crimsoncrosses​:

Asriel lets out a calming sigh, shaking his head slowly. It would be hard for someone outside of this whole situation to understand but he need someone he can trust to tell others if he was to no longer exist.

“It’s not death that has me worried. It’s that my world’s existence is in peril, it getting weaker and weaker and once it breaks, it will no longer exist as it is therefore I will no longer exist. What comes after, I don’t know. All I need you to do, what I am trusting you on is. If I no longer appear, make sure the others know I am no longer around. That I did my best in my timeline… My world. That is all I will ask of you, there is no need to worry. The first fallen is my own, do not think of them as the same as the First Fallen of this timeline.”

Asriel return his smile as he walks up to Xanos, trying to place his paw onto his shoulder… although Xanos was just so tall he had to go on his tiptoes. Being only 5″5 was such a pain. At least Eydis was the same height, take that Eydis.

“I’m happy already about this timeline. I helped it, no matter how small the difference I made. I helped it and being able to see you restore yourself makes me believe that is true. So please, Live your life to the fullest as I will continue making the most of my time around.”

"You've done much good for this place, even if it is not your home reality. For what it is worth, Asriel, I am proud of you." He knelt down, seeing that the goat prince was trying to put a hand on his shoulder. Xanos did the same, placing a clawed hand on Asriel's shoulder. "You are smart. A fighter. I know you will figure out a resolution to your problems. After all, like you said, you take after your mother... and everyone in the Underground knows she was the real brain behind the throne."

He stayed like that for a silent moment, then rose and readjusted his cloak. The old monster took a deep breath. The air felt fresher. For the first time in a long time, he felt alive again.

"A lot less? You make it sound as if any killing at all is a good amount." Xanos stepped out from the shadows, leaving his sword in the stone ground. "You were supposed to work toward overcoming these urges, Ayla. It doesn't matter if who you're killing is monster or not. I have not come here to harm you, but I cannot allow you to continue on this path. Not if where it leads is a scene of you with yet more blood on your hands."

He offered his own hand to her, his expression softening. He knew he could show her a better way. Better than that thrice-damned demon could, anyway.

"Come with me," he pleaded, "This does not have to end in violence. We can work toward beating these dark cravings of yours together."

“...Ehhh, you know is it’s not just ‘some urges’ but hunger. You know Beliad and I have to eat like anyone else. And it’s not their fault it’s Souls they need.”

[She puffed cheeks slightly, why couldn’t he understand that decreasing the number is all they could do. It would never be zero.

Ayla looked at his hand. He. spoke so soft and left his weapon. Did he really believed in other way? She kinda wanted to take his hand but... She closed eyes and sighed.]

“I- I don’t think there is another path left for me. And I don’t really care if there is more blood on my hands if it has to be on someone’s. But if you believe it and Bel is fine with that then I don’t mind you trying but... can it be later? 

I- um...I don’t know how much I can tell you, but the situation is not normal. It’s not just the matter of hunger. We REALLY need to be prepared for the end of the month. Or it’ll be very, VERY bad. And we need more energy to do that. 

So please. I need to go and... I won’t say it’s good but it’s the best option. Please understand.“

[She begged with a lot of urgency in her voice. It was a matter of life and death after all.]

"You know I cannot do that," he sighed, "You cannot expect me to just stand aside while you plan on ending lives. I am sorry..." He was back at the side of his blade. Oathkeeper drew from the ground with a metallic hiss. In his hands, it glowed dimly. He held it level to his chest.

"... but I will not allow you to pass. Not unless it is me you are coming with. As I said, this does not have to end in violence, but you must discard this gruesome quest of yours if you wish to proceed." Xanos was not going to make the first move. It would be on Ayla how this progressed.

*XANOS is blocking your path!

crimsoncrosses​:

The boss monster’s dull grey eyes noticed the gaze of the Drakoni as if taking notice of the spark that was now inside his eyes. Hearing each of the words and chuckle that came out of the mouth knowing it sounded different than what he had been used to hearing.

“Gosh, no matter how I present myself. I am a Dreemurr through and through. Brains like my mother and compassion like my father, something like a mixture of that.”

Asriel closes his eyes for a moment and had a genuine smile on his face. “You seem to understand now. Besides, my speeches was the one that inspired Ezeal-…” He looks to his side for a moment and paused for a moment. He then return to face Xanos.

“…Still, I’ve always been concern about others rather than myself. That is what one should be doing. Especially for whom I am. I’m just not a fluffy pushover like my father is. I’m like my mother, harsh because she cares deeply. Now then, Socialize with the friends you have and be active- Actually, there is one thing I can tell you while I still have the chance.”

“…My time may be running out. Not to say it could be soon. I have no idea, but I’ve seen the beginning of the end of my timeline. Regardless, who knows how long I have. It could be days, weeks, years worth of resets I have left at my side. Sadly, my personal conflict with my First Fallen human doesn’t seem to make any progress. Every time I feel like I made an inch they seem to reveal that they were already a feet pass that.”

That last line struck Xanos as odd. The First Fallen was long dead, and unlike Asriel, had shown no signs of reappearing in this reality. Still, Asriel's mere presence here proved to him that there was much about the world and time that he would never truly understand. All he could do was accept what he was being told for now.

"Everyone has a time to die," he remarked, "Nothing to be done but make the most of the time you have while you can. I cannot speak on your conflicts, as I am uninvolved. All I can do i wish you luck with them, that you may find a resolution to them. As for myself, your words have struck a chord with me. I believe it is far past time for me to leave this house for a while and mingle with the people." He walked back to pull Oathkeeper from its resting place in the snow and return it to its sheath.

"... I do not know what you refer to when you speak of your conflicts with the First Fallen, but that child... I don't know. Let me know if there's anything I can do. Its very likely they aren't like the one I trained so long ago, but I may still be able to help." His expression grew troubled.

Chara...

"A lot less? You make it sound as if any killing at all is a good amount." Xanos stepped out from the shadows, leaving his sword in the stone ground. "You were supposed to work toward overcoming these urges, Ayla. It doesn't matter if who you're killing is monster or not. I have not come here to harm you, but I cannot allow you to continue on this path. Not if where it leads is a scene of you with yet more blood on your hands."

He offered his own hand to her, his expression softening. He knew he could show her a better way. Better than that thrice-damned demon could, anyway.

"Come with me," he pleaded, "This does not have to end in violence. We can work toward beating these dark cravings of yours together."

crimsoncrosses​:

Even as Xanos believe that the Boss Monster wasn’t there to listen to his words, Asriel was indeed listening intensely. Asriel knew he himself wasn’t perfect and how he handle some of the situations was flawed… and yet he believed he was doing the right thing. With a calm shrug, Asriel begins to speak up.

“We all did something wrong, even if we had some bumps we push on through and at the end most of it worked out. No one’s perfect, you, me, the others… We all have our flaws and that what makes us unique. We all have what we believe what’s wrong and what’s right. As for being antagonistic, take from me… Moving forward is better than staying in the past.”

Asriel closes his eyes for a moment and his expression shifts to shows some empathy.  “That is why I and solely I forced you back into reality and the present. No matter how harsh I was, it was the only way to bring you back. The you of the present. I will NEVER allow someone to be deceived and believe they had returned to the past.  Because, if you stay in the past… The people that depends on the you of the now will surely need you. So, when you say you don’t know how much of a difference you make for Snowdin and believe it’s nothing. Slap yourself in the face and rethink that because everyone is needed.”

“ …” He gave a small pause before continuing 

“…I yearn to go back to the past, myself. But…It will never happen, those happy moments will never return to me. Even when in my timeline I did return to my past. It became twisted and my dreams of those happier times broken and shattered.” Asriel said as his grey eyes started to water and shook it off with a small smile.

“…Now, I face what is the present for the future of others. Xanos, I care about my people. ALL of my people, including yourself. Everyone has potential to improve and someone has to be harsh to help show that potential to shine. As for the guard not checking for you. Can they find someone that doesn’t want to find themselves. Hmm… Does that sound right? Eh.” Asriel gives a hearty laugh from his own prattle. “…Golly! And you’re worry about your own prattle. I guess my mental age is really that old. This all happen to be a chance encounter. Perhaps it was fate that I find you at this moment. Regardless, I have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. But, if I’m able to help someone just a tiny bit, Make the slightest difference I suppose that is something worth. Just being here is enough and talking to you may just be enough, don’t you agree?”

Xanos was impressed, and more than a little surprised. He had not expected such an impassioned speech from the normally level-headed prince. Beyond that, however, the spiel stirred something in the old monster. The fires of life that had burned so low for him were stoked by Asriel’s words. It put a pit in his stomach that he was not sure of its origin until he introspected for a moment. For so long now, he had attempted to sever his connection from the outside world, content to let everyone move along without him. And yet, here stood the prince of another world, espousing the ideals he himself had adhered to so long ago. Moving with the world no matter what, leaving it a better place than he had found it.

When had he allowed himself to slip so far into his own well of sorrow? He was a guardian of the innocent. He had people who looked up to him, needed his help. Humans and monsters alike relied on him, and he had let them fall from his grasp because of his own self pity. This sudden realization was a cold splash of water to the face, dragging him back to reality. He met Asriel’s gaze, a new spark lighting his golden eye.

“You really are their child, Asriel,” he said, chuckling a bit, “Only Asgore and Toriel’s son could make a speech that emphatically. You are, of course, absolutely right. Even the smallest changes make a difference. I’ve been rather foolish, haven’t I? Shutting myself away like this. It’s because of inaction from people like me that the last few incidents happened. I shouldn’t be standing idle. Especially not when I’ve got friends who seem so concerned about my well being, eh?” He smiled at Asriel, perhaps the first smile he had flashed non-cynically in months.

crimsoncrosses​:

The boss monster felt his sweater taking the blunt of the cold winds, thankfully for him with his sweater and fur combined he tends to keep warm even in places like snowdin… Fire magic also helps with survival of the brutal chill. Still, his lifeless grey eyes watch as the knight was able to strike the flame as if he had retain the skills he had shown during the event. “You still got it, as it looks like. No worries, that wouldn’t hit you if you failed… it would be REALLY close to hitting you. I’m glad my practice with fire magic has made progress.” He claps his paws a few times to congratulate him as he slowly approach him with a smile on his face.

“Golly, I am not that petty. I had to let go off someone I had…Feelings for. Even if those feelings were from what we had in common. Living when we’re suppose to be dead. Alas, unlike me Mira is able to peacefully lay to rest now. I took her lifeless body somewhere safe where no one can find it but myself after everyone spilt. Besides…”

He paused as he looks back for a moment and then back to Xanos.  “My most important concern was for the most part, the monsters that live in the underground being able to recover. To continue living their lives even with the messes that was made. Speaking of them and their lives. I wanted to roam this area of snowdin. I did so completely in my timeline when I was a flower and I wanted to see if there was any difference here than what I am used too. I suppose I can say, you are that difference.”

“It’s nothing about pettiness,” he replied, “That venture proved that we did not get along too well under tension, is all. Neither of us were exactly at our best at the time. Just thought you might want to avoid someone who had been actively antagonistic.” Xanos fiddled somewhat nervously with the clasp to his cloak. “I don’t know how much different I really make Snowdin, nowadays. All I ever really do is chop wood and hunt game. I’m still technically part of the Guard, but they haven’t come to check on me in quite some time.”

It was true. After that event, Xanos had fully isolated himself from the world around him, silently hoping that the world would move on without a fossil like him. He had proven himself, time and again, to be unfit for duty, both mentally and physically. If he could see the world move on from his antiquated ideologies, he might be able to regain a sense of peace.

“In any case, I’m sure you didn’t come here to listen to this old man prattle. What can I do for you?”

A Return || OPEN

Cold winds blew through the darkened cavern, rustling the snowbanks and scattering their powdery contents around the ground.

Snowdin Forest. Most people would find the impossibly frozen forest within the Underground to be less than habitable. For others, however, it was home. Some such people, like the reclusive Drakoni, Xanos, found its icy clime and general isolation to be the ideal place to set up a home. Those who truly wanted to find him could. Those who did not would get lost in the dense thickets. That was how he liked it.

For the longest time, he had kept to himself. After the events so long ago, he found himself more and more distrustful of people. He found solace in his separation. Which made the rare visitor all the more startling and unwelcome.

One day, he was outside, practicing with his trusted blade, Oathkeeper. It was the one hangover from his old life he would never part with. Thrust, slice, thrust, jab, parry. He was engrossed in his practices. Should anyone come near, they would most likely get the drop on him.

Asriel Dreemurr, the one from another timeline that Xanos knows all too well, perhaps too well ever since the events that befall their group with Xivian, Mira and Zant. The Boss Monsters was wondering about, after all he hasn’t really explored much of snowdin in this timeline and thus perhaps he can find something of interest. The Boss Monster was keen on memory, making sure to leave signs of his path with markings by using his fire magic to make a part of the tree burn black. Whatever chance he had to use his fire magic, he seems to take it to help him practice it more and more while there was that small liking to using it. Course, there wasn’t much he didn’t explore in his timeline as the Flowey so exploring every nook and canny isn’t much a problem as long he was smart about it.

As he continue wondering about, something made his floppy ears twitch as if picking up sounds that wasn’t natural to this area mixing with the snowfall. Using the sound as a hint, he follows where the source was coming from... the closer he could the more he could recognized it was someone using a weapon, perhaps weapon like a blade. Then, as he got even deeper the Boss Monster saw the tall figure he instantly could recognized.  

“Xanos. . .” He muttered under his breath. He hasn’t seen this creature for a some time, not sense that event. To see him alone like this, perhaps what happened didn’t help him. He couldn’t blame him, but still... This is a good opportunity to speak to him and to test his reflexes. Creating a strong fireball he gives a cocky grin as he throws it at Xanos, carefully aiming where it wouldn’t hit him but it would be damn close to the side of his torso. 

Familiar Faces

It was like a match being struck. Xanos could recognize the sound of fire magic being cast from a mile away. With reflexes honed through over a century of training, the taller monster whipped around and cleaved at the magical flames with his blade. It was a powerful strike that left Oathkeeper glowing orange where it connected. That had come dangerously close to hitting him square in the back, had he not reacted as he did.

His good eye scanned the area, only to settle upon a familiar sight. The displaced prince had come to visit. He had not seen this time-supplanted Asriel in quite a long time. Not since that whole ordeal that drove him into isolation in the first place. The Drakoni's jagged lips started to curl into a snarl before he recognized Asriel's expression. That was not a true attack. The young prince was... testing him.

"... Your Highness," he said dryly, "It has been a long time. I suspected that you might not wish to associate with me after that... incident. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He planted Oathkeeper in the snow to cool off from the fire. It hissed as the heated metal hit the frozen earth.

In My Footsteps

@tyree403

((Calm Beneath the Earth))

Xanos sat in the booth farthest back in Grillby’s diner, drinking in the din of the place while waiting for his guest to arrive. He had exchanged his usual attire for a light sweatshirt and sweatpants, with an eyepatch covering his scar. Still, he knew he was not exactly hard to miss. A change of clothes hardly hid his taller stature or pointed features. He wanted a change, though, so he stuck with the wardrobe shift. He had spent too long wearing his lightly armored plainclothes.

That’s beside the point, he thought to himself, I’m not here to show off my ‘swanky’ new look. He had invited Tyree here, as a matter of fact, to discuss a few things with the boy. Xanos felt that it had been too long since human and monster had simply… sat down. Not clashed blades and magic. The elder Drakoni had spent all his time with Tyree trying to make him into a warrior that he had barely gotten to know the boy. He felt that was wrong. Now, he sought to rectify that.

Xanos would’ve likely texted Tyree to come on this friendly outing. It has been a long while since he has any time to relax. Going out to eat with a friend is exactly what he needs right now. 

Walking into the establishment without any disguise given how monsters have difficulty know what a human looks like. And even if founded out, the same ‘monster enchanted to look like a human’ would always do the trick. No armor today, just a heavy duty coat with gloves, and black pants. 

Tyree should be well-known in Snowdin, being the guy to give hand-outs occasionally and made some friends. Some slick fingergun gestures, hello’s, and high fives later, he would spot his mentor nearby and take a seat across.

“Yo. How have life been treating ya?

Smooth as ever. Xanos crossed his arms, smiling softly at his pupil as he approached. The boy seemed comfortable in the Underground. It was a bit surprising, honestly.

"Greetings, Tyree," he greeted, "It is good to see you well. As for me... you don't need to worry about me. I'm old enough to handle what life throws at me." He laughed tiredly at that. Tyree knew how well the old soldier handled pressure: very well or not at all. "What of you...? How have you been?"

Duty and Kindness

(SKB would lower his arms and extend his right hand for a handshake. Offering a kind smile to Xanos.)

No worries Xanos, I tend to randomly walk about and find myself in the most remote of locations at time. As for who I am, you may call SKB, a Kindness possessed anon. May I join you on you stroll, having someone to walk with is more enjoyable than by yourself.

Xanos took the hand, giving it a gentle shake.

“Greetings,” he said, “It has been a while since I’ve met a Grey Mage. And... Kindness? Curious. You don’t see Virtue Souls walking around the Underground that often any more. Are you sure you aren’t human?” A dangerous question, given the tenuous situation between humans and monsters. “In any event... you are welcome to join me. It might do me good to have some company.”

Duty and Kindness

((Snowfall))

@skbanon

Xanos walked through the familiar forest with light, nervous steps. It had been a long, long time since he had stepped foot outside of his home without Oathkeeper at his hip. He wanted to walk the path in Snowdin Woods without a weapon in hand just to see what it was like. What it was like to let his guard down. It was going… rather poorly, all things considered. Every rustle of branches was an enemy approaching. Every cold draft was the breath of some unseen assailant on his neck. It was uncomfortable for him, to say the least. Still, he had made it this far out without being assaulted. Surely he could go a bit further? 

The sweat forming at the nape of his neck told a different story.

Suddenly, movement. Real, not-at-all-imagined movement from his periphery. He whipped around, balling his hands into fists so tight his claws threatened to pierce his palms.

“W-who goes there? Show yourself!” His voice wavered a bit, but he still sounded like the confident, in-command guardian he had always been.

(SKB would walk out from behind a few bushes with his arms raised and palms out. He doesn’t wish to start a fight no was it his intent to startle Xanos. He was originally just taking a leisurely stroll, until he happened upon Xanos. )

I mean you no harm I was just wondering why you were why you were walking through the forest all tensed up and was curious if you needed any assistance? If now is a bad time I can go back to my stroll and leave you be.

“Oh, it’s... alright.” Xanos lowered his fists and stood up from his guarding stance. A small sigh fell from his lips. “Apologies, stranger, I did not mean to startle you. I live in these woods, and I was not expecting to see anyone out during my walk.” Not entirely true; he had been expecting to be assaulted by legions of thugs, ready to take advantage of his relative vulnerability. What he had not expected was a friendly face.

“I am Xanos, Royal Guard and protector of Snowdin Forest. Who are you?” He tried to sound as calm as he could, but he could hear the slight waver in his voice. He fiddled with the eyepatch over his scar. Not having Second Sight was certainly not helping with his paranoia, but he needed to relearn how to see without the auras all around him.