welcome to jackass

A warm smile, greeted the kid’s initial response to his comment about cooking. The teen nodding when the other proceeded to indicate he was happy that soup and stuff sounded good regarding food for next time they came. “I’ll be sure to make sure I’ve got cooking supplies with me next time you come around.” Briefly smiling at the prospect of being able to cook for someone else again. When the other proceeded to inform him that he wasn’t boring, Aaron (who’d stopped smiling as his focus went elsewhere for a moment) would give the other a grateful smile and slight nod of thanks. The teenager glad that the other hadn’t thought him the bad host. He still had enough of his taught sensibilities about host rights to worry about how his behaviour would be seen by another, if he was boring and the like. “I’m glad” Turning back to eating, the teenager would watch the other and his surroundings for a few moments before the other proceeded to ask for more soup. Grey hued eyes flicking down to glance at the other’s soup bowl and then at his cooking pot. Aaron smiling before then saying “Sure, one mo.” before proceeding to put his soup to one side and grab the ladle. Filling the ladle with soup (and using a a certain amount of his meagre magic to warm the now mostly cold soup again) Aaron would look to Kris “If it’s alright, could you hold out your bowl then I’ll fill it with more soup.” pausing before explaining his request with a comment of. “I’d rather not like to spill any, I come from a people who like to avoid wasting food.” Once they held out their bowl Aaron would fill it with soup again. The teen smiling slightly before then saying. “There’s a little more left in the pot if you’d like any after that bowl’s worth.” Weather tanned features creasing in a slight smile before he then said. “Hope it isn’t too hot, I took the liberty of warming it slightly with a cinder cant, it looked cold.”

      ———  “ Cool. ”  They responded in approval. 

     Kris already knew they were looking forward to coming around again, and they were just glad Aaron was that much on board with it too. They figured most people probably wouldn’t be as chill with that as he had been. 

     Not everyone was willing to entertain random kids eating their food. Or maybe Kris was just self-projecting considering most of the other townspeople in Hometown were exactly the kind who would entertain hungry gremlins, aka:  them, considering Kris’ track record of just... popping into places. Sometimes. They stopped as they got older, not that they quite wanted to what with the whole lack of social circles issue lately.

     Glad enough that he accepted their praise, and content with watching him pour out their second helping of soup, Kris took another swig of their drink with their other hand as they were holding out their bowl towards him. After gulping about half their juice down in the time Aaron finished with the soup, they took the filled bowl back. 

      ———  “ Thanks. ”  Kris said. They really appreciated that he warmed it up again. Warm soup was a lot better than cold soup. Then again, any kind of soup was still good soup-- but having it be warm just made it taste a little better somehow.

     They started eating again, giving a little taste. Yep, not too hot. Still, Kris was also the kind of person who’d eat their mom’s pies straight from the oven, so perhaps they had a bit of a skewed perception of what was too hot or cold for them anyway. They chose to think of it as a good thing than a bad one.

Grey eyes watched the other occasionally as they sat there, the teen not wanting the other to think he wasn’t paying any attention as he himself finished his portion of the soup. Aaron not reaching for seconds himself, fully intending to offer a second portion of the soup to Kris if they asked for it. He’d been brought up to believe that it’d be deeply improper to serve oneself as the host, before serving a guest. That belief being one of the many thing’s he’d continued to hold, during his time as an exile, from his upbringing as part of a Lupricae tribe. It being one of several belief’s that had in essence allowed him to keep some situations from deteriorating into something unpleasant. Not that that was something he’d ever admit to anyone these days. Aaron, though he did have the odd friend or two, still was enough of an reserved individual to regard certain things as being not suitable for anyone’s (especially someone he’d just recently met) ears. “I’ll be sure to have some cooking supplies around, so I can cook more than just a soup next time you visit.” He didn’t really.. regard soup as being rather complicated and if anything felt slightly embarrassed that he’d had to fall back on a soup, unable to provide much else for a guest. Yes it wasn’t cause he’d chosen to not do so, but cause he had nothing else to provide, but it still had Aaron slightly embarrassed for a moment. The slight look of embarrassment fading as Kris spoke again, grey hued eyes turning to better look at the other, his expression likely unreadable again. “I’m glad that I’ve not been.. a boring host or anything.” his words likely betraying a certain anxiety which he quickly hid. “But well, if you ever wish to come and visit and I’m around, I’ll be happy to be here to talk and well be a host”

     In all honesty, Kris wasn’t really the type to notice when people were watching them or not. When they were in the middle of secretly trying to pull off a prank or something, sure, that was crucial to be aware of that. Otherwise they preferred ignoring when people were looking, not even realizing it in the first place. Didn’t really help that their bangs made it so they couldn’t see much anyway.

     Hearing him, they were rather excited.  “ Sounds great. Thanks. ”  Kris answered. They didn’t mind if they got soup again though-- It was really good and they were fine with eating practically anything as long as they could eat. 

     It was something they were pretty chill with, but they weren’t aware it was a bit of a problem for Aaron. If they knew, they probably wouldn’t have brought it up.

     While Kris was eating, they looked back over to Aaron.  “ Mm-hm. Not boring. ”  They confirmed. They genuinely thought it anyway, even though Kris felt like they were somewhat making things awkward with their shyness and few words, they hadn’t once thought their time with Aaron was boring or anything. It was pretty exciting and they were glad they stumbled into his camp.  “ Will do. ”  Kris added. They’d try to come back when they had the time, which they probably would unless the Dark World opened up again. 

     They just hoped they wouldn’t be bothering Aaron by visiting again. In truth, it wasn’t just their friends, like at school, that they were missing;  it was their brother, and the Dark World, and their online friends and-- It seemed like everyone was never around. Kris was terribly, terribly lonely. Which made this hang out sesh all the more therapeutic to them.

“What’s anime?” They cocked their head to the side, confused. “And what kind of pranks?”

      ———  “ You don’t know what anime is?  ”   Kris was probably more surprised than they sounded, but they were pretty incredulous at the moment. The thought of someone not knowing anime was, well, unthinkable. But also perfect for dragging their new friend into binge watching everything.  

      ———  “ They’re, like... Really good shows. I’ll show you them. It’ll be fun. ”  They said with a bit of a grin.

Smiling as he ate, silently making a note of the fact that the salt he’d added seemed to be effective at improving the flavour of the soup. The teenager, even as he made a mental note to potentially add a pinch of salt to the recipe in the future, would watch the other and continue to converse with them. Aaron’s smile growing slightly as they other reacted to his comment about seconds, the teenager glad if anything that none of the soup would be going to waste. Experience having long since taught him that cooked food wouldn’t last for that long after being cooked, it would spoil after a bit, considering he couldn’t afford a way of preserving anything he cooked. Continuing to slowly eat his portion of the soup, clearly enjoying the taste and the warmth of the soup. Aaron spoke again a smile which had disappeared earlier as he fell into thought reappearing as the other nodded and responded. “Your welcome and…well, I’m glad for the company, it is always more pleasant to eat with company.” the teenager not really wanting to admit that he was… normally used to being rather lonely. After all, he was an exile. When the other then proceeded to ask their question, Aaron’s smile grew slightly warmer if anything. “If you would like to stop by again, you would be most welcome to come visit and I would be honoured to cook for you again.” He was fine with them coming to visit again, it would be nice to have company at least once or twice to provide a reprieve from being alone. “Its not every day I tend to have someone come to visit but I promise you that if you do so choose to come visit, me and my cooking will still be around.”

     It was actually kinda nice that the day went so much better than Kris was expecting. Not that they were really expecting much, but they figured it wouldn’t be anything special, considering their adventures had been put on pause since the last time they ventured into the closet at their school. 

     They’d always had trouble making friends on their own. Kris liked to think they were considerably better at that now, than before. It was probably why they felt more comfortable just sitting around here with Aaron. Really, they didn’t have much reason for their anxiety to act up and make them think he thought Kris was being annoying or anything, since he’d made them food and was being really nice and all.

      ———  “ Yeah. I agree. ”  Kris nodded. It was always nice to eat with someone around;  they used to do that with their brother a lot, and with mom before they got to the age where it was embarrassing having her hang around all the time. 

      ———  “ Can’t wait. ”  They grinned, referring to getting to visit again. Kris was rather excited about it. So they were sure to set some time aside to visit, not that they were usually busy with anything important anyway. It was mostly looking at memes and mucking around in the moss these days.

“What do you like to do for fun? I go fishing a lot…” They thought for a moment. “Though I don’t know if that’s fun. It’s mostly just so I can eat.”

      ———  “ Hm... I guess that’s fun. If you enjoy it. ”  Kris said, giving a little shrug.

Watching as the other drank from the mug he’d given them, working as the other sat there. The teenager feeling rather happy at being able to well, fall into playing the host. A role he deeply enjoyed playing, one that let him spend some time away from being an… exile for a time. The close need for focusing on the acts a host needed to focus on, things like cooking and asking what people wanted while they were a guest, ways of distracting himself from the disheartening status he held. “Your welcome.” Came his appreciative response to their thank you as he worked and moved. The teenager then serving up the soup, a smile on his face after seeing the others expression in response to the receipt of their portion of soup. Aaron glad that the other seemed so very happy at receiving a portion of soup. “Your very welcome, hope you like it” Aaron settling down on a stone near where Kris was sitting as he prepared to eat his own soup, the teenager waiting for the other to begin to eat, watching without comment as the other proceeded to try the soup before grabbing some salt. Something which Aaron also did after trying his own soup, the teenager having decided that the soup could do with a slight pinch of salt. Aaron himself used to eating things that were salted to keep them preserved, so found salty food something he was used too. The teen continuing to smile, a smile that grew further when the other spoke again, as he ate. “I’m really glad you like it, after you’ve finished that, there’s more if you want another portion” he told the other calmly as he continued to eat. Continuing to eat calmly, Aaron allowed himself a deep breath in as he worked, the teenager seeming to savour every mouthful of his soup as he proceeded to then say. “Always found it nice to cook for myself or for others, so thank you for letting me play the host.” the teenager if anything trying to thank the other for the company as well as the chance to well, be something other than the cautious and fearful exile.

     They figured it was a pretty good day for some soup in the forest, all in all. Then again, when was it not a good day for that sorta thing?  Kris pondered it for a moment, as they began to eat the delicious tasting soup after the small additions they made what with all the salt they put in. --Yep!  Definitely boosted the flavour. Not that it was bad the way it was, but they had a pretty unique sense of taste.

      It was really nice that he decided to sit with them too. Did anyone ever really sit with Kris, at school, other than Susie and Noelle?  And of course Asriel too, at least before he left for college. Everyone was usually nice, but they had their own friends, so maybe Kris was kinda lonely ‘cause of that. Been a while since they actually spoke to their new friends anyway, so the amiability now had even more of an effect on them.

     Seeing Aaron grab some of the salt for his own share of the soup brought a small smile to Kris’ face. It was actually somewhat surprising to them that he was willing to try what they did. It was nice.

     At the mention of another portion, Kris found themself giving a small excited gasp and they nodded.  “ Okay. ”  They answered. 

     Though it was a small answer, they were definitely gonna help themself to some seconds after they finished their first helping. Which was basically ignoring their earlier reservations, but Aaron had made the soup for their arrival anyway, didn’t he. It’d be rude to just go waste it like that.

      ———  “ Mm-hm. ”  Kris nodded again as Aaron thanked them, even though the way they saw it, he didn’t really have to do that at all. They did agree it was nice to cook for people, after all, mom did that all the time.  “ Glad I ran into you. Thank you. ” 

“Uh, I’m… I’ll… I’ll be your friend, Kris.” They smiled. Boy was their smile creepy. Empty eyes and sharp teeth are not a great combo. Didn’t help that they were unsure and very nervous.

“What do friends do?”

      ———   “ Great. ”  That earned a small smile back from Kris, though they didn’t really mind that Grey looked kinda creepy during it. 

     After all, people tended to think of Kris as the creepy kid in town, with the way their red eyes sometimes glowed and the weird jokes they’d pull off. On the flip side, they were also friends with Susie, so it’d be pretty mean to just write someone off for surface stuff like that.

Huh. So they knew they werent supposed to be here. This littler interaction was proving to be…much more complicated, than she’d anticipated. Regardless.

Her fingertips relax, for now, and her hand slips free to tap at her chin. Well, what to do…she could.. but Rai.. but it could be their only chance.. damn it. Sigh. It’s clear they’re an anomaly. Would their soul even be compatible with the laiden six? Or would their be a reaction? Could their soul…perhaps shatter the stranglehold frisks resets had on their timeline? Right.

A casual smile appears as the girl seems to settle on a decision. “Alight, then let’s check on something.” Straighten leg push off, a few steps taken pass the other before there’s a pause. “You comin, stranger?”

     If she was at least gonna try to help, they shouldn’t be passing up the opportunity. Kris figured as much anyway, not that they completely trusted her by any means. But if this turned out no dice and they had to go find another person to help in this unfamiliar place, that’d take way too much effort and spoons they couldn’t use up. As far as they could tell, they didn’t have a choice. They just had to hope they managed to find the right person for this the first time around.

     They had no idea what she must’ve been thinking, or what vague thing she wanted to check on, but Kris decided to go along with it. She was the local here anyway. Besides, if things went south it wasn’t like they couldn’t just load up a save file and redo the whole mess. ...Right?

Uh oh, now you did it.

“Uh… Oh, uh…” Stammer, stammer. You’ve short circuited them.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those before…”

     The whole time, Kris was just staring back at the monster while they processed the brunette’s request. They really had no way to assume Grey would agree to it, though they really hoped that would be the case. It seemed the monster was just... surprised?  Kris could totally relate, if anyone were to ask them that too.

Having made the decision to make a mental note of a need for him to seek some way of replacing what drinks he had made use of to finish his work, Aaron kept his face blank of anything other than a smile. The rights of a guest, things drummed into him from a young age making the teenager feel like any active show of things like.. considering how to replace things a guest had ate or drunk might seem rude. This consideration alongside his dislike of the possibility of it.. sort of highlighting the fact he wasn’t exactly the most…financially endowed at the moment making him take the steps he took. Aaron, instead of showing any concern about his food and drink situation, smiling as he worked. His smile growing warmer when the other indicated that it was fine that he may well not have enough by way of drinks to re-fill the others…different take on a concoction. “Alright, I am.. glad and well, if you do need a refill drinks wise I can still offer some other types of drink.. just not a full re-fill the current version of your drink.” Aaron said in a manner that was in essence slightly…awkward in nature. After all, he wasn’t too happy with the fact that he couldn’t provide them with a proper re-fill of their current concoction even if they wanted him to. Turning his focus to his continued labour on making the soup, Aaron continued to work on the soup as the other one seemingly watched him work. The teen fine though a little self conscious if anything of the fact someone was watching him cook, Aaron however being quite accomplished at concealing said fact from people. His face one of focused attention on his work for the moments leading up to his posing the question about the soup to the kid, a smile crossing his features then as the other responded. “Alright and well.. it shouldn’t be that much longer before the soup is finished” briefly tasting the soup to check how it was at the moment, nodding to himself before adding some seasoning and stirring. Aaron only speaking again when the soup was finished saying. “It’s ready.” and proceeding to decant two servings worth of soup into the two bowls he’d prepared earlier. Offering the kid one of the bowls (a spoon currently in it), Aaron after putting his bowl down to one side as he then indicated two bags with his now free hand. “If you want to add anything to it, those two bags contain sachets of things like salt and pepper and some other types of seasoning people might wanna add to food, feel free to help yourself.”

     As they drank from their mug, Kris thought back to their mom and how she’d make all those delicious pies every now and then. Sometimes mom would make them when friends came over;  though that was mostly her own friends since Kris didn’t have much for a while. Maybe Noelle, when she wasn’t too busy to come over, or those times her mom accidentally locked her out and she just stayed with Kris in the meantime. 

     Maybe it wasn’t the best analogy, but they kind of felt like it was some really nice hospitality, and that was what they felt with being in Aaron’s camp.

     Even though they still felt a little bad, it wasn’t like Kris could really do anything about the lost resources. They were a broke ass high school student, and unless they could do some kind of fetch quest in the Dark World that’d help him in some way, they likely wouldn’t be able to do anything. Well-- Stealing was an option, but one they wouldn’t stoop to. That’d lead to them feeling bad and wanting to help more people than they had to. No thanks.

      ———  “ Cool. Thanks. ”  Kris answered, a hint of a smile on their face. 

     They were still fine with just this drink for now. Besides, the soup deserved some love too. They’d probably be able to finish all of their share even if they did get a drink refill, but it was still fine with them regardless. 

     Kris wanted another sip, but held off at least until they got the bowl of soup. That way, they could enjoy the soup and the drink at the same time. A real galaxy brain moment, in their opinion.  ( Though an even bigger galaxy brain idea they considered was pouring the drink into the soup. )  They were pretty excited the moment Aaron said it was ready. Trying new food was always exciting and this was no exception.

     Nodding, they accepted the bowl of soup with a happy expression in their eyes. It looked pretty good. Smelled good too. 

      ———  “ Thank you. ”  They muttered, picking up the spoon. 

     Kris decided they would try it as it was without adding anything first, to see if they’d like it like that or if they did need to put in some more seasoning afterward. They made a content sound as they took the first sip, savouring the flavour. --Yummy!   “ It’s good. ”  They turned to Aaron, giving him a thumbs up.

“Oh, uh…” Grey didn’t know how to respond. They were being treated by basically a stranger, but at least they weren’t special? They felt all kind of conflicted. “Thanks… But I think I should pay you back somehow…”

     From that reaction, Kris couldn’t really tell if they majorly fucked up with what they said or not. They weren’t the best at saying what they wanted to say, but it didn’t seem like Grey was as comforted as the human hoped they would be. Kris tried for a smile, still wanting to seem friendly and that they really meant well.

“Lost huh? That’s quite the feat….” Flicking her eyes once over them. Asriel always nagged her for this…. Mistrust. He didn’t get it, none of them, besides the king himself, got it. But that was fine, it set them apart, kept their hopes alight, and who was she to take that from them.

“Ah, right. You’re currently in snowdin. The underground.” Pause, relaxed eyes affixed to them, waiting for their body language to give her a better read. Both hands tucked away in her hood pocket, digits slightly flex, soft glow of red gathered at her fingertips. Hidden by the fabric of her hoodie.

      ———  “ ...Yeah, ”  They answered.  “ I’m, um, not s’posed to be here. ”

     It was the truth anyway, so Kris wasn’t particularly worried about sounding suspicious or whatever. Other than the whole ‘falling into some wack new place and running into some stranger’, they seemed relatively calmer than they otherwise would be. Though that might’ve just been their default expression shining through.