You woke in a comfortable cocoon of blankets. It was a far cry from the table you were sure you'd fallen asleep on, but certainly not an unwelcome one. You were hesitant, for a short period, to poke your head out, knowing it would be cold.
Still, certain bodily functions simply could not be ignored for long. The air outside of your burrito was chilly in comparison to inside, but it wasn't all that cold really. A quick glance told you that you had slept in Fuku's bedroom.
Not that it was something you hadn't done before, but it was odd without the fire elemental present. Light streamed in behind the thermal curtains, but it wasn't nearly enough to tell you what time it was, since your bestie didn't keep a clock.
Instead, you grabbed your cell from the bedside table before emerging from the heat to head to the bathroom. The small digital display informed you that it was almost noon on Sunday. No missed class then.
Sitting down, you flipped the device open, only to be greeted with a chibi version of Undyne bowing to you. You laughed as Asian symbols filled a speech bubble on your screen followed by "(I'm Sorry)" as a footnoted translation.
It was perfect for someone who liked anime and gadgetry as much as Undyne did. You weren't sure when she had the time to program your phone to do this. Then again, maybe that part-magic, part-technology bug she said she'd installed gave her a lot more access than you'd thought.
It had tracked you to just shy of headquarters, after all.
You stood and flushed, setting the device on the counter while you washed your hands and face. A quick look in the mirror told you that the magical food you'd eaten before falling asleep again had done its work. The injuries on your face were almost healed.
You straightened, turning the water off and drying your face with a towel. Fuku was standing outside waiting for you when you opened the door.
Were it anyone else, and had she not been holding a fresh roll of bandaging, you might have found it creepy. You didn't argue with the stern look she sent you though. You doubted you could do it yourself.
You let her in. Fuku wasn't a rough person, by any means, but the gentleness she used as she unwrapped you was ridiculous. You weren't suddenly made of glass. Still, she needed this; you weren't about to argue.
You were startled when she turned the water on, throwing a cloth in the sink and watching it soak in the warm water. Fire elementals couldn't touch water. There was no way you were letting her hurt herself for this.
Your dominant hand reached out to pluck it from the sink. The gash on your arm pulled a bit, but you were certain your other arm didn't have the range of motion needed from your sitting position. Shoulder injuries restricted movement for months without magical healing.
Your body had already scabbed itself over, courtesy of two days' rest and Grillby's magical food. You wiped gently, cleaning away any ooze, gunk, or dirt, careful of the stitches lining the gash on your dominant arm.
You held back a gag. If you let her know, Fuku would just try to take over again. It was still disgusting, no matter how many times you'd seen, handled, and healed similar injuries. So instead you did as much as you possibly could, looking as little as possible.
For what you could reach anyway. Once you couldn't anymore, you called on your magic. You didn't have a lot. It may not be able to heal you, but your body was still using it as an energy source so it could fix itself. Still, you had more than enough for something as simple as telekinesis on a rag.
Fuku wasn't too pleased, but she didn't argue. The elemental pointed out where you needed to clean, chastising you if you glossed over the area rather than scrubbing. When you finished, dropping the rag unceremoniously to the floor, Fuku began rewrapping you with all the expertise that came from watching videos online and practicing for hours.
Not professional, but certainly well-done. "How long?" She finally asked, breaking the extended silence. At your questioning glance, she added, "the recovery."
You contemplated for a moment. Magun wounds were hard to judge. They didn't have equivalent damage to, say, a bullet, but that was the closest you could get for an estimate. "If we cut the usual recovery time in half from magic food, and my body using my own magic as an energy source…" You trailed off. Fuku urged you to continue. "The stuff on my face should be gone tomorrow. My other arm about a week. The graze on my side, about 5 days. Shoulder: skin healing in a couple of weeks, range of motion in about two months, if ever."
"If ever?" Fuku repeated dangerously. You heard it twice and glanced up to note Grillby standing in the bathroom doorway, which the two of you hadn't bothered to close. There was no response you could give them for reassurance; you might never get it back, after all. That's how such wounds worked without magical healing.
"You have guests." Grillby informed you, cutting off whatever sharp retort Fuku had planned on giving you. "Both skeleton brothers, the royal guard captain, and the royal scientist."
"Both?" You squeaked. You couldn't outright say you were afraid, not in this super-protective environment, but Papyrus so far had made no attempt to hide his disdain for you. You doubted that it had changed so suddenly, especially with the new news of your being a mage.
Monsters rarely reacted well to your kind. They only reacted well to you because you'd gotten to know them, and made friends with them, before it came to light. And because you weren't dangerous.
You were overjoyed when, rather than scrubs, Fuku handed you your own clothes to change into. They fit loosely and were certainly comfortable, although you doubted Fuku would let you wear anything deemed "too tight" for a while.
You slipped into them with only mild difficulty, since you couldn't raise your arm very high.
It was warm down in the bar; the flames must have already begun food prep for the day. It was eerily silent as you made your way out of the back room into the main bar, the only sounds being your steps as your bare feet met the tiles.
Grillby and Fuku were already present, having complied with your wishes to be allowed to do some things by yourself. Like walking down stairs. It was impressive they'd agreed.
Trying to ignore the heavy feeling in the air, you slipped into the only empty seat at the table. "Good morning." You greeted cheerily.
"IT IS PAST NOON, _" Sans informed you as his brother glared. "YOU ARE BECOMING NEARLY AS LAZY AS MY BROTHER!" He told you with a wide grin. He was trying to be funny, you realized.
"I dunno, Sans. From everything you've told me, such a feat seems pretty difficult." You replied with a smirk. Alphys snorted in amusement as her shy fiancé raised a hand to cover a growing smile.
Perhaps teasing Papyrus wasn't the best idea, you noted as he opened his mouth to reply. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Undyne grabbing your hand suddenly. You shifted your gaze from the furious skeleton to the scientist.
"C-can I talk t-to y-you? P-p-privately?" Undyne stuttered out, suddenly serious. This was quite a step.
"Does the back-room work?" You asked Grillby. It was up to him who could and couldn't go back there. He studied the two of you for a moment before nodding and lifting a single finger to indicate that it was a one-time thing.
She followed you easily, stealing the chairs from you as you tried to set them out. Right, you weren't allowed to do anything possibly strenuous. Undyne paused for a few seconds before turning to you. "C-can you se-sequence a s-silent w-ward? I d-don't want…" Could you? You knew the sequence, easily, but did you have enough power to sustain it for any length of time? As if she understood the reason for your hesitation, she added, "I can p-power it. I m-may not s-seem like it, b-but I ha-have a good a-amount of m-magic en-energy."
Usually, when you had to make a sequence, you just used your magic to form the symbols. For obvious reasons, that wasn't going to work here, so you fished around your cubby for a notebook and pencil. Thankfully, sequenced spells didn't need any magic until activated.
It took you less than a minute to draw the spell out and hand it to her. "Y-you were a-an a-academy mage, weren't y-you?"
"Once upon a time." You answered simply as white magic lit up the symbols on the paper and a bubble stretched out over the two of you.
Once it had completed, Undyne sat and fixed you with a serious expression. "I know I n-never explained w-what that bug does. Th-the one I p-put on your phone." You reassured your fried that you were fine with it, but she shook her head. "It k-keeps a log for about a d-day of all i-it sees or h-hears. The v-video is irrelevant w-with your c-cell, since y-your camera is b-broken, b-but I did go o-over the l-logs from F-Friday."
She'd heard everything then. And, obviously, noted those three calls to Jamie. This was confirmed a moment later when she hesitatingly inquired, "W-why did they c-call you 'traitor'?"
Of course. "For helping you." You told her quietly. "Mages are split on what their opinion of monsters is, but it isn't anywhere near even. I'm in the minority there, along with the mages at headquarters. That's why even your signal got jammed there. It's a highly defended building."
"Why?" the scientist asked, curiosity overriding her usual stutter. "We've gained a majority approval with humans in general. Why are mages so different?"
She must have been calmer in this one-on-one environment. "Because you're already full citizens, with all the rights most humans have. Since mages don't have those rights, they're generally jealous and angry. Especially at those who helped you, thinking we abandoned our own people to do it."
Shock made her lose her grip on the magic she was supplying to your sequence, allowing a loud crash to enter your silence bubble as it faltered. You both leapt to your feet, wrenching the door open to see what in the seven hells was going on.
And almost taking a magical bone to the face. "you!" a familiar voice hissed at you. Before you knew what was happening, Undyne dragged you back behind the door, the sturdy obstacle blocking another projectile bone. "you little lying-!"
"BROTHER, STOP IT!" Sans cut in.
"Whoa, what?" You questioned loudly, poking your head back out so you could see what was going on. In a strange juxtaposition of expected strength, Sans was standing with a bony arm wrapped around his brother's midsection, holding him in place as he cursed at you.
It didn't matter much, as Papyrus was capable of teleportation. His bony phalanges gripped you by the collar of your shirt, lifting you violently into the air and shoving you up against the wall. "why should i?" He spat at you. "you lied to us!"
Thankfully he wasn't cutting off your air supply. "Never lied." You protested. "Why should you what?"
You shook your head quickly at Fuku, who was approaching dangerously, magic sparking around her in her fury.
Papyrus shook as he shouted at you. "how could i just accept you? being close to any of us? you mages are dangerous! you humans are dangerous!" A bright flare in his left eye socket flickered on and off as he raged. You could easily sense the powerful magic behind it.
"Which of us is the dangerous one right now?" Your response was calm and quiet, but it forced him to drop you immediately, to your surprise. He covered his eyes sockets with a hand. Fuku lunged forward, placing herself squarely between you, though it proved unnecessary as Papyrus backed off.
The skeleton disappeared into thin air, leaving the rest of you in silence.
"Did he hurt you?" A low voice demanded. You shifted your gaze up to Grillby, who had moved close. You straightened the wrinkles he'd left in your shirt, but other than your clothes, there was no damage done. You shook your head.
Undyne lost all concentration on the magic spell she was funneling magic into at your admission. Monsters had more rights that human mages did? Something about that didn't quite seem right. A loud crash interrupted her attempt to restart the spell.
She was only a beat behind you as you rushed to investigate. Undyne had a feeling that whatever this was would only be dangerous for you. A thought that proved to be correct, she noted, as one of Papyrus's attacks flew by, barely missing you. She gripped your arm and dragged you back behind the door as another came flying in your direction.
What did he think he was doing right now? What in the world could attacking you accomplish?
Papyrus appeared behind the two of you, harmlessly swatting Undyne off of you before shoving you up against a wall. You managed to stay very calm, considering you were just starting recovery from being attacked.
Undyne watched her fiancé place a hand on Sans's shoulder, restraining him. Fuku avoided similar restraint altogether, storming toward the two of you until you stopped her.
Papyrus was strong. He might have only rarely used it, but he didn't manage to gain his title by doing nothing. It was certainly a strength that you seemed to recognize. Still, there was no fear in your eyes as you returned his furious gaze.
You managed to stop Papyrus's anger with a single sentence. Of course, there was no way for you to know just how those words would affect him, as the queen's former judge. Still, you had a penchant sometimes for saying just the right thing.
How did you do it?