The kid tugged on his sleeves of his darkened turquoise sweater with two horizontal lavender stripes across his torso. Well, everybody referred to him as a “she” or “her.” Because, that’s what he looked like. He sure as hell didn’t feel like that, though. He ran his hands over each other, taking in the fact his olive skin tone popped out to the rest of the monster race. His short, deep cinnamon brown bob swished as he turned his head to look at all the monsters. His pale yellow eyes shot back down to the snow, and he observed his dingy, dull dark brown boots. They kicked up small mounds of the white snow as he walked side by side with a skeleton friend. He was wearing a long pair of Adidas basketball shorts, an ash grey t-shirt, and a lagoon blue zip-up hoodie. He was wearing a grin, which seemed like it couldn’t be wiped off his face. This, was Sans.

The human looked nervously at the skeleton, as he turned his attention to him. “ey, what seems to be the problem, kiddo?” he asked, his tone laced with suspicion. The kid took note that Sans was somebody who was concerned when he needed to be. Other than that, Sans was very laid back and careless.

“It’s nothing, really. I’m just...a little nervous,” The child lied, doing his best to not tell Sans the secrets he has. Sure, the skeleton friend knew him as Camille, so he prepared himself to get misgendered through the time he stays. He was used to it. Back at home, his parents weren’t the best, which is the main reason he’s stuck down here in the first place. Why else would he just be here? Because he “fell?” No, that’s not it at all.

“you’re acting pretty sus for being a little ‘nervous’, kid. but, i’ll take your word for it,” he replied, relief running through the child’s body. The two were around the same height, so it was easier for him to look into Sans’ eye sockets and look into his glowing, white orbs, which played as eyes.

The two continued to simply walk through the thin layer of snow, until the two stopped in front of what seemed to be a pub. The sign in front read in all caps, “GRILLBY’S,” which was painted a pleasing red-orange. The child felt his shorts tighten around his waist for an unknown reason. He became uneasy at the thought of people staring at him. It was normal for a thirteen year old, right?

The two walked in-the kid in first, and Sans following behind. What the kid saw was so...warm, and cozy. It reminded him of Toriel's home in the Ruins. He preferred to not think of that. The place was crowded, giving off welcoming vibes as he heard conversations from nearly miles away.​

Grillby was a real oddity in the cold landscape of Snowdin. He arrived one day, ages ago, and opened his bar-restaurant. Despite the reputation of fire elementals, he is one of the calmest, most gentle monsters of the underground, really cautious of his flames. Maybe this is why no monster old enough to remember the Royal Guard Hellben, the fire of justice, ever associated them together. There was just no way this soft and almost mute orange flame could share something else than the race with the burning fighter yellow-gold flame of Hellben. This mental no-way was a benediction for Grillby.
Since he arrived in the cold region and opened his restaurant, he made many friends. His place became the most popular one of the town, its warm atmosphere changing from the cold weather. He made friends with the guard and sentries, the bunnies of the shops and inns, and of course his favorite customer -despite the terrible jokes and pranks- Sans. Yes, he is also the worst when it comes to pay. But knowing the boy since childhood, and how he had to protect his brother, he always came to forgive the tab. An exception not everyone could brag on. It's no secret Grillby can be a little touchy with his money. But again...Sans was the exception. He just pays what he can, and complete by warming the ambiance with his terrible jokes, filling the restaurant with laughs.
So when he see the skeleton comes in, Grillby already smiles and motions to his usual seat, indicating it's free. His smile turns into a cringe when he see who is with him... A human child. A human child with long brown hair and a striped sweater. Something, maybe in their hair, or their eyes... He can't unsee Chara. The fire monster takes a deep breath and tries to act casually, focusing on cleaning glasses. Why ? How ? The royal guards are right there and they couldn't mention the presence of a HUMAN ? REALLY ? Calm down... It can't be Chara anyway.

“ey, grillbs,” the short skeleton waved to the living embodiment of flames, and the child shuffles behind him. He turns his head to the kid, and it seemed as if he grin got wider. “what, you scared, kiddo?” he asked in a mocking tone, and the child shook his head.

“I’m not scared, you’re just judgemental,” the child mumbled, feeling his chest swell up. He was scared that somebody would put two and two together, and realize he was human. Sans didn’t seem to mind, but...why? The question pondered in his mind, as more of the dysphoria slithered in through the backdoor of his head. It began whispering to him, all these nauseous things to make any normal person or monster sick.

The two walked up to the seats right next to the pub, and sat side by side. Once they sat, the monster started speaking. “it’s nice to be here again,”  he told the supposed mute flame, and the human fiddled with the sleeves of their sweater. He realized that his sweater seemed to be torn at the sleeve holes where his hands poked out (probably from dragging his hands across the walls). He bit his lip, and it unfortunately lightly exploded in his mouth. He tasted the bittersweet copper of his blood rush through his mouth, and it was filling up his taste and feeling. As he pinched his fingers lightly, he tried to distract himself.

He tuned out of the conversation, blindly hearing what Sans told this supposed “Grillbs” character. Who even were they?

The human hides behind Sans. There is no way they can know about Hellben. He always lived underground, he can't have a reputation out there. Maybe it's just seeing living fire that scare them. Maybe they can feel the LOVE in his soul, feeling the danger he once was. Grillby prefers to focus on his friend, always so smiling -for a skeleton- and calm.

Sans sits at his usual place, being a guy with habits -unhealthy habits for most of them but Grillby isn't one to judge- and the human next to him, closer to Grillby's place. He steps aside to settle in front of them both and smiles to Sans, nodding to his comment. Nodding became his major way to communicate, arranged with some facial expression. This nod for example, with a warm smile, means he thanks him for feeling so comfortable in his humble restaurant. All about meta communication. He doesn't even need to take Sans' order, just putting a little bottle of ketchup in front of him.

But now is the time for confrontation. He can't look away eternally, the human is a customer and he has to serve them to. Nodding to them with a discrete yet polite smile for a welcome, he carefully hands the menu, leaving it in front of the human. He refuses to touch them. He remembers too well... The menu has mostly different burgers, but also ribs -Sans' suggestion, actually a top hit- and some BBQ meats. And possible fries, all for what seems to be a good price. With so many regulars, Grillby could afford being low cost. He waits for the human child to order.

As the feminine looking child gazed over the menu, he kept his mouth shut and refused to speak. Maybe it was because he hid the fact his lip was bleeding. Maybe it was because he was getting overwhelmed with anxiety. Who knew the cause of it? He glanced over at Sans, feeling tentative about the atmosphere. He could barely tell if the body of fire was staring at him or not. The only way to tell is to look at his glasses and which way they were facing. The child tried to make it as if he was just watching the counter, patiently waiting for him to hurry up and take his order.

“It’ll take me some time, I apologize,” the child mumbled, feeling his heartbeat increase drastically. He was so tempted to smash his head onto the long table-like structure until he passed out. Then, as if it would be any better, the voice whispered loud enough for him to hear.

‘ɢ̵̼͛ʀ̴̘̔ᴇ̵̣͠ᴇ̴̣̃ᴛ̷̤̄ɪ̶̙̈́ɴ̴̰͂ɢ̴̹͌ș̵̂,̸̭͐ ̴̳͛ᴄ̷̳̈ᴀ̸̩͗ᴍ̴̦̈́ɪ̷̹̉ʟ̵̩̈́ʟ̷̙͌ᴇ̷͇͘.̵͒ͅ ̵͓̽ɴ̸̖̋ɪ̶̭̈ᴄ̷̫̐ᴇ̶̞̉ ̴͚͌ᴛ̴̹́ᴏ̷͈̑ ̷͉͘s̴̖̔ᴇ̴̥̽ᴇ̸̹́ ̶̧͋ʏ̴͍̎ᴏ̴͕̓ᴜ̷̮̈ ̶̙̈ᴀ̸̬̕ɢ̵͉̀ᴀ̸͍͐ɪ̵͚͐ɴ̷͉́,̵̫̓’ the voice, which sounded horribly like nails on a chalkboard, gritted through their non existent teeth. The child wanted to shiver in his seat, but that would send suspicious vibes to the two of them. The thoughts crowded his mind, getting harsh with each time they spoke. It was driving him insane. Slowly, each time that voice whispered to him.

The child sighed lightly, eying the flame every once in a while. His pale yellow eyes darted back down to the menu after approximately three seconds. He mouthed “sorry” in the process, feeling it was necessary to.

That's it, he terrifies the kid. Like he could calm them down... He's litteral fire. Poor Chara, hem... Kid. Yes, kid. They stare at Sans, probably searching some support. Finally the human speaks, to apologize for the time. Grillby shrugs and makes a small wave with his right hand. The bird monster next to the human -who clearly wouldn't know it's a human, especially since she's drunk- translates with a laugh "Grillby says it's okay and you have all the time you want, sweetheart."

Grillby facepalms, the sweetheart being too much in the translation. That's always the risk when you can't talk, the ones doing it for you can interpret the way they want... And as fluent in Grillby as she is, she always adds or forget something. The bird just laughs at the facepalm and asks for a refill. He doesn't like making his patrons drunk but it's kinda his job, and who he is to judge ? He refills her glass with caution and puts the bottle back in place, before going to another table take orders. He nods to every plate asked, not writing anything. He doesn't need to, being the only one here he knows already each plate and habits by hearts. The fire elemental happily goes to the kitchen prepares what has been asked... Finally, the human is out of sight. He can take off his glasses and sighs, hissing the pain away. Preparing the orders while dwelling on the past to ignore it better later.

"Hellben, teach me to use fire magic!"

"Prince Chara. You're human, you can't use elemental magic..."

"But you teach it to Asriel! I want to know it too!"

"If it's for protection, I can show you how to use a sword."

"Oh yeah! Swords, awesome! I already got mine!"

"...That's...That's a knife, Prince Chara."

Wiping the tears away, Grillby puts back his glasses in place and comes back in the dining room, arms full of greasy yet tasty food. Serving everyone, he comes back to the bar. Looking at Sans, he points the human then trace a line on his own lips, asking silently what is their name. Maybe with another name to put on this face, he will forget the likeness with Chara.

The skeleton perked up a non-existing brow, and turned to look at the kid. Grillbs wanted to know what the kid’s name was. He noticed that s̷̫̐h̶̰͆ẽ̷̲ ̶̛̦ didn’t seem too well. He shrugged it off, and focused his attention on Grillby. “the kid’s name is c̸̱̋ä̸͍m̷̜̃i̴̥͊ḻ̷̈l̶̬̎ë̸̯́ , since you’re curious to know,” Sans told the flame, placing the bottle down on the table.

The kid pinched his leg under the table, hearing the voice whisper to him again. He did his best to tune out, but his deadname made him tune back in. His chest got tighter, and he had to pinch a little harder each time. It was getting to the point where his head was wrapped around the voice, and the voice only. He told himself to do something, but he didn’t. He did nothing.

“why did you wanna know, by the way?” the skeleton asked, resting his arm on the table. “i’m genuinely curious.”

Grillby silently cringes. CAmille...CHAra... Of course they had to have names starting the exact same way. Instead of brushing the memories away, it only pushes the fire elemental deeper in the past. And now Camille, since it's their name, doesn't seem to be feeling well. Grillby knows Sans too well to think he messed up with the name.

The flame is sent back in the present when Sans speaks again. Grillby forces a smile and points them both, before joining his fingers, indicating the two were already looking close, and keeps signing in his own way "If they will come often, i prefer to know my new regular's name." The bird doesn't need to translate, Sans understand his signs well enough. Grillby tilts head back to Camille. They don't look any better. He can't help but feel terrible for them, wondering what could make them feel so un-at-ease... Except being surrounded with monster. And a killer, even if there is no way they could know. He slowly take a pencil, and writes on the counter "If you need help, ask." with a soft smile. If he can avoid the... Liberty of translation of bird lady, no need to think twice. Maybe it will make them feel better too. Even if he only means for the menu, it can just... He doesn't know. Make them comfortable?

The skeleton nodded, and picked the ketchup bottle back up. He eyed the kid after noticing Grillby was slightly communicating with the kid. He watched as s̸͔͐h̶̘̽ê̸̤ smiled lightly at the living fire's small message. He watched as the kid mouthed "Thank you" afterward. Something wasn't right with the kid, and it was almost as if the two knew that together. Well, great minds think alike, right?

The kid kept the smile for Grillby. It was only to reassure him that everything was okay, and he didn't need help anytime soon. (or, at least that's what he thinks) He wasn't uncomfortable because of the flame, no. His dysphoric thoughts came back to him, and they got louder with each harsh word.

̸͇̆y̴̢̅o̸̮͝ư̸̱'̴̺̎r̶̟̎e̵̤͝ ̴̫͋g̸̦͐ȯ̶͍ĩ̶̙n̵͎̅g̴̨̅ ̵̖̚ț̷͂ò̷̤ ̶̺͝d̸̢̋i̴͇͂ȩ̸̈́ ̶̛̣a̷̡̐l̵̜̾ö̶̦́n̸̙̽ë̶͔́.̵̯͠

̸͔̕n̶̬̍ō̶̗b̵̹͒o̴̢͗ḑ̷̈́y̴͉̒ ̵̪̈c̴͍̈ã̸̳r̷̺̐ė̷̳s̸̽ͅ.̴̪̅

̴̣́y̶͕̿o̴͉͗u̵̺̎ ̴͕̒a̸̮͘ŕ̸̜ẽ̷͎ ̸͍͒n̷̟̈́ȇ̸͚v̶̛͜e̶̫̎r̵͈͗ ̵͓͠g̵͚̓o̶̹͌ǐ̷͇n̵̈́ͅg̶̨͝ ̸͓͋t̷̻̾ö̸̗ ̵̙̀b̴͍̌e̵̖̎ ̶͔̔a̴̲̅ ̷̖̅b̷̛͎ö̷̳y̸̞͌.̷̺͒

Yet, he still smiled. To make people feel okay. So they wouldn't worry.​

The little human smiles back softly, and despite the distress, manages to mutter a thanks. Does something pain them ? Grillby just stares back, once again lost far away. With a similar face, the one hiding a pain greater than one can imagine. Not with the Prince this time. The girl with an apron…

How old could she be ? She was barely taller than Chara was. Yet with her curly red hair and giant green eyes, she had a much younger face than them. She already got seriously injured by the sword. The one he holds. This can't be an adult. And yet as a human, she needs to be executed. She cries softly, with a hopeful and kind smile hiding her pain.

"We can find somethin sir...Please... I promise to be a good girl. I've never hurt anyone... I-i'm sure you act this way because you're scared of humans...B-but we can talk it out..."

She wanted to believe in him. Believe in the kindness of Hellben. But he had no kindness, only orders and the need for justice. For Prince Asriel and Prince Chara. Someone had to pay, even if it wasn't the fairest person for. The green eyed girl steped back, until she met the cliff's edge. She looked up once again to Hellben.

"P-Please...Have mercy.... W-we can tal-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the lava-filled blade pierced her body. Hellben expected her to become quickly dust. But human doesn't work that way. She stayed on the blade, limp. Her green eyes lost their spark. It was like having a doll around... For the first time, Hellben saw a real corpse. Hellben...Grillby....-lby

"GRILLBY!"

The fire elemental snaps out of it and looks up to the voice. Doggo frowns, concerned "I called you 5 times, why didn't you move ? Do you have more dog treats?" Grillby blushes, his flames taking a slightly lilac tone, and nods. He hurries to the kitchen fetch the treats. What an idiot... He takes off his glasses and shakes his head. He needs to forget. After passing his head into oil, his little equivalent to water, he puts back the glasses and comes back with the treats for the Dog Guards.

Sans continues to observe, and mumbles to the kid, “you straight, kiddo?” It was his way of asking if the kid was okay. It was a term humans used, from what he knew.

The kid looks up at the skeleton, his pale eyes glazed with a layer of fear. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he lied so simply, mumbling his words. He didn’t want to lie, of course. Yet, he was forced to. Nobody deserves the shitstorm of thoughts running through his mind. It was too disgusting for anybody to face, so why can he deal with it so easily?

Maybe if he wasn’t that damaged, he would be disgusted, too…

“We raised you as a girl for thirteen years, and you tell us this?” his dad sounded so stern, so disappointed. “Ć̷͙͓̤̈́̌̐̅ȧ̷̞̠̜̭̑m̴͙͐̀̈́̒i̸̤̳̳͓̅̑͑l̸͎̒̓͂̈́l̷͔̗̐̿͝ê̵̌͘͘, you have to be kidding, right?”

“Dad, please! You don’t get it!”  the boy yelled back, trying to talk to his close-minded parents. “I’ve thought about this for YEARS! I swear, I have!”

“Ć̷͙͓̤̈́̌̐̅ȧ̷̞̠̜̭̑m̴͙͐̀̈́̒i̸̤̳̳͓̅̑͑l̸͎̒̓͂̈́l̷͔̗̐̿͝ê̵̬̌͘͘, you can’t just say you thought about it for years. It’s still a bad thing!” his mom chimed in, her voice sounding angered. “Ryan, what are the people at the church going to think when they find out we have a tranny of a child?” she whispered to her husband not so quietly, and of course, the child picked up on it. He trembled in his seat, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He knows that they’re Christian and all, but he needed to get that off his chest. All he wanted to do was come out. He never wanted this mess to happen. All he wanted was love from them.

The kid felt tears well in his eyes, and he tried to hide them. “I’m really okay, thanks for asking.”