Chapter Twelve

Sans laughed heartily, leaning back in his seat. His stomach was full of pizza and ketchup, and his soul with a light feeling. Mizera's antics had finally managed to get under his "skin" in a more humorous way. Her behavior was absurd, but amusing in this instance, and even Daezl was joining in on the fun.

"The first person to swim?"

"Yeah! He'd be there all like "hey look at me I'm in the drinking stuff!"

Daezl shook his head, sharp teeth glinting in the light of their new room. "You're floating on the top layer of the drinking stuff, dude! How'd you do that?"

"Well ya see, I'm flailing my limbs around under the surface of the drinking stuff so I don't die."

"Oh, cool."

"Yeah, you should try it too. It's a lot of exercise, but it's fun and I think its making me cleaner than before!"

"I don't think I wanna join you there in the drinking stuff. I think flailing around in it might make it a little dirty, and unsafe for drinking."

"Plus you'd sink like a rock."

Pointing at him with a jagged claw, Daezl said, "don't you start," but couldn't conceal his grin.

Juni giggled. Oro came into the room, fur still damp from his shower, wearing a pineapple-themed sweater. Miz rolled around on the floor like a playful dog and Daezl took a seat on the sofa.

"Ah, c'mon," said Mizera. "Maybe you should have some macaroni."

"No! Why?"

"'Cause maybe you'll loosen up a little when you're stoned."

Sans nearly spit out his ketchup. Daezl crossed his arms and sat back, rolling his eyes. Juni quickly scanned Oro's attire as the bulky monster announced that his brother had gotten pwned. She scooted over to let him sit beside her.

"So, you went from oranges to pineapples? What kind of fruit salad are you?"

"I'm not a fruit salad!"

"That's suspicious," said Mizera.

Sans continued, "yeah, that's just what a fruit salad would say."

"No it's not; fruit salads can't even talk."

Daezl asked, "are the words "fruit salad" starting to sound weird to anybody else?"

This of course, provoked Mizera into chanting the phrase. Sans chucked a piece of pizza crust at her nose, ending the torment in a whiny, "ow!"

He wiggled his toes on the yet-to-be-soiled rug. The snowfall had gotten heavier since they'd retrieved the ring, and his feet had been a bit uncomfortable in their icy dwellings. He hadn't glanced outside since they rented the room, and wasn't too concerned about the weather now. Hopefully his slippers would be at least a little dry by tomorrow. For now, his stomach was full and his soul cocooned in fluff. He relaxed into the sofa even more than he already had. Juni shifted, and he let her stretch her wing. He sat back without a thought, into the mass of ruby feathers.

They watched Mizera roll on the floor.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Sans' eye sockets opened to a plumy, striped tail. He didn't realize where he was at first. He inhaled, slowly pushing himself up as everything returned to him. Oro, Juni, and Daezl still shared the couch with him, and they had somehow fallen asleep together on its cushions. Mizera was curled up on the rug. Sans yawned, carefully dragging himself from the pile.

The room was peacefully quiet, save for the gentle hum of the heating system. He stretched, as little sense as that made, and ambled over to the window. He felt a faint cool air brush his face as he pulled back the curtain. A frozen fog covered the glass. He wiped away a streak of it with his jacket. The snow had stopped falling for now, and the city was coated in a sparkling white blanket. A crescent moon hung low in the distance, and the stars shone through thin layers of clouds.

He stepped away from the window, making his way to one the beds in the suite to pull off the blankets. He dragged them over to Mizera's sleeping form and covered her. He did the same for the others, abandoning a sheet that fell along the way. He stacked pieces of crust atop Daezl's face just to mess with him. Sans ambled into an untouched room, feet clacking against the bare floor, and climbed into bed.

Sweet dreams, pathetic mortal. =)