Chapter 7:
Taking the Fall
Arial wailed and flailed her small arms in protest as the skeleton brother put his hands under her in an exchange with Toriel. Reflexively flinching back, Papyrus's hands left the child's body, retracting any and all support.
Wide horror filled eyes watched as the child began to fall toward the ground and I reached my hands out in vain. Her small body was about to collide with the hard floor without a chance of getting away unharmed. It seemed like time froze as it happened and I felt helpless- like so many times I had on the surface.
A flash of blue showed from the corner of my vision then the child glowed with a similar light. Arial floated midair in a familiar soft blue magic. Spinning my head to see Sans's eye glowing blue and a worried frown turn back up in relief, I sighed.
"You gotta be careful Pap. Wouldn't wanna drop the youngest member of the Underground, would ya?" His tone was light with a hint of a warning.
I, as gracefully as a worried mother could, hurried to my crying daughter's side and took her into my arms. She slowly settled as I bounced and reassured us both that everything was fine now. Papyrus looked stricken with heart break and sunk to his knees.
"I AM SO SORRY TINY HUMAN! I-I WAS NOT PREPARED!" He dipped his head into his hands.
He was so sincere that I wanted to tell him it was okay, but my throat tightened so the words would not escape. A flood of emotions filled my head in that split second: fear, anger, sadness, mistrust, hurt, relief. I looked to Sans in hope he could translate what I couldn't say. The older of the skeletons patted his brother's back, getting him to look up into his softened eyes before he spoke.
"Arial's alright, Papyrus, just a bit rattled. She wasn't quite ready for your greatness yet. Don't worry about it too much, she'll get there. But, you shouldn't have freaked out and let go of her. She's not as strong as any of us yet and she could have been in serious trouble if I hadn't caught her."
"I'M SO SORRY!" He wailed.
"Easy, you might scare her more... See, from what I know about humans, you gotta be gentle with them the first time around. Always give 'em support." He walked over and held out his arms to me.
It took me a moment to realize he wanted to take Arial and I held her closer to my chest. He gave a gentle grin and winked reassuringly, as if to let me know he wouldn't drop her. Taking a deep breath I eased my hold on her and set her into his arms, careful to make sure she was held properly before I withdrew.
"See?" He turned to Papyrus to show how it was done.
Arial began to whimper again and shift in his arms. Her face scrunching up in distaste at her new captor.
"It's alright kiddo. Duncle Sansy won't let anything hurt ya, I promise."
