Chapter 5: The Careful Child

Toriel smiled as she made another butterscotch cinnamon pie for breakfast for her three children. "I can't believe it's been three years already," she said to herself.

It was true. Three years had passed since Thomas had fallen and surprisingly, he and his siblings hadn't aged at all. Toriel had wondered but then remembered telling Julie that there was strong magic in the Underground. It was possible that strong magic prevented the children from aging as fast as humans did on the surface.

And three years had done wonders for the three children. David was more adventurous and Julie loved to play all the time. Thomas had fully recovered from his injuries and was the quiet one to sit and read with Toriel, but his siblings would often drag him into a game. Toriel had actually caught Julie giving her brothers 'puppy eyes' to get them to play dress up, house, or castle with her. The two sometimes tried to get out of it, but most of the time gave in so that their sister would be happy. In return though, they'd let her join them in some games they would play. No one would be left out.

The joy of motherhood these three brought her was slowly filling the hole that had appeared in her heart when Chara and Asriel had died. Granted, her first two children would always have a spot in her heart, but she had room for the other children too.

At the moment, her three children were watching a movie while she was outside tending to her garden. She had just weeded out one part of the flower bed when she looked up to see something up ahead. As she continued looking at it, she saw it was a young boy and he was hiding while watching her. From what she could see when he peeked out, he looked to be a little older than Julie, but younger than David and Thomas. She also noted he had black hair and blue eyes and wore a purple shirt, blue jeans, and blue sneakers. She contemplated whether to stand up and go over to him or see if he would come to her and settled on the second option, standing up slowly before looking over at the boy. "You can come out," she called to him, keeping her voice at a gentle, encouraging tone. "It's alright."

She saw the boy looked ready to run, his face filled with fear, which made her wonder if he had suffered abuse. "Don't be afraid," she said gently, making her voice sound more soothing. "I won't hurt you."

He was watching her more closely now, but staying rooted to his spot behind a tree. Toriel decided not to make any sudden moves as she didn't want the skittish child to flee and possibly get hurt. She smiled gently at him. "Come out, little one," she cooed to him. "Are you hungry? I have some pie that you can eat."

She noticed how he seemed to perk up at the mention of food before his guarded look returned. "You can have some pie if you come out," the goat woman said coaxingly.

The boy looked at her and his eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me?" He asked, his voice guarded, but a small amount of fear in it too. She could tell he was scared and trying not to show it and his question made her heart ache.

"I'm not cruel like that," she said to him. "I don't go back on my promises either. If you come with me, I promise you that you won't be harmed."

He looked unsure, but noted how she was looking right at him and didn't seem deceitful. She seemed genuinely concerned. He slowly came out, moving towards her and noting how she stayed put, not moving. As he stopped again, she slowly kneeled down to make herself appear less scary. It helped and he moved closer before looking at her. "Um, what exactly are you?" He asked.

Toriel smiled. "Well, I'm a goat monster," she said truthfully.

He looked curious. "You don't look like a monster," he said. "Monsters have sharp claws and big teeth and are ugly."

She had to hold back a giggle at hearing that, the young one reminding her of when David had first fallen. He had said something similar and she had found it amusing. "Well, I do have claws, but they're not sharp and I certainly don't have big teeth, and I hope I'm not ugly," she said.

The boy actually smiled at that. "No, you don't," he said. "And no, you're not ugly."

"Oh, that's a relief," she said with a giggle. "I thought my makeup might be out of place."

The boy actually laughed at that one and Toriel laughed too. She truly didn't wear make-up, but had said that to make the boy laugh. She smiled as he laughed before she stood up and held out a hand. "Well, the pie's inside," she said. "Come along."

Feeling less wary now, he took her hand and she guided him inside and as promised, put some pie on a plate for him. He tentatively tasted it at first, but then dove into it eagerly. "Wow! This is great!" He said. "Um, what kind of pie is it?"

"Butterscotch cinnamon," Toriel said with a smile.

He grinned. "This is the best pie ever," he said, polishing off the pie in a few seconds.

Julie, David, and Thomas came in right then, pausing when they saw the newcomer. Toriel smiled at them. "We have a guest, children," she said.

The boy looked at them, seeming surprised that they were there. "Do you guys live here?" He asked.

"Yeah," David said.

"We've been down here a few years," Thomas said.

"With our mom," Julie said, pointing to Toriel.

The boy looked surprised at that and looked at the goat woman, who smiled. "David, Thomas, and Julie came from the surface and I adopted them," she said.

"Are you going to adopt him too, Mom?" David asked in a hopeful voice. "Is he going to be our new brother?"

Toriel smiled at her son. "If he wants to be," she said.

"What's your name?" Thomas asked the new boy.

"Nathan," he said.

Julie seemed to light up at that and grabbed his hand. "Come on! We were about to play Knights and Princesses and you can be one of the knights!" She said happily.

"Whoa, hold on!" He said in surprise, trying to pull away, but Julie had a strong grip. David and Thomas laughed in amusement.

"Wait up, guys!" Thomas said, running after them.

"I'll get the costumes!" David said, running towards the hall where their rooms were.

Toriel laughed in amusement as she followed them, seeing David coming out of his room with the foam swords and play armor. He even had found a princess dress for Julie and handed it to her while handing the armor to the other two boys. Nathan looked a bit lost as he put the fake armor on and held a sword. "Um, so how does this work?" He asked.

"We pretend we're the knights protecting the princess, which is Julie," Thomas said with a smile.

The eight-year-old still looked lost. "Um, how do knights protect a princess?"

"Just follow our lead," David said kindly as Julie stepped into the play castle.

"Oh, I see the evil king and his fire-breathing dragon coming this way! Who will protect me?" She asked, getting into character.

"We'll protect you, princess!" Thomas said, sounding like a true knight.

"We'll keep that evil king and his dragon away!" David said.

Nathan, catching on, nodded. "They shall not enter this castle!" He said, hoping he said it right.

"My heroes!" Julie said happily before gasping. "Oh, no! Here they come!"

As the boys prepared to 'fend off' the dragon and evil king, Toriel reached a hand out towards Nathan, curious to see what his stats were, along with his main trait.

Nathan

Age 8

Strongest trait: Perseverence

Attack: 1

Defense: 3

LV: 1

Cautious, but unwilling to give up. Willing to give someone a chance if they prove to be trusthworthy.

The goat woman nodded, seeing that the boy was true to his trait as were her other three children. She then smiled as the boys had been successful in their 'quest' and Julie had glomped them all, making them fall to the floor as they all laughed and the little girl begged for them to play the game again.

Toriel decided to sit and watch them for a bit, smiling fondly as her now four children played in the living room, filling the Ruins with more laughter and joy.


I know, I know. I've just had boys falling into the Underground, but never fear, the next one to fall will be a girl. :) Also, if you're all wondering when our favorite skeletons will show up along with the other monsters, they will show up in later chapters after the seventh child has fallen, so no worries. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418