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Noelle always trusted Kris.
She was sure that she did. Kris was her long term neighbour, she'd spent nights watching their TV, Dess and Asriel on the sofa, while she and Kris watched the TV so close, she knew Toriel would scold them for being so close. Kris wouldn't hurt her. Kris was a sleepy, quiet person, a good person.
But, that belief wasn't exactly stable. Kris was trying to make her stronger. Noelle kept whispering that to herself, ignoring the coldness in her hands. Kris' eyes and words were colder.
The spell, IceShock, came naturally. She guessed that was her ability in whatever this place was. She didn't see Kris do anything besides defend. She did all the attacking. It'd be a lie to say she liked that. But Kris was trying to make her stronger. She felt her skin grow thicker, her spells and words get sharper.
Kris got sharper too. A bit too sharp. Their eyes never left the path ahead, even as they came to multiple puzzles, Kris’ eyes said enough.
She froze every puzzle. Just like they asked. That was what they needed to do, to get stronger, to make their skin thicker, to make their spells work better. Despite the fact that Kris only used IceShock. She had healing, she had the ability to pacify their enemies. But Kris never asked them to, so they didn't. They watched her kill enemy after enemy, until the spell got powerful enough to kill enemies with one sentence.
But a small feeling crept up her back, Noelle steeling her resolve and finally beginning to talk.
“Kris?” Noelle asked, lingering behind Kris as they kept walking. “Maybe on one of our next enemies, we could.. Pacify them?” She suggested, hesitantly brushing a finger over the ring. She swore there was a person in the snowglobe. She didn't think about it for too long.
Kris stayed quiet, continuing to walk ahead. Their hand was readied at the side with their sword. Their feet were each the same pace, almost robotic as Noelle followed behind. She wanted to grab their arm and ask why they were so quiet, so cold with every one of their words.
“Kris. Please, listen to me..” Noelle begged, their eyes filling with tears that felt like ice. “Why won't you listen?.. Kris, you used to be so nice! Don't you remember? With Asriel and-” Her sister. “..We used to watch TV together and play games and.. We had so much fun.”
“Asriel's in college.” Kris shot back. “And no one's seen Dess.” Their words were cold, their steps not shaking as they continued to walk. Not one step out of place. It made Noelle want to stop. She didn't.
“Kris, I just want to spare a couple of the enemies. Asriel would want to as well!”
Kris stopped. Noelle stops with them, almost bumping into them. “Just proceed, Noelle. Asriel isn't relevant. Dess isn't relevant. We aren't children anymore..” Kris looked down, before continuing to walk. Noelle followed.
“But- But we are still teenagers..! Can we just.. Spare the next guy? That's all I ask.”
Kris didn't reply.
Noelle wasn't sure she wanted them too.