#wordscribbles

It all began with the cries of an infant.

Wrapped in linen, cradled in gentle arms. The infant skeleton monster cried.

And cried.

And cried.

They cried until they could no longer.

And then they slept.

Papyrus gently held his infant brother in his arms, watching as their chest rose and fell.

Papyrus did not know why they cried. Or why they now closed their eyes.

All he knew was that once, his arms we're empty. Now they were not.

The black lines that built him, and other's around him in the endless white expanse, we're often busy. They created shapes and silhouettes galore, but mostly left papyrus alone after his creation.

Then they approached, and swirled in his arms till they dropped this skeleton infant in his harms. Such a small thing.

And then, once again—though this time within Papyrus's own mind— something that had not been there before, suddenly formed into being.

The bundle in his arms was his brother, and that was something very special

He was meant to take care of his small, tiny brother, and that was very important.

An upside down heart appeared at that realization. Outlined but not filled. Not yet. It hovered in front of Papyrus's chest, emitting a steady hum.

The others did not have this, only he did. Only he felt warmth against and within his chest. He did not know what to do with it, he remained blank and empty, but the warmth remained and held onto the small skeleton in his arms.

For a moment, Papyrus wondered. That wonder led him to tap at the infants' chest. He wanted to see, and see he did.

The infant did not wake, but in a flurry of white and black emerged another upside down heart.

It was full.

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

Papyrus held the infant with him for what would have felt like an eternity, had he the capability to feel impatience. He did not.

The infant, on the other hand, did.

Whenever they woke from their naps, it was a gamble on how they would react.

Sometimes they would look up at Papyrus and smile. Then the sliver of purpose within him would ignite. They would laugh, and talk, and reach up for him, and all Papyrus would feel was warmth. Even in his blank, empty and expressionless existence. He was warm.

Sometimes they would cry, and that fire in him burned. Papyrus could do nothing but hold them closer and tilt his head curiously. The purpose in him did not like it when they cried, but he could not stop it.

There was so much that this infant did that Papyrus did not understand, he could only watch blankly and tilt his head as laughter wracked their chest, as they rolled around in his arms, as they kicked their little legs, as tears dripped down their face, as they reached up for Papyrus, and he let them hold onto his finger before closing their eyes once again and falling asleep.

Papyrus looked up from the infant to the eternal expanse of white. He watched lines fade and return, then fade once again. He watched as the world reshaped itself around him over and over again but remaining as white as ever. He and the infant, we're the only ones unchanging.

Forever.

Papyrus did not have the capacity to dislike something. He did not fuss like his brother did whenever Papyrus set him down. Yet the purpose in him did not like forever, It knew there was something more. Papyrus knew there was meant to be something more here. Something more for his little brother.

But it never came.

Until it did.

When the lines and shapes began to fade. When Papyrus began to think his forever might be over. A silhouette appeared in the white.

Papyrus had never seen colors before, yet he knew what they were as this being flickered into view. Lines Papyrus had never seen before twisted into the shape of a person. Where the sketches of his world were black and sharp, this being had lines with a wider array of colors than he could define.

They stood, in front of Papyrus. A white silhouette shaped by colorful lines. Faceless. Still. Yet flickering.

"Hello" They spoke. Their voices multilayered and echoed around this empty expanse of unfinished sketches. As they spoke, more figures with the same shape as them flickered around the white world. All with different colors, while the white one in front of Papyrus remained still.

"Wow, this place is so empty!" A blue flicker noted, inspecting the area with their hands on their hips.

"Echooooo~!" A yellow flicker yelled.

"These poor characters" A green flicker sobbed.

"They are empty, and the ones that are not will have another chance" a purple flicker comforted.

"This better work" A yellow flicker huffed.

"If it does not, we will continue. As we always have" A red flicker huffed.

"I don't know what I'm doing here, but i'm here!" A cyan flicker cheered before being grabbed by the shoulders by an Auburn flicker

" Where the baby. Show me the baby!"

The white silhouette sighed, "We apologize, We are often…a lot at once"

Papyrus did not reply, he was too focused on the bundle in his arm's attempting to move. Fascinated by the new colors flickering around. Papyrus moved the cloth away from his little brother's head, revealing their face to this new being.

"AAAWW" Multiple flickers suddenly surrounded Papyrus, but he did not flinch. He did not have the capacity to fear for himself, yet the purpose in him guided his arms to pull his brother closer to his chest.

"He's just a baby~" A cyan flicker cooed.

"Look at how tiny he is" A green flicker said

"He's gonna' be amazing!" A Yellow flicker chuckled

"I wonder what's next?" A purple flicker hummed.

"What's—"

The snap of fingers echoed through the air, and suddenly the voices and flickers ceased to be. The one silhouette remained still, with their hand raised by their shoulder. Their lines morphed and colors shifted until there was only one. One color in the lines that shaped this being, and then there we're more. Lines that trailed up their blank face and shaped into round eyes.

"Again, I'm sorry. Together, we can be a lot at once for one person, but I hope this singularity helps" They said, before lowering themselves to sit on the ground.

Papyrus followed their action, and sat as well.

They sat in silence. Papyrus did not mind. He had lived in the silence for so long, only rarely interrupted by his little brother's voice, that the empty silence was a welcome friend.

"I'm sorry" The white figure said, their pink round scribbled eyes met Papyrus's.

They did not need to say what they were sorry for, Papyrus already knew. Yet he could not find it in himself to care.

His brother cooed while his little hand reached out towards his big brother. The purpose within Papyrus stirred.

"I do not have the capacity to feel…yet" Papyrus's voice was rough, yet sturdy "I cannot help but be disappointed, that I could not be more than an empty husk of a brother" Papyrus held his brother closer to his chest, wrapping him in a hug.

"An empty husk does not hold his brother so lovingly, does not care for his baby brother even when he does not know why he cries. An empty husk, does not know love. You do"

What little of Papyrus's soul existed, stirred. For the first time, he felt warmth spread throughout him and curl his face into a soft and gentle smile.

Papyrus gave his brother one more gentle squeeze before pulling him away. To look at the little one, with wide white eye lights and a precious smile.