With Error....

Error stretched as he woke up. The sun was shining through the latticed window above the door, and for a moment, he forgot where he was. Soft snoring made him look up and sigh in relief, for Ink's lookalike was sleeping peacefully on the sofa next to him. He cuddled up closer to the artist, mentally reminding himself this wasn't Ink. It was hard, but he knew he couldn't get too attached. He wouldn't be staying here long, after all.

After a few more minutes, Encre woke up. He yawned and stretched, quickly getting to his feet. He stretched his arms a bit more, then walked into the kitchen. He went through the cupboards as he had last night, and sighed in frustration.

"Oh yeah," he muttered. "Now I remember what I was gonna do, this morning...."

He went back into the living room and picked up his backpack. He rummaged through the pockets, finally finding a small pouch full of coins. He stuffed it into his pocket, then stood up. He petted Error, who had watched him stand up, then patted his leg to coax Error into following him.

"Alright, little one. It's time we go and find some decent food."

With that, Encre opened the door and walked out. Error trotted behind him, and the two made their way through the village. The sun was shining, birds were singing, a slight breeze was blowing, and the smell of freshly baked bread filled the air. Encre took a deep breath, revelling in the familiar comforts of home. It had been a few years now since he'd been in Underville, and he'd missed it, dearly. But now, he wanted to settle down and stay here. Maybe meet a nice, young lady. Marry her. Have some kids. Become a respectable gentleman with a respectable job and a respectable family-

"Oof!"

His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into someone. He looked before him to find he'd bumped into a guard. And not just any guard.

"ENCRE! IS THAT YOU?"

"Azure!" Encre lit up excitedly, taking his friends hand and shaking it. "It's good to see you, Azure!"

"THE FEELING IS MUTUAL, MY FRIEND! HOW WAS THE TRAVELLING?"

"Oh, ya know, pretty boring. Saw some pretty neat sights, though. I plan to sketch out a beautiful lake scene I stumbled upon one day, but I have to go to the marketplace for food. I'll see you later, ok?"

"ABSOLUTELY! WE HAVE SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON!"

Encre waved at Azure, and continued on his way. Error stared back at Azure, deciding he'd found the equivalent of Blueberry, already. Loud, rambunctious, excitable, a guard. Yep, definitely Blueberry. He followed Encre to the marketplace, where several stalls were set up. A few people were selling fruits and vegetables, probably the last of this year's harvest, but what really caught the pair's eyes was the stall full of venison and fish. The monster running the stall grinned as Encre walked up to him.

"Well, howdy there, friend! What can I do ya for?"

Encre looked at the different cuts of meat, and pointed to a medium chunk.
"How much for this?"

"Oh, that'll be twenty gold. Bit expensive, but it sure was a hassle tryin' to take down the big fella. Y'know them vampires're everywhere, and they be hustlin' fer anything they can sink them fangs inta. I had ta be extra carefully not ta let this here deer bleed 'n case them creatures came a'runnin'."

"Oh, that's quite alright," Encre replied, counting out his gold. "I'd be happy with whatever you can give me, right now."

He paid for the chunk of meat, and the guy wrapped it up for him. He soon noticed Error sitting next to Encre's leg, patiently waiting for him.

"Well, lookie here! Ain't that the cutest lil thing this side o' the river! I reckon ya must be hungry. Here ya go, lil guy."

He threw a strip of meat down in front of Error, and he went up to it. He sniffed it, deciding it was ok, then gobbled it up. He looked back up at the guy, putting on an almost begging expression. Encre knelt down and petted him, then stood up.

"Thanks for this. And I'm sure my little companion is grateful for breakfast!"

"No problem! Come again!"

Encre smiled and waved, then moved on to the other stalls. Two ladies were busy looking through the furs, and snickered as Encre walked past. Hmm. They seemed nice. Maybe not Encre's type, but nice. He went to the last stall and looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with the stall owner.

Error hid behind Encre's leg when the stall owner stared down at him. They seemed unsettlingly quiet, and looked down at him with a gaze of ice. Error didn't like this guy one bit, and wished Encre would just hurry up and leave.

The stall owner looked at Encre, who was staring fascinated at the strange baubles sprawled across the counter. Encre finally met the guy's eyelights, and gasped slightly when he realized it was another skeleton monster. Cracks snaked up and down his face, one going up from his eyesocket, the other going down the opposite one. Reminded Error of Gaster, actually. And it made him nervous.

"Lovely day, isn't it, young one?" the stall owner remarked, his deep voice startling Encre. The artist gulped and smiled nervously, nodding in agreement.

"Y-yes, it is a lovely day. There's a chill in the air, though. Winter will be coming soon enough, now."

The stall owner nodded, and watched Encre go through his wares. Suddenly, his eye was caught by a small, black ring. Curious, Encre picked it up. The stall owner smirked almost unnoticeably, but Error had paid attention and growled slightly.

"Ah," the stall owner said, his slanted eyesockets peering into Encre's soul. "You have found my Soulmate Ring. A very rare artifact, the ring you now hold will lead you to your soulmate, guaranteed."

"Wow," Encre breathed, turning the ring over in his hand. The ring had a large, black gem that glistened with iridescence, and the black band had intricate designs carved into it. Encre smiled excitedly, and looked up at the stall owner.
"How much for it?"

The stall owner grinned sinisterly, and Error wanted to bite Encre so he would drop the ring. This whole situation was scaring him, and he wanted nothing to do with the Gaster lookalike or his ring. He pawed at Encre's leg, whining to get his attention. Encre ignored him, intent on getting a price.

"Fifty gold coins."

"Done."

Encre paid the stall owner, then left the marketplace with a spring in his step. Error followed after him frantically, stealing a last glance at the Gaster lookalike. He was watching Encre leave with a downright evil smirk on his face, and Error quickly caught up to Encre. The artist had decided to try on his new ring, and admired it as he walked back to his house. When he got back, he put the chunk of meat in the icebox, and sat down on the couch, studying his new ring.

Error jumped onto the couch with a worried whine, and Encre petted his head.
"Hey, little one. Maybe with this ring I'll finally find the girl of my dreams! I wonder how it works, though...."

He tried to take the ring off, but it wouldn't budge. He grunted as he tugged at it, gripping onto it and pulling as hard as he could. Nothing worked, and he let go. He studied it closer, and realized there were tiny, black... tendrils dug into his finger. He could feel nothing, so he hoped it wasn't dangerous. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, petting Error.

"Maybe buying this ring wasn't such a great idea after all...."

A knock sounded at the door, and Encre stood up. He answered it, and grinned when he saw the familiar face of Azure.

"HELLO, ENCRE!" the guard exclaimed. "THOUGHT I'D DROP BY AND CHAT, SINCE MY SHIFT IS OVER UNTIL THIS EVENING. ETERNA'S ASKING FOR EXTRA HELP ON THE NIGHT SHIFT, AND I VOLUNTEERED. THOSE VAMPIRES WILL NOT GET PAST ME!"

Encre laughed and invited Azure inside. Error jumped down from the couch and trotted up to him, catching Azure's attention.

"MY, MY, WHO'S THIS LITTLE FELLOW?"

"Oh, that's my companion. I... don't have a name for him, yet. Heh heh."

Azure knelt down and held his hand out. Error tilted his head slightly, remembering when Dream had done something similar, and leaned his head forward. Azure grinned wider as he patted Error's head, then stood up.

"HMM, WHY DON'T YOU NAME HIM REX? THAT'S QUITE A POPULAR NAME FOR DOGS, NOWADAYS."

Encre cringed slightly.
"Eh, nah, that doesn't seem like a good name for him."

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a shrill bark. Error wagged his tail when they paid him attention, then he raced over to the kitchen. He dug through the cupboard after struggling to open it, and pulled out a jar of spice. Encre had followed him, and laughed slightly when he picked up the jar. He showed the jar to Azure, and he smiled.

"Welp, I guess Cinnamon knows his name, hehe."

Error, now Cinnamon again, wagged his tail and barked happily. He had remembered smelling the sweet smell of cinnamon when he'd roamed around in the kitchen, and he knew it'd be the perfect cover. If Ink comes looking for him, he'll know exactly what it means when he meets a little dog named Cinnamon. Or so he hoped.

Azure laughed and shook his head.
"WELL, WELCOME TO UNDERVILLE, LITTLE CINNAMON! I HOPE YOU WILL BE HAPPY LIVING WITH THIS SCATTERBRAINED ARTIST!"

He wrapped an arm around Encre's shoulder, and the artist laughed and rolled his eyelights.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny. Why don't we go in the living room and chat?"

For several hours, Azure caught Encre up on what's been happening in the region during his absence. Apparently, the vampires had gotten bolder, and had started encroaching on the hunting grounds of the mortals. Normally, they would stay on their side of the river, and snatch up any foolish mortal who dared to invade their territory. Now, though, they had begun circling the town, picking off unsuspecting citizens who stayed up too late. Eterna, the captain of the town guard, established a curfew a few weeks ago to try and curb the disappearances, and so far, it has worked. Although, every night, children would still cower in their beds, listening to the animalistic growls just outside the town gates, and the parents would pray their house would be spared from the evil creatures.

"THE SITUATION IS A DIRE ONE, ENCRE," Azure continued. "IF WE DO NOT STOP THESE ATTACKS, THEY WILL WIPE US OUT! OR WORSE, THEY COULD TAKE US ALL HOSTAGE, AND USE US AS BLOOD CATTLE."

"You don't actually believe that, do you, Azure?" Encre crossed his arms skeptically, and Azure looked down in shame.

"ER, UH, WELL.... STORIES HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THE RANKS OF THE GUARDS, AND I JUST... HEARD ABOUT THEM. IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR SUCH STORIES TO GAIN POPULARITY WITH HOW BLEAK OUR LIVES HAVE BECOME. WE ARE EXPECTING A SHIPMENT OF SILVER-LACED LEATHER ARMOR, AS WELL AS SILVER WEAPONS. WE'LL BE HOLDING TRYOUTS FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN OUR EFFORTS TO KEEP UNDERVILLE SAFE. I KNOW YOU ARE AN EXCELLENT FIGHTER, ENCRE. PERHAPS YOU COULD CONSIDER JOINING THE GUARD?"

Encre looked down. With how bad the situation sounded, he was almost obligated to join. It would certainly be a pretty good way of putting his skills to good use. At length, he turned back to Azure.

"Of course, I'll join. It's the least I could do, considering how bad it is out there. When are the tryouts?"

Azure beamed.
"TOMORROW MORNING AT SIX A. M. SHARP!"

"I'll be there!"

"GREAT! SEE YOU THEN!"

Encre waved to Azure as he left, sighing. Looks like he's joining the guard, now. Eh, he's got nothing better to do, and it might pay well. He sat back down on his couch next to Cinnamon, who climbed onto his knee. He smiled slightly, petting the small dog, until his eyelights once again landed on the black ring.

'Well,' he thought, studying it again. 'This better not cause me any trouble.'

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe-

Encre, you idiot.

Actually, why am I saying that? I have done the same thing on Skyrim. I bought something that was useless to me, and it nearly got my ass killed. Welp-

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the relatively short chapter. Only about 2000 words, but hey! At least it's something, right? Right...?

I have just been battling Covid, which is why there were no updates on any of my stuff. Dudes, it was hell. At the time I'm writing this, my dad's in the hospital, my mom's still stuck in bed, and I still have a cough. Not to mention nothing tastes right, anymore. Makes me sad I can't taste chocolate ;^;

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, bai!