Swept Under the Rug

Meeting New Friends

Stretch woke up with a throbbing skull, the night before was slowly and painfully coming back to him. He'd have to avoid that bar for a while before going back. As his vision cleared, Stretch immediately noticed two things. Firstly, he wasn't in his apartment that Madam Toriel had provided for him, secondly, and more concerning, he wasn't wearing any clothes. A knock at the door startled him to the point of covering up.

"You alive in there?" A feminine voice called in from the other side, "If you are, there's a fresh set of clothes for you on the end table. Once you're changed, I have breakfast ready for you."

Hesitantly, Stretch slowly put on the clothing left for him. They surprisingly fit him, despite this being the first time he's been here before. Taking a breath, Stretch opened the door to the rest of this new apartment. It was surprisingly big, a penthouse maybe? Well decorated too, the walls were decorated with many original paintings of land and seascapes. Potted lavender and lilac were placed near the sunniest parts of the living room, complimenting the curtains that were pulled back to let the fresh air in. Stretch's attention was suddenly drawn to the kitchen by the scent of a warm meal and freshly made coffee.

Slowly making his way over, Stretch finally got a look at the source of the mystery voice. She was a skeleton monster, looking about in her late 20s, wearing a long sleeved blouse, pencil skirt and a faded red bandana wrapping the top of her skull. Sensing his presence, the other skeleton turned and smiled to Stretch.

"Oh good! I wasn't too late! I was afraid you were going to dust last night." She remarked, setting the food and coffee on the table. "My name's Roxanne by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Stretch replied, "Thanks for giving me a warm bed to sleep in. Although it was a bit of a shock to wake up without clothes."

"I wasn't the one to undress you if that's what you're worried about." Roxanne replied, "My brother got you out of your old clothes so that I could wash them. How do you like your coffee?"

Stretch sat down at the table before answering, "Tons of sugar, no cream."

Roxanne passed the sugar bowl over to her guest, letting him put in as much sugar as he wanted. "I'm just glad that the Reaper hadn't gotten to you, a lot of human and monster lives have been lost to that serial killer."

"The Reaper? I never heard of them." Stretch replied, putting a third spoonful of sugar in his cup.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Roxanne replied, sitting across from him, "They popped up just a month ago. Some people are calling them an angel while others are calling them a lunatic."

"Why are some of them calling this guy an angel?" Stretch asked, taking a bite out of the pancakes that Roxanne had made.

"Well, most of the Reaper's victims seem to be affiliated with various mafia families." Roxanne explained.

Stretch nearly choked on his meal when he heard this, members of the mafia? Does that mean that he could be a possible target for this Reaper? He took a swig of his coffee, ignoring the scorching of his mouth with how fresh it still was.

"Are you okay?" Roxanne asked, concerned for her guest.

"Y-yeah I'm fine." He hastily replied, "How often does this Reaper strike?"

Roxanne sighed, "I'm not really one to give you information on this, I'm sure the local police could tell you more." She untied her bandana to adjust it. "The only thing I do know is that the streets have gotten a lot safer since they showed up."