#feralfell

There once was a little orphan child. everybody called them Frisk, because they were always optimistic. They were also always kind, looking down so they wouldn’t step on the pretty flowers, or tiny animals. And every day they would walk through the forest to get to school.

“Don’t go through the woods!” People told them. “Monsters live there! They will trick and hurt you, maybe they will even eat you!”

“Oh, but I’m not scared of monsters.” They would say with a smile, and everyday they got there and back, unharmed. They were always kind to the monsters. So kind in fact, that every time they tried to lead them off the path, stole their bag or teased them, they would end up helping them get back to school whole and safe instead. All because they were so kind that it made them feel bad for bullying them.

One day, a messenger came from the castle.

“A MESSAGE FROM THE KING! THE BEAST OF EBOTT HAS REACHED THE KINGDOM, ALL CIVILIANS: BEWARE THE GIANT MONSTER, STAY OUT OF THE FORESTS! TO ALL YOUNG MAN: HE WHO CAN KILL OR CAPTURE THE BEAST WILL GET HALF THE KINGDOM AND CAN CHOSE TO MARRY THE PRINCESS!”

“See now Frisk?” The people said. “It is dangerous to go into the forest! And now there is a monster there that is even more dangerous!”

Frisk just giggled. “I’m not scared of the monsters.” And through the forest they went.

‘How ridiculous.’ They thought. The king’s oldest child, Chara, was just as genderless of mind as they were! Though maybe, that’s just how desperate the king was to keep his kingdom safe.

Suddenly, they could hear screeches and roars far in the distance. Frisk stopped and looked up, just in time to see a form sail through the sky and land in the middle of the lake with a huge splash. Frisk quickly hurried over to help a panting young man up the shore.

“Good god, it was that monster! The Beast of Ebbot, that devil’s mountain. I was trying to fight it, but then there was this icy cold in my chest. And before I knew it I flew up through the sky and landed here. What kind of demon is that thing?!”

The very next day Frisk was walking to school again, only to once again hear the yelling and snorts of a giant beast. And once more, a young man came falling from the sky. He fell into a treetop and came down with many cries of pain and the crackling of twigs. Frisk just reached the trunk as the man came to a stop, clothes and limbs tangled up in the branches. They helped to pull the man out.

“The monster! The Beast of Ebott! It was horrifying! It felt like he was gonna rip the soul straight from my chest! But then I was suddenly flying through the air, what the hell!?”

The next few days many more young men were thrown around the forest, many times Frisk would find and help them to their feet. But every day people would return with increasingly worse wounds, and after a guy returned with a broken arm and leg, his hair singed off, no one dared to set foot in the forest again.

All except for little Frisk. Always looking down to the floor to avoid stepping on little flowers and creature, listening to the mood of the creatures around them to avoid the powerful newcomer. Even though they weren’t really that scared, they couldn’t help but fret. Even the other monsters in the forest were stressed that something so large and powerful, and apparently ill tempered to boot, was stalking around so close. What if the Beast hurt them before they could be nice to him and show they meant no harm?

They decided to take a little break, sitting on one of the rocks with a jelly sandwich. Hmm, strawberry jam, their favorite.

“Ah! P-please not my head!” A tiny voice squeaked out on the ground. Frisk looked down to see a large flower, a piece of the sticky crust stuck to it’s leaves. It had a cute little face in the middle contorted with disgust and stress, the beginning of tiny tears in it’s beady eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Frisk apologized, picking the crust off it’s leaves and taking out a napkin. The flower’s leaves were ripped and had a few holes in them, so they were extra careful as they wiped the smears of jam off, revealing the beautiful gold beneath.

“Thank you,” The flower mumbled. “I’ve had people react worse to me.” They perked up a little bit as it met their eyes. “You were looking like something was bothering you, and you don’t see any other humans in the forest anymore. If you were worrying about Sans finding you, why would you still come here?”

“Who?” Frisk wondered.

“Sans. Uhm, ‘the Beast of Ebott’ I think is what the people here call him.”

Frisk perked up with interest. “You know him?”

“Well, I should. I am Flowey, the Golden Flower of Ebott after all! Although, I don’t know him personally, but I am good friends with his brother.”

Frisk got off the rock and sat in front of the flower instead. “Could you maybe tell me a bit more about him?”

Flowey gave the child a long look, before his face contorted slightly again. The tiny smile on the middle of his face turned out to be slit nostrils as the area above his lower leaves opened slightly, showing a grin filled with sharp teeth. He looked like a child who had just been asked to share some gossip he heard about the bully next door.

“Well, people say he likes the blood of his victims. But actually he just likes the taste of...mustard.”

“No way!” Frisk giggled.

“Yes! And even though he might look like a tough guy, he is actually just a lazybones who just wants to rest and be left alone. But all those people trying to capture and kill him really irritate him.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” Frisk replied as they thought about all the guys she had to help who were pinned to trees by bones.

The flower’s eyes suddenly sparked with worry. “Speaking of which, I will give you a little advice in case you meet them. You seem like a nice person, and I don’t want for anything to happen to you just because Sans nerves are so tense right now. And I don’t want him to get hurt either, Papyrus would be heartbroken. He might be loud and aggressive, but he loves his brother very much.”

“If you meet him, sing him a sad song. I don’t know how, but if you do that he’ll become as meek as a lamb. You can even pull at him and he’ll follow. Just thought I’d tell you in case you bumped into him.”

In the distance there was the sound of a bell.

“Oh no!” Frisk cried out. “The five minute bell! I have to get to school quickly!” They shoved the rest of the sandwich into their mouth and ran off. “By Flower!” They waved.

Later that evening they were walking home to the orphanage at the capital. They were deep in thought about what Flowey said. So deep in fact that they didn’t hear how quiet the forest had got.

Too quite…

Frisk bumped into something.

Because they were always looking down they saw his feet first, and they almost laughed. He wore big, fuzzy, red slippers, with bright yellow socks sticking out of them. The colors were just so strange, and the slippers looked soft and plush. Their humor died down as they realized just how big the strange footwear was, maybe even ten times the size of their own, and that out of the sock stuck thick, massive bones.

Their eyes traveled up, over black shorts with a yellow stripe on each outer side, before they rested on his belly and chest for a second. His body was enormous, towering high over their head with a large round belly. He was clad in a bright red sweater with a thick, black, battered jacket. At his sides they saw huge claws, each was nearly long as their entire arm and the palms easily as big as their chest.

Finally, they looked all the way up until their head was lying in their neck to see his face. His head was a huge skull framed by the white fur hood from his jacket. Three horn-like growths protruded from the top of his head, with two smaller ones on his cheeks. He had a huge mouth filled with sharp fangs. It had two huge tusks, one of pearly white bone while the other was replaced by a huge serrated dagger or knife that looked like it had been welded into the dental socket. Above those snarling fangs were the pitch black eye sockets, with two red orbs inside, each of a different size, staring at them with fury.

A furious rumble started in his chest as the monster’s mouth started to open wide, wider, impossibly wide, as if he was planning to devour the child whole! Frisk suddenly remembered what Flowey told them and racked their brain for a song.

“If I let you go, would you still be a part of me?...” They didn’t know how they knew this song, but they had a distant memory of someone singing it, and it always used to make them cry when they hummed it to themself. Their voice was slightly shaking but they forced their voice to sing the words loud and clear. They felt a tiny bit braver as the monster’s mouth relaxed, wide eyes focused on the tiny child as he listened.

Frisk’s voice got a little more confident as the monster’s mouth fully shut with a soft click, and they closed their eyes as the song started to bring tears to them and a warm feeling in their chest.

Frisk opened their eyes with surprise at a soft sob, but forced themself to keep on singing. Sans was clearly fighting to keep it in, rubbing furiously at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, but they could still see the big red tears that were starting to stream down his short muzzle.

Looking at the monster as he looked so vulnerable and remembering what Flowey had said, Frisk got a little idea.

After the song ended they started up again, slowly reaching for Sans’ claw. He didn’t even react as they closed their fingers around one of the enormous digit and when they pulled it he took a shuffled step forward.

And so, still singing as they went, Frisk lead Sans back to the capital. They hadn’t even left the treeline but the people already started screaming in fear. “The Beast of Ebott! THE BEAST OF EBOTT IS COMING!” People screamed, all running away and hiding wherever they could. In their homes, on the roofs, in barrels, one guy even jumped off his horse to hide behind the animal. And a soft buzz of voices followed, as people realized that the giant brute was willingly pulled along by a tiny child.

As they walked through the now deserted streets of the city, Frisk could feel the monster’s paws slightly starting to shake. They looked up to see that he was still crying, but he was looking around, eyes full of fear and worry. They gently gave the claw they were still holding a little squeeze, and when he met their eyes they gave him a reassuring little smile.

When they reached the castle the guards were gone nearly just as quickly as the others, leaving the gates wide open. I was only when they entered the throne room that someone stood their ground. As the doors swung open, the normal servants quickly hid under the satin chairs and the oak closets. But the king’s Royal Guard quickly stood to attention with drawn weapons.

The king sat in his throne with stern eyes, no doubt having heard of what was coming. But not that early that he had been able to warn his wife and children. Queen Toriel gasped and turned pale. Prince Asriel let out a startled scream and he and their adopted royalty Chara quickly ran into their mother’s arms, the latter drawing their favorite dagger, just in case.

The king narrowed his eyes and lifted his hand. All available weapons in the room were pointed at the giant monster.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” Frisk cried out in panic. The room was instantly silent.

Too quiet…

Frisk was suddenly aware that they had stopped singing.

Quickly they tried to pick the song up from where they left, but they stumbled over their words and gave a little squeak as enormous hands grasped around their middle.

The room stayed absolutely silent as the kid was lifted off the floor, up and up….and awkwardly cradled against the monster’s chest. Frisk couldn’t see his face, but they could just feel the heat of a venomous glare going being thrown over the top of their head. The fact that the glare wasn’t on them gave them the courage to look up and softly inquire:

“Sans?”

The red eyes lowered in surprise when he heard his name, but his face softened slightly and he gave them a little smile. Then he went back to leveling a glare at the king, challenging him to give the fatal order.

The king slowly lowered his hand, and the guard their weapons. “Are you certain that’s wise my child?” His voice was deep and cautious, looking at the beast before him. He was a big guy, but this monster easily dwarfed him being nearly twice his size.

“Yes!” The child called out. “He’s big and strong, and quite scary, but he’s not a bad guy. He just wants to be left alone and not attacked by young machos every fifteen minutes.”

Asriel and Chara seemed to peek out from their mother a little more, and Toriel herself seemed to have regained her composure, her back straight and the aura around her strong and regal. She was eyeing Sans closely and for some reason the monster was actually avoiding eye contact with her.

“I’m not certain about this.” The king spoke slowly. “I do not wish to leave this creature unchecked, but we are in debt with you for capturing it and… seemingly having tamed it somehow?”

Frisk could feel a huff going through the monster’s chest and ruffling their hair, but he didn’t really protest to the assumption. Huh?

“So we can’t exactly kill it now either.”

“It could stay in the castle park.”

Heads snapped towards the queen. Her children had nearly completely come out from behind her back as she stood proud and tall. Asgore might be king, but everyone knew who the true strength of the royal family was. She slowly walked forward until she was in front of the monster.

“If he stays there, we can keep an eye on him as you wish. But he’ll have the room to roam around and the only people that will come there will leave him alone as long as he behaves. And the child can come live with us if they chose to do so.”

Whatever the queen must have seen in Sans, it must have been worth her trust. And as their eyes finally met there seemed to be a mutual respect between the two forces. And even if you couldn’t see that, the slight dip of Sans’ head left no doubt.

When her eyes drifted to Frisk though, those eyes instantly turned motherly.

“My child, the bag you are wearing tells me that you’re living in the orphanage a few miles away. Would you like to come live with us here at the palace instead, and be part of our family. After all, if I remember correctly someone promised half a kingdom and the hand of our daughter.” There was a sharp edge in her voice as she said that, turning to the king who was fidgeting with a lowered head.

“Oh, I don’t want the kingdom.” Frisk chirped. “I found Sans by chance, and I just wanted to make sure he would be safe. And I’m way too young to know who I’m gonna like, especially when I’m not even sure of my gender too. If I’m going to live with you, I much rather would want Chara and also Asriel as my siblings.”

Said child looked dumbfounded, once again surprised someone would want them around. Toriel looked proud, mom mode quickly starting to kick in.

“Excellent my dear! We will send for someone to get your things from the orphanage. Sans, would you please follow me? I’ll show you the gardens, there you can have as much rest as you wish.”

Frisk could feel the monster hug them a little bit closer, like a child holding a doll for comfort. But he obediently followed the queen nonetheless.

Looks like she wouldn’t need to sing to make him do what she wanted.

And thus from that day on, Frisk lived with the Dreemurr family. They were treated as equal to the other two royal children, learning and playing along with them. Asriel warmed up quickly to his new sibling, energetically hopping around and pulling them along into his every game. Chara was more reserved and sometimes seemed to test the younger child, but they too eventually warmed up and shared their books with them.

And Sans lived in the garden, sleeping his days away in the shade. Eventually, it turned out he didn’t like to be that lonely though. Frisk would visit them every evening, singing their song as he fought back sniffles, his enormous skull laying down in their lap. And after a while Asriel and Chara would join too.

And eventually the three royal children would be playing in his garden under his watchful and amused gaze, the monster laying right in the middle of the sunniest spot he could find and halfheartedly grumbling as the children crawled over them in their games.

Sans got along with the queen too. He would listen to her talk, sharing her books and recipes. He would even make these strange huffing sounds whenever the queen shared her most terrible puns.

As the 3 siblings grew up, they each became much respected and loved by their people.

Asriel became a just and confident king, respected and loved by his people.

Chara became his advisor, smart and resolute as they were, determined to make sure their siblings would be safe.