Chapter Text
A fierce wind blows through the town, keeping it cool despite the shimmering sun, unhindered by clouds. None of the monsters in the distance notice, of course, too busy with their celebrations. Leaves are picked off of the trees one by one, flying through the empty streets with abandon. One collides with the face of a large and imposing monster. Aggravated by this attack, she swiftly devours the offending object.
Susie is in absolutely no mood for this. She’s not in the mood for anything, really. And after this day had started off so full of promise and hope, too. She had been waiting for it for so long. She had saved a pair of clothes with notably less rips and tears than the rest of her wardrobe just for today, her way of dressing for the occasion. She woke up impossibly early, unable to contain herself. It seemed like the entire town had shared in her excitement, for the festival commenced a full hour and a half before it was supposed to. Food was prepared, songs were sung, dances were performed, and Susie couldn’t care less about any of it. This was a stark contrast to the Susie of the past, who had always looked forward to the festival for the free samples and opportunities to terrorise tourists coming in to visit. But she was no longer the Susie of the past. So many things had changed about her recently, it was like she was a new person. A new person who had, at last, made a true friend.
She laughed coldly at that thought, kicking a rock on the street as hard as she could into the police station. Spending time with Kris was what she was truly excited for this year. After all their crazy escapades in the dark world, Susie silently looked forward to a quieter day together, simply enjoying each other’s company at the festival. But Kris did not show. They were a heavy sleeper at the best of times, and Susie doubted whether they would wake up in time for the festival even before it began prematurely. Since Toriel was involved in the preparation for the festival this year, she simply assumed they had slept in, their mother forgetting to wake them in her haste. Without Kris, the festival seemed lifeless, pointless.
The time she spent with her other friends, the excitable Noelle (a bit too excitable, Susie told herself) and the cheerful Berdly (his time in the Dark World really loosened him up, she noticed) was time well spent, though their group was obviously lesser without Kris in it. Most of their time was spent sitting on a picnic blanket away from the action, which Susie was fine with. She didn’t need a reminder of what she had dreamed about partaking in with Kris for the past few nights. The duo were also curious about where they were, bringing them up every so often in conversation, keeping Susie on edge. Hours later, they parted to hang out with Catti and Jockington, and so Susie decided enough was enough, sneaking out through the woods while everyone was distracted. No one noticed her absence, as she had hoped. The happiness of the last few hours seemed eons away already. Susie loved her friends, no doubt, but they could never truly make up for Kris’ absence. She staggered on, miserably, no goal in mind.
As she passed the hospital, she remembered that even the patients were at the festival, all of them feeling well enough to attend arguably the most important event of the year with their families and friends. Somehow, this made Susie feels even worse. At last, she reached the crossroads leading to the rest of town. It was barely past noon, yet Susie felt like she could (and indeed would) collapse into her bed the moment she got home regardless.
She glanced over at the road leading to the school before leaving, and the light bulb in her head turned on in a flash. If Kris isn’t at the festival, they MUST be in the castle town! Complimenting herself on her incredible intellect, she decided to pay them a visit instead of sleeping the day away, her previous exhaustion a distant memory. Despite how mad she was at them for abandoning her, she knew Kris liked to spend time with her as much as she with them, and therefore must have a damn good reason to have skipped out on the festival, especially so after the promises they made to her. She’d let them off easy. This time. That made her wonder – why HAD the human chosen to ignore both her and the festival?
Susie never paid much attention to Kris outside of occasional bullying, but even she knew how much the human loved the festival. Their appetite rivalled her own, Toriel always saving a few of her pies just for them, and while they didn’t have many friends, they got on well enough with everyone in class (bar Berdly) to take part in whatever activities were taking place that year. And the hospital staff dragged their heavy piano over to the festival grounds every year for a reason. So, what had changed? Susie noticed she was right beside the Librarby, and recalled with fondness every time she had terrorised some book reading monsters, and even the librarian on occasion.
This happy memory didn’t last long, as Susie felt the cold sting of realisation run down her spine, freezing her in place. A feeling of all too familiar dread set in. What if Kris never forgave her for her past actions? They had never lodged a complaint, true, but Kris wasn’t talkative at the best of times. She had never apologised for what she did, either. She felt she didn’t need to – actions spoke louder than words, right? And yet, she failed to convince herself. They had spent virtually every day since their first dark world excursion together, albeit mostly at Susie’s insistence. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so clingy… True, they had never protested or showed any signs of disagreement, but Kris could hide their feelings better than anyone in town, and Susie was well aware of this.
These thoughts weren’t new to her. They had poisoned her mind since the very first night after her life was changed forever. They had been easy enough to dismiss as something her mind conjured up to hurt her, back when she had no reason to doubt Kris’ friendship. That was long gone. Susie was in a frenzy of self-doubt now, her steady walk towards the school slowing to an uncertain crawl. Words couldn’t express how much the human meant to their dragon companion. Susie deemed it necessary to try regardless. She couldn’t lose Kris. No matter what. She remembered all too well the loneliness that had plagued her. Susie was too focused on putting one foot in front of the other to notice the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
When she made it to the doors of the school, she panicked at the thought of them being locked, before noticing that one was slightly ajar. This confirmed her theory. Kris was in here. She entered. The silence of the halls was all too familiar to Susie by now, but it had changed. What was calming and safe now became harsh and painful, like the halls were judging her for her sins. Susie’s mind continued to war with itself, and she was losing. When she came to the door, she hesitated briefly. “For Kris” she said out loud, making herself jump. Still, this cleared her mind. She knew what she had to do. With newfound determination, she opened the door, and leaped into the darkness…