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Asriel had recently turned 2 years old. His parents said he was already growing up fast and that soon he would be the man of the house, something that made him very happy. His world was growing larger by the day, too: there was always something new to learn every day, something new to do. Sometimes it was a bit scary, but his parents always took his hand and helped him be brave, easing him forwards. With them, he knew he could take anything on.
That day, he took on an unfamiliar group of monsters.
Everyone was in front of the Dreemurr house. Asriel hid behind his parents as they talked to two monsters that had come by earlier. He could barely hear their conversation as he peeked out from the safety of his dad’s legs, taking a good look at them: they were very different from any monster he’d ever seen, very interesting. They were much smaller than mom and dad, with their fur being a different colour. But they had horns too, like them - maybe they were related? Asriel wondered if his horns would grow in like theirs instead of his parents’.
Suddenly, one of the monsters knelt down, approaching Asriel. He froze, thinking that maybe he wouldn't actually notice him if he stayed still behind dad's leg.
“Well, who do we have here? If it isn't the one and only Asriel Dreemurr! Nice to meet you, fahaha!” - the monster smiled at him. Both his smile and his voice reminded him of dad's - a lot about him did. Asriel simply stared at him.
Asriel's father gently placed his hand on his head - “Asriel, this is Rudy. He's one of daddy's friends, from way back when in college. Say hi!”
“Hi…” - Asriel waved his hand at the monster. He didn't know dad had friends like these. Asriel had a lot of friends: the pippins, the drawings, the cactus… But none of them like his dad's. None of them like Rudy, or any monster.
“Awww…” - Rudy stood back up and headed over to the other unknown monster - “Asriel, this is Carol.” - Carol smiled and waved. She was smiling, but her face was scary, like the one mom did when he didn't want to finish what she made for dinner. He wondered if she was also dad's friend.
“Oh my goodness!” - Toriel suddenly exclaimed, as she knelt down beside Carol - “Is that December? My, you have gotten so big already!” - Asriel turned his head towards his mom, wondering what she was talking about. He was still learning, but mom had told him December was the month where everyone got presents. How could a month get big? Was it because there were going to be a lot of presents that year?
Suddenly, another, smaller monster came out from behind Carol. She looked a bit like her, but tiny. She waved, just like he did, and he wondered if she was also learning like he was - “Hi, I'm December.” - Carol's hand reached down and gently stroked her hair.
Asriel looked at her. December was a weird name, he thought, but maybe he just didn't know enough yet; he really wanted to know more about this weird girl. His dad nudged him forward - “Come on son, say hi to December.”
Asriel looked at the small girl and waved his hand again - “Hello… I am Asriel.” - the girl returned the wave. The goat monster couldn't stop looking at her: she had no horns, like him. Would hers some out like mom and dad's or like Rudy's? - “Why’s your name December?" - Asriel was surprised by the sudden laughter of the adults around him. Well, December was a funny name really.
Asgore placed his hands on his son's shoulders, kneeling down - “Son, why don't you show December dad's flowers? I'm sure she'd love to see them.” - the kid got excited. He loved going to dad's garden! He'd been learning the name of every flower and dad let him help out with digging some times! He nodded enthusiastically to his father.
Asriel stepped forward, offering his hand to the girl. It was the rules: if he wanted to go anywhere, he had to take mom and dad's hand first. He wondered if December knew this; if not maybe he could teach her.
The girl hesitated for a second before taking his hand. It felt strange: it was not as big as mom or dad’s, and much colder, but it didn't matter. Asriel turned around and headed to the garden, just a few steps away from where they stood.
“Um… this is the garden.” - Asriel let go of December's hand and looked at her. Her eyes were fixed on the colourful display before her, and he couldn't blame her. He always loved helping his dad out with the garden and just looking at it. The flowers were his friends, too.
“... This is a rose.” - Asriel pointed to a red flower before him. December looked at it up close, but didn't get too close. Roses were dangerous, his dad said, and she seemed to know that at least. He pointed to another flower nearby - “That is a lily. It is purple.” - the girl looked at him and nodded. He pointed to another flower - “And that one is a daffodil! My favorite!” - Asriel exclaimed proudly. He had finally learned its name by heart. It was a complicated word and he was proud of himself.
December got close to the daffodil. Too close, he thought, as her hand reached for the stem - “No! Dad doesn't like when you touch the flowers!” - Asriel warned her, making her recoil back. He remembered his dad saying you need to let them grow before picking them.
“Hohoho, don't worry Asriel!” - his dad's voice startled him slightly, coming from behind. He knelt down next to the daffodil, and gently, he took the flower in his hand, offering it to Asriel. The goat monster looked at it. He was pretty sure daffodils were his favourite, but it was hard to choose. All flowers were beautiful - “Asriel, why don't you give your new friend December the daffodil?”
Asriel looked at the flower and then at the doe monster, who seemed as surprised as he was. He thought it over for a second; he really liked daffodils, should he really give this one away? Then, he remembered that his parents told him he had to share his stuff. After a few seconds, he held the flower forward towards December. Like him, she hesitated for a second, before taking the flower and bringing it to her nose to smell it.
“December, what do we say?” - Carol piped up, raising an eyebrow.
“... Thanks!” - December said, smiling towards Asriel.
“You're welcome!” - Asriel smiled back. He felt proud of himself for remembering what you had to say.
Rudy laughed - “Look at these two! Already getting on well, fahaha!” - he knelt down, placing his hand on his daughter's shoulder - “But we gotta go home now. A lot of stuff to unpack still, you know?” - he pointed to Asriel and then waved - “Say goodbye to your new friend, sweetheart. Bye Asriel!”
“Bye Asriel!” - the two monsters waved goodbye and Asriel responded in kind. Rudy took his daughter on her shoulders, and, after saying a few more things to Asgore and Toriel, he left with his wife in tow.
Toriel sighed as she turned towards her family - “I'm so glad we ended up as neighbours.” - she looked at her husband - “I mean, there's not many other people who could have afforded that place, but still. I'm happy to have them around. It’s been years…”
“What's a neighbour?” - Asriel asked. He was learning a lot today, and getting to use a lot of the stuff he had learned previously. It had been a very fun day, and he hadn't even had lunch yet!
“Well Asriel, a neighbour is someone who lives next to you.” - Asriel tilted his head and looked around. Were the flowers neighbours? His mother laughed - “Look. Their house is going to be just down the road.” - she said, pointing in the direction of the town - ”You're gonna be able to visit your new friend whenever you want!”
Asriel smiled, looking into the distance. My new friend…
It was naptime. Asriel normally fell asleep just about anywhere after a generous serving of mom's homemade pie, but that day it was different. Much to his parent's chagrin, the boy would not settle down. He couldn't! He went up and down the stairs, stopping by every little thing. He made sure to tell everyone: the TV, the playing cards strew across the floor, the dust bunnies that gathered around some corners. Asriel needed everyone to know.
“I made a new friend today!”