Charlie shivered. She really should have worn something warmer than a hoodie and jeans. Maybe she could buy a warm coat in a town, if she came across one. She looked around her. The forest was big. The trees loomed high above her head, and it was dark. Charlie hated the couldn't see what was going on around her. She continued on through the woods, full of determination. It was eerily quiet. Charlie didn't like the woods at all. They were too dark, too quiet and far too cold for her taste.
"The sooner I get out of here, the better." She grumbled as she trudged through the snow, rubbing her arms vigorously in an attempt to warm herself up. She walked for quite a while in the dark silence of the forest. She began to feel sad again, being alone. She hated being alone, she wished that she had someone to keep her company. Suddenly, a few metres behind Charlie, a stick on the ground snapped under someone's feet. Charlie's head whipped around, looking to see who was behind her. There was no one there. She continued walking, faster this time. She felt like someone was following her. She sped up even more still, afraid of what kind of monster could be behind her. She came to a bridge, and paused. There were no railings or anything to hold onto on the bridge, and it looked kind of unstable. As Charlie was considering whether the bridge could support her weight or not, she sensed someone behind her. Shit. She had momentarily forgotten that someone was following her. Her follower spoke.
"well? don't you know how to greet a new pal?" He said. "turn around and shake my hand."
Charlie cautiously turned around and offered her hand to the monster. It was a skeleton. A short, round skeleton with a very wide grin. She took his hand, and when she did, a very loud farting noise emitted from the skeleton's hand.
"heheh" The skeleton laughed. "the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny."
Charlie laughed nervously. She was almost certain that she was going to be attacked by the skeleton.
"anyway, i'm sans." He said. "sans the skeleton. who're you, human?"
"I'm Charlie," Charlie said. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. Have any other humans passed through here recently?"
"as a matter of fact, a human passed through here about ten days ago," Sans said, his wide grin never faltering. "they should be somewhere in waterfall by now."
"Okay," Charlie said. "Thanks a ton, Sans."
"a skeleton." Sans chuckled at his pun.
"That was terrible." Charlie was giggling, despite her words.
"you liked it," Sans laughed. "don't fibula."
Charlie laughed. She was a big fan of puns, the worse they were, the better.
"You're really tickling my funny bone, Sans."
"i'm a natural born comedian, what can i say," Sans grinned even wider, if that was even possible. "on another note, do you even know your way to waterfall?"
"Uh," Charlie thought for a moment. "Not exactly, but I'm assuming I'll eventually get there if I keep walking straight."
"that's pretty much how you get there," said Sans. "but it's quite the walk if you were to try to go there from here, without stopping."
"I'm sure I'll manage," Charlie said. The thought of the long journey ahead filled her with determination. "but do you know a place where I could buy a coat or something? It's fucking freezing here."
"yeah," said sans. "snowdin is a few miles from here, but until then you can borrow my hoodie."
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked. "Would you not be cold then?"
"nah," replied Sans. "i'm a skeleton. i don't feel the cold."
"Okay then," Charlie said as Sans shrugged off his hoodie and then handed it to her. She put the hoodie on. It was warm.
"How is this hoodie warm?" Charlie inquired. "If you're a skeleton then why would you have body heat?"
Sans wiggled his fingers.
"magic." He grinned. "c'mon kid, lets head to snowdin. we're both headed there, so we might as well walk together."
"lets go, then." Charlie smiled and began walking towards Snowdin.
A good while later, the two arrived in Snowdin.
"welcome to snowdin, kiddo" Sans gestured at the snowy town before them. "home of lots of snow and a library with a misspelled sign."
"It's very pretty,"Charlie looked upon the glistening white town. "Could you show me to the shop so I can buy a coat and give you your hoodie back?"
"sure," Sans said. "it's just here." He led Charlie into a warm wooden building. A bunny-woman was standing at the counter.
"Hi!" The bunny-woman-shopkeeper said cheerfully. "Welcome to Snowdin shop! How can I help you?"
"Hey," Charlie said. "I need a coat, please"
"Coats are just over there," The shopkeeper smiled. "Find one that you like, honey."
Charlie smiled at the shopkeeper and went to look for a coat. She picked a black one off the rack and slipped it on. It fit. She took it off again and brought it to the counter. The shopkeeper took the coat and checked the price tag.
"That'll be 14 G when you're ready, miss." She said. Charlie fished around in her pocket for the money. She found it, and handed it to the shopkeeper. Sans tapped her shoulder.
"hey," he said. "it's getting to be nightime. do you wanna come back to my house for the night? i don't know what it's like in the human world but people aren't so friendly at night here, it wouldn't be safe to go to waterfall right now. plus, you get to stay with my brother and i free of charge, rather than staying in the inn."
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked. "I wouldn't be an inconvenience, would I?"
"nah," Sans grinned. "my brother would love to meet a new friend."
"Well, if you really don't mind then I'll stay the night." Charlie smiled. Toriel had said that not all monsters were so keen on humans, but Sans and the bunny-woman-shopkeeper seemed nice, and Sans' brother sounded nice too. She felt like she would make some good memories in the Underground, and she looked forward to finding her friend again. She was filled with determination.