The day dawned bright and warm. It no longer felt like late spring- the weather declared itself summer no matter what the calender said, and it was a fine day for their trip. Everyone who was going was getting ready, double-checking everything, heading further down the mountain to where the road started, surrounded by the new shops and hotels. There, the bus awaited, booked by Alphys and paid for by Toriel and Asgore.
Frisk was in their room going through their backpack, watched by Toriel, who had a bag of her own- a larger one, with a towel half-spilling out the top of it. Their bag had a change of clothes, some sun cream, a bottle of water, a ball, a book ("why are you taking books?" Toriel had asked, as she put her own books in her bag), a sketchbook and a pencil case. They had decided to leave their phone at home, just in case; Toriel had got a camera just for the occasion.
Papyrus, Sans, Undyne and Alphys had all come over for breakfast- Frisk hadn't eaten much, their official excuse being that they didn't want to need the toilet half-way there. Alphys hadn't even considered the need for a bus with a toilet; Frisk wasn't too concerned, since it would probably be about an hour's journey, but excitement had left their stomach feeling knotted and while their friends wolfed down their pie Frisk had had trouble eating half of theirs. They'd left to check their bag- again- too soon to see whether Papyrus or Sans ended up eating the remains of their breakfast. It was probably Sans, they figured.
They applied some sun cream once Toriel was satisfied with the contents of their bag, before heading downstairs to join everyone. Toriel was trying to shepherd them out of the house, but Undyne and Papyrus seemed to be trying to talk over each other about something. They changed the subject once they saw Frisk to how good it was they had joined them and how they could get underway at last. Toriel huffed and rolled her eyes as everyone finally left the house under Frisk's instruction, and they all headed down through the houses to the lower part of town to join the other monsters already massing outside the bus.
It seemed everyone was waiting for them to board first. Frisk wasn't sorry for it; they instantly headed to the back of the bus, where they could sit in the corner and avoid having anyone sat behind them. Undyne and Papyrus had a brief tussle over who would sit next to Frisk, neither of them noticing Sans seating himself next to them and Alphys claiming the seat in front. They both complained once they paid attention- but Undyne plonked herself next to her girlfriend, promptly turning around to peer over the seats and grin at them. Papyrus sat next to his brother; once Toriel had finished talking to the driver, she claimed the rest of the back row, taking up the better part of two seats.
Frisk stared out the window at the monsters gathering and filing onto the bus. They'd demanded Alphys be picky about the company she went with; the pair of them convinced Undyne to make the initial calls for quotes, making sure she told them it would be a bus full of monsters. How they reacted to the information decided whether or not they would even consider that company; the only reaction this particular company had given was a pause before pointing out the road didn't go directly to their village. The driver, too, was professional, if a little lost for words; Frisk could see her from where they were sat, and she seemed most taken aback by the monsters that looked like animals- especially the dogs, who behaved more like their animal counterparts than most, and Bob the temmie. For some reason he was the only one to have ventured out of the tucked away temmie village for the trip- which Frisk wasn't sorry for, since they were allergic to the odd little monsters.
They tuned out the excitement of their friends in favour of quiet, happy nerves and watching the others climb on the bus. Asgore was the last; the monsters had saved him a seat at the front, and he'd been making notes and making sure everyone was on board. Frisk felt the bus sink slightly as he stepped on board and spoke to the driver; then he was finally seated, and the engine hummed to life. A roar of excitement pulsed through the bus, fading down to hush as it started to move. Alphys was gripping Undyne's hand.
As they started to travel down the road around the mountain, Asgore was the first to speak. In the quiet, as everyone seemed almost to be holding their breath, his deep, slow voice carried all the way to the back of the bus.
"Gosh, this is exciting!"
A ripple of laughter broke the spell, and a hum of conversation ensued. Their friends had helped Frisk make sure everyone knew how to behave- to stay relatively quiet, and seated, and avoid being disruptive or distracting the driver. This was most taxing on Lesser Dog- nicknamed Les by Frisk- who managed to stay sat on his seat, panting with excitement, but his neck extended long enough for him to look out the windows on the other side of the bus.
Frisk alternated between listening to the conversations around them and watching out the window themself, as they moved onto a motorway and picked up speed. Sans nudged them at one point and asked if they were okay; their grin convinced him that they were, and he was content to join them in looking out the window, occasionally talking about the things they saw; being overtaken by a vintage car, the expressions of passengers in other cars who looked into the bus, or a flock of seagulls soaring overhead. At some point he moved, making way so Toriel could take his place and ask how Frisk was. She got the same beam from them, and likewise joined them in watching what passed.
Given the weight of the assorted monsters, the bus didn't move at great speed; but despite that, it felt like very little time at all before Frisk spotted the ocean as they reached the top of a low hill. They gasped and grabbed Toriel's arm; she stared, confused for a moment, before her eyes widened.
"Is that-"
"The sea!" Frisk hadn't meant to speak so loudly; the bus fell quiet as everyone tried to spot it, then a babble erupted, louder than any since they'd got underway. Now that Frisk knew they were close they were convinced they could smell the brine and seaweed in the air; a scent unlike anything they'd smelled before. Undyne was fidgeting, eager, and Papyrus was scarcely able to keep his seat- although he rarely sat still for such a length of time anyway.
The excited talking faded as they left the motorway, winding through countryside. This part of the journey felt longer than the rest put together, as they all watched the sea grow gradually nearer, the seagulls more frequent and noisy. Finally, as an outcropping of land was visible jutting into the ocean, the bus driver pulled into a large car park, a visitor's centre and a handful of shops nearby.
She gave Asgore directions to the beach front, and gave him the times she intended to lock up the bus to leave herself; many of them were leaving some of their belongings behind for now. The monsters were too eager to pile out to wait for him, however; Papyrus and Undyne wasted no time, and Alphys stayed close to her girlfriend. Sans, however, stuck close to Frisk as Toriel left to try and organise the monsters. There were a couple of humans who were looking more than a little surprised at who- or more precisely, what- had poured from the bus.
Frisk rose unsteadily to their feet. No monster appeared to have suffered ill effects from riding a bus for the first time; but as glad as they were glad to be getting off it, they needed a moment to feel steady on their feet. They headed up the aisle after Sans and stepped off, into the bright, hot sun and into the chaos of a busload of over-excited monsters.
This day was originally all one chapter that mimicked Lesser Dog- it got longer and longer, out of hand, until I was questioning my choices. I had to find good places to split it up! So apologies for the short one- I'll post the next one sooner than usual to make up for it.
The next few chapters are inspired by a real place; a beautiful area on the south coast of England. (It doesn't hurt that every year I've visited we've had some of the best weather of the summer!) If you want to get some ideas of what I had in my mind when I was writing this and the following scenes, do an image search for the Jurassic Coast (yes, I know how awesome that sounds), Lulworth Cove, and Durdle Door. It's a stunning location that basically inspired this entire day. I hope you enjoy what's to come!
-Ren