Lyla, you had so much promise. Why would you throw it all away?
I'd been walking for a while through the dense snowy forest. The wind had a bite to it making me grateful I had worn my jacket. It didn't do much for keeping me warm but it at least broke the sting of the wind. As I walked, my mind wandered. I didn't like being alone with my thoughts, to be honest, since bad memories had a tendency to resurface.
I was brought out of those thoughts though as I felt someone behind me and Bones. Stopping at a bridge, I waited. Whoever it was, they got closer. And closer. Until finally they were right behind me. Bones and I were both on guard for whoever or whatever it may be.
"Hey friend. Don't you know how to greet someone?" a voice came.
Turning around, I came face to face…well, face to chest, with a short skeleton in a blue hooded jacket. Reaching out his hand, he wore a large grin plastered across his face. It was an odd grin and I wasn't sure if I could trust this skeleton or not. Taking his hand to shake, I was greeted with a loud farting noise.
"Hah! The ole whoopee cushion in the hand trick," the skeleton laughed.
Stunned, I blinked a few times before bursting out into laughter.
"The hell, dude? Scared me. I thought you were some sorta axe murder what with the way you were creepin' up on me!" I laughed, brushing my long brown hair out of my face.
"Heh, sorry, bro. I'll keep that in mind. I'm Sans, by the way. Sans the skeleton."
"I'm Lyla. Lyla Hart."
"So what's a human like you doing around here?"
"Hm? I'm going to go talk to Asgore. I need to convince him not to destroy the barrier."
"Why?"
"Honestly, because the world up there sucks," I said point-blank.
"Well, if you wanna get to Asgore, you're gonna have to get past my brother. He's a human hunting /fanatic/," Sans said with a shrug, "But for now, just head past this gate. My brother made it too wide to stop anybody."
With a shrug of my own I went through the gate. Finally we came to a clearing, Bones sniffing a random snowman that was roughly my height.
"Papyrus is coming. Go stand behind that convenient snowman," Sans said.
Doing as suggested, I stood behind the snowman, listening in as Sans and another voice talked. Stifling the urge to boo Sans' puns, I finally came out from behind the snowman once Papyrus was gone.
"You should probably get going, before he returns. If you don't, you'll have to listen to more of my hilarious jokes," Sans grinned.
"Well, I hope we'll run into each other again, Sans," I smiled.
Bones rubbed against the skeleton, purring.
"Heh, Bones says she hopes the same," I added.
With a light laugh from both of us, I continued on my adventure.
On my way I met many dogs, much to Bone's disgruntlement, and found quickly that the best way to get past them was pretty much to give them all pets and love. Finally, though, I came to a tiny town, Snowdin. According to my mp3's internal clock it was getting late, and I could feel it. Slipping into the Inn, I shivered, noticing more thoroughly how cold I was now that I was in the warmth.
"How much for a room?" I asked the bunny lady at the desk.
"80G," she smiled.
A smaller bunny girl, possibly her daughter, stared at me from beyond the counter. Smiling back I waved lightly at her, eliciting a happy smile.
Pulling out all the G I had, I quickly counted it, giving her the 80 and leaving me with just barely 40 let.
"Have a lovely stay," the bunny lady said, handing me a room key.
Shoving my bag into the corner of the room, I crashed on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately.
…
When I awoke in the morning, I took the opportunity to change into some warmer clothes, the regret deep from spending the entire day in just leggings, boots, a tshirt, and my old beat up jacket. Slipping on a pair of thicker skinny jeans, a heavy sweater, and thick socks, I put on my boots and jacket over and was ready to take on the day. I was very grateful for my combat boots- and no, not those crappy ones from the goth store in the mall. No, these were my military issued boots and I could walk for days and not be phased. Grabbing my bag and putting it securely on my back, I ushered for Bones to follow me. Obliging, the large, dog sized cat followed after me, purring happily. I returned the key and promptly left the Inn, stepping out into the snow covered town. Making my way East, I found myself outside a house with two mail boxes. One was stuffed to the rim and the other empty. With a shrug, I continued on. Suddenly, though, a heavy fog shrouded my surroundings.
"Human, there is must be many emotions you are going through," I heard Papyrus speak.
Squinting I could only make out his silhouette. He kinda reminded me of the kid with Asperger's syndrome that I went to school with. Though I didn't much care for the kid – he tended to say racist things – Papyrus was pleasant to talk to. I liked making him happy, so I found myself lying and saying things like "Yeah, I ate all that spaghetti!" even though it was a frozen brick.
"To find a fellow pasta lover and puzzle enthusiast, this can spark a great feeling of wanting to be friends with someone so cool," he continued.
"So I, the GREAT Papyrus, will…no, we can't. I cannot be your friend, as much as you may want me to! I am sorry, Lyla-human, but I must capture you!"
The fog let up suddenly, just enough for me to make out the tall skeleton just a little better. Bones started to puff up.
"Down girl. I got this," I comforted her, setting my bag down.
"Okay, dude, but I ain't goin' down without a fight," I smirked, going into a fighting position.
"As you shouldn't!" Papyrus nodded.
It crossed my mind briefly to grab my machete, but I just as quickly decided I didn't want to hurt him. And so I waited for him to make the first move…and I waited…and waited.
"Aren't you going to attack me?" I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
"Yes! Of course!" Papyrus nodded and started throwing blue bones at me.
I didn't move. The blue magic, I remembered, only would affect me if I moved. When the attack was over, I tried not to look at Papyrus with pity, but was hard to mask. That is until I noticed I started glowing blue and my movement slowed drastically.
"Wh-what did you do!?" I gasped.
"NYEHEHEHEH! You are now BLUE!" he said proudly.
"Heh, so this is going to be interesting," I smirked, slowly making my way towards him, "You're a pretty clever fighter, Papyrus."
Papyrus's eye sockets widened.
"Y-you really think that? Well, perhaps we should go on a date then! Two great fighters! Yes! Wait…No! Now we must fight! But I will happily go on a date with you when we are done!" he grinned widely.
"Wait…what? Uh, okay," I was stunned.
Did he really think I was flirting with him or something? It was just a light compliment…Whatever. I'd have to tackle that beast later. Right now, it was time to fight. Finally, I reached Papyrus, reared my arm back and brought it around, punching him square in the face. He stumbled back, clutching the area I hit.
"Wow! You too are a fantastic fighter, Lyla!" Papyrus laughed before bringing a bone around to hit me. I couldn't run to dodge it, and he was going for me legs, so I jumped! Surprisingly I could still jump pretty easily. Taking the chance I had while in the air, I brought my leg out, kicking Papyrus in the chest. The force threw him back slightly. Landing, I took a solid stance, ready to take on whatever else he had. We kept fighting, sharing friendly banter as we did so, until we were both fairly battered, Papyrus more so than myself.
"Ah! Human! I do believe we are quite even! I propose a truce!" he offered, breathing heavily (though how I wasn't sure?).
"Yeah, sure. Truce," I nodded, laughing lightly. I knew I could easily kick his butt and win, but I didn't want to do that to him.
The blue glow went away, allowing me to move easily again.
"So, human, if you are ever up for that date, feel free to meet me at my house," Papyrus winked at me before leaving back towards Snowdin.
Taking a second to breathe, I grabbed my bag and continued East with Bones. Walking along, I spotted a sentry station, Sans standing behind it. Spotting me, he gave a light wave. I approached him.
"Hey," I gave him a light smile, leaning against the station, "Whachu doin' here?"
"Hm? What, a guy can't have two jobs?"
I gave a light shrug, unsure of how to respond.
"Hey, you look pretty tired. Wanna get something to eat? It might help you feel better," Sans offered.
"Uh, yeah, sure," I nodded, not realizing I looked as tired as I felt.
That fight with Papyrus had really taken a lot out of me.
"I know a shortcut. Follow me," Sans said, leaving his station.
I followed, finding myself at Grillby's before I even knew it.
"Woah," I looked around, baffled how going East landed us West? I quickly pushed the thought away, figuring it was magic.
Sitting at the bar, I ordered a burger and a glass of scotch on the rocks. When the food arrived, I quickly dove into the burger, beyond happy to be eating hot food. Sans sat in silence for about half my burger before speaking up.
"So, what do you think of Papyrus? Isn't he cool?" he asked.
I swallowed and thought for a moment.
"He's not my definition of cool, to be honest, but he is very sweet and friendly," I nodded, "A bit naïve, but that isn't always a bad thing. Overall I'd say he's a really nice guy. 10/10 would befriend."
"I'm glad you think that," Sans nodded.
Taking a drink of my scotch, the warm burn as I swallowed somehow comforting.
"Hey, have you ever heard of talking flowers?" Sans spoke again.
I took a bite of my burger, thinking back on Flowey.
"They're assholes," I said bluntly.
Sans nodded, staying silent for a moment before telling me about how Papyrus had been talking to a flower and he suspected it was an Echo flower that someone was using to play a trick on him. I wasn't sure how to explain the flower I had encountered when I first got here. Before I got the chance to, though, Sans got off the stool. I quickly finished my burger and scotch before getting up as well.
"Hey, Grillby, put it on my tab," is all Sans said before leaving without another word.
"There's something deeper going on here," I muttered to myself, patting Bone's head. She seemed to sense it as well.
Leaving the pub, I made my way back East, spotting Papyrus.
"Well, I guess I might as well do that date. Who knows when I'll be back," I said to myself.