The tailor and the vampire lord

6: A walk through a forest

Standing up Error scoops up the now dried clothing he set aside "We d0 need t0 ke3p m0ving th0ugh, c0me, l3ts get y0u two cl3aned and ch4nged 0ut of th0se g0wns" Watching them stand up and follow at his heels Error walks out of the clearing and stops by the creek he found earlier and lead them right to the creek edge.

Going to sit on his knees Error leans over helps the two shed their gowns before pulling up a rag that was left over from what was once his coat and wet it. "The w4ter is g0ing t0 be c0ld, s0rry" Despite the cold water the boys were quietly obedient and allowed him to wipe away the dirt covering their faces before moving to wipe down their arms and legs.

Evidently they couldn't stay quiet for long and they started asking questions "Who are you?"

"...My n4me 1sn't r3ally imp0rt4nt" 

Despite the not really a response they didn't seem deterred and the other brother kept going "You look like us but also not...why?"

"W3ll th4t's bec4use i'm a skelet0n m0nster just l1ke y0u i just...look d1ffer3nt"

The two soon proved to be quite the chatterbugs and asked Error many questions or just chatted between themselves as Error cleaned them. Though the water was not the cleanest their bones looked a lot cleaner by the time Error tossed the rag down and pulled out the clothes he stitched together and presented them.

They looked at the rags confused but allowed him to make them around to slip them on. They were...rather baggy on them and were hanging off of their small frames, so thinking quickly Error fashioned waist ties from the tossed hospital gowns and tied them up around the middle. Once they were dressed they looked over themselves and to each other to check out what they were wearing and obviously looked rather excited to be given different clothes.

Error watched them and couldn't help the smile on his face seeing their excitement over something so small, and their believing for what were pretty much rags as if they were the best thing ever given to them. So he felt a little bad interrupting them from their childish excitement.

"I kn0w y0u b0th just w0ke but w3 need t0 st4rt w4lk1ng...we d0n't w4nt t0 be stuck 0ut her3 when 1t st4rts g3tt1ng d4rk" The kids just pouted by nodded and ran up to him as Error led them back to the clearing where he picked on of the other paths he hoped lead to some sort of civilization and started leading them down.

He stops when he feels a tugging on his pant leg only to look down at the cause to find the eyes of the small Papyrus looking up to him and clutching the fabric of his pants. "Can i...hold your hand?"

Error just smiled and offered his hand and soon the small hand left his pant leg and slipped into his palm. Keeping his strides short so to not outpace their little legs and careful to stay on a path that gave the least dangers they started walking. Soon after the two brothers found they could not remain quiet and soon their fountain of questions and general chatter started up again to fill in the silence around them.

Error must admit that these woods are rather spectacular looking and it's rather nice out here, the air feels clean and there's a distinct but pretty bird call high above and general noise so the forest is never all that quiet. The trees loom high above them but do not hold any feeling of menace or make him feel small or lost. Much to the two children's delight they even walk past many sorts of critters and animals that called this place their home, wanting to greet them  or wanting to touch them if they looked particularly soft or cute. Error found it all amusing though decided to keep a slight but reasonable cation around the local fauna whenever the kids wanted to get close to something, even though it meant often stopping and just relaxing for a while and enjoying the local flora and creatures they came across.

If their situation was different he could see himself settling down in a place just like this to enjoy the peace and quiet it provided. Error almost let himself start daydreaming of what that sort of life would be like.

They walked like that for some time and between the trees Error tracked the sun as it started to dip lower and lower in the sky. There was still a lot of daylight left but Error couldn't help but start growing worried that they would be stuck in the middle of a forest but too dark to see and too cold to keep moving.

The kids not used to being out and moving for so long soon started losing their energy and their chatting finally coming to a stop. It was then Error knew they needed to get out of this forest, or at least find some shelter before it started getting dark. Despite obviously growing tired they remained stubborn and tried their best to keep up on their own to Error, who had started making his strides shorter and slower in response.

 But when Error had to stop yet again to let them catch up Error asked simply "Ar3 y0u sur3 you D0n't y0u w4nt m3 t0 c4rry? it's alr1ght t0 need h3lp" begrudgingly the two had to admit that they couldn't do it and allowed Error to pick them up and so he started walking again, but much faster now he didn't have to worry about losing a child in the woods.

Being able to move much more swiftly Error felt a little better about their chances of finding something before nightfall, be it a home or even somewhere out of the elements. Walking through this forest was not easy with the amount of fallen trees, rocks and sudden ledges he found on their path and carrying two children while doing so made things just a little more difficult. 

But he was Error, the former destroyer of words, he's gone through way worse than some uneven ground or simple obstacles. At least this time none of his limbs are broken to get in the way and he isn't being chased down by those who wanted him dead, this was easy in comparison.

Time started to fly by as Error made more progress even as the forest finally started getting dark around them he starts growing more nervous though trying to keep it hidden from the kids he still carried. So the relief he felt was huge when he passed through a tree line and at last exited the forest and spots a village straight ahead. 

Endlessly grateful at the chance of finding somewhere at last Error quickly went to enter the village hoping he would find help there, if not for him than at least for his two charges.

________________________________________________________________  

________________________________________________________________  

I swear this fic feels like it's progressing so slowly, but i also don't know how to make it go to the next points faster without it seeming like everything's going too fast but not much actually happening or chapters going on for way too long. But then again I also don't really know what is an appropriate length for a chapter.

So i am so sorry if this feels like it's going at a snails pace, i'm definitely not doing something right.