Into the Woods (Dusttale Sans x Frisk)

Chapter 19 - Surprise Visitor

Frisk woke up in a daze, not entirely sure what woke her up as she looked around. Sans was sound asleep underneath her, one arm still hooked around her waist while the other dangled off the edge of the couch. They had fallen asleep with the TV on like they did every night with the bed upstairs going unused yet again. It was dark out as the television cast overarching shadows across the walls, causing a rainbow of colors to dance across them. She laid her head back down on Sans' chest, feeling calm as she watched the blur of hues and show of shadows, allowing them to slowly lull her back to sleep. She was really only lucid when she was tired or freshly woken from sleep, her brain having not fully taken in reality. Her eyelids drooped once more, and she was so close to slipping off again when she heard it. There were footsteps crunching in the snow outside.

Her eyes shot open as the realization hit her. Sans was sound asleep beneath her, and Flowey didn't have feet to walk with but instead traversed through the dirt underneath everyone else's feet. She was careful not to wake Sans as she disintangled herself from him and stood up. She sighed and zipped up her jacket fully before adjusting the red scarf around her neck in preparation for going out into the cold. She picked up her knife off the floor where it had landed after falling from her sleep loosened grip, twirling it in her hand as she moved towards the front door.

She didn't plan on using her knife, at least, not immediately. She wasn't a complete killing machine; she just happened to enjoy it. She glanced down at her maniac sleeping soundly still on the couch and smiled knowing that she had such a powerful man wrapped around her finger. He was possessive and claimed her as his, making it pretty obvious that no one but him could have her or touch her, but that was only half of it, for he was also hers, and no one else could have him but her. She hummed softly and leaned over, kissing his forehead before heading for the front door.

It creaked softy as it opened, but she only needed it wide enough for her to slip through as she closed it behind her. She heard the footsteps again, and when she looked down, she saw that there were indeed footprints in the snow, but they were weird...wrong. They were in the shape of shoes, but they were melted shapes rather than compacted holes from the weight of whoever had made them. It was as if fire itself had taken a form and walked through their little underground system. She didn't know how right she was.

It was still dark out, but as Frisk glanced up at the hole all the way at the top of the cavern, she could see a faint golden glow giving it the appearance of a halo, indicating that the sun was rising. Well, that was reassuring. At least their surprise visitor wasn't coming in the middle of the night. With a shiver, she put her hood up to protect her ears and pulled the scarf up higher over her mouth. The sun had yet to warm the air with its rays, which is why as she followed the footprints, she was surprised and intrigued to see an orange glow from around the corner of her and Sans' house.

Someone must have found their way down into the underground, and for some reason they were using a flame lamp or a torch or something based on the way the orange glow moved and flickered. However, as she rounded the corner, she found that her assumption was wrong or at least, she was on the right track, but her guess was a bit off. A man stood there looking around, but what caught her eye was the fact that this man looked to be made completely of fire while still not burning off his clothes. He looked so proper in a what would seem like a suit worn by a bartender, a fancy one.

With curiosity like that of a child, Frisk approached him, keeping a hold on her knife just in case things went south as she called out loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough not to wake Sans inside, "Who are you?" The man seemed to jump slightly at her sudden call as he turned around to look at her through a thin pair of glasses and answered, "My name is Grillby."

"Grillby?" Frisk hummed, finding it interesting to say the least as she tilted her head and asked, "What are you doing here, Grillby?"

"I could ask you the same thing, my dear," Grillby replied, not as a challenge, but rather in amusement and as a statement of fact. "I'm here to see an old friend, but why are you here? The monsters that lived here moved here to get away from humans."