As Frisk made their way through the snowy forest, they felt so many emotions swirling inside them. They had been determined to visit the King and find a way to help the monsters, but now that they were on their own, the enormity of the task seemed overwhelming. As they walked, Frisk couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with nervousness. They had never been on their own before, and the thought of meeting even more new monsters and possibly even the King filled them with a mix of anticipation and fear. Would there be danger? More friends? What would their very first puzzle out in the wide world be like?

As if the world was answering their musings, Frisk was suddenly stopped in their tracks by a puzzle blocking their path. It looked like a sort of gate, but the lock wasn't the kind with a key, or a latch. It looked like a series of jumbled up tiles. They bit their lip, trying to figure out how to solve it. After a few moments of contemplation, they had an idea. There was one empty space that was just the size of one tile. With a little effort, they could slide the tiles around. Of course! It wasn't just a random series of tiles; it was a picture! They rearranged the tiles on the gate, making a picture of a thumbs-up. A small chime sounded, the latch opened, followed by the gate swinging inward. Frisk clapped their hands. They did it! Their very first puzzle they solved all on their own with no Mommy or grown-ups or hints or anything! Feeling very accomplished and like quite the big kid, Frisk continued on.

Frisk marveled at the quiet beauty of the snow-covered forest. Everything covered with a layer of snow made it look so beautiful. The sound of snow crunching underfoot was fun to listen to. They even started to hum a tune they remembered Toriel would hum when she was busy cleaning up. Suddenly, Frisk was stopped in their tracks again, this time be a large sign.

Frisk looked up, doing their best to read the sign, remembering what they had learned.

The first word, in the largest letters, at the very top of the sign was "WARNING". Frisk knew that this word meant it was telling whoever read read the sign to be on the lookout fo something, usually dangerous. There were two more words, each on their own line, which must mean they were both just as important.

DOG 
MARRIAGE

Frisk frowned, a little confused. Marriage. That was like when you got married. And getting married was when two folks loved each other enough to spend all their time together and hoped it would be forever; Mommy had explained that to them too. So... why in the world would there need to be a sign warning about it?

As Frisk tried to figure out this mysetry, they heard the sound of loud barking in the distance. Frisk's heart raced as they ducked behind a tree, trying to avoid being seen by the two massive dog monsters in armor that came into view. 


One dog skidded to a stop in the middle of the path. "Dogamy, my love!" he called out, sniffing the air. "What is that smell?" 

The other dog titled her head to the side in response. "Dogaressa, my sweetie-lovey bacon bit... I don't know!" she said, squinting. "Where is that smell?"

As both dogs squinted and sniffed the air again and again, they didn't move. They were blocking the path. Frisk froze, unsure of what to do. They knew that the dogs were able to identify things by their scent, and Frisk was sure that they smelled unfamiliar.

Dogamy gave a low, rumbling growl. "Weird smell... we know you are out there! Identify yoursmellf!"

Frisk realized they couldn't stay hidden behind the tree forever. And while these dogs didn't seem to have the best eyesight, the sense of smell was top-notch, so they wouldn't be able to just sneak past them. However, Frisk was nothing if not resourceful. They quickly came up with a plan. They rolled around in the snow, hoping to disguise their scent. When they stood up, they were covered in snow and shivering a little, but they hoped it would be enough to fool the dogs. They stepped forward and said, as bravely as they could, "It's me! I'm the smell!"

Dogamy and Dogaressa sniffed Frisk, then looked at each other in confusion. "This smells like something in the snow. It knows of the Dog's Smell Code. But they don't look like a dog," Dogamy said.

"They are very small though, and they sound very young. Stand down, O-Tail-That-Wags-My-Heart! This is obviously just a small, lost, weirdly shaped puppy," Dogaressa concluded. "We should point them in the direction of Snowdin."

Frisk was overjoyed. They had avoided being detected as a human, and they were on their way. As they walked past Dogamy and Dogaressa, they couldn't resist reaching out to pet them. To Frisk's surprise, the dogs seemed to enjoy the attention. They both went wide-eyed, then slowly looked at each other, as if they had just experienced a fundamental shift in their very view of how the world worked. "Hey, dogs can pet other dogs!" Dogamy exclaimed. "Who knew?"

"Thank you small, weirdly-shaped puppy, for teaching us so much," called Dogaressa to Frisk as they continued on their way. Once both dog guards were out of sight, Frisk allowed themselves one long, low sigh of relief.