Chapter 18: Broken

                                    

                                          
Colletta walked in silence as Arachnid and Kumo followed her. Kumo was observing her new surroundings. Her initial giddiness was slowly replaced with grim quietness. Her eyes always follow monster bystanders, and her lips tighten into a thin line. 
	"Phoenix-san." Colletta raised her head at her name.
	"Yeah?"
	Arachnid licks her lips, mulling over her choice of words. "How long have you been living with those... monsters?"
	It was clear that she wanted to say something else, but Colletta ignored it.
	"Yeah." She scratched the back of her head. "For almost a year, give or take. They're good roommates."
	"Good roommates. Even when they smell of blood and death," Arachnid dryly murmurs.
	"Hey! We don't smell any better than them!" Colletta rolled her eyes.
	"I suppose..." Arachnid tapped on her right wrist. "However, please tell me, Phoenix-san, who hurt you?" Venom seeped out from her tone. The air around them went cold. Kumo perked up.
	"Kaa-san? What do you mean by that? Did Nix-oba-chan get hurt by those two? I knew it! We should've-mmf!" Colletta slapped her hand on Kumo's mouth before she said anything ridiculous.
	"Nothing of that sort happened. Magician was just exaggerating. You know how she can be. Overprotective and stuff around me," Colletta gave a weak chuckle before turning around to march forward. "Besides, don't we have a city to tour around? Let's get to it."
	"Phoenix-san." Colletta felt her insides squirm at Arachnid's tone. She barely managed to hide her wince and smiled at them.
	"I swear! I mean, sure we had some disagreements here and there, but nothing escalated from that! Really, I'm fine."
	"Why are you protecting them? If it were the past you, you would have slaughtered those who wronged you."
	Her smile turned upside down at Arachnid's words. "... I-Is that ho- Ah, never mind. Like I said, I like my peace. I have seen enough bloodshed to last me several lifetimes. I don't want to take- see any more lives being lost."
	Archnid's eyes soften. "Oh."
	"But you should still stand up for yourself," Kumo argued, her arms folded across her chest. "Are you seriously just going to sit back and let them stomp all over you however they please?"
	Colletta snorted and reached over to pinch Kumo by her cheeks. "And when did you start talking back to your elders?"
	"Owie! Lwet gwo!" 
	She laughed as her fingers stretched the child's cheek even further. Then, she let go and ruffled her hair into a mess. Kumo petulantly scowled at her as she rubbed her reddening cheeks.
	"Excuse me?" Colletta's lips dropped down to a more polite one and turned around to face the stranger. She cranes her head up to meet eye-to-eye with Toriel's unamused gaze. "What are you doing to that child?"
	"Just some light-hearted fun," Colletta curtly replied. 
	"Truly? Well, then that's good. Please refrain from doing any actions that may be harmful to the child, or any children as a matter of fact," the goat monster scolded her. Turning her head around, she knelt down to look Kumo in the eyes. "Are you alright, my child?"
	Colletta felt her right eye twitch at the clear dismissal and rudeness but bit back her words. Her reputation had already been tarnished since the first attack. Doing anything rash will cause people to distrust her even more and cause issues that can snowball into something disastrous.