"You're under my protection, and that includes sustenance. What do you want to eat?" with Knight?
Aaaa one of my scattertale boys!! I really need to finish redoing that au at some point lol
You don’t know what happened. Once minute you’re walking through Mount Ebott national park and the next you’re- in the same place? Kind of? But you can’t see the city at all!
It probably wasn’t the best idea enter that cave you found, but you only took two steps! A strange feeling in your chest told you to turn around and leave right away. You must be on the same overlook you’d just stepped away from. But you clearly aren’t.
The city in the distance is nowhere to be seen. It’s just trees and a few much smaller building that you can’t quite make out. Maybe hiking this particular mountain was a bad idea. The air is thin or something, you should go.
You start making your way down the same path you’d followed up, but you can’t shake that odd feeling. The worn path looks somehow more worn than you remember, with more branching trails. It must be the same though. You try looking for landmarks.
There’s no way to know how much time has passed (when did your phone die?) and you can’t seem to find anything familiar. You know that Ebott is notorious for- no, you can’t think like that. You are not going to die out here.
Turning to try that last path again, you immediately bump into something metal. Some…one?
You’re face-to-chest with a tarnished plate of armor. Whoever is wearing it is tall, at least 7 feet. The helmet might add a few inches though, so you can’t be sure.
Geez he’s loud. His voice seems to be amplified through the chambers in the armor somehow.
“I DIDN’T MEAN TO BUMP INTO YOU! OR, NOT LITERALLY ANYWAY! BUT FIGURATIVELY I DID WANT TO SAY HELLO!!!” he booms excitedly, “VERY FEW PEOPLE COME UP HERE NOWADAYS! IT’S SO WONDERFUL TO SEE A FELLOW CLIMBING ENTHUSIAST!”
Climbing enthusiast? Wait, that’s not what you should be confused by. This man is in full plate armor on a mountain in the middle of summer. What the fuck.
“I’m not-? Look dude I don’t know what you’re doing all the way up here, but I- I think I’m lost. Can you help me down?”
“GASP!!” Yes, he just said the word gasp. “I WOULD BE HONORED TO ASSIST SOMEONE IN NEED!! AND IT WILL BE EASY FOR ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, THE LAST GREAT KNIGHT!!”
Ooookay? This guy must be out with his renaissance fair buddies or something. As long as he can help you, you don’t mind playing along.
“Lead the way, uh, great knight??” you say. The guy is silent for a moment, making you wonder if you said something wrong, but then he literally squeals.
“YES!! THAT’S ME!!!! LET’S GO!!” he exclaims, grabbing your hand and all but dragging you along the path.
Papyrus continues to chatter on about knights, magic, and monsters as he guides you down the mountain. He never lets go of your hand, which you appreciate considering how insane some of the trails you take are. Your literal knight in (not-so) shining armor is completely confident on crumbly cliff paths, but you definitely aren’t. You’re even happier to have him around when it starts to get dark.
Soon, he pauses in a clearing at the bottom of a cliff face. You can just barely make out the remnants of a campfire near the steep stone wall. The forest is hauntingly dark behind you.
“I’M AFRAID WE’LL NEED TO STOP HERE FOR THE NIGHT,” he says plainly, “IT’S TOO DANGEROUS TO CONTINUE IN THE DARK.”
“What? I need to get home! I have work in the morning-” you feel yourself begin to panic and your hiking partner notices. For the first time since meeting him, he lowers his voice, kneeling down to your level.
“I Understand That You’re Afraid, But I Promise It Is Safer To Wait. I Can’t Keep You Out Of Harm In The Dark.” His voice is gentle, despite his face still being hidden. You feel that he’s telling the truth, but you don’t really have a choice either way.
“Okay, yeah. Just- you promise?”
“I Promise!” he says, clearly relieved, “Now, Let Me Start Up The Fire And We Can Rest!”
It takes him no time at all to get a small fire going. He tends to it with clearly practiced ease until it’s big enough to light the area. Now that you can see, it’s obvious that he comes here often. Trinkets and books are tucked neatly into the natural shelves of the cliff face.
Papyrus plunks down on the ground and begins searching around in his bag for something. You follow his lead and sit by the fire.
“Are You Hungry?” he asks.
“Yes, You’re Under My Protection And That Includes Sustenance. What Do You Want To Eat? I Have Um. Dried Fruit, Dried Meat.. Mostly Dried Things. Oh! I Still Have Bread Dough! Let’s Do That!” he decides.
What happens next takes you by complete surprise. Papyrus removes his helmet, sets it in the fire, and places the dough inside. Questionable cooking practices aside for the moment, this man is a godsdamned skeleton.
You spent the afternoon holding hands with a man made of bones!!
Papyrus notices your staring right away and a dusty pink color rises to his cheekbones.
“Oh, Um! Sorry! Maybe I Should Have Said-?” It seems he’s lost all his earlier confidence now that his helmet is gone. “I Know I Don’t Look Very Heroic Without My Armor…” he trails off. He’s looking at his flame-engulfed helmet like he might try to put it back on.
You feel kinda bad? It has been a hell of a day and this guy is the only reason you’re not still on top of the mountain. Where you would have been alone. In the dark.
Skeleton or not, you think he’s a nice guy? So-
“Don’t talk like that, you look fine. The armor doesn’t make the knight.”
You may as well have handed him the sun with how brightly he smiles at you.
