Chapter Text
I woke up in a bed of golden flowers, just like Ink had said. They were pretty damn comfy, actually – so much so I almost wanted to stay and sleep there. But the thought of what I had come to do filled me with a sense of determination.
I got up and walked forward through the gates as I had been told, and on the other side stood a single yellow flower, but this one had a face. It saw me and smiled a little too widely.
“Howdy! I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower!” he said a little too cordially. I didn’t need Ink’s warning to not trust him; everything about this buttercup screamed fake.
“You must be new here, huh? Gosh, you must be so confused! Here, I’ll help!”
I felt my SOUL being pulled out and instantly got ticked. “Oi! I don’t appreciate people just randomly pullin’ my damn SOUL out, if you don’t fuckin’ mind!” I put my fists on my hips angrily.
His face twitched, and I saw for a split second something much more sinister behind that mask of his. Demonic, almost. All too soon, it was replaced by another façade. “Golly, I’m sorry! I guess you already know what a SOUL is! But do you know what EXP is?”
“Not a clue,” I said, trying to keep the venom from my voice.
“Well, then! EXP is what makes you powerful! You can get it by collecting LOVE! You want some LOVE, don’tcha?” he summoned a circle of white seeds around my SOUL, and I felt a sense of danger coming from them. “Well, around here, we spread LOVE with little white…friendliness pellets! Here goes, try to catch as many as you can!”
These ‘friendliness pellets’ started closing in on my SOUL, and my heart rate picked up, panic set in. There was no opening in the circle that I could jump through. When they inevitably hit, the pain was more than physical; it was complete and total pain. Through blurred vision, I saw this thing’s mask slip off, and he spoke in a deeper voice than before.
“You IDIOT!” he started laughing manically and summoned more hell pellets, circling them around my SOUL.
I didn’t have the energy to fight back, but I put as much hatred as I could into my eyes as I glared daggers at the object that had just made it onto my hit list.
Suddenly a flame appeared and slammed Flowey away, and he made a sound that I would’ve laughed at if it weren’t for the circumstances.
A kind-looking goat woman stepped into my view, smiling gently. She wore a purple robe with a strange symbol on the front. “My child, I am very sorry about that horrible flower. My name is Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Come, I’ll take you to my home to get you healed.” She held out a paw, and I took it in spite of my trust issues.
Toriel half-led, half-carried me back to her home, where she sat me down at a worn table in front of a cup of steaming…something.
“It’s tea, my child. Drink up! It’ll help you feel better, believe me,” she got a cup for herself and sat across the table from me.
The tea was unnaturally dark, and I took a tentative sip. I instantly recoiled at the taste – bitter, totally bitter.
Toriel started giggling, covering her mouth with a paw. “Forgive me, my child, I’m afraid that can’t be helped; you’ll just have to drink it all in one go.”
I looked up at her, my face still twisted in the bitter taste; the look on my face made her giggle all the more. I sighed and lifted the small cup with my pinkie out jokingly. "Cheers,“ I grumbled and went bottoms-up with it, nearly choking at the intense flavor. I swallowed and went into a coughing fit.
Toriel gripped her sides in laughter, wiping tears from her eyes. “Hahahaha! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s just so funny!” she put her head on the table and banged it with her fist, making me join her in spite of the bitter taste in my mouth.
It was a few minutes before we started breathing again, and I pushed my empty cup away slightly, making us start up all over again.
“I…I will get you another cup of tea, my child,” she stood up, and now I realized how tall she was. A gentle giant, I suppose. I looked at her warily, making her continue, “A better flavor, I promise!” she got a box of tea from one of the cabinets and made a cup of tea with it.
I got a glimpse of the tea packet and brightened at what it said; Blood Orange Oolong, my favorite.
“Do you like cream or sugar?” Toriel asked, opening the fridge for the cream.
“No, thank you,” I declined as she put the tea in front of me and put some cream into her own tea. I wrapped my hands around the warm cup and focused on my hands, sucking all of the heat out of it. The warmth spread up my arms and to my chest where my SOUL was.
“My child,” Toriel stated, “What happened to your tea?”
I looked down and saw that the steam had stopped rising from it, and condensation had started collecting on the sides. “Oh, uh…” I faltered, trying to come up with something. Though I didn’t really feel comfortable lying to this woman. “It’s a uh, ability I have,” it wasn’t a lie.
“Hm,” she hummed as she took a sip, “I can do something similar, though in reverse.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. She took that well. “Oh! I didn’t even introduce myself,” I realized, making her look up at me. “My name’s Minx,” I stretched my arm across the table, offering a handshake.
She enveloped my hand in hers, gently moving it up and down. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Minx.”
I took back my hand and took a sip of my tea, sighing in contentment. “Y’know, I hardly know you, but you already feel like a mother to me. Is it okay if I call you ‘Mom’?”
Her head snapped up, and for a second I was afraid I had said something wrong; that is until a smile lit up her face. “Of course, my child, of course! Though I hope I’m not taking the place of your own mother…”
“I don’t have one,” I said solemnly, my voice cracking.
“Oh my child!” she exclaimed, getting up and striding over to me, “I am so very sorry!” she hugged me to her chest, and I could feel her heartbeat.
I put my arms around her as far as they’d go. “It’s okay, Mom,” I said. I couldn’t say anything else for fear of opening the floodgates.
We stayed like that for a while, both of us on the verge of tears. She pulled away and looked at my face and looked at me with a sense of pride and love, a look only a mother could have. “Oh! You must be starved! You do not dislike cinnamon and butterscotch, do you not?” she opened the fridge again to pull out a pie.
“Of course not!” I sat up straighter as she set a slice of pie down in front of me. I picked up the fork and took a bite. I closed my eyes and hummed. Remembering my manners, I swallowed before speaking. “Mom, this is delicious! Would you be willing to give out a recipe?”
“Haha! I’m afraid it’s just a family recipe, but I could write it down for you if you’d like,” she took a bite of her own.
“Could you!? That’d be great!” I said, taking another bite.
We sat there for a while, exchanging a few words here and there, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company – and the pie.
After we were done, Toriel stood up. “I will take care of the dishes, my child, you may explore the ruins. Don’t let chores ruin your experience!” she did a double-pistol-wink thing at me.
I blinked at the sudden change in tone, but after a while, I copied her action and stood up, again being reminded as to just how big she was. “Alrighty then, alpaca my bags for the trip! I’ll get goat-ing!”
She started giggling again, a sound I had decided was delightful. “Okay then, get goat-ing, my child,” she waved a paw toward the door, and I made my way out between laughs.