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Kris had been following Dess around that day, trailing behind her, like a small puppy as they explored the forests surrounding Hometown. But today they weren't alone. A wolf monster that Kris only knew as "That Asshole from the other end of town" as Dess always called him suddenly stood before them. He was as big as he was mean. And he was very big.
Before they could react he grabbed Dess by the arm, snarling "I got you now!" She struggled against him but he had a tight grip on her wrist. "What's the matter, Asshole? Did you pass me off just so no one could see me kick your butt this time?"
He raised his fist in response. Acting on instinct Kris, who both of them had ignored until now, jumped on the Asshole's arm he held their friend with and bit down hard on his hand.
The wolf yelled out in pain as he let go of Dess's wrist. The punch that was meant for Dees hit the little human instead, hitting them square in the face. The impact threw Kris backwards, blood gushing from their nose.
He hurled a line of expletives at Kris before turning his attention back to the Deer girl but she was already swinging her foot, kicking him between his legs with enough force to dislodge the shoe on her hoof. A loud howl echoed through the forest as he collapsed in agony, holding his crotch.
Dess looked around, saw Kris as they were laying in the grass, holding their bleeding nose. She grabbed Kris by the arm and pulled them back on their feet.
"Come on, Kris!" she shouted as she pulled the kid behind her and both started into a mad dash. They ran and ran and ran, not paying attention which direction they went, cutting through the brush and trees, hoping to break the line of sight between them and him.
Finally, coming by an old train bridge spanning over a river they stopped and hid under its brickworked pillars.
Catching her breath a small, nervous chuckle came out of Dess’s mouth “Ah, damn. That was close. He never expected a human chomping down on him, huh Kris? I sure didn’t” She smiled at them. “Man, my heart’s beating like crazy, look” She took their hand and held it up to her chest.
Kris’s face flushed, they could feel both the tremors in her chest and the trembling of her hand.
Dess looked at them for a second and let go. She turned her head away. Now her heart was beating even more though it was out of embarrassment than anything else.
“Geeze, do they have a crush on me?" she thought to herself. “Is that why they're following me everywhere I go? I guess we’re both part of the weird club. The mean girl, the creepy human, always getting into trouble. A match made in hell.” The Dreemurs were pretty much all the contact outside her family that she had. And even that was simply because their parents had known each other for ages. Kris the Human, the first and only one most monsters in Hometown had ever met. The creepy kid whose red eyes glinted between their messy hair like jewels, a little menace that caused havoc with their pranks
And they had their use afterall. “Heh, that asshole never saw you coming…No!” She chastised herself “Now you’re starting to sound like mom.”
She took a deep breath “I should shut it down, probably..” her line of thought continued, “Yeah, I should apologise. That was a bit weird, just grabbing their hand and forcing them to feel me up like that. I mean how would I feel if Asriel would put my hand on his… Okay wrong example! Dammit Dess, focus.”
She peered over to Kris, their face still red, they were staring at their hand. And now they were sniffing it. “Alright, at least the weirdness balance just got restored!”
“Soo, you like the cinnamon shampoo?” Dess winced as the words left her mouth. She notice how Kris’s body tensed up. “Oh yeah, good going there girl. Why did you say that? Don’t worry I can still save this.. " She cleared her throat “You know I’m flattered and all. I mean, I’m so cool and awesome, no wonder you got a crush on me.” She could see the kid shivering. “B-but to be blunt, I’m way outta your league. Too high maintenance, you saw how everyone’s out to get a piece of me. Now Noelle, there’s a girl more your speed hah..ha ha …”
Without a word Kris sprang up and ran. Dess called out to them but they already crossed past the bushes and were out of sight. She laid down on her back. “Great, Dess. Handled that like a champ.”
She buried her face in her hands and let out a groan. “This would be so much easier if I could just hit them with a bat. Nah, the little freak probably would like that too.” She reflected for a moment “Oh god, is that why Kris keeps scaring Noelle?” Looking out over the river bank her mind wandered. “Everyone in my life so is fucking weird! My mom with her blades, Kris’s with her church thing. Dad and Santa, …Asgore. Noelle’s afraid of everything but keeps reading ghost stories before bed, Azzy’s got so many guilt-complexes he’s apologizing for breathing and Kris… is Kris...”
She curled up “I’m probably the biggest weirdo of all who can only be friends with other weirdos”
Suddenly a scream echoed along the river.
Dess’s eyes flew open. “Kris.”
Dess ran along the embankment towards the direction she thought she heard the scream coming from. Wearing one shoe put her off balance. She stumbled. Angrily Dess kicked it off her hoof. Ahead she could hear the Asshole’s angry shouting. A cold wave of dread flushed through her body. Then she saw him, looming over Kris who was laying on the ground holding their stomach. She leapt at him, hitting him with all her strength and brought him to fall. She sat on his chest, her fists smashing into his face yelling and screaming and for a moment it seemed she had the upper hand. But then she felt his hand on her throat. He swung her to the side, smashing her into the ground. Now he was on top of her, both of his hands in a vice like grip around her neck. She tried desperately to free herself, tore at his arms, his hands, kept punching his face but he didn’t flinch. Then she saw it, there was a fire in his eyes. A burning madness that wouldn't stop until she's dead. She could feel herself waning, her movements became desperate. Darkness clouded her vision. All of a sudden she heard a thump followed by the sound of a pained exhalation of air, the grip around her throat loosened and a large mass of body collapsed its weight on her.
She opened her eyes just in time to see her assailant's face, contorted into a mask of pain, melting away into dust.
And then Kris dropped down onto her. They must have been kneeling on his back. She looked at them. Small crimson pupils inside eyes reddened from crying stared back at her. They still held a large rock firmly in their hands. A dreadful reality dawned on her and her mind locked up.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Dess?” Kris's mumbly voice snapped her back to reality. “Are you okay?”
In answer she reached out, touching their hands that still clutched tightly around the jagged stone. “Yeah” She said, her voice weak from the ordeal. “You can let go of that now.” Gently she pulled away the stone from Kris’s hands and threw it into the river. The wet, grimy dust that stuck to both of them sparkled in the afternoon sun like a perverse mockery of fresh snow. She pulled Kris close into a long, silent embrace, cradling their head on her shoulder. In return Kris pressed themself against Dess. Tears ran down their faces.