A Morning Walk and a Lethal Talk

It was late when Winter got the call, one she had been expecting to happen sooner or later, though perhaps not quite so late at night. Fortunately, as a private detective, she was accustomed to keep odd hours and staking out thing all hours of the night. Of course, she was aware of the possibility that the young hybrid could have ditched the phone somewhere, but it was highly unlikely. If there was one thing that drove both species, it was an insatiable curiosity. If her theory was correct, then the kid wouldn't give him the whole story and he would seek his answers from the only other source available to him, playing right into her hands. Just like she'd planned and a smirk played across her lips silently as he declared that they needed to speak.

The brat might have been clever, but they were no match for someone that had made their profession in understanding the psychology of the criminal mind. "Alright, sure, just tell me where to meet and I'll be there shortly." Winter offered, her tone sounding tired at being called at such a late hour. Despite the fact that she had a pretty good idea of where he was now, thanks to the phone's GPS signal, she decided to let him tell her. It would look less suspicious if she showed up on his orders, rather than appearing of her own volition and giving away her little trick. For now, it was better to keep her cards close to her chest, especially if she hoped to turn the tide on Chara and save her faithful shield from a danger that he wasn't even aware he was in.

Winter grew quiet when the young man suggested coming over to her place, an option that sounded like a bad idea considering her methods of surviving, but did they really have any other alternative available at the moment? Normally, she might have made a joke about his calling at such a late hour and being so forward, but the professional in Winter managed to wrangle her more playful nature into something serious and controlled. After all, she could not afford to loose her head in the situation and strategically speaking, it did make a lot of sense. If she could bring him here, it would be obvious that his previous doubts of her being an officer would be brushed aside. It would also drag him far enough away that Chara would not be able interfere with her plans.

The smile returned to her features as she continued with a weary sigh in defeat. "Here's probably as good a place as any, I suppose. I live a few at 22B Fox Street. The building's a two story brick structure with a sign on the front window that reads - Callahan Private Detective Agency. I actually live in the upstairs above the office, though I should forewarn you that it's not overly fancy and the office can be little messy from work, but I'll be there to greet you when you knock on the downstairs door." Winter explained calmly, as she slide from the couch that she had been on. "See ya in a bit, kid. Be careful." She added in farewell, a hidden warning in those words as she hung up the phone and slowly slide from her seat.

She must have fallen asleep in her work clothes again, a dark button shirt and pants with black boots. Only the fedora had managed to have toppled off in her dozing, which she was quick to retrieve and replace onto her head, before attempting to flatten out the wrinkles of her shirt. The upstairs of the building was a simple loft, where Winter handled most of her general needs. She had a bed, a bathroom, and a small kitchen area where the food was cooked with the lone microwave, as Winter rarely did her own cooking. Clothes were thrown in various places, but she didn't have time to clean all of it up before the shadowman arrived, so didn't bother.

Instead, the downstairs seemed a little more presentable as Winter made her way to survey the situation of the office. There were several plush chairs and a couch to accommodate new clients. However, it the thick oak desk and the surrounding corners of the room that drew attention for the sheer chaos that made up the tall stacks of files littered around the computer and old phone that rested atop the dark wood. There were bounty posters pasted onto the walls and odd diagrams of string crisscrossed over a map of the city, that would have made little sense to most normal people and seemed to echo the kind of mind that could exist in such an environment.

The minutes ticked away as Winter decided to distract herself by brewing some hot water for coffee and tea for when their guest arrived. It was a small token given the circumstances, but Winter was not devoid of hospitality or general manners. Fortunately, the wait was not a long one as after about five minutes a knock came at the door. She knew it! She'd suspected that he was using his magic to move around at a pace far superior to humans, as she had witnessed the odd change in locations across the city. She'd even considered that the phone's tracker had malfunctioned, but then it had reappeared and remained stable in a single location until his call. However, to clear that distance to her office in such a short amount of time was no small feet and she was almost glad to see that the injuries he had received had not diminished his magic.

She opened the door with an almost lazy ease and greeted him with a smile. However, before she could speak, Winter was hit with the distinct haze of smoke that caused her nose to wrinkle up as she choked out a greeting. "You mind leaving that outside, it's a little cramped in here and I don't want the place reeking of smoke?" Winter requested with a wave, though she made no move to force him as she moved out of his way and motioned him inside. Although, in retrospect, perhaps it was not so odd that a creature of pure ice and snow would dislike fire or smoke, or anything that left such an unpleasant smell. Even so, she wouldn't argue if he didn't. Many people smoked to relieve stress and this was certainly a situation that stirred up quite a few negative emotions.

"Please, come in. I feel there's a lot to discuss considering the circumstances. How's your arm, by the way? Would you care for some tea or coffee? I just put on a warm pot." She questioned politely, moving further inside and attempting to give him something to replace the terrible nicotine habit. Once inside, the lower room opened up to provide single couch that rested against the back wall, while a coat post lingered by the door. A pair of plush chairs sat in front of the desk, which was covered in clutter, and a small set of stairs sat off to the side of the desk leading up to the second floor. Although truthfully, Winter couldn't count how many nights she had spent downstairs on the couch, especially when on the verge of cracking a case. What part of the wall behind the desk was not littered in file cabinets, lay a small table, where a coffee and tea maker set, with a small fridge beneath to keep food and prevent unnecessary trips upstairs.

There was certainly a rustic look to the place, with it's wooden floors and would have looked more like something from a noir film, if not for the modern computer and modern amenities. No doubt, Winter had more equipment stashed in the desk or the cabinets around her, as controlled chaos seemed to be the trend.  "So, how's the kid doing? Chara, I believe the name is? Speaking of which, I never got your name. I'm Winter Callahan, but feel free to just call me Winter. Least, I assume the kid's what you want to talk about at this hour." Winter concluded, hesitant to approach the subject to boldly, but calls this late meant he wasn't able to sleep, so it must have been bothering him quite a bit. Not that she could blame him. Winter doubted that she would be able to sleep well with that brat under the same roof either after what they'd been accused of.

To her relief, he quickly doused the cancer stick and stepped inside, but made no attempt to answer what he wanted to drink. That was probably to be expected, considering his obvious resentment of most law enforcement, which she wagered was from a terrible past experience with them. Not that her adrenaline fueled actions in the park had won her any favors, though it was obvious she still held some guilt over his injury, even if it had been superficial. He didn't trust her, which was painfully apparent when he took a seat on the stairs, one of the few places one could see the entire room and it's occupants, but Winter knew better than to force that connection on him. That he was even here alone spoke volumes, so she would work with what was given and make the best of it. 

As it turned out, he had left Chara asleep, stealing away in the night to get his answers, but her concentration was broken when he gave his name and Winter recalled how she had referred to him to Sans. A light snort escaped as she tried not to laugh, but failed to hide her obvious humor at the fake name. "I've had worse offers for dates than moonlit dinners, be careful or a girl might take you up on that offer." She retorted with a relaxed smile, moving to lean with her back against the stairs to observe her work. The place really needed to organized, but with Winter already stretched thin on several cases, it was difficult to find the time to clean

"I see. In that case, you should know I got some answers from Sans, the skeleton from before. From what I've gathered, there's quite a bit of bad blood, but it may not be unwarranted. I also spoke with Chara's adopted father, Asgore Dreemur, the monster king. Turns out, the kid fell into the underground back before monsters came to the surface and was adopted by the monster family, so they may be older than they look." Winter began hesitantly, deciding to air on the side of caution for now, uncertain how he would take the news. It had certainly baffled her, when Winter had first discovered the brat was adopted royalty. "I don't want to alarm you, because I'm not certain how much they've told you, so how about you tell me what you want to know and I'll see if I can answer." She suggested, uncertain how far Shady was really willing to dig or how much he knew about monster history as a hybrid.

Winter wasn't shocked to hear that Chara had lied about knowing Sans, but when it came to approaching the subject of the kids past actions, even she was a little hesitant. Running a hand across the back of her neck, Winter struggled to find the words to make sense of the puzzle without coming across as to forward. "Well, considering it was Sans that took me and introduced me to Asgore, who immediately recognized him, I'd say that there is definitely a confirmed history between them. However, the story I was told is that the kid was partly responsible for the accident that caused Prince Asriel's death the first time around. Ever since then, the kid has been hellbent on destroying everything, monsters and humans included. If that's even remotely true, Chara is a lot more dangerous than they appear." Winter explained with an air of caution, rising to pace the floor a bit as she continued to elaborate.

"Apparently, at some point while they were still in the Underground, Sans helped stop them from trying to murder the entire population and everyone assumed that the kid was dead. Things returned to normal and eventually the monsters were freed. However, when Chara resurfaced, Sans ran into them and tried to stop them in an attempt to protect his family and friends. From what I've seen, I don't believe that he's a bad person, just... someone who has his back to the wall. He's convinced the kid will try to kill again and I don't think he's wrong." She continued, pausing her steps to turn and look back at the young man with a serious look.

"I'm not certain on a lot of things, but I believe that it's possible Chara ran into that park aware that she would cross paths with other humans, people that she could manipulate into stopping Sans. If that's true, the kid used us like pawns. You saw how fast she changed sides when she mistakenly believed I was a cop, someone that she would have a hard time escaping from. That kid saw opportunity and she took it. What we're dealing with may be a classic sociopath, someone who has little empathy for others and has no problem lying to get their way." Winter hesitated a moment, waiting to see how he would respond to the news that Chara had used them both as tools. Although, it didn't take a keen mind to piece together the child's odd behavior.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do next and I'm still not sold on the idea that the kid needs to die to fix this problem, but if you intend to remain around them, I would advise a great deal of caution. Keep a close eye on them, because if anyone dies, the blood will be on us and I don't want that on my conscience. That's just what I've managed to gather from my conversations with Sans and Asgore. There's still quite a bit that I can't wrap my head around, since I grew up on the surface, but I don't want to see you hurt. If the kid will turn on parents and people that showed them nothing but kindness, I don't want to know what they'd do to someone they just met." It was a grim prospect and Winter knew that it would be hard to swallow. The stories were conflicting and while she hadn't had a chance to talk to Chara yet, she feared for the young man's safety and anyone around him if what she'd been told was even remotely true.

She had a feeling that the news would hit him hard. It was never easy to know that you had been manipulated by a child, of all things, and a dangerous one at that. However, Winter had not expected his powers to fluctuate in fear. Perhaps, she should have tried to soften the blow, but knew no other way to emphasize the scope of the danger that the young man was in. He needed to understand, for his own benefit, but as he scrambled up to his feet, he went face first into the ground, blinded by emotion and the need to protect his family. In a moment of clarity, Winter extended a hand in hopes of catching him gently by the shoulder.

"Take it easy. If you rush home in a panic, they will know something is up and you can't predict how they might lash out if you confront them in such a state." Winter pointed out cautiously, not wanting him to act in haste and create a greater danger to himself. "They are not aware that you have spoken to me, correct?... If that is the case, they will have no reason to believe you question their version of events and we can use that to reveal the truth about their true nature. You are their shield, their only link to survival in the city, so long as you pretend to remain naive to the truth, they will remain complacent and not risk ruining their hard gained protection." She reassured calmly, her level-headed nature somewhat disturbing, though Winter had been thinking of nothing else over the past twenty-four hours.

"We will act, but we must keep our wits about us. The enemy we face is very experienced in fighting with monsters, so we must act with caution. Return home, but do not confront the enemy alone or you may place yourself and your family in greater danger as a result." The advice was given in a steady tone, one that almost seemed to be experienced in these matters, playing the situation like a game of chess. However, it was not without humanity, as she understood the concern, but she did not want him to behave brashly and get himself hurt due to his heightened adrenaline.

*'cause someone really cares about you.

What time was it? 2, no 3 am? By all means, he should have been sleeping, but he couldn't do so knowing that Chara was around with their dust-covered knife waiting to use it on unsuspecting monsters. He was still dog tired from the fight and still spending his time in the hotel that he had been put in while Winter went about tracking the kid's every movement. Sure after the walk to see the king he did do other things using his 'shortcuts' but he didn't dare go home. If Chara was anywhere near and they saw him, it would make Papyrus a prime target. The thought sickened him. His brother was innocent in all of this before he had even gone as far as to try to befriend Chara before they mercilessly crushed him.

Sans tried not to think of it as he browsed the shelves of a 24-hour convenient store. The kid behind the counter seemed leery of the walking skeleton, but Sans paid no mind to the guy, only giving him a passing grin when he entered. He had been looking around for a good 15 minutes before deciding to grab a basket and filled it with the entire stock of ketchup and hotdog buns before proceeding to the counter and pestering the confused clerk for all of the heated hotdogs they had in stock. The guy only had two on the heating rack but amusingly offered to open a few packs. Sans joked with the clerk until the 'dogs were done to which he paid a little extra as a thanks before heading out of the store.

Upon exiting the building, he entered another only to see Slim Shady talking with Winter about something and looking rather upset about it. Maybe even a bit more than upset. Frazzled? No, it was more of a sheer unbridled panic. She must have broken the news to him about Chara and the guy was taking it rather hard. Well, he figured it was the best time as any to hold out the bags of condiments, buns and two dozen luke-warm dogs to the two. Hey, it was better than pasta and, in his opinion, better than cold cereal before the buttcrack of the day.

* uh... i seem to be interrupting something but do either of you want breakfast?

Notes