CANINES ;; undertale

two

Everyday just became a cycle of rinse wash repeat. Wake up from a roaring stomach, look for food all day only to turn up empty handed, go to sleep hungry. It was a painful routine that Sans and Papyrus were forced to fall into. It wasn't one that they enjoyed, but as long as they had each other they didn't mind all too much.

"SANS," Papyrus called up to him. The younger brother was curled up on their living room couch while Sans was upstairs in his room designing a new trap. "CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE?"

"sure, bro'. gimme a sec." He hollered back down. Papyrus heard sounds of tools being dropped and a sigh of frustration. Sans opened his door and stalked out, back hunched from, assumingely, his pained stomach. "whassup?"

"CAN... I COME PATROL WITH YOU?" Papyrus shyly asked, refusing to make eye contact with his older brother. "I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR ONCE... I'M TIRED OF BEING TRAPPED IN HERE ALM THE TIME."

Sans sat silent for a moment, mulling over all possible things that could happen if he brought Papyrus along. The brothers sat in silence for just a few minutes, but to the youngest one, it felt like hours.

"i don' see why not." Sans finally grumbled, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. "go put on sumn' warm, 'n meet me back down 'ere."

Papyrus let out a silent sigh of relief and nodded. He got off the couch and slipped into his room, grabbing a hand-knit sweater that he had made before the famine had gone down. It was too small for him and small insects had chewed holes in it, but it still served its purpose somewhat well. He put on his boots and walked back down the stairs, joining his brother by the front door. Sans unlocked it and headed outside, holding the door open for his brother who quickly followed him.

"this way," Sans said, trudging along the snow. His footsteps from yesterday were already snowed over. He let Papyrus check the first beartrap. Nothing. It continued on like this up until the last trap.

A dog was suspended in the air, a rope wrapped around its left hind leg. Its body dangled in the air; the leg had been dislocated from the rest of the body. It snarled when it saw Papyrus and Sans.

"looks like we got dinner." Sans grinned, throwing his meat cleaver over his shoulder as he stalked up to the dog who growled, warning him to get away.

Sans cut the rope holding the dog up. It made a move to run away, but Sans quickly threw it to the ground and but his burly foot on its neck, effectively keeping it in place.

"any last words?" He mockingly asked the dog, who simply let out a chuff and closed its eyes, accepting its fate. Sans shrugged at its silence and grabbed his cleaver with both hands, swinging it over his head. As it was about to make contact with the dogs neck, Papyrus yelped.

"WAIT!" He screamed, successfully stopping Sans from executing the dog, who had opened its eyes and stared at Papyrus. "MAYBE... WE CAN KEEP IT."

"what." Sans merely blinked, appalled at the idea that his brother had suggested. "why on asgore's fluffy ass beard would we do that."

"WELL... UH..." Papyrus stumbled trying to think up of an excuse before a lightbulb went off. "THE OTHER CREATURES HAVE MANAGED TO LOCATE AND AVOID YOUR TRAPS! MAYBE, IF WE KEEP THIS ANIMAL, IT CAN HUNT FOR US!"

Sans stood silent, his foot still on the dogs neck who had given up resisting a while ago. Sans looked down at the dog as the gears turned in his brain. He gingerly lifted his foot up to take a good look at the dog. It had a sleek, black coat and looked to have quite a lot of muscle. Even though it was laying down, it looked to be larger than most dogs. If it stood on all fours, it may have hit the 5 foot mark, easily. The perfect hunting dog.

Sans looked at Papyrus then looked at the dog. His brother was giving him those pleading eyes that he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"fine." Sans sighed, throwing his cleaver into the dirt as he pinched his nasal bone, already beginning to question his decision. "d'ya hear that, mutt? yer comin' with us. but fuck up once and i'll make a 5 course meal out of ya', capiche?"

Sans knew that the dog couldn't talk back to him, but the dog looked as if it nodded, agreeing to Sans' terms. Sans sighed and picked his meat cleaver back up, and signalled for Papyrus to carry the injured dog back to their home.

"THANK YOU, SANS."

"don't mention it."