A tall figure stands above Kai, swiftly shaking its head in pity while looking towards Flowey. It speaks in a voice that is oddly sweet-sounding, let alone soft and motherly, and one of the first things he sees is velvet fabric hanging near his face.
"You do not need to worry, child. I will take good care of you," says… a woman? She seems really kind compared to the previous threat, so Kai tilts his head up. Maybe this person was dangerous too, but he feels uplifted to hear the voice of a human.
But then he spots platinum-white fur, soft like cotton, and he realizes that this thing was nowhere close to someone like him.
He immediately blurts the first thing that comes to mind. "Get away from me!" Kai yells angrily. "Don't touch me, you old hack!" He swipes his hands and aims a few punches towards this monster. He can't afford to trust anything in case he finds out, too late, that he'll die faster than he can scream for potential help.
Pffft. He wishes.
"Oh, dear me, please! Calm down!" she assures, or tries to. Kai catches a glimpse of her face; it's round and a little aged, and he finds it a little hard to look away from her deep, amber irises. She has short stubs on the top of her head, except she has on a long drape of lavender material, and he notices that same fairy symbol sewn into the clothing.
"You must be all alone down here—"
"Okay, wait, I just gotta say something real quick," he says, catching his breath. "Before you kill me, could you show me that insane ability you used on that other guy? I mean, yeah, I get the stakes are high here, but c'mon. No one can pass up that opportunity."
Nobody speaks for a little while. The silence is too much, Kai can't take it.
"Alright then, I'm ready. At least I won't die from a pissed off plant. That would have been embarrassing…"
Suddenly, the goat creature lets out a hearty laugh and drops her arms to her sides in a fit of joy. Kai quirks his brow and slowly opens his mouth. How the heck was he supposed to know what was happening? Was this thing mocking him or something? Enjoying his last moments? Maybe she asked him nice things just to get him into a false sense of security? Damnit if he knows.
He still doesn't drop his guard when the goat finally calms down and glances at him again. The stare she holds kind of makes him uncomfortable, and maybe it's because he can tell how droopy her face is, but she honestly looks kind of sad. Even after laughing, too. Kai doesn't know what to say, or how to react. He can't even tell if he should even feel remotely sorry for her? In some way? Thinking was hard. That's why he just does things, no thought involved.
He huffs out a breath.
"So... I take it you're not gonna kill me after all?" He combs a hand through his spiky brown hair, detangling some strands. The goat woman's eyes lower to the ground, and Kai can definitely tell he hit a nerve. Yeesh, maybe death was just a sensitive topic like how it technically was anywhere else.
Uhh, but y'know, she didn't look like she was in the mood to commit homicide on him today. Maybe not yet, but hey, that was a nice plus.
"No, I'm not here to take your life away," she replies kindly. Her hands clasp together in a heartwarming gesture, and Kai almost gives in to lowering his guard. The aura around her contains such innocence and motherly care, his chest wells up a little. "If it helps, I can tell you my name: I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I actually pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down."
"Fallen down?" Kai repeats skeptically. His heart thrums as he thinks about the opening in the sky. "Like when people fall down here? Were there others here, too? Are there more humans in this place?" The questions keep coming, and he can't really stop. I mean, at least this Toriel person knows some stuff. He doesn't give in to trusting her much, but like. She's some mythical being or something like that. She also talks. She can understand human speech, which is kind of crazy. Kai can always make a run for it or try to fight back if things go south, but he's still standing here. So…
Toriel continues to listen, but she has to stop him when he keeps pressing for information.
"All you need to know is that there is no danger present when I am here," she tells him. "I understand that you may not trust me right now, but I assure you that I will do everything I can to keep you safe down here." Her eyes skim his, and another smile pulls at her lips. "I can also answer some questions for you along the way."
Kai tilts his head and crosses his arms. "Y'know, as appealing as that sounds, I don't think following a goat being at first sight would set off a lot of green flags. I… um…" He thinks hard about something, digging through his brain for a specific memory. He's aware that he's seen, probably even fought, enemies that weren't human at all. But it pisses him off that it's still blurry to him—he isn't in a coma anymore! He's somehow conscious and physically okay. But it's right there, right on the tip of his tongue almost! Slowly, he begins to freak himself out.
"Ohhh, goddamnit, I didn't lose my memories, did I?!" Kai almost yells. He swears he'll sprout gray hairs with how stressed he is. He doesn't even push or avoid Toriel when she approaches him; it's like he's completely frozen in place.
Toriel doesn't touch him, but she stands close and assures him that everything is okay. Kai isn't sure if he is—he doesn't know if the things he tries to remember is real... it's in his mind, but he's very short of a massive migraine if tries to force himself.
"Don't strain yourself, child!" Toriel pleads. "You do not have a head injury, believe me!"
"How in the world would you know?" Kai demands furiously, but he feels a horrible spread of fear rooting from his stomach. It's cold and painful and nauseating. He tries to ignore Toriel as best as he can, but it's futile. He can't help taking in the words she says.
"You're the first human who has fallen down here in a long time!" she blurts out immediately. Kai stops. Now, he finally stares at her properly, taking in everything. He's still shaking a bit, no doubt, but this is something he can't ignore.
"What do you mean, first human?" he asks tentatively. "In a long time? So there were others? Like me?"
Toriel nods at him. Kai still has more questions, and he starts to wonder what happened to them. He doesn't want to believe the worst, but…
"Are… are they gone?" He can see Toriel slightly shift uncomfortably. It only forces more questions out of him. "Where are they now? Did they make it back up? People should already know about the mountain then! That means I can get help!"
"It is all right, little one," she interrupts quietly. Slowly, she takes a small breath. "Even if you sit here, waiting for humans to retrieve you back to the surface, surely it won't do well for you all by yourself. And yes, as difficult as it is to believe I live somewhere, I do—I hope you find it comfortable."
Kai stands still for a moment when Toriel waves at him to follow. "You may come along when you are ready." She points up ahead somewhere, but it's honestly kind of hard to see properly. "I will be up that path. Follow if you wish."
He doesn't tag along, though. He feels a little weird that he isn't listening to her, but like... murderous flower. Drug pellets. And then fire? And after that... a goat lady shows up. So...
Kai watches as her figure slowly disappears into the endless shadows. He isn't really a fan of the dark, but he can survive without guidance around here, right? Haha... right?
"Um... I can... do this. I can stay here. Yeah, who needs a monster for help anyway!" he huffs. He waits around for a few seconds. And then he thinks a minute goes by. Maybe a few, actually? Wait, how long went by?
"Ohhhh, 'kay." Kai shuffles around uncomfortably. "You, uh... didn't actually leave, right? Right, Toriel? Toriel?" His fingers start to fidget, and he doesn't even realize how much he's cursing beneath his breath. The image of Flowey bursting through the hard soil and wrapping vines around his body abruptly flashes in his mind, and the hairs on the back of his neck shoot up. He doesn't waste a second longer and runs as fast as he can where he last saw Toriel disappear.
"I change my mind! I'm coming!" he cries out. "But just for the record, it's not that I trust you! I only need to find a way to get out of this place!"
He lets out a loud yelp and forces himself to stop immediately. Right in front of him is a bright ball of fire, shooting sparks across the shadows. As the flame diminishes, he sees the beginnings of that same purple robe coming into view again, and some weird feeling of relief passes through him when Toriel is there. She slightly smiles and lowers her head gratefully.
"This way," she says, and this time Kai follows.
"So... does this mean I'll get to learn how to shoot fire from my fists?"