The day after you told him the news, he changed, his typically calm and easygoing demeanor turning hectic and tense.

He immediately stood up from the grassy floors next to the river and stormed off in search for his younger brother, who was in the care of King Asgore himself. You weren't certain if you should've followed him or not, yet after giving it some thought, you decided it was best to give him some privacy.

You waited patiently for his return, though — while you observed the river next to you —a pair of human guards arrived next to your side. They held your shoulders tightly and ordered you stand up, this causing you to face their eyes in bewilderment.

They had arrived to you, in rather high hopes that you would participate in the war between humans and monsters.

In response to their petitions, you shook your head and backed away from them in a defensive manner. They, however, didn't seem to accept your declination towards this, causing for them to persist until you had no other choice but to run away from them.

Once that day came to an end, you returned back to the river, where you saw the two skeleton brothers sitting on the grass next to it. The youngest one waved his small hand at you, with a joyful smile visible on his skull, whereas the elder one smiled faintly in acknowledgement to your arrival.

You signed the words "How is everything?" at Sans, which he promptly responded to by letting his ghost of a smile falter.

He gestured with his hand for you to sit next to him, preparing himself to say what he had resting in his mind.

"Asgore already knows 'bout this." He explained, letting out a soft sigh in what seemed to be disbelief. "And he's. . . He's already organizin' his troops."

He reached out for your cheek with one of his bony hands, a somewhat saddened smile visible over his skull. Your foreheads made careful contact with each other for a brief moment, though he eventually let go of you and continued on with his tellings of the haunting news he'd received yesterday.

"He knows you're a part of them, and he kinda got down in dumps when hearing the news." A short pause. "Hell — He didn't even eat that pie Queen Tori always bakes for 'im."

Chewing on your bottom lip in doubt, you looked down and felt around your waist in search for the maroon belt bag wrapped around it.

Unzipping the front pocket and pulling out a small notebook and black ink pen from it, you quickly scribbled your thoughts over one of the clean pages.

Afterwards, you permitted for him to read it.

"Are you going to fight in the war, then?" You wrote, wanting to keep these particular words solely visible to his eyes.

A downside of being unable to speak was the fact that you couldn't whisper through sign language. Anyone nosy enough and standing from a fair distance away could most likely see the question you were directing at him.

"I have to." He chuckled, the sound coming off sharp and dry.
Then, he fixed his sitting position on the grass and placed a hand over his forehead, signaling a headache was soon to appear over it. "We all have to — the monster population ain't exactly big enough to match the amount of humans at your village."

Again, you began to write over your notebook, this time frowning when showing it to him. "Is there anything I can do to help? I can take care of your brother."

Analyzing your offering, he focused his gaze on his baby brother, who was playing happily with a small duckling that swam around the river's waters.

He stood in pensive silence for a moment, giving the current matter some thought.

"But. . . Where are ya gonna stay?" He inquired, returning his gaze back at you. "It'll be hard to find some shelter from the war."

You bit your lip when hearing those words, and — after not responding to him for a long time — he placed a hand over your shoulder.

"Listen, _______. . . I've known ya long enough, and I know I can trust ya with leavin' Paps in your care. But this is gonna be tough — It's a big war, and ya have to stay alert at all times."

He took a long pause, leading for you to focus your eyes on him in intrigue.

You saw how the glow of his irises faded slightly, while his mind wandered away from this world. His thoughts were being plagued with various doubts and uncertainties, and he was now wondering over how could he explain this to you.

"I can find a place where you can hide with Paps, but you'll have to be strong — stronger than usual." With those words, he leaned in. His arms slid gently behind your back and held you into a tight, long-lasting hug. "So stay determined, alright?  You're one of the good apples I've managed to pick from your village."

After a moment of hesitation, he let go of his hold and returned his attention back on his brother.
He sat down next to him, urging for you to join in.

Once you accepted the invitation by settling yourself next to them, the three of you observed the flowing waters of the river and fed the ducks that were swimming close by with a few of the oats and grains of rice you'd harvested from your garden.

Midway through feeding them, a strong though warm gust of wind blew over the area, causing for the flowers nearby to fly along the sky and clouds. A few buttercups managed to land on the water, which you took notice of. You reached out for them in an instant, remembering that these little flowers carried a toxin within them that could result badly over the ducks' health.

The short skeleton next to you noticed the flowers that were resting in your hands, and — after asking you for permission to take hold of them — he focused his gaze on you.

Gently, he reached out for one of your strands of hair and interlaced it with one of the delicate buttercups that now rested over the palm of his hand. He chuckled in a rather carefree way once finishing with these actions, leading you to tilt your head in light confusion.

With that action, you let him know that you were waiting for him to explain the actions he'd performed over your hair.

"It suits you." He explained to your bewildered self, as his little brother clapped eagerly at the scene before him, showing his approval over what Sans had done with your hair.

After smiling at the younger one's actions, you both remained silent, taking in each other's company in a particularly odd manner.

The both of you were trying to prepare yourselves for what was soon to come.

You both tried to enjoy the remaining moments you would be able to spend together — you both tried to cherish the calm before the approaching storm.