Broken Souls

Chapter 24 - Finding a Flower

Sans soon got bored of walking.

He didn't tell Toriel though, but he knew she could probably tell from the way he kept short cutting so far ahead that it gave him five or ten minutes of sit down time before he had to walk again. Thankfully, Frisk also noticed and called a break at the entrance to Waterfall by the Hotland sign. So far, there had been no sightings of Flowey, although Frisk said that whilst he probably hung out in the Ruins, they had to check everywhere just in case. Sans was not thrilled about this, although he stopped complaining when Toriel brought out a travel-sized pie to eat whilst resting.

After a few hours of 'resting', the once small break area became the night camp, as neither Frisk nor Sans were up for anymore walking, even with the extra energy the pie gave them. Toriel grudgingly accepted this fact and decided to keep the time spent walking tomorrow to twenty minutes per five minutes rest. That way, ground would be covered at a reasonable pace and she wouldn't have to worry about her child or the lazy skeleton dropping too far behind.

Toriel set up a small fire to keep them warm because despite being on the outskirts of Hotland, the chill air from Waterfall could get unbearable when one was still. It was the kind she had at home, pleasantly warm but not burning. Frisk even demonstrated this when they stuck their arms in after washing them before eating.

Finally, as the glowing crystals high above began to dim, Frisk curled up on Toriel's lap and fell asleep. Sans stayed up slightly longer, exchanging puns and jokes with Toriel before he too slumped and began to sleep. And then, adjusting her position so both she and her child were comfortable, Toriel closed her eyes and rested.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a small golden flower watched from the shadows, hurriedly sinking beneath the ground when Sans stirred slightly but coming up again when the skeleton settled himself down once more.

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When Frisk woke in the morning, they saw Toriel cooking a breakfast over a newly lit fire. Sans was still asleep, as per usual but his peaceful expression deterred Frisk from waking him up. Whilst Gaster was back now, Sans still had the occasional night terror, so any sleep he could get should not be disturbed.

"Oh my child, I am just finishing the breakfast, then we can get moving again." Toriel told them after she noticed Frisk beginning to sit up. Frisk's mouth began to water as the smell of eggs and bacon wafted over. The smell must have also reached Sans, as he began to wake up quicker than usual.

"mggghhhh... smells good." he slurred, still half asleep. Toriel pulled three plastic plates from her seemingly bottomless bag of supplies and carefully served her food. Frisk eagerly took their portion, taking a bite and melting with bliss. Sans ate an entire strip of bacon in one go, despite not opening his mouth and a similar expression to Frisk's crossed his face.

Needless to say, Toriel excelled in cooking just about anything. She'd even packed a week's supply of ketchup bottles, which Sans took custody of in his own bag.

After breakfast, the group began to power walk through Waterfall. Toriel and Sans took turns giving Frisk rides on their shoulders, keeping the child out of the water. They checked every part of waterfall, going behind the falls to all the secret caverns, opening up the piano room and even taking one of their breaks on the lone grey bench. Sans left that room quickly after Frisk got up to listen to the echo flower, saying he'd prefer to go and complete all the flower puzzles in advance.

Finally, they reached the blizzard at the edge of Waterfall, which Sans lead them through with ease. Snowdin had a very large area to cover, but Sans pointed out that no one had gone into the very far woods for years, and the snow would be too deep for Flowey to surface.