"WHAT THE HELL?! I told you not to do that!" Christine snapped.
Sans shrugged. "Sorry, didn't know ya'd be there. Anyways bro, I got some gloves and stopped by the shop. The shop keeper gave me an old coat for free, actually." Sans held out black gloves and a bushy purple coat with blue stripes, with a heart where the zipper intersected near the top. Christine put them on, instantly feeling the warmth heat up her cold arms and fingers.
"Thank you Sans." Christine nodded, rubbing her arms.
"Hey, it's SNOW problem." Sans chuckled as Papyrus's eye twitched.
"SANS! You are unbelievable! Simply unbelievable!" Papyrus stomped his foot, frustrated. Christine couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.
"I can't help myself. I'd be nothing SANS my jokes." Sans winked his eyesocket, although no laughter followed.
"Brother, why must you insist on making jokes every time I meet a human?!" Papyrus huffed.
"It's okay Papyrus, I don't mind." Christine smiled reassuringly.
"Yeah bro, it's all CHILL."
Papyrus's eye twitched before he screamed into the air. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOUR PUNS SANS!"
Chirstine broke into a laugh. She couldn't help herself. She was usually difficult when it came to laughing at jokes. But the best part of jokes is the reaction.
"Anyways bro, ICE-ee you later!" Sans disappeared.
Papyrus sighed. "Apologies, Human Christine, it seems I lost my cool there."
"Did you just make another temperature pun?"
Papyrus paused, thinking before screaming into the air "SANS YOU INFERNAL SKELETON AND YOU CONTAGIOUS PUNS!"
Christine clutched her stomach as she howled with laughter. "I just hope it's not like a sickness or some kind of COLD. Oh no, Papyrus, I think I'm afflicted!"
Papyrus gasped. "NO! SOON THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL BE MAKING THESE PUNS!"
Christine broke out laughing, clutching her stomach. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this much.
"So- *Heh* where's this Snowdin town?" She asked, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Hmph. Well, there should be quite a few more rooms before we arrive. Say, do you like puzzles?"
* * * *
Monsters were not exactly how Christine thought they were. As Papyrus and her walked along the trail, various monsters crossed their path or jumped out at them. They acted like normal humans however, although a bit strange. There was a deer-like monster with trees for horns that hated it's decorations, or a strange ice chicken that was insecure about its jokes. Not to mention the various dogs that kept stopping them demanding a fight. All Christine had to do was just pet them on the head and they'd be happy. And it was a phenomenon to them that dogs could pet other dogs. And a… Jerry? That thought…like a Jerry? Christine wasn't really sure what it was, but its name was Jerry and that was basically all to it.
Papyrus had a lot to say though. He had told her about his puzzles and snowdin, and most importantly, Frisk. "...And they had a blue, striped shirt, darker, orange-ish skin with dark brown hair?" Christine clarified as they walked to the cliff, coming to a long rope bridge.
Papyrus nodded. "They were headed to Snowdin, just ahead! Past this bridge!"
Christine looked over the edge, immediately feeling a sense of Acrophobia. "Y-yeah…" She nodded, swallowing hard as the drop seemed to go on and on and on and-
"It's best if you do not look down." Papyrus suggested. "I just imagine the ground is a few feet away! And then I'm not so scared anymore."
"U-um… Wh-why don't you… g-go first?" She suggested, stepping back a few steps.
Papyrus's eyes softened as he gave a reassuring smile. "I know it's scary. It was when our father took us over this the first time and Sans and I were just children. Sans found comfort in knowing exactly how long the bridge was. I found comfort in just holding their hands." Papyrus outstretched his gloved hand, offering it to her. "We can go together. It'll feel like no time has passed by the time we're on the other side!"
Christine hesitated. She wasn't a child. She was an adult! Frisk probably made it across the bridge all alone. She didn't need someone to hold her hand as they crossed, no matter how many… thousands… of feet were… below her. "I-I'll be fine. Thanks Papyrus." Christine slowly stepped onto the bridge, feeling it move back and forth underneath her. "St-step by step, r-right?" She whispered to herself as she clutched the railings, although that didn't make her feel any better. Papyrus followed behind her, just as slowly. She felt as if walking on a tightrope, the bridge feeling as if it were jerking back and forth. And the drop, god the drop. She knew looking at it made things worse, but she also couldn't tear her gaze away from it. How many bones would she break falling? How much pain would she be in? Would she even feel pain? Would she die before she felt it? What if Frisk was down there? Would she ever get to Frisk? She would never reach them falling like she-
"Christine?" She was snapped out of her thoughts, that horrible feeling that was like she actually had fallen off the bridge. She realized she had stopped in the middle of her tracks, not even a quarter of the bridge crossed. She looked back at Papyrus giving a half-hearted smile. Papyrus smiled back. "Take your time."
Continuing, Christine began to fall back into that horrible sinking feeling of being horribly aware of the fall beneath her and gravity pulling down on her shoulders. *ping* Christine thought she had heard a strange sound behind her, but decided to brush it off. As she walked, she realized something strange. She felt… lighter. Better. As if gravity had let go. She was sure she was just being delirious or imagining things. However as she walked she found she was less terrified of falling then she was before. Still scared, but less so. She took deep breaths, focusing on the feeling of the rope beneath her hands as she walked until she felt the crunch of snow beneath her shoes. She looked back, realizing she had already crossed the bridge. It seemed faster than it was, like a few seconds out of minutes. "Papyrus, did you hear something weird on the bridge?" She asked, looking at him. For a moment, she could swear his left eye was orange.
"Probably the ice from the bottom of the bridge." He dismissed before pointing ahead. "Human Christine? Welcome to Snowdin town!"