A/N: I may have severely overestimated my work ethic when I claimed updates would not be more than a month apart. Well, no excuses for me, but what I can say for certain is that I have absolutely no idea when the next chapters will come out. Whether it's a week or six months between, they will eventually arrive...I just have to write them still. That being said, I estimate the total length should still be a little over 20 chapters, so I'm not even close to finishing the full story I have in my head.
1.5 Forgotten Things
Days passed and I wondered if time moved the same way down here as it did on the surface. Every day felt shorter than the last, as if the hours had run away. There was no sun to regulate when I woke up or was sent back to bed—Toriel took that duty upon herself— and no clocks to gauge the process of the day, so for all I knew, I could have slept away more hours than I saw. It was like a dream in that way. Nothing is quite lucid, but you can't help but go along with the flow.
I settled into a pattern here with Asriel and his parents. We awoke, got washed up, sat down to breakfast, and then, if Toriel allowed us out, we would roam around to explore the underground. The days weren't planned out. We didn't know where we would go or have anything in mind to see. Things just happened that way ever since my first day here.
The morning after we arrived could not have started off worse. Something squishy and soft was trying to suck me into its maliciously cozy folds. That was what began to drag me out of my peaceful sleep. I had fallen asleep on benches in wetness and cold, no matter how hard I strained my memory I could not recall a time where I had fallen asleep on a soft mattress with lemon scented sheets. The unfamiliarity left me unsettled and half-awake through the night.
I was dazed, drowning in only the shallowest layer of sleep, but cut off from the world when a heavy weight that crashed down on me. It pinned my arms and pressed awkwardly on the boney flesh of my thighs. My lungs collapsed under the pressure. A choked gasp whooshed from my lips in an aborted note of alarm. When struck with the unexpected and finding oneself under attack, nature has a tendency to take over. Reflex reacts quicker than senses can be processed. For me, everything went white. The sound of rushing blood filled my ears. I threw an elbow, it connected but lacked sufficient leverage for the blow. It was all so fast. I struggled under it, snapping and biting at whatever I could. Disjointed recollections slowly began to filter in—white lights, yellow eyes. I fought harder. There was no longer a weight on my chest, but I still couldn't breathe. It hurt! Everything was so dark. Closed. Sealed shut. Caving in.
I didn't know what it was that got through to me. The episode couldn't have been more than five, maybe ten, seconds start to end, and before I realized it I was motionless, staring down at jaw-dropped Asriel lumped on the floor. He looked on the brink of tears. A beat passed between us in perfect silence. He didn't know what to think; I didn't know what to do.
I threw my head back and laughed. It cracked around the edges, but it disguised shaking shoulders and the tremble already fading from my hands. I doubled over to clutch my stomach in the exaggerated display, barking out wave after wave of mirth pitched too high to be natural. It was so fake that, looking back, it hurt, but it was our first morning together, and he didn't know me as well then as he would come to soon.
I composed myself and shyly (slyly) apologized for knocking him down. Seeing him sprawled on the floor like that first thing in the morning was just such a ridiculous image that I couldn't help but laugh!
He didn't react to my teasing.
Was the distraction not sufficient? Or…had I hurt him? Again I found myself opposed to the idea. The initial plan didn't seem to be working anyway. I asked him outright if he was hurt.
"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…your face just then. It was—nothing."
What?
"It was really scary—but just for a second! You're probably grumpy in the mornings. Heh-heh, right?"
I didn't respond to that, and he didn't seem to believe it himself. I didn't attack him out of morning grouchiness, but the excuse was convenient. Sometimes, if you wished for something hard enough, it would become true.
The atmosphere in the room was strained as he looked away and I looked away, and I tried not to peek back at him and he suddenly found the fuzzy dust bunnies under the bed very interesting. It felt as though we were in a vacuum, slowly having our molecules pulled to pieces but unable to do anything to remove the pressure.
Luckily, Asgore, that wonderful oaf, appeared with the ultimate panacea, the cure all for any and every tense situation.
"Kids! Oh, good, you're both awake. Breakfast is finishing up. Blueberry pancakes with fresh cream! Come on down when you're ready."
Food. Food fixed all problems. You could be on the edge of death and the promise of a well-made burger would drag you back from the next life. I swear I've seen it happen before. The call was a lifeline from the current awkwardness. Asriel and I both perked up instantly, though his case was more literal as his tail swished and his ears practically quivered in delight.
Not twenty minutes later I could see why. I will never be closer to heaven than I was in that moment, shoveling forkfuls of fluffy blueberry slabs of sweetened goodness. My torso bent protectively over my plate. It was strategic. I both shielded the food from possible thieves and minimized the distance between dish and mouth. I saw Asriel employ his own techniques of pancake preservation. He went with the speedy chipmunk method: shove it in fast and store it for later. His muzzle grew sticky with maple, much to his delight. I had chosen to bypass the syrup in favor of mountains upon mountains of homemade whipped cream. So white and fluffy and sweet! It was joy, it was bliss, and it was apparently the only dish Asgore knew how to cook.
"Tori normally has full jurisdiction of the kitchen, but since the dinner mess up last night was my fault, I thought I would treat everyone to breakfast. Would you like some tea?" He squirmed in shy pride at his food being so thoroughly enjoyed.
I grunted in the negative, not once turning away from my plate as the breakfast chatter continued. He asked about or plans today and waited patiently each question for either Asriel or I to surface long enough to respond. The conversation was stilted, but affectionate. Even the silences were comfortable now. The morning was all but forgotten. I hoped at least.
"You need some more clothes, don't you?" Asriel directed this last question at me. "I, ah, I'm not really sure where we kept the rest of Asriel's old things, but they're probably somewhere around here if you two wanted to take a peek around."
This was the start of our daily routines.
Asriel was just finishing his final bite and readily responded to his father's suggestion. *munch, munch, swallow, munch, bits of projectile food, muffled exclamation*! I assumed the translation involved something like an excited agreement because a moment later he grabbed my hand and we took off down the hall.
But, my food! I reached longingly back as we, my food and I, gradually grew apart. One sharp turn of the corner and I knew I had to bid it my final farewell. I refocused a glare on the foul creature ahead of me. I would have my revenge!...later. Curiosity was staying my hand for now. Asriel had finally finished swallowing that last bite of pancakes to begin his narration of the various doors along the corridor.
"And over there is the front entrance way, remember, where we came in from. The back one is behind the drawing room. There's the toilet room and the bathroom, and down that way leads to the west wing. It's connected to the main house by a really, really long corridor. Me and mom used to race up and down it all the time, and whoever won got the biggest slice of pie for desert. I always won!" He puffed out his puffy chest proudly. I had to hold in my giggle. "The west wing is the guards'' residences. They're so cool! They specialize in battle magics and giant weapons and lasers and stuff, but I'm sure you're used to those as a human and all. I wish I could learn that too, but mom says I'm too young to young for magic still. Though sometimes she lets me turn on the stove though all by myself!"
So apparently they were magical monsters now. Flashes of bright dots floated around stinging my arms with piercing jolts and blinding my eyes. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, having seen it myself already. Perhaps I should avoid that section—actually, no. It was better to see than willingly go blind. Knowledge was power and if there was one thing I hated, it was being weak.
The corridors were endless. On we went twisting and doubling back repeatedly. I had not the slightest of a clue where we were, but Asriel walked with an unwavering certainty. Just like in the caves, he knew the location of every portrait and flowerpot in the halls. He could tell exactly how many steps created each stair case and described the ridges of the keys that unlocked every door. As a tour guide, my little monster was fantastic. I let him lead the way, tugging me along from wing to wing. I hadn't been expecting it, but Asriel was actually pretty smart too. He recounted histories and explained to me the infrastructure and agriculture of the undergrounders. His detail and thoroughness really was impressive. That's why it struck me as so very interesting that he continuously skipped the third corridor on the second floor.
Our route through the mansion-like house took us down overlapping paths, passing the same landmarks over and over again as we branched out in different ways. After two hours of wandering around, Asriel had taken great joy in showing me what felt like every curiosity he could think of, but not once did he mention where that corridor led.
I'd like to say there was something particularly mysterious about it, something like a creeping figure caught in the corner of my eye or strange patterns that whispered of something being off. This was not the case. A couple of potted plants lined the walls with leafy water sausages. The carpet stretched out, neat as ever, though it gave way to hard flooring where it ended with a sharp left turn out of sight. From what I saw the few times we passed, it was an ordinary hall like any other. Except, Asriel avoided it.
We passed by it a third time without acknowledgement, but this time instead of staring down to see where it led, I watched Asriel to confirm my theory. Only a step, a slight shift of his muscles, but I saw him skirt away. His voice dropped ever so slightly. He probably hadn't even noticed, but it was plain as day to me. A smirk lifted the edges of my lips. I loved secrets. More specifically, I loved digging up other people's secrets.
Casually, I tugged him to a stop, facilitated by the fact that we still walked with hands attached. Though he had walked quickly past it, I had been trailing behind and therefore stopped us right at the split off. I nodded my head, gesturing quizzically to the avoided area. Asriel's reaction was…interesting to say the least. And very displeasing.
"You want to know what's down there? Nothing—it's nothing, really."
My grip on his hand slackened for a moment in surprise. Had he just lied to me? Not even well at that! His incompetence at deceit somehow made the transgression worse. I dug my nails into the hand still clutched in mine and squeezed. He winced as I increased the carefully controlled pressure. Would he relent? Our eyes met, and he quickly lowered his. Good, I relaxed back to a comfortable hold. My hand was cramping anyway.
"It's almost nothing, I mean. I don't go down that way much because…that's where the labs are. Let's keep going! I don't think I've showed you the paint room, right? Lots of bright colors and molding clay." I came up beside me and nudged me forward gently with his shoulder. I think he was trying to be subtle. Maybe if he hadn't shown such trepidation earlier I wouldn't have paid attention to the corridor. Maybe if he hadn't tried to hide something from me, I wouldn't have been vindictive enough to turn abruptly on my heel and march strait down in the direction he least wanted to go. But he had, and that's really all there was to it.
"What are you—no! We really shouldn't go down there, I mean, we really wouldn't want to interrupt anything, right? And science isn't that interesting anyway. I hate science, but painting though, now that's fun, so why don't we go to that paint room, or how about anywhere really except…" The corridor after the long stretch and around the sharp left turn that I had seen from the main hall ended immediately in a broad, steely black door. "…here."
A clinical cold filtered through the cracks of the door in a nearly visible cloud of mist. Though no bigger than any other entranceway we had seen today, the door seemed to grow before us, dominating our field of vision. There was no handle or knob, just a panel with a small, silver button on the adjacent wall.
My hand lifted of its own accord, and just as I stepped forward, Asriel stepped back. Our connection snapped. I looked back, one hand still poised above the control panel, to see Asriel fumbling with his own fingers.
"I'm not supposed to go in there. Come on, let's go back."
A chill crept into the hand dangling loosely at my side. My fingers twitched minutely at the sudden lack of something they had grown far too accustomed to having. It appeared that if I went in, he would not follow. If that was his choice, then fine, the cowardly idiot. My fingers closed on themselves, and I turned away. If he would not come, I would leave him there and go alone. I told him as much.
Since being down here, I had forgotten how fickle and unnecessary companionship really was. But still, it could be nice so long as one had their friends appropriately trained. That drew a rueful smile. Asriel would just have to deal with the consequences of cutting me off. Twice in one day too!
With a last scornful look, I pressed the button to the door and entered alone.
My first steps in were…chilling. The light from the corridor tried to penetrate the darkened hall ahead to little effect. Not that I'd let it show, but this place was creeping me out. My pride would not allow me to turn back, but I would really rather not go on. Not that I would back out now. Now that I was here, I wondered just what sort of lab monsters would run. What were they trying to research? I almost turned to ask Asriel but stopped myself before I did something as stupid as rushing back with my tail between my legs.
Just as I began to walk further in, a snag on my sweater jerked me off balance and into a solid and very familiar lump. That was…a pleasant surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"Whether he was apologizing for yanking me or for his hesitation, I didn't care to listen.
I told him to shut up. I then proceeded to tug free my sleeve, slip his hand back into my own and guide him now behind me down the hall. Although he had faltered for a minute there in the beginning, he had made the right choice in the end.
My radiating smugness made the dim laboratory hallways significantly less disturbing. I had expected a main chamber of sorts with beakers and glass jars of who-knew-whats-its. Instead I got what felt like miles upon miles of halls filled with windowless doors. Most were empty, a couple locked. The best way I could describe this place that had Asriel so terrified was…disappointing. It was so boring! There were no scientists, no staff, no experiments, data or books I could flip through. It looked abandoned more than anything else. And again so boring!
Talk about not worth the trouble. We had only explored a few of the halls with any enthusiasm—well, on my part at least—but having found only blanks, I was more than ready to acquiesce to one of Asriel's many pleas to leave. Unfortunately for us both, we were utterly lost. Unlike the rest of the place, Asriel had never had the guts to map out the lab section of the monster castle, so instead of flouncing out, grabbing a snack and proceeding with our original mission, we were walking around aimlessly in search of an exit.
With nothing better to do, I settled into what was quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes: bugging Asriel. He was so jumpy down here in the forbidden lab as he called it that the slightest movement had him squeaking.
Boo
"Gaah! What was that?"
What? I assured him I didn't hear anything.
Ohh look, that shadow is moving around the corner.
"What! Where? Are you making fun of me?"
Who me?
"You are, aren't you!" he whined. "Stop it."
Well, what do you know, an ominous light.
"Yeah right. I'm not falling for it this time."
He put on a brave face. Too bad I was telling the truth this time. There really was an eerie blue light slipping from below two doors down at the other end of the hall. This was the first signs of life I had seen since stepping through that metal door.
These two were indiscernible from the dozens of others we had passed except for the small clipboards dangling at the side of each door by a thin length of chain. Ignoring Asriel's token protest, I pulled the nearest board to me and began to skim the paperwork attached.
Amazing. I sped through page after page. The research was so complex and ground breaking! There were…charts and, uhh, words. And well…? I chucked the stupid board back against the wall, taking full pleasure in the crashing reverberation. And it was all complete and utter nonsense. Freaky symbols spanned across each page in patterns that defied any logic, or any I could presently see.
If I couldn't read up, then I'd just have to throw caution away. I grabbed the handle of the door and yanked. It didn't open. Maybe it was a push door. No effect. Pull, push, it didn't matter. The only interesting rooms in the entire wing were locked. Their labels were beyond comprehension, and any secrets I could weed out were sealed away.
I gave the doors each a final kick to show my appreciation. I was done with this place. I beckoned Asriel to follow. He was admittedly apprehensive about letting me lead since I brought us here in the first place and I still had no idea how to get out, but my fire spitting glare encouraged him to keep his complaints to himself. I was ready to leave now, so all I had to do was employ my time tested strategy for finding my way: if you keep going straight and always turn left, you will eventually find yourself on the right path. Despite myself, the idea of a lab still aroused my curiosity. I couldn't help but feel I should seek out more information on monsters. What exactly are they?
Fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves outside of the bathroom on the fifth floor with a plate full of cupcakes, a mop, and a newfound admiration for ducks. We made a solemn pact not to talk about the details ever again.
Gradually, as we walked on continuing the interrupted tour, we forgot about the awkwardness of this morning. There were so many more interesting things to focus on like the smokeless flames nestled in lightbulbs, rooms full of gadgets I had never seen before, and even various bathrooms inside his home. It didn't sound very interesting when Asriel explained what exactly he was about to show me, but the sight of a pool sized tub complete with sparkling white bubbles and a fizzy Jacuzzi setting far exceeded my expectations.
Eventually, our little impromptu tour ended. We had begun this for a reason after all. Reaching the attic, though through a very circuitous route, was our main goal.
I waited below the attic entrance at the base of a sturdy looking ladder made of dense, dark wood and studded with embellishment of brass. Asriel had gone up first to get the trapdoor-like latch opened. The rungs had been sanded to perfection, not a single splinter digging into my hands and bare feet as I hoisted my own way up. The bars were not completely smooth, however. I paused to check down as my fingers brushed over one particularly deep indent.
How fascinating! There were images carved into the dark wood. We had already climbed above the level of the lighting, so a majority of the detail stayed hidden in shadow. I squinted and bent my head closer to make out what I could. There were figures, large and small, round and thin as pipes, some suspiciously human-like, standing around clusters of hut like structures. No faces were carved in, or if there were I could not see them, but the postures were serene. They stood as a group united in celebration. Gentle lines flowed around the image, stretching over the lines of the ladder step and upward to the next.
I traced my hand along the patterns as I continued upward. Every step revealed a new image. The figures were always the same, but slowly I realized there positions were changing. The very large and the very small began to drift to one side. Then it was the ones with distinguished characteristics like wings or tails. The amorphous left too, and the clawed. A deep cleft formed between the two sides, nearly slicing through the next rung until I blinked in surprise. The next one was blank. No figures, no huts, not etchings whatsoever.
"Are you coming?" Asriel's voice called from the inside of the opened panel in the ceiling. He had finished the climb and opened the door for us while I dithered around. It took me a moment to look away from the blankness. "One of the last planks are a bit unsteady, so be careful, okay?" This one? I rubbed at the top of it, feeling it wiggle slightly in its slot, but my fingers agreed with my eyes. Except for a pencil thin line running horizontally around the edges, there was nothing more to be seen on the ladder.
How irritating. Asriel had the right idea; the purpose of this ladder was to be stepped on and ignored in the process of more interesting pursuits.
I pulled myself monkey-like up the last couple of feet and swung into a surprisingly well lit room heaping with mountains upon mountains of forgotten junk. Dust settled over the various shelves and boxes like a layer of musty grey snow. It reminded me of an antique shop I once hid in a couple years ago with its mountains of high-stacked, leather-bound books, collection of rickety chairs in many levels of disrepair, and general air of the forgotten. That shop was one of the few places I could think of with any fondness, or at least without complete distaste. Many times I had slipped my way through the front door—it was always left open in the summer to make up for the dead air conditioner—and laid low amongst the uniformly painted toy soldiers and the music boxes. Not once did the owner ever catch me, though that could be attributed more to his inch thick glasses and hearing aid than to my stealth skills.
I spotted Asriel's tail far to my left. It was wiggling high in the air as the top half of its owner disappeared deep into a wooden chest. That thing was fascinating. The chest, I mean, not his tail, even if it was so perfectly white and fluffy and just begging to be touched—oh look, a distraction.
Clamp!
"Aahhhh! It's eating me! Help, get me outta here!"
His feet flailed wildly outside the now partially shut lid of the chest as everything from his torso up was stuck inside. Oh, how I wished I could see his face, panicked and nearly in tears with the fear of being eaten by a box of all things. I tried to muffle my laughs in the sleeve of my sweater, though I was sure a few gasps escaped, not that he was in any position to hear them with his own high pitched yelps.
Okay, that was probably enough for now. Time to be his hero. I grabbed the upper lid and tried to flick it back open. The thing was a lot heavier than I expected. The rim had been studded with heavy metal rivets and plating for sturdiness, which I supposed made sense, but I winced at the implication. That weight pincing shut at that speed would be more than capable of snapping my spine. Asriel was sturdier than myself, but still it must hurt.
"Please, get it off."
There was that weight in my stomach again. I was beginning to suspect what it could be.
As soon as the gap widened enough, Asriel threw himself out to land bum first on the floor with a solid thump. Immediately he was up again shoving something in my face. It was a considerably smaller though visually identical chest to the one that just 'ate' him. Really, they put a box in a box?
"Look what I found in there! I remember this from years ago. I used to stash all of my left over candy here then shove it under my bed so mom wouldn't see. Here, try one."
Only Toriel? Well then again, Asgore would probably cave in at the first sign of wide, pleading eyes and forget his wife's rules completely. In fact, judging by the sweetness of those pancakes this morning, he'd probably take a piece himself. I popped it into my mouth, hoping the inky blackness did not reflect the actual flavor. Luckily it didn't.
"Dad never minded when I snacked before dinner. Most of the time I even snuck him a piece when mom wasn't looking," he whispered daringly.
Yeah, called it.
"I wonder why the lid suddenly fell shut though," he murmured, one hand going to rub a particularly sore spot on his lower back. "It felt pretty secure when I opened it up."
I suggested it was from all his wiggling. And it definitely didn't fall because I thought it would be funny. Nope, wasn't me. I kept my face stoically straight until I remembered how creepy Asriel found that. The corners of my lips tilted up in a chiding smile instead. I don't know if I got it quite right.
"I should probably be more careful, right, wouldn't want to get someone really hurt." He wondered away to another pocket of random boxes after that to persevere with the clothing hunt.
I stood frozen there a moment longer. Why was it so hard to get a read on that kid? I growled under my breath and began to poke through the dusty junk myself. My motions were closer to ransacking than searching, certainly a bit more forcefully than was necessary. I earned a giant cloud of dust to the face and a three minute coughing session for it.
Asriel had gone silent somewhere out of my sightline. I started to pick my way over to see what he found so interesting. For an attic, the flooring was very well done. In fact, if it wasn't for the steeply sloping ceiling and occasionally creaky floorboards, I would imagine it to be just another room in the castle. Broad rectangular windows, flooded the room with light from the outside caverns, augmenting the lamination from the ever present torches on the walls. The walls, some time ago before the multiple layers of dust settled, had been a calming green, like watery mint tea. Though scratched in some places and chipping here and there, the room had an air of elegance.
Who made all of this? The architecture, the road ways, heated tubs and looming castles, painstakingly carved wood and even little monster sweets. I scoffed at the myth of human engineering prowess. These monsters were obviously just as capable, and in many ways even more so. So, why had I wanted so badly to go back? I thought, and then thought harder, but I couldn't remember. I let out a short, mirthless laugh. I couldn't think of a single darn reason. The epiphany felt fantastic! I leaned down to the ground and scooped up another piece of candy as I came upon Asriel from around a shelf
He was hunched over some kind of book, snout nestled deeply in one of the middle pages. He had yet to even notice me behind him. Did he not know he was tempting a devil? I grinned and blew a sharp puff of air into one of his flopping ears.
"GAH!"
Making him squirm was quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes. His fully body twitch sent the book flying into the air, and it was hardly a chore to pluck it out of its fall while still securing the page. My reflexes always had been top notch. The thousands of pages of text were fragile as butterfly wings between my fingers. Black inked words bled through to the following sides. If I held the leather-bound up to the light, I would be likely to see straight through page one hundred and twenty-six to an image of Asriel's gawking face. I didn't though. The nearly transparent paper would surely fall to pieces if treated with anything less than the most delicate hand.
I looked at the opened page to see what Asriel saw. Half of me expected it to be in the same gibberish as the data in the lab, but the legibility took me by surprise. The letters were awkwardly shaped, curling where they ought to be strait and dotted with foreign accents, but I could read the script just fine. That, however, did not mean I understood a single word of it.
"It's my old spells practice book. Mom used to tutor me in it when I was younger, and it was always a lot of fun with her, but now that I'm a big kid I have to use these stupid, stuffy text books with tiny writing and a bunch of facts and theories I have to memorize. I don't like it, but whenever I try to get out of studying, she just sits me down and gives me this same lecture." His pitched his voice high in imitation, "'Now, child, you know you have to grow up big and smart. I know you can do it." And I can't not do my homework after that, you know?"
I should have guessed he was a homeschool brat, sheltered and sweet and all that. But having magic lessons sounded quite the opposite of boring. It sounded dangerous—I felt a thin, covetous grin break out—and terribly fun. What all could he do, I wondered? Maybe I could get a peek of it sometime later, not here obviously. The place was just full of fragile objects teetering precariously on high stacked mounds. He hadn't reached the same conclusion about the imprudence of such a display.
"You want me to show you something?"
What? I spun around and lunged to stop him. No—
"Give me a second." He cupped his palms together. As he kneeled there before me just out of reach, his hands mushed in a makeshift bowl. He bent his head and squeezed his eyes shut. I was now too close as well as too far. Nearly instantly light began to gather. It filled his hands with a bright, sparking sheen that blinded my wide eyes. I think I may hate magic. Uncharacteristic, mouse-like squeak was pulled from my lungs, when all too suddenly the light shot from his palm toward me. I stumbled over my own toes in a futile attempt to dodge, but the burst of brightness pegged me right in my face on the way down. Oww, weird, but oww. Aside from the ache of face planting into a wooden floor, nothing felt particularly burned, cut, or otherwise in magical pain. I lay there in struck dumb, waiting for it to register. And I kept waiting. And waited some more. My tongue felt a bit tingly, but that was it. Better to double check just in case.
Asriel in the meantime stood up, walked over, and looked down at me worriedly and obviously trying to muffle a laugh. "What was that for? You wanted to see, right? That was one mom used to do to me all the time because I hated brushing my teeth at night, but she always said she refused to have me going around with my breath smelling like a common cur, and it just wasn't proper hygiene. Do you dislike mint? I could change it to strawberry if you prefer." He flipped through a couple more pages of the book, skimming for flavor variables. He was—was he playing innocent with me! He knew exactly what he did, and now that I thought about it, he probably knew what I had done earlier too. Revenge was served cold and minty.
The tongue tingling had not ceased. In fact, my mouth was nearly buzzing now. I sputtered and had to spit several times to rid myself of the Listerine-like burn. I never did get how people could calmly gargle acid then cheese into the cameras as if their mouths weren't on fire. It was official. I had never been fond of it, but in this moment I absolutely abhorred mint, but even more than that desperately hated monster magic mint. It was a flavor all of its own. If it involved spells, glowing lights, and hygiene, I wanted nothing to do with it.
I reeled in my glare and clamped down on the annoyance that he had purposefully aimed for a face shot. I had to admit to being impressed despite myself. He could bite back it seemed. That just meant I would have a bit more fun keeping him in his place. I grinned wickedly. He would have to show me more of that monster magic of his. An enemy now can be an ally later.
"Monster magic?" he asked absently, carefully avoiding the disturbing look on my face. "But it says here that that spell was one of the ones that humans gave us. Maybe put too much into it." His attention was drawn back into the dusty pages as he scanned through the numerous columns of thinly written scrawl.
That drew a snort from me. The book must have been terribly off. Getting a spell from humans? Magic had to be strictly a monster thing. For humans, magic only exist in fairytales and bad Hollywood graphics. For all relevant purposes, magic simply did not exist. Kind of like monsters. I reached out to snatch it from his hands.
"Hey, give it back!" Asriel lunged after the book, not quick enough to grab ahold before I turned and held it out of reach. His weight collided into my back as he bumbled into me in an attempt to grab hold of the tome. Despite having a clear height and reach advantage, Asriel's swipes were clumsy and easy to evade.
Soon enough, dodging him became a game. I flicked the book from hand to hand each time he got too close to the one holding the object. In a display of dexterity, the pages went spiraling into the air as I ducked one swiping arm and twisted half around in one fluid motion before dancing back several steps to catch the falling object neatly in one hand. On the upside, the book was sturdier than I had at first thought.
Asriel grew more fierce with his grabs. The cautious hesitation from the first few lunges fell away under his eagerness to catch me. Each time a paw would launch out, I'd slip just out of reach sporting a taunting smile the whole way through. He took the challenge well. Our pace picked up, both of us falling into a pattern of cat and mouse around the attic.
He nearly had me pinned with one well timed pounce, but I was smaller and used our surroundings to the fullest. Diving under a low hanging banister, I grabbed ahold of metal spokes and pulled myself through a narrow gap and back to my feet just in time to see the flicker of Asriel's hand close on air. Where I went under, he leaped over, landing in a crouch with a grace incongruous with his lumbering frame. I would have been scared if not for the enthusiastic tilt of his grin and the innocent glee that lit his eyes. The attic was filled with sounds of giggling pursuit.
A couple close calls later and neither of us could even remember what started the impromptu game of tag. The book lay forgotten somewhere amid the dusty shelves, and Asriel and I circled each other in one of the less obstructed areas of the attic. The floor, though still thick with dust, was relatively clear of battered furniture, and broken teacups. Random mounds of miscellaneous scraps ringed our little arena. Maybe at some point in time someone had sat up here sorting socks from toys from forks, but they had not gotten far. While some of the piles may have had an internal consistency, I saw no rhyme or reason in single one. That is, I couldn't see any in the brief look I cast around before refocusing on my opponent.
Asriel looked positively feral in this light, hunched and looming and grinning like a loon. The feeling was mutual, and didn't that throw me for a loop. He was happy, playing around like this. I was happy too, having someone to enjoy this with. It was insanity and fun!
My marveling distracted me from a well-executed tag from Asriel. My reflexes caught the motion, and I managed to jump away, but the tip of his outstretched hand, claws exposed in the excitement of the game, raked lightly across my cheek. He froze immediately, brows scrunching and lips forming apologetic words I didn't hear. The thin line stung beneath my eye. It was hardly a scratch, but rather than putting me off, it raised my excitement to a new level! He had initiated the next stage in the game. Higher stakes meant I didn't have to hold back myself, to pretend to be nice. I could let loose and go nuts.
Everything dissolved into laughter, and I whirled around. There was a light glinting in a large mound against the wall. Without looking at Asriel, I darted over and took it up. Monsters had claws, but I was a human, and humans like using other means. A small knife, the kind you'd find in a gardener's tool kit, had been wedged up to its handle in a broken drawer. From the lustrous sheen I would have assumed it was new, but smudged wear on the grip told me different. I weighed it, twirling the blade lithely through my fingers before settling my gaze on my friend. He had remained in the center of the room, standing fidgeting and unsure in a way that had been banished since the start of our game.
That was no good. While I liked meek Asriel quite a bit, this new creature—the monster than ran and pounced and stood as my equal—was the one I wanted right now. I wouldn't let him run away.
I slashed towards Asriel with sloppily wide arcs. Our positions had reversed, and now he was the one stumbling out of the way or else risk getting cut. He stuck to charging around our little cleared out section, narrowly avoiding each sweep of my knife. The sound of the blade whistling through the air resounded like a chime. I swiped and batted at him. I was the cat, and he was the mouse, but he didn't need to be. I closed in, coming closer with each swipe to draw out the skill I had seen in him before.
Asriel's startled fear slowly gave way to frustration. He had called for me multiple times to quit it, all to little effect. Eventually, his feet tangled with an unseen obstruction on the ground behind him, and he went down with a crash. He stared up at me, and for the first time he dared to match my sadistic expression with a narrow eyed growl of his own. His muzzle scrunched. He canines were bared. His muscles were tense and strained under the blade of my knife. Finally he was back.
It would take a fool to repeat the same mistakes over and over without learning a thing. This time, I didn't give him time to notice his own aggression. I win, I sing-songed, giving him a little pat on the head before hopping up. The air went out of him like a balloon, and I heard the thud of his head falling back onto the floor as well as a small tinkling rattle.
By his feet was a thin gold chain. It was broken, either from being tripped over or from previous wear. The glimmering loops stretched nearly the length of my arm in a beautiful thread. I lifted it up higher to watch it catch the light, but there was an unexpected weight on the bottom. Two heart shaped pendants dangled off the end. One was nearly black with years' wear and grime, the other cracked along its side. They were a matching pair of abandoned lockets, lost and forgotten in an attic. No one would be looking for them. With my back to Ariel, I slipped the chain and its adornments into my sleeve. After a second's hesitation, I tucked the knife—still held loosely in my hand—away as well.
I hadn't wanted to admit it, but something I kept locked in had begun to worm its way to the surface. It writhed just below my skin. Before, it was always in check, or at least sufficiently satisfied with the small hurts I'd inflict. Each cutting word I'd whisper in another's ear stilled its stirring; every ripple in an otherwise tranquil pond killed the nagging itch for at least a few days. Now though, that something inside me had quieted down. As dumb as it sounded, maybe this was what I needed, someone to cut loose with me. If I went too far or stood too close to the edge, he could be there to go too far with me. It would require balance, but I could handle that.
Asriel was about to ask something, but I cut him off. I knew how to play this now because it was like a game. Yoyos are bounced back and forth; just as they go too far, tension visible in the vibrating string, a careful twitch drew it successful back as if it never left. I had scared him, but displays of kindness drew him back. If the toy came back, too fast and too close, all you had to do was shift your position to send it careening another way. He saw too much about me, but I could play it off. I had to. It was all a matter of twisting the threads round and round until I had all the control they needed to catch Asriel snugly in one palm. So long as I had control, we could still play together. I just had to make sure nothing broke. The thread. Asriel. Or myself.