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You knew something wasn't quite right when the smell of burnt cookies hit your nose, though the little dancing flames around the room kept you distracted as you paced on. They were little will-o-wisp like creatures that completely enraptured your attention as you looked around the hall, noticing small scorch marks on various parts of the floor. So... A fire monster lived here? Though, you got the answer to your silent question soon enough as a sing-song crackle rang past your ears.
"Gihihihihihi... Have you heard what they said?"
The sudden break in the silence made you jump, you hadn't been expecting a confrontation! Then again, with your attention on the floating flames, you hadn't expected much of anything. You proceeded cautiously as the voice continued, not daring to make any sudden movements. You didn't want this monster to lash out at you like others had.
"They said a human with a striped sweater would come through!"
The exclamation caused you to look down at your sweater, even though you already knew they were referring to you. News spread in the Underground fast, and it had obviously reached this elemental's 'ears' before you had a chance to say anything. Dang, luck just didn't seem to be on your side lately!
"I heard that they looooooove fire."
The voice dragged out the word 'love' and you found yourself halting in confusion. Weren't... weren't they supposed to say 'hate' fire? And while you didn't really hate fire, as with anyone the concept of being scorched alive didn't sit well with you. Though, this was an unexpected turn so you stopped completely, looking around for the source of the voice.
"I heard that they hate to stomp them out."
Of course you didn't like to stomp out fires! You'd burn your feet! And, well... Yes, you liked fire. But you didn't love it! It was warm but it wasn't as if it was an actual creature, or a person. It was just a form of energy!
"I heard that they like to feed them twigs!"
That one got a little giggle out of you. Who didn't like tending to small fires? It was fun to watch the fire grow and consume what you put into it! Of course only if it was contained. If it wasn't you might end up burning an entire town to ashes. You may like fire but you weren't about to be an arsonist.
"I heard..."
You looked up when the voice paused. Standing before you was a man made of fire, his light blue suit and foggy, swirled glasses clashing with his bright orange flames. He held out his hand to you and a wide, bright white grin broke the monotony of his swirling flames.
"That they're quite the fan of tea parties!"
You took the fire elemental's hand, reciprocating his jagged smile with a grin of your own. "Why yes! I do love a good tea party! Especially with a handsome flame such as yourself~!"
Your line got a laugh out of the monster, a comforting one that sounded like the crackle of an enthusiastic flame, if such a thing could exist. "Gihihihihi... My, my! I wasn't told that this human was such a flirt as well! Had I known, I would've grabbed my fiery best date-suit!"
A pun. This man. This man of fire. Responded with a pun. As well as a pick-up line of his own?
Oh boy. Oh no...
Okay you might love certain fires.
You quickly found out that this monster wasn't joking about tea parties, as he led you to a small table with several seats, two open ones and the rest occupied by the small wisps you'd seen earlier.
"Oh, what a cute set-up!" You smiled. It reminded you of playing with plastic tea-sets as a child, pouring drinks for all your stuffed animals as if they were the most esteemed of guests.
"Thank you, my dear!" He bowed slightly and pulled out one of the open chairs, motioning for you to sit down.
"Such a gentleman you are, Mr.-- er-- um..." You trailed off as you sat in your seat, embarrassed that you hadn't even asked him for his name. You hid your face in your hands when you heard the monster chuckle jovially, obviously not perturbed by your lapse of manners.
"You can just call me Grillby." He hummed, carefree as he poured you a cup of whatever tea he had made. From the smell, you decided it might have something to do with cinnamon.
"Alright Grillby. I'm !" You smiled, lifting your head from your hands and looking across the table at Grillby, who had just sat down in his own seat.
"It is lovely to meet you, . Would you care for a Flare Cookie? Made by flames, for flames, and of flames!" He smiled, offering you a plate of delicious looking cookies from across the table.
"Sure! I'd love one!" You grabbed one off the plate and took a bite. Despite practically scorching off your taste buds, the pastry was actually quite good. So, you smiled through the pain your burned mouth was screaming about and complimented him with a quick, "This is really good!"
"Thank you! I worked extra hard on this batch since I heard a human with good taste was coming through!" The flames atop his head were sparking and popping with what you could only assume was pure glee, and you'd be the first to admit that you found it very cute.
"Although..." You paused, not wanting to hurt the fire's feelings, "It was kinda too hot... I think I burned my tongue.."
"Oh.." The poor guy looked crestfallen, "Well... I'd offer you a glass of water, but... I never touch the stuff."
You giggled slightly and just waved him off. "No worries! It was still really good. It's just that most humans don't have tolerance for hot things past a certain point."
Grillby tilted his head, obviously baffled by the concept, "Really?"
You blinked before a grin smeared across your face and you leaned forward, elbows resting on the table with a soft thump. "Yeah! See we may have powerful souls... But our physical forms are actually fairly fragile, yet resilient at the same time!" Your face scrunched as you contemplated your own train of thought, "Humans are pretty weird, aren't they?"
You could tell that you had Grillby hooked on your talk of what humans could handle and what they couldn't, so you delved deeper into the conversation, idly sipping at your tea when Grillby wanted to throw in his two cents on a certain topic.
"And that's why humans can only tolerate temperatures up to a certain degree!" You finished a particularly long winded explanation you'd gotten into about the particulars of human capabilities when it came to handling heat.
"I never knew! Here I thought humans could brave any climate.." Grillby trailed off, lost in thought as he processed all of your words.
You flipped out the upgraded phone Undyne had given you back at her lab and audibly gasped when you noticed the time. You and your cute, bubbly fire companion had spent over two hours on idle chit-chat. Though you certainly didn't mind, you had been hoping to get to Queen Toriel's castle soon! "Oh gosh... Grillby, it's been a lovely time chatting with you but I have places to go and monsters to talk to, and all that--" You trailed off, blushing a faint red as you carried on.
" , It's fine dear! It was a pleasure to have such company today!" Grillby flashed you another brilliant white smile you'd come to love in the little time you'd talked with him.
"What do I owe you for this today? Surely I shouldn't just leave you without some kind of tip at least!" You mumbled, rummaging through your pockets to try and gather the amount of gold you deemed fit to give your fiery companion.
"Oh, please. Your company was payment enough!" Grillby assured as he stood up, walking over to you and placing his hands on yours to stop your incessant scramble.
You looked up at him, unbelieving. "Really? Just... You're fine with taking nothing?"
The flame nodded, giving you a small smile. "Yes. You don't need to pay me at all, dear. It was just a simple get-together between friends! No need to pay for such an occasion."
You flushed once more, feeling silly for wanting to pay him for a party he had thrown. "Well, uh.. I guess I'll be on my way then?" You flashed Grillby a sheepish grin.
He nodded and gently wrapped his arms around you, "Of course. It was a delight to meet you, . I look forward to having another tea party with you!"
Smiling wide and hugging him back before you left, you walked away with a few Flame Cookies in your pockets and a definite resolve to come back and see Grillby when you'd finished your adventure.