An Underswap AU: A Tale of Seven Book 1

Entry # 44: The Hunter And The Hunted

The Temmie that runs the store was. . . well, an interesting character, for the lack of a better term.

First off, the shopkeeper was actually pretty smart, in spite of speaking in the same gratuitous English as 98% of the village's population. Secondly, it was stated that she descended from a long line of great blacksmiths that crafted enchanted weapons and armor for the Royal Family during the war (Justin was initially skeptical of this claim, until he saw the Temmie Armor). And third. . . her hair is grey, not black.

The Tem Shop itself is also a pretty interesting place. In Alice's eloquent description, it appeared to be a normal mashup of an item store, a laundry shop and a cafeteria; only after a tsunami, a hurricane and a demolition squad ravaged the place. She didn't say it out loud, of course, but the look she gave her surroundings the moment they entered spoke a thousand words.

In the present, the Tem Shopkeeper sweating profusely, eying Gerard's Astronaut Food the way Chara would stare at chocolate.

"WOA!!! u g0tA. . . Astronaut Food!!!" Temmie shuddered.

". . . Yeah?" Gerard muttered, orange irises trailing towards where his siblings are.

Justin is standing beside a queue of washing machines and dryers at the left of the counter, waiting for Jaede's bandanna to be done. Alice settled on perusing the armors on display by the entrance, staying away from the ignominious amount of clutter the rest of the shop is seemingly comprised of. Jaede, meanwhile, is sorting through the said clutter, inspecting the items being sold (most of which are Tem Flakes, unsurprisingly). Viorel sat beside Justin, flipping through the pages of his sketchbook until he asked the older boy if he could see the painting outside.

Uncomfortable with letting the younger wander alone, Justin decided to tag along with him, noting the rest regarding their whereabouts before they left.

"hnnn. . . i g0tA haV dat Astronaut Food. . ."

Gerard returned his attention to the Temmie clad in a cyan and yellow striped sweater. He could tell that she's currently having a fierce internal debate as to whether she should buy the Astronaut Food or not, spoken from experience if he were honest.

"bUt i g0tA paY f0r coLleG. . ." The cat(dog) monster mumbled, fiddling her paws anxiously.

"College?" Jaede approached the two, having gotten a wind of the conversation.

"hnnn. . . !!! tEm alwAyZ waNa Astronaut Food. . . !" The shopkeeper squeaked.

Gerard felt an appraising smile worm it's way on his countenance. He knows where this discussion is going.

"What about we give you the Astronaut Food and donate some money for your college? How does that sound?" Jaede offered, gold already our of her wallet and on her outstretched hands.

Temmie's eyes nearly bulged out of its eyesockets. "u wIlL!!??" She screeched in disbelief.

"Mmhmm." Jaede nodded, then she turned to her older brother. "You wouldn't mind, would you Jerry?"

"Yep." Gerard shrugged, fishing his money and the Astronaut Food out of his inventory. "'Sides, Liz has been nagging me to get rid of these anyway."

"I wasn't nagging you." The blonde scoffed from across the shop.

Gerard smirked. "Verbally, nope. Non-verbally, however. . ."

Alice rolled her cyan irises with a huff, and resumed inspecting the armors on display.

"Our money wasn't enough to get you to college immediately, but I think that it would help at least." Jaede beamed warmly. Temmie's jaw dropped.

Sighing in fond exasperation, Alice veered towards the three and handed out her gold too. "You can have mine as well. I have enough cakes and tea to sustain me, and to a certain extent my siblings, for the rest our our journey." Temmie's jaw dropped even further, landing on top of the counter.