Chapter 5

The kids had fun on the boat as they saw the various fish in the water, surprised that some fish could swim so fast. "What kind of fish is that one?" Frisk asked curiously.

River Person looked and smiled. "Ah, that one is a blue shellscale fish," he said. "See how its scales are varying colors of blue?"

She nodded. "It swims very fast, but if you see one, it's considered good luck," he continued.

"Are they rare?" Chara asked.

"Not rare, persae, but that they only show up when they sense someone is down on their luck," River Person explained. "It must have sensed that you kids need a bit of luck in your lives."

Amelia reached out to the water and the fish came up to her hand, swimming so that her hand gently touched it. She was surprised to feel that it's skin was mostly smooth, but a bit bumpy too. The cloaked being chuckled in amusement at her face. "The bumpiness of their skin is hidden spines that can shoot out if it feels threatened," he explained. "But if a blue shellscale lets you touch it, it means that you are not a threat."

He then looked at Amelia, noticing that she had been rather quiet on the whole trip. "Are you alright, young one?" He asked curiously. "You've been rather quiet since we left the shore."

She looked away, her dark-blonde hair falling into her face to cover her blue eyes. River Person went up to her and gently brushed her hair out of her face, kneeling beside her. "What is troubling you, little one?" He asked gently.

"Nothing," she said, not looking at him.

Chuckling gently, he picked her up and a moment later, she was giggling as he tickled her sides. "Nothing, hmm?" He asked. "Well then, let's get you smiling."

Chara and Frisk giggled at seeing their friend trying to get free of the monster's gentle hold while laughing as she was being tickled. Amelia almost managed to slip free when the cloaked being surprised her by catching her and looping his arm around her legs in a secure hold so that she was upside down. "I've heard little ones go crazy when they are held upside down and tickled," River Person chuckled as he now tickled Amelia's stomach, even wiggling a gloved finger into her belly button. This made the child not only squeal and squirm, but laugh so hard that her stomach was shaking, which made her captor chuckle again before he let her up, gently righting her and holding her in one arm as she rested her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath while still giggling a little. "That's better," he said, gently tapping her nose with one finger.

Frisk grinned and went up to him. "Thank you for cheering her up," she said.

"You're welcome, young one," he said, a smile in his voice. "Far be it from me to have a child be sad in my care."

Chara giggled. "I never thought monsters could be so nice," she admitted. "But you, Sans, Gaster, Papyrus, and Ava have been nice to us."

River Person chuckled. "Despite the stories that have been told, most monsters here on and in the mountain will not harm a child," he said. "Muffet included, but she still should have checked to see if you had the protection marks before she attacked."

The kids felt a little better at that before Amelia grew curious. "Why do you wear a cloak?" She asked.

He chuckled. "I get cold easily," he admitted. "Plus, I'm mostly shadows in a solid form, so there's really not much to see."

"Cool!" Frisk said with a giggle.

River Person chuckled again. "You three remind me of my daughter when she was your age," he said, his voice reminiscing. "It's been so long since she was little."

"You have a daughter?" Chara asked in amazement.

"Yes," he said, smiling before looking up and straightening. "And there she is now."

The kids looked to see Ava was on the dock that was coming up and she waved to them with a smile on her face. "Ava!" Amelia said happily as the boat arrived and stopped. The young woman tied off the boat and helped the three children out before helping the cloaked being out.

"Papa, it's good to see you," she said, hugging him.

"Same to you, my little one," River Person said, returning the hug. "Though you're not so little anymore."

Ava chuckled before looking at the kids. "I see you three have met my father," she said.

The kids were surprised. "He's your dad?" Chara asked.

The young woman nodded. "My parents died in the war when I was about four years old," she said. "River Person took me in and raised me and when I met the skeleton brothers, we became fast friends."

Frisk grew curious. "When did you and Sans become Judge and Jury?" She asked.

"That was after we learned that we could use our powers in conjuction," Ava explained. "And that actually happened by accident when we were guarding the forest one day."

"What's that word?" Amelia asked. "Conj-what?"

"Conjunction," the half-human said gently with a smile. "It means together."

The kids smiled before Chara remembered something. "Miss Ava, we...ran into someone," she said. "We think we might have gone beyond the boundaries you told us when we were exploring."

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

River Person gently cleared his throat. "They were near Muffet's cave and she captured them," he said. "She was scaring them and about to attack when she saw the marks they bore."

"River Person saved us," Frisk said. "But Muffet was really scary."

The young woman didn't look happy about that. "Did she hurt you?" She asked.

"No," Amelia said.

Ava nodded. "Alright, I'll have a talk with her," she said. "Though knowing you, Papa, you gave her a ear bashing for nearly hurting the kids."

"You know me too well, my little one," he said, chuckling.

Sans came running up, his eyes wide but full of relief at seeing the kids. "Are you three okay?" He asked. "One of the Royal Guard dogs noticed Muffet had captured you, but said River Person saved you."

"He did," Amelia said with a nod. "We're okay, Sans."

He sighed in relief before feeling all three hug him and he smiled, hugging them back before Chara spoke up.

"Sans, Muffet's not a mean monster, right?" She asked.

He shook his head. "She's all bark and no bite," he said. "And she wouldn't have dared hurt you once she saw the protection marks because Ava and I take our roles of Judge and Jury seriously and protect anyone under our protection fiercely."

"He's right," River Person said before a indigo heart appeared and on it was a set of scales with what looked like the outline of a family in one of the scales. "This is the mark I bear from my daughter."

Ava smiled as she gently tugged on her cloak. "My cloak is a sign that I'm River Person's daughter," she said.

"So that's why you wear a cloak," Frisk said.

Chuckling, the cloaked being leaned down and tickled the brown-eyed child, making her squeak with giggles. "Huh, not a bad idea, River Person," said Sans, catching Amelia and tickling her while Ava caught Chara and tickled her. The kids squealed with laughter as they squirmed to get away from their playful captors, none of them seeing the eyes that watched them curiously before departing, the person thinking about what they had seen as they headed away.

I just love River Person. He's so mysterious. :)

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GoldGuardian2418