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This chapter in way wayy overdue and I'm so sorry about that. I've just been feeling extremely burnt out lately.
Is it just me, or has this summer been HOT?
xxx
Homecoming
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Sleeping soundly beside his tiny human, Poff was startled awake by an audible crackle of energy. Fully awake in what seemed like an instant, the little white dog quickly stretched before sitting up to greet his friend. Fluffy tail padding against the rumpled bedsheets and pink tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, Poff gave a happy bark. The excitement he was feeling, however, seemed to taper off slightly when he finally noticed her absence. Where was the other human?
With a glowing heart in one hand, only his friend had returned. Tilting his furry head, Poff whined softly as the disheveled skeleton approached the bed. With a torn jacket and a mysterious inky black substance staining his clothing, the normally laidback monster looked very much like he'd just been through literal hell and back, and he smelled ...unpleasant. The stench was somewhere between rotting plant matter and something Poff couldn't quite identify.
"how's she doing?" Sans asked, concern lacing his words as he knelt down beside the bed. Not really waiting for an answer, he quietly reached over and placed a boney hand softly to the Soulless child's forehead. Feeling a fair amount of warmth seep into his bones, the worried skeleton felt some of his tension lift as he released a small relieved sigh. She hadn't yet begun to decline. Thank goodness.
"good job, buddy." Sans said as he gave the little dog an appreciative smile. Lifting his hand from the sleeping child, he then placed it affectionately to the small monster's furry white head. "i owe ya big time."
Wrinkling his nose slightly, Poff was unable to hold back a sneeze. With a quick shake of his fluffy head, he effectively banished the skeleton's smelly hand before sneezing once more.
"heh. sorry, pal." Sans grinned in humor. "guess i got a little dirty today. wandering around for hours inside a crumbling cave system will do that to ya."
"but it was all worth it... for this."
Releasing his magical grip on the golden Soul, Sans smiled fondly as it immediately floated over to the sleeping child. Almost as if magnetized, it seemed to instinctively know right where it belonged. Hovering above her for a second or two, the glittering heart gave one last flicker of gratitude before sinking back into the little girl's small chest.
Almost immediately, the tiny human gave a sudden involuntary jerk before her brow creased in discomfort. Then, just like that, after one last small spasm, Fearia released a long, drawn out gasp as her delicate hand rose to her chest. Curling her tiny fingers into the soft pink fabric of her new nightgown, the little girl squeezed her eyes shut a bit tighter as she winced in apparent pain. From the corners of her closed eyes, tears began to steadily form as a strangled sob fought to escape.
Seeing this, a wave of parental worry rose up inside of Sans as he quickly sought to comfort her in some way. Carefully pulling back the covers, the concerned skeleton gently scooped the tiny human up into his arms and brought her to his sternum. Holding her close, he placed a boney hand to her mess of auburn hair as he spoke softly and soothingly in hopes of somehow easing her distress.
"shh... it's okay, kid. i'm right here." Sans said quietly as he rubbed gentle circles into the small child's back. "you're safe now, i promise. everything's gonna be just fine."
Tilting his fluffy head, Poff whimpered softly as he watched the tiny human latch onto the skeleton's shirt like some kind of lifeline. Seemingly unable to hold them back any longer, muffled sobs began to pour out of the little girl as she pressed her face into her friend's boney chest. Ears drooping slightly, the little dog walked over and sat down in the warm spot where she had just been laying. Sitting down, he waited patiently.
Easily ignoring the fact that there was a growing damp spot happening on his chest, Sans continued to comfort the small child as best he could. Truthfully, as much as he hated to hear her cry like this, he also found it oddly reassuring at the same time. It was just proof that Fearia was finally awake. After nearly a week of watching her exist in a state he could only describe as living death, the relief he felt at hearing her delicate voice was simply immeasurable.
Finally crying herself out after a few minutes, Fearia eventually released her death grip on her friend's baggy shirt. With a small hiccup, she then lifted her arms and quietly wrapped them around his cervical spine instead. The pain that she had been feeling was gone now, but she was still upset. Taking full advantage of the comfort that she had been largely deprived of most of her life, the little girl sniffled miserably as she snuggled a bit closer, finally allowing herself to relax in her friend's boney grasp.
"I... think I had a nightmare..." Fearia confided quietly, the echoes of the dream still replaying inside of her mind.
Tilting his skull slightly at the sound of her words, Sans gave the little girl a soft commiserating smile. Honestly, after everything that had happened, he wasn't at all surprised to hear her say this. It was completely understandable. Still... he wasn't about to downplay her trauma.
"a nightmare, huh? must've been a real scary one." Sans replied with sympathy.
"It was..." Fearia frowned as she dwelled on the disturbing dream. "It was really, really, reeeally scary."
"wanna tell me about it?" Sans offered. "might make ya feel a lil better."
"Mmm..." The little girl responded indecisively as she unconsciously tightened her hold around his cervical spine.
"c'mon, kid." Sans urged as his smile grew a little. "i'm all ears."
Frown wavering slightly, a small humored noise escaped the little girl as she quickly caught on to his dumb joke. "You don't even have ears." she replied, pointing out the obvious.
"that so?" Sans shot back in good humor as he gave a lazy shrug. "heh, and here i thought they were as clear as the nose of my face."
"You don't have a nose either!" Fearia exclaimed, unable to hold back a giggle. "you literally have like no face."
"jeez, kid. that cuts kinda deep." Sans grinned in amusement. "good thing i have thick skin then or else that might've actually stung a bit."
Despite the growing absurdity of his claims, a small snort of laughter still managed to escape the little girl as she slowly lessened her grip on the skeleton's neck before pulling away. Sitting back in his arms, Fearia gave her friend a look of mock annoyance as she tried to fight back her giggles. "You're so weird, Sans."
Smile softening, the comical monster fell quiet for a short moment as a foreign feeling of adoration came over him. Honestly, he wasn't completely sure when it had happened, but he had to admit it was official now. He freakin' loved this kid.
Feeling a tiny bit lighter now for some reason, Sans felt his grin return as his eye lights drifted off in mischief. "eh, looks like ya got me there, kiddo." he said as he cleverly lined up his next joke. "i guess being weird is just... in my veins!"
"Oh my gosh, stooop!" Fearia demanded in exasperation as she pressed her tiny hands to his teeth in an attempt to silence him. "It's not funny anymore. Now it's just dumb!"
Clearly unhindered by the small child's futile efforts, Sans simply continued to laugh at his own dumb joke.
Wagging his fluffy tail furiously, Poff just couldn't take this anymore. He needed to be a part of whatever was happening. Letting out a happy, yet impatient bark, the small dog pranced in place on the bed as he practically begged for attention. Now that she was feeling better, he wanted to see his tiny human too!
Attention effectively captured, Fearia let out a delighted gasp as she quickly spotted the fluffy creature. "Poff!" She exclaimed happily. For some reason, it felt like forever since she'd last seen him.
Rolling his eye lights at the little attention stealer, Sans grinned in spite of himself. "feelin' a little left out there, bud?" He chuckled lightly before reluctantly acquiescing to the small dog's wordless demand. Gently lowering the little girl back to the bed, he relinquished her to an adorable assault of face licks.
Burying her hands into soft white fur, Fearia was simply overjoyed as the small dog accidentally bowled her over in his excitement. Whatever sadness she had been feeling when she had awoken was quickly becoming just a bad memory. Now, thanks to her friends, she was feeling so much better!
In the back of her mind, though, she couldn't help but feel like there was still someone missing...
...
Exhausted, and covered in now frosted swamp reeds, Papyrus slowly trudged through the thick snow back to his and his brother's house. It was only noon, but he already felt like the entire day had been wasted. With no sign of the little human's Soul, his seemingly bottomless well of optimism was finally starting to run dry.
As much as he wanted to stay positive, even Papyrus was beginning to have his doubts. Despite everyone's best efforts, it was possible that they might never find little Fearia's Soul. And, even if they did, nearly a week had gone by. What if it was too late? What if... she had already...
Feeling his nonexistent stomach turn at the very thought, the depressed skeleton felt a heavy weight settle in his bones as he finally allowed himself to consider the grimmer possibilities. There was a very real chance that they might never get to see their tiny human ever again. Fearia might be gone forever.
Even though she'd only been living with them for a few weeks, the thought of not having her around anymore felt so wrong. So painful... Was this what it felt like to lose a family member? If it was, then it was one of the worst feelings he could possibly imagine. It was truly unbearable...
With a listless sigh, Papyrus slowed down until he came to a stop in the snow. Why was he even going back to the house? Nobody was there. He wasn't even sure if Sans had come home last night. So then, what was the point in going back to an empty house? Honestly, the very thought was depressing.
There must be something else he could do, something more productive than moping around in his room. If Sans hadn't given up yet, then why was he? He couldn't just give up! Even if there was only the slightest of chances of finding little Fearia's Soul, he still had to try!
Filled with a renewed sense of purpose, Papyrus turned and set off back towards Waterfall. He hadn't checked everywhere yet, there were still so many more places he could look. And, after that, if he still hadn't found it, he'd search all of the Snowdin Wilderness if he had too.
Before he could get very far at all, however, the cell phone inside of the tall skeleton's battle body started to ring with an energetic tune. Who could that be? Was it Undyne? Feeling a tiny bit guilty, Papyrus belatedly realized he'd actually forgotten to tell his friend that he was leaving. Maybe she was just calling to find out where he was.
Continuing on his way back to Waterfall, Papyrus dug out the small phone and flipped it open. Fully expecting to see his friend's name on the screen, his pace slowed a little in confusion when he found that it wasn't. Arching an eyebrow bone, Papyrus was slightly surprised to find that the call was actually coming from his brother. This was odd because Sans almost never called anyone. He was notoriously lazy about doing so and usually only sent text messages. If he was actually calling, then that must mean he had something really important to tell him.
Had... Had Sans found the tiny human's Soul?
Hope bubbled up inside of Papyrus as he nervously tapped at his brother's name on the small screen. Mentally bracing himself for possible disappointment, the normally boisterous skeleton timidly answered the call. "S-Sans?"
"Pappy?" Came a youthful response from the other end. The voice was excited and curious and all too familiar. "No, it's just me." she replied happily. "Sans told me to tell you to come home. ...Are you okay? You sound funny!"
Completely unaware of the bizarre sounding squeal escaping him, the look on Papyrus' skull was downright comical as his mind struggled to process what he was hearing. Overwhelmed, the skeleton's long boney legs seemed to turn into metaphorical jelly as he fell to his patella's in the freshly fallen snow. Gripping the phone a bit tighter in a trembling gloved hand, Papyrus was almost too afraid to believe what was happening.
Could... could it really be?
"F-Fearia?!"
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Poor Pappy!
I feel bad seeing him all depressed like that...
...
In the next chapter, the skeleton household finally starts to feel normal again.
xxx
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Sheii Bae~
