Where I Wander

Work is always a rough day. The only thing that makes the future hell tolerable, is the coffee stop along the way.

Barely making it through her morning routine, Drane glanced at the large oval mirror beside her door. She looked a mess, disheveled and bloated. Bakery uniform splotched with flour stains and wrinkled to hell. The years since her release were filled with being overworked and sleep-deprived- but the freedom settled into her bones; she would not have it any other way. Hands smooth across the fabric of her apron, dusting off various cats hairs. Pulling on her comfy black winter coat and a red knitted scarf, she entered the hall of her blue patterned apartment building.

“Good morning Drane, off to work are ya?” A bright pink slime monster greeted her across the hall. The family of slime animals was nice enough to Drane, if not a bit too friendly. The monsters seemed to notice that she didn’t like conversation and since adapted to her usual rude moods.

“...” Drane shrugged, adjusting her scarf. A quick glance at the vibrant monster let them know she was listening.

“I’m glad to see you like your scarf, my wife was worried you might not like the color ahaha,” The slime cat laughed, oozing slightly over top the zip of her winter coat. Drane stared quietly, watching the way rose petals sloshed around within the slimy contents of the body of the monster.

“Well, make sure you stop and say hi to Mandi,” they said, swishing the end of their twin-tail back and forth. “...you know how she gets out there in the city sometimes. Can get a little boring I suppose,” ah, yeah. Monsters weren't always treated the best, even in the city where so many people had grown accustomed to their appearances. The fact they were a lesbian couple only further to provoke the humans against them.

“Yeah,” Drane offered quietly, switching feet.

“See ya later Drane! Don’t work too hard darling!” the monster laughed, walking down the hallway to the back exit. Drane watched them go before she stuffed her hands back into coat pockets and walked towards the stairs leading to the front. The monsters always took the back entrance in her building, they told her it was safer to enter the streets like that. She couldn’t blame them.

Realizing the reception counter was empty struck Drane as weird, but she continued out into the morning street anyway. Making her way through the thin morning crowds, she pondered her choices of morning coffee. Usually her morning stop at the newspaper stand- run by her neighbor’s adorable daughter- ended with a paper and a large c. She was thinking maybe something sweet today, to help counteract her grumpy mood.

“...excuse me,” She offered up loudly, clenching her teeth at an old man. He did not seem to be paying attention to where he was going, briskly walking and colliding shoulders with her. The cold chill only further soured her mood.

“...Watch where you're going butterball ,” The older man snapped at her, barely stopping to properly communicate the insult. Drane was stunned for a brief moment- before the heat of her anger reddens her face and thrusts her feet, moving towards the street lights. She was fuming on the inside. Though the remark was hardly insulting considering how frail and skinny she used to be; the audacity to say it so cruel to her face got her blood pumping.

“...Prick,” her voice let out, a puff of air meeting with the coolness of the weather. She glared at the walking signal, willing it to turn with sheer will power.

Sadly, she knows she has no such superpowers.

This particular walking sign always seemed to take forever, and her thoughts wandered to the lovely cat monster named Mandi. The monster was so peculiar- even among monsters; she was made of a slime material that didn’t drip or smudge. The entire monster family she had met up to this point seemed to share the characteristic- along with a particular flower they were connected too. Mandi was always accompanied by numerous pink flowers petal- truly filling each customer with a pleased, calm feeling when they leave. Drane still remembered the first time she stepped up to the stand, feeling a little bad that no one seemed to be visiting...

It was so hot. Drane could not remember the last time it had been so hot- so humid that her clothes stuck to her skin and her hair felt heavily glued to her neck. The streets were crowded with people, grumpy and loud. Work had been a disaster- and all Drane could think about was air conditioning and her colds drinks in the refrigerator. Among the people, a section of the sidewalk caught her eye- void of sweaty arms and angry insults. Walking hesitantly across the intersection, her feet landed her in front of something vibrant and flowery.

A slime cat monster?

“Hello!~” A cheery voice rang out, seemly startled by the sudden visitor. The stand was decorated heavily with flowers and vines- mini cherry blossom trees on display on top of a large cherry oak desk. The vibrant pink slime cat beamed brightly at Drane through her thick black rims. The monster wore a tight fitted black apron, over top a simple red tank. Behind the woman was a chalkboard, filled with neat, pink cursive about drinks and lunch specials. The atmosphere felt calming and comfortable- Drane instantly felt at home. A small oasis in the middle of the stressful city labeled “Mani’s Meadow” at the top of the stand.

“What are you craving for today?~” The young monster speaks confidently, twisting one of her long pink curls around her finger. Drane watches the way the slime sticks to itself.

“...something sweet, with a lot of caffeine please,” Drane asks, opting to move her eyes somewhere else besides the monster; she must seem so rude for staring.

“Coming right up!~” The cat cheers, turning her back. Drane lets her eyes take in the stand more, she makes out a few disgruntled voices from outside the stand.

“Don’t worry about them,” The cat monster says suddenly, not even bothering to turn around. “...they are just mad we are in the shade of this cozy sanctuary and they are stuck in the heat because of how pig-headed they are,”

“Yeah,” Drane offers, suppressing a small smile. When the monster turns around, Drane is in awe to find a large iced latte- filled to the top of the lid and drizzled with decadent caramel drizzle.

“on the house for ya darling, your my first customer today!” the monster says brightly. Upon closer inspection, Drane notices a smiley face drawn on the side of the cup. “...Names Mandi! Thanks for stopping in and saying hello, I appreciate it.”

“Thanks for the wonderful latte,” Drane mumbles quietly. “...Caramel is my favorite actually,”

“I could tell,” Mandi replies, adjusting her glasses.

“How?”

“Let’s just say...” Mandi starts dramatically. “... it’s magic!” At the look Drane gifted Mandi, the cat monsters began to laugh loudly.

“If you say so,” Drane offers lightly, sipping her latte and staring at fluffy bonsai.

“Do you like cherry blossoms?” Mandi asks warmly, propping her elbows on the counter.

“I mean... I don’t not like cherry blossoms,” Drane responds

“Good, you can have that one,” Mandi says, like its a fact already done and set in stone.

“What?”

“I said you can take it with you silly!~” Drane is surprised by how bright Mandi’s smile is. “... They are good for stress, and keeping good memories~”

“Good memories?” Drane looks confused.

“Mhm,” Mandi mumbled, picking up the bonsai and placing in Drane’s arms. “...Take good care of it, and it will take care of you when you need it most; thats a promise!”

“I mean- I’m not very good at taking care of things so-”

“Nonsense!” Mandi exclaims. “...Now skidattle! I have a good feeling a lot more customers are headed my way. Make sure you come to visit me tomorrow okay? and the day after. And the day after. Till forever. We have a contract, me and you; company and customer- don’t bail on me now!”

“I’ll try not too,” comes Drane’s sarcastic drawl, followed by a light laugh.

“Ah you do laugh- how cute,”

“Shut up,” Drane replies, unintentionally harsh.

“aw the best humans are the ones like you~” Mandi laughs back, unaffected. They separate, and on the way back out of the stand Drane turns to give a small wave.

“See ya tomorrow darling!~” Mandi waves back. It feels genuine and warm.

As the light finally turns for pedestrians to walk, Drane snaps out of her memories. Feeling excited and over her previous interaction, she turns the corner right into a large crowd of people. Startled, she immediately knows the monster celebrity Mettaton is more than likely responsible for the crowd; begrudgingly she begins her trek into the crowd.

Mettaton was the last monster- er robot- er ghost; that she wanted to see this early. God if he was nearby she’d have to forfeit her delicious beverage for the morning and get one later- the fans of Mettaton were just as annoying and far crueler.

“Excuse me,” her voice flowed into the growing noise of the crowd. If the other humans and monsters heard her call, they didn’t act as they did.

“Can you fucking move please?” Yelling exasperated. People continued to ignore her as she struggled through the dense crowd. By the time she made it near the front, the yellow glare of caution tape caught her eyes, hanging ominously over a rack of newspapers.

“What is going on? I need to get to work please move,” her voice echoed with less intensity. The weight in her stomach grew. Swallowing lumps like a stone. Voices around her filled with assortments of emotions. Reaching the caution tape she stood next to an embodiment of fire, wearing formal clothes and a pair of spectacles. Under normal circumstances maybe she would have paid more attention to the flickering sounds of campfire next to her.

“Mandi?...” her vocal cords called out softly. Flashes of a bright smiling face and friendly insults involving a cute slime cat consume her.

The sounds seemed to faze out, as her eyes made contact will a thick gray sludge seeping out from inside the stand. Drane pushes through the crowd more, moving towards the front to get a better view into the stand- monsters seemed to be gathering like crazy and for a brief moment, she wondered if they would reject her.

“Excuse me- sorry I just need to-”

“D-Drane?” a soft voice called out in front of her. She looked up to find the pink cat mom from this morning, thick slimy tears flowing down their face. “...don’t, darling head to work I’ll t-talk to you later-”

“Move please,” Drane echoes quietly, lightly pushing the large slime cat out of her way. The brightness of the caution tape burns into her memory, as the scene leaves her breathless.

Mandi’s stand was one of the bigger ones on the street- obviously monster owned from the bright colors and hanging wind chimes. Dranes eyes followed the dust on the countertop, across the candy prices and tiny dancing flower toys. She felt gutted. The dust seemed to be scattered everywhere- some of it seeping into the coffee spilled on to the floor; creating a sickeningly dark gray sludge. The broken branches and scattered flower pots felt wrong, worse than any murder scene she had witnessed on television.

The loss of Mandi’s smiling face left a cold fog in the lungs. Her eyes gazed emptily at the writing on the top of the stand where ‘Mandi’s Meadow’ used to be, written in the same gray sludge on the floor.

“DUSTERS ARE COMING”

Steel ran through her veins at the sight of a pink slime cat crying into the officer’s arms. The steel shielded her feelings, boxing them in and keeping them safe. Grinding of her teeth kept her quiet, and she turned away to begin the trek around the murder scene. All she could think about was the bonsai sitting on her windowsill, growing bright and beautiful. It helped her get to work and continue throughout the day. She refused her break and insisted on working through, even picking up the night shift to stay until close.

“Its time for you to head home Drane, make sure you cleaned out the trashcan before you go okay? None of the other girls have been doing it so I really need you to get it done tonight…” Drane hears her managers voice, Amber, echoed behind her. Amber locks the doors and begins shutting the blinds.

“Yeah, got it,” Drane mutters, sipping the last of her espresso.

“You drinking espresso this late? You got another job or something?”

“No,” Drane supplies. “...I just need the pick me up you know?”

“Sure,” Amber replies. The manager takes a moment to look at Drane before beginning her walk to the office. Drane watches her manager leave, a thoughtful look on her face. Wiping off the counters, she grabs her things from the rack and pulls them on. Outside the weather looks awful, almost like a snowstorm; but Drane feels comfortable walking home through it.

“I’m leaving!” She calls out

“Okay! Be careful!” her manager yells back.

Exciting the bakery, Drane is immediately hit with a cold chilly wind on her face. She clutches her red knit scarf closer to her face and braves her walk home. The city is quiet. The sky is clouded and dark. She is grateful for the streets lights, their lights bouncing off the falling snow to illuminate all her surroundings. Drane knew she probably shouldn’t walk home this late at night but- she didn’t live in a dangerous per se part of town so the idea never really bothered her. Stopping at a crosswalk to wait for the sign to change, she watches the snow accumulate around her. Across the street, she notices a warmly lit bar, the sign ‘Grillby’s’ shining bright against the night. The thought of facing herself In the mirror at home felt dreadful, so she opted for getting a couple of drinks.

“Hello!~” various voices called out as she walked in. Quickly realizing this was a monster bar, Drane felt a little intimidated. She could only spot maybe one or two other humans. The bar was warm and crowded, monsters seem to be drinking heavily and closely grouped together. Spotting a chair at the bar, Drane went over and sat down- unwrapping her thick red knitted scarf and shucking off her winter coat. Quickly a burst of warmth crowded her, and she looked up to spot a fire monster cleaning a bar glass.

“Hey,” she offers casually. A brief crackling is heard and Drane realizes she can’t understand what he is trying to say. “Uh sorry...I’m not well versed in monster languages. Um do you know sign language?” The fire monsters response is instantaneous.

“ Yes. My name is Grillby, welcome to my bar. What can I get started for you today? We are a fulled stocked bar, and I offer various foods if you would like something to eat as well ,”

“Thanks, Grillby. I wanna start with a cosmo, please. Raspberry if you have can...as for food I would really love something heavy?” The question hangs in the air, and Drane is hopeful.

“ I can do that. As for heavy, I can offer my ‘Chillin Cheeseburger’. It is a traditional hamburger piled high with my house-made chili, mac&cheese, and pickles. It is a fairly large meal, ”

“I would love that actually,” Drane answers, shifting her head to rest in one hand while the other scrolls on her phone.

“ I’ll get started then, ” is all Grillby says before disappearing down the bar.

Drane sits there for a while, drinking in the bar surroundings. The thing she loves about bars is how no one will notice her. If she wants to be noticed however, she can easily also do that. Looking around, she can tell most of the guests are quietly keeping to themselves. The jukebox in the corner catches her eye, but she decides to let it go for now. Tap on the counter brings her back to Grillby, who has dropped off a rather large martini glass. The drink is purple in color with swirls of gold, she appreciates the lemon curl propped on the rim.

“ I’m legally obligated to tell you this is a monster drink. I can make you a human cosmo, but It looked like you really needed something… stronger for tonight,”

“Thanks, Grillby. I don’t mind monster drinks...you’re a good bartender reading your guests like that,” A small pop and crackle happens on the top of his head and Drane wonders what it means.

“ Thank you. Let me know if there is anything else you need for tonight,” As he walks away Drane takes a large swig. The taste is sweet, she can’t get any alcohol at all. Feels almost like she was eating cotton candy with the way the drink vanishes from her mouth. She always loved monster drinks. Mandi was good for getting those with her…

“the drink taste that out of this word ?” comes a deep baritone down the bar. She looks over to see a skeleton monster couple seats down, drinking what appears to be a ketchup bottle.

Weirdo.

“Excuse me?” Drane offers back, tilting her head slightly.

“ heh. get it? out of this world? the cosmos?” The white lights in his eyes seem to brighten, waiting for her response.

“OH!” Drane laughs politely. “...Good one bud,” His eyes dim in response. “...sorry, I’m not very uh. Social right now, I have a lot on my mind,”

“ i can see that, no worries. you took a swig of that drink and I thought you were gonna throw it against the wall you were staring so hard kid,”

“I’m not a kid,” she laughs at him. “Quite the opposite. Please don’t call me one,”

“ Everyone is a kid to me. im older than most of ya around here,” Sans puts his head down in his arms, laying sideways to still look at you. “...what are ya hiding in here from?”

“Nothing,” Drane responds quickly, downing the rest of her drink. “...just needed a drink and some food after work, didn’t feel like cooking when I got home,”

“two of a kind we are,” Sans wiggles his eyebrows jokingly and Drane resists the urge to laugh.

“Not quite,” is the reply instead. “...you are much cuter than me,” His face lights with a blue blush, the surprised look on his face sends Drane laughing.

“ Here we are, ” Grillby interrupts, placing the massive burger down in front of her. The chili and mac are dripping down the sides and onto the plate. Her stomach growl in appreciation. “ Would you like another drink miss? ”

“Yes please,” Drane answers, picking up a knife to cut down the middle of the burger.

“ hey, me too Grillby,” Sans states, eyes following her knife like a hawk. “..that's not how you eat a burger,”

“That's not how you eat a burger,” picking up a half and taking a big bite, she is grinning from ear to ear. “Wow, Grillby! This is awesome!”

“ Thank you, ” the fire monster responds, shaking her drink up.

“ yeah, he is pretty grill ,” Sans winks at Grillby, and the fire monster lets out a crackle in response.

The conversation dies out from there, in which Drane is grateful. She finishes her food and the second drink pretty quickly, requesting the third and final beverage from Grillby. Drane thumbs through her feed on her phone, reading through the news stories. Ebott city has had monsters around for years now, but that doesn’t seem to quell the hate groups for them. Monsters have done nothing but help improve the lives of the world since they surfaced, but people can’t seem to get over the fact they exist and they look like well...monsters.

Several hate groups have gained popularity over the years, but the Dusters were a recently organized group. They had been going from city to city across the country, trying to tear down everything built up to this point. They developed recently after the approval of cross-species marriages. After a thorough explanation of how monsters actually conceive children, the government realized most monsters would not be able to have children with humans; and the ones who could would go through a fair amount of trouble to get there. To be safe they started mandatory monster sex ed in schools, taught alongside the human version. The Dusters saw this as a personal threat against the purity of humanity and demanded a retraction of the law.

That didn’t happen.

Somehow the hate group still developed a following, however. Rumors of human mages surfaced, and the monster council was forced to reveal information they had been hiding. The fact humans were capable at one point to wield their own magic. This information excited the whole world, groups of scientist volunteering to be apart of the team to help figure out what happened to the magic- and how to restore it. Drane sometimes wondered what it would be like to have magic. Maybe thats why humans always felt like they were missing something… it was because they were missing their magic.

“ you okay there kid?” comes that deep baritone again. A pleasant sound, if not for the nickname attached at the end.

“No,” Drane glares at Sans. “I’m not gonna be okay if you keep calling me kid, bud,”

“ alright sheesh,” Sans puts up his hands in mock surrender, one eye closed. “...didn’t know you were a grumpy drunk,”

“Didn’tknows you were a nosy grump,” is her quick response. She finishes her drink and waves at Grillby to get her check.

“grump? i knows i’m not grump , and I knows now that ya are drunk for sure,” The skeleton laughs, picking his head up and leaning on the bar top. “...you gonna make it home alrigh’?”

“Yes,” Drane snaps, embarrassment on her face. She is putting on her coat, albeit with a little difficulty. She reminds herself to take her time. Standing now, she adjusts the hood of her coat and takes a look at her skeleton bar companion. He is much bigger than her, all monsters from the underground seem to be naturally much larger than humans. If she had to guess she would reach his nose. Sans is wearing a big fluffy blue jacket, trimmed with white fur at the hood. She can see a white turtleneck underneath, it definably looks warm. Drane wonders if skeletons get cold, till she sees the black basketball shorts and blue converses on his feet. At least he wore socks with them. Buttoning up her coat, she looks him in the face. She didn’t know skeleton could look tired, but she doesn’t doubt the deep bags under his eye sockets. Following the long crack at the top of his skull, her hazel eyes connect with his white pin lights.

“ Don’t fall for me now,” Sans offers with a wink. Drane rolls her eyes and looks at Grillby behind the bar.

“How much do I owe you?” She says politely.

“ Nothing, ” Grillby responds, nonchalantly. Sans raises his eyebones in response as well.

“Um.. what?” Drane is speechless.

“ I saw you today, ” Grillby signs slowly. “. ..I talk to Mandi’s mothers. Mandi is a close friend of my daughter...you were good to her. To see her like that, especially being human, must have been very hard. Please accept this gift from all of us and get some sleep. Mandi’s mothers were worried about you… make sure to stop by when you can please, ”

“I-” she starts but stumbles quickly. There is a burn in her eyes but she ignores it with a couple of blinks. Digging out her wallet from her crossbody brown purse, she digs out a twenty dollar bill and leaves it on the bar top. Refusing to make eye contact with Grillby, she can hear crackles and pops as he tries to talk to her. Putting on her purse and picking up her scarf she starts to head out the door.

“ hey,” Sans calls. “ Grillby said to take the 20 back,”

“No, it’s his tip,” Drane yells back, louder than she means too because several monsters stop to see what’s going on. “...I don’t need your help or your pity. Take the money and put it towards getting your daughter a cellphone or something. A can of pepper spray. A switchblade maybe. You wanna give me something? A thank you? Teach your fucking kids to defend themselves, thats it’s okay to defend themselves, or something!!” Sans watches the human stomp her foot while she yells and he finds it strangely cute. “...because humans suck dick and its never going to get better!”

With that she storms out of the bar, leaving a heavy silence behind her.

“That was uncalled for,” complains another human across the room. “...completely out of nowhere and just yelling like that? What a drama queen,”

“Nah,” Sans eyes land on BP, blowing smoke out of a cigarette next to the human. “...shes just fucking tired bro, leave her alone…” with that the bar goes back to the normal chatter.

“She was friends with Mandi?” Sans casually ask Grillby. The fire monster crackles and pops, not needing to sign any longer.

“Mandi’s moms tell me they frequently hung out, even took some classes together at Ebott Uni. Mandi was talking about getting a new apartment with her,”

“ rough,” the skeleton mutters, eyeing the doorway. “...maybe I should make sure she gets home okay. If she was that close to Mandi, those guys that attacked might try to get to her too,”

“Human watching? How uncharacteristic of you, friend,” Sans white pin lights catch the grin on Grillby’s face.

“ c’mon man. I’m serious, thats a real reason,”

“I agree, but you normally go to great lengths to not interact with humans,”

“ yeah yeah... “ Sans grumbles under his breath, shifting off his chair and lazily walking out the door. The cool air outside strikes against his face, causing him to pull up his hood. He eyes the footprints in the snow and tries to catch up with the human.

It doesn’t take long for him to catch up. He stays behind a good distance, watching as she stumbles every so often in the snow. Several cars drive-by in the night and Sans hopes no one tries to call the cops on him. Fortunately, her building isn’t very far- if he remembers where Mandi lives correctly. Another turn and he can see Drane slip and fall right in front of her building, he winces at the yelp she makes.

“Stupid fucking snow!” She yells out to the sky, strained. He can hear that she has been crying on the way home. Drane struggles to stand, her entire back covered in wet snow. She stomps up the steps and buzzes in the building. Sans briefly wonders which floor she is on, but shrugs and turns back down an alley. A quick shortcut and he too is home.

“You’re out late Drane,” Says the old man at the counter when she walks in. “...out having some fun?”

“Yeah Alfred,” Drane sighs, her feet making wet slops towards the elevator. “...just got a couple of drinks after work, “

“Ah. I’m glad you made it home alright. Get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning,” The old man finishes, going back to this book. Drane looks at him while waiting for the elevator. He’s been there for as long as she remembers. He has white hair tied into a low ponytail in the back, with a long white beard and white glasses to match. He always wears an open white dress shirt, pushed to the elbows, with black dress pants. He’s nice and treats everyone respectfully, even his monster residents.

“See in the morning Al’ “ Drane replies, stepping into the elevator. Staring down at the floor, she waits patiently for the ding. Her thoughts swirl back and forth, and all she wants to do is lay down and disappear into sleep for a while.

DING !

Startled out of her mind, she walks out of the elevator and into the blue hallway. Tonight has made it easy for her to find her apartment because of the gratuitous amount of gift baskets outside one particular door. Staring at the neatly placed baskets, guilt rises in her throat. She turns away and opens the door to her apartment.

“Mrow!”

“I know Morgana. I’m home, chill your shit,” Drane laughs, immediately shrugging off her coat and throwing it on the back of the dining table chair. Her purse lands on the table n the same fashion, followed by her scarf. The envelope is completely missed in front of the door. “...How was your day?”

“Mrow! Mow…” the gray and black striped cat replies, brushing up against her legs.

“Yeah… me too. Ready for bed?” The cat responds loudly and runs down the hall into the bedroom in front of Drane. She laughs, following just as quickly. Entering her room, she quickly disrobes down to her underwear and climbs into bed. Her bed fan is already on and blowing, and a small mushroom night light glows across the room. She sighs contently, burying herself into her blankets and pillows on the queen bed. Morgana jumps and lays on the windowsill as a lookout, personalized for her will a velvet bed.

Drane opens her eyes to stare into her room, her mind foggy. Memories of Mandi come and go without trying. She fights the emotions, snapping her eyes shut and shoving her face into the pillow. Counting back form 100, she gently taps her foot to help her fall asleep.

She’s asleep by 68.

The moonlight shines through her kitchen windows and illuminates an envelope on the floor in front of her door. There is sloppy black handwriting on it.

“DUSTERS ARE COMING”