His Bark: Part 3
The girl trembled under the blanket.
She was exhausted, but her mind wouldn’t let her sleep.
What would their decision be? Were they gonna let her live? Oh God, what if she had seen too much?! What if they-
The girl threw off the covers and sat up. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. Now there was no reason to jump to conclusions. Despite having kidnapped her and locked her in a room, they had been very civil to her.
She let out a breath. But they were still killers. The image of the tall skeleton standing over the mass of flesh on the ground flashed across her mind. She felt a shiver go up her spine. She pulled her legs to her chest and hid her face in her knees.
How long were they going to make her wait? She felt like she could die right now just from the anxiety. She felt like crying again, but a lump of worry lodged in her throat kept the tears from coming. She was tired and scared and she wanted to go home.
She just wanted to go home.
An overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and fear swept over her. This time, the tears fell freely.
…..
Papyrus worked quickly in the kitchen, not only to feed his brothers, but their new “guest” as well.
The youngest skeleton found himself being more meticulous about cooking his pasta too perfection than usual.
True, all of his dishes were masterpieces but this was the first time anyone outside of his family would be trying it.
Hopefully she too would appreciate the true craftsmanship of his cooking.
Finally, it was finished. He prepared a plate, carefully plating and decorating each strand of pasta. Finally, he garnished the dish with greens. With a grunt of approval, he headed upstairs to surprise the human.
He could not wait to see her face when she took the first bite.
…..
When he unlocked the door, he was surprised to see the human curled in a ball against the wall; her face buried behind her knees.
Her head lifted suddenly, shocked by his sudden presence. He saw that she had been crying again. He sighed.
“CALM YOURSELF HUMAN, I HAVE BROUGHT YOU FOOD.”
Her hair hung in her face, covering one eye from view. It watched him warily as he extended the plate towards her. She was in no hurry to grab it, though he knew she was hungry.
Papyrus was growing impatient. But he knew snapping at the human would only make her distrust him more.
He sighed again.
“I WILL LEAVE IT HERE,” he set it on the bedside table, “I WILL COME BACK FOR THE PLATE LATER, SO PLEASE RETURN IT TO THIS SPOT WHEN YOU ARE DONE. I CANNOT ABIDE DIRTY DISHES ON THE FLOOR!”
Slowly she nodded at him.
“IF YOU NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM, THERE IS ONE ADJOINING THIS BEDROOM OVER THERE,” he pointed at the door on the side wall, “IF YOU GET BORED, I WILL PERMIT YOU TO PERUSE MY LIBRARY- ONLY IF YOU PUT EVERYTHING BACK IN ITS PROPER PLACE!”
The girl brushed her hair out of her eyes and glanced at the books on the shelves with some interest, beginning to uncurl from her ball.
Satisfied, he had made at least some difference in her mood he turned to leave.
“W-wait!”
The tall monster stopped upon hearing her voice. It was hoarse and wavering. He found it oddly cute. He turned to address her.
“What’s your name?”
The question took him by surprise.
“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! BUT YOU MAY JUST REFER TO ME AS PAPYRUS FOR NOW.”
The girl blinked and for a moment the youngest monster thought he saw the hints of a small smile.
“Oh…well, thanks for the food…Papyrus.”
He felt a shiver go down his spine when she said his name. He didn’t know how to respond other then a nod before shutting the door behind him.
….
When he had finally descended the stairs, Papyrus noticed that his cousins had come home.
They were seated around the table eating his spaghetti hungrily.
“Eh Papy, this is the best batch of spaghetti yous ever made!”
Trattatelo flashed him a grin. Chalkboard nodded in agreement stuffing his face full of food.
“Yeah, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were try’na impress someone.”
Herculanum flashed a playful look at him.
The younger skeleton crossed his arms.
“It’s the same thing I cook every night cousin. What are you three doing home so early?”
His three cousins had moved in with Papyrus and his brothers when they were very young. Though they were family, sometimes Papyrus did not approve of their behavior or their tactics.
More often than not they roamed the streets of the city till all hours of the night looking for trouble or carousing in the local monster bar run by Grillby, who was a friend of the family.
“Aw what’s the matter Papyrus? Don’t want to share with your cousins?”
Herculanum’s grin widened. Papyrus raised his eye ridge. What was he talking about? He heard Trattatelo snicker.
“We heard that yous were seen draggin’ a young lady home~”
Papyrus froze. They knew? He huffed.
“You misunderstand cousin. She was a witness to one of my “assignments”. I brought her here so it could be determined if she needed to be disposed of or just intimidated.”
Herculanum scoffed. “Why not jus’ kill her? Seems to me you had other things on your mind when you brought her here cuz~”
Papyrus felt his face begin to blush a little. “She did not provoke anything. There was no reason to kill her unless she had tried to run.”
Herc’s grin widened.
“Still. Girl must be somethin’ if you decided ta bring’er here instead of takin’ care of it yer’self .”
The big skeleton rose from the table and stretched.
“Well, I’m guessin’ Wing and Dings already took care of things, so I’m gonna go watch tv.”
With that, Herc left the kitchen.
Papyrus sighed in relief.
Unbeknownst to him though, Herculanum was making his way up the stairs to the youngest skeleton’s room instead.
He thought he might introduce himself to the little lady first.
…….
She couldn’t explain it, but Papyrus’s spaghetti was pretty fucking good!
Maybe it was just the exhaustion catching up to her or her sudden extreme hunger, but in that moment, it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten.
She was a little sad when she finished her plate. Now that her stomach was full, she felt a bit better. She had to admit Papyrus was a lot more…hospitable then what she first thought.
‘It doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a murderer’
Suddenly there was a small knock on the door.
Papyrus? So soon?
She hurried to put her dishes neatly on the nightstand as he had instructed her. No need to get on his nerves at this point.
The door opened slowly.
In walked a skeleton that she didn’t recognize. She felt her throat go dry. Unlike the others she had seen with Papyrus earlier, this one was a little more-scary. He’s teeth seemed to be just a little too sharp and his phalanges a little too claw-like.
“Hey there sweetheart.”
You felt the food in your stomach begin to churn. His voice was much deeper too. Almost…predatory.
He looked her up and down, his eyes seeming to take in every detail. He smirked.
“Names Herculanum babe, but you can call me Herc.”
He stepped closer, cornering her on the bed. She felt sweat breaking out on her neck. He placed his hands on either side of her frame, effectively boxing her in to his body. He leaned forward until he was face to face with her.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind sweetheart~”
Sorry for the long post but wanted to establish the other part of the family! Hope you like it!
———
By @turtleskele
Don’t say sorry for more content ;A;; I am loving this ;u;;; The cousins are doing great- Hope Paps’ gonna catch wind soon; You are gripping me by the throat here- Can’t wait to read more! >w<