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She felt something she hasn't felt in a long time. Worry, no, not the type of worry you feel when you forget something on the stove, not the worry you feel of panic as someone close to you is missing(sans). No, this is the worry of a mother. Which is weird as _______ isn't a mother at all. What the heck?
The cause of such worry is in the form of two children in front of her, one boy with dark curly green hair almost black and the other a little girl with ruby red eyes and whitish hair. The young boy, who looks like a teen, stood protectively in front of his sister. ________ does not even have to prod the children to know they are close; she has seen it many times before. Brief flashes of the Doctor and others went through her mind.
She puts on a smile, shoving the ocean of negative emotions out of her mind to deal with later. Now is not the time.
"Hello there. My name is _________, and these two lovely gentlemen are Papyrus," she pats said dog on the head, "and Sans." She gestures to another shorter dog, which is probably sleeping, on top of her feet.
"May I know who you and your sister are?"
She did not treat the two as babies lost on their own; like people tend to do with children even if they aren't trying to be malicious. Instead, making sure to keep her voice steady and sincere, she kept her body relaxed and open, giving the children the credit they deserve. She will work with the children's pace; Titania knows how people, human or otherwise, baby human children and humans for that matter.
The young boy surveyed _________ for any signs of hidden intent. _________ felt a sense of pride go through her. Good, making sure a stranger isn't hiding things from you is the best way to tell if he can be trusted or not. _________ recoiled from the thoughts and feelings. Why on earth is she feeling pride?!
"Izuku."
________ snapped out of her confusing thoughts. Oh, Asia. Interesting.
"Well, Izuku, it is getting late, and being out late at night in this forest isn't the safest. I suggest you find somewhere to stay for the night."
Izuku, as he said his name is, narrowed his eyes at ________, not trusting her at all. Which is fair, stranger danger, and all that. But ______ worries about what the children will meet in this forest mix of paranormal after dark but contained to certain areas. It is worrying that the siblings are not in a safer environment. They could be spirited away or find something less friendly than her out here. Would the guardian be willing to watch over them? Probably not. She did say humans enter at their own risk, but if she comes across them she won't mind helping them.
_______ waited patiently for Izuku to organize his thoughts as well as her own. She doesn't know where the two came from but that is fine. She can take them to one of the get-away cabins and houses near civilization. She has to go that way even without the children so it isn't a big deal. She internally groaned about having to check up on the get-away buildings.
They must be dusty now.
"Uh, miss?"
"Hmmm?"
"Where are we?"
________ stayed silent for a moment, busy calculating how the two kids wandered in the Forest of Old, or as the town's people say, "The forest of Myths." Quite fitting as the summer solstice is drawing near. They should know not to be out and about in the forest at this time of the year.
"You are in the Forest of Old. Near the town, Volksmärchen."
________ didn't mention that the town that had a European name. Why? She doesn't know the specific details, but it has something to do with an argument between a nobleman(noblewoman?) couple about names that weren't from their land and wanted something foreign. Why they decided on European, if they decided at all, is a mystery that only the banshee and dullahan of that household would know.
Izuku looked at ______, confusion wafting from him like a flower, but saltier like tears.
He opened his mouth when a squeak drew his and ______'s attention. The girl was gripping Izuku's pants as if her life depended on it while Papyrus (how did he even get there?) was sniffing her. And oh my stars do the two look so cute! Papyrus is slightly bigger than the girl, which must be scary for her, but the two look so cute!
__________ coughed. Human interaction. Human interaction, she thought to herself over and over again. Sans snorted at her feet. ________ glared slightly at the lazy dog. Missing Izuku's flinch.
" Ahem, Papyrus, please leave the siblings alone. We don't know if one or both of them is allergic to dogs."
Which no. If the two are allergic they wouldn't react at all. Sans and Papyrus don't have the same genetics as a normal dog, they just look and feel like regular dogs. The glorious perks of magic.
"Siblings?!"
__________ blinked as she turned to Izuku.
"Yes. You and your sister. Unless one of you is adopted."
Izuku sputtered. Hmm, one of these must be adopted then.
"U-uh. Eri-chan isn't my sister."
________ blinked owlishly. Wot? They're not siblings??? They have a sibling bond then. Nodding to herself, she apologized.
"Oh. My mistake."
If the apology wasn't too sincere, then you know nothing! The only ones who can say it wasn't sincere are Papyrus and Sans! Even then, they felt nothing from her soul! Yup, absolutely nothing. Moving on.
"But! More importantly, do you have a place to sleep?"
Izuku looked at ______, fear overtaking his features in a heartbeat. He moved to stand in _________'s line of sight but kept Eri out of it. Some unknown emotion gripped ________'s ghost of a soul. _________ felt like placing a hand over her non-existent heart.
'What is this warm, fuzzy emotion that feels like happiness mixed with pride?'
"U-uh, well. You see, Eri and I aren't from around here, but if you could point us in the direction of a train station or to a pro hero, we could find our way back to UA."
_________ blinked. UA? What on earth is this place called "UA"? If they leave kids like this, on their own and in a forest that has multiple warnings not to leave the path after dark, then this is no place to send a child. Is that the place where their parents are? Who in their right mind would send their kids to a forest that explicitly tells you to stay on the path and not go over the stone walls that are only two feet high? Or did the parents come and “UA” is where they are staying?
"UA? I don't know what a 'UA' is, but I should have mentioned this earlier, you're not in Honshu, or anywhere close to Asia. Where are your parents? Didn't you come with them?"
Izuku froze. And ________ feels bad now. She forgot about the human adults, how could she forget the human adults? Her head swiveled from one direction to another. If there is a cub or cubs, there is usually a mama bear lurking around. _________ started to panic a little. What if Izuku's and Eri's parents are around and think she is trying to kidnap them? Oh no, nononono, is she going to have to go to court? Oh dear, what if the parents hate her? Or- wait, why are the children out this late anyway? They must have heard the rumors and stories right? And the warning signs. They wouldn't have come this far out if they saw the warning signs. Then that must mean... _____ gave Izuku and Eri glance. She could smell the scent of nitroglycerin on Izuku and could see the scars. Eri wasn't much better. She had bandages wrapped around her arms. Steeling herself, _______ came to her conclusion. She would help the two hide. If they need a place to stay and far away from the evil humans she will offer it.
"Um, what do you by that? That we're not in Japan anymore?"
_________, very confused by this, tilted her head to one side, eyes focused on the children but ears listening for any movements from a larger creature.
"Japan? I haven't heard of it. I know there is a place in the North West ocean called Shizukana tochi or Umi no kuni. Are you not from here?"
'Are-are they from Seirei no kuni? Were they chased by a fae or something? That could be the case with the solstice, but this area has been neutral grounds for centuries. No one would dare disrupt the place. Were they then chased out from Seirei no kuni?'
The more _______ thought about it, the more it seemed like the siblings were from their own "Veil". Leading the fae to decide that the children should stay in one of the cabins for their safety.
"W-well, um, I guess youcouldsaythatbutIdon'twanttobeabothersoErichanandIcango-"
_________ was taken aback by how fast the young Shinto(or is it Kami?) could go. She chuckled.
"You and your sister aren't a bother Izuku. The both of you can stay in one of the houses I have."
Izuku started protesting.
"We can't do that! I wouldn't want to burden you with anything!"
"It's quite alright. I'm on my way to check on them right now and clean some of them up. You and Eri can take one of them and stay until you get back on your feet. I would feel guilty if I left a couple of young spirits on their own. Especially around this time of year."
Izuku snapped his mouth shut. He nodded wordlessly.
"Well, then. I guess we'll get going now. Sans, wake up."
...
Sans didn't stir.
___________ dragged a hand down her face. How? Oh never mind.
"Sans, wake up."
Silence.
"Oh for Titania's sake, wake up!"
Nothing.
"Pap, can you wake up your brother?"
Papyrus left the spot next to Eri' and walked over with purpose to his Fae and brother. Papyrus opened his mouth, leaned his head over Sans' scuff, and snapped his jaws tight on the fur. He picked up the short, holding head high, and marched in front of ________ then dropped Sans with a loud thud. Sans didn't stir for a moment when he lifted his head and yawned.
"Ahem. Now that Sans is awake we can go to the houses."
___________ walked back to the path.
When she didn't hear the sound of feet following her, she twirled around, apron fluttering slightly.
"Well? Are you coming?"
Izuku and Eri started after her. Sans walking in the back and Papyrus walking in the front, _________ humming a tune as she leads the group to the houses.
'Why is it always near this path that I find people?'