Hybrid

“Nighttime is so pretty isn’t it?” The old mage slouched, leaning back against the tree, staring up at the moon through shifting leave as his vision blurred. It was hard to breath, his body rapidly turning cold and mind shutting down. He was exsanguinating slowly, a monster’s sword buried through his chest, holding him upright as the pine’s blood mixed with his own. Harding hacked a cough, thick red beads dripping down his chin. “I suppose this was to be expected in the end, wasn’t it?” He had played god and was now paying for it.

The artificial monster, his creation, gazed down at him with wide, uncaring eyes. It didn’t have a soul with which to feel, only raw magic fueled it. Magic he ripped from the beings of several other monsters. Harding had only just closed his eyes, ready to let go, when his soul was torn free of his body.

It felt like he was being shattered, pulled back together, then shattered once more. By the time it all subsided, and he looked at his hands... They were large, pale, and claw-like. Covered in blood. His vision danced in odd shades, the darker reaches of the boughs clear in grayscale- devoid of color- and magic drifted through the air like mist. There was a body in front of him. The body of an old mage, energy and life finally flowed out into the dewy grass around him. W. D. looked down at the corpse, at his corpse...

He would be hyperventilating was he capable of breathing. In that same moment, he became acutely aware that he was no longer human, and his new body could not fully hold the weight of his soul. W.D. took the corpse for materials and fled the human kingdoms. The next time he met another mage, they would try to kill him.

Private Journal of W.D. ⅁ɐƧʇƎЯ

When had you fallen asleep again? Your head peeled off the sheets with a pathetic moan... Gods your hips were sore. Wait. This isn’t your room. You should be alert, hyperaware with a chill of dread clawing through your being, but you aren’t. Why? Why the fuck aren’t you freaking out?! Body what the hell?!

It took a second for you to fully grasp hold of your senses and you sat up. Or tried to anyway. There was an arm around your waist, toned and well muscled. A tattoo ran from the mid forearm to the juncture of a well defined shoulder and presumable from there onto whoever’s back the arm belonged to. Not having a face to look at- your neck isn’t that flexible- the rational side of you sets about memorizing every detail of the ink. It looked like a serpent swallowing a star. The snake itself was solid black with a golden eye, the forked tongue wrapped forward as if to trap the eight pointed star. The points were staggered so that the four cardinal directions were longer and more prominent, though the image seemed to shift the more you stared at it, like an old game flipping back and forth between two images, trying to get the effect of a shimmering light. The world seemed to fade and warp oddly around it.

With the star burned into your eyes, Care shook you into alertness. “Girl, are you okay? I know that skeleman was a bit weird but don’t go all dead eyed like that. It’s really creepy.”

“Hu?” It took a couple of seconds for you to process what just happened. W-was that a vision? You were sitting on your couch with a glass of wine, half empty. Care had pulled a bottle for you to share from her secret hiding spot to try and loosen you both up and chill out. Sans... fucking stole your panties for some reason and can apparently teleport- Oh gods, that’s why you’re drinking! You took another sip then cringed, not fully prepared for the burn of alcohol in your mouth. Ugh. You also remembered why you stuck to the lighter, fruitier beverages.

A shudder tickled up your back as that warm feeling finally kicked in. This day... not even fully evening and you were about ready to call it. Good gods, this fucking day. You sink into your seat further, glancing over to Caroline as she texted someone. Judging by the conflicted notes in her soul, it was Jack.

“Were you guys gonna netflix and chill tonight?” You put your glass down, not wanting to tempt anymore of... whatever that thing was into happening again.

“Yeah. I’d be staying in his apartment tonight if I thought leaving you here alone was at all safe. But seeing as short, punny, and pervy can port his skele-butt whereever, I didn’t think you should be alone.” Sometimes, you could swear she took more after her grandmother than anyone else in the family. No way she could contain this much sass otherwise.

A soft smile broke your face at the notion that Care was going out of her way to protect you. “Thanks, but I don’t feel good about you being here either-” that and you were a mage who could handle yourself, though having backup would be a godsend, “- and if that’s the case, I could probably pester Cols or Ming to letting me stay the night. I’m pretty sure Ming commutes, so he actually has a house, and Colin’s roommate is never around so...”

Caroline looked you up and down with a slowly raising brow. “Neither of those sound like the best option to be honest.” A smile twitched at the corner of her lips, that devilish kind of grin you knew all too well. “I don’t think you told me much about this ‘Ming’ guy. He handsome?” Her other brow had shot up at this point, leaning in slightly as she wiggled them.

“Oh my gods, no! You are not setting me up on a date! Not today.”

“Oh come one, smolls!” She dropped her phone on the table, tackling you in a hug to keep you from running away. “You need to get out of your cave more. I know you like people, I’ve seen the way you look at some of ‘em. Y’know, I think you’re just scared of commitment.”

It was very difficult to refute anything she said around your laughter. Care’s chin digging into your ticklish side had you squirming and trying not to snort. “C-care. No!” You did manage to break her grip and shoot off the couch before she could grab you, but hey, she got you laughing and that was the point.... You did feel a bit better.... Gods knew you needed to unwind, maybe getting a significant other wouldn’t be so bad? Even if you knew it was doomed, melodies can shift by what other ones are around them... maybe... Maybe Care was right. She’s proven herself an expert on you in the past. Your high school sweetheart, it may have worked out if you’d tried harder? Or maybe if you found him again there could be something there...

You poured yourself a glass of water and shook your head. No, the romance with him had died, your song was too light to meld well with any of the girls you knew so that could only end in disaster or mutual disinterest... “Okay... I’ll try the whole ‘dating’ thing, but I’m not going to tie down unless I’m sure it’ll be worth it.”

“See,” she had shifted back into a seated position, sprawling over the whole couch, “afraid of commitment. Did Mr Apathy really ruin relationships for you?”

“No, no. We just.... never clicked, y’know. And I’m looking for my ‘one’, not just any old fling.”

Caroline pulled her arm up on the back of the couch to stare at you in puzzlement. “How can you find your ‘one’ by not actively searching for them?”

“... Touche.”  You paused, staring at your phone. The options were before you, you just had to make a choice. Caroline seemed to sense you spacing out and turned back around to fully face you. The fact remained that you were spacing out, too lost in thought to register her waving a hand at you.

You have known Cols for years, even spent the night at his place before, so asking him short notice wouldn’t be too strange if not a little alarming. But... he wasn’t a great fighter and while you wanted to trust that Sans wouldn’t do anything, you couldn’t shake that frightening vibe he gave you. It was... It was like he could kill you if he really wanted to, and it would be easy. You shuddered, blinking the image of his burning cyan eye out of your head. The first swallow of water hurt with how your throat had constricted.

“Are you okay?” Care had gotten up from the sofa, lingering at the edge of the kitchen with her lower lip in her teeth. Your eyes snapped up to Caroline’s face, brows creased in concern and her icy blue gaze fixed on your face.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” You polished off the glass of water and placed the cup in the sink. You gave her a slight hug, walking past Care. Your feet carried you back to your room and you began to pull various school books together. Whether you were staying with Ming or Colin, you still had school work to do. At least with one of them, you could turn it into a magical studies sleep over.

That brought you back to considering your options more heavily. Ming and you would definitely be able to fight off one attacker if you had to, but you really didn’t know him that well. Sure you saw his soul, and he saw yours, but it wasn’t like you really knew him. Your face flushed slightly at the memory of his focused expression and how he’d stared at your soul, mystified. No, no, you didn’t know his well at all. It was just like how you saw Jack naked during the incident and you didn’t know anything past what you heard from his melody, and what Caroline had told you.

Your blush deepened in second-hand embarrassment thinking about that night. It soured the drink you just took and your stomach shuddered. Nope. Stop thinking about it! No, no no no.

Shoving your books into your messenger bag with a bit too much force you pulled your train of thought back onto today. Today... both of them put so much faith in you. Today you had to really measure their ideals against your own. Today... you still don’t have an answer. Distrust doesn’t mean safely but blind faith can snap back on you so easily. It wasn’t an easy question to answer, but even knowing the final decision rested with the council, your voice would hold sway in that meeting. You. Your decision would directly impact the entiremagical community- no the entire world! What do you choose? ... What could you choose?

As your gaze ran over the shelves and you found yourself face to face with a journal your mother gave you a calm spread through your quaking shoulders. She wrote down songs in it since she was your age or a little younger. Her dreams permeated the pages, but it was only halfway filled. She’d given it to you when you graduated high school so you could write your own soul into its pages. A kind of spiritual connection with her no matter how far removed you were by time or space. The memories brushed against your tense body, laxing you with the scent of maple leaves and old books.

Very gently, you lifted the book more aged than yourself from the shelf, feeling the worn sides where your mother’s hands had created small, barely noticable dimples in the backing. Your mind filled with the image of those smooth, strong arms around your shoulders, holding you close in a warm embrace. You missed her more than you realized.

You turned through the pages, watching as her script evolved over many years until you reached the very last page on which her ink stained letters. It was a very simple spell, one you never even realized was a spell until now. A charm really. “For she who rights her dreams down will have a map to follow...” It wasn’t so much the words that made it a spell, it was the language it was written in. You had started learning it the end of Sophomore year in Treatises of Spoken Spellcraft. Old, old writings were done in this script. It was used to enchant objects with a specific purpose. Magic was mostly enchantment in those days.

THe excitement of discovery sparked in your chest as your eyes devoured the text. Know roughly how the charm might work, you quickly took up a pen and on the adjacent page wrote in swirling letters, ‘I dream of a future where I can be myself, without fear of human or monster reviling me.’ You took a breath, waiting for something to happen, just waiting... As the seconds slid by and there was nothing a pang of despair stabbed your heart. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy... May it was a compound spell, you had to start small or it would never work, but the more goals you achieved, the more powerful the spell would become. You leaned over to mark out the ink when the book shuddered and glowed.

Startled, you staggered back, dropping the pen and just barely stopping yourself for making a sound, painfully aware you were messing with magic with Caroline in the other room. Beneath your writing was a very different script. “Don’t trust him.” You murmured the phrase, squinting at the pages. That was it? Don’t trust him? That was the least helpful thing you’ve ever read! A little bit annoyed, and damn well determined to figure out how the spellwork was actually crafted, you shoved the journal in your bag as well. Lastly, you pulled your handkerchief off the desk, staring at the hand stitched fabric a while longer before looping it around to rest over your collarbone.

With a bit more attention to your appearance than you might otherwise give, you picked out a jacket that already weant with what you were wearing, opting for a forest green long sleeve shirt over a lace-lined lime green undershirt and simple jenes. The jacket was a darker blue with lighter reflective strips to them. You tugged on your striped spearmint green kneesocks and a pair of white winter boots.

Satisfied that you were just casual enough while still looking nice, you tossed fingers through your hair, watching at it fan out before falling in a more windswept, ‘I couldn’t give a fuck how I look’ way while still being somewhat nice. You did not envy Caroline’s hair; not having to spend hours fighting it on a daily basis just to not have a bed head was great.

With a more confident sway in your step, you slung the bag over your shoulder, collected you phone, ID, and keys, then headed out to the main room. “You go hang with your man, Care. I’ll be fine. Enjoy yourself.” Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but you really didn’t mind this so much. Your mind finally hit that ever so slightly fuzzy state where you weren’t drunk or even tipsy, but you inhibitions were dampened. You felt.... confident, empowered; maybe this kick in the rear was what you needed.

Yeah! Y’know what? The world could fuck off! Throwing impossible bull shit problems at you all the time. Expecting you to know the answers! Ha! You had a smile on your face that must have reached your eyes. If you were paying closer attention you would have noticed the slight blush on Care’s face.

You swept out of the room, feeling the chilly bite in the air with a smile still radiating from your eyes. The boys’ phones were both in you contacts so you just group texted them both, asking if either one wouldn’t mind letting you hang out and pull an all nighter with them. You also included that you would be in The Library in case something happened.

Tucking your phone into your jeans pocket, you moter across campus, not really rushing, but taking in as much air and wind as you could with the sun setting earlier each day. The worn stone steps felt surprisingly nice underfoot, each divot a reminder of the number of people that have walked between the towering rows of knowledge. Oh, you kinda forgot to turn your phone on silent. Should probably do that. The very second you did that, your phone popped up a notification. Some unknown number was trying to call you.

For a second you kinda stood there, almost tempted to pick up, but you decided better of it and shoved your phone back into your pocket, walking fully into the mage-only section hidden in the very back of the building. The crackling of the flames calmed you down a little; finding a tabled to work at, you set out some school-work and left your phone right-side up so that you could see the screen whenever it lit up with a new notice. Cols got back to you first, saying he would if his roommate left to go clubbing again around seven. He’d let you know through the chat if Ming didn’t ‘swoop in to save you’ first.

You kinda smiled at the banter and shot him a return, playfully making light of your situation.

Good news, you finished your calculus work; bad news you were super dead right now. You really didn’t want to do more work, though you had to. Part of being an adult. You checked the time and kind of gapped. “Yikes.” There were several rather lewd thing posted from Colin’s phone along with a selfie of someone definitely not Colin. For starters she was a vivacious blonde with her cleavage practically popping out the top of the skimpy shirt barely covering her bra. You waited a couple seconds longer after the last message seemed to be something cut off and garbled.

“Oh my gods guys. I’m sorry. Roomass is already smashed as shit and he stole my phone when his (also drunk gf) tried to kiss me.”

Well that explains the selfie. “How long did it take for you to get it back?” You fingers flicked over the screen, only half paying attention to spelling as your phone auto corrected your slight impairment. You made sure to give it a hard read before sending it just in case.

“Oh, pretty much the whole time. Took him long enough to guess the password. Wasn’t worried until then. Brb. Gotta change it.”

“Okay.” You were about to put the phone down when a message from Ming dinged into the chat.

“Sorry guys. Was in a meeting. What’s up?” A few seconds later, “Aside from drunk roommates.”

“Soul needs a place to crash for the night.” Colin typed out with a long pause and both boys sent something along the lines of ‘What?’ as he seemed to realize what he just said.

“Wait, Soul,” Ming’s message started out, “why do you need to stay over with one of us.”

“Well... We can’t stay in my place and I need some more time, preferably during the day when Judge is busy and Care is MIA, to put some basic alarms and wards up. He can teleport btws.”

“What did he do?” came the instant response from Ming. You could just hear the anger coming from the text. This was the warrior spirit after all, demanding the protection of his allies.

Colin seemed to be a bit hesitant, his cursor showing he’d been typing for a while, but the message itself being short. “Are you okay? Do you need us to come get you?”

... Were you okay? Really? With the small bit of alcohol already burning out of your system you were left to think more clearly about your situation. “I’m not sure? I don’t think I’m in any real danger. I just don’t want to be there... Not tonight.”

Ming and Colin both responded more or less at the same time. Both were apologetic negatives, that you couldn’t stay with either of them. You swallowed and tried to fake a laugh for yourself. “Do you think Stillwater or Wiessner would mind if I slept in The Library tonight?”

“... I know a place you might be able to stay, but you’d have to trust me on this. We can all go there and you can meet the guy who runs it. If you don’t like it, we can leave.” Ming responded, clearly as unnerved as you but not wanting you to be somewhere unfamiliar or ‘public’. The Library might be a hidden, mage only location, but that didn’t mean you were entirely safe to just sleep there. Not all mages were the best people. That’s true of every group though. Sans seemed to prove it was true for monsters too, at least in part. Still, you swallowed past your nervousness. “Okay. Colin can meet me at TL and you can pick us up?”

“Sure, smolls.”

“Anything for you, Soul.” You blinked at Ming’s message. That was a little weird.

Colin said something about being there in a few minutes, as did the warrior. You tucked your phone back into your pocket, mulling over everything. The question of what to do came back into your mind, as did the cryptic message in your mother’s journal.

Deciding that you really did need to figure it out, you pulled the old book out of your bag, cradling each page as you turned it, The yellowed parchment gave way to those bold black words underneath your script. “Don’t trust him.” You murmured those words over and over again under your breath. Who was him and why did this book feel the need to play the pronoun game? Was it talking about Sans? The man Ming was going to introduce?

You stared at those words, then pulled out a pen. The point hovered over the page, twitching with the throb of your heartbeat. Just as you had been about to write, the words left you. Cold and alone and afraid. Confused, lost, and in need of guidance. You couldn’t even ask for help because you couldn’t find the words. Ha! Imagine that! A bard that couldn’t find the words. You aren’t good enough. You’ll never be good enough.

“Shut up!” You snap at the air, throwing the pen down and rising to your feet. The chair gave a loud protest as it struck the ground. With a rush of embarrassment, you recalled where you were, looking up and around. No one was there. No sound but the snapping fire. No other soul but you. You were entirely alone.

With a deep breath, you moved to the centre of the room, magic pulsing up your arms and out your eyes and throat. It needed to get out. You had needed to get these feelings out all day and not had any time to do it. Well, no time like the present.

You sang, you sang until your voice could express just how you felt. Then you pulled it all in, all the emotions swirling around beneath your skin and you pushed it out with one powerful note. The shelves rattled, books fell to the ground, and the flames flickered to the point of nearly dying. You were also pretty sure dust had fallen from the ceiling and you weren’t entirely sure if you’d unintentionally rocked the building. Oops. The green light storm swirled and faded and left your legs shaky.

Still. That felt good, but it left you empty. You returned to the book, staring at the page once again. ‘Be careful what you wish for’, as cliched and tired as it sounded, truly applied to this book. Any dream, no matter how pure, can be twisted by the aims of others.

“I dream...” The pen rested in your open palm, waiting for you to turn it to the page. Your whisper caused it to shudder with a green light. “I dream....” Having no other thought but those words and an empty heart you let go of trying to force something out, leaning back on your heels and sang. “A dream is a wish your heart makes....” Half way through the song it struck you what this dream needed.

It needed help.

You really aren’t good enough. You have flaws, everyone has flaws. What you really need is someone who compliments your flaws with their successes. What you need is someone to listen and really know you. Know you beyond the surface, beyond the friendships and teasing. You need someone who can call you out on your bull shit but still be there through every wrong turn. You need.... You need your ‘one’. Who you need is someone that can make your sould really sing. Your soulmate... The one to fix all the scattered puzzle pieces of your heart with theirs and have all the corners match up.

Half of you wanted to scoff at the childish notion while the other half screamed “Yes! Finally!” Your empathetic, aching soul would have someone to listen to it as intently as you listened to others.

You picked up the pen and wrote. “I dream to find my ‘one’. The soul of my soul. I dream of loving them and being loved in return.” You put the pen down and took a step back. Holding your breath. Just as before, the book shuddered and glowed. You tried not to get your hopes up.

“Knock. Knock.”

That breath slid out of your teeth somewhat bitterly. “Who’s there.” You picked up the journal, placing it back in your bag with other school books. Your phone screen lit up against your thigh. Colin was here and Ming was a minute away. You slung the bag over your shoulders, unaware that your words had been taken by the book, empowered by the charm, and sent to that someone like a kiss in the moonlight.

Colin waited on the steps for you, this beanpole figure replete with loose fitting hoodie hang slightly off on shoulder and the muted glow from his phone screen illuminating the thin roman nose and pale lips. His shock of orange hair could have almost been glowing with how the distant lights from the other buildings just managed to crawl its way over. The sun had already gone down, leaving him out of the setting sky hues and in the cold inky midnight-blue. You reached your friend with a soft sigh, cupping his free hand in yours.

He flicked his eyes up to your face, studying you like so many of his architectural sculptures. You knew Colin was trying to find the imbalance in your expression. Pinpoint the signs of distress. Sometimes you forget how tall he is. You just squeeze his hand and smile. He nods. Nothing more is needed between you.

You walked in stride with him to the circular lot by the front of the school. Ming had rolled down the driver’s side window and leaned out of his old black jaguar, scanning for you. Seeing Colin a bit before you, he ducked back in and pulled it out of park, rolling up to you. Colin took the front, he needed the legroom, and you slid in behind Ming, buckling up and leaning forward to rest your head against the back of his seat. None of you said anything as Ming left the school behind.

It struck you that you hadn’t been to downtown in a long while. Freshman year at least. Leaning back you turned to press your forehead against the icy window, staring listlessly at passing shops that had once been closing businesses or unoccupied spaces up for rent. You saw monsters making arrangements to move into these buildings. Some already being renovated with large ‘MTT’ signs posted up in front of them along with what you could only describe as a calculator on wheels. Or... a wheel. That was good at least. Locals had accepted the monsters pretty quickly and most of them hung around the mountain or downtown. Or that’s how it seemed. You really didn’t know just how many of them there were. But...

The more you thought about it, monsters were a drop in an ocean of humans. The mages were the same way too. One one-thousandth of the global population. It was a lot of people. but compared to the whole writhing mass of humanity that spent their days crawling through the muck, scrambling for a higher perch on the earth’s back...

It didn’t inspire much hope for change.

Two drops against the ocean was still just two drops. What can one person do if there is no one to aide them? What is one drop in the current? Not even a disturbance. Only when the water is still will you see the ripples. This world is nothing if not turbulent.

“Soul?” The silence was finally broken by Colin, his gaze fixed nervously upon you.

Though you still leaned against the door, you turned to look at him. You could see Ming glancing at you from the rear view mirror. “Yeah? Sorry. I was spacing out there.”

“Ming said we’re almost there.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks guys. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Your driver huffed, pulling up to a smooth stop when the light turned red. A few other cars on the road cast Ming in a red glow when he turned to really face you. “We’re allowed to worry about you, Soul.”

A smile marked your face and your soul warmed a bit. “Thank you.”

The light turned green as he returned his gaze to the road. You reached out to Colin who was still giving you a nervous and scrutinizing stare. His hand closed around yours, but the orange lights against his face drew your attention to the most put together monster establishment you’d seen. You knew it was a monster bar by the patrons walking in and out, that and all those monsters in one place was very loud. All three of you seemed to notice, but while it only mildly bothered the others, you physically winced. A bright neon sign declared the place “Grillby’s” and you made a mental note to check it out at some point.

It was maybe five more minutes drive from Grillby’s that the three of you arrived. At first the place seemed no more than a old motel, ratty and worn by years and years of business. Like many businesses operating at night, it had a neon sign of its own. “Ebott Inn.” Ming pulled up to the front office and parked, turning to look at Cols and you each. “So... we’re here. Do you guys want to come in with me or stay in the car?”

“I didn’t think you were talking about a motel, Ming.” You were immediately worried for the expence. While it was probably cheaper than dinner at a bar, you still didn’t feel great about having to spend the night here. Something felt off about this place, though for the life of you it was impossible to place.

“N-no. I’m friends with the owner.” He seemed to take your meaning with a kind yet embarrassed glance. “They have a cottage next door with overflow housing in the holidays. Back when I was a kid they let me stay a night or two there.”

“O-oh.”

Colin stared out the window in the direction of the cottage. The white paint looked fresh compared to the rest of the motel and there were no lights on. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Is it possible for multiple people to stay there?”

Ming gave him a wry smile. “We were both thinking the same thing, hu?”

“Eh, probably?”

You looked back and forth between them, noting how lined up their melodies were. Though they didn’t ‘sound great’ together like Jack and Caroline did, it was a simple ‘on the same page’ kind of pattern. Slowly you raised a bro at them in silent question.

“Well, I’ve been having problems in my manifestation classes, and bards are taking even more rigorous courses at this point in the curriculum. I was hoping you’d help me study.” Ming said, a veritable shit-eating grin on his face.

Colin also beamed, eyes shimmering in a way that you knew was trouble. “Oh yeah! And I can’t wait to practice my tag-team barrier spell. Thing is, I need another priest or a bard for it or the spell won’t work.”

“Guys...” You were torn between flustered excuses and genuine relief. It was a weird feeling that twisted your stomach into knots and rushed heat through your face. With a final sigh, you popped off the seatbelt and leaned forward to wrap both boys in a tight hug. “Thank you.”

With a tight laugh, Colin and Ming pulled back, both seemed a bit flushed and they were avoiding looking you in the eyes. While you could only guess what that was about, you did know that the sooner the three of you get arrangements for tonight sorted, the sooner you can eat. In retrospect, alcohol sans food was a bad idea. You sprung out of the car with a stretch and Ming followed. Colin leaned over the car’s back giving you a cheshire grin. “Guess we can finally watch that sleep-over movie I’ve been hinting at for a month.”

There was a jolt of excitement that tingled up your back at how he said that... Oh good gods, that was a strange feeling. You whipped around to face Cols with a grin of your own. “Or, and here me out on this one, we could actually study.” Ming shooed you away from the car so he could close the doors and lock it. With Colin and you bantering back and forth about the merits of relaxation instead of work, your valiant warrior lead the way into the motel office.

The man sitting at the desk immediately stalled your smiling conversation. He wasn’t anything physically intimidating, or even that he was pale as death and dressed like a goth rocker on a day off, but a little voice in the back of your head started screaming at you to just leave. Ming seemed on edge too, giving the man a sideways look as he walked past to the manager’s office. “Ah, you guys stay here. I’ll get Thoe and we’ll talk things over, yeah?”

“Sure.” Colin said, his monotone going even flatter as he shifted a little closer to you, standing firmly between the deakman and you. Wait, hang on! You are a bard. When the warrior isn’t around it’s your job to protect the priest, not the other way around! Any attempt at protest were silenced when you met Colin’s eyes.

The man behind the counter spoke up. “So, yer Ming’s friends? Didn’t peg him as teh kind a’ that’d make too many a’ those. What kinda magic ya got?”

Your blood went icy cold as Cols body stiffened like a board. His face, which was still turned toward you was frozen in disbelief and shock. Deciding to use your talents, you peeked around his chest to address the man. “W-what are you talking about?”

“I ain’t stupid, girly. I know yer mages, kids stink of old blood. The good ol’ magical families that’ve been sitting on top of the magical world for millennia. I’m a jack m’self. You?” The way his rat-like face fixed on you made your soul clench. There was something very wrong with him.

“B-bard.” You swallowed your fear and took a deep breath. If can handle Sans, you can handle this. A sudden calm washed over you, letting out a breath and letting your souls decompress so your magic sparkled in your eyes and seemed to glow through your skin. “Who are you?”

He sneered even as Colin tried to pull you back behind him with a hand on your shoulder. “Tha name’s Karn. Tullus Karn.” The rat-man turned the pages of the sign in book, pulling a small hunting knife hidden between the pages and sliding back into a holder on his belt. “Ya kids old enough ta drink?”

“...Yes.” Colin finally let go of trying to get you behind him, and moved up to stand at your side.

“Well, if ya ain’t had nothing to eat yet, there’s a nice joint a block away called Viper’s Den. It’s got a special backroom for folk like us. Hheh,” he hissed a laugh, running a hand through his greasy black hair and leering at you, “nice ta see young people so invested in the study a’ magic.”

Before you could respond the back door flew open and a large, rotund man with shiny light brown hair and spectacles rushed out to shake your hand. Emphatically switching between yours and Colin’s “Nice to meet you! Oh, very nice to meet you! Exemplary, splendid, wondiferous!” He reminded you of those old stories your mother used to read you. The wonderful wizard of Oz, only more portly... and taller.

Ming slipped through the narrow space between the large man’s side and the office wall. He took a position to your other side, subtly wrapping his fingers around yours. You glanced down at your hand before following the warrior's line of sight to Tullus’ smirking face. Oh. Ming pried his gaze back to who you assumed was Theo. He cleared his throat, giving the man a raised brow.

“Hmm? Oh. OH! Pardon me! Thousand apologies, yes, truly regretful. My name is Theo Browne. I am the preporator of this fine establishment.” He made a sound between clearing his throat and coughing. “Yes. Splendiferous!”

You and Colin looked at Ming who started back, flushed in embarrassment. Theo... he sounded like a mage to you as well, though his melody was not so sickly and nauseating as Tullus. Taking a breath you turned to look at the walrus of a man. “A-are we... um. C-can we sta-”

“Stay the night?!” Theo seemed to positively glow at the mention. “Oh. OH! In the cottage of course. Wouldn’t do to put our Ming and his friends up in the regular rooms! No, no! No trouble at all, dear girl! Free of charge! Free of charge!”

Tullus rolled his eyes at the blusterous manager. Colin sighed in relief, substantially less on edge now that Theo was here. “Thank you Mr. Browne.”

“My dear boy! Mr Browne is my father, please, call me Theo!” He tapped through his suit pockets, pulling out a set of three keys, handing one to each of you in turn. “Don’t go losing those now! You’ll have the room for two days, free of charge!” Theo tucked his hands in the folds of his suit, looking very proud of himself.

“Thanks, Theo.” Ming spun the key around his pointer finger, sliding his other fingers between your fingers to compress your palms together. Your face betrayed you, flushing slightly. “We’re gonna hit up a place for dinner then swing back okay. Take care of Betty for me.”

Theo nodded and your party turned and left. Ming didn’t let go of your hand though. Colin noticed the hand hold, frowning a bit. With a huff like one might expect from a pouting child, your longer time friend plucked the key from you hand, slid into your back jeans pocket and took your other hand in his.

Um! Um what!? Sure that hadn’t been the first time that Colin had put something in your pocket, or took something out for that matter, but he- Wait, what? What were you thinking? This behavior was normal for him... you just didn’t pay it much mind before... Then, Ming? Ming could be like that too, you guessed. It’s just he was newer so you noticed it more. T-then. Hold on. What?

As your mind set about trying to figure out what was going on with them, your feet carried you through the streets, your grip on their hands tightening. Whatever they might have done to try to steer you or not went unnoticed as you took the lead. By the time you finally realized where you were, the sound of many monster souls broke through your focus causing you to flinch. Grillby’s stood directly in front of the three of you. You stared at the establishment in a general wonderment at how and why this was where you wound up.

Ming and Colin seemed to misunderstand your confusion as awe. They looked at each other over your head, shrugged and pulled you inside while your mind still staggered. Colin held the door open for you all, closing it as Ming took your jacket to hang with a large number of them dangling from a long wall of coats. Blinking and blushing you saw Colin shrug his hoodie up, sinking into slightly, while Ming took off his coat. The warrior was only wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans. You could just make out the hint of a star and a snake’s tongue branded on his arm just beneath the sleeve... H-hold up... Um, you had seen that before. T-that was...

A whine very close to your ear distracted you from contemplating the meaning of that tattoo. The source: a behemoth of a dog monster in full armor leaning over your shoulder, sniffing you. Colin paled and Ming stiffened.

“U-um high there? I-is it okay for us to eat here?” You turned around very slowly, aware that most of the patrons were staring at you three. You were literally the only humans here. The bartender- a greater hearth elemental by the look of it- popped warmly, gesturing to the barstools in front of him. Taking his meaning, you pulled Colin and Ming away from the entrance and the curious dog monster. Each of you sat on the orange-y plush stools. They were oddly comfortable and you propped your elbows on the smoothed, polished wood. A bunny monster laid face down two seats to your right. Most of this stuff seemed old, well worn in some cases, from the jukebox to the tables. It crossed your mind that they might be transplanted from the underground which would explain why the bar got put together so fast. It would also explain why they seats you were on seemed new than the few others around.

Colin pressed against your side lightly, pointing at a chalk board hanging from the ceiling with any food that might be prepared. After a day like this, you could go for a burger. Colin got fries and Ming asked for a corndog. The elemental nodded, making a gesture towards the drinks on the back wall. The thought of consuming more alcohol had your stomach twisting a bit, but when you asked for water, the monster’s soul seemed to shudder and you quickly apologized. Of course a fire monster wouldn’t serve water! Jeeze.

Ming, ever the bold man, asked for the Hotland Special, whatever that meant. While Colin went for a good old fashioned ‘sex on the beach’. Both you and Ming looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What? I don’t like to drink that much and it tastes pretty good.” Thankfully the bartender, though a bit flustered at first, realized it was the name of a human drink. You ordered a bloody mary, though not entirely sure why, you just were in the mood for it? Maybe?

With a bit of a wait, you had your food, and your drinks, laughing and actually feeling at ease with Colin and Ming on either side of you. You had almost forgot all the horrible that today had, just enjoying being with your friends, when the bar door swung open and a loud cheer erupted from the monsters around you: “Heya, Sansy!” You. Fucking. Froze.