How in the actual HAGSMIRE did one get snow UNDERGROUND? There were no clouds beneath the earth; there was no sun to evaporate any water to form them. And no clouds meant no precipitation, so how in the actual living hagsmire was there snow on the ground?
Don't bother questioning it, Ginger said to herself. It makes just about as much sense as everything else down here.
Just outside the Ruins, there was what looked like a large, snow-covered bush. Maybe she could make something out of it; a hideaway of sorts, a secret base, maybe. Nothing too fancy, just a place to return to if things got hairy. Besides, it was close to the Ruins. It'd be nice sticking around for a little while longer.
She parted the leaves, causing some of the snow on the leaves to fall away, and she was immediately met with a foreign object; another piece of advanced technology that the Tytonic Union(and most other birds)was unfamiliar with. She tapped the lens; curious. She tried to remove it from the bushes; it stayed steadfast where it was. Maybe someone had put it there on purpose in such a way that it couldn't be removed.
Whatever the case was, someone had already been there, and she wasn't sure she'd want to be around if they ever decided to come back, so she begrudgingly aborted her plans.
The path ahead was lined with a forest of barren trees; they were probably all dead with the lack of sunlight, but how they managed to grow so tall before their untimely deaths, she had no idea either. She decided to continue down the path; at some point, she'd find some kind of civilization, right? The Ruins were so well built for what they were; monsters might be after humans for their SOULs, but from what she'd seen since her arrival, they were not savages; far from it. Especially in the case of...
She looked back at the Ruins one last time; the door had grown so much smaller, it seemed, from the distance she was at. Whatever Toriel was doing, she just hoped she was alright.
Ginger stepped over a thick-looking branch in the middle of the path absentmindedly, and continued a few steps before she began to think about odd concepts; could these trees surrounding the path be sentient? Even if they seemed as good as dead? If Flowey and Dwayne could speak and think for themselves, then who was to say that the trees couldn't? It was an unsettling thought; what would they think of her? Were they watching her? Judging her? And could they-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud snap. She looked behind her to identify the noise.
The branch in the middle of the path was broken.
She turned back around, picking up her pace as she went farther down the path. Nothing was there when she'd turned around, but she knew there was only one way the branch could have been broken the way it was; something had to have stepped on it. Something big. Was it the six-and-a-half foot beast that was the head of the Royal Guard? Had she set up an ambush? No, that was impossible. How would-
There was another noise; the distinct sound of footsteps making the snow crunch and shift. She looked over her shoulder without stopping; nobody there. Nothing but the trees, the snow and the darkness.
She walked faster, on the verge of jogging. Something was definitely following her; what it was she didn't know, and she didn't want to stick around to find out. The young human eyed a break in the land just up ahead, a small bridge connecting the two ends, and a wooden gate-like structure surrounding the space she could walk through; if there was a bridge all the way out here, then a civilization of some sort couldn't be much farther. She put a hand on the pocket with the toy knife in it as she approached the bridge, ready to draw it just in case the need arose. If it could kill something as big and strong as Toriel in one blow, than anything much smaller would-
"Human."
The voice came from right behind her, right when she was about to step onto the bridge. Her blood ran cold as her entire body turned to stone.
"Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"
The voice was deep; male, it sounded like. And its hushed tone gave off an extremely unsettling vibe.
"Turn around...and shake my hand."
If it had been said in any other tone of voice, she might have accepted more complyingly. But she just stood there for what felt like a solid minute; what was the monster thinking? What was he going to do? She clenched her fists, then dug one hand into her pocket to grab the plastic handle and opened her other one to meet the mysterious being halfway.
She whizzed around, just barely catching a glimpse of the stranger's hand before she grasped it, shutting her eyes tightly, expecting the worst. And upon taking his hand, she was immediately met with the sound of...
Flatulence.
...What.
The obnoxious noise squeaked, then stopped.
"heheh...the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick...it's ALWAYS funny."
Ginger opened her eyes.
And nearly shut them again, suppressing a scream.
She could have sworn she just saw the face of the grim reaper himself, come to take her SOUL away to glamora far too early. And considering the circumstances, she feared that she wasn't far off.
"heh...anyways, you're a human, right?"
The undead creature didn't seem to think of himself in such a manner, however.
"Uh...Yeah?" she answered, opening her eyes again to face him. There was a wide, toothy smile on his fleshless face, and the white dots he had for pupils in his otherwise empty eye sockets gave him a surprising amount of personality for something that otherwise looked so dead.
"so you are. heheh...that's hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."
"S-sans, huh? Cool..."
She took a better look at him; he was a skeleton, alright. The skinless skull and bony hands gave it all away. But she never thought she'd see a reanimated human corpse wearing a hoodie, sweat shorts and slippers. And he was short for his age; she had an inch or two on him, which made her wonder how he'd managed to make that branch snap the way it did. Even so, she had to admit that this WASN'T the weirdest thing she'd seen so far that day.
"yep. okay, now it's your turn."
"Me? Uh...Name's Ginger. Wingren."
"cool beans, kid. so, anyway, i'm actually supposed to be keeping watch for humans right now. but...you know...i don't really care about capturing anybody."
"Capturing...Right. Because you need my SOUL, is that correct?"
"you caught onto that part, huh?"
"Yeah. I, uh...just flew in from the Ruins, and...Boy, oh boy, are my arms tired."
The monster snorted, then chuckled.
"...heh...heheheh...not bad."
As much as the joke relieved some more of the tension, she honestly wished that had actually been the case.
"Um...So..." the human continued. "You're not gonna, like...try to fight me?"
"can't really be bothered. i'd rather people not end up killing themselves, you know?"
"Ha...That's a first."
"glad to hear it. now, my brother, on the other hand...he's a different story."
"Your brother?"
"yeah. papyrus. he's a human-hunting FANATIC."
"Oh, no...What's he gonna do if he finds me?"
"eh, don't worry about it too much. he's harmless."
He had a brother; she imagined something of similar build and stature, perhaps looking somewhat more dignified, and maybe a few inches taller.
"but if you're really worried about him, i'll give you a hand. go on ahead through this gate thingy; my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."
"He made this, did he?"
"yeah. it was supposed to be a blockade, but it's really more of a gateway, the logs are so far apart."
"So, is he around the immediate area?" she asked him as they made their way across the bridge.
"probably. if he's on schedule, he should be passing through this place pretty soon. and let me tell you something; he's ALWAYS right on the money."
"What's he like? Besides, you know, the human-hunting fanatic thing?"
"you're about to find out. here he comes."
Ginger diverted her attention to the path ahead; a humanoid silhouette came into view.
"quick. behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."
The skeleton pointed at something to the left; there was a lamp, just Ginger's height, and just big enough to conceal her if she went behind it. She didn't bother asking any questions, and followed the monster's advice, positioning herself behind it and peaking out just slightly to see what Sans' brother looked like.
And holy mother of Glaux. He was TALL! She had imagined him being a bit bigger than the first skeleton, but this! He was taller than Toriel, even! Six and a half feet, probably! It was ridiculous! And despite his somewhat fancy-looking red gloves and boots, he didn't seem anywhere near as sophisticated as she'd pictured.
"'sup, bro?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER!" he screeched. His voice was so overbearing and obnoxious it was almost funny. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS! AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! ALL YOU DO IS JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING!?"
"staring at this lamp. it's really cool; wanna take a look?"
"NO! I HAVEN'T GOT THE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE!" he yelled at him, stamping his foot in frustration. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! AND THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DESERVE! THE DAY I CAPTURE A HUMAN, I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! THE RESPECT, THE RECOGNITION...PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY FRIEND! I WILL PRACTICALLY BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING! I WILL HAVE ALL OF THIS AND MORE!"
"hmmm...maybe this lamp will help you."
"SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! YOU ARE NOT! HELPING! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND ALL DAY AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER WITH EACH PASSING DAY!"
"hey, come on. take it easy bro; i've gotten a ton of work done today."
"YOU HAVE?"
"yeah...a skele-ton."
"SAAAAANS!"
Ginger held back a laugh, and it barely came out a snort. This certainly was an amusing episode.
"come on. you're smiling."
He was right; a huge grin was plastered across the taller skeleton's bony face.
"I AM AND I HATE IT!" he admitted, then let out a deflated sigh.
"WHY IS IT THAT SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAS TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"
"dang, bro. sounds like you've been working yourself..."
"OH, NO..."
"...down to the bone."
Ginger smiled herself; Sans wasn't half bad with puns himself.
"UUUUURGH! I GIVE UP!" Papyrus snapped. "IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, NOW, I MUST GO ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK, PUT A LITTLE MORE...BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!"
He ran off cackling, then turned his head to give his brother one last "HEH!" before turning back the way he came. When the human saw him disappear, she poked her head out even more.
"Is, ah...the coast clear?"
"yep. you can come on out now...or...stay there if you want to...i don't care, it's none of my business."
"Down to the bone..." she mused. "Genius."
"you're a fan of bad puns, too, huh?"
"How are they 'bad'? That was hilarious!"
"heh...you're right...my jokes were pretty punny."
"I see what you did there."
"'ey."
"So, I have a quick question. Do you know where the nearest town is?"
"sleepy lil' town called snowdin off to the east; just follow the path and you'll get there eventually. the only bad news is that my brother's got all of his puzzles set up along the way; you'll have to solve them."
"I'm familiar with the concept. Thanks for the help, Sans."
"eh...whatever."
She started down the walkway again, wondering what kinds of puzzles the skeleton had laid out along the way to try and trip her up.
"hey, kid. hold up a sec."
"Hm?"
The human turned back around to face the monster.
"look, I hate to bother you, but, do you think you could do me a favor?"
"What's up?"
"well...i was thinking...my brother might have seemed pretty peppy, there, but lately, he's been kinda down in the dumps. call me crazy, but...he's never seen a real life human before, and i think seeing you might just make his day."
"Uh..."
Was this a trick? A trap of some sort. Careful; he could be up to something. Despite his overall friendly impression, she wasn't sure if it was genuine or just a ruse.
"What'll he do when and if he sees me?"
"psh. don't worry about him. he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be. i know him well enough to tell you that."
Ginger hissed through clenched teeth, glancing off to the side in uncertainty. She took one more look at the skeleton's eye sockets to see if they displayed anything in those white pinpricks she couldn't trust; his gaze had no malicious gleam in it, but it seemed unusually...empty. Not the psycotic kind of empty, but...apathetic. Sad, almost. But they conveyed an odd sense of honest goodness, despite his quirks.
"Well...Alright. Just because you're jokes are so good."
"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead."
But to her surprise, the skeleton began to walk in the OPPOSITE direction from what he'd said. The human looked back ahead, insuing that THIS was the path he should have taken, and she turned back toward his own direction to correct him.
But he was gone. Almost as though he'd vanished into thin air.
Something in her gut told her to trust him; it was the closest thing she had to a gizzard, and while not quite as reliable, and notably more vague in pointing her down the right path, it was at least something instinctive she could go by.
She went up the path ahead, and there, just above the ground, was another Save Point star. She interacted with it.
*Snowdin-Box Road
*File Saved
Box Road? She looked just up ahead; there on the offbeaten path was a chest, with a sign next to it. She approached it and read what it had to say.
"This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back.
"Sincerely,
"A box lover."
She opened the chest; it was empty, but it had an odd aura about it; somewhat magnetic, almost like a mini Devil's Triangle, but not quite matching the properties of flecks. Was it a magical box? Magic was capable of very strange things.
And so was DETERMINATION, when she came to think of it.
The human passed the chest, and there were the two skeleton brothers, conversing with one another. How had Sans gotten here? He obviously didn't take the path. But he was there, just lie he said he'd be, so she wouldn't complain to him about something so stupid.
"SO, SANS. AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE, SHE'S BEEN THINKING ABOUT FINALLY TELLING-"
The sound of footsteps trudging through the snow caught the other skeleton's attention, and he turned around to face the source of the noise. His eye sockets narrowed to take a better look at the human, then widened when he realized what he was looking at. He turned to his brother, then back to the human, then back and forth yet again. Finally, the two of them turned their backs to the human to speak in private.
"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS...IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS!?"
"well that depends on what you think it is, doesn't it?"
"WELL, I THINK IT'S A HUMAN! ISN'T IT!?"
"hmm..." Sans hummed, looking back in said human's direction. "actually...I think that's a rock."
"OH."
A rock? Ginger glanced down; sure enough, there was a pale, snow-covered rock on the ground, just a foot or so behind her.
"WELL...THAT'S A DISAPPOINTMENT."
"hey. what's that in front of the rock?"
"IN FRONT OF-...OH MY GOD!"
His wide grin was quick to return.
"ERM, IS THAT A HUMAN?" he whispered to his brother.
"yes."
"YAHAHAHAHA! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL...I'M GONNA...I'LL BE SO...POPULAR, POPULAR, POPULAR!"
He bounced up and down where he stood. Sans had been right; the sight of her really did make his day. Who, though, was this "Undyne" whom he spoke of?
"*AHEM*...HUMAN!" the skeleton announced in that obnoxious tone of his. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! AND I WILL PROCEED TO DELIVER YOU TO THE CAPITAL! AND THEN...AND THEN!...AH...WELL...I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. NONETHELESS! CONTINUE, HUMAN...ONLY IF YOU SO DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Papyrus continued down the path ahead to tend to his puzzles; this was going to be a good day for him, he could feel it in his bones.
"...Well..." the human started. "That went a little better than I expected."
"my thoughts exactly. thanks for that, kid."
"Eh, I've got one more question for you."
"'sup?"
"He said something about someone named 'Undyne'. Who's that?"
"oh. she's the captain of the royal guard; papyrus trains under her. don't tell him i said this, but even with all the training he's had, he can barely harm a...uh...kid? what's with the sweat? we're in snowdin, not hotland."
The phrase alone was enough to send a chill down her spine. One of the Loox in the Ruins had specifically warned her about that one; to "keep looking over her shoulder for her," he'd said. The Captain of the Royal Guard, who was said to have a fiery hatred for mankind. She'd probably kill her on the spot if she came across her. They knew her; personally, maybe. Especially the taller of the two.
"She's...That's...You two know the Captain of the Royal Guard?"
"yeah. but don't get yourself tied up into a knot just yet; i'll keep an eye socket out for ya, kid. honestly, i'm surprised you came out of the ruins knowing about her; you must have been in there for a long time before you finally decided to come on out, huh?"
"Actually, no; I was only in there for maybe...four hours? Five at most after I fell? The only reason I know about her is from some other monster that told me some things about her."
"like, what kinds of things?"
"Ah, heh heh...scary things. The words he used to describe her were 'six-and-a-half foot beast.'"
"well...he wasn't that far off, i'll tell you that. but you're in luck. she doesn't come here that often; she can't stand the cold. and she takes heat even worse. extreme temperatures are her one weakness. and by the time she catches word of you, we'll probably have you out of here and on your way to the capital and past the barrier."
"You'd really do that?"
"why not? haven't got anything else on my plate, so might as well."
"...Thanks for that, man."
"no prob. now go on out there and solve those puzzles."
He went down the path. Ginger stood there for a few moments; they actually formally knew the fearsome Royal Guard Captain. Papyrus especially, seeing that he trained beneath her. Even if the one was trying to help her, she was unnerved by the fact. She continued forward slowly, rubbing up and down her bare arms; she was beginning to feel the effects of the cold air.
She slung the messenger bag off her back and dug the sweater out of it, slipping it on over her orange and white short-sleeve. The slice of Toriel's pie came out back into the bag as she unfolded the clothing article, but fortunately remained unharmed thanks to the napkin she'd wrapped it up in. She snapped the flap shut and slung the bag back over her shoulder, and as soon as she had it back on securely...
The phone rang.
Toriel!
Oh, boy, oh, boy! She'd finally get to talk to her again! They hadn't said their final goodbyes, after all! Eagerly, Ginger dug the cell phone out of her other pocket and flipped it open.
"Is that you!?" she answered, her voice as cheery as ever.
"Uhhh...H-hello?"
Her smile faltered, then fell. That...wasn't Toriel. That was someone else. Someone she'd never heard before.
"Oh my God, help..." she heard the unknown caller fret. "Uhhh...I'd like to order...um...a pizza? With, uh...Th-the toppings are, uh...I have them copied. I-I'll just paste them to you."
The phone made an odd beeping noise, and Ginger tore it away from her ear and took a look at the small screen. Displayed across the entire screen was the blocky, somewhat distorted image of a...
Was...that supposed to be a human? With...cat ears? And tail?
"Um...What's-"
"Agh! Wrong text! I didn't mean-"
"Who is this? And why are you trying to order pizza from me?"
"What do you-...Oh...O-oh, no. I have the wrong number, don't I?"
"Yeah. You do..."
"I-I...I'm sorry for th-the i-inconvenience," she stuttered. Her voice was distinctly female, but far less sophisticated than Toriel's. It had a much higher pitch, and was notably nasally; maybe she had a cold? Not a surprise, considering the weather.
"No biggie. Just do me a solid and stay warm, you hear?"
"...Stay warm? Heh, th-that shouldn't be hard...uh...Okay, bye."
Whoever it was hung up quickly...Who was that? It was no Toriel, that was for sure, which was an initial disappointment. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but pity the monster on the other end of the line. She'd sounded like a nervous wreck; a stuffy one, at that.
Whoever you are, she mused, I hope you get that nice hot pizza.
But the thought of the caprine monster still lingered over her head.
...You know what? I'll just call her myself instead of waiting like an idiot.
She followed Toriel's instructions; just press the green button. Simple enough, right?
The phone rang on the other side three times...four...five...six.
*Nobody picked up.
That was strange. She figured that the doting goat monster would have rushed to pick up as though her own life depended on it. Maybe she had misplaced her own phone and couldn't hear it? Or maybe...she couldn't bring herself to talk to Ginger anymore? Out of shame, perhaps? Out of fear that she might grow too close to her, than lose her? She could only imagine.
There was what looked like a large cardboard box just up ahead with a large window on it leading into the empty inside. She bent down and read the narration written beneath the opening.
"YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION WHO COULD HAVE BUILT
THIS, YOU PONDER...I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN!
"(NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)"
Was this...Papyrus's writing? It was all in uppercase; an interesting quirk, but a fitting one; with a voice that blared like a bugle such as his, it might as well be all capital letters. She stood up straight again and turned to continue.
And there in the middle of the path, just a few yards away from her, was a monster.
"Hey! You! Human!" he hollered. "ICE to see you around! Now hand over the SOUL!"
This monsters looked starkly different from anything she'd seen in the Ruins; it had a familiar avian build, wings, beak and all. But his beak had a strange oddity about it; it had teeth on the inside. Not something akin to modern birds. His feathers were an icy blue, and his enormous, feathery head crest almost resembled a giant snowflake.
"Was..." she answered it, realizing exactly what it had said. "...Was that a PUN?"
"Heck yeah, it was. Why don't you chill out?"
He sent his own array of magic bullets at her; they were crescent-shaped, and came at her in strands. They moved slowly enough, so they were easy to dodge.
"Hey, come on, pal!" she reprimanded. "That's..."
And then, a mischievous grin spread across her face.
"...That's SNOW way to treat a new pal!"
"Ha! Nice try; I've heard that one before!"
He sent another flurry of attacks; he must have been fairly novice at the whole "magic attacks" thing, because they were surprisingly easy to get past.
"Come on, man!" she retorted. "Stop giving me the COLD shoulder!"
"Heard that one, too! You're no match for my COOL jokes!"
"Man, what's it take to get you to CHILL?"
"It takes a lot to get me to snow-FLAKE out!"
"Ha! This is your way of BREAKING THE ICE?"
"Well, I think it's an ICE way of doing it, if you ask me!"
He interrupted the string of jokes with another attack. But both of them found themselves laughing so much, the monster could barely aim properly, and Ginger matched by being even clumsier that usual with her dodges.
"ICY you're not the only master of puns down here!" she said to him, following up with a hearty laugh.
"Ha...Ha ha ha! Laughs! Ha! Dad was wrong! People do like my jokes!"
"Are you kidding me?! You're turning this place into a Winter PUNderland!"
"...Ha...Ha...Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! You got me! That's a new one! I should really use that..."
"Ah, so, you're gonna let me go?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, sure."
"You know, my suitor up on the surface would probably like your brand of humor."
"AUGH! You've got a boyfriend!?"
"You could say that."
"Ugh; lucky...So, tell me. Was it...Love at FROST sight?"
"'EYYYYYY!" the two of them exclaimed in unison.
"So, dude; what's everyone call you, huh?"
"Name's Snowdrake. My old man's a comedian at the resort in the Core, and I'm gonna make it big like him, no matter how terrible he thinks my brand of humor is."
"Eesh! Not cool!"
"Psh, yeah. He's as cold as ice."
"You know...I just had a thought."
"What?"
"I get the whole ice and snow thing, but...you're sort of like a bird, too, right?"
"Well, yeah! It sure is FLY being one!"
"Well, I'm TALON you! You should try bird puns too, some time!"
"Oh, ho, ho, ho! That's an EGGcelent idea!"
"Wow! ImPECKable use of the word!"
"Hey, thanks for the tip! I'm gonna go try it on some of my buds!"
Snowdrake turned tail and ran up the path, wings spread as though readying to take flight.
"Hey, Snowdrake!"
"Yeah?"
He turned his giant crested head.
"...OWL see you around!"
"HA! Nice one!"
The bird monster dashed off.
"OWL see you around...heheh...heh..."
All of a sudden, the otherwise witty pun began to leave a bitter aftertaste on her tongue. Seeing Snowdrake, Ginger realized just how much she missed her own wings and feathers and beak. She missed being able to fly...She missed her fellow feathered friends.
She wished her so-called suitor-Kludd-were here, out of anyone. He would have enjoyed Snowdrake's stand-up routine just as much as she had. She sighed; if she ended up stuck the way she was, things between them would never be the same.
Don't dwell on it too much, she reminded herself. Things would get better at some point...right. She just had to keep going.
Just up ahead on the same side of the path was another sentry station; this one was more professionally crafted than the skeleton's. It was wooden and secure, and had what looked like the embroidered head of some sort of canid creature on the roof. A sign stuck up out of the snow not far before it.
"Absolutely NO MOVING!"
The human ignored the warning; she had no choice if she was going to get anywhere anytime soon, and passed the sign, then the sentry station, hoping there was nobody inside.
And her hopes were dashed as soon as she passed in front of the opening.
"Did something move?...Was it my imagination?"
A monster rose up into view from the inside of the post. It...looked far more like a large, bipedal dog than a monster.
"Um...Hi?" she said, raising her hand to wave at him.
"Ha!? What!? Who's there!?"
He jumped out of the station, pulling out two long, thin swords. Their razor-sharp blades glowed blue.
"Grrrrrr...I can only see moving things. If you're a human...I'll make sure you never move again!"
"Hey, pal! Chill!" she protested, frozen where she stood. The dog looked in her direction, but couldn't seem to be able to see her, despite them being only three feet apart.
"Hmmm...I can't see you. Friend or foe?"
"Ah, friend! I'm a friend! Don't mind me. I'm just passing on through."
"Hmmmmm...Prove it, then!" he barked.
"Uh...how?"
"By...by...Name one of the sentries?"
"Uh...Papyrus?"
"'Papyrus," eh? I feel like I've heard that name before..."
"Sans' brother? The tall guy? He's kinda hard to miss."
"...True. And I do know his brother...Alright. You get a pass. I'm gonna need some dog treats..."
The dog monster retreated back into his sentry station, and the sound of him munching on dog treats was soon to follow. That was...interesting. Why didn't he know who Papyrus was? He was obviously a fellow sentry, and Sans probably was, too, taking into account what he'd said about having to be on watch when they first met up. So wouldn't they at least be acquainted with one another? Peculiar...
She reverted her attention to the path ahead again; Sans was standing there.
"hey, kid," he said to her as she passed by. "you saw what that guy's swords did back there, right?"
"They turned blue," she remembered. "What was up with that, huh?"
"well, let me give you some advice. if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you if it makes contact. it'll just pass right through you, like it doesn't even exist."
"...Huh. Good to know. Thanks for the tip."
"eh. whatever."
Just up ahead, there was a small, frozen pond. The ice was nearly as smooth and clear as the Mirror Lakes, and beyond the other side, the path continued. She took the long way around it; if she tried to cross the ice, she'd probably end up slipping and falling like an imbecile. Besides, she couldn't tell how thick the ice was, and she wasn't going to risk falling through and freezing to death. And when she got to the other side, the skeleton brothers were there. The taller of the two caught her out of the corner of his eye and showed off another ecstatic smile.
Here we go again...
...
She was a wanderer by nature, born to explore, showing interest in every land mark, every local mystery, every aspect of any new area. That was what made her one of the prime members of the expedition to the Amazon in order to associate with the Macaw Clans. And it was that expedition that ultimately lead to her discovery of the force of eagles, as well. An added, albeit unintentional success. She was always up for an adventure. And she was good at it.
But she also knew better than to just fly off by herself without notifying anybody first.
Her words came back to him when she departed. It was First Black at the time.
"I'm going to ride the thermals! Should be nice and strong!"
And he had given her consent. But if all she was doing was riding the air currents, she should have been back several hours ago. This was not at all like her.
Something was wrong.
Most of his comrades were still wide awake, being the nocturnal creatures they were, so he fetched for the two best soldiers for the task, whom he was glad had come for the conference; his best tracker.
And his best tracker's best student.
Tarn was a Burrowing Owl, leader of the Tracking Squadron, and one of the best trackers the Tytonic Union had ever came across. Just as good, if not better, than the renowned Doc Finebeak. The name of Snowy Owl, who wore a single crow's feather in his head plumage to ward off the black daytime mobbers, made him want to yarp; filthy traitor...At least Tarn's loyalty to the cause could be counted on.
And so could Phillip's. He was a strapping young Greater Sooty, not unlike himself when he was that age. Soft spoken, but a deep thinker; wise beyond his years, perhaps from all of the dark hours he'd lived through despite his youth. And he showed great promise as a tracker under Tarn's instruction; he could hunt down a threat from a mile away with his earslits blocked.
Tarn was in the trees, and Phillip was with his fellow Tytos-in-training. He got them together in private, and alerted them each to the situation.
"Well, we'd best be off, then!" Tarn immediately proposed as soon as the problem at hand had been announced. "Which way did she fly? It'd be best to start from there and work with what we find, I'd say."
"To the west. Take the boy with you, soldier. And be thorough."
"Come along, Phillip."
The young Sooty Owl said nothing throughout the short meeting; he listened far better than he spoke. And he followed after his long legged instructor without a complaint.
Never would he have ever dreamed of sending less-than-perfect birds for the job. He always strived for perfection, or at least the closest he could get to it; among his laborers, his troops, his allies, everyone. Perfection. Flawlessness. Purity. As impossible as the goal was, he strived to get as close as he could to it.
Or he wasn't the High Tyto.
A/N:
Q: Where do skeletons go to buy groceries?
A: sans club.
Oh, kay! We've got a little bit of stuff happening on the surface! Don't get your hopes up too high for a surface subplot, though; I'm just adding it in for some variation. Thought it'd be nice to see what Ginger's friends above ground were up to every so often, amirite?
Anyway, I know I've probably said this before at some point, but I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!