Two Worlds, Two Souls
Chapter 23: Holiday Start!
Angel's Point of View:
I stretched my arms over my head as another day arrived in Snowdin for us. Frisk was still curled into my body heat from where I previously was, even as I slowly moved from her and replaced myself with a pillow like normal. The light in our room was bright from the balcony that we had for our room.
I always felt that we had been given too much when Sans and Papyrus let us have their father's room…
I quickly gathered my housecoat before leaving my room and heading down the stairs. I wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but Sans, Papyrus and my sister all seemed to be. I made my way to the kitchen where the little pup of theirs sat, eagerly eating a bone that had been left about, most likely by Sans to appease the creature and prevent Papyrus from blowing his mind so early in the morning.
I quickly made myself a hot mug of peppermint tea before putting on a pot of coffee for the others, as they would slowly make their way in. Papyrus would always arrive first, due to his alertness and need to get ready for work, even on a day off. Sans would come next normally, especially if he had a good nap before he went to bed. He and my sister often tied for last, but Frisk would run herself ragged until she was exhausted, hence the late sleeping in.
If that girl were ever going to break that habit, I would need to get on her butt before long…
"Good morning, Miss Angel!" As expected, Papyrus was the first to emerge from the second floor and join me at the dining room table. Papyrus was dressed already in his "battle armor" as he prepared for his patrol. "Oh wowie! You already have the coffee going!"
"I feel like we keep having this conversation Papy, you know I do this every morning for you guys." I chuckled as I stood to pour him a cup and set in on the table. Papyrus tended to love lots of cream and sugar in his coffee rather than the substance itself. He truly only had a partial cup a day. Sans and Frisk drank more coffee then he ever could.
"Still, the Great Papyrus appreciates it regardless!" With his cup in hand, Papyrus quickly filled his desired additives before taking a sip. "Oh! You used the Christmas blend!"
"I figured since it was nearly Christmas it was time to switch things over to the holiday seasonal items. I even have peppermint tea to follow along." I chuckled at him while he grinned happily. "So I suppose now we'll be decorating?"
"Yes! Perhaps we can even participate in Snowdin's annual winter fair!"
"Winter fair?" I leaned into my hand that rested on the table. "I don't think I've heard about this yet."
"Oh yes! I love to participate each year! Sans used to help out a lot when we were younger and our father was still alive."
I really focused in that moment as Papyrus seemed to have such a warm look to him as he remembered his father. I'd seen a few photos around the house of a skeleton who resembled Papyrus quite a bit who always seemed to be dressed in suites or lab coats. The mother in their pictures seemed to share more of her traits with her eldest son who shared the rounder skull and bright grin with colorful dresses that complemented her ivory bones.
"Tell me about what you used to do, or how it is now. I'd love to know."
"Oh yes!" Papyrus clapped his hands happily at the notion. "When I was little, Sans and Dad used to bake cookies that we'd take down and share at the community dinners that led up to Christmas. It's a large event we'd always partake in, then Christmas everyone would spend at home and finish the clean up on the day after."
I slowly nodded my head as I watched him. "Well now… that's a really good idea I think."
"Isn't it?" Papyrus smiled fondly at the memories, though the happy looked became upset as his thoughts changed. "It… it changed through after Dad died… Sans had to do a lot in order to keep the house and make sure I was able to stay in school and not be moved when I was growing up. It wasn't easy, but we had to give up a lot on the festival, we haven't been able to go to it in years, or… at least not as a family…"
"Well… maybe this year is the year Papy?" I patted his hand gently on the other side of the table. "Is there anything we could help out with? Or something I could make? We could do it together I bet."
"Really!?" Papyrus leapt from his chair. "Oh wowie! What would we even make?! I don't remember Dad's recipe…"
I shushed him. "Easy Papyrus, your brother and Frisk are still sleeping."
"Oh… sorry…"
"Still, I'd like to know about the fair thought."
"Oh! Well, if I remember right, the fair goes on for four days leading up to Christmas. It's a fair that provides venders with all sorts of arts and wears, as well as food, bonfires and performances put on by the town. Even rides and games for children! It brought a lot of money into the town and provided for many of the families here for months."
"That's wonderful! Snowdin always seemed to be so inexpensive compared to other locations that Sans had told me of."
"Yes, I prepare quite a bit more money whenever I travel out of town to places such as Waterfall or Hotland."
"So that means that people pay quite a bit when they come here for the events then."
"Yes, that's very true." Papyrus tapped his chin as he though, coffee left to the table to cool in the dry air of the morning. "Could we make Christmas cookies like our father used to? And other holiday related things?"
I had to think for a minute. "If you can find your Dad's recipe, I'm certain we can try our best, but I know what I can guarantee you is that we'll have fun doing it and I can help you make my famous Christmas snickerdoodles."
"Oh! What are those?"
"A very soft cookie that practically melts in your mouth." Dreaming of the delicious sugary flavor made me think back to days of baking with my mother. Remembering the colors of sugar we'd use to decorate and utilize during the different times of year. "Normally their made with a cinnamon sugar coating before baking, but during the holidays, I change it around to colored sugar crystals to make them more festive."
"Oh wowie!" Papyrus' eye sockets went wide as he listened to me. "That sounds creative!"
"Very much so." I nodded to the eager younger skeleton. "Perhaps we may even get a chance to make our own Christmas wreath? I used to love making those with my mother and father."
"Oh that sounds like so much fun!"
"Hey Pap, it's a bit early for ya ta be shoutin' ta the high heavens about Christmas, ain't it?" The two of us both looked up from our morning drinks to see Sans yawning in the doorway, still dressed in his favorite hoodie and sweats, but no shirt under it as he walked around. His rib cage showing off for all to see and I had to fight a blush as he absentmindedly scratched a rib and sat at the table yawning, most likely woken too early.
Frisk seemed to be dragging her feet behind him. Frisk took only a moment to see where I was sitting and climbed into my lap, ignoring how weird it looked, straddled my hips and fell asleep on my chest, pillow still dangling from her hand.
"Good morning, Brother! Little Frisk!" Papyrus leapt from his seat to prepare one for Sans. While my arms were full with my sister, Papyrus took it upon himself to make his brother a cup of the steaming liquid filled with caffeine. "Here, Brother! Some coffee to wake you."
"Thanks Pap." Sans sat down at the table next to me while I help onto my sister who snuggled into my warmth. He chuckled at the sight of her, but he looked just as tired. Perhaps today would be a much lighter chore day as to let them sleep? Sans would most likely return from patrol earlier to nap and Frisk normally wouldn't be awake for another hour if it wasn't for the lack of my body heat.
"So, Brother, I will be patrolling the pathways again today and Undyne has assigned you to the gateway between Snowdin and Waterfall."
Sans yawned, not entirely listening. "Kay, Pap."
"And make sure that you check in with Dogaramy and Dogressa, the two of them will be in your area, making rounds."
"Kay."
I blinked as I watched Sans pour in what he thought was sugar into his coffee. He wouldn't be able to function until he had some of the brew.
This wasn't going to end well…
"Sans, are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, Bro, just let me get some coffee inta my system."
Papyrus eagerly waited for his brother to stir his drink with the spoon left out for him and take a blind gulp. Upon drinking it, however, Sans spat it right back out into the cup before turning his head to cough into the sleeve of his jacket, it being stained with the remains of coffee coming back up from his mouth.
"What in the world was wrong with that Sans! Miss Angel made the coffee like she does every morning! That was rude!"
Sans removed his head from his sleeve for a moment while he breathed. I could see him grab a napkin to try and remove the salty coffee from his blue tongue that he had out of his mouth at that moment. "I-I poured salt in my coffee…"
"Well, be more careful next time and pay attention!"
Rolling my eyes at the scene, I quickly stood, holding Frisk in my arms with my magic and a single forearm, then used the other to grab Sans' cup. I poured out the remains in the sink. I quickly rinsed it out before pouring him a new cup and making it for him, since apparently Sans wasn't coherent enough to make his own cup as of yet.
After spending two months with the skeleton brothers, I knew how each of them liked their coffee. Sans needed much more of the brew then his brother did and just needed some sugar to take the edge off it. I poured in his normal amount and stirred it before bringing it back to him, setting it before his hands.
"Try this."
Sans sighed before he eagerly took the brew. He sipped at it this time, making sure I hadn't put salt in it as he had, as well as most likely washing out his mouth. He then took a much larger drink, happy that he had it properly made that time.
"Thanks Angel…"
"Not a problem."
I sat back down without Frisk being disturbed at all. She was so used to be carried around like a rag doll as she grew that not even being a preteen in size had stopped us, even as she awkwardly was nearly two-thirds as tall as me and didn't quite fit over my hip as she had when she was smaller.
Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets at his brother. "You'd best wash that jacket or that coffee is going to stain it."
Sans sighed. "Yeah, I'll throw it in and grab my spare in a few minutes…"
"Anyway…" I tried to defuse the argument that was brewing between the brothers. "Now that you're up, perhaps you could help us out with our conversations about Christmas?"
"Oh yes!" And like that Papyrus had lost his anger and was eager once more. "Do you remember how to make Dad's Christmas cookies, Sans?"
"Hm…" the elder brother brought a boney hand to his chin. "I think it might be in the recipe box. That where I remember it was… I think Dad used it last."
Papyrus looked at him in question. "Really? I thought I checked there already…"
"Sometimes recipes may stick to each other if there's any batter on them or water." I suggested. "Why don't you get the box Pap and I'll take a look with you before you head out the door?"
"Oh, thank you Miss Angel!" Papyrus quickly stood to grab said box before he handed it over to me. "I've looked through our parents old recipes many times, but I've never seemed to find it. Which is strange, since our father was so organized with everything."
I blinked as I looked through the recipes, eager to try some of them at other points. I quickly glanced at him as a thought to their location came to me. "Is it possible it could be mixed in with all of the things of your father's you packed away?"
"Perhaps I'll check once I'm back from work…" Papyrus contemplated while he looked over everything. He sighed before he looked at the time. "Oh goodness! Sans! We're going to be late!"
"Pap, slow down…" Regardless of the fact that Sans was enjoying his coffee, he was yanked from the table by his brother unceremoniously thrown into the other room. Everything be dammed, Sans' coffee had been left behind.
I rolled my eyes before I stood again with Frisk in my arms while Papyrus fought to have Sans ready while I poured his coffee in a to go mug for when he got to his station. I topped it off with some more fresh liquid of the brew and pulled out the leftovers from the night before for their meals. I quickly wrapped them up before setting them on the table. Leftover spaghetti with squash for Papyrus and leftover-breaded chicken with whipped potatoes for Sans.
"Sans! Hurry up!" I had everything out for them by the front door as Papyrus whipped around like a hurricane as he prepared to get ready along with Sans. The eldest brother teleported down the stairs, new jacket, a shirt on this time and his signature shorts as he yawned.
"Coffee to go and your meal is right there." Sans glanced over at me in surprise before he saw the made-up meal and his drink waiting for him. He's posture quickly relaxed as he grabbed the items.
"Thanks, Precious."
"Come along Sans!" Papyrus hurried down the stairs and grabbed his brother with no shame. "To work!"
"Papyrus!" The taller skeleton halted for only a moment as I passed him the lingering lunch. I gave him a deadpan look. "You're lunch?"
"Oh yes! Thank you, Miss Angel!" He quickly grabbed it from me before kicking open the door and heading out to their stations for the day. "Good day!"
And like that Papyrus rushed off, running through the town. Gone like the wind, he was out of my sight and I had no other choice but to close the door and start about my day. Frisk needed to rise up in the near future for her lessons in both magic and education. I also didn't plan to carry her around for the rest of the day…
"Hmm…" I debated what to do. It was a quiet morning while the guys were gone. The house was cleaned top to bottom the day before (even Sans' room) so there was none of that to be done unless a mess was made-
Wait… make a mess…
I quickly had an idea to pass part of the day.
Later That Day:
"Cookies!" Frisk squealed in joy as she watched me at the counter pulling the first batch off the pans and onto a rack to cool. With no hesitation, she took one, even as she hissed at the burning sensation on her fingers; she eagerly ate at the dessert I had made in all its colorful glory.
I placed in the second batch to cook just as she reached for another while the first burned down her throat. "No eating all of them, Frisk. Save some for when the boys get home. And give them a moment to cool and they wouldn't burn!"
Since the brothers had left earlier in the day, I'd begun making my favorite cookie, the snickerdoodle. I'd found some colorful crystals in the baking side of the cabinet that didn't seem old or taste bad, so I used them. Cookies of red and green coloring sat on the table as well as the ingredients to make more. I was making out extras, rolling out the balls of dough and coating them before setting them on an extra plate to be ready when the oven was done with another batch.
Frisk had been dressed since then as well as got through her first two lessons for the day. She had been practicing her math problems in the living room when she smelled the cookies. There was no way to stop her, so I simply had to allow her to have at least a taste to satisfy her craving of sweets.
"It's the yummy snickerdoodles!" Frisk cheered as she greedily grabbed another from the pile. Once she had her second, I moved the cooling pan away from her.
"Enough Frisk. I need to save some of those and I want to give a few to the others and their families."
"Awe… come on Sis! It's not like your giving all of them away!"
"No, but we're not keeping them all for you to eat by yourself either. You'll never eat the lasagna that Papyrus and I will be making tonight otherwise."
"Yummy…" Frisk began to drool at the mention of more flavorful food. Papyrus had certainly improved in the last two months where we practiced each night, but I hadn't dared to let him cook on his own just yet, though he seemed to enjoy cooking together.
I rolled my eyes and shooed her out into the living room of the house while I continued to bake. Baking always seemed to calm my inner turmoil, if there ever was any to begin with.
During the day when Sans and Papyrus were gone, no one normally came to the door for any reason, but when someone did, we tended to ignore it and not approach especially since nine times out of then we didn't know the person on the other side.
I managed to make it through four more dozen before I heard the doorbell ring. Not expecting anyone while Papyrus and Sans were away, I carefully approached the door and look through the peep hole to see if I should ignore it.
We still had to be careful, especially after that incident with Vinnie…
When I saw the large bear of brown, I was excited to see it was someone we knew and trusted and quickly opened the door to urge them out of the cold.
"Maria! How are you?" Pulling back, I gestured her inside. "Come in by the fire a few minutes and warm up."
"Thank you." Maria quickly hurried inside, pulling along her children with her. The youngest two greeted me with large smiles before hurrying off to see Frisk who was still trying to sneak a cookie from what was cooling. The eldest of her children, Will, stayed close to his mother with a scowl, clearly wishing to be anywhere else then there with us or his family.
He was an odd one out of his family. Maria had commented that he had the same fur coloring as her mother, a silvery grey tone which made him stand out against the other brown colored fur family members. His eyes were also abnormal, a strange icy blue hue that could freeze just about any person over. Maria loved his usual characteristics, however, it seemed that her son hated them and wished to blend in more to avoid such remarks.
But any teen would tell you they didn't like their selves that that age of their lives.
"Sorry for stopping in unannounced. The kids wished to see if Frisk was free to perhaps visit the park with us-"
"Mommy?" Milly cut off her mother with a sharp tug to her dress. "What's that yummy smell?"
"Do you like it?" I bent down to the little bear's level and she nodded quickly at me, a glitter to her eyes as she knew what was coming. "I just made some cookies and I could use a taste tester that isn't my sister. Would you guys like to try one? With your mother's permission of course."
"Can we Mom?" MK was quick to jump up and down, eagerly rubbing his face into his mother's side to get her attention due to his lack of arms to grab at her like Milly could.
"Oh alright, just one though!" Ignoring their mother after the second they heard anything resembling the word "yes", the kids took off to the kitchen in the back. Maria turned to face her son that had yet to say a word and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like one too Will?"
"Its 'Burst' Mom, why can't you call me by my nickname?" He huffed angrily at her. "You call Milly and MK by their nicknames, why can't you use mine?"
"Honey, we've talked about this." Maria sighed and brought her son to the couch to talk while I stepped back to give them some space. "That sounds like a very cool name, but that's more of a name for your friends rather than me. And I do call you by your nickname. I haven't used the name 'Wilber' in a long time."
"Oh for God's sake…"
"What was that young man?"
I took that as my cue not to listen anymore as I focused on the younger children that were closer to Frisk's age group rather than mine. The three of them were enjoying some of my cookies that were left out to cool while Frisk I saw shoving one into the mouth of the armless boy. MK hardly seemed to mind as he gobbled it down, enjoying the taste from the way he sighed afterward.
"Angel!" Milly hurried over to me, eagerly brining me back into my safe haven. "These are so yummy! What are these?
"Snickerdoodles," I petted the curly fur on top of her head. "Do you like them? They're my mother's recipe."
"Yes!" Milly cheered easily before pulling on my arm. "Can I have another one?"
"I don't see why not, but no more after that or you'll ruin your dinner. I don't want your mother getting mad at me for giving you too many sweets."
"Oh! I want another one too!" MK nearly tackled me with his head in trying to get my attention. "Please?"
"You know what, you two can actually help me with something." I bent down to their level and pointed to the lower cabinet that they could reach. "Since you guys are smaller than me, can you get into that cupboard and grab me a few containers so I can store these cookies in?"
"Okay." Both of them quickly worked together to open the door and pull out a stack of containers for me with their lids.
"Great, and you two can help me pack these up so I can send some home with you guys and send some over to Bernie too."
"Yay!"
"Awe…"
The cheers of the other children were louder than my sister whining as the cookies were going to be sent away from her. I planned to keep a few around the house, especially since the guys hadn't had any of the cookies. However, most I planned to give away, since I had just been itching to bake that day.
"Don't pout Frisk; I'll still keep a few here for you." I rolled my eyes at my sister before helping the other children. "Come on you two, I could use some help packing."
"I wanna help!" MK was quickly at my side with his tail swinging rapidly. "Can I help pack it? Maybe I could give one to Undyne and it will help her like you!"
I flinched at that name the second he said it. We hadn't talked about the captain of the royal guard in a such a long time. Not since the scare we had around my birthday at the end of October nearly a month ago.
I tried to hold back from sighing. "Are you going to tell her it's from a human?"
That made MK pause. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Right now, yes it is." I kneeled down before the young yellow boy while he pouted at me. "You can certainly tell her it's from your friend. But you should tell her they were made by Sans and Papyrus' cousin, Ravie. If she knows I'm a human… she might take us away…"
"No!" The little yellow creature whined. "I don't want that! You're super nice! I don't get why Undyne would do that!"
"I know… it's not very fair, is it?"
"No!"
"MK, sweetheart, we've talked about this." Maria was quick to include herself at the sound of her son's shouting. "You know that Undyne doesn't like humans. And it may not be fair, but if we want to have Angel and Frisk stay with us, we have to keep them secret from Undyne, at least until there are more people to help convince her that Angel and Frisk are not a threat."
"But they're nice people!"
"I know that, but many other monsters don't know that."
"It's okay MK." I petted the spikey head of the boy who stood before us with tears in his eyes. "One day, maybe Captain Undyne and I will be friends? We just have to be patient; you think you can do that for us?"
MK pouted, but otherwise lowered his gaze in understanding. "I guess so…"
"And I really appreciate that."
A flash of blue light appeared in the other room and a scream from Will caused us all to look around the corner to see Sans sitting on top of the poor teen. Sans seemed surprised to see the teen in his house before a glint came to his eye sockets.
The bear instantly snarled. "Don't you fuckin-"
"Well…" Sans snickered at the boy. "It was beary nice of ya ta drop in."
The unholy screaming that came from that kid I'm sure Papyrus could have heard all the way from his station…
Witch's Note:
Well, isn't this backwards? It's the middle of spring and here we are in the story getting ready for Christmas!? How crazy is that? I would have loved to have actually timed this to be where we could have the Christmas chapter actually near that time frame, however, I and Mystic Girl, were too impatient.
This was a chapter that both myself and Mystic Girl really enjoyed, I actually wrote it closer to Christmas maybe a year or two ago? I spent a lot of time baking and recalling some of the special memories we had. When Mystic Girl and I were in college, I used to bring in those snickerdoodles all the time and she would kidnap the box. I was lucky to see it again maybe within a week, but it was always empty…
And now onto our reviewers!
RoseCentury: Damn, that really was bad for you. Sorry to hear that. Maybe some Christmas and sugary cheer might bring about a better mind set for you this week? I know I'm drooling right now.
Cobra: Welcome to the story! You are entirely right! There is a total of ninety-two chapters that we are posting weekly. I promise that we haven't died and left the earth. We're just pacing them out so we can hear all your lovely responses!
ShunGod: Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, we'll get a bit more next time. Needed a little sweetness in between. But Mystic Girl was right there with you about last week's chapter. She felt terrible for Frisk and was screeching the entire time.
Alright! Now to let you people know that we are heading into another section of the story! Our Christmas arch has begun! So, we'll be focusing on Christmas like chapters until at least chapter thirty-five! I hope your all really excited for it!
Now don't forget to review and vote on the poll! Please! Mystic Girl wants you to vote (and she demands you vote Frisk.)
Hey! Mystic! Get your hands off the key board!
Halloween Witch
