Dirge is the *best* at the task, having done this sort of thing as a way of life to survive. The only difference is that this time, he's hunting a prey to have some breedy fun with, rather than to dice into chunks. An expert tracker, following footsteps, taking in scents, and stalking through a forest? Are skills he's honed for eight years.

Dirge sings nursery rhymes as he hunts, not just to amuse himself and unsettle his prey, but to also evoke a reaction out of his prey. If they snort, laugh, or make any sound of jest, confusion, or curiosity? His prey essentially gives themselves away.

Curr on the other hand, is a quiet hunter. As tall as he is, he practically disappears in foliage. Watching from a distance, and stalking with the efficiency of a wolf. He'll often keep out of sight, or at the very most, let himself be seen in the corner of one's vision, just *basting* his prey with paranoia.

Occasionally, he'll fling a bone to snap a twig in the opposite direction of where he's at, at the very least, to make them more paranoid, and at most, to try and scare his prey into his direction. That way, his prey runs right into his open arms.

Papyrus would be crafty, quickly assembling little rope traps with speed and precision that comes from centuries of practice. Little trip traps, purely to cause a stumble that gives away their location. He'd be having fun with it. Quickly deducing where Sonia and Birdseye have fled to... And building traps around it. Preparing carefully so when he does go in for the capture, there's traps no matter which direction they flee.

Knowing Curr and Dirge, both of who enjoy hunting *together* as an unlikely teamup? The two of them likely do a sort of trick where they'll 'stubbornly' hunt one of their marks... And then switch when one of their target's guards are down. Making them both think that Curr and Dirge are actively hunting them and not the other.

And now, following proper order when it comes to boneheads;

Sans would be a cheeky bastard. Play up that he's too lazy to participate. Then, after reading over texts and emails regarding work, deciding OK. Time to lock in. And just... Shortcutting around until he finds one of them, and keeping his distance. Until they flee from, and escape someone else. Then just shortcutting right adjacent to them and commenting "man, that was a close one, huh?" and acting casual. Claiming he's too lazy for all the pin down and roughhousing of hunting. He's just in it to watch. But, casually finessing his way to the bone zone.

Red would be all too eager for the hunt. Excited to just let loose and track down his prey. Not like it's a skill he hasn't honed to suss out potential attackers. He gets cocky as hell, calling out loudly, while making note of any sounds that echo back. Listening for the tiniest of rustling as he walks confidently. They'll think that they can move in the direction he just came from; the reality, he's counting on that. Once he gets roughly out of earshot of where he suspects they were? He shortcuts up into a tree several yards back. To listen for and watch his prey try and flee, right into his little trap.

Edge would be the sort to lay traps, but a little less enthusiastically than Papyrus. He tries to be a little more tactical about it. Why set up traps in every direction, when you can set up traps in one direction, and then scare the prey into them? And once they're trapped, he's going to be savoring every moment watching his cute prey squirm in it. And also boasting.

Blue? It depends. He's going to ask beforehand just how serious he should take this. And warn that it might be a little rough if he does take it seriously, and it won't last long.

If he's handling it with kiddie gloves, he'll take things at a casual pace, limiting himself by not utilizing his Blue Magic gravityhax. He'll take things easy, and make a game of it. Casually tracking footprints, whistling to give his position away to eliminate his prey from being in the area (or even trick them into revealing themselves) and taking things as a leisurely little hike, with the bonus of tapping into his tracking skills to try and find them the old fashioned way.

If he is taking it seriously, well... Kiddie gloves are off, he's using gravityhax, and then it's a game of playing hide-and-seek with skeleton Speedy Gonzales.

With Stretch? It's... Questionable if he'd even join in for it. He'd probably take off his headphones, look a little confused. And nervously question. "I ahh... A-Ah, th-think you're barking up the w-wrong tree, here... I... I'm terrible at capturing a-anything... Well, a-anything that isn't a cute fuzzy animal o-or an innocent little bug... Uh... M-Maybe when you're done, I can h-help you wind down..."

We've already touched on Curr, but Bat is... A little twisted.

It's not even a challenge for him, with his bat sub-umbra, he can send many of them out to scout out his prey's location immediately, the sub-umbra relaying information back to him through their screeches. It's so easy for him, that he doesn't bother to go in immediately for the claim.

Instead, he teases and intimidates through echoing his voice through the bat sub-umbras. Making his voice sound like it comes from one direction, and then the opposite, then from above, then from almost behind them. Teasing and toying with them that this is his kingdom now, and he knows exactly where they are.

With Epitaph, it would be in a similar boat to Bat. But for a completely different reason; this is Epitaph's territory. Bat may claim it as his kingdom as he plays in the proverbial sandbox, but Epitaph is the one who actually owns it. Still, while his brother Dirge may go wild chasing down someone, Epitaph has learned it's more efficient to lay traps and relay bones to know when those traps have tripped.

Even so, he's anxiously humble boasting when he catches his prey. And apologetic that it didn't last longer. "I'm terribly sorry, but... this was too easy for me. i've-- i've literally mapped out this entire forest to a grid, and strategically placed relay bones all around, forming that grid..." giving a slight wheeze, and rubbing his arm. "you started in H5, then moved to G5, then to G4, then diagonal into F3, then through E3, D3, C3, until you curved at B4, then again at A4. Before moving to A5, A6, and... well... that's where we're standing now."

In the end, he's rather meek and quiet in his delivery, almost sounding ashamed of knowing his prey's path. Which makes for him being a very apologetic predator.

(CW; Hypnosis and unreality for this last one)

And for Baggs? His hunting is special.

He lets them run, he doesn't need to chase. They're already in the palm of his hand. From the moment they stepped into the woods. Click, click. Click, click.

The trees, changing to unnatural and vibrant hues of blues and pinks. The light through the leaves dimming to a softening glow. A sort of mist that hangs low to the ground.

Soon, as they flee, they notice that the forest starts looking different. Unnatural. The colors, more vibrant.

No matter how many times they turn, it's as if they're still going deeper into the forest at every direction.

Always fleeing, always hearing his voice as if it's right over their shoulder. Because it very well could be. And the deeper they go into the forest, the deeper they go into trance.

From the start, it wasn't a conscious thought to find the best hiding place they could, together. Even if they thought they parted ways. And it wasn't as though they realized that they weren't running at all, that they were sitting nice, and comfortably.

With his hand, stroking their heads, and guiding them deeper.

--------

You entered the elevator, and pressed the button for the floor you were headed to. 

You carried a tray of coffee, with some nice biscuits glazed with cream cheese for your master, Baggs.

You knew he had a tendency to skip meals frequently, always so engrossed in his work that he forgets to tend to his body’s needs. So, perhaps a nice sweet treat ought to help him perk up!

Granted, you couldn’t be too hard on him for that. A good story, a good game, tends to have the same effect on you. It would be nice if you yourself could put that drive towards something as amazing and useful as Master does. 

Your excitement and cheer grew by the minute. Truly, you felt blessed to get to deliver things to Baggs. Seeing him made your SOUL feel like it’d flutter out of your chest, just to snuggle up on his lap like a kitty!

It was certainly a highlight of your day. Not that helping out Cecilia and Frederick wasn’t enjoyable. It’s just… Getting to help Baggs felt so different. 

But, you wouldn’t want to push those feelings too much. What you had was merely… A little silly crush. Baggs had far more important things than you to focus on. And you would happily support him every step of the way, reward or none. 

As the elevator doors opened, you used your other hand to retrieve the keycard in your coat. Sliding it swiftly, before you entered into the main foyer of his office. 

You opened the door to his office, only to see him surprisingly absent. 

Not seeing him in here, you furrowed your brow. You chose to set down the tray on a table, and walked over to the right hand side of the foyer. Opening the door to his personal laboratory.

It was often that Baggs would work on things that he’d rather perform solo in here. Uninterrupted by other great minds or assistants. 

You were breaking an unspoken rule, coming into here. But when you saw Baggs slumped over one of the tables, your heart sank.

“M-MASTER!!” you cried out, wasting no time in rushing to his side. He was still, motionless, your heart felt like it would split in two.

Before his sudden movement made you feel like you’d have a heart-attack instead. 

Baggs’ arms swung back, as he leaned fully back in the office chair.

“I DIIIIIIIIIII~iiiiiiiiiid it~!” He slurred out. Making your shock return to concern once more.

He… Sounded drunk? You hadn’t known that Master liked alcoholic drinks… Perhaps you’d have to mix him one sometime, for… Well, when he wasn’t working… 

Which was never. Your daydreams march on another day.

“I… I’m so glad, Master! I… Are you okay? W-What did you do?”

Baggs’ started giggling, like some unhinged combination of a gremlin, and a mad scientist. He reached up, and grabbed onto the lapels of your coat. Partially pulling you down, and partially pulling him up, as he excitedly explained;  

“I’ve… I’ve SUCCESSFULLY currrred my problem! I’ve made a tincture that shhhould ensure I nnnnnnnEVER have to sleep again~!” Baggs proudly proclaimed with drunken pride. 

That… That sounded incredible! You quickly questioned whether or not you could have some.. But then the sudden woeful realization on Baggs’ face had you concerned.

“... Ohhhh my starssss… I’m a buffoon, I’m an absolute buffoon…” he lamented, before plopping his face down in your chest in defeat. Muffled miserable whines came out from where his face had become well acquainted with your chest.

You blinked, staring at him. Or the top of his head, rather. 

“Um… Master, I.. I don’t follow.” You uttered.

Baggs lifted his head, to look back into your eyes. You could see just how… Fuzzy his eyelights looked. 

“That’s the exact opposite of what I was trying to makeeee…” he whined. 

“ I got soooooo caught up in analyzing a formula, in an a-atee–attemm– attempt to create an antidote… That I wwwworked myself into a big circle, forgetting the key component… Of what the symptom to be cured is.” Baggs slurred out. 

Your confusion only grew.

“S… So you accidentally made a stimulant rather than a sedative, which is what you were originally trying for…” You clarified.

Baggs just plopped his face right back down into your cleavage. “Yesssss.. I diiiid…” he pathetically whined, muffled once more by your breasts. 

You sighed softly, smiling a bit in amusement. Your hands gingerly patted the back of his head, as your other arm went to hug around him. Poor guy…

“Mmmm a fool, a buufffooon, a frauuud–” 

Oh no, you were gonna cut that off right quick.

“Master, everyone makes mistakes… It’s part of being alive. This is just a small little misstep, towards g-greater things…”

Baggs’ head lifted only slightly, just to look at you. And stars, you knew he always looked tired, but this was next level. 

“Yyyymeeean it…?”

You snorted, you couldn’t deny that he was being absolutely adorable right now.

“Of course~. I mean, h-heck. One time I confidently read off the definition for ‘pussy’ rather than ‘pussycat’ in a call with friends.” You recounted, still feeling embarrassment over that. 

Baggs gave a pause, before erupting into muffled laughter. Leaning his head back for a moment to get air… Just to start laughing again.

“... And see, it’s embarrassing. But if I can make you laugh with it, then something good came of it~.” You chimed, before watching Baggs’ head swan dive back down, to muffle his laughter in your chest again. 

You gently sighed, and softly patted his head. After a bit, his laughter died down. You felt his arms curl around you, a blush swiftly dusting your cheeks.

“Mmmmhhmhmmmm~... I liiike this… this is my happy place nowwww~...” You heard him muffledly comment. 

You rolled your eyes, with a smirk. Well… At least the damn orbs of fat on your chest were serving some use. Put ‘happy place’ next to ‘cat shelf’ and ‘plate holder’ in things having a large chest were actually useful for.

“Well, I’m glad I can provide some comfort for you in this time of need… But if I may, um… I don’t think that alcohol is the greatest solution for working on research, Master…” You commented, his drunken state made it no wonder as to why he got turned around in his work. 

Baggs slowly raised his head, to look up in confusion at you.

“A… Alllcohol? Who said anything about alcohol…??” Baggs mumbled, one eyesocket a little more droopy than the other. 

You stared at him.

“... M-Master? I don’t know how to say this, but you are extremely intoxicated right now. Your speech a-and mannerisms are completely affected.” 

Baggs blinked, before he frowned. “I haven’t had–”

Stars, you’d heard that one a hundred times before. “Don’t say ‘I’m not drunk’, I’ve heard that one wayyyy too many times to–”

Baggs cut you off. “Pleashe. If I was drunk, you could smell the alcohol ohhh.. Ohnnmy breath…” he leaned closer, to prove his point. 

You… Didn’t particularly smell anything, anything other than the result of his flawless dental routine. Frankly speaking, it was nice. 

“... Well, I may no–”

 Opening your mouth may have been a mistake, as he wasted no time in pulling you into a kiss. A gasp, muffled by his mouth, escaped you. 

You blushed at the feeling of his tongue slipping into your mouth, his sweet saliva mixing and mingling with your own. Your legs quivered beneath you at the sensation, and how you desperately wanted to return passion in kind.

But a pang of guilt nagged in the back of your mind.

Even if he’s not drunk, he’s certainly not sober right now. 

You caved to your desires for a short bit, softly sucking on his tongue. 

And just as you sought to return the passion, Baggs pulled away. Licking his teeth with a cocky smirk. 

“And if I had alcohol, you’d absoolutely taste it.” He confidently slurred.

You shuddered, and sank to your knees. Mind racing. You could absolutely go for more of that, you longed for more than that…

He’ll come to regret it. Once he’s back to himself, he’ll remember this, and shudder at the memory…

He wouldn’t feel the same towards you. 

He would never feel the same towards you. 

The doubts that filled your mind, sobered you enough. 

“U-Um… Either way, w-what I came in here to get y-you for–” 

Baggs looked a tad confused, even in his inebriated state. 

“I– yeeesss.. Thisss is my pppersshon–personnnal– Persoonnnall lab. What aaare you doing in here forr?” Baggs commented, leaning close to you once more. 

You squeaked, blushing more as you averted eye contact. Not out of fear of his power, but merely out of not wanting to meet the gaze of the scientist of whom owned the restricted lab you mindlessly strolled into. 

Baggs simply cooed, and lightly took his index finger to flick your lower lip. Punctuating each word with a gentle flick. “You’re. Not. Supposed. To. Be. In. Here~.” he teased.

You lowered your head. Guilty as charged.

“N’awwwhh~... Don’t worryyy~... I can overlook this transssgresss… Transsgreshhion~...” Baggs slurred, giving a flirtatious smirk as he hooked his arms around the back of your neck. 

You wanted to, you wanted nothing more than to give in, to be there for him, to hold him close, to feel him kiss you again, to love him–

Static in your mind, 

Inebriation, 

confusion, 

muffled sounds. 

“Stop being a pussy, man. Go for it.”

“It’s not like she’ll remember it anyway.”

You weren’t going to do that to him. 

You couldn’t live with yourself if you became another awful person like those that hurt you.

You couldn’t do that to him if you cared about him.

You stood up.

Accidentally lifting Baggs up with you, as he dangled from you. He stared at you with a look of shock and confusion. 

You realized he must have been startled by your refusal of his advances. 

It’s for his own good.

“Um… I just, don’t want the coffee and biscuits I made for you to get cold.” You stammered out, giving a gentle smile. You moved your arms down to support his backside, carrying the light skeleton with ease. 

Baggs looked at you, searching your eyes for something… Upon not finding it, he flopped his head on your shoulder. Grumbling.

You gave a gentle sigh, carrying him out of his lab. Gingerly shutting the door behind you, and walking to his office. 

You listened to little huffs of frustration from him, a slurred mumble of ‘thank fffffuck no one can see this’, as you walked to his chair and carefully set him down at it. 

Baggs looked up at you, a slight melancholy in his expression. You held up an index finger, and walked back towards the foyer. 

“I– Are you not… Inn… Interested in me…?” You heard him slur out. 

You blinked, looking back towards him. Your heart ached, as he looked at you with such a sullen expression. 

“... Master. It’s because I care about you, that I can’t… I can’t do this.” You sighed, closing your eyes. “It’s just… Too risky, given your condition… I could… I could wind up seriously hurting you.” you explained, before ducking out into the foyer. 

Monsters were sensitive to emotions, moreso than any human. And without having any moment of such… Intimacy prior? You couldn’t honestly determine whether or not Baggs would actually want to do anything with you, or if it was just because you happened to be there during such a moment of inebriation…

Worse yet, you didn’t know that if you remembered… Those times, you’d be able to shield him from your own painful memories. 

Even remembering them yourself made your arms incredibly itchy.

You scooped up the tray, and walked back to the office. 

Baggs looked up at you immediately, before clearing his throat. You walked over and set down the tray in front of him. His fuzzy eyelights widened, as though you just served him up lobster and filet mignon. 

“Coffeee, and biscuitssss? Sonia, you’re a blllllesssssing on the underground…” Baggs practically moaned out, before hastily grabbing up one of the biscuits. Literally moaning in delight after taking a bite of the flaky biscuit. 

You couldn’t help but giggle at the sound. Under any other circumstances? You’d be overwhelmed by how delicious his moans sounded.

But, in his current state… Well, it was just too cute. 

You leaned over a bit, smiling. “Hungry~?” You chimed.

“Esstremely” Baggs responded, still chewing on the bite of biscuit he took. He washed it down with a sip of coffee. Which earned yet another contented moan from the man. 

Knowing Baggs, he probably brushed off the sounds of his stomach grumbling as machinery sounds. 

“Stars… I swear, your coffee issss.. Issss better than sex..” 

You sputtered, your face heated up near immediately at the statement.

“Ffcourse, I haven’t hhhad sex fffor two monnths… Sooo maybe I’m biassed”

“I– M-My goodness… You’re very blunt when drunk, aren’t you…?” You gawked.

“FffffffffOR THE record… I’m nnnot DRUNK… I’m esssstremely tttIRED… The’resss a dIFFEREncee..” Baggs retorted, dramatically poking at your nose. 

You blinked, letting that sink in. 

And taking a full moment to be polite and serve that sink a drink. 

“So you’re… Sleep deprived right now?” You asked, looking at his current state in an entirely different light. 

Baggs burst out laughing, like you had just told the funniest joke. And from what you knew of how you were when sleep deprived? You get it. You absolutely get it now.

“AHahahh, haaaahh~... That’ssss putting it lightly~.” Baggs slurred out. 

Stars. This is worse than you thought. This was ‘3am the next day’ level sleep deprivation. 

“Well, master… Perhaps, when you’re done eating…? A little rest in the observation infirmary might do you some good… I don’t know how you’ll be able to sleep after coffee–”

You paused, as Baggs made a ‘pffff’ sound in response. “But… E-Even just resting your eyes will help, I’m sure…”

He pouted, like a dejected puppy. You wanted to scoop him up, and hold him close. And kiss him. 

But your heart was still pounding in your chest like you’d run a marathon… And your arms itched too much.

So a little peck on the head would do. Leaning close and kissing the crown of his head. A gesture that caused his cheeks to light up all the same, as a look of surprise overcame his features. 

“So, don’t worry. Okay? Get some rest. I’ll let Cecilia and Alphys know to give you some time to recover.” You gently affirmed to him, softly petting his head. 

Baggs grumbled. Idly chewing on his biscuit. 

You rose up, turning to walk towards the door. A glance back at him, and it became so hard to not just drop your resolve to protect him, and just embrace him. 

The dejected look he gave you, as though he wanted you back by his side at the very least. 

“... I’m… Sorry, I just… I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you…” You softly apologized.

No, you couldn’t leave him with that look of longing and confusion on his face. You put on a gentle smile. “I’ll… Make it up to you, I promise. You’ve got my word!” you chimed. 

A look of concern flashed on Baggs’ face, before you turned away and left. 

Your arms and legs itched so much.

You didn’t want to risk hurting him the way you were hurt.

You didn’t want to break him in the way you were broken.

—----------------

After a filling meal of a few biscuits, Baggs sat down on the bed in the observation infirmary.

Sonia was giving him this chance to meditate, a moment of peace, and he wouldn’t waste it. It wasn’t often he got a dedicated break, and she was helpful enough to let the others know he needed one. 

He closed his eye sockets, in preparation for that blissful state of trance…

A sharp inhale through his nose, as he anticipated that Alphys and Cecilia would contact him, to confirm what Sonia would tell them. He couldn’t go too deep just yet. 

Baggs let out a heavy sigh, before he flopped his back onto the bed. 

As he inhaled, a wonderful familiar scent drifted to him. 

Right… The last person he had on this bed was Sonia, after that experiment gone wrong…

He grabbed the pillow and hugged it to his chest, deeply inhaling. He could still detect the light scent of her hair. And fondly remembered how close, how wonderfully close he was to her in his lab. To the point he tasted her…

Baggs’ brow furrowed. That look she had on her face, before she stood up…

It was so curious, how that look of fear, and mortified realization brought him such power and pride to see in others…

And yet painted on her face, it only made his SOUL tremble in pain. 

Was she… Afraid of him in that moment…? Was she truly that distraught from his advances? He thought he read her right, that she was in fact, interested in him… Or… Was it something else? 

Baggs clutched the pillow closer, sighing once more. And painfully left alone with his own thoughts, his own pondering, not even given the comfort of trance, with knowing he would be contacted soon for confirmation of his break.