The Spider's Leg

The Swap district always felt the slightest bit unnerving, as if someone had recorded his life through a mirror and played it back at him after scrambling all of the scenes. Mauve didn't remember much before the citadel - he doubted he would want to even if given the option - but he felt like his memories weren't reflective of this. Where he felt there should be a splash of red, there was a sprinkle of blue. Places that would have cheered him up in the Tale district left him with nothing but a strange sense of wrong.

None of that mattered. He was here because he wanted to be somewhere new, be somewhere where no one would recognize him. After the incident at his nearest Grillby's a week ago (he hadn't left his house since then), he couldn't have been more hesitant to show his face in public ever again. This was a good first step. Even if it was inconvenient and it took a stupidly long time to travel to by foot (he could vaguely remember what other Sanses had described as "shortcutting;" it would be awfully nice about now), the Swap district was leagues safer for him to visit than the Fell or Sin districts. Even if he survived a trip there without magic, he doubted his officers would let him get away with stepping a foot inside their confines.

And so, here he was, sauntering down the street with his hood pulled tight in an attempt to hide his collar, looking over his shoulder every so often to make sure he wasn't being followed, and looking for a place to spend the day without causing too much trouble.

As if the universe itself could hear his pleas, he turned the corner and saw a homey, yet well-maintained tavern. A wooden sign proudly bore the establishment's name in cursive pink letters: The Spider's Leg. A purple sculpture of a long arm ending in hand holding a wine glass was mounted below the words.

Now this was what he was looking for. One of those spiders' bars, where he could get pleasantly buzzed without fearing for his life. Forget about his penchant towards destruction for a while.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

What he hadn't expected was to be greeted with the immediate sight of a two legged, five armed spider monster rushing toward him at a frantic pace, quipping out the specials of the day at a breakneck speed, and then practically demanding that he let her guide him to a seat at the bar.

When she put a hand on his back, he nearly fainted from the sheer amount of sensory input.

Noodle spent a lot of time here. It was one of the bars closer to his home, and he prefers to stay in the Swap District. He briefly wonders if Puff's snobbishness was rubbing off on him, but concludes that the reason he sticks so close to home was that this area was simply safer. Well. For most people.

He turns to look around at the crowd. A lot of swap Paps. A few others but they dominate the bar. The door opens and Noodle casually turns his head to see who's coming in. A Sans. He's about to turn back to his drink, but something about the skeleton was...off. He seemed...twitchy. Noodle watches as he seems to have a minor panic attack, just from the Muffet touching him.

Twitchy usually meant scared. And scared usually meant...alone. He turns back to his drink but now he's listening. Seeing what the Sans does.

A number of thoughts ran through Mauve's head at the light contact, most notably that Muffet could bump his hood and cause it to slide down. Which would cause his collar to be exposed to the light of the tavern. Which would cause a Papyrus to question it. Which would cause someone to check him...

He did not want a repeat of the Grillby's incident.

So he kept quiet, kept his head low, and tugged his hood even lower. It'd stay in place on his watch. By the time the duo had arrived at a bar stool and Mauve had taken a seat, he'd been able to properly reassure himself that he was okay. His fingers still twitched every so often, but his mind had ceased its frenzied whirlwind of thought. Being able to rest his head on the bar top was a godsend; he felt immensely more comfortable in his characteristic slouch.

So he ordered a drink and a sweet biscuit, and let himself sink into his hoodie.

Then he caught wind of the uncanny sensation of being watched.

Noodle finishes off what's left of his drink, then waves at Muffet for another. He "spots" Mauve when he looks around for the spider monster, and then lets his gaze linger on him. Now his attention is obvious. He cocks his head to the side.

"hey man. haven't seen you in the Leg before. You new?" His tone is friendly. "Well, lemme welcome you to the neighborhood." He waves at Muffet again. "Ey Muff, put his shit on my tab." As he talks, his cigarette bobs up and down with his mandible, threatening to fall. He exhales the smoke to the side, avoiding Mauve's face. "Everyone says Tale's the best district, but I think Swap wins out. Might not be as ritzy but people are nice here." He gestures around at the bar, indicating the people there.

"You look like a tale, but ev'ryone's pretty chill here, regardless of universe."

Mauve practically jumps out of his skin (heh) when a voice rings out directly next to him. His surprise nearly causes him to fall off of his stool, but as he slides backward, his claws scrabble at the bar in front of him and manage to steady him just quickly enough to avoid an ungrateful plummet to the ground. He lets out a heavy sigh only to notice that his hood is falling down, and frantically pulls it back up.

Okay- he's... He's okay.

He takes a moment to compose himself, plasters a grin upon his face, and then turns to the other skeleton. What he sees is a Papyrus - a Swap Papyrus. Exactly what he was expecting, and yet still eerie as hell to look at. It was as if he was looking into a funhouse mirror. He could see his own tired sockets and fuzzy eyelights, and the other's slouch distinctly reminded him of his own, but the monster before him was twice his height and half as round.

Then he realized that the other skeleton was looking at him expectantly. He'd said something, hadn't he? That's what had tripped him up in the first place. Wracking his soul to try and decipher what the other had said, he ended up spitting out the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, uh, heya. The name's Mauve. You?"

That had to be somewhat on track, at least. Monsters were supposed to initially introduce themselves, right?

The gears are turning in Noodle's mind as he watches Mauve practically fall over just from being addressed. His eyelights briefly brush over the hood as Mauve frantically yanks it back up. He's hiding something. A scar? An injury? Even better. He's a perfect mark. No one this anxious could be that much a a threat. There was a reason the fells always tried to affect a confident air, after all.

He schools his face into a friendly expression, just barely tinted with concern. "Heya. Nice t'meetcha, Mauve. I'm Noodle." He grins at him amicably. "And ya don't gotta tell me it's a silly name, I know. Got it 'cause I'm tall and...noodly, I guess?"

And it's unimposing.

Mauve relaxed ever so slightly onto his stool, and tilted his head toward the newly dubbed "Noodle" just far enough that the sides of his hood weren't obscuring his eyelights to the other. Eye contact was apparently an incredibly important social cue - it was supposed to indicate a sense of thoughtfulness and trust. And, of course, reassure the other that you weren't lying through your teeth. Which he wasn't doing. Yet.

As the five-armed spider returned with a first glass for Mauve and a refill for Noodle, he tried to begin a so called "casual conversation." As a Sans, this was supposed to be a strong point of his. He'd certainly try his best to fulfill the expectation.

"So, do you ever find it slightly alarming to look at what should be a clone of your brother only to find that you're actually looking youself in the face?"

Welp, he'd tried.

Yes, eye contact was important. They say that when someone is lying to you, they look away. But Noodle was of the opinion that saying only applied when you felt bad about lying. Because he hadn't looked away from people in a long time.

He picks up his drink and takes a sip, watching Mauve struggle to find something to say. When he does, though, his brows go up slightly, and the gesture is not entire a facade. He wasn't expecting that.

"What do you mean? You mean...the swap thing? Cause...mmm." He actually gives it some thought. Did he see Puff in other Papyruses? Not the real Puff, certainly. But elements of his persona? "I dunno. I never really thought about it that much. Everyone's...different, you know? Even my bro isn't like, exactly like other swaps."

The ridge in Mauve's skull crinkled ever so slightly, giving the illusion of a raised eyebrow. "Your bro? He's... he's alive?" Mauve fully turned to face Noodle, to get a good look at him, (don't check him don't arouse suspicion don't give him a reason to check you back-) only to conclude that he looked similar to any other Swap Papyrus. There didn't appear to be anything particularly exceptional - his bones weren't extraordinarily thick, he wasn't exceptionally tall... Was it his magic that gave him his fighting edge?

...Had he never faced the dreaded "fallen child" Mauve had heard so much about at all?

But then- "Why would you want to escape your world if you could protect your brother? Did something.. particularly bad happen?" He paused a bit, thinking about how to phrase his next line of inquiry. "Doesn't everyone here only leave their universe with their life in tatters, alone?"

Blunt. That's good. Mauve's candidness meant he was comfortable asking...to some extent, at least. It could mean he was lowering his guard, ever so slightly. There was no guarantee, but Noodle took it as a good sign.

"Yeah, he's alive." He takes another sip of his drink, pausing. He summons up a wistful expression. "We didn't exactly want to stick around in an endless murder loop, you know? Not exactly the best place to live. Even if I could kill the human...most of the time...that doesn't stop the cycle. There's really nothing you can do, after a point."

"But...no. I don't think so? I think some people just mess around with things they shouldn't be poking their nasal cavities into, for one reason or another. I know a lot of people just do some fiddling with the laws of space-time, and get themselves dumped in here. I mean, what happened to you?"

Mauve's sockets widened and his spine curved into a greater slouch. He'd practiced this he'd practiced this he'd practiced this... Just follow the script.

"Heh." He let his eyelights drift back up to meet Noodle's. "Your human granted you a mercy with the loop, y'know." His left hand reached out toward the bar to shakily grab at his beverage. You're supposed to be a brother in mourning. Act like it. "Y'never stopped to think that the human's determination might eventually give out one day, too?" He paused to take a swig of his drink. It tricked past his jaw and directly to his soul, feeding it the soothing magic contained within Muffet's creation.

"Never thought that one day, y'might kill the little prick after they'd wiped out the whole Underground, and they wouldn't come back." He let out a purposeful shudder and hunched in on himself even more.

He cocks his head to the side slightly. "Ya got a funny idea of mercy, bud. D'ya really think your bro bein' dead is worse'n watching him die over an' over- for the rest of eternity? Can't move on, can't stop it, can't save him, you can't even die. It never stops. Life becomes...not real, anymore." He shakes his head. "People die every day in the underground. An' monsters move on. But that?" This time, he doesn't even have to fake the tightening around his eyes. "That's a special kinda hell."

He takes a long drag on his cigarette, going quiet for a moment. "...Sorry about your bro."

((Just realized that I keep changing tenses. I'll try to stick with present tense from now on.))

Mauve stares into his drink, his own blurry eyelights looking back up at him expectantly. A tinge of red flashes at the edge of his vision. He pushes it down with a gulp. So much for easy conversation.

When he finally looks up at Noodle again, he cracks an apologetic grin and sighs. "Shouldn't 'a asked about your bro." He pauses for a moment and takes another sip of the sweet magic. "'M sorry too." He turns back toward the bar and slowly nurses his drink.

After an extended silence between the duo, Mauve opens his jaw to speak again. "On a lighter note, what is there to do around this district?" He smiles sheepishly. "I been tryin' to get to know the non-tale districts a bit more intimately recently, and stumbled upon this bar by chance. 'd love some recommendations for things to do around here if you've got the time."

((I didn't even notice i do that all the time too, but I try to do present tense so that people can interrupt stuff. like "Black reaches over to grab the cup" vs. "Black grabbed the cup." might not be as good writing and i switch back to past tense sometimes but! that's really the only reason i do present tense.))

Making him feel guilty was an option, too. Noodle wonders idly if acting hurt will draw him in more, or push him away. He couldn't tell yet. He might be a bleeding heart, or he might be skittish. He plays the middle ground and doesn't lean either way, letting Mauve be the one to speak first.

"...s'fine. And...yeah. There's a lotta nice places. There's a nice park near here, an' there's the mall, the museum...and I sneak it the college library a lot. Great place for a nap." And to find distracted, isolated monsters, but he won't mention that part.

Mauve straightens his back upon hearing about the library.

"You guys have a college around here?" His smile grows a little bit wider. Without even looking, his hand feels around on the bar and grabs the roll he'd ordered. He brings it to his mouth and nibbles on it, looking oddly like a rabbit guarding a fresh kale leaf.

Only bigger. And more... dead.

"It's not hard to see how a library might be a good napping spot, but it can be good for so much more. You, uhh, you read much there? Take any classes?" His eyelights spark with a twinge of excitement. He can't remember going into a library before, but the concept of stacks and stacks of books ignites a little ember in his soul. Huh. Wonder why?

"Well..." He notices Mauve eating without really looking at what he's doing. Noodle mulls that over. Not paying much attention to his food.

"It's only got what people have accidently brought from the outside, or shit that's been written by...essentially the same twenty people from different timelines. So it's kinda limited. But I've read most of the stuff they have. I could show it to you sometime? I've never really taken eny classes though...I'm kinda lazy." He shoots a grin at him and sips his drink.

Another bite of the roll. The feeling of his molars slicing through the enchanted bread was... incredibly satisfying, to be honest.

Mauve looked over at the other skeleton, noticeably lacking of any food. Sure, he had a beverage, but nothing to dilute the strong magic within the drink.

"Want a bite?" Mauve's unusually sharp phalanges cut through the bread with ease, and he extends the slice toward Noodle while carefully contemplating his next statement. Sure, he might enjoy going to the university, heck, he was oddly excited by the idea, but... Don't get too close. You don't know what he'll do if he finds out. You don't know what he'll do in front of a mob of potentially volatile monsters if he finds out. "Maybe some other day, y'know. Been wandering the swap district for a while today, and prob'ly should be gettin' back home sooner or later."

He eyes the bread for a moment, before picking it up and popping it into his mouth. A show of trust. After all, people are more likely to extend trust once someone else has gotten the ball rolling. Noodle takes another sip of his drink.

"Oh yeah? Well, that's too bad. Maybe another time?" Noodle does his best to look only slightly disappointed. Looking too eager could spook the guy...and it's not like Noodle really needed this particular monster. There's always the alleys of the Sin District.

Mauve visibly brightens and his smile grows more genuine. His eyelights suddenly appear a bit less hazy. "I- you- really?"

don't blow it don't look desperate don't act odd don't-

"I've never spent a lot of time out of the Tale district, y'know." that sounds logical enough. "Havin' a buddy out here..." He idly pulls at his hoodie's zipper, a habit formed after weeks of trying to keep his collar hidden. "Thanks, Noodle." Realizing how bizarrely heartfelt the word noodle sounded in that context sends a single, breathy giggle through his teeth.