#horrortale fanfiction

[writings-ofthe-heart]

new chapter is up!

Keep yourself together! (A horrortale sans x reader)

enjooy!~

[skelebellie]

local garden store employee hits axe with the most insane rizz by info dumping about plants

art for my undertale fanfic the scientific method: chapter 4 (link below)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64188073/chapters/165361327

[cloudyskydreams]

Howdy!

I was wondering how the papyri boys (or whoever you’d like to write for!) would react to an SO who has major cuteness aggression and has no choice but to nuzzle them aggressively or bite them.

Thank you for your wonderful writing and I hope you have a lovely day/night!

I get cuteness aggression so bad sometimes

. ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * . . ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * . . ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * . . ݁ ˖ ࣪ .. ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆ * . . ݁ ˖ ࣪ . ⋆

Undertale:

Papyrus:

He's a little shocked the first time you do it and just watches in mild concern as you nibble on him.When you explain it he is so pleased he's cute enough to trigger it in you. Will accept your nuzzles and bites like it's any other form of affection and might nuzzle back into you with a skeleton kiss.

Sans:

Oh wow he's a little surprised at first y'know he's just not used to being a chew toy. Definetly makes as many biting jokes as he can anything related to teeth(I'm not creative enough to come up with some bite me (hehe)). He'll nuzzle you back gently and just accept his fate when you attack him with love.

Underfell:

Edge:

He's a bit put off at first and thinks you're having an episode the very first time. Doesn't understand what's going on when you're knawing on his bones in affection. Concerned look and slight disgust over the saliva on him the first few times but he gets used to it and just accepts it with mild exasperation. The nuzzles he can deal with better and will nuzzle you back in skeleton kisses though not as aggressively.

Red:

Absolutely thinks you're fucking weird but you're his weirdo so he's okay with it. Does not get you at all when you're straight up chewing on him but he understands this is one of your ways of showing love so he's just taking it with a grin and a head pat. Gets the nuzzles and will aggressively nuzzle you back with skeleton kisses while he holds you down so you're forced to accept them.

Underswap:

Stretch:

Thinks its nice and loves this form of affection as much as any other kind. Will aggressively skeleton kiss you back. 100% willing to return the energy. Doesn't really think of himself as cute so when he does something that's clearly adorable he's always a little surprised when you basically affectionately attack him.

Blue:

Also has cuteness aggression so he understands you. Nuzzles and bites you back just as aggressively and with just as much love. Sometimes he'll "fight" back and gently push you away or pin you down so you can't do anything and then he'll cause a counter attack.

Horrortale

Willow:

His brother has the worst case of cuteness aggression out of all the boys I write for so he's used to this. Will return the nuzzles and let you bite away at his bones as he gently pets your head. He doesn't understand what you two find so cute about him but it's kind of nice to think he's cute enough to cause an aggressive response.

Axe:

Oh yeah he loves this. Just stares at you with his big ass eyelight as he purrs loudly while you nibble on him. Nuzzles into you affectionately and so hard he knocks you over sometimes, he doesn't stop when he does either just climbs on top of you and continues the love attack.

[maxbruiser]

Extra:

scene from Kill Me, Cupid chapter 4, which is out now :)

[ambriolett02]

A commission for @bonesgalore where I draw the amazing skeletons for their fanfic on AO3 Replanting Roots! For a cozy story with many lovable characters, give it a read!^^

I have one other commission to complete, and then on to answering two requests, then something original. 🫶🏻💜

[bigmacari]

Hello!!!! First time requesting ya, I hope i follow you're rules. In this, I would like to request undertale bro's, underfell bro's, and horrortale bro's. (IF that's ok)

In this request, the boys come home and find the reader choking on some food since they got scared by their partner's entrance. It could be papyrus's blaming a door open and san's telaporting behind them suddenly. What will they boi's do and what will they do after?

Please ignore if I went aginst you're rules. I tried not to go to crazy. Please have a good day/night! And stay safe irl!!!!!

╭──────────────────.★..

UT! Bros, UF! Bros, HT Bros

☆ The skeletons almost make their S/O choke to death.

☆Warning(s) Choking, hitting, talk of death, please do your research on helping someone whom is choking 🙏🏻 I am not a medical professional.

☆Author Note(s) I giggled when I saw this request, idk why its funny so funny to me. Sorry if this is a mess.

..★.──────────────────╯

It was a peaceful evening, you had sat down to enjoy a snack that you made only moments before. You were half way done, taking another bite, you only get about one and a half chews in before a loud noise/movement happens behind you. This startles you, making you let out a noise, and in return, getting the food get lodged in your throat.

UT! Sans ☆

☆ Teleported behind you suddenly, the act itself was silent, but when he started to speak, his deep voice caught you off guard.

"hey have you seen papyr- oh"

☆ The next thing Sans sees is you banging on your chest trying to dislodge whatever food was stuck in your throat. Luckily he came to your rescue.

☆One of the skeletons in this list that fortunately knows human anatomy to the point of actually being able to help. So luckily he gets the hint pretty fast that your about to die.

☆Gets behind you, puts he's arms around your diaphragm and pushes in and up. Successfully dislodging the food and making it fly onto the table.

Yea, that's exactly what you want your boyfriend to see. Not embarrassing at all.

☆Rubs your back while you cough and gasp for fresh air, tears falling from your eyes.

☆"i knew you were happy to see me, but ya didn't have to get choked up about it"

You didn't know rather to laugh or cry more.

UT! Papyrus ☆

☆One of those people that just kinda sneaks up on you. You did not hear this motherfucker coming, which is crazy because he's the loudest monster you know.

All he wanted to do is tell you about a new recipe that Undyne taught him, only to find that you jump in your seat and started coughing.

Papyrus starts panicking, thinking you were gonna choke to death, and does the only logical thing. By picking you up with his hands under your armpits?

Oh okay, now he's shaking you.

☆When shaking you, you tell him, in a weak voice, that your okay and to put you down. When he does, Papyrus pulls you in a hug with tears pricking at the edges of his eye sockets.

Letting you go, he uses his gloved hands to wipe the tears, then rests his them on his hip bone, "THANK ASGORE THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS HERE OR ELSE SOMETHING BAD MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED!"

☆Luckily you weren't actually choking to death or else he might of killed you unintentionally. You told yourself to teach him how to do the heimlich.

UF! Sans (Red) ☆

☆The thing is, he was in the house when you were sitting down to eat, he was just napping. Now imagine his surprise when he falls of the couch, and on the way down, knocks over something glass.

☆Finds you trying to cough up something a moment later.

☆!Panics!

Worst than UT Papyrus I'mma be so fr.

☆Starts hitting you on the back, smacking his boney ass palm right into your spine thinking that's gonna help? Honestly you start choking a bit harder because of the pain.

☆You're a mess.

Red's a mess.

The glass on the floor is a mess.

The snack that you prepared, now also on the floor, a mess.

Everything's a mess.

☆The absurdity makes you start wondering if this is the end. But no, Red gets a beautiful idea, to get some water (wow.)

☆You end up okay, of course with some bruises on your back, but at least your alive. Both of you end up cleaning the mess of glass and food on the floor before Edge gets back 🙁

UF! Papyrus (Edge) ☆

☆Kicks open the door to the house because he's mad about something. What else is new? Well apparently you not breathing.

☆Stares at you for a minute? Like are you gonna do something or?

☆Then suddenly, his right eye socket twitches out of anger, and probably annoyance. With some sweat running down his cranium, he stomps over to you, wraps his arms around your stomach and punches up. Ouch.

"HUMAN! YOU SAD EXCUSE FOR A HOUSEMATE, IF YOU DIE ON ME I'M KILLING YOU." His worry makes it so he can't insult you properly, how sweet (?)

☆Gets the food dislodge 👍

☆Your ego is a little hurt 👎

☆He makes you tea to smooth your throat after, scolding you about chew your food right. You don't mention the fact it was kind of his fault, your just happy to be alive.

HT! Sans (Axe) ☆

☆Another one to sneak up on you, just on a whole different wavelength. Doesn't help that he's dead quiet. He'll jump scare you just by being in the room, almost giving you a heart attack.

☆When you start choking he doesn't do anything for a hot minute, almost like he's waiting for you to figure it out. Once he concludes that your indeed not figuring it out, he starts helping.

☆He let's out a sigh, lifts up his hand, curls it into a fist, and punches your diaphragm. Hard. You think your body actually goes into shock for a minute. But the action was enough leverage to force the food out of your throat.

☆Asks if your okay afterwards, pours a cup of water and tells you not to waste anymore food. Acts like nothing happened afterwards but makes sure not to sneak up like that anymore.

HT! Papyrus (Crooks) ☆

☆Acts very similar to UT Papyrus, but the aftermath is much more intense. Crooks has seen a lot of monsters and humans die in the underground, and doesn't ever want to see someone he cares about experience the same fate.

☆So when you start almost dying he's obviously very worried and panicked. Not to mention the fact that you were choking because of him, which mixed in a lot of guilt.

☆Tears well up in Crooks eye sockets, putting you gently onto the floor after you told him you were okay. Unfortunately, a simple reassurance wasn't enough to take away the panic and guilt built up in Crooks soul.

☆He wraps you tight into a hug and tells you that he's sorry. Obviously, just having saved your life, you didn't understand why he would be saying such things.

☆But before you could ask him what he's sorry about, he turns the attention to you, as you have been hurt quite dramatically. He dotes on you for the rest of the day, and offers to cook you a new snack. (And watches you like a hawk while eating said new snack)

[mikimakiboo]

Time Travelers AU - Well, well, well...

I know I said I was gonna get back on track but I failed an exam and my grandpa's sick again so I'm really trying my best here :') I think I have ideas for two chapters after this one ? I'll try to write them faster than one month each lol :'D

I really want to get over Cross's time, I love this boy but I don't have much to say about his time sadly :')

Also everyone go check out @ancha-aus 's drabble because it is amazing !!! It takes place later in the story so I will link it again when we get there but still !! Go read !!

I swear I spend more time looking at dictionaries than actually writing the chapters, why did I gave them all dead languages

First

Prev

Next

The first night in Cross's house had been fairly calm, Horror and him had managed to make a bed for everyone, though Nightmare preferred sleeping on the bench on the kitchen side of the house, Cross couldn't blame him honestly, straw wasn't what someone would call a fancy beding, compared to it anything would be better, even a bench. Killer was very happy with the straws and kept making little braids with it, five in total, and he gave one to everyone afterward. Horror was fine too, Cross never heard the viking complain about anything anyway, so either he was really fine with it or he was just very polite. Dust was strangely excited, Cross didn't think it was possible to be excited about straw beds after having used the amazing couch in his house but here he was, mumbling things to himself as he sat on the bed.

It luckily hadn't rained, so the humidity didn't come in and they were able to keep a certain warmth inside of the small house. Usually peasant houses shared the space with the cattle and the warmth of the animals would heat up the house, but Cross was a knight, he didn't have animals, so he had to rely on fire, but as he didn't have infinite wood he would most of the time keep it to cook and use this heat to warm himself up.

Cross had been the first to wake up and had rapidly been followed by Horror. He saluted him with a smile.

- Dieus vos doinst boinjor.

- Kveðja, ér sofa vel ? Horror answered.

"Vel" meant "well", that Cross was sure, and he remembered Horror using "sofa" to say "sleep", with these two words he guessed he must have either asked if Cross slept well or informed him that he slept well. Cross nodded, both answering the question if it was aimed at him and showing satisfaction if it wasn't.

- Volez avoc moy aler a jart ? Cross asked if Horror wanted to go to the garden with him, pointing at the door.

He needed to pick some vegetables for dinner and the others were still asleep, so he might as well grab them now and not bother his friends later. Horror looked at the door, frowning slightly.

- Ek þurfa vitja úti ? He asked, confused.

Cross was confused too, what did Horror understand ? He looked around for a second before grabbing a basket and showing it to Horror, then going to the door and signing for him to come along as he went outside and around the house towards the small garden. Horror followed, curious, and watched as Cross pointed at the different plants than at the basket. Did Cross want him to pick those plants and put them in the basket ? He slowly picked a carrot and looked at Cross as he put it down, seeing him nod, he smiled, and both of them started picking the vegetables, teaching each other their names. It was nice, and when they went back inside, everybody was up.

Cross put the basket on the table, letting Dust inspect it, he seemed rather curious about the vegetables, surely comparing them to those he had at home. He glanced at his countertop, he had just enough bread for today and maybe tomorrow morning, he would need to go in town tomorrow in the afternoon and buy some more. He could bake some, sure, but it was time consuming so he preferred buying already prepared ones. He also checked his water supply, he needed to go to the well.

- Eo dei a puit aler. Dust, volez moy sivir ? Cross gathered all his courage, asking Dust to follow him.

Dust looked up at him, thinking, his sockets always squinted a bit when he was thinking, and he ended up looking at Nightmare who was staring at the bench, well, not the bench, but the little straw braid Killer made him and that he had put on the bench for the night.

- Nightmare ? What d-

Nightmare flinched and sharply turned to look at him.

- Oop, sorry, didn't mean to startle you, Dust apologized, what does "sivir" mean ?

Nightmare hesitated, his gaze diverting for a second, before he talked, for the first time since the forest, though his voice was low, not as self assured as when he would talk in Dust's time.

- S.. suivre.. ? He stuttered.

Everybody caught that, but nobody commented.

- Suivre ? Dust repeated, like uhh... I know this word, I've seen it on social media... oh ! Follow ! Yeah ! He turned to Cross, smiling, yeah I'll follow you ! I'll uhh.. sivir vos.. ?

Cross smiled, feeling a rush of warmth in his chest, he just invited Dust to the well, he did that, oh god. He quickly nodded and grabbed two empty jars before heading to the door that Dust opened for him.

- Nos anteruns viste !

They will be back soon, he said as he went out with the hoodied skeleton, leaving the three others together.

- So... what's a "puit" ? Dust asked as they walked.

- Por panre l'aigue, li n'en estat gueres à maise.

He explained as simply as he could, telling him it's to take water as he didn't have any at home. Dust just frowned.

- Huh-huh. Well you know what ? "Aigue" sounds like "agua" in Spanish and since you've got jars I'm gonna say it's for water. That or wine. I don't know what people usually drink in the Middle Ages.

He finally answered. Did he understand ? Cross had no doubt he did, Dust was smart, he always figured out stuff.

- Now if we're going to grab some water I guess it's either a river or a well ?

Cross liked hearing Dust talk, he had such a sweet voice, so confident and yet always sounding unsure at the end of his sentences, as if he was expecting to be wrong about every supposition he made when really he was probably the most smart of them all.

- ... Did I say something stupid ? Dust frowned, sounding a bit nervous.

Why would he feel nervous ? Cross didn't see any reason to feel- oh god he had been staring. He quickly shook his head and looked forward, a purple blush on his cheekbones.

- P-pardon. He apologized.

- Okay.. ?

The walk to the well was... awkward, Cross didn't dare look at him, he didn't want to stare again, at least with his arms holding the jars he wasn't tempted to grab Dust's hand.

Once they arrived Dust looked at the stone well with wonder. Was it the first time he saw a well ? He did have water directly in his house, so maybe wells weren't a thing anymore in the future ?

Cross put the jars down, grabbing the bucket attached to the log above the well to make it fall in until it hit the water and slowly filled itself. Dust was watching carefully, bent over the hole, his eyelights were almost sparkling with curiosity and Cross could see the water reflecting on his bones... he would give anything to be allowed to hold him close and-

- It's full, Dust announced, straightening.

- O-oh uh, oil.. ! Cross was brutally shaken out of his thoughts.

The bucket was full, so Cross pulled on the lever until it came back all the way up to grab it and pour the water in the first jar, when he straightened up Dust was looking at him. He made a grabby motion towards the bucket.

- Can I try ? He asked, badly masking his excitement.

Cross couldn't help but blush as he handed him the bucket and watched as he put it back in the well to wait patiently for it to fill. He didn't think such a simple activity would interest Dust so much, and yet here he was, happily filling the jars with water. There was something childish and yet so attractive to it, Cross wanted to protect that, he wanted to protect that amazement for everything that surrounded him.

- Estrez tanz jolif... Cross said without thinking.

He instantly blushed, he really didn't mean to call Dust pretty. Well, Dust was pretty, but he didn't mean to say it to his face !

- Huh ? Dust answered, not having heard as he was putting the bucket back on the edge of the well.

- E-Eo diseie nos devrïens antrer !

He corrected, saying they needed to go back home as he grabbed the two full jars.

- Oh, we're going ? Don't you want me to hold one ? They look heavy, Dust asked him, going to grab a jar but Cross stopped him.

- Eo puys porter, mercit ! He thanked, telling him he could hold them.

- If you say so, Dust didn't insist.

Cross smiled at him, and lead the way back home with two full jars and a soul racing like never before.

He really needed to get his thoughts under control.

[r3db3ans]

i really like your oc with Toriel @taku-otaku !

hope you like it !!

[mochi-munchies]

Micro-Fiction Drabble (BSP - Nest Cuddles)

Nightmare's tendrils curled over his boys, trailing hot and heavy as they twined through the piles of furs and dragged the thickest pelts to blanket over them.

Killer was sprawled out across his lap, purring and teeth chittering in soft clink-clanks of contentment every time Nightmare's claws brushed over the dip of his spine. His soul was a still lake of peace and tranquility, knowing nothing could reach him under the king's protection.

Horror hung off his back, teeth gently gnawing on a tendril in rhythmic bites and suckles; it was too much like teething for Nightmare to be angry over it, more inclined to find it endearing and oddly nice.

Dust had burrowed under a mass of fur and corruption alike, relaxed and safe where one tendril had wound around him completely. It kept him soothed with its weight and constrictive grasp, like a toddler wrapping themselves up like a burrito.

Cross- always so easy to lull and soothe, curled around his legs, head tucked under Killer's with a blissful expression, evidently high off the scent of petrichor and apple blossoms.

And Nightmare watched over them all with the purest of joy in his chest and the faintest of mist in his eye. Knowing they were all home.

[writings-ofthe-heart]

ABOUT ME ~

xp . intro post loading...

... Welcome!

latina . autistic.

(note: I am slow to process)

Requests are always open! (check rules x3)

@masterlist

@request rules

@commision prices

fandoms I'm in !

• The office

• RICK AND MORTY! (current hyperfixation)

• Overwatch

• Blue Eyed Samurai

• Community

• Undertale/Deltarune

• Brooklyn 99

• The Good Place

• Mouthwashing • etc...

[skelebellie]

art for chapter 9 (intent without a purpsose) for my undertale au fanfic convergent point (previously named scientific theory). papyrus tries to comfort the reader after giving some frightful news.

link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64188073/chapters/169863904

funny meme for after the chapter below (spoiler but not really)

[cloudyskydreams]

Heeyyyy can I request how would skeletons would react if the reader walked up to them and said “oh i can take you” and they would say “in a fight right ?” And the reader is just smiling silently how would they would react?

Hii I know you as the resident papyrus lover lol. Thanks for requesting sorry it took so long to get to it! This one was fun and Blues kinda got away from me lol. My cat would NOT stop bothering me for pets while writing this,

Undertale:

Sans:Laughs it off. He gets what you mean and he thinks it's pretty funny. "heh that's funny kid" Might blush lightly as he imagines it for a second and it's kind of out of nowhere depends how much you caught him off guard with it.

Papyrus: Has absolutely no clue what you mean. "TAKE ME WHERE HUMAN?" Just stands there confused as you smirk at him. You gotta be a bit more vulgar to get this one flustered he's a little oblivious y'all.

Underswap: Blue: Absolutely understands what you mean but pretends not to because he thinks it's funnier. "I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TRAIN WITH YOU!" He's got a innocent look on his face but he'll definitely remember how sure you sounded about how you could take him when he has you pinned underneath him begging.

Stretch: It takes him a second but he chuckles and gives you his best flirty look as he blushes carrot orange. "im sure you could honey" he's a bit flustered as he wasn't expecting it and thinks about the scenario the rest of the day.

Underfell:

Red: Also takes him a second but he smirks big when he gets it and gives you a hungry look "ya wanna find out if ya can doll?" He's 100% taking that as an invitation the horndog he is and will be more than happy to see if you really can take him.

Edge: He rolls his eyelights but smirks and pulls you closer. "Are You Sure About That Pet?" he whispers right in your ear causing you to shudder. He gently nips your earlobe before he takes a step back and simply walks away leaving you in shock.

Horrortale:

Axe: Has to think about it for a solid minute before he's chuckling. More than willing to take you in a fight or bed. "heh I dunno bout that… lamb" he thinks you're cute approaching him and saying that outright. Definetly writes this interaction down in one of his journals and chuckles over it when he reads them over.

Willow: A bit more aware than Papyrus so he gets what you mean and his entire skull flushes pale range. "Oh…" A little surprised you'd want him in general he's flustered, shocked, honoured, and a little bit horrified all wrapped in one. Quickly absconds but is lost in thought thinking about the interaction the rest of the day.

the fiend herself

[maxbruiser]

Extra: mc and Mr midnight

Some fanart for @starbellbunny who wrote Raccoons Like Bones on AO3. You should check it out! :)

[ambriolett02]

Sketch is finally lined! This is the cover photo for my fanfiction The Skeletons’ Castle on AO3. ^^ Tagged below if you wanna give it a read!

Rated: Explicit

Main Overarching Themes: Dating Sims, Angst, Horror, Reverse Harem, Reader Insert

Was a lot of fun drawing the skelebois in styles that are similar to their originals while also incorporating some new elements from the story!

I’m sure you guys can see the webtoon inspo~ 🌝🫣

THE SKELETONS’ CASTLE

[diamonddoodles]

OKAY, STORY TIME EVERYBODY.

The original post belongs to @xnzlian, Horrortale Sans belongs to sourapplestudios, Dusttale Sans belongs to ask-dusttale, Killer Sans belongs to rahafwabas, And you belong to you.

I wrote this in first person, but didn't use any names for the narrator, so just consider it as a Y/N Fanfic.

This took me a total of 3 hours of typing, and has a total of 4724 words. I did not proofread this so there's probably going to be typos

(TW: Descriptions of violence, blood and gore)

Enjoy! :)

my fingers hurt aughhh

[mikimakiboo]

Sansnautica AU - Learning To Trust, With Love

Bad Sans Poly ! ( mtt x Nightmare, Cross isn't there yet )

The Sansnautica AU belongs to @ancha-aus ! :D consider this an early Christmas gift friend •w•

This is my little interpretation of how the gang met Nightmare and started the first part of the poly, which is obviously inspired by our rambling in the notes ( btw the boys' designs are linked in her master post so go check them out because I don't know how to describe them )

Also I still know NOTHING about subnautica except for the fact that it's underwater so please ignore the inaccuracies, even tho I tried to keep it quite vague as to avoid them lol

I started proofreading this at like 1:30am and finished at like nearly 2am so there might be mistakes left lol

How did all of this happen ? How did Nightmare allow this ? He never allowed it before. He liked being alone. At least he thought he did, but then they showed up, and he let them stay.

Well, they didn't "show up", he did remember saving one: Killer.

He was out hunting, roaming on his territory, when he heard noise. If at first he wouldn't have paid attention to it, it quickly became apparent that the noise was coming from his side of the frontier, which meant, whatever was making such noise, was trespassing, and he wouldn't tolerate that.

So Nightmare got closer, ready to chase off any intruder, until he saw what it was: the aliens that were invading the ocean, hunting a boneshark mer who obviously looked quite tired already. They were hunting. These aliens were hunting on his territory, they were hunting a mer. Mers belonged to him, he was their God. That wouldn't do.

He launched upward to where the noise was coming from, appearing in all his height in front of the boneshark and the aliens, putting a stop in their course as the mer crashed into the reef, having tried to avoid hitting the leviathan.

Nightmare watched as the aliens gestured to each other, swimming backward to try and flee, but the God was faster as his hand moved forward, picking them as if they were seaweeds. He bared his fangs, feeling terror emanating from the aliens as he brought them closer to his opened mouth. The terror didn't last long, it faded rapidly after the first bite. There was nothing left when he swallowed them.

He turned to the shark against the reef, seeing as he was still shaking with a fish tightly pressed against his chest, seemed like he too was out hunting. The two stared at each other for a while, before Nightmare turned his back to leave without a word. He had eaten, he could go back to his hideout. He hated being outside for too long, not that he was scared of anything, he just preferred the intimacy of his nest.

He wouldn't have thought the boneshark would follow him, and even worse, refuse to leave when Nightmare stopped to tell him to go back to where he came from. No, instead he followed him to his cave and laid on a flat stone to munch on his fish. Nightmare could have chased him, but he was feeling the fright residues coming from the mer, and decided to be merciful and let him rest for a while.

The next morning the mer was gone, Nightmare thought he went back to his own nest, but instead he came back two days later with two new sharks: a sand shark and a stalker, both mers, both as tired looking as the first one. The sand shark was the first to approach him, a large prey in his hands, that he put down in front of him before backing off. An offering it seemed, a silent demand to be allowed to stay in exchange for some of their catch. Nightmare looked at them silently for a while, he didn't want to have anyone in his nest, he didn't want his tranquility to be disturbed, but the aliens were still out and they were chasing mers specifically... he inspected the offering, it seemed to be a rabbit ray, a fresh catch. He grabbed it between two fingers to take a closer look, sensing the anxiety of the three mers rising, and finally swallowed it whole, accepting the offering and, by extension, allowing them to stay.

They had introduced themselves, the boneshark that Nightmare saved was named Killer, the sand shark that had offered him the ray was Horror, and the stalker was Dust. They seemed to be bounded, as these species didn't usually mix and travel together. Nightmare learned soon after that they were in fact mates.

Their presence wasn't insufferable, Nightmare wouldn't say he enjoyed having them around, but he had to recognize that having a little bit of life in his nest wasn't the worst. Having noise, someone talking to him even if just to tell him about the hunt of the day, was something he didn't think he had missed so much. He wouldn't say he liked them, but he would be a little pained if they left. He did find it amusing, however, that after a few days these three started to try courting him. They weren't the first to try, and he had always found comical that such small creatures thought they had a chance with him, so he let them do so, wanting to see for how long they would try before giving up like all their predecessors.

All was well, truly, fish was abundant in his territory and the small shiver usually wasn't out for too long with the aliens roaming around. But still Nightmare had to leave the nest to make sure no one tried to mess with his borders.

He should have been more careful. He was watching, looking out for any alien, so focused on their potential presence that he didn't hear the screeching noise in time and was hit on his side by a ghost leviathan as big as him. He could fight back, of course, he was strong enough to make this leviathan get out of his territory, but the surprise combined with the sudden sharp pain slowed him in his reflexes and he was hit a second time before he managed to attack and push the ghost leviathan away with more struggle than he would have liked it. Luckily for him, it wasn't another mer.

The wounds were bad. Very bad. He couldn't stay outside like that and most importantly: he couldn't stay this size or he would never heal. Well, he would, but incredibly slowly, and he couldn't afford that. He had to switch back to his smaller form, the healing would be long too, but much less long than in his current big form, as his body wouldn't need as much energy. But he had a problem: he wasn't alone anymore in his cave, there were three sharks that Nightmare knew would be bigger than him once he would turn small. He would be a prey to them. They were courting, yes, but they were courting because he was a massive leviathan capable of protecting them, but once they would see him small and hurt, unable to fight them three at the same time ? They would have the perfect opportunity to kill him and claim his territory with all the resources it contained. They wouldn't think about courting him anymore, that Nightmare was sure. But still he had to go back, he couldn't stay in the open.

He switched back to his small form as to lose less blood as he swam close to the ground, one arm around his wounded waist and the other using the branches and rocks on the ground as holds to give him the impulsion to move faster, trying to stay focused on the noise around him, praying he wouldn't attract any predator with the smell of blood.

When he arrived at the entrance of his nest he was panting, his vision blurry and whole body aching. He slowly looked inside but didn't spot anyone. They must have been out hunting. Good. He didn't want them to see him. He quickly, or as quickly as he could, dived into the deeper part of the cave, looking for a dent in the wall in which he could hide. He found one hidden behind seaweeds and moved them slightly to the side to sneak inside the dent. He laid on the moss on the floor, exhausted and shaking, his whole body in pain. He needed to gather food and materials to heal the wounds, but his body was refusing to move and his vision was becoming darker... he needed to stay awake, he had to, he couldn't sleep now, but he felt so, so drained...

He opened his eye when he heard his name being called. Was the shiver back from their hunt ? Nightmare curled up a little more on himself, not answering. He heard them swim around for a few seconds, and the weeds masking the entrance of his dent were moved aside as Horror appeared in front of him. Nightmare tensed, baring his fangs and curling two tentacles around himself to hide the wound as the others were ready to strike. Horror looked at him for a while without talking, but clearly analyzing him as he frowned, turning back to call the other two. Nightmare tried to get up, not wanting to seem weak in front of them. "Don't move" Horror told him with the same firm but gentle tone he used when Dust or Killer hurt themselves on hunting sessions and wouldn't stay still as he healed them. The two arrived rapidly, Killer's arms still full of fish, and both stopped to stare at the small leviathan. They had smelled blood when entering the cave, and they apparently weren't wrong.

Killer got closer, Nightmare growled, and he stopped, slowly taking a fish to hand it to him, but Nightmare didn't move, his gaze planted in the boneshark's. Killer put the fish down at the entrance of the nest and pushed it towards him, repeating the maneuver with three more fish before finally backing off. Dust wasn't here anymore, Nightmare hadn't seen him leave, focused on Killer. "You should eat", he said, "Dust went to fetch some large weeds to make bandages" he added when seeing his, almost frightened, gaze going from Killer and Horror to the spot Dust was previously in. They were truly stupid if they thought this "pretending to care" would make him lower his guard.

Dust came back with the weeds, but didn't dare approach when Nightmare growled at him. He put it near the entrance, and joined the other two a little farther. They had established a new small nest closer to the dent but still far enough to leave him some intimacy. He hadn't touched the fish yet, not feeling like eating. Why didn't they attack yet ? He couldn't move much, his body stiff from the pain, and couldn't turn back to his more massive form as he was in a way too small dent to do so. He was at their mercy, truly, and yet they were chatting a few meters away like nothing happened. Maybe they were waiting for him to fall asleep to kill him without risking getting bitten ? But how would he manage to stay awake for so long ? He was still so tired... he would wait for them to fall asleep first, and then he would take small naps after small naps, see if it helped...

It didn't help. He felt so tired still. Horror was in front of him, outside the dent, but still looking at him, the other two were outside. "Eat" he ordered him, and Nightmare barely had enough energy to growl back, not liking his tone of voice, but he knew he had to eat or else he wouldn't heal. He slowly reached out to grab one of the fish, munching on it without much conviction despite the hunger. He almost fell asleep with the half-eaten fish in his mouth. Horror didn't move from his spot, only turning his back when he had finished the fish, seeming satisfied. No one attacked him this day either.

He kept taking small naps, but each time he looked they hadn't move from their sleeping pile. Still, Nightmare was cautious. No one attacked him the next day, Dust tried to approach him again but backed off when seeing his gaze. Horror and Killer both frowned at that, but Nightmare didn't care. He didn't want them near him.

The few days that followed were roughly the same: Killer went out, Nightmare didn't know if it was for hunting or something else as he often came back without any catch, Horror made sure he ate at least one fish by staring at him until he gave in, and Dust tried to approach him only to fail and back off. Neither of them tried attacking him and Nightmare started to doubt they would do it one day. Why wait after all ? Why make sure he ate and try to bandage his wounds if they wanted to kill him ? It wasn't logical. None of this was logical, from Dust and Kiler spending so much time outside only to come back without fish to Horror never leaving the front of the dent like a guard. Nightmare didn't understand. He didn't understand what they were trying to do. "Dust and Killer patrol on your territory, since you're not in the right condition to do it yourself", Horror had answered when Nightmare asked him where they were going everyday. They were patrolling ? Protecting his territory ? He didn't need someone to protect his territory. At least not before. Now... he appreciated the help. He didn't need another leviathan claiming his lands while he was away. "And you ?" Nightmare had asked, "I stand guard here, make sure no one tries anything", he had answered, but Nightmare wasn't satisfied, "why not stand guard outside ?" He had asked again, "you're not outside" Horror had said. Nightmare didn't answer.

Dust tried to approach him again this day. Nightmare didn't growl, he looked at him for a while before resting his head on the moss and letting the stalker come closer. The three sharks exchanged a surprised look, and Dust grabbed the weeds and entered the dent, slowly getting closer to the injured leviathan. He looked at him again, to make sure it was okay, and grabbed some moss to clean around the wounds. Nightmare tensed, and Dust stopped. They stared at each other for a while, but as Nightmare didn't move, Dust went back to cleaning, carefully, slowly, he then wrapped the seaweeds around the wounds. Nightmare looked at him work, seeing how delicate he was, how patiently he had been waiting for the authorization when he could have given up right from the start, or simply not try at all. And yet here he was, after maybe a week or more, Nightmare had lost count, cleaning his almost infected wounds and wrapping them in weeds, before leaving again once the job was done, not wanting to invade his personal space for too long. Nightmare kept watching the bandages for a while before grabbing one of the fresh fish Killer had brought him after their hunt. He didn't understand them.

Dust kept coming back every day to check on the wounds, always waiting for Nightmare to authorize him to approach before moving.

And so Nightmare was here, in his dent, thinking about everything that had happened in these past weeks, in these past days, how he let them near him and how they never once tried to take advantage of his situation, instead guarding his territory and bringing him food, keeping his wounds clean as to heal better. He looked at Horror, he was laying down a few meters away, his eyes were closed but Nightmare knew he wasn't sleeping, he was always listening for any suspicious sound, making sure no one, except for his two mates, entered the nest.

Nightmare felt a warmth spead in his ribcage when looking at the sand shark. The other two were outside, he was alone with him, and didn't feel in danger. He felt... safe. He couldn't explain it, but he felt safe despite his condition.

Horror stood up and turned to look at him, having heard a low noise. Nightmare heard it too, but he didn't understand why Horror turned to him. He wanted to ask him, but the noise became louder when he opened his mouth. He had felt his throat vibrate. Was it coming from him ? Was he making this sound ? It was an unusual sound for him, but he had heard the others make it too... he was purring... he hadn't purred in years...

Horror smiled fondly, swimming up to him and stopping before entering the dent. Nightmare didn't stop purring.

- Can I come in ?

Horror asked in a soft tone. Nightmare hesitated for a second, before slowly nodding, watching as the shark swam into the dent and around him to lay down, facing the entrance still, but this time surrounding Nightmare with his tail like a barrier.

Nightmare looked up at him, refraining a yawn.

- You can sleep, I'm not moving.

Horror reassured. He wouldn't move, both from here or to try anything, he would stay still and stand guard just as he was doing everyday in front of the dent, only this time he would be inside.

Nightmare kept staring for a moment, before slowly drifting into sleep, only moving slightly to press his back against Horror's side, feeling his warmth as a reminder he wasn't alone.

He wasn't alone anymore, and he wouldn't be alone ever again.

Once healed he would swear loyalty to them and to protect them from any threat, to offer them a safe place and to never doubt them ever again. They deserved it. They deserved his trust.

They deserved his love.