Private - Best of Times

It had been a while since Lucia personally crafted undead from scratch using stray parts. Though she found recently that she couldn't just do nothing. While Sylvanas was powerful and useful at commanding a legion, Mortimer was infinitely skilled and versatile at killing and sabotage, even Lina when she was raised would make for a powerful spell caster for magic damage, Lucia had left out and forgotten a very key point. She'd made a myriad of hostile and powerful undead while neglecting Public Relations. While Undead were growing stronger under her wing, while she was preparing a home for them, she hadn't considered their neighbors as much, instead believing that mutual non-aggression would be enough she continued to shore up defenses and work towards making a more powerful country. She'd been naive, if she raised an undead civilization, people would no doubt chase her for miles to try and put it to a stop purely because they knew what she was planning. It was for that reason she slaved over a small mound of bones, player markets and Grimoires. She wanted to create the perfect Undead for promoting good PR, the best undead to bring to social events, to stage welcomes, to show the friendliness and tender sides of the forelorn creatures.

Naturally, no matter how prepared she was, she'd have to test her latest 'creations' with a warm grin, she waited with arms crossed, full of expectations as she called her 'victim'. With a series of PMs, promising surprises and free food, Lucia waited, but she didn't wait alone. To her left were a pair of Skeletons, ones, inspired by outside sources like most of her undead. One wore a short hooded robe, reminiscent of a Hoodie with a plain white shirt underneath. His shorts were typical and substandard, but he wore casual socks and slippers as if he were spending an idle day at home in front of the TV. His short stature and cheesy grin made him likable, almost impish. The other one stood much taller then Lucia and the shorter skeleton, with majestically shining armor and a long flowing scarf that made him appear heroic, he had a very sturdy chin, and large toothy smile that seemed dazzling and refreshing. One might think he was one with a heroic spirit without looking closer to find that his armor had been dusted with glitter to give it it's mythological feel, that long flowing scarf that seemed like a signature was clearly hand knit.

"So, when is your friend coming?" The short one asked curiously, his husky tone relaxed and leisurely.

"QUIET SANS!" The other one shouted before Lucia could reply, sweeping his hand majestically through the air to silence it's master and it's companion skeleton, the larger heroic figure stepped forward lifting it's other hand in a righteous and indignant fist. "Clearly we were summoned today for a grand purpose in hunting the Hy-umans! Can't you see this is just a test?!" The taller one shouted as if he'd figured out the clever 'plot'.

Shaking it's head, the little one only exhaled a lazy sigh. "Sylvanas would be better for fighting, don't be so 'thick skulled' before we 'bone' up on the facts.... Huh?" It asked giving Lucia a nudge earning a small snicker while the tall one continued complaining and bickering. Rather then stopping the pair from clashing though, Lucia let it continue with a warm smile. This was the pair she'd chosen to promote the Undead. If people didn't like or find this pair to be heart warming, then she herself was a failure at understanding the human spirit anyway. In the end she only hoped that Lyre would give them a chance.

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alphabet Chocolate

omg cant waittt! ill b rite there in lik 2 secs! lits cuz im rite next door! or a village or 2 away but close enough rite?!?! haha sorry bout ur zombie btw! it was a bit creepy but ill try not to uh stab them this time!!!

Free food? Surprises? Just one or the other would've counted her in but the promise of both had enticed her tremendously to the point where her mouth watered the closer she got to her destination. Lucia was surprisingly close-by when the message had been sent and, with a hungry stomach, she supposed there wasn't any reason not to go visit her acquaintance. Her poor reaction to the woman's zombie had been, in her opinion, somewhat rash. She didn't particularly like the idea of seeing the grotesque abomination again (especially since it was by the hands of one of those creatures that Terry, her beloved friend, had irrevocably died) but there was no better time than the present to get rid of her old hang-ups and grudges. If Aaron or Roland was here to hear her say that, she supposed that they'd be proud! With that thought comforting her, she closed the distance in no time at all and, with closed eyes and held breath, rushed to where her map interface told her Lucia would be. Make amends and get free food and a special surprise. What a fine deal, if she did say so herself!

"Alphabet Chocolate has made her appearance in front of the awesome Lucia something-something of Astorea or whatever!" she declared, struggling to remember the necromancer's official title and surname. She eventually shrugged it off. It wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things considering the fact that she didn't know the actual names or surnames of most of the people on her friends' list. Slowly, she opened her eyes with baited breath and hoped that the surprise would greet her when her eyes finally fell upon what was in front of her. Instead of anything pleasant, however, she was face-to-face with something eerie and terrifying.

Alpha gulped. Her eyes were wide and she was stunned, completely off-put by the sudden appearance of two skeletal creatures that were in such a state of decay that she couldn't see any visible part of flesh coating their bare bones. Even Sylvanas, the walking, rotting corpse, had at least some substance to her body. With these two creatures accompanying Lucia? Not a single thing reminded her of human other than the obvious skull and humanoid structure. She stuttered and breathed and tried to calm herself to no avail as she shook and barely managed to restrain herself from jumping to attack.

"The R-R-Risen!" she shouted, eyes wild. Memories long buried shot back at her and, with no small amount of panic, she dug into the pouch tucked around her waist to feel the comforting glow of the Mist Wolf Fragment pocketed there. She looked frantically between Lucia and the two skeletons, her disheveled appearance obviously demanding an explanation. Deep inside, she knew that the woman had raised and commanded these undead minions herself but she desired a verbal answer. Perhaps she sought a sentence or two that could calm her fears and worries and trauma. "Lucia?" she murmured weakly.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia heard Alpha's flustered voice, but didn't respond initially. While she could definitely reassure the girl about the natures of the undead, it wouldn't help if they needed a personal introduction every time. Instead, she hoped that they would be enough to warm up the poor traumatized girl themselves. After a brief pause, the smaller of the skeletons let out a deep chuckle giving Lucia a small nudge once more. "Hey... It looks like this Human has a 'bone' to pick with you." The short one joked, still maintaining a relaxed posture and cheesy grin as he casually tried approaching Alpha who was clearly distressed. "It's okay there kid, it won't get under our 'skin', you keep giving me those eyes though and my hairs'll stand on end." The skeleton couldn't help chuckling. "You get it? It's a rib tickler--"

"Quiet Sans! Remember what we came for! To capture the Hyuman." The taller one spoke with a heroic pose, as if it believed the sunlight would be hitting him just so, as if he were perched on a rock overlooking something heroically and acting in an inspiring manner. He had a bright dazzling smile like a costumed hero, but it was clear from his outfit and style he was more of a 'would be' hero. "Hyuman, you shall go no further! I, the great Papyrus, shall stop you! BEHOLD!" Taking a few steps back, the skeleton prepared something underneath a simple sheet-- Exactly when it had happened, well, that was it's own mystery, but it pulled the sheet away revealing a poorly crafted box held up by a stick with a rope around it leading away. "Nyeh haha! It looks like you must surrender to me Hyuman, since you surely won't be able to resist my Trap!" He spoke pulling an even smaller wash cloth off of the 'bait'. Under the box was a small dish of pudding-- Or at least, it was supposed to be pudding, but the bowl was clearly empty, the spoon within clear evidence there was nothing left. The tall skeleton though remained proud, as if it hadn't noticed the bait it had proudly prepared was already gone.

If Alpha glanced towards Lucia for answers though, Lucia would only smile contently, gesturing to the pair hoping that Alpha would find them friendly and non-threatening enough. One always meant good but dropped the ball when they feeling confident, the other was far too idle and content to actually cause any harm if there wasn't a serious threat. The pair had something anyone in Lucia's mind could adore or relate to. "Well?" She ask with a small smile

 

Alpha stared. And stared. And, after she was done staring, decided to stare yet again. “...What?” she managed to breathe out, staring at the skeletal pair incredulously. Although Alpha had fought against monumental spiders, divorced fire princes,and even a hobo before, she hadn’t quite expected a pun-telling skeleton. In her mind, she saw the undead as devoid souls bereft of all type of humor or human mannerisms. Well, except for the very human nature of cruelty considering that they chomped her companion straight down to bone and flesh. This moment was so surprising that she forgot she was supposed to be terrified for a quick second and simply stared. This couldn’t have been Lucia’s creation. Even if Alpha didn’t know the woman as well as most, she knew for the fact that the woman didn’t have a sense of humor. It’s a universal fact. Or was a universal fact until that skeleton cracked a terrible joke and she learned a very peculiar thing. Apparently Lucia Mierz had a very dry, very punny way of getting giggles.

She looked at Lucia and saw a content smile lingering on the woman’s face. That proved it. Lucia ‘The Necromancer’ Mierz was internally laughing at a pun of all things. Don’t get Alpha wrong; she absolutely loved, no adored, puns. The fact that Lucia loved them too? It was world-shattering. World-breaking. World-piercing.

And then, combined with the appearance of these two members of the undead, she did what any sane, traumatized, young girl would do in this very situation. She fainted.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia at first was amused by Alphabet's reaction, seemingly thinking it was a success because it didn't begin with screams. Yes, this seemed to work, feeling proud of herself at heart, these pair she believed would make perfect politicians in the future. They appeared very non-threatening but at the same time would have the potential to hold their own if the worst case scenario ever did truly strike. While Lucia was mentally giving herself a pat on the back though, she noticed the smaller girl swaying before falling backwards making her hesitate.

Before Alpha could reach the ground though, the short skeleton gestured upwards with a gentle wrist flick, pointing his fingers up to disperse her downward momentum. All the while, the taller one reached out for her out of concern, almost reflexively as if his predisposition from the start was based around kindness and helping. Alarmed, the two went back and forth about how to solve the problem, the tall one panicked and flustered, the short one was critical and direct. While the two tried to work out what could possibly have happened though, Lucia only sighed knowing this might be a slow going process.

Letting Alpha relax, Lucia waited by her petting the girl's head trying to be as supportive as humanly possible. While she was doing that, the pair of skeletons made an effort at helping as much as they could as well. In the time Alpha had been unconcious, one had already opened up a hotdog stand and fallen asleep on their own counter while the other was heroically stabbing his spoon into a pot shouting things like "WITH SPIRIT" or "BECOME SPAGETTI". As if both of these tactics would surely help this poor human recover their spirits enough-- Though in the eyes of one it was unnecessary while in the eyes of the other it was to ensure the opponent was at their best for epic combats and puzzle solving.

 

Alpha woke up to a start with the lingering scent of freshly-made, tantalizing hotdogs teasing at her senses. "F-Food," she mumbled, a line of drool slipping down her lips and off her chin. She rubbed her eyes wearily, covered a yawn, and took a nice stretch before the blur in her vision faded and she saw the world in clear, crisp retina display once again. After a few more waking routines consisting of a vigorous shake of her head, she finally noticed the visage of an older woman looking down at her. Confused. especially after just waking up, she squinted her eyes for quite a long while before a bit of recognition replaced the faded clouds plaguing her sight. "Lucia?" she asked, getting up and rubbing her head. There was no pain from landing, courtesy of Sans, but she made the clumsy attempt to nurse an imaginary wound out of muscle memory. There were times, after all, when a situation completely overwhelmed her and she activated her number one escape mechanism: dropping unconscious until the problem went away (which actually never worked but definitely made her feel better for a nice expanse of time).

She pulled her hair, the strands struggling at the roots to resist her insistent tugging, and tried to get a firm grasp over what was happening. She had yet to notice the loud yelling of Papyrus or the sudden existence of a hotdog stand that had incidentally woke her up. "Gah. Okay, okay. I was, uh, checking out a shop a few minutes ago and...oh, yeah! You invited me over didn't you, Lucia? Haha! Sorry bout that, don't know what got into me or, like, how I ended up on the floor! I was actually gonna apologize bout the entire, uh, stabbing-your-undead-friend-thing thing, you know? But hey! I don't see a single grudge in your eye so I guess we're okay, right? Uh...sorry bout that, again. And, uh, food! There was a surprise right?! Haha, nice to meet you again, by the way!" she rambled on and on, her head a bit off from the unhealthy lapse in consciousness. It was at that very moment, however, that her eyes lingered a bit from Lucia's form and noticed the large, orange-dressed skeleton that was rambling over spaghetti and clambering around with a spoon and pot.

She gulped and her face visibly paled. Slowly, she sat herself back down as a slight dizziness settled itself forefront in the back of head. "Welp," she muttered, attempting to lighten the mood. "Uh, I think I know what happened. So..."

She couldn't think of what to say and merely took another glance at Lucia and then back at the pair of skeletons with an ounce of suspicion and distaste. "At least they don't have guns."

It was a poor reminder of their entire adventure chasing down hemomancers and the like but Alpha couldn't help but try to crack a joke. She didn't want to disrespect Lucia (the woman had been a companion to her a few times without a hint of betrayal or an unfriendly personality) again by stabbing or estranging her little (or very tall) friends. "Well, look at all the work they got done. They even have a hotdog stand and I don't think I've been out for very long, right? They're definitely not, uh, lazy bones," she said weakly.

@Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia only laughed a little bit seeing Alpha come back, although wounding Sylvanas back then was tough on her, she wouldn't pursue the issue. It had happened a lot more then just that one occasion after all, and while healing her was difficult, it wasn't impossible. Even now, Sylvanas was much stronger then before, independent, a fresh and unique creature in the world now. How could she be mad at Alpha who couldn't cause serious damage? Instead though she chuckled glancing at the undead with Alpha nodding back. "That's right. I made them thinking they would be able to make people a bit more comfortable with the undead. Though their acting needs a bit of work." Lucia mused a little, after all, their attitudes and atmosphere was largely artificial. If they were to act naturally they'd be a little different on both sides, but they aimed to be flashy and amusing for their public.

"The tall one trying to figure out how to make pasta is Papyrus, he's a bit on the whimsical and excitable side, an optimist really. The little one is Sans, the realist of the pair, a bit too relaxed at times, but has a strong older brother spirit in him. They're good." She explained with a content smile introducing them only to have the tall one finally turn around with a heroic and brave laugh. "Nyeheheh! Now then Hyuman, it is time, as a self-proclaimed five star chef and food critic, I believe this is my best work yet! Now, after this spagetti you will be ready for the epic combat that will be remembered for generations!" He spoke pulling along the bowl he'd been stabbing. Within was a sad amalgam of mashed and beaten tomatos, somehow overcooked meat and equally puzzling uncooked pasta. Despite the clearly earnest effort, the pasta was something that might make one cry.

Alternatively the short one only sighed and shook his head at the taller one's efforts, as if knowing it would be hard for a human to eat such a thing. "Eey, lazy bones, you're getting it. I was worried you might've broken a funny'bone' earlier, I would have had no'body' to blame if you didn't like the punny banter." He spoke perfectly positioning a well made hotdog on Alpha's head, balancing it just so as he continued. "If you were out much longer I would've considered an 'I scream' cart instead to wake you up." "QUIET SANS! This isn't the time for puns! We must do our duty and ensure that the Hyuman is in fighting condition!"

 

Alpha eyed the spaghetti with surprisingly little apprehension and instead regarded it with much contemplation and hunger. Her stomach rumbled as she stood up, oblivious to the unpalatable taste of the poorly-cooked pasta. She gave it a sniff and she seemed to have found whatever it was she was looking for. Within moments, she pulled it from Papyrus' hand and devoured the plate, slurping up the noodles and dry meat with abandon before giving out a content sigh and gulp. "Ah," she mumbled, finally relaxed. Her stomach was full and heavy and she felt lazy and numb (whether it was because of a good meal or because she got food poisoning was unknown). "Ha...thanks for the food. It's not that bad, actually," she mustered out, struggling to keep up a smile for the orange-themed skeleton.

Alpha had been hesitant, especially when Lucia had mentioned the entire 'acting' part, but she supposed that their feelings and intentions were honest enough. Good food require much love, as her grandmother always said. Surely someone that was as despicable as the Risen wouldn't be able to make a decent plate of spaghetti? She looked between the bickering pair thoughtfully, flicking her tongue over her chin to lick up a remaining bit of tomato sauce (or, more accurately, mashed tomatoes) that had taken a liking to hanging around the ends of her face. "So you're brothers?" she asked curiously, cocking her head to the side. She didn't even think that the undead were capable of love, much less the level of brotherly affection these two had displayed. It filled her with the staple Alphabet Chocolate™ curiosity. "Uh, what're your names again? I kinda, uh, forgot."

The conversation was stiff and stilted but she was giving it the best she got. She hesitated to extend her hand out for a shake, the thought of touching that decayed, boned hand filling her with much agitation. She was shocked to see her limbs begin to shiver without her volition, forcibly stilling it as she looked back up between the skeletons and Lucia. And then her smile dropped. "Fighting condition?" she blanched, eyes growing a tad bit frantic. Almost immediately, tension bled back into her form as she hovered her hand over her dagger sheathe, eyeing the two warily like a stray dog with its hackles raised. "What's going on?" she demanded, ready for any sign of a confrontation.

@Lucia Mierz

 

"Nyeh heh heh... As a well known self-proclaimed five star chef and food critic, I will say it was no doubt my best work yet!" He spoke proudly posing as the girl ate his spagetti, truly his pose struck seemed to make one think of waves crashing majestically against a shimmering beach with the sun setting at his back. IF you didn't look carefully it would almost seem like his teeth were as spiced with glitter as his armor since they seemed to shimmer with every pose he struck trying to seem heroic. Unfortunately the grandoise pose only lasted a short while before the short skeleton softly dropped a hotdog onto Alpha's head, balancing it with a gentle hand until it settled just right on her head. "My little brother's a bit of a bone head, but you seem to get him at least." The smaller one said with a content expression, glad to see the taller skeleton getting along with someone.

"I'm Sans though, Nice to meet--" "I am the GREAT Papyrus, powerful knight and future Royal Guardsman of the Undead's Forsaken Faction. Nyeh heh heh... Here, Let me write you an autograph!" He spoke suddenly pulling out a paper (From who knows where) and writing before offering it to Alpha. If she looked closely she'd see though it was very similar to (or more precisely absolutely and without question) a Tavern napkin, even with a few ketchup stains on the corner. His name was almost completely illegable as well, as if the skeleton had no idea how to read or write letters. Seeing the two so eager to introduce themselves though, Lucia tried to clear up any last minute concerns. "They are brothers in a way, I made them from the same pile, so technically they are I guess? Undead aren't much different from people though, some good, some bad, some smart, some dumb." She explained with a gentle and approving smile as she watched the skeletons at work.

When Alpha reached out her hand though, the stubby short skeleton reached out as well. It's hand a bleached bone, pure white in appearance. It wasn't at all clammy or cold to the touch either, as if it was a smooth stone or rock, it was just normal room temperature, the texture smooth like a polished river stone. It had some give to it, not like human skin, but enough to make it clear it wasn't exactly rock. Though Alpha might realize there was something else in the skeleton's hand after touching. The low "Pfffffft" came out very loudly and noticably. The smaller skeleton watching briefly before chuckling and showing Alpha the small pouch it used as a whoopie cushion. "Hehe... Got you." It commented clearly amused.

"Enough playing around Sans! It is finally time!" The tall one spoke again, but when Alpha glanced at Lucia, the taller skeleton continued to ramble and monologue his diabolical plot while Lucia explained why he was even trying. "He wants to be as strong as Sylvanas someday, so he thinks he has to battle other heroes to prove himself. He has a very kind personality though, so it's really hard for him to actually fight... Instead he tries to devise puzzles to prove he's stronger." Lucia explained in a low tone. Meanwhile the taller skeleton's monologue was slowly dragging to a close, his cycle of poses having continued from start to finish. "--And that is why, Hyuman, I, the Great Papyrus, will defeat you with my gloriously devised trap!" He spoke, suddenly gesturing to the cardboard box trap from before. Unfortunately so much time had passed, the unstable stick had already collapsed causing the box to fall over the already eaten bait. Hesitating briefly at the sight of his trap failing, Sans couldn't help chuckling while comforting the horrified taller one with a few pats on the arm. "Maybe next time Bud..."

 

Alpha reached for the hotdog atop her head without taking her eyes off the strange pair, slowly munching on the sausage and bun goodness before tension, once again, began to wade off her in waves. Her fears were slightly calmed by the fact that the larger one, Papyrus, seemed to be an even bigger dunce than her (even she wouldn't use an empty can of pudding as bait; a can of Jell-O was obviously the better, irresistible choice). "A fight, huh?" she breathed, her fingers still twitching around the grip of her dagger. Her eyes twinkled at the prospect of a fight considering that she had too much pent-up anxiety brewing in her gut. She looked over at Lucia and considered what the woman had said. And then, without responding, she looked back at the two skeletons who seemed harmless enough. She struggled to keep herself from comforting the orange creature when he stood horrified at his failed plot. There was a tinge of pity for him.

She reached into her pocket, feeling the comforting warmth of Terry around her, and finally steeled herself. "My name's Alphabet Chocolate," she said, her voice stilted. It sounded as if something was holding her back but, after stroking the Mist Wolf Fragment once more, she felt determination spark through her. A proper introduction is where things should start off. All she had to do was keep calm and time would reveal just how much trust she could, or should, put in the skeletal brothers. Reaching into her pocket, she plucked out a few coins of change and a few pieces of candy. "Uh, want one?" she offered a small bag of treats to the pair. The sweet content of gummy bears inside the pouch was one of her favorites to get at the Sweets Emporium in Stokbon. She made a mental note to herself to grab another bag on her next visit to the prosperous city.

"Uh, if you wanna get stronger I can give you some tips, you know. I mean, Vermy's awfully good at all this undead stuff and I'm sure I can ask her about some stuff," Alpha fumbled slightly, a bit uncomfortable and unused to conversing with a member of the undead. As she was speaking, her hand flickered around, her eyes flickering over the area every time she felt her actions would be unnoticed. Finally, over from her peripheral vision, she caught sight of an alley cat staring straight at them. She gulped and flicked her hand. Within seconds, the cat's eyes tinged a light green and, with a twitch of a finger, she carefully maneuvered the cat underneath the collapsed box trap.

"Sorry bout the...you know. If you're Lucia's friends then I guess we could get along, right?" she tentatively said, her voice sounding more inquisitive than confident. With the last word, she let loose a wounded breath and, just like that, the enchantment she had put under the cat failed and a hiss and yowl echoed from under the box. She was still very uncomfortable with the prospect of being anywhere near Sans or Papyrus but it was a nice place for her to start remedying her instinctual repulsion and fear of the undead.

@Lucia Mierz

 

The prospect of a real fight though made Lucia smile a little, glancing back to the taller Skeleton, she knew the tall skeleton well, if provoked he would always resist fighting back whenever possible. Just like Lucia was thinking, the moment Alpha reached for a knife and proposed a fight, the taller skeleton seemed to stall, seeing the knife, he lifted his hands abruptly shaking them in an attempt to change the topic quickly. "W-Wait Hyuman, this is only my first trap! That's right, I have more tricks up my sleeve, incredible mind blowing puzzles that will surely show you!... I just... have to... hm--" He paused glancing around, making it a little clear that he didn't really have as many tricks as he advertised. Instead he seemed to be trying to improvise a new puzzle or trick quickly without any prep time.

"I'd like one." The smaller one said while the taller brother was distracted by coming up with traps. Watching the younger brother think, the stubby skeleton put a candy into it's teeth, though it didn't seem capable of swallowing or using saliva to enjoy the candy, it held it between it's teeth as it continued speaking. "It's good to meet you Alphabet, I'll call you Al. It's nice you wanna help us and all, but I can't say the goal's really to get stronger you know? Look--" The stubby one spoke, gesturing to his taller counter part who was still deep in thought. It seems in the time they'd been talking, Papyrus had a magazine rolled up in mouth and was digging a whole. "Nyeh heh heh... Why didn't I think of it before, a pit fall! That always works for all of the villains." He spoke laughing even as he dug the hole, oblivious to the fact that that sort of trap needed to be a secret.

The whole was getting progressively deeper, but no more then two feet by the time he finished, it was just enough to get a foot lost in but not really do any damage beyond surprising someone. "If the boss went to someone else, we might get strong enough to kill everyone in sight but... that sort of thing would scare my brother. He doesn't like to see people get hurt, he doesn't want to kill anyone, he just wants to help the boss and help people." The stubby one said proudly, slipping his hands into his pockets as the candy between it's teeth cracked, chewing and eating, it seemed to disappear somewhere between the skeleton jawline and the rest of it's body though. "For me, well, I might not be as good as Papyrus when it comes to believing in people, I know there are some bad people out there who try to make you strong. Things that aren't really human-- those types that aren't what they seem, well, those are the types who are going to have a bad time." Sans spoke, still smiling, but somehow not quite a smile particularly when mentioning the bad time.

"I did it Sans! It's ready!" The taller one laughed loudly breaking the awkward moment a little. With a noticeably pink and heart covered blanket covering the hole and soil tarnishing it's shinny glitter colored costume, it still posed proudly. "Now, Hyuman, how will you defeat my newest trap!" He spoke, wringing his hands as if thinking of diabolical schemes. All the while, Lucia didn't hesitate to just continue watching with a content expression, wanting both Alpha and the skeletons to get used to interacting with one another, this was a good test to see if Sans and Papyrus were ready to associated with humans.

 

Alpha stayed silent and opted to focus on Papyrus' tirade, her bones shivering at San's words. Although her attempts to be diplomatic were dubious at best, she couldn't help but wonder if what she was doing really was the right thing to do. As Sans had put it, the pair could be brutally strong (if one believed his testimony, of course) to a serious extent. That thought was terrifying and she couldn't help but look Lucia over. She bit her lip, hoping to see if the woman would comment. She wanted to tell the woman not to trust the undead so easily; they could so very easily stab her in the back should they have the slightest urge to. She kept herself silent. There was no use in ostracizing her friend if the skeletal pair hadn't nothing anything suspicious yet. Perhaps she should try to hold some trust in them, even if it would be misplaced. She breathed and then she felt a light tingling behind her ear.

And, suddenly, it felt like she was flying free in the air and into oblivion. Complete freedom overwhelmed her and she found that she couldn't quite remember what she had been conversing about with Lucia's clothed friend. Her head was muddled for a bit and, just like that, it was over. Alpha failed to notice the roots and petals grow a bit red. Feeling a slight itch, she reached out to scratch it a bit before everything up until the present had rushed into her head and she stumbled.

"Oh, uh. Oh yeah! Vermy's the greatest person you'll ever meet, you know?" the thought of Vermilion instantly reinvigorated Alpha and, for some reason, it was as if all her fears of the undead had washed away and had been replaced by pure contentment and mischief (like how she always felt). She gave a grin and grabbed Sans by the shoulders, shaking him excitedly as if they'd been friends since the beginning of time. "Don't worry! She's absolutely the best! Like, you'll never find someone as great as her in the world! I mean, I bet you that even that Qora guy and the rest of those lousy Gods up there can't even stand a chance against Vermy! You'll love her! Haha!" she laughed, giving Sans a pat on the back as she turned to face Papyrus with unconstrained elation and amusement.

Alpha didn't manage to hear a single word that was spat out of Papyrus' mouth as she eyed the pink, hearted blanket with fascination, curiosity, and greed. "Oh. My. God," she breathed, stepping closer to the item. "THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!"

Her scream could be heard for miles as she immediately rushed up to snuggle the blanket. "Gahhh, your friends are AWESOME, Lucia!"

@Lucia Mierz