Chapter Text
Beagan took a running leap and caught the edge of the vent. The caretakers would know she had slipped through before long, so she had to be quick. She wedged the penny into the screw and made quick work of removing it. Tucking the penny into her bag, she pulled on the vent until she had enough room to slip inside. The center had been a decent enough place at first, but then there had been talks of adopting bitties out like pets. That was the last thing Beagan had wanted. She was not a pet! She was still human, mostly, just really tiny. She was able to take care of herself. She pulled the vent back into place before creeping through the vents, walking carefully so as to not make any noise. If she were caught, she’d likely be put into solitary confinement and then moved into one of the glass cages that they kept the rougher bitties in. She took a right hand turn, knowing that there was likely an outside vent nearby. The room she had shared before the other three had been adopted had a window that over looked the woods near the center. There had to be an outer vent somewhere. She poked her head around a left turn in the vent and saw a light. Excited, she moved quickly towards it. It was an intake from outside! There were the woods! She could probably make it there in a couple hours and then she’d be home free!
She was about half way out the vent when she heard voices. She was so startled that her grip slipped and she began falling to the ground below. Angling herself as best she could, she tried to aim for a small bush about five feet off to the side. She caught one of the small branches, but it cracked under her weight and she fell through the branches until she hit the dirt below. She gave a hiss of pain, she had twisted her ankle in the fall. Crawling further back into the shade of the bush, she watched carefully as the polished shoes of one of the caretakers walked by with someone wearing some worn out blue high-top shoes.
“-Really can’t thank you enough for your input on this. I know a few of the bitties don’t want to be adopted, but they are really too fragile to survive on their own,” came the voice of the caretaker. It was Kenley, the one who ran the center, Beagan was certain.
“i don’t think so, but then again, i’m just consulting on this,” said a new voice. High-tops? Beagan liked the sound of his voice, deep and smooth. She crawled forward a little to get a peek at him. Whatever she had been expecting was thrown out to the four winds when she saw that High-tops was a skeleton. She gave a quiet gasp in surprise. Was he one of the monsters who had been released from the mountain a couple years back? There were a few who worked at the center, but they were rabbits and a couple of lizards. This was a walking talking skeleton! She couldn’t tear her eyes away and just stared at him. His dark sockets with small lights that just seemed to glimmer, smooth jawline that was so unlike that of a humans, a wide smile that was full of mirth; there was something about him that called to Beagan.
She limped along behind them, trying to keep out of sight while keeping them within hers. The caretaker, definitely Kenley now that she could see the back of their head and part of their profile, was heading for the front entrance to the center. At the entrance Kenley stopped and bid High-tops a good day before heading in. Beagan kept following the skeleton as he started off towards the parking lot of the center. She was trying to figure out his wardrobe. If he was consulting, shouldn’t he be dressed more formally than a blue hoodie and basketball shorts? About half-way down the path, High-tops stopped suddenly.
“ya know kiddo, you’d have a better time escaping if ya didn’t follow me,” came his quiet voice. He hadn’t even seen her, Beagan was certain of it. She lowered herself closer to the ground, watching him carefully. The skeleton turned around, eye lights trained on her. “you must be beagan, kenley’s ‘problem child.’” He raised a hand to make air-quotes. Beagan carefully backed away, getting ready to run. “ah-ah-ah, no you don’t.” Suddenly she was enveloped in a blue glow, unable to move. He gave a small flick of his hand in a “come here” motion and she was floating right to his hand.
“P-Put me down! I’m not going back there to wait to be adopted!” She screeched at him. She tried to thrash her arms but everything was sluggish and soon she was in front of him, still held by that magic glow. He cocked his head at her, his grin growing slightly.
“yep, definitely beagan. i must beagan audience with kenley again.” He gave a small chuckle before turning and walking back down the path to the center. She started trying to move again, but only managed to flip herself upside down.
“You wanna know the worst part of this place?” she asked High-tops, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly, “It’s not that they’re mean or strict. Nah, people here are pretty easy to get along with. I remember my entire life, which means I should’ve been exempt from this place. But noooo! The poor wittle Bitties need someone to take care of dem! They are so patronizing here! It’s like I’m one of the child bitties!” She tried to flip herself back upright, continuing her rant. “I’m not allowed to leave though because they can’t find hide-nor-hair of my mother and my grandma is ‘too old’ to take care of a bitty.”
“what about your dad?” High-tops asked.
“Died a year and a half before people started turning into bitties,” Beagan said quietly, finally righting herself so she was in a more upright position. “What about you? What are you doing here?” They were at the front door of the center, so she just resigned herself to her fate of the punishment that would await her.
“maybe i’ll tell ya later,” High-tops said, his smile gentle.
“Doctor Sans! Where on earth did you find her?” came a shrill voice from the receptionist desk. Beagan turned her head and saw the frizzy old woman in charge of the waiting area of the center. She couldn’t remember her name, but it wouldn’t matter soon.
“seems she took a liking to me,” he said with a chuckle. Beagan blew out her cheeks and glared at him. So his name was Sans. The blue glow dissipated and she was in full control of herself again. She flopped back in his hand and covered her eyes with her arm, groaning out her frustration. She had been so close to freedom. Maybe there would be a next time.
“I’ll inform Doctor Kenley right away! Please wait right here!” The receptionist squawked before Beagan heard her retreating footsteps rush off behind the desk.
“if you behave, maybe i’ll come back and visit ya,” Sans said and Beagan could hear the smile in his voice.
“My prince,” she deadpanned. She moved her arm to glare up at him. “I may be only four and a half inches tall, but I will find a way to punt you across the parking lot, Doctor Sans.”
Sans’ smile only grew wider. “i look forward to that day princess. it will reign supreme in my memories and i’m sure you’ll be a royal pain until then.” Beagan sniggered at the stupid puns and shook her head. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t so bad. She stood up and held her hand out to him. His smile softened as he extended his smallest phalange to her. She took it and shook it like she were shaking his hand. She heard Kenley come in then.
“Sans, I’m so sorry about Beagan. I don’t know when she slipped out. Thank you for finding her and bringing her back,” Kenley said in their most professional voice. Beagan didn’t take her eyes off of Sans as she rolled them and twisted her face into a smirk.
“nah, was my pleasure. this little lady is rather feisty and we had a good chat.” Sans said with a returned smirk, his eye lights jumping from Kenley to Beagan and back again. He lifted his hand to Kenley and Beagan jumped into Kenley’s outstretched hand, holding their thumb for stability.
“Alright Doc, take me away!” She said, throwing her hand to her forehead in a dramatic display. She turned to Sans and gave a small wave saying, “I hope to see you again soon bone-boy. You’re not half bad, ya know?”
Sans waved back with a smile before turning and walking out the front door. Beagan looked up at Kenley with a grin on her face and held her arms out like she was going to be shackled. “Shall we Doc?” Kenley just frowned and shook their head at her, turning and walking deeper into the facility.
“We won’t be putting you in solitary Bea. But you are being move into a smaller room. We had an entire family of bitties come in and they need the space.” They barely looked at her as they wandered into the hall that led to the living quarters of the bitties.
“Okay,” was her only response. She wasn’t to fussed over losing her room, it was entirely to big for just her after the others had left and no one new came in. She suspected that had been on purpose so she couldn’t give anyone any “ideas” or share her thoughts on bitty adoption. She was monitored while she was at meals and during “recess” out in the yard or in the communal areas so she was often quickly caught if she complained. Sans hadn’t been to off the mark when he said she was classified as a problem.
Kenley opened a door and and set Beagan on a shelf where her personal items had been moved to. Bookcases had come in quite handy when dividing space for bitties however, this room was certainly a lot smaller. More of a broom closet than anything. Beagan quickly noticed that there was no vent in this room for her to sneak through.
“Congratulations on your single Bea. Sonja is more than a little miffed because she had her sights set on this. Try not to rub it in her face.” Kenley was writing on a clipboard and not really paying anymore attention to her. She took a running leap and threw herself across her bed, deciding she wouldn’t pay anymore mind to Kenley either.
After a few more moments of Kenley scribbling on the clipboard, they turned and left. Beagan threw her bag over to the other side of the shelf, near her tiny dresser. It looked like she would have to plan a new escape. Maybe this time she wouldn’t be drawn to a skeleton in blue high-tops.