A few months passed. Toriel and Frisk regularly visited Snowdin Town, getting acquainted with the locals. Just as Sans promised, no one recognized Frisk as a human, thinking they were another Monster.
Frisk got to know many of the inhabitants. They grew close with those who were their age, especially Noelle. Toriel allowed them to play with the other kids on the outskirts of town, though she still kept to herself, rarely speaking to anyone other than the skeletons. She still had yet to tell anyone her name.
Frisk also eagerly learned about magic from their mom who did her best to teach them. She still didn't have the heart to tell them that they wouldn't be able to do magic and decided to humor them when teaching how to cast spells. They tried really hard but were unable to do anything like her or the others.
Occasionally, Frisk asked if they could go past the brothers' house to see what else was out there, but both Toriel and Sans advised against it, saying it wouldn't be safe for them. Fortunately, Frisk didn't press the matter. The town and all the new friends they were making was enough for the child, for the time being. Though Sans suspected that at one point the kid was going to try and press and advised Toriel to be ready for that day.
Frisk was slowly growing, though not as much as their new friends. Noelle was half a head taller than them, not counting her little antlers. Toriel did meet Noelle's parents at one point. Both were reindeer like their daughter and they had an older daughter who was only a few years older than Noelle. Though Carol, the mother, was mostly silent and blunt, Rudy, the father, was boisterous and joyful. Toriel suspected that he knew who she was, but he didn't tell anyone.
Papyrus tried to fit in with the younger kids but they didn't like him as much as Frisk, especially as his loud voice and attitude scared them. Frisk tried to get them adjusted because they didn't want to abandon Papyrus, but it was hard, especially as the skeleton didn't seem to get the hint that he needed to tone his personality down.
One day, Frisk got a clever idea how to get Papyrus involved with their new friends.
They met up with the other children in the town square where the parents were supervising their children.
"Hiya, Frisk," Noelle greeted.
"Hi, Noelle," Frisk returned.
"Now that we're all here, what do we do today?" a lizard without arms asked.
"I was thinking we play in the forest," Frisk suggested.
"Er, not too sure about that," Rudy said. "Royal Guards patrol that area. And it's not exactly safe."
"I know," Frisk said. "I was thinking Papy come with us."
"The noisy skeleton?" a bird-like Monster asked. "Why?"
"He can watch us and make sure we do not get hurt," Frisk answered.
"I am not so sure, Frisk," Toriel said.
"Please, mom? You know how good he is. You trust me with him," Frisk reminded.
"Is he really a good choice?" Rudy asked. "He does seem a tad… overzealous."
"He has proven to be a responsible young man," Toriel said. "And he does take care of his and his brother's house more than Sans does."
"Well, I guess we can try. On a provisionary basis for today," the lizard's mom said.
"Cool! I go get him," Frisk said, running off. A few moments later, they returned with said skeleton.
"GREETINGS! MY COOL FRIEND FRISK HAS TOLD ME OF THEIR SUGGESTION," Papyrus said.
"You sure you're up to this?" the bird-like Monster parent asked.
"OF COURSE. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND I CAN MANAGE A LITTLE BABYSITTING," the skeleton assured. "AND I ALSO PROMISE THAT NO HARM SHALL COME TO THESE CHILDREN FOR AS LONG AS I WATCH THEM."
"That's a big promise. Hope you can fulfill it," Rudy said.
"Just do not go too far, Papyrus," Toriel advised. "And we do need them home for supper."
"NOT A PROBLEM, FRISK'S MOM. I SHALL HAVE THEM RETURNED BY THE ASSIGNED TIME!" He started heading out of town. "COME, CHILDREN. THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL LEAD YOU ON A GRAND ADVENTURE!"
Frisk followed first, the others behind them. He marched them across the bridge into the forest.
"SO, WHAT DO KIDS YOUR AGE DO?" Papyrus asked.
"Snowball fights, mostly," the bird Monster, Snowy, said.
"HMM. VERY WELL. LET US COMMENCE WITH A WAR OF SNOW!" Before anyone could react, he got a handful of snow, immediately packed it into a ball, and threw it at the armless lizard.
"Oh, you asking for it, dude," he said with a smirk. He managed to get some snow with his tail and flung it at the skeleton, who bent forward to duck.
Before long, the balls were flying in earnest. Frisk participated with glee, though they noticed Noelle hiding off behind a tree. "Something wrong?" they asked her.
"It's… just… I don't…"
"Hey, it is fine," Frisk promised. "I did not like snowball fights at first, either. But it all in fun. Look." They threw the snow at their face to prove a point, the white powder easily breaking up. "See? Not hurt."
Noelle did look a little better. She picked up a bunch of snow, packing it into a ball, but didn't throw it.
"What wrong?"
"It's just… won't it… hurt?" Noelle quietly asked. "I think – "
A snowball struck her on the side of her head, surprising her.
"Ha! Pay attention, little doe!" Snowy said.
"Hey, not fair. She was talking," Frisk said.
"Oh, boo hoo," Snowy said. "Maybe you should go cry to your giant momma. I'm sure she'd take care of your hurt self."
"Rude," the lizard child said.
"Who cares?" Snowy retorted.
"HEY, BE NICE!" Papyrus said. "THIS IS A FRIENDLY WAR OF SOFT SNOW, NOT A VISCIOUS BATTLE OF CUTTING WORDS."
"Oh, sorry," Snowy said sarcastically. "Just don't think because your only friend got our parents to include you that it means you're one of – " He got cut off as a ball of snow impacted the back of his head, the whole thing covering his face in the process.
Frisk turned to see Noelle still in a pitcher's pose. "Wow. That felt… nice."
"Oh, now you're fighting – " Snowy got cut off again as the lizard threw a snowball at him.
"I just had an idea," he said. "Let's do teams. Us against you."
"LET'S NOT MAKE THIS COMPLETEY UNEVEN," Papyrus suggested. "HOW ABOUT ME, FRISK, NOELLE AND – MK, IS IT? – ON ONE TEAM. EVERYONE ELSE, THEY'RE THE FOES."
"Sounds good to me," Snowy said, his team composed of himself, a mouse, his cousin Chilldrake, and Ice Cap.
"ALRIGHT. WE'LL DIVIDE UP AND MAKE A FORT. WE HAVE ONE HOUR TO MAKE SAID FORT, THEN WE COME OUT FIGHTING," Papyrus suggested.
"Why not just go now?" Chilldrake asked. He got a pile of snow to the face in answer, as did the mouse and Ice Cap.
Frisk and Noelle chuckled, having thrown the unmade snowballs.
"PARTLY THAT, AND TO MAKE IT MORE FAIR," Papyrus said. "NOW, MY TEAM WILL TAKE THIS HALF, YOUR TEAM TAKES THAT HALF. ONE HOUR, STARTING NOW."
They split up into their respective teams. Frisk's group got to work building their fort. Papyrus' height proved to be a good aid allowing him to shape the snow atop the wall they were making. He even lifted Noelle up to the top to aid in making battlements. MK helped out in his own way, nudging the snow with his face into a pile so Frisk could pack it together.
After an hour of work, both forts were finished.
"ALRIGHT, TIME!" Papyrus declared. "NOW I THINK A REASONABLE WIN CONDITION IS THAT ONE TEAM'S FORT IS STILL STANDING BY THE END, AND THE LOSE IS THAT THE FORT IS DOWN. ALSO, NO MAGIC, AS NOT EVERYONE CAN USE IT."
"Agreed," Chilldrake said.
"ALRIGHT, BEGIN!" With that, the snow began flying. Both teams tried to get close enough to knock the other's fort down, but cover fire prevented them from getting close. Frisk's fort had the advantage of giving them and Noelle the needed height to throw the balls directly down to prevent their opponents from getting near them. Snowy's fort, however, was less a fort and more a mound of snow roughly shaped into a structure.
Eventually, MK managed to get a hit on the mouse, taking it out of the fight. He almost fell to a ball from Snowy, but ducked behind the fort before it could hit him.
Noelle was still helping Frisk on top of the wall when she got nailed in the face by Chilldrake. She fell back and off, into Papyrus' arms. She announced she was okay to stave off worry so Papyrus sat her off to the side as they continued.
"Alright, here comes my ultimate snowball!" Ice Cap said, winding up an awesome throw. He threw the ball as hard as he could throwing it an amazing two feet away from him.
"Wow, that was cool," MK snarked.
"NYEH HEH HEH. NOT AS AWESOME AS MY AMAZINGLY COOL… SNOWBONE THROW!" Papyrus said, a bone made of snow in one hand. "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A PERFECLTY AERODYNAMIC PROJECTILE!" He threw the bone at his foes with all his might, the snowbone sailing through the air on a perfect trajectory….
…only to be snatched out of the air by a little white dog.
"WHAT THE… HEY! YOU MEDDLING CANINE! RELEASE THAT BONE!" Papyrus shouted.
"Bark!" said the dog, running off with it.
"GIVE IT BACK!" Papyrus yelled, running after it. "IT'S NOT EVEN A REAL BONE!" He chased after the dog and the war paused as both sides watched the chase. "COME HERE!" he shouted, still chasing the dog.
"Bark!" it said, running around the battlefield. It ran for a few moments before making a beeline to and then through Snowy's fort, turning it into powder.
"No! Our fort!" Snowy shouted.
"Ha! Your fort's gone!" MK taunted, but then jumped as the dog ran through theirs as well, turning it into powder, and sending Frisk falling onto Noelle. "Our fort!"
"HEY YOU DUMB DOG! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE RUNNING!" Papyrus reprimanded.
"Bark!" it said before running into the trees.
"COME BACK HERE WITH MY SNOWBONE!" Papyrus yelled, running after it.
"Get that dog!" Snowy shouted, his team following the skeleton.
"After it!" MK said, chasing as well.
Frisk helped Noelle up before running after the rest.
They chased it for several moments, the dog weaving through the trees. It ran, and ran, and ran…
…and ran right off a cliff. It paused in the air for a moment, looking down before it plummeted straight down.
Papyrus skidded to a stop just at the edge of the cliff. "WHOA! STOP!" he shouted. The others tried to brake, but ended up slamming into him nearly sending him over the edge. He conjured a bone from out of the snow, grabbed it and pulled himself back. They all collapsed into the snow, breathing sighs of relief.
"That was close," MK said.
"What about the dog?" Noelle asked. They all peered over the edge to see it still plummeting down before it landed in a poof of snow creating a dog-shaped hole in the snow.
"Is it okay?" Frisk asked.
The dog's head came up immediately after, shaking some snow off its fur, before hopping out and trotting through the snow, like it hadn't fallen hundreds of feet.
"IT'S FINE," Papyrus grumbled. "AND IT STILL HAS MY SNOWBONE."
"The forts are all powder now," MK informed.
"UNFORTUNATE. SEEMS WE ALL LOSE THIS TIME," Papyrus said.
"What? No! I want a rematch," Snowy demanded.
"PERHAPS NEXT TIME. YOUR PARENTS PROBABLY WANT YOU HOME NOW," Papyrus said.
Frisk looked at the bone still in Papyrus' hand. "Papy, where did that come from?" they asked.
"OH, THIS? I CONJURED IT TO PULL MYSELF BACK FROM THE EDGE," the skeleton explained.
"You can make bones? Cool!" Frisk said in awe.
"OH, THIS IS NOTHING, COMPARED TO MY… SPECIAL ATTACK," Papyrus declared. "DO YOU WANT TO SEE IT?"
"Yes!" all the kids said.
"VERY WELL. BEHOLD! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" He conjured another bone, which was the first part of it…
…only for the same dog to snatch it out of his hand again.
"WHAT?! HOW DID… GIVE THAT BACK!" Papyrus demanded.
"Get it!" Snowy shouted. Everyone tried to dogpile it, only for the dog to run away, straight over the exact same cliff it fell off last time. It hung in the air for a moment before plummeting straight down, again. It left another dog-shaped hole in the snow below, got up, shook its head off, and trotted off like nothing happened, Papyrus' special attack still in its mouth.
"How did it get back up here so fast?" MK asked after disentailing from the dogpile.
"UGH… CURSE THAT DOG AND IT'S FLAGRANT DEFIANCE OF PHYSICS," Papyrus grumbled. "WELL THEN, LET US GO HOME." He stood up, leading his posse of kids back to town.
The parents were waiting at the edge of town for their children. All were relieved when Papyrus brought the kids across the bridge. "GREETINGS, ADULT MONSTERS. AS PROMISED, I HAVE RETURNED YOUR CHILDREN TO YOU."
Rudy embraced his daughter, Toriel did the same with Frisk. All the parents were glad to see their kids alright. Rudy noticed the snow in Noelle's hair. "What happened?"
"OH, WE HAD A SNOW WAR. TWO TEAMS FIGHTING EACH OTHER WITH BALL OF SNOW!" Papyrus explained.
"Who won?" Toriel asked.
"A DOG," Papyrus grumbled. When met with questioning stares, he waved them off. "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT."
"Well, I hope you had fun," Rudy said. Noelle nodded with a smile.
"Lots. It was nice."
"WELL THEN, ANYTIME YOU WANT ME TO TAKE OVER AGAIN, JUST LET ME KNOW OR LET MY BROTHER KNOW AND HE'LL TELL ME," Papyrus said. He walked back to his house as the parents took their children home.
Toriel picked Frisk up before walking off. They waved to Noelle as they were carried away.
"So, did you have fun, my child?" Toriel asked.
"Uh huh. Can Papy hang out with us again?"
"Only if the others allow it. And, after today, they might."
Papyrus indeed watched them again, many times. Though many of the parents questioned the logic of letting someone who wasn't even a teenager watch their children, Papyrus proved to be very good at it and he was extremely fair. At one point some of them actually started paying him for his services which took the skeleton by surprise.
Sans talked to the parents to assure them that Papyrus was treating the children well and he excelled in his duties as the responsible one of the group. His enthusiasm and willingness to play netted him a couple of companions, although it tended to alienate him slightly from those he was trying to befriend.
Papyrus also loved to show off, demonstrating his skills and abilities, including his magic, which was rather advanced for someone his age. Frisk loved watching Papyrus' attack patterns, amazed at what the skeleton could do and he was careful to make sure none of the bones struck the kids.
One day while Papyrus was demonstrating a new pattern he had come up with, Frisk asked him something.
"Can you teach me?" Frisk asked.
"TEACH YOU WHAT?"
"How to use magic like you?" Frisk clarified.
"I DON'T THINK THAT IS POSSIBLE," Papyrus said. "FROM WHAT MY BROTHER TELLS ME, ALL MONSTERS HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MAGIC, WHICH ARE MAIFESTATIONS OF OUR SOULS. AND I DON'T THINK YOU'D BE ABLE TO USE BONE MAGIC LIKE I CAN."
"Oh," Frisk said. "Well, can you teach magic for me?"
"I wanna learn too," Noelle said.
"WELL, I SUPPOSE I CAN TRY. JUST DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED WHEN NOTHING HAPPENS. SOME MONSTERS DON'T LEARN MAGIC UNTIL THEY'RE MUCH OLDER," Papyrus warned.
"Yo! Can we learn too?" MK asked, gesturing to the rest.
"IF YOU CAN MANAGE," Papyrus said. "ALRIGHT, STEP ONE, FOCUS ON YOUR SOUL. IT IS THE CULIMATION OF YOUR BEING. THAT'S WHERE ALL YOUR MAGIC WILL COME FROM."
Frisk nodded before closing their eyes and focusing within. They weren't sure if they were doing it right but it's what felt natural.
"FOCUS ON WHAT'S WITHIN YOU," Papyrus instructed, his voice taking on a different tone. "IT SHOULD BE EASY, AS OUR BODIES ARE REFLECTIONS OF OUR SOULS. AFTER ALL, WE ARE MADE OF MAGIC."
Frisk focused harder. Eventually, they felt something. It was like a little warm hum in their chest. "I think I got it."
"Me too," Noelle said.
"GOOD. NOW, TRY AND FOCUS ON THAT SENSATION, FEELING THE POWER IN YOUR SOUL. THEN, EXTEND THAT FEELING OUT YOUR LIMBS AND INTO THE WORLD AROUND YOU. DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT TO TAKE ANY SPECIFIC SHAPE. LET IT FORM HOW IT WANTS. THIS CAN BE ANYTHING FROM A BULLET TO AN ELEMENT TO… WELL, ANYTHING, REALLY."
Noelle tried first, reaching her hand out, trying to will her magic out. At first nothing seemed to happen. Then the air above her hand began to shimmer and solidify. It wasn't anything impressive but a little bit of frost hovered in the air for a moment before falling into her palm.
"ICE MAGIC, IMPRESSIVE," Papyrus said.
"Bet I could do better," Snowy bragged. He tried focusing it to his beak, but nothing happened. While the others tried their hands at spells, Frisk was trying to do the same. Unfortunately nothing seemed to happen. No bones, no fire, no ice, nothing Frisk had ever seen came from their hands.
"Ugh, boring," Snowy said. "Let's play something else."
"How about tag!" MK suggested. "Paps can be the referee."
"VERY WELL. I SHALL COUNT TO THIRTY, AND WHOEVER IS 'IT' STAYS WITH ME UNTIL I REACH ZERO."
"So who's gonna be 'it'?" Noelle asked.
"I vote Snowy," MK said immediately.
"I vote MK," Snowy retorted.
"SHOW OF APPENDAGES, WHO WANTS MK TO BE 'IT'?" Papyrus asked. Only Chilldrake and Snowy raised their wings. "AND WHO WANTS SNOWY TO BE 'IT'?" Frisk, Noelle and Ice Cap raised their hands, MK raising his tail. "THAT SETTLES IT, SNOWY WILL BE 'IT'."
"Ice Cap," Snowy said to the little Monster.
"Sorry, man, but you're better at it than MK," the snowman apologized.
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE SPLIT UP, AND I SHALL COUNT TO THRITY," Papyrus said. "ONE…"
Everyone except Snowy ran off in different directions. Frisk went to the bushes while Noelle went further into the forest, though not out of sight of Papyrus.
"TWO… THIRTY!"
It took Snowy a moment to realize that the game was suddenly on. But once he did he immediately set out for his first victim. Everyone ran around to avoid getting tagged though Papyrus made sure no one went too far, summoning a bone in someone's path to remind them of the borders.
The game went on for several minutes, the position of 'it' changing almost constantly. During MK's turn, he went for Noelle, who was very fast, but MK was fast as well. Eventually, Noelle got the idea to climb a tree to stay out of the lizard's reach, as he couldn't do the same. She ran for a tree and leapt for the nearest branch. MK quickly gave up when she managed to pull herself all the way onto the limb.
"UM, THAT'S NOT A VERY GOOD IDEA, NOELLE," Papyrus warned. "YOU SHOULD COME DOWN BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS."
"Oh, okay," Noelle said, trying to find her way down. However, her young and uncoordinated body didn't have the agility needed to safely dismount, and instead she fell to the ground, letting out a yell as her arm took the brunt of the fall.
"NOELLE!" Papyrus shouted, running to her side, the game abandoned in the process.
Noelle started crying as she cradled her arm. While nothing was visibly wrong, Papyrus guessed that the arm was broken. He gently grabbed it and it caused her to yelp out in pain.
"OH DEAR, THAT MIGHT BE BROKEN," he worried.
Frisk came up, taking Noelle's hand with their own. "Arm hurt?" they asked, to which Noelle nodded. Frisk felt a pang of sympathy for her as they knew what that was like. They mimicked what their mother had done, grasping Noelle's arm gently, trying to soothe her. "It fine, it okay," they said gently.
Noelle barely listened, continuing to cry. Frisk wanted to stop her crying; to heal her like their mom did for them. They could still remember that sensation as she healed their own boo-boos. The warmth from her paws had soothed their break until it mended itself. They focused on that so hard, channeling it to their hands.
Suddenly, a faint green glow came from them. Everyone's eyes widened as Frisk's hands glowed green, the color getting stronger with each passing second. Noelle's whimpers died down until they stopped altogether. When it ended, Frisk let go and Noelle moved her arm without pain.
"WHOA…" Papyrus said in awe.
"Boo-boo stopped hurting," Noelle said.
"Arm better?" Frisk asked.
"WOWIE! DID YOU JUST… HEAL HER?" Papyrus asked in awe once the shock wore off.
"Uh, yes?" Frisk said.
"AMAZING! YOUR FIRST SPELL!"
"Wait, healing is magic too?" Frisk asked.
"INDEED, THE HARDEST OF THEM ALL, TOO," Papyrus explained. "NO MONSTER I'VE HEARD OF HAS BEEN ABLE TO USE SUCH A SPELL AT SUCH AN AGE."
"You mean… I did hard magic?" Frisk asked, amazed.
"YES. INCREDIBLE. YOUR FIRST SPELL, OH, HOW MARVELOUS!"
Frisk looked at Noelle excitedly. "Wait until mommy hears."
End of Chapter 4