Roaming from Home

It had been... A day. Not to say it had been particularly tiring or bad, it was just. A normal day! As normal as her life in the Citadel had come to be... But, we're going a bit too fast here.

A young skeleton by the name of Sugar was roaming these streets at this particular moment... A bit lost, honestly. She had taken the risk of going further away from her makeshift home than usual. Her thoughts were something along the line of, "I've been here long enough... I can find my way back!" She was wrong, though. She couldn't find her way back.

She took yet another turn down a street she didn't recognize. A small frown came across her face as unease settled over her. Whatever sort of time system they had here was displaying late afternoon... At least, she thought it was and it was enough to make her worry about the upcoming evening or night. What if she didn't make it home before then? Where would she go? There seemed to be a lot of people here, and she didn't want to step on any toes...

She took a glance around. "Okay..." She murmured to herself. "You don't know where you're going, but maybe someone else does? Um..." She stopped walking and looked around more. Anyone around she could ask...? Anyone at all?

 

Sweety and Butcher, both skeletons from Horrortale, were trying their best to live their life like if nothing happened. The Papyrus had come to take Butcher from the store to walk home. He knew his big brother liked to walk. And, luckily, this time, no paparazzi were following them.

They were talking to each other about what dish Sweety prepared for the hungry soul that night when they spoted a child Skeleton on the street.

"BROTHER? SHE LOOK LOST. MAYBE WE SHOULD HELP."

"Of course, bro. Hey! Kid!", called the smaller.

He came close to the girl and tried to look friendly, but his friendly smile looked more like if he was about to eat her raw. A lot of monsters still thoughts Horrors like them were canibals only because of their apearence.

The kid blinked and turned at the call, wondering if she was the one being spoken to-- Considering how Butcher was approaching, it seemed so. She froze she saw the Sans coming towards her.

Her sockets were wide. She didn't run, but she did instinctively shrink back at the smile... Intimidated, honestly. She couldn't be sure if she had done anything bad knowing her brother had smiled even when he was mad. She shook the bittersweet memory away, returning to her current reality. Even if Butcher wasn't mad, it was still a rather unsettling look to be pinned under. "Um, um..." She paused and took a moment try to calm down a little before responding... It was probably a nice smile! And it was only polite to give people a chance before calling them scary! In fact, she felt rude for freezing up at all...

After taking a moment, she began to return his smile with her own cheerful one. It still had a nervous edge to it, but at the very least she was trying. "Yes sir...?"

Butcher stayed at a respectable distance from the kid. He didn't want to frighten her. Sweety wasn't as carefull and aproached the little girl. He wasn't that bright but he had this kind of gentleness that could be felt deep in his empty eyes.

"It's uncommon t'see a kid 'round here. Especially a skeleton on. Most of you end up in the care of a Toriel or somethin'."

"ARE YOU OKAY?", interupted the giant Papyrus, smiling through his crooked, stained teeths. "MAYBE YOU'RE SCARED BECAUSE WE'RE STRANGERS. I'M PAPYRUS AND THIS IS MY BRITHER SANS."


"Forgive my lil' bro, he got trouble with nicknames. I'm Butcher and this is Sweety. And, yes, you seem lost. D'you need help?"

The distance was appreciated to be honest... She similarly leaned back from Sweety, though she did see the kind look in his eyes afterward. Her shoulders slumped a bit as she relaxed. Surely no one with such a soft look would be mean, right?

Though her fear began to fade, she hesitated to reply to Butch's first comment about being on her own. It was fortunate enough that Sweety cut in and gave her something else to reply to-- Getting into her lack of caretakers was something she preferred to avoid.

"I'm okay... I was just walking..." She lightly traced the ground with her boot as if to prove her point further. She blinked at the two as Butcher corrected Sweety's introduction, a small hum leaving her. She and this Papyrus had similar names! "Oh, it's fine!" She finally responded to Butcher, then did a small bow. "I'm Sugar! It's nice to meet you."

The question of her being lost hung in her mind a bit. Her pause was small, however, as she rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Actually... I'm kinda lost, I think... I don't think my home's around here, at least." She admitted. They offered, so they wouldn't mind it, would they...?

"NICE TO MEET YOU, SUGAR!"

Both skeletons looked at each others and smiled. They never needed words to understand each other. The Sans looked at the void where the sky was not. His only red eye looked at the tallest buiding and he sigh. He missed his best friend. He hoped he was okay.


"Don't worry, kid. Here in the Fell, we always find our way lookin' at the Boss Tower. Y'know, it's the tallest buildin' the the whole Citadel. Even in the Swap they can see it in the distance. And it piss off the old goat hehehehe."

Then he looked back at the girl and took a time to think. Sweety looked around. He only saw tired monsters coming back from work. And nobody else seem to care about Sugar's presence.

"IF YOU'RE NOT FROM THE FELL, MAYBE WE CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO COME BACK TO YOUR DISTRICT. WHERE ARE YOU FROM? "

Sugar followed his look and... Wow, that sure was a tall building! It would've been smart to use that, like Butcher said. "Ohhh..." She rubbed the back of her neck, a bit of magenta tinting her cheeks from embarrassment. "I never thought of using that..." She soon seems to recover though, getting on her tiptoes to try and get a better look at it not long after. Only a minor distraction from the brothers as they thought.

Her gaze went back to Sweety as he spoke. "Hm..." She instinctively looked around to point before realizing she didn't where to point to. She started to think of how to describe it. "It's um... Kinda... On the edge of the Sin District, I think? It's a place where not many people are, kinda close to where the void begins..." She narrowed her eyes in concentration, before lightly tapping her fist in her hand as she remembered a landmark. "But I usually pass by a really jagged, sharp looking building when I go home!"

When the Sin District was mentioned, Butcher clenched his teeth. Most of the monsters he took care of came from there. Poor souls who never found their place, who had to live between the gangs, the prostitutes and the ruins.

" You shouldn't live in such place. How old are you? Like, six? You could get killed 'round there. Or worst. Who know what kind of soul live in there."

He sigh at the thought of his sweet Cherry. He hoped he was okay.
Sweety tilted his head to the side.

" YOU COME FROM THE SIN? AREN'T YOU HUNDRY? THERE'S NOTHING THERE EXCEPT BAD THINGS AND POOR MONSTERS WHO DO THEIR BEST. IF YOU'RE HUNGRY YOU CAN COME TO OUR HOME, WE FEED THE POOR. IT'S IMPORTANT TO EAT! "

Butcher's reaction startled her a bit, not expecting it. Of course she knew the Sin District wasn't great... Especially compared to her own home. But she had assumed it a normal part not many people would think twice about. She didn't have the words to correct him on her age either... Not wanting to come off as rude. She didn't want to come off as purposefully ignoring or waving him off either, though... She gave a hesitant shrug with a nervous but reassuring smile.

Fortunately Sweety was once again coming to the rescue on that front. His offer was tempting... While she managed to keep herself alive, she hadn't really had a solid meal since she got here. She nodded hesitantly. "If it's okay... And you don't really mind it, I'd appreciate it." She her smile became cheerful again."I'd be happy to clean or something in return also! Like, a job or something."

The brothers looked at each other and understood imediatly what the other what thinking. Butcher aproached the girl, smiling and gestured her to follow him. He walked, leading the way though the tall buildings.

" Good. But no monster come t'my house and work for a meal. That's home policy. No monster should starve. Sweet and I know what's starvation. And that's no fun, right bro?"

" INDEED, WE WON'T MAKE YOU PAY OR ANYTHING. FEEDING MONSTERS IS WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WHE CAN AND BECAUSE SOMEONE HAVE TO. "

The Sans continued walking, sometimes watching over his shoulder if the girl was still following. His only eye was shining in the dark of the night cycle.

"By the way, if y'need a job, the Arena's always hirin'. Kids like you can need some gold and since nobody grow up in the void, never saw why not. Won't be hard, like keeping the reservation booth, cleanin' the supplie closet, things like that. And I can find you some place to stay, safer than the Sin. Would be bad if you end up dead, your magic sold in a bag."

His smile suddenly wasn't so scary to her anymore. Sugar followed without argument-- She did agree to it after all!

She paused just a moment in surprise at the brothers' statement of refusal. "Oh... Well, if you're sure..." She was considering that, soon realizing that... Well... She certainly wouldn't make people pay her for food. "That's really nice of ya'll!" She finished, quickly following once again.

Aside from the pause, Sugar was following all the way! She went oddly quiet at the mention of her not growing in the void. She... Didn't realize she wouldn't... She tried shaking off the feeling of sadness coming over her and tried to focus on what Butcher was saying instead. Though unsettled by another reference to death, she was interested.

"I didn't realize I could get a job here," She responded with genuine surprise. Where did he point out specifically... An arena...? She'd heard there was one around here! "And if it's really okay... I'd like to move someplace else..." The last sentence was said more hesitantly. They offered and if there was someplace safer than the Sin District it'd be nice to live there... But a worry was creeping up that she was going to end up being an inconvenience to them, with the food and prior offer to help her get home and the mention of the job... And what could she do in return? They said they didn't need anything from her, but still...

The brothers stoped in front of a building like any other. It even looked like a cheap place, the kind of place with many condo made for single workers. The only difference with the others was the smell. It smelled delicious alls around, even with the window closed.

" WAIT HERE, BROTHER? STAY WITH HER. "

The Papyrus entered the building. Anyone could see him go to one of the first door near the entrance. Butcher stayed behind, looking around.

"Don't worry, he just went t'prepare some doggy bag for you. Not many visotors stays around too much. And the last one was... trouble. It's not against you, kid. As for moving, I can't do much. Y'know, the Mayor of this district is in prison right now and he take care of that usually and his assistant's a dick. T'most I can do is to recomand you to find yourself a Toriel or someone who can take you in. Or... I can give you some money and you can find, maybe, a small place in the Tale. Don't go to the Swap, they're dicks too."

Sugar stood on her tip-toes a bit, getting a nice taste of the smell wafting around their home. Yummy! She went back on her feet again as Sweety left to enter the house. She looked up to Butcher as he started speaking.

"Ah, okay!" That was understandable! "...I'm sorry to hear your last visit didn't go great." She seemed genuine in that regard... These two brothers, though a bit scary at first, were really nice! She tilted her head, a bit concerned hearing the mayor was in prison. That sounded bad...

She lightly fiddled with the hem of her jacket. Food was enough, she definitely didn't want to bother anyone or take their money... So, she offered; "I could also find a job and save enough for a house!" She offered in a decidedly lighthearted manner. She could take on some responsibility too, after all!