:):

There are plenty of things that can't be seen in this story, undershield, but also many things that have simply been forgotten.

You are absolutely right, Equimavera, the River Person is truly mysterious...

I'm happy you are enjoying the story, felisfernus. :)

Thank you for your review, Starinteris. Papyrus is going to have his hands full, lol.

xxx

That Was Close!

xxx

Papyrus scoffed as he snapped his phone shut. Who would date a human? Especially such a minuscule one... He had standards after all! It seems, like always, he would have to put up with his brother's tasteless jokes.

Speaking of the minuscule human... Where was she?

Scanning the snowy area filled with Snow Poffs, he began to worry when he could not see her anywhere. Had she wandered off and gotten lost? It was possible. Before Papyrus could start to really worry however, he spotted movement near the small doghouse that acted as the Greater Dog's guard station.

Wiggling her butt in the air, Fearia investigated the strange little house covered in snow. Who lived here? And why? Frowning, she crawled further into the house before turning around and crawling back out. It was completely empty! How disappointing...

"What Are You Doing Inside The Station Of The Greater Dog?" Papyrus asked, tilting his skull at the odd human.

Looking up to her friend, Fearia mimicked his confused tilt before a smile quickly spread across her face. "This is a dog house?" She asked excitedly, looking around. "And it belongs to a Greater Dog? Where is he? What does he look like?"

Papyrus gave the child a worn down expression. Why did this human have to like dogs so much? She was a lot like his brother with her bizarre tolerance for the slobbery things. "He Looks A Bit Like A Certain Dog I Don't Like. A Dog That's Always Stealing My Things And Hiding Them Away..." He replied as unwanted visions of the furry white bone stealer popped into his skull. How did that small dog always find a way inside their house? He just knew Sans had something to do with it! "But The Greater Dog Doesn't Collect Anything." The tall skeleton's grin turned slightly anxious as he continued. "He's Only A Kleptomaniac For Affection! I've Heard He Has Amassed Quite A Large Collection Of Hugs And Pets."

Furrowing her brow, a small frown befell the child's face. "What's a kleptomaniac?"

Glad to be the well of information that he most definitely was, Papyrus put a gloved hand to his hip and grinned confidently. "A Kleptomaniac, Human, Is What You Call A Dog That Sneaks Off With Your Things In The Middle Of The Night And Hides Them Under The Couch!"

"Awww." Fearia smiled. "That's so cute!"

"CUTE!?" Papyrus screeched in dismay. That was Not the reaction he had expected!

Making their way down a narrow pass, bordered by a precariously cracked cliff face on one side and a sheer drop on the other, the skeleton and the child searched around for a potential healing star. This place was kind of creepy, what with the glowing eyes peeking at them from inside the cracks in the walls and the eerie wind howling every so often. Fearia didn't remember this place at all. How could she have missed it?

"Gyftrot Lives Near Here." Papyrus smiled fondly. "If You See Them, Make Sure To Give Them A Gift. They Like Gifts!"

"Gyftrot?" Fearia asked, looking around curiously.

"You'll Know Them Right Away." The taller skeleton reassured. "They Have Really Large Antlers That Look Like Little Trees. Strange, I Know..."

"What should I give them, Pappy?" Fearia fretted as she checked her obviously empty pockets. Nope, she still hadn't tucked anything away in them yet. There wasn't even any pocket lint.

Giving the child a knowing nod, Papyrus tried to set her mind at ease. "Don't Worry If You Can't Afford Something Nice." he smiled. "It's The Thought That Counts. So Imagine You Have A Lot Of Money..."

"I literally don't have any money." Fearia replied, deadpanned, as she pulled out her pockets. "Not a single G."

Before Papyrus could even think of how to respond to that, a loud cry echoed off the cliff walls of the nearby mountain pass, causing them both to unconsciously flinch in alarm.

"What was that?!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!

"GOSHDARN TEENAGE GOOGLY EYES!"

As the skeleton and human quickly rounded the corner to see what the racket was all about, they witnessed first hand a strange Reindeer monster stumbling around blindly. On their face, a pair of funny bobble eyes was taped in place, greatly impairing their vision.

"Giftrot!" Papyrus greeted happily, not quite reading the situation correctly.

"Who's there?!" Giftrot demanded. "You think this is funny?! I don't want your gift! Keep away from me, you darn hooligans!"

"That's Giftrot?" Fearia asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"They're Not Usually This Angry..." Papyrus replied with a nervous laugh.

"Hohoho!" Giftrot mocked cynically. "Go ahead and laugh..."

Frowning, Fearia felt a surge of pity for the poor monster. They reminded her of a disrespected elder. Someone who was once mighty when they were in their prime but now was old and weak and therefor targeted because of it. How cruel! "Would you like us to help you?"

Giftrot huffed, before turning towards where the small voice had come from. "How do I know it's not a trick?"

"Giftrot, It's Me, Papyrus!" The taller skeleton smiled as he approached the vulnerable but ornery reindeer. "Let Us Help You. As A Future Royal Guardsmen, I Can Assure You That This Is Not A Trick!"

"Papyrus...?" Giftrot deflated, their fur unbristling slightly. "Who is that whippersnapper with you, huh?"

"This Is Miss Fearia!" Papyrus revealed happily. "She Is New Here, And She Is A Very Nice Person. Let Us Help You."

"Okay..." Giftrot finally relented. "Just... get this off of me."

Nodding, Papyrus reached out and carefully unstuck the googly eyes from the monster's face.

"Thanks." The reindeer said once they could see properly again. First looking to the tall skeleton, Giftrot then lowered their gaze to the small child. "Ah, a tiny snow bunny kit. I was half expecting you to be another blasted snowdrake."

"I'm not a snow bunny." Fearia corrected. "I'm a human."

The old reindeer blinked at the small child before giving her a humored smile. Kids these days, always wanting to be something they're not. "Alright then, human, mind helping me get the rest of these gifts off?"

"Gifts...?" Looking up, Fearia noticed quite a lot of added things dangling from Giftrot's treelike antlers. Were they offerings or something? If they were, they definitely weren't appreciated. Best to help them out. "Sure, I can help you." She smiled warmly.

The small human and the Royal Guard wanna-be got to work undecorating the poor monster. Among the various decorations, they found a box of non-dog-related- raisins, a flimsy star made out of raw macaroni, a childhood photograph of Snowdrake and his parent, a tiny red and white striped cane, and an old used postage stamp. It was only when Fearia spotted a small confused dog hiding behind one of Giftrot's treelike antlers, did things get complicated.

"That's a little better." The reindeer said. Of course they had said it a moment too soon, because at that moment, all of those objects that had been so generously removed were then replaced by a small, overly determined rabbit kit. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be taking things off, not putting any more on me!"

"Miss Fearia, What Are You Doing?!" Papyrus stressed as he tried to collect the small child.

"There's a dog!" Fearia explained as she reached behind one of the treelike antlers.

"A Dog?!"

"Yip!"

It was at this time, that a small confused dog popped out from behind Giftrot's antler. Panting, it gave another excited bark before jumping out of the child's reach and landing lightly on the reindeer's rump. Not a second later, it had quickly bounced off and scampered away. Everything after that happened way too fast.

Giftrot, who had been adequately started by the whole thing, reared their head back in a sudden jerk. In doing so, they sent the small child flying into the air. Papyrus had been seconds too late in grabbing the human, and now was gaping almost comically as he watched the small girl soar over his head, floppy yellow ears flowing behind her. Fearia, for her part, hadn't even had time to process what had just happened. All she knew was that she was now weightless and it had suddenly become very windy.

Without giving it a single thought, Papyrus' body moved on its own as he sprinted after the rocketing human. At the last possible moment, the tall skeleton dove forward, long arms outstretched. Feeling the tiny warm bundle land lightly into his awaiting hands, Papyrus closed them slightly, securing the child as the snow rose up to meet them.

Feeling like a weight had been lifted, metaphorically as well as literally, Giftrot huffed grumpily before disappearing back into the frigid wilderness. "Thanks for nothing!"

Finally coming to a sliding stop near the icy ledge, both skeleton and human froze for a moment of stunned silence. That was really close. There were so many other possible outcomes that could have happened instead of this. None of them were very pleasant. Seeing as neither of them were hurt in any way and they weren't currently tumbling down a craggy cliff face, they could count this as a big win.

Seeing that the tiny human was safe and unharmed, Papyrus released an audible sigh of relief before dropping his skull into the snow between his outstretched arms. He couldn't remember the last time he had been that stressed. Had he ever been that stressed?! Taking care of a child was harder than he thought it would be. This was a full time responsibility. He had to be more vigilant!

Finally getting over her shock, Fearia slowly let out the breath she had been holding. That was scary! But kinda fun too... Looking over to her skeleton savior, the little girl felt a bit guilty. Poor Papyrus, she must have really worried him. Crawling out of his gloved hands, Fearia knelt between the skeleton's bony arms. With a fond smile, she reached out and gave him an affectionate pat on the skull. "Thanks a lot, Pappy. That was a really good catch."

"It Was, Wasn't It?" Came Papyrus' muffled reply, his skull still firmly planted into the snow.

"Mh Hm!" Fearia grinned. "It was a super good catch! The best catch ever!"

Lifting his skull finally, Papyrus smiled a toothy grin. "The Best? You Mean It?"

Fearia giggled as she reached out to unclog the goofy skeleton's eye sockets that had become caked with fresh snow. "I mean it. You're awesome, Pappy!"

"I Am?!" Papyrus exclaimed before quickly correcting himself. "W-well, Of Course, I Am! After All, I Am The Great Papyrus!" He reminded confidently. Once he could clearly see the child again, the skeleton's grin became slightly anxious. "But uh... let's not tell my brother about this..." He whispered as if said brother could somehow hear him. If Sans found out about this little blunder, he'd never hear the end of it!

"Deal?"

"Deal." Fearia nodded in complete understanding. Sans didn't need to know about this and she could definitely keep a secret.

xxx

Who saw that coming?

In the next chapter we will finally get to see what Sans is up to!

xxx

Thanks for reading!

If you are enjoying this story, why not take the time to leave me a friendly review?

Sheii Bae~