Chapter Text
It was just an ordinary home. Well not completely ordinary, as the lawn had a couple rather strangely shaped hedges, but the whole thing gave off a typical warm cute family home vibe. This couldn't be the right place. The home certainly matched the kind voice on the phone call earlier but there was no way anything having to do with magic would be taking place in such a sweet home. Cal looked down at the flyer held tightly in her hands. The paper had caught her eye outside of a small neighborhood bookstore. It was pretty normal looking, save for a few children's drawings along the bottom of the flyer.
"Are you a human with an affinity for magic? You are not alone! The monsters that blessed your family line are here for you now and are willing to teach you about your inherent magic. Please help us bridge the gap between humans and monsters! You have no need to fear your magic, and I will show you."
Maybe this was a hoax or a something. The woman on the phone seemed genuine as Cal had practically interrogated her on the phone call earlier. Everything just seemed too casual, it made Cal feel on edge about the whole thing. It at least had to be worth a shot though. Probably. Maybe.
She should at least stop standing in a stranger's lawn, gaping at their house like an idiot.
With a deep breath she strode to the door, leaves crunching underfoot. As she reached the porch voices could be heard from behind the thick white door, increasing in volume every now and then. Maybe this was a bad time. She should come back later. Or perhaps even never, that might be good.
No. She couldn't pass up the opportunity if this was true. Her mother had told her all she knew about the magic that flowed through her veins but had always punctuated it with the warning to never use it. There had to be more to it though, something that she just didn't understand. Before she could talk herself out of it Cal knocked on the door, silencing all the voices inside. Maybe it wasn't too late to throw herself off the porch and hide behind one of the bushes.
She successfully managed to take a step back before the door opened, turning her attention to focus on the stranger now in the entryway. "Oh! Hello there! How can I help you?" The voice was the same as the one on the phone but it seemed to belong to a woman who towered over Cal. Well, she wasn't just a woman but rather a monster woman, and she didn't really tower of Cal, though she was probably about a good foot and a half taller than the girl. The woman appeared to be some kind of goat creature donned in a warm smile and modest brown clothes. Despite being a complete stranger she managed to radiate a kind and motherly aura.
"Uhh h-hi! I saw this flyer-" Cal held it up for emphasis, "I called earlier but I wasn't sure if I uh..."
"Oh yes do come in. Three other humans have arrived so please don't worry about being alone with monsters." The woman stepped to the side and ushered the girl inside gently. "There are about, hmm, seven others whom you may meet if you decide to come again. Oh dear! I've been forgetting my manners, haven't I?" She closed the front door behind her and held her hand out, "I'm Toriel, it's very nice to have you in my home."
Cal hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "I'm Cal. Nice to meet you." She took the large furry hand in front of her and gave a small shake, noting the relief that spread over Toriel's face. Had she been worried about her first impression?
As their handshake broke Cal turned her attention to the room she was now standing in. It was a large, but still rather comfortable feeling, living room. There were pictures of various monsters- and was that a human child?- on the walls, bookcases nearly filled to the brim with books and knick knacks, a cozy recliner seated right next to a rather warm looking fireplace, various vases filled with lovely yellow flowers, and a big comfy couch with four seated strangers.
One appeared to be a girl with rather bright lavender hair who gave a very friendly wave. Cal gave a small wave back as her eyes traveled to the others. A rather bored looking boy, someone who appeared to be as nervous as her, and a child that seemed to be the one in the photos on the wall. The child smiled kindly and gave a small wave before signing hello.
"Oh!" Cal shrunk in a bit as she realized she had been louder than she intended. She timidly signed hello back, grateful that her father had taught her ASL.
"Ah yes, that one is my dear child, Frisk." Toriel strode away from the door, beaming proudly as she went to straighten up a few things on a bookcase. "There are a few others here but they are getting refreshme-"
"Tori? Did someone else arrive?" A voice came from the opposite side of the room, a little down a hallway. Another monster emerged from the hall. They appeared to be goat in origin like Toriel, but were even larger than her and donned with a rather impressive set of horns. He was followed rather abruptly but a- oh god seriously a skeleton?
"THERE'S ANOTHER HUMAN?" He nearly shouted, a very distinct tone of joy to his voice. Cal and the nervous human on the couch jumped a little bit at the sudden burst of loudness.
Toriel turned swiftly and narrowed her eyes, "Papyrus please do try to lower your volume. I'd hate to bother our guests." Her expression softened as she smiled gently, her gaze never resting on the larger goat, who seemed to deflate a bit at being ignored.
"OH! Oh, yes, I am very sorry!" The skeleton lowered his voice and brought a gloved hand up to his mouth apologetically. Cal's expression turned a bit quizzical. Why did a skeleton need gloves? Or a silly Christmas sweater in the middle of September? Come to think of it, the sweater was more out of place then the gloves, as the rest of his outfit resembled more of a Halloween costume then typical clothing.
"Um, hi hello." Cal spoke nervously to the new monsters. They had been on the surface for a couple years but they had still mostly kept to themselves as a whole, leaving Cal very unused to monsters in general still.
"It's very nice to meet you-" The large goat man went to move forward towards Cal before being beaten out by the skeleton. Papyrus was it? He clasped her hand with both of his, pulling it up from the resting place at her side.
"It is so good to meet you! I hope we can become great friends human!" Well he sure was friendly. Cal appreciated the sentiment but was still mildly put off by being face to face with a rather tall skeleton. She was used to feeling short around others, only rising to about 5'1", but the height of these monsters was fairly ridiculous. He let go of her hand and gave her a surprisingly gentle smile in response to her nervous one, probably sensing her discomfort. It was strange how he resembled more of a caricature of a skeleton then an actual one, though he wasn't some human's remains so it should have been no surprise.
"It's nice to meet you too." Cal tried to look a little bit less nervous in an attempt to be nice to someone so friendly.
Toriel moved to the middle of the room swiftly, "Come come, please have a seat by the other guests. I'd like to fully explain where I'm coming from as to ask you all to come here." She beamed as Cal made her way to the couch, sitting down next to the rather small Frisk. Papyrus sat on the arm of the couch next to her, crossing his legs over one another while mirroring Toriel's smile. The greater goat fumbled around some, unsure of exactly where he should go. Toriel sighed, "Asgore just sit in the chair." He hung his head a bit and shuffled to the recliner as she regarded him bluntly. Cal stifled a small laugh at how silly the scene was.
"Aw c'mon Tori, this doesn't need tibia serious thing." The voice came to the right of Cal. She turned with a small jump to see yet another monster seated next to her, Frisk now on seated on their lap instead of the cushion. Cal pulled away in surprise, bumping into Papyrus as she did. How did another skeleton manage to sit down next to her without her knowing? Especially one big enough to have his side nearly touching her. He turned his attention to her and gave her a rather large grin in response to her surprise, as if he had just told a hilarious joke. Cal gave a small nervous grin, unsure of how to respond exactly.
"Sans! My brother, where have you been!" Papyrus put his hands on his hips in a slightly childish show of anger. Of course the first two skeletons she'd ever meet were related. Cal prayed silently that they didn't have even sneakier relations somewhere around here.
"Oh you know, around." The new skeleton gave a bit of a shrug along with a bit of a laugh at his own vague answer. Cal narrowed her eyes at the new guest, at least until she saw how positively delighted the child on his lap was at the commotion. She gave Frisk a gentle smile as their eyes met hers.
Toriel gave another small sigh, drawing the general attention back to her. "Please do not frighten our guests Sans. I feel as though this is already not the most comfortable situation for them."
"Sorry about that." He gave a small apologetic laugh, scratching the back of his head before resting it along the back of the couch. His fingers- finger bones??- grazed along Cal's back, making her move forward slightly due to the uncomfortable feeling. Did that appearifying ass just chuckle at her?
"Alright everyone, here is what I was thinking..."
+
Long ago there were two races, humans and monsters. Humans feared that which they did not understand and began to attack the monsters. Before the start of the ancient one-sided war several humans approached the monsters, requesting to aid them against the hard hearted humans. Some monsters turned them away, some cautiously agreed to their help, and others welcomed the humans wholeheartedly. The special few who were trusted completely were blessed with a tiny bit of a monster's own magic to have as their own, living forever in their family line. It was a hopeful, yet ultimately futile, attempt to create a bridge between the feuding races.
The monsters had fled into hiding but the blessed humans remained. They adjusted to hiding their magic, denying it when necessary. As the years went by some had forgotten about the origins of their abilities, some forgetting the very magic in their blood.
But Toriel remembered. And she knew there were humans who remembered, who knew of the magic in their veins. If they did not help during war times, perhaps the ancient bond could help relations during these peaceful times. Even if it did not, maybe she could at least help who she could, allowing them to love and understand a very special aspect of themselves.
So she decided to put out a flyer. It's best to start small right? Every other week she'd have the special humans over so she could teach them, if they so chose. Granted, it was ambitious, but she thought she should at least try. The others had given her encouragement and even offered to help her teach the humans, increasing her hopes of a positive impact. She had still been shocked when she had received the first phone call.
+
"So really that's it! I'd like to have you all over- with others of course- to learn about magic every other week or so." Toriel made sweeping hand motions as she spoke. "But most importantly I can try to teach you how to control your own magic. It's nothing to be afraid of." Once again a very motherly look spread across her face.
"That sounds awesome! My magic is so hit and miss, I'd love to be able to understand it!" The girl with lavender hair spoke up first, obviously very enthusiastic about the idea.
The bored looking boy shrugged lightly, "I don't really know if this is for me, but thanks for the offer lady." Toriel nodded understandingly in response to him, a touch of sadness to her eyes.
"I-I um.. feel that might be my case as well. I came just to be sure, but I thank you for the offer." The very nervous individual smiled apologetically as they spoke very softly.
"I completely understand, but I thank you both for hearing me out." The gentle goat woman gave a slight bow to them. "If you ever change your minds I will still be here, though I do wish you the best."
As the two started shuffling to get up the stout skeleton turned towards Cal, "And what about you? You stickin' around or leavin' too, kid?" She pulled away, unaware that she had settled back into the couch near him. The sudden attention had her fumble over her words a bit.
"Uh I um.." She looked to each of the monster's faces, seeing each of their hopeful expressions. Except for Sans, who wore the same big grin he had upon his face since she had met him, though this one seemed to be a tad bit malicious. Cal narrowed her eyes at him once more, getting another small chuckle from him before turning her attention towards the woman who had invited her there.
"I'll do it."