UnderAsriel

13 - Special Bond

Kel sat under the cozy red quilt, basking in the wonderful feeling of not-being-frozen. She'd forgotten what it was like, for a time. But she'd taken a warm shower, and had some of the warm bread, and the nice rabbit's friendly innkeeper sister had dug up some of her old clothes for Kel to wear while she washed the others. They were rather too large, but they were soft and comfortable, and Kel honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this secure. Having other people just... taking care of her, not because they were being paid or forced to do it, but just because... they wanted to. It was strange.

Flowey was on the pillow next to her, sleeping soundly. It hadn't stirred. Kel really hoped it would wake up soon. It was her fault this had happened, it must've been...

What even was that, though? she thought, collapsing on her own pillow. Why was I glowing? What happened? Heck, what was this whole day?!

She couldn't tell if it had actually been a day, of course. Not only were there no clocks down here, there were no sun or moon, either. Her body seemed to think it had been a day. To her brain, it seemed more like a lifetime...

First, the hole. That seemed ages ago, like something in a dream. The rope snapping, that gosh darn alarm... escaping, meeting Flowey... Flowey trying to kill her...

Kel shot a sideways glance at the flower. She had long since stopped thinking of it as something hostile. But really, the only reason it hadn't killed her already was because it needed her to help kill King Asriel.

King Asriel, the tyrant of the Underground. King Asriel, the apparently adoptive father of Sans and Papyrus. If he wasn't actually their father, who was? Had he adopted them out of the kindness of his heart, or because they were both so powerful? It sounded to Kel like he was using them, for the most part. But then again, she'd never actually met him. She didn't know what he was like. For all she knew, he could be another Sans or Papyrus or Mettaton, just trying to do his best with what he had.

And she had really agreed to kill him? Kill him, without even knowing who he was? Was she really that dim?

And then there was Frisk. Kel didn't even know what to think about Frisk anymore. They were the entire reason she was down here at all, and yet the more she heard about them... It just didn't sound like them, not at all. The puzzles?? What was up with that?? And then... using a knife against Papyrus?! Frisk didn't even know how to cut up an apple, let alone use a knife on another person!!

She was flabbergasted. She really needed someone to talk to about all this, someone who had answers for her. Someone who could explain, who could understand...

She worried that such a person didn't exist.

"Kel?" said a low voice beside her.

Kel twisted immediately to look at Flowey, who had raised its head slightly and was peering at her through half-closed eyes.

"Flowey!" she exclaimed in delight. "You're alive!"

"Yeah, yeah," the flower grumbled, letting itself fall back onto the pillow. "Where are we?"

"A room in an inn," Kel explained, sitting up. She was beyond happy to see Flowey awake. Besides her worry about its wellbeing, she was just glad to have someone to talk to again. Even if Flowey didn't have all the answers...

The flower raised an eyebrow. "And you think that's safe?"

Kel shrugged. "It was either this or freeze to death." 

Though no, she didn't think it was safe. She wondered how long they had left until the truth was uncovered and they were thrown out on the run again...

Safe or not, Flowey definitely wasn't in the mood to argue. "Fair enough."