Chapter Text
Throbbing….
Aching….
The bitter taste of copper and bile strained your already weak and tender throat….
What was going on?
Where were you?
Why couldn’t you open your eyes?
Why couldn’t you move?
It hurt…..So badly….
Why did it hurt….?
WHERE did it hurt?
It seemed your whole body was on the verge of falling apart.
Excruciating regardless of where each limb laid….
And yet you weren’t certain of having any limbs at all.
……Were you dying?
….Yes. Yes, of course. That’s what this was. Wasn’t it?
There was no other explanation. Surely.
The fading senses to all but the wheezing protests of your torn flesh were a testament to it….
You were dying.
Ironic, really. The surface you’d soon pass on is one unfamiliar.
You couldn’t recall a single trace of what led to your now imminent demise.
A fight, maybe? A freak accident? Homicide?
Perhaps a self inflected action?
Not much point to dwell on it, you supposed.
The agony was numbing the consciousness driving your thoughts, it was all too tiring to wonder.
You’d much rather sleep….
Yes, sleep did sound good….
However dreamless it may be….
Maybe….a rest would free you from the burden….
……………
…………….
……………..
………………
……………….
………………..
What was this feeling?
It was….Cold.
But also….Warm.
Devoid of senses other than the tactile sensation from what you could only assume was the creeping of death- and yet YOU stayed consistent.
Was death usually this static? Did it always pass by so slowly?
….Or were you already dead?
….
A voice.
Far off and vague but nonetheless a beacon of light in your drowned out thoughts.
You couldn’t understand the vowels they uttered….Nor the tone….
For a moment you weren’t certain it was a voice at all.
….Though, it felt comforting. In a strange way….
Even when you couldn’t make out the words, your form soothed over.
It was dark….
Somehow deeper than pitch.
….And it was still….
………
……….
….this was the end.
Until it wasn’t.
Your senses shot blindly into the darkness, the suddenly overwhelming texture of wet grass poking through your flimsy tattered shirt.
Next came your sense of smell and taste, the faint remainders of stale chips lingered on your tongue, and your nostrils flared in response to the scent of the damp forest.
….The forest?
You instinctively brought your trembling hands to feel around the area.
Yes. Yes this was the forest.
Presumably after a small drizzle of rain….
What were you doing in the middle of the woods of all places?
“OH MY GOD-“ a shrill and oddly familiar voice shook the ground below you.
“HUMAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!
AH- HERE, LET ME HELP YOU UP!”
You didn’t have time to react nor respond as whoever the voice belonged to retrieved your limp form up from the grassy metaphorical tomb.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL THE WAY UP HERE? THE CITY IS MILES AWAY! AND AS FAR AS I KNOW WE DON’T HAVE ANY NEW NEIGHBORS- AT LEAST NOT HUMAN ONES-“
….what?
The urge to squint open your eyes won over, leading you to wearily blinking around with the attempt of assessing your situation more clearly.
You were….Held above the ground still.
“AH- I’M SORRY, I’LL PUT YOU DOWN!”
Grass faintly tickled against your legs as you were gently set back onto the forest floor.
It came a slight relief, knowing you could in fact stand by yourself and the prior concern of being dead was exaggerated.
“….Thank-“ you began to croak out a reply but the words died within your throat when you were finally able to get a good look at him.
He was….Tall.
And a skeleton.
And somehow smiling without any lips.
….were his eye sockets sparkling too!?
“NO NEED, HUMAN! PATROLLING THE FORESTS IS ACTUALLY A HOBBY OF MINE, SO FINDING A NEW FRIEND WAS A PLEASANT SURPRISE!”
A new….?
What?
“AH- WHERE ARE MY MANNERS!? I AM PAPYRUS! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!”
“Ah….” His upbeat and eager introduction was overwhelming, to say the least.
Definitely not the behavior you’d expect from someone who just found a random person lying on the ground unresponsive….
The prospect of him being a walking talking set of oddly proportioned bones was more than enough to warrant a scream.
And so, promptly, of course- you did.
The towering man suddenly jumped back, as if YOU’D been the crazy one to yelp in terror, wincing like you’d burned him.
“AH….I TAKE IT YOU….HAVEN'T MET A SKELETON MONSTER BEFORE?”
Well- yeah! Of course you hadn’t! Monsters didn’t exist- the very term was made up…
Crafted by parents from centuries before your time, trying to scare their children into eating their vegetables and such.
You’re sure any responsible and reasonable person would’ve gotten over the notion of monsters existing well before adulthood but-
….
He….WAS a monster. And he was standing in front of you….so, was it really more believable to base your assumption of monsters on the things you believe you were told before….? Or the actual living breathing talking skeleton standing directly in front of you?
God this whole dilemma was too much to handle. First you woke up from what you misdiagnosed as death- with no memories of being there- then you met a man who turned out not to be a man at all, and instead, a tall eerily animated skeleton wearing a “cool dude” tank top…. Because apparently skeleton monsters existed- and his question earlier only led you to assume there must be more….Including non-skeletons.
“How the hell are you even talking????” You gawked, squinting at his mandibles “OH, I DONT REQUIRE TENDONS OR MUSCLES TO BIND MY JAW TOGETHER, ITS QUITE FASCINATING, REALLY! BELIEVE ME I WAS JUST AS SHOCKED WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT HUMANS LOSING BABY TEETH! NYEHEHE!”
….What.
You huffed a sigh of exasperation reluctantly. If whatever injured you before didn’t kill you, then this whole monsters being real epiphany surely would.
“I’LL ADMIT, HUMAN…. I’M FAR TOO WORRIED TO CONTINUE MY TRAIL AND LEAVE YOU HERE SO…. I THINK ITS BEST IF I GUIDE YOU DOWN THE MOUNTAIN A BIT. YOU COULD ACCESS A PHONELINE THAT WAY. AND MY RESIDENCE IS ONLY A SHORT WALK, THE LOWER ALTITUDE MAY HELP CLEAR YOUR HEAD.”
You stared at him dumbly for a moment, processing his bold statement of goodwill.
You didn’t think you could trust him just yet….He was a walking talking skeleton after all- but you didn’t have much of a choice.
And when your only options were following him down the hiking path or limping your way alone at risk of further injury? Well….The safer option was obvious.
“….Okay.”
He nodded enthusiastically, gesturing for you to follow him as he slowly started descending down the trail he appeared from, keeping a close eye to make sure you didn’t collapse again.
God, what did you get yourself into….