A collection of inane nonsense (ranging from Error being reincarnated as Palette to Dust finding a new love for the color pink) circling around the many AUs and Multiverses of the Undertale world. Some stories will be connected; Others will be rando...
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Merfolk, the mysterious aquatic - not to mention, somewhat feral - monster-like creatures of the sea.
At this point, Reaper had been working with them for a little over ten years at Starshore Sanctuary. A place where mer who were unable to be released back into the wild, whether due to illness or permanent injury, could live out their days in relative peace.
His role at the facility was to take care of a particularly feisty skeleton-shark mer suffering from several health issues (frail bones, weak soul, abnormally high determination, some type of pixlexia) and old poaching injuries.
Said mer - Genocide, or Geno, as he had gotten so lovingly dubbed after he attempted to kill all his previous keepers - had been in Reaper's care for nearly the entirety of his decade working there.
Apparently, the morbid jokester was the only landwalker Geno would tolerate.
Maybe because he happened to be the only one with a big enough "death wish", as some would say, to hop in the saltwater tank and groom him.
Once he moved past the fact the mer could easily him apart with razor shape teeth, the self-assigned chore became half the fun of the job. Mainly due to Geno's interesting personality quirks. The shark mer seemed to have a love-hate relationship with showing/accepting affection. That included affection shown via cleaning the other's hard-to-reach joints and tail.
But of course, like any job, it had its ups and downs.
For example, Geno did not like it in the slightest when Reaper's job involved him doing work unrelated to him- i.e., the slightly glitchy mer shark hated getting ignored.
Like right now.
Reaper had his empty eye sockets focused on the checklist in his hands, marking off his completed duties. A few being: feeding Geno and some of the other mer in the facility, releasing small live fish into Geno's enclosure so he could hunt/exercise if he wanted to, helping set up an old tank for a newly transferred mer, and adding some more shrimp/plants to improve the ecosystem in Geno's enclosure.
A soft hum escaped him as he went down the remainder of the list, deciding what to get done next. He eventually chose "prepare Geno's medications for tonight." So, the mer caretaker returned the clipboard to his interdimensional storage space, straightened his plain uniform's polo shirt, and began approaching the large metal double doors leading to the hallway beyond.
That was when a scaly wet mass suddenly slapped against his cheek, knocking his skull to the side before flopping limply on the ground.
Stunned, he blinked; nonexistent eyelights glancing to the floor.
There laid a fish. Still fresh and alive, given how it flailed helplessly on the chilly light grey tile.
Reaper let out an exasperated groan and gently rubbed the stinging mark on his face, murmuring, "Today is going to be one of those days, it seems."
He turned toward the crescent-shaped, pool-like enclosure. A skull poked out of the water by the edge. Just enough for him to see two narrowed eye sockets and white eyelights fixed on him.
It promptly vanished under the surface.
Wisely, the land-walking skeleton quickly moved.
Soon after, another fish came soaring out the water and through the air, thumping on the tile floor where he had previously been standing.
Geno popped his skull halfway out again. This time, glaring heavily before disappearing once more.
Reaper promptly took three steps to the side. Right on time, too, because an algae-covered, grey lump exited the pool only to smack the wall. It cracked the white tile it hit. Thus, marring the surface in the exact place his skull would have been blocking.
"Did you just throw a rock-" He demanded, walking over to the watery area Geno lurked within.
However, the skeleton never got to finish since another fish slapped him square in the face, sending him stumbling backward. Then the ground suddenly gave away behind him, and he fell into the opposite side of the pool.
He kept his calm as he briefly sank, and his relatively weightless body soon floated back to the surface.
After a few seconds spent adrift, something large and firm and undoubtedly living brushed against his back. It never left, solidifying its place behind him when two soaked bony arms exited the water and wrapped around his waist, tugging him back into a soggy chest.
A puff of air crawled up Reaper's nonexistent throat without his consent, taking the form of a heavy sigh. "You enjoy making my job harder than it needs to be, don't you?"
Geno's subsequent chirp was more than enough confirmation for him.
