((I've decided to try updating this every other Monday. Let's see how long that lasts, lol!))

He was skimming through the sea, shark tail in his jaws as he raced the sea serpent through the shoal of silvery fish.
She was gulping dozens at a time, zigzagging about in erratic patterns.

There was a distant thought of having a burger flickering in his mind before he snapped up the leftovers in his maw.
Moyoletic turned and swam around him, long body looping through the water as her eyes glittered in amusement. He snapped playfully back, jaws thudding just inches from her side.

She eyed him, confused at first. He had the gall to look chagrined at her bewilderment.
Her jaw unhinged and clicked back into place as she considered her options.
Then she lunged.

He simply vanished, the dislocated water collapsing into the vacuum and throwing off her precise aim and sending her wildly adrift for a few seconds.

Twisting around, Moyoletic spotted him staring at her a little ways off. The silver in his eyes had vanished, the yellow greatly diminished and replaced by the previously minimal blue. He was studying her as though she'd threatened him.
"∂ι∂ ι вєнανє ιηαρρяσρяιαтєℓу?" She finally asked.

There was a distant confusion in those eyes before recognition slowly came to him.
"𝐈.. 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠."
Well that explanation made no sense.
"αяє уσυ ωєℓℓ? тнαт ιѕ qυιтє αη σ∂∂ тнιηg тσ ƒσяgєт."
"𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮." He sighed into the brine, bubbles flowing around his head.
"𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝."
"αн. ι ѕєє." She replied, though unconvinced.

They resumed their path, swimming at a higher speed than before. The strange, cheery moment had passed, and Moyoletic was rather disappointed to see it go.
But as inexplicably as it had come, it had gone. At least it gave her much to ponder.

"∂σ уσυ яємємвєя уσυя нσмє вєƒσяє мσηѕтєяѕ?" She asked after some hour or so of almost peaceful silence.
Sans slowly blinked back into the present, the yellow that had been growing in his eyes fading back to the edges.

"𝐈 𝐝𝐨." He said quickly before correcting himself.
"𝐒𝐚𝐞𝐜𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐮𝐧'𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧. 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?"
"уєѕ, тнαт ιѕ ωнαт ι мєαηт. у'zαтαé нαѕ яєѕтσяє∂ тнσѕє мємσяιєѕ?"
He nodded, the movement causing him to bob up and down in the current briefly.

"𝐈𝐭.. 𝐇𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬.. 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧.. 𝐈.. 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰.." He trailed, voice adopting a weary, exhausted tone.

Sans huffed a cloud of bubbles into the water and then surfaced for air again, continuing.
"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫'𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞.. 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.... 𝐀 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐨.." Again, he fell to a murmur, as if pondering his own memories.

"..нσω ∂ι∂ ѕαє¢ѕнιυη яєα¢т тσ нυмαηѕ αη∂ мσηѕтєяѕ ιη нιѕ тєяяιтσяу?" Moyoletic asked curiously.
"..𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭." He replied thoughtfully.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦- 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬." He added, unaware of his second slip.

"αη∂ ωнαт ∂ι∂ уσυ- ѕαє¢ѕнιυη яαтнєя- ∂σ ωιтн тнє нυмαηѕ?"
"𝐎𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐊𝐞𝐩𝐭 '𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬.... 𝕀 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬."

He surfaced then, sighing into the salty air, glancing at the eel. "𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝕨𝕖 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝐭𝐨 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝐁𝐲 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝐛𝐲 𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕨, 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡, 𝕨𝕖 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝕨𝕖 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬' 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞?"

His eyes blazed with blue and yellow, silver burning beneath the colorful vibrance as he regarded her fervently. She returned the gaze, pondering the presence of Saecshiun's self awakening.
Then he dashed that thought with an even curiouser statement.

"𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰.. 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣.. 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝕞𝕖- 𝐡𝐢𝐦? 𝐆𝐚𝐡- 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠!" He slipped freakishly through different voices in confusion, gripping his face in thick claws that lacked substance, scales growing more transparent as his skeletal form became visible.

"тнєη тєℓℓ мє, ∂яαgση тнαт ιѕ ησт. ωнαт ∂σ уσυ ∂єѕιяє? нσω ѕнαℓℓ уσυ α¢нιєνє ιт? ι ѕєє ησ ρυяρσѕє ιη αgσηιzιηg σνєя уσυяѕєℓƒ ιƒ уσυ ¢αηησт ƒιη∂ α ρυяρσѕє тσ ωσяк уσυя ¢σηƒυѕιση тняσυgн. уσυ ƒσ¢υѕ αℓℓ уσυя єηєяgιєѕ ση тнєѕє ηєgℓιgιвℓє ι∂єαѕ ωнєη уσυ тєℓℓ мє σƒ α ∂яєαм мσѕт нσησяαвℓє αη∂ тιмєℓєѕѕ. ωну? ωну ιѕ тнαт?" Moyoletic impressed upon him, jaws parting as she shifted closer to his face in earnest.

He peered at her through his transparent flesh and delicate bones, eyes faint as his dark sockets shone with ethereal light, colored flames dancing behind an illusory iris. He was hesitant, gaze drifting as he focused.

It snapped back to her when he chose to answer.
"𝐈.. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲.. 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲. 𝐌𝐲.. 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕-𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐈n 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲. 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕦𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕣, 𝔽𝕒𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕠𝕝𝕜 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕗𝕒𝕣 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥 𝕒 𝕤𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤- 𝕀 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕! 𝕎𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣. 𝕎𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕞 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕦𝕝. 𝕀𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕞𝕪 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕕𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕕. ℕ𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕖. 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥."

He ended the short speech with a snort, still breathing heavily as he studied the sea serpent. She stared at his multichromatic eyes as his self faded in and out of transparency, almost as though the dragon that wasn't couldn't decide what he was.
Moyoletic hesitated, looking away as she considered.

"тнαт ιѕ тнє ∂яєαм ι ƒιη∂ ѕσ ησвℓє. ιт ιѕ тнє ι∂єα ι ωιѕн тσ ƒσℓℓσω уσυ ƒσя υηтιℓ ιт ιѕ мα∂є яєαℓ. αη∂ вєуση∂. уσυ нανє ¢αρтυяє∂ му ѕσυℓ ιη ωση∂єя, ѕαє¢ѕнιυη ωнσ ιѕ ησт. ι ¢αη ƒιη∂ ησ gяєαтєя ∂яєαм тнαη уσυяѕ. уσυя ωιѕн тσ ѕανє єνєη уσυя вℓσσ∂-вση∂ѕ ƒяσм тнє ∂αякєѕт αѕρє¢тѕ σƒ яєαℓιту αωєѕ мє, αη∂ ι ωιℓℓ ƒσℓℓσω уσυ ƒσя ιт. уσυ нανє тαυgнт мє мαηу тнιηgѕ σƒ мσηѕтєяѕ αη∂ нυмαηѕ тнαт ι ¢συℓ∂ ησт ιмαgιηє вєƒσяє, αη∂ ι ωιѕн тσ ѕєє тнιѕ ∂яєαм ¢σмρℓєтє∂. ιт ƒιℓℓѕ мє ωιтн αωє ωιтн ιт'ѕ gяαη∂єυя. ιѕ тнαт ησт мιяα¢υℓσυѕ? ωιℓℓ уσυ ησт ℓєт мє ƒσℓℓσω?" She eyed him hopefully, caught between wonder and fear. She had been too fearful before to admit this, afraid of him wishing to go alone.

He processed her words slowly, breath slowing and scales returning to the rich blue of the sea.
"𝕀.." His jaw parted before slowly shutting again.
"..𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞?" He huffed and added, "𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕪?"
"уєѕ."

The dragon's breathing shuddered as he drifted backwards, arms now gripping themselves as he glanced at the not-so distant shore almost uneasily.
"𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤." He explained shortly, unable to meet her eyes beneath the brine.
"𝐈'𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝚠𝚎 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬." His voice split into two momentarily, almost concealing the wobble.

Moyoletic blinked, not quite understanding as he abruptly swam away, taking flight a few tail kicks away. The eel watched him head for land as her blood felt cold, anxiety twisting at her insides.
Had she made a mistake?
There was no way to know until he returned.

If he returned.

So she swam to the highest seabed and curled up in place, pushing water through her gills as she hoped the warm sun would help clear her scattered thoughts as she waited.
Waited for Sans/Napstablook/Frisk/Saecshiun to return.

. • ° . • ° . • °

They landed on the fairly deserted beach, cautious of the large gathering of humans down the left. They were grateful this area was blocked off with yellow tape, though none of them knew why.

𝙳𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛? Napstablook finally asked cautiously.
Frisk immediately regarded him mentally.
Yes! So much. I saw a church cult once and they tried recruiting me but the members sounded so much like that.. It's scary.
How did I get an eel to act like a cult member?? Sans pondered in bewilderment.
I don't know. Frisk supplied unhelpfully.

...𝙳𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚒𝚝? Napstablook quietly pointed out. Both human and skeleton paused.
...Blook, we can't have a cult. I'm not being a dragon cult leader.
Well, Nappy does have part of a point there. Cults exist because of a leader manipulating others, right? I can just.. not do that.
You'd have people following you like a god. Frisk deadpanned.

No.. He twitched at the thought.
Not at all. I'm just saying it could be useful. At the baseline, she just wants to accomplish the same goal, idyllic as it all sounds. She could help spread the idea. The more who know of and believe in it, the easier it is in the long run, right?
..But cults..
Anything cult-like that starts up can always be quashed.

Your idea still needs to involve being a leader.
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜, 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝? 𝚂𝚊𝚎𝚌𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚞𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚕𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎. Napstablook abruptly explained with unexpected clarity.

They all shared the same memory. Saecshiun had become the leader of a small group of Elder Folk and even some mers and fairies, a dragonblooded skeleton or two amidst the ranks numbering less than a hundred.

They collectively shuddered as the memory flitted into being before beginning to fade back to subconscious.
...O..kay. We can give it a shot I guess. Frisk relented, still not quite comfortable with the idea.

The dragon glanced back across the sea, envisioning Moyoletic's waiting form beneath the waves. An eye twitched and they could see the currents of magic in the air and water. It was weaker than they remembered- but that was Saecshiun's memory.

Shaking their head, the dragon stood, stretching.
I'm kind of nervous about going back. Frisk admitted.
Considering this and sharing the sentiment, Napstablook glanced around for a temporary distraction.
𝙸𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎? 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜.
Dude, this is civilization and a capitalist country; there's always stores. Frisk stated.

Which stores are the right stores? Sans queried.
I can help you tell which does what. Wouldn't want to be shopping for clothes in the soup store.
You have soup stores??
Wait no, it's a- nevermind.

Both monsters were somewhat confused before it began to dawn on Sans.
... It's a meme I don't know, isn't it?
..Yeeeeaaaaaahhhh...

With a mental shrug, the dragon let it's illusory scales disappear, the smaller form of the skeleton popping out and giving his now hardened shell of a shirt a look, jacket nothing but as crusty ball under his arm.

Salt washes out, right? He asked as the dragon returned to a fleshy appearance, settling down.
I mean I've never gotten regular clothes salty, but it washed out of my beach clothes last time I went.
Is there a difference in cloth?
Waterproof. I never got anything that salty, though.

He huffed, slowly unwrinkling the stiff mess and trying to get it on.
It scraped against his bones almost painfully, salt raining down on the sand as he forced it on.
"Geez, it's like sandpaper." He muttered while loosening the areas around his joints.

After several minutes of finagling, he finally deemed it fit for use, sighing at the irritating texture.
"You know what? I'm looking for the softest clothes I can find." He decided out loud.
Oooh, we should visit the pricey places, they have stuff. I once found the softest stuff in the ladies section! Sometimes they look genderless, too.

Isn't that meant for ladies, though? Sans pointed out.
People go to the other gender's section all the time. Guys have pockets and durable shit, girls get pretty fancy stuff that's soft.
Guess that's fair. He shrugged, summoning and sitting down on a long horizontal bone attack, rising up into the air.
I'm off to commit crimes against the human populace, be back to talk to cultish giant eel in the sea later.

Frisk was laughing internally at that statement as he flew away, Sans grinning infectiously at the reaction alone.