Guiltale

Chapter Sixteen: Bearer of Brittle Bones

I woke on my side, staring at my emaciated arm. Purple veins stared back at me. It was almost cartoonish, and I laughed – which made my SOUL ache again. Rolling my eyes, I turned over to see where I'd ended up. It was...

"A... racecar bed...?"

It looked sort of like a fourteen year old's dream room. Fire carpet, action figures, Advanced Puzzle Construction for Critical Minds... wait...

"Must be Papyrus' room, huh?"

I sat up, resting on my left arm. The covers were nice and thick, but the making of the bed suggested it wasn't used much.

"Huh... like big brother, like little brother huh. I wonder where they are? Why did Papyrus let me take his bed without capturing me?"

"I can answer that." Chara stuck her head down through the ceiling, revealing herself.

"Oh, of course." I said with a yawn.

"So Sans apparently takes random walks through the forest at 3 am for no reason, and he heard you say his name as you almost passed out. He brought you here and told Papyrus what happened. Like, exactly what happened from his perspective. Papyrus was genuinely freaking out – you should have seen it, him grabbing different blankets and hot cocoa and whatnot to try and revive you. He really freaked about your arm – said something about... 'overdoing'? 'Overdrive'? 'Over workout'?"

"Overwork? Maybe this is something monsters feel when they first start doing magic or something like that."

"I hope so..."

Just as she said that, the door burst open. Therin stood the Great Papyrus, holding a plate of tastefully unhealthy looking pancakes.

"good morning, human! Are you feeling better today? You gave everyone a big scare – I know I was furious! ! ! – but I'm glad to see you awake after 12 hours of sleep. Humans must be strong, to be able to withstand such cold when they have skin!

As he set up a breakfast in bed tray, I noted that his hands shaking slightly.

"I'm- I'm okay now, Paps. Well, all except for-"

I gestured at my wounded arm. Papyrus stopped setting up food to scrutinize it. His hands weren't in gloves anymore, so I got a good look at them. They were strong, I could tell, and he carried a sort of elegance that only someone who learned to fight or dance could. He stared at my veins curiously.

"I had a feeling something like this was happening."

Papyrus rubbed my arm, gently. It hurt a little at first, but that dissolved into relief as whatever it was shifted into the open parts of my veins and was taken back to the heart, where the blood could be sent out to be cleaned. I wondered how a monster without flesh knew about such an anatomical thing.

"Oh thank goodness..." I sighed, feeling my body relax as the pain subsided. Papyrus put a hand to my forehead, and I cocked a brow. "Can you even feel that?"

"Well, it's not like I have no sensations of temperature! Why do you think I wear this scarf?"

I thought a moment.

"Coolness factor?"

"well, yes, that is part of it I suppose. But otherwise, I do in fact get cold! ! ! . . .just not very easily." Papyrus put the plate of pancakes on my tray, patting it before turning to sit at his computer desk. There was a moment of silence as I dug into the food, Papyrus watching. It didn't feel all that awkward for some reason I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe his genuine concern? I turned to him, cocking my head to the side.

"What's up? You don't need to watch me so carefully, I'm not going anywhere with this arm –" I raised my arm – "And I'm sure you have work to do. I suddenly remembered what the bear outside of Grillby's had said about the 'politics' of Snowdin, and how, even though Papyrus wasn't yet a royal guard, he probably had an order to warn others if a human came through, since he was a sentry "Have you told the fish lady about my appearance?"