Flufftober 2020: Day Nine
Pairing: Underswap Skelebros
âTHIS IS A PERFECT SPOT FOR OUR SENTRY STATION!â Blue declared with utmost excitement. His older brother, Stretch, nodded amicably.Â
The younger skeleton monster still wore stripes, but his age did not diminish his dream of becoming a sentry and, someday, a Royal Guard. Blue hounded the Royal Guard Captain, Alphys, constantly, marveling at her every action, and when sheâd informed him that Royal Guards were always on the lookout for humans, he immediately declared himself to be the Sentry of Snowdin Forest.
Stretch wished his little brother also listened to the legends regarding how powerful and dangerous humans were, but he refused to hamper his little brotherâs enthusiasm. Thus, the two skeletons found themselves walking down the lonely path through Snowdin Forest towards the Ruins, arms filled with building materials: discarded cardboard boxes from Muffetâs Bar and Restaurant and plenty of duct tape.
While Stretch meandered around the construction site, lost in his thoughts about Royal Guards and humans, Blue had already cleared a large area of the forestâs ever-present snow. Blueâs boundless energy made Stretch crave a nap or five just from watching him scurry around. In fact, Stretch decided to sprawl out in the center of the future sentry station location and do just that.
Blue puffed his cheeks in outrage. âYOUâRE. SUPPOSED. TO. BE. HELPING!â he cried in exasperation, trying to lift his brother into a standing position. Uncooperative, as all big brothers are required to be, Stretch kept going limp and sliding out of Blueâs hands to puddle on the ground again. If a skeleton could be boneless, Stretch would be the one to achieve it.
âi am helping,â claimed Stretch from his prone position. âiâm making sure the area you cleared doesnât float away now that thereâs no snow to hold it down!â
Blue threw his hands in the air in exasperation. âTHAT DOESNâT HAPPEN!â Despite his objection, Blue eyed the patch of dirt uncertainly. âWEâD BETTER HURRY AND BUILD OUR SENTRY STATION JUST IN CASE THOUGH!â
Stretch chuckled. Blue might be ready to graduate from his stripes soon, but he still made the perfect target for pranks. Dutifully, Stretch stood up and began laying out pieces of cardboard to form the structure of the sentry station. Blue directed the project, and eventually he also became his own architectural and construction team since Stretch often deliberately misunderstood his directions, as older brothers are also wont to do.
Despite his brotherâs unrelenting shenanigans, Blue soon had a (somewhat dilapidated) cardboard kiosk erected between some coniferous trees beside the path to the Ruins- a perfect spot to catch any humans who might attempt to enter Snowdin and cause mischief⌠or possibly even⌠mayhem!
Stretch surveyed his brotherâs work. For a building made entirely of compressed paper, it seemed structurally sound even if it appeared to be a bit off-kilter- most likely a result of his antagonistic interference. âthis support beam looks a little unsteady,â he commented. âmaybe we should strengthen it with some cardboard-hydrates?â
Blue uttered a choked sound of indignation and stomped his foot, finally at his limit for his brotherâs teasing. Stretch just laughed⌠until Blue scooped up a handful of snow and tossed it at him.Â
The epic snow war that pitted brother against brother began in earnest with only a light scattering of falling snowflakes to bear witness to it. Blueâs boundless energy proved to be an advantage as the small skeleton scooped up huge armloads of snow to dump on his brother. Stretch succumbed quickly to the onslaught, allowing Blue to bury him up to his neck in his own private snow poff without much protest or retaliation.
âMWEH HEH HEH,â crowed a victorious Blue. As the snow battle wound down, the intensity of the snowfall increased until a blizzard overtook Snowdin Forest, obscuring anything more than an arm's length in front of the skeletons.
Stretch wiggled his way out from under the pile of snow that Blue had dumped on him, and the pair of skeletons sought shelter together in the only structure available- their newly constructed sentry station.
âyou really buried me in that snowball fight,â teased Stretch, enjoying the sight of his little brother stomping in outrage at the terrible puns. âthat was cold, bro.â
Blue groaned, and Stretch put one bony hand to his equally bony brow. âiâm so exhausted from the ordeal that icy stars.â With that final pun, Stretch collapsed dramatically⌠right on top of Blue.
âPAPY, NO!â cried Blue in dismay, fighting to hold Stretch up and failing.
âsorry, bro, gravity is increasing on me,â explained Stretch as his body weight slowly crushed Blue to the floor.
âNO IT ISNâT!â shouted Blue.
âyup. same thing happened to me yesterday.â
âYOU ROTTEN BROTHER! YOUR BUTT IS CRUSHING ME!â complained Blue from the floor where Stretchâs sprawl of lanky limbs squashed him into the ground. No matter how much he pushed and shoved, he couldnât move the bigger skeleton.
Soon, Blue stopped struggling and went unusually still and quiet. Concerned, Stretch stood up to check on him only to discover that Blue, exhausted from building the shack and trouncing him in snow combat, had fallen asleep.
Stretch pulled off his hoodie and laid it over Blueâs small body to keep him warm. He shivered a bit, but the cold didnât bother him enough to leave his brother uncovered. When the blizzard subsided, Stretch carried Blue, still wrapped in his hoodie, back to their house and tucked him into bed properly.
Over the years, the rickety looking shack deep in Snowdin Forest stood firm, despite its hodgepodge construction, and if each of the skeleton brothers occasionally paid it a visit for maintenance to ensure its continued existence? Well, it certainly wasnât something worth mentioningâŚ.
DAY EIGHT | INDEX | DAY TEN
