Chapter Text
“MAAAAAMAAAAA!”
It’s so dark. You don’t know where you are. It’s dark and cold and everything hurts.
“MAAAAAAAAMAAAAAA!”
The floor under you felt hard and bumpy, a chalky feeling that stung your already scrapped hands. It was too dark to see anything, even with the light above you, one that hurt your eyes when you looked at it too long so you kept them clamped shut.
A gust of wind blew hair into your face. Your hands hurt to much to close so you used your thumbs to brush the strands out of of your eyes, your nail scratching against your cheeks.
Gust. You were learning about that word today. Miss Toriel had you read it over and over until you could say it like an adult. You wish she was here now.
Another gust blew over you and it felt like needles on your skin, a feeling which only scared you more. You hate needles. You hate needles and hospitals and strangers and long words and having to stay in a bright loud room when you just want to go home.
“m-Miss Toriel…h-help me…”
It’s dark and you’re cold and hungry and scared and everything hurts and all you can do is cry and cry and cry.
You just want to go home.
“Hello? Is someo-oh no.”
A strange voice came from the dark. It was sweet. Familiar.
“oh no no no no no no no.”
Sad.
You opened your teary eyes and could barely make out a green shape in the darkness. You sniffled and tried wiping away your tears, but your eyes were still blurry. You could feel streaks run down your red face and runny nose, snot mixing with tears and pooling above your mouth in a disgusting taste. You opened your eyes again, but the face you saw made you cry even harder.
“M-MISS TORIEL-..I-I F-FELL…”
“I’m so sorry. Oh you poor child, I’m so sorry.”
You reached out to the voice and soft, furry hands grabbed yours. The voice whispered something and your body felt tingly for a moment before feeling heavy once again. The hurt was gone.
“There we go, all better.”
A soft, warm feeling grazed your face and you buried yourself in it. Something else held the other side of your head while the softness wiped away your tears and you clung onto it as hard as you could, scrubbing your face until it felt clean. The softness started to pull away but stopped when you tugged at it, not wanting to let go just yet. It smelled like trees.
“Does it still hurt?”
A gentle touch stroked your cheek and your heart sank into your stomach. That voice, it wasn’t Miss Toriels. It was just as sweet, just as warm, but it was just different enough that you knew it couldn’t be hers.
You shot upright and saw a strange monster kneeling in front of you, one with a long white face and rounded horns like your beloved teacher, yet everything past that shallow glance was alarmingly unfamiliar.
Their large eyes were obscured by green glasses. In fact their entire body was curtained in a waterfall of green, flowing all the way past their feet and ruffling on the floor below. They softly patted your face with pink fluffy cloth, soaking up stray tears before they could leave marks across your face. They were, again, so similar to the face that you knew, yet entirely different. Different enough to make you nervous.
You buried your head deeper into their scarf, hoping that if you closed your eyes hard enough the stranger would just disappear.
“Oh no no no no, don’t be afraid.” The voice wavered, hushing its tone to a soft whisper before speaking again. “Please don’t be scared. I promise you’re safe here. Nothing else is going to hurt you, not while I’m still here.”
You kept your face hidden in pink for a few moments longer, slowly building up your courage before peeking over the fabrics edge.
“Wh-who are you.”
“Well, my name is Ral-…I’m Kri-…Miss To-…Hmm.”
The strange monster kept interrupting himself, rubbing his chin and looking to the side each time for a few seconds before starting again. You thought it was a bit funny, but knew it was rude to laugh at people. That strange monster kept rubbing his chin deep in thought until he turned back to you with a very warm smile.
“Well, I’m your friend. That’s the most important part.”
The strange monster reached out for you again and you hid behind his pink scarf, still unsure what to make of him. The stranger looked hurt and pulled back his hands, laying them delicately on his knees. A thought crossed your mind as he gazed silently at the ground, maybe he didn’t know what to make of you either.
“It’s cold out here, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“In the dark, aren’t you cold?”
You slowly nodded and a smile came back to the strange monsters face.
“Do you know what a Castle is?” The stranger asked, smile growing wider when you shyly nodded. “I have my very own Castle just down that road. It’s nice and warm, with a cozy bed waiting just for you. Would you like to see it with me?”
You quickly receded back behind the scarf and shook your head no.
“Muh-my mama says I shouldn’t talk to strangers. Or go inside their house.”
“Oh that’s very good advice! You are very smart to listen to your mama, but I’m afraid your mama may not know where you are right now, and I’d hate it if you got lost. I know it’s against the rules, but I think your mama would rather you be safe and warm instead of alone, out here.”
The stranger was right, it was very dark and you were very scared. Still, Mama was very strict about this rule and you don’t want to get in trouble.
“There’s lots of tasty food there too. Are you hungry? I can bake you whatever you’d like.”
You looked at the floor and thought very hard. Your stomach felt empty, you hadn’t gotten to eat your lunch yet, and the stranger did look very kind.
Maybe Mama would be okay with it after all.
You looked back up at the kind monster and slowly nodded your head.
The kind monster smiled very wide and reached out once again. You let him take his scarf back and he wrapped it carefully around his neck, letting the end drap off his shoulder and tickle your face. You motioned for the monster to pick you up and he nodded back, carefully wrapping his arms around you and scooping you high off the ground to rest on his shoulder.
“You’re a very brave monster, waiting all by yourself. I don’t think I could ever be as brave as you are.”
You tucked your head in the small space between his scarf and his ear and the monster squeezed you tightly before moving back into the darkness.
It was scary in the dark, and you didn’t like it when the shining light moved further and further away, but the monster was very kind and his fur was very warm. You were still nervous being alone in an unfamiliar place, but with the monster holding you close, his head resting on yours, you knew you would be ok.