Razz leans on the table staring intensely at Alvin and I asking, "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FOOD? AND WHICH IS BETTER? THE OBVIOUS ANSWER, MINE, OR BLUES?"

"Uh..." I stare back up at him nervously, unsure on how to answer. I don't want to hurt either of their feelings!

"Both!" shouts Alvin unperturbed.

Both Razz and I turn towards him. Razz huffs and responds, "BOTH WHAT?"

"Both are delicious!" Alvin answers, taking another bite of his food.

"OKAY..." Razz says slowly, eyeridge raised, "BUT WHICH ONE IS BETTER?"

Alvin cocks his head to the side as he looks up at Razz, "I don't know... Why does one have to be better?"

Razz sputters, not knowing how to answer, "BECAUSE!... WELL... OF COURSE THERE-...HRMPH, THERE JUST HAS TO BE!"

"because little guy," Stretch speaks up, "shorty over here likes to turn everything into a competition."

Razz looks like he is about to say something but is interrupted by Blue, when he slings his arm around Razz's shoulders and says, "THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH FRIENDLY COMPETITION PAPY! IT'S GOOD TO KEEP EVERYONE ON THEIR TOES, AND ENCOURAGE IMPROVEMENT."

"i'm pretty sure he just does it to inflate his already oversized ego..."

"PAPY!"

Razz looked like he was fuming, and was about a few seconds away from jumping at Stretch for his comments. But Papyrus quickly stands from his seat, claps his hands together, and speaks up, "WELL I THINK BOTH BLUE AND RAZZ ARE WINNERS FOR MAKING SUCH DELICIOUS FOOD. DELICIOUS FOOD THAT THEY SHOULD TRY THEMSELVES, SINCE THEY ARE THE ONLY TWO WHO HAVE YET TO EAT."

And like a whirlwind Papyrus was already grabbing Razz by the arm and dragging him to the other part of the kitchen where more tacos and burritos were waiting, with a Blue following behind them. Razz tried to protest but could do nothing as the two worked together to coral him away from the kitchen table.

My attention was drawn from the scene from a tap on my shoulder. I look to see Slim holding another "mini" burrito out to me, with a lazy smile, "hungry for seconds lil' bitty?"

❤❤❤❤♡❤❤❤❤

After everyone finished eating, Blue and Papyrus insisted upon showing Alvin their room. And after a fast and bumpy ride up the stairs, I was back in the room I had stayed in my first night here. Minus the box I had slept in. Alvin was enamored by every little thing they showed him, especially the glow in the dark stars.

"What's a constellation?" Alvin asks.

"CONSTELLATIONS ARE THE SHAPES STARS MAKE IN THE SKY!" Blue answers enthusiastically, "HUMANS USED TO USE THEM TO FIND THEIR WAY, LIKE A SKY MAP!"

"Whoa!" Alvin gasps, "What's a human?"

"They're like us but giant." I answer.

"Wait! There are giants that look like us!?" Alvin exclaims!

"I guess they haven't told you this stuff in school yet, huh?" I figure.

"I thought all giants looked like them." Alvin says as he points up at Blue and Papyrus, "Have you ever seen a human [Y/N]?"

"No," I state matter-of-factly, "I've just heard the stories from school, and from my grandfather."

"Wow, did your grandfather know a human? Like how he knew Alette!" he asks curiously.

"Nah, grandpa said our kind stopped showing ourselves to humans long before he was even born." was my response.

"WHO IS THIS ALETTE YOU SPEAK OF?" asks Papyrus.

"Oh, she's apparently a Bitty that lived a long time ago," I answer as I turn to face him, "The story is she sacrificed her life to protect our clan, I'm not sure how much is true, but my grandfather claimed to know her."

"THAT'S SO SAD." declares Blue, "BUT... BUT I AM GLAD YOUR CLAN IS SAFE! WHAT WAS SHE PROTECTING YOU GUYS FROM?"

.

.

.

"I'm not sure..." I answer hesitantly, "They say her sacrifice is the reason why our home is a haven for us, but I don't know why."

"HOW PUZZLING INDEED," Papyrus says while scratching the bottom of his chin, "BUT I THE GREAT PAPYRUS LOVES A GOOD PUZZLE! MAYBE WE CAN HELP FIND THE ANSWER!"

But Blue counters this and says, "BUT WHAT IF THERE ISN'T REALLY AN ANSWER, EVEN [Y/N] DOESN'T KNOW IF THE STORY IS TRUE."

Papyrus deflates at this revelation, and it breaks my heart to see him so downtrodden, so I speak up and say, "Well, I don't know which parts of the stories are true or not... But! Now that I think about it, there has to be something protecting the clan."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOMETHING IS PROTECTING THE CLAN?" Blue asks, intrigued by this new revelation.

"I mean," I elaborate, "the forest is filled with so many creature that are a danger to Bitties, correct?"

Papyrus, Blue, and Alvin all nod in agreement.

I continue, "And despite that, our little shelter between the trees has never been attacked."

"WAIT, NEVER!?" Blue exclaims with bewilderment!

"Not that I have ever seen in my lifetime." I say with a shake of the head.

"THAT'S REMARKABLE!"

"MIRACULOUS EVEN," Blue proclaims, "THEN SOMETHING HAS TO BE PROTECTING IT, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT."

"Phew," Alvin says with relief, "now I don't have to worry about any squirrels coming into my bedroom."

"Pfft, haha!" I laugh, "Is that something you've been worried about?"

Alvin hesitates, "......... Maybe..."

Everybody jumps when there is suddenly a knocking sound. We all turn to look at the opening to the room, where the door is wide open. And there stood Sans, casually leaning against the doorway.

"you 4 having fun?" he asks casually, "it's getting late, the bitties should be heading home."

Papyrus, Blue, and Alvin awed with disappointment.

"Do we have to go?" Alvin pouts.

"sorry kid," Sans shrugs, "but we wouldn't want you walking through the forest after dark."

Alvin practically clings to me as he begs, "Can we stay longer? Please! We could stay the night! That way we don't have to be in the forest at night, please!?"

"Do your parents know you are here with me?" I ask.

"... Um... No..." Alvin answers.

"Then no, we are not staying the night." I say with no room for discussion, "I'm not going to let your parents be worried all night, wondering where you went."

"Aw man..."

"MAYBE YOU CAN STAY THE NIGHT ANOTHER TIME, LITTLE ONE." Papyrus suggests, "BUT NEXT TIME, BE SURE TO TELL YOUR PARENTS."

"Ugh, fine." Alvin whines as we are carried out of the room and down the stairs.

The sound of two pairs of boots thumping down the stairs alerted the others to our presence. Stretch, Slim, and Red were in the living room watching television, and Razz and Edge step out of the kitchen, since they were the ones who volunteered to wash the dishes.

"is it time to go already?" Slim asks from his seat on the couch.

"Yeah..." I answer, "Sorry we couldn't stay longer, but it will be dark soon..."

"don't worry honeybun, we get it." Stretch reassures, "we'll just have to catch up next time."

"Next time." I repeat, "Yeah, next time for sure."

I turn to face where Razz is standing in the hallway before saying, "And thank you all for the food, it was delicious!"

Razz's skull lightly dusts of purple as he speaks, "W-WELL, I'LL BE SURE TO WORK ON PERFECTING MY CRAFT, SO NEXT TIME YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ADMIT THAT MY BURRITOS ARE THE SUPERIOR CHOICE!"

"NYAH," Edge butts in, "NOT UNTIL THEY HAVE HAD A TASTE OF MY LASAGNA! NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, YOU WILL NEVER SURPASS TRUE PERFECTION."

"BUT NOTHING COULD POSSIBLY COMPARE TO THE PERFECT PASTA PALATE, THAT IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS' SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus adds!

"girls, girls, you're all pretty," Sans interrupts, "but if we don't stop this here, the Bitties will never get home at this rate."

Papyrus gasps, "YOU ARE RIGHT BROTHER! WHAT WAS I THINKING? WE MUST GO POST HASTE!"

Everybody said their farewells as Papyrus brought us outside, with Sans and Blue following behind. The sun was already starting to set as we made our way through the forest. After a few minutes of walking I started to notice something, and spoke up.

"Papyrus?" I call out, "I don't think this is the way to the mulberry tree."

"THAT WOULD BE CORRECT BITTY [Y/N]." He answers without elaborating.

I turn around to face him, "Then where are we going!?"

"WHY TO YOUR HOME OF COURSE, SILLY." Papyrus answers as if it were obvious.

"Wait, no, you can't do that!" I protest, "You can just drop us off at the mulberry tree!"

"BUT [Y/N]," Blue speaks up, "THAT'S PRETTY FAR FROM YOUR HOME, AND YOUR LEG IS STILL HEALING..."

"I know, I know... But are you forgetting that my village is afraid of you guys!?" I try to emphasize, "They might think they are being attacked and go into a panic over nothing... again!"

"YEAH, BUT..." Blue hesitates, "WE'D FEEL BAD MAKING YOU WALK ALL THAT WAY... AND IT'S ALMOST DARK..."

"hey..." Sans speaks up, "to not cause a scene, we won't take you all the way there."

"BUT SAN-"

"but!" Sans interrupts, "we can at least take you most of the way. that way you won't have to walk so far. does that sound fair?"

I thought about it for a moment... Taking me straight to the village was out of the question, the Elders have been hammering into the peoples heads that the giants are dangerous, at every morning meeting... Even if some of them didn't see them as a threat, no one is brave enough to speak up against the Elders.

"Okay, fine." I relent, "But not close enough for any of them to see or hear you, got it?"

"YES MA'AM!" Blue salutes.

The rest of the way was filled with Blue and Papyrus's chattering, and Alvin occasionally asking questions about what they were talking about. I didn't really pay it any attention, I just felt... out of sorts...

"you alright?" Sans quietly asks, soft enough that only I hear it.

I nod, "Yeah... I think so..."

"you were making a face," Sans probes, "y' sure you're not feeling sick?"

"I'm not sick." I insisted, "I... I don't know what I'm feeling, but I'm not sick..."

Sans looked like he didn't believe a word of it, but decided to drop the subject.

Soon a commotion was heard, loud music, and cheering could be heard from a distance. Oh right, I hade completely forgotten about the party... The pit in my stomach only grew at the thought.

"WHAT'S THAT NOISE?" Blue asks curiously.

"IT SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC BLUE." Papyrus replies.

"oh yeah," Sans speaks up, "didn't [y/n] mention something about avoiding a party?"

Everybody's eyes were on me. I sighed, "Yeah... at this rate they will probably be at it all night... At least this way they will be unlikely to notice we were ever gone."

"WHY? DID YOU SNEAK OUT?" Papyrus asks.

I scratch the back of my head nervously, "Well... Sort of...?"

Blue gasps, "[Y/N]!? DID YOU BREAK A RULE?"

"It isn't really a rule..." I answer, "But the Elders made it clear they didn't want any Bitty going near you guys, myself included. If they found out I left to go see you, they would freak out."

"O-OOH..."

.

.

.

"You can drop me off here." I speak up.

"ARE YOU SURE?" Blue asks hesitantly.

"Yeah," I reaffirm, "I'm sure we are close enough that I can make the walk, it's fine."

"ONLY IF YOU ARE SURE." Papyrus says as he kneels down to lay his hand flat on the ground for us to get off.

As soon as Alvin and I are on the ground he stands back up and places his hand on his hips, as if he were making a dramatic pose, and says, "UNTIL NEXT TIME, MY BITTY FRIENDS!"

I look up at them and smile, "Yeah... next time. Thanks for the ride! Oh, and thanks again for the food!"

"NO PROBLEM [Y/N]! MWEH HEH HEH HEH! YOU CAN COME OVER ANYTIME IF YOU WANT MORE OF MY MAGNIFICENT TACOS!" Blue calls out.

Sans chuckles, "maybe next time i'll bring over some grilby's for you to try."

Both Blue and Papyrus look at Sans as if he had just scandalized the both of them with that statement.

"NO."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT, BROTHER!"

I just laugh as I take Alvin's hand and start making my way towards the village.

❤❤❤❤♡❤❤❤❤

It doesn't take long for the two of us to make our way to the Village entrance. I signal Alvin to be quiet, as we make our way through the narrow passage through the roots. The party is still in full swing, and it probably will be for the rest of the night, but the less people who know we ever left, the better.

"Hey Al! Where yah been?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden shout, but when I turn to see who called out, it was only one of the younger Bitties. I think I recognize them from the group of classmates Alvin had introduced me to before.

"I've been with [Y/N]." Alvin answers with bewilderment, "Why?"

"We've been lookin' for you all day!" Said one of his other friends, "Didn't know you preferred hanging around older Bitties..."

Alvin was taken aback by this, "W-What, n-no! I... I just wanted to m-make sure she w-was safe is all..."

"Safe from what?"

"Yeah, nothing can get to her from inside the village."

Alvin was about to answer, "Well, we weren't-"

But I cut him off, "The kid was just worried, cause my leg hasn't fully healed yet, is all! Even though I keep telling him I can walk fine, isn't that right... Alvin...?"

Taking the hint Alvin nods vigorously, "Th-That's r-r-right! I was worried about h-h-her leg is all..."

"Okay then, but she said she's fine, so what's the hold up?"

"Absolutely nothing," I butt in again, "go on Alvin, your friends are waiting for you."

"But..." Alvin tries to protest...

"I'm just going to head back to my goosepen for the night," I say to try to reassure him, "I can get there on my own with no trouble. I've already made you miss most of the party, go and have fun with your friends..."

"... ... ...Okay." He hesitantly agrees.

He rushes off towards his friends, who happily receive him, and they all head off to do who knows what. I stand there alone for a moment before making my way back to my goosepen. A few other Bitties spot me and ask where I had been. I just tell them I had been around, and they easily drop the topic to continue the festivities.

It doesn't take too long for me to make it to my goosepen's entrance. I brush aside the vines that make up the 'door' and step inside. For a moment I stand there, pondering on what to do. All the food has been taken care of, Elisa-mae's dress has already been made, and she is who knows where flaunting it for everyone to see...

I hear loud cheering and music behind me as I step further inside, and look around the empty room. As I'm walking, I'm not paying attention to where I'm stepping, and my foot collides with some of the art supplies Alvin had brought over some time ago. Did he never return these? Does he not know how hard it is to get the supplies needed for this stuff!?

I heavily sigh as I start picking up the art supplies that had been scattered across the floor. As I was picking everything up, I came across one on the sketches I had done. Now, I'm not much of an artist, but I can tell that the vague scribble was supposed to be a depiction of Blue, with his starry eyes and bright smile. I pick up another one and see a sketch of Papyrus beaming up at me. I don't know why, but it brings a smile to my face.

I look around and see other sketches of the other skeletons scattered around. I spend time staring at each and every one of them as I pick them up. The whole time I had been cooped up in this place, I had them on my mind... That strange feeling from before is back... But this time I know what it is...

It's silly really... It hasn't even been that long... Not even an hour has passed... but...

"I miss them..."