaked figure from inside. Something seemed to be glowing from within his hood and giving off smoke, like a cigarette…
Except it smelled like horribly made biscuits.
It's arms were crossed, but covered in black cloth.
Frisk took a few steps back in the snow, her mind racing. Her instincts screamed at her.
"…um…n-n-no… I'm f-fine…"
Frisk swallowed hard.
The creature laughed deeply and raised its head slightly.
Frisk caught a glimpse of an eye the color of ice, the pupil a thin streak of coal.
"Humans don't do well 'round here. Better watch yourself."
Frisk swallowed hard and tried not to let her throat make the growl it was trying to make.
"W-who are you?" She asked.
The creature looked down and started to walk away. It's footsteps were well placed and swift, its loping stride full of experience.
"Out here, I'm just some guy. I'm sure we'll meet again. But I'll be somebody else entirely."
With that he left, moving fast across the snow.
Frisk stayed still, watching to make sure he left.
Who the hell… I… don't like him…
Frisk shook herself and decided to walk around.
She walked towards the Christmas tree in the center of the town. It was covered in snow, but still tall and prideful.
There was a large monster kneeling beside it, as well as a skinny blue monster child with spikes and apparently no arms standing to one side. His eyes were daggers glaring at any soul who happened to pass by.
Further on Frisk stopped by the Library. The building was small and looked unkept, like it was hardly used. There was a bright yellow sign in the window.
Frisk walked up to it, putting her fingertips on the cold glass as she read.
Help wanted, part time.
Frisk stared at the sign for a few more heartbeats, her breath fogging the glass.
Ya know… I cooouuulllddd… hmmm…
Frisk found her heart beating nervously.
Am I? … I think I have too… if I ever want to keep going, I need to make some cash. And it would be nice helping out here. They look like they need it.
Frisk took a couple more nervous breaths before walking inside.
The library was void of any life, besides a female monster sitting at one of the tables with a large notebook and a purple lizard monster with long fangs at the front desk.
She could feel his eyes on her as she walked in.
"Yes, I know library is misspelled." He said as soon as she reached the desk.
Frisk put her hands up.
"Oh, n-no, that's not why I'm here… I just… saw t-the sign outside."
Frisk froze up and cursed at her internal introvert.
The librarian lit up.
"Oh, really? You would really want to help us organize and clean the place? We can't give you much but we really would appreciate the help."
Frisk felt a rush of sympathy.
I do need some… gold... whatever the currency is, but… this place does need help…
"You… don't have too… pay, you know… I could just… volunteer?"
The librarian shook his head.
"No, we couldn't. If it were just organizing the books, maybe. But we need someone to do a list of stuff, like help fix the misspelled sign out there to cleaning up. No one wants to leave their warm houses and do that. Speaking of which… shouldn't you wear a coat? You don't look like a cold-resistant monster… you don't even look like a monster, now that I think about it."
Frisk's tail fluffed up in alarm.
"I'm fine, I don't… need a coat."
Yes I do.
The librarian looked at her for a few more moments before moving on.
"Alrighty. Are you sure you'd like to take the position? You can leave it at any time you want, we get that everyone has lives to lead."
Frisk paused for a moment.
"Umm… yeah, I'll take it. I have a… while, I guess… so I could do it."
The lizards face it up.
"Really? That's great! Hold on, I'll show you around."
The lizard monster jumped up from his desk, looking as if an angle had graced him from up high.
Aside from finding it hilarious, Frisk felt a warmth gathering in her chest.
Maybe she could stay for awhile.
…
Frisk had done everything the Lizard asked her to do for the day, and then decided to put part two of her plan in action.
Here she could read up about the monsters and their history.
Frisk had sat down with a large book that looked like a school students worst nightmare. However, it was more like a dream to her… history, lore, and more. (lol that rhymes)
She eventually asked if she could check it out, and the librarian was more than happy to let her take it out for a bit.
Frisk felt awkward lugging the thing back to the skeletons house.
Upon reaching her destination, Frisk happily made her blanket nest on the couch and started reading.
She had made it through a section on Boss Monsters when Papyrus came bursting through the door.
He looked slightly unnerved, which was out of character.
Frisk looked up, feeling a little self conscious but also concerned.
"Hello Papyrus… is something… wrong?"
Papyrus jumped slightly, and adjusted his scarf.
"Oh, human! Of course not! I just had a talk with my friend Undyne, is all! Nothing the Great Papyrus can't handle!"
Frisk tilted her head.
That name again…
Papyrus's face brightened up some more.
"So, I've heard you started helping at the library! Is that true?"
Frisk looked down and nodded, trying not to point out the giant book in her face.
"Wowie, that's mighty neat! That means you are going to be staying awhile! And that means I'll have one more person to eat my gourmet meatballs, Nyeh heh heh! By the way, I didn't know you liked books, human."
Frisk made herself even smaller. Whether it was the mention of meatballs or the book she was unsure.
"My brother also used to read a lot. Mostly boring sciency books though. He would read quantum physics books, technology books, books about wolves and dogs… he doesn't seem to read anything but bad puns anymore." The last sentence was filled with disapproval.
Frisk looked up curiously, her ears pricked.
Wolf book? Why? Well, he does seem to like them… it doesn't fit with quantum physics though… what do Wolves and quantum physics have in common! Talk about extremes…
Papyrus took off his boots and placed them neatly by the door, ignoring the snow melting on them.
He then looked over at her hopefully.
"Human, can you please help me develop my puzzle skills by playing some puzzles with me?"
Frisk stared at him before sighing and giving into those puppy dog eyes.
Seriously, who can say no to Papyrus?
…
Over the next few days Frisk found she was actually good at sudoku. However, she couldn't solve a word jumble for the life of her.
The librarian was beyond thrilled when she kept returning to help. She even fixed the sign outside… though came back almost at the point of hyperthermia again and made Papyrus freak out.
She was feeling much more comfortable with the Skeletons. Between the puzzles and games with Papyrus and the late night TV and daily expeditions to Grillby's with Sans she was starting to really enjoy their friendship.
She didn't have much gold yet, but she didn't care too much about it anymore.
She was even starting to meet some other monsters in town through Sans. Sans was well known and well liked among the younger monsters, so they would often approach. The older monsters would too, though usually to ask uncomfortable questions about Sans.
SHe quickly learned how reserved Sans really was. He was tightly friendly outside and to her and Papyrus, but he spent a great deal of time in his room, or sitting silently in front of the couch late at night.
He came with her to the library once, and he just sat followed her around while she did her chores dead silent. He didn't talk nor make a sound, like a ghost. He just stood and watched, and it creeped her out.
She assumed he was in a bad mood.
He had many moments like this, and sometimes he would get really tense and quickly make any excuse to get away. She felt bad When this happened, but Papyrus assured her he was always like this. Unpredictable.
When she wasn't bending to Papyrus's will, helping at the library or trying to make sense of Sans, she was reading. She wanted to know more about monsters and their culture. It wasn't like human history- where they told a repeated lie about Columbus finding America when it was actually not how it went- but fresh new information that thrilled her. Sans even joked once that she should get glasses so they couldn't tell her apart from the local librarian.
Frisk argued she wasn't a Lizard.
Frisk eventually wandered to the local store.
It was very small, run by a single bunny woman whose sister owned the inn next door.
She was very kind, though Frisk didn't like her nails. They looked so sharp they could cut through metal.
Frisk bought a pair of purple gloves, so her hands wouldn't freeze off. She had to push through her fear of shopping (the shopkeepers nails didn't help the matter) and went on her way.
The gloves were lined with soft fur inside, and she immediately fell in love.
She didn't even take them off when she sat down to read at the library. The feeling of the fabric on the paper annoyed her for no logical reason, but she refused to remove them.
She was startled when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.
It was the Librarian.
"Frisk, there is someone outside who is requesting to see you."
Frisk blinked slowly.
Is it Sans? Why doesn't he come inside? Is he in one of his moods?
Frisk hastily said thank you and walked outside.
And who she saw was anyone but the familiar, friendly skeleton.