Pinto freezes when he knows that he's been caught. Half a cookie is still sitting in his lap. His bright eyes meet this those of the baker of these delicious sweets. The tiny bitty isn't quite scared, but very nervous. He has no idea what to expect.
     "......... A bitty?" the monster finally says in surprise. They're a skeleton monster just like the person Pinto met in the alley, bu the outfits are very different. This skeleton wears a lot of blue. There's a bit of gray on the shoulders and pants, but it's mostly a deep blue. Pinto quickly decides that he likes the color. The skeleton doesn't look angry, but they are a little confused.
The monster regains his composure and gives Pinto a big smile. "Hi there! I am the Magnificent Blue! What's your name?" Blue keeps his smile as he comes further into the kitchen, making sure that he doesn't spook the tiny bitty.
"I'm Pinto!" the bitty smiles wide. He already likes Blue.
"Do you like the cookies, Pinto?" Blue asks kindly. It's hard not to baby someone as small as a bitty. Blue doesn't really know much about them. Most of what he's heard others say contradict someone else's claim. Some say bitties aren't very bright while others claim that they're just as smart as most monsters.
"They're good," Pinto excitedly agrees. His grin dies down when he realizes that he probably should have asked before eating them. He holds up his remaining half and looks up at Blue questioningly. "Not for me.....?"
"You can have as many as you want. I have another batch keeping warm in the oven," Blue kindly offers. "I made them for my friend Ink, but he's late as usual. My other friend Dream is out looking for him." Pinto bounces excitedly for a moment before shoving another bite of cookie into his mouth. Blue giggles a bit at the child-like display. "You're getting all over your face," he chuckles.
Pinto quickly devours the rest of the cookie. He sighs in satisfaction and feels a little lethargic with a full belly of hot food. Blue snorts at all the chocolate smeared across the bitty's face and takes a washcloth off the counter. Blue wets a corner of it underneath the sink and turns to try and clean up the bitty. Pinto squirms a little but doesn't overly object. It's only now that Blue pays attention to what Pinto is wearing.
"You actually look a lot like my friend Ink. He wears lots of brown shades, too, but his scarf is lighter. You could be meant to look like him," Blue comments. He's not entirely sure how bitties come about, but Blue does recall seeing bitties that are modeled after himself. "How did you even get here?" Blue abruptly asks, "Did someone bring you here? I've never heard of a bitty with enough magic to open a portal."
Before Pinto can say anything, a loud commotion starts up outside. The screams and yells actually do scare Pinto this time. He flinches badly. Blue's face flashes into one of shock and surprise. He quickly makes to turn around a rush for the door. Unwilling to be left behind, Pinot quickly scrambles to his feet and launches himself off of the counter. He just barely manages to grab onto the back of Blue's bandana and wrap his legs around the knot. Blue doesn't seem to notice the bit of extra weight. Blue freezes with one step outside the doorway when he sees what's going on outside. Instinctively, he summons his magic just in time to raise up a wall of bones and cut off an attacker from a small bunny monster.
"Dust!?" Blue asks in shock an surprise. "W-Why are you here!? And what are you doing!?"
"Hey there baby Blue. It's knife to see ya," Dust smiles feverishly, sliding one finger along the edge of his weapon. Pinto has climbed his way up Blue's scarf and is now looking over the monster's shoulder to get a good look at Dust. This other skeleton monster looks disturbed. There's a wild look in their eyes that is magnified by the fuzziness of their eye-lights. Dust seems to randomly twitch and shake on his feet. Pinto finds himself afraid of this new monster. Dust fails to notice the bitty.
Blue still seems shocked. "You and the others are supposed to be with Ink. What happened to the treaty!?," Blue questions in utter disbelief. He takes a few steps forwards, still hoping to reason with Dust.
     "Did you really think Nightmare or Error would ever give in to you Star-shits? You only want peace because you're all a bunch of cowards!" With that, Dust loses his patience and charges forwards.
Blue summons a long bone in one hand to parry the attack just in time. He has no idea what's happened to make Dust so angry, but Blue is no push over. He'll fight to defend himself and others if he needs to. Fending off Dust is well within his capabilities. What Blue doesn't account for is that Dust is not alone.
"Look out!" Pinto yells. Blue whips around at the scream in his ear to find a large axe swinging for his neck. Summoning another bone in a lighting-fast motion, Blue catches the new attack while still being locked with Dust. Horror's manic grin and single red eye stare at Blue like a starved wolf. Horror is a large monster with the strength to match. Blue finds himself caving under both assaults. He uses his smaller stature to his advantage and drops low before lunging out between the two other monsters. Pinto was not prepared for such sharp movements. He gets flung off Blue's bandana and lands in the snow with a soft crunch. The snow completely cushions the impact.
     "Pinto?" Blue gasps in surprise, only now realizing who had shouted the warning. Dust lunges back at him before Blue can do or say anything else.
     Pinto pulls his head up out of the snow to find Horror staring down at him. The large monster's predatory eye easily spotted the small creature. Pinot lunges out of the way when Horror tries to stomp on him. The bitty's magic reacts aggressively to Pinot's fear and bubbles out of his hands. Pinot doesn't know what to do with as he dodges a swing of an axe blade. He's never had to fight before. The small magic bitties do have is never offensive. Artist-type bitties are only able to summon tools of art into their hands. Pinto has never even tried that much.
"Scary!" Pinto gasps, throwing himself to the side to dodge another hit. More paint bubbles up around him and into the air, but it remains formless. "W-Why so mad?" Pinto asks, struggling to convey his full thoughts.
"You are a threat. They aren't safe," Horror growls, his babbling not making much sense. Horror has never even met Pinto before. Despite being so aggressive and focused on attacking the bitty, Horror seems distracted.
     When Horror swings the axe again, Pinto isn't fast enough to get out of the way. He throws up his hands in an instinctual action to defend himself. The axe stops almost instantly as it buries itself into a growing mass of black paint. The paint curls itself around the blade as small projections push out from the mass. The shape becomes more detailed as the blob grows, abruptly pushing the axe up and away. Pinto's magic grows into a large shape that stands right above him. The black paint still flows and moves but condenses into the rough form of a skeleton. The magic construct has no definable features and no colors beyond the pitch black paint. When Pinto takes a step back in surprise, so does the construct. It moves like a shadow.
     Horror does not react well to a new opponent popping up right in front of him. He howls in age and swings his axe down. This time, it tears right through the paint shadow. The two halves knit back together. When Pinto jerks an arm up, the shadow's arm swings up and knocks axe right out of Horror's grip. The large monster had loosened his hands in surprise.
Pinto has no idea what's going on, but he doesn't want to hurt anyone. There is little to no malice in his heart. Bitties are practically made to be docile. Pinto can't bring himself to attack Horror even if the other had the full intent to kill him. Pinto wants the fight to stop. The shadow grabs onto Horror with a tight grip. Horror snaps his teeth and snarls, yanking at the shadow, but it does not let go. The form of the black blob grows as another set of hands grab at Horror. Two of the shadows finally drag Horror to the ground and keep him pinned down on his back as he struggles. As Pinto gets more of a handle on his new ability, the shadows move on his intentions rather than direct movements.
     Whatever Blue and Dust are doing in the background doesn't seem to matter. Pinto's entire attention is fixed on the struggling monster. Something isn't right. The part of Pinto's magic that was only recently gifted to him is practically writhing in agitation. The small bitty slowly approaches the large monster. Horror's wild struggling is quickly wearing him out as the two inky construct barely budge. Horror doesn't notice when Pinto grabs onto the side of his jacket and climbs up. With half a thought, the shadows work to restrain Horror even more now that Pinto, being so small and fragile, is so close. More arms and reaching hands rise from the snow and grab onto the monster's legs and wrap around his torso. Horror is almost completely pinned flat against the ground despite his efforts. A growl rattles continuously in his chest.
     There's a strong force beckoning Pinto forwards. He keeps walking higher up on Horror's chest despite the large monster snapping his teeth at the small bitty. Pinto has no idea why his feet keep moving until he spots a flash of red. Just visible above Horror's collar is a loop of red thread around his collar bone. Pinto reaches out and grabs it. Horror falls limp almost immediately as Pinto's magic surges and breaks the thread.
The many arms made of paint lose their form and fall into useless puddles that stain the ground. The warmth and power nestled in Pinto's chest goes cold. He falls limp and unconscious, sliding off Horror's chest and into the snow.