Finally, the skeleton spoke. "Well… That's new."
Theresa simply nodded. "Y-Yeah… I thought so, too."
The two stood in a sort of staring contest for a moment, neither wanting to move. Reesa was questioning if she was still in danger of being attacked, heart beating out of her chest. She wished Flowey was here; she still had little to no clue as to what was going on, and having the one person who's supposed to help you try and kill you off… It's not boding well for the rest of the time she's going to spend here. Speaking of… Where was she going to be staying…? If she pulled this off right, she had five days to try and convince these people she wasn't crazy, and that they needed to form a plan as to… how to do something. Where do I start with this…?
She was sure she looked like a deer in headlights, with her hair a mess from laying on it, the heart hovering on her forearm beating out of control, and her loose clothing tangled and twisted. Self conscious of how clearly fast her heart was beating, she made a weak attempt to hold her arms to hide it; she wasn't able to look away from the skeleton, though. She was terrified.
"I… I don't really know how to e-explain…" she began, stammering. She wanted nothing more than to not be here. And, even with the adrenaline pumping through her veins, her fingers were slowly becoming numb from cold.
The skeleton was still observing her, not really talking. Finally, he put his hand down, cautiously. The blue faded from his eyes, but his eyes were still blank and pupil-less.
"Well… You could try and start with how you're not… You know… Dead," he deadpanned. There might've been a touch of forced humor to his words, but she couldn't be sure. Right now, she was pretty sure she was in perpetual shock.
"I… I, um… A-About… That…" she took a shuddering breath, "I don't know. I was… Hoping… You'd know m-more about all of… this."
"'This'?" he questioned. She nodded, hesitantly.
"Well, ya' see, I'd love to help and all, but right now I'm still wondering why you're here. I could've sworn I locked the door."
She cringed. "I… I had to, I guess…"
The skeleton sighed, putting a hand to his face. "Just cut to the chase, kid. I don't know you, do I…?" the tone of his voice alluded to something more, but he seemed wary against saying it outright. "But you know my brother. That's not exactly something normal, is it, kid?"
She cringed again, but it was more out of annoyance and memories instead of the situation at hand. "P-Please, don't call me that. I-I'm not a kid…" she muttered, once again focusing on the lesser matter at hand. "A… And y-you're right, you d…don't know me... B-But I know you. Sort of…"
The skeleton gave an almost frustrated sigh. "We're not getting anywhere with this, are we?" he asked, leaning back on the doorframe. He gave a short laugh, "Usually, this isn't the first impression I give people." He stepped forward slightly, putting out his left hand; was he left handed? "Let's back track a little; hi, I'm Sans, and it's ice to meet you."
She had already began moving forward from her spot by the staircase, and she had closed half the distance before pausing, quirking an eyebrow. "Did… you just…" She could've sworn the skeleton's grin grew a little wider, but the joke did seem forced. It was a start, she guessed. She moved forward further, smiling slightly, tempted to laugh at the cheesy joke. As she was now at arms length, she too held out her left arm to shake hands, subtly trying to keep it facing downwards and away from his line of sight. It didn't exactly work.
As she put her hand in his, she resisted flinching at the feeling of bone against her skin. At this point, she wasn't sure he exactly trusted her (to be fair, she wouldn't trust herself), but the pupils in his eye(socket?)s had begun to show, like white pinpricks. "What, ki-, er, human, don't find my jokes that humerus?"
She smiled, actually laughing a little. "I'm… Theresa." She tried not to freeze as his pupils abruptly vanished after they had trailed to her wrist; that didn't seem to be a good sign from what she'd seen. Hesitantly, she commented on it in a small voice, "Y-Your eyes… They changed again, didn't they…?"
She looked down, to where her hand now rested in his. Her hand was tilted upright, and the rippling marks were clearly curving around her wrist. T… They always make things different, don't they…? God, I hate it… That look they give you…
She smiled as genuinely as she could, pulling her hand away. "I… I guess I should try to explain w-why I'm here, r…right…?"
He didn't say anything, and the grin on his face was obviously forced. "How old are you, anyways…?"
So we're going to talk about this, anyway. I guess it's better than f-fighting…
Swallowing, she said with a small smile, "Twenty. W-What about you…?" She was debating feigning ignorance, keeping the practiced smile on her face. She had it down to a science. Act shy, smile as positively as you can, and just repeat the words "I'm okay, I promise".
He looked a little caught off guard at her response, clearly not expecting that answer. He didn't reply for a minute, instead, he just looked at her, as if trying to gauge if she was serious.
She broke the silence. "I-I just turned twenty last month, actually," she blurted out. "Y-You… Um… T-There aren't t-that many people who… I mean… Kids…"
He cut her rambling off with a quick hand movement, making her unconsciously flinch. He didn't say anything, but noticed the way her brown eyes quickly shut and her body tensed at the quick movement. This conversation wasn't getting anywhere, he noticed, and opted for a change in topic.
"Look, er… Theresa, right?" She gave a mute nod. "You know where you are, right…?"
It took her a few moments, but she gave a slow nod. She knew she was apparently under Mt. Ebott, in a world where those portrayed as monsters weren't the threat, where, instead, those highly revered in her world were truly dangerous, and where time manipulation was possible. She also knew that she was in an apparently snowy area that she had seen completely decimated, devoid of life. Specifically, she was in the house of two brothers, one of whom, the one in front of her, who could hold back a child with unreasonable power. So, yes, she was fairly sure she knew where she was.
The pupils in his eyes hadn't fully come back, and she could tell that it was all too tempting to look back down to her wrist, to see if the scars were still there, not imagined. Trust me, they're still there. To his credit, though, he did bring up a different topic.
"So, you know that you're in Snowdin. Where it, ya know, snows. And you're dressed like that." Unconsciously, she looked down. The adrenaline of whatever happened earlier, the beam of light that had singed her hand, had kept her fairly warm. Her clothes were made of fairly thin fabric, and the wrap around her waist didn't do much. The only thing that was really helping her were the shoes she got from the place Flowey had shown her, now slightly damp from the snow she had stepped through outside. After assessing her clothing and shivering slightly, she nodded hesitantly. It wasn't what she was expecting. The conversation had taken several sharp turns over the past few minutes, and she certainly didn't think the convenience of her clothing would be the next topic. She appreciated the skeleton's attempt at trying to bring some normalcy into it.
She smiled slightly. "Y-Yeah, I guess it is a little out of season."
He chuckled, and she couldn't tell if the humor was forced. If it was, it was well hidden. Now that he had regained a little control of the situation, he seemed a little harder to startle and more capable of adapting to the conversation. "That's one way to say it, huh?" he paused, looking over her clothing once more, "Want a jacket, or something?"
It was such a mundane question, she was tempted to laugh. Not five minutes ago she was trying to plead for her life, and now they were exchanging pleasantries. She wouldn't complain, though. She hadn't forgotten the seriousness of the situation, but she needed a moment to catch up to reality.
"P-Please, t-that'd be good…" she murmured, still half smiling, arms folded over the wrap around her waist.
He shrugged. "No problem. It'd be no good to have you freezing to death before we can talk," he walked around her, towards the staircase. He technically turned his back on her, but someone would've had to be stupid to think he wasn't still wary. She had dealt with plenty of leaders who were experts with people; him taking his eyes off of her for a few seconds only proved he acknowledged that she wasn't stupid or low enough to try something in the five second opportunity.
As he turned, placing his right hand on the railing, he looked back at her for a second. "That was a joke, by the way."
As the skeleton disappeared into one of the rooms upstairs, Reesa let out a shaky breath. She didn't want to let her guard down, but… This was the only person who could help her. She hadn't been in this world for no more than… An hour…? So much had happened. What had she gotten herself into…? Now she was trying to save a group she knew little to nothing about, and was pretty sure she had put herself on the map of the person who had obliterated this world through and through. She hadn't anticipated her life would end up with her mattering so much, but, she had seen what remained of the area when she was there with Flowey. It all felt empty; cold. And the last defense, the skeleton she had been talking to, had seemingly been defeated. If she allowed the timeline to reach that point again… She shook her head slightly. She couldn't let it happen. She wouldn't.
Nearly soundless footsteps came again, and the skeleton soon stood at the base of the stairs, an identical hoodie to the one he was wearing in his hands. He stepped forward to hand it off to her and automatically stepped back, re-placing his hands in his pockets. She smiled slightly at him, hesitantly shrugging the dark blue jacket over her shoulders. It fell loosely over her small frame, despite her being a few inches taller than the skeleton.
"T-Thanks…" she said in a quiet voice, smile polite. They both were silent for a few seconds before Reesa continued in a small voice. "I… I really don't know w-where to start…"
He didn't reply. He had been right in assuming that the girl had been a threat, with what she had done in response to his attack. Even the humans that had come before, none of them had been able to do what she did, whatever it was. Hell, he didn't know. He really would've preferred to go to the lab, and see what the readings showed; that'd give more of a clue as to what was going on than anything this girl would tell him. It'd be easier to just kill her, if he was being honest, but it didn't seem like that would be easy; who knows what she'd already done, who she'd met. He doubted she would stay gone, too, if the earlier skirmish was any indication.
She didn't look like much, with her small frame and height barely taller than his. After a few more seconds of pondering, his permanent, easy-going smile on his face, he decided that she didn't seem one for attacking. You could never tell with humans, but at least this one… He could handle her if she tried anything. As long as Papyrus didn't come too close to her, or anyone, for that matter, he'd have time to figure out what to do.
He tilted his head slightly, smile ever present. "Ya don't have to talk if ya don't want to, human," he said, with for now being the unsaid implication. Her skin was clearly naturally dark, but the color seemed empty. She looked ready to collapse like she had earlier, despite the hesitant smile on her face in response to his.
Despite the offer, the girl hesitantly shook her head. "I-I don't think that this c-can… really… spare any time…" she said weakly, still trying to smile. The jacket was helping, but she was still shivering and shaking, and she didn't know if it was the cold, the exhaustion, the fear, or some combination. The headache from manipulating time, or whatever it was that she did, was gone, but she still felt like the slightest gust of wind would knock her over. Not a good state when she was talking with… what had he said his name was… Sans…? The world was starting to waver slightly, and she unconsciously leaned against the wall for support.
"S…Sans… right…? I-I really… need…" she took a breath, "to… explain…?" She said the last part as if it was a question. She took another shuddering breath, trying to make her eyes focus. The effort of going back in time, or… whatever it was… was… really… She leaned fully against the wall, but her eyes were getting heavy. This time the skeleton didn't move as she passed out. But, in his defense, that might have had something to do with the front door opening quickly, and a very tall person stepping inside, clothing resembling the armor of the guards from above. No, not a person, she realized as she faded away…
"Sans! I am home! I was thinking of making spaghetti early today, so Undyne let me leave traini-" he cut himself off. "Sans?" he asked in an innocent tone, "Who is that, and why are they wearing your jacket?"