For the first little while, it feels like his ears are rigging too loud for him to hear anything that going on. It feels like a surprise when he realizes that he's hearing a voice, and the soft sound of singing. He has to rise into it gradually, and wait until the fog parts enough that he can even understand anything that he's taking in.

He spends a few moments more coiled into himself before very slightly beginning to open himself, physically and mentally. He's startled to realize that Rarity has actually been mopping him off this whole time, as if the gentle touch had gone unnoticed simply because it hadn't been forceful enough to cause any pain. He's unfurled just enough that his eyes are peaking out over the coverage of his arms. He looks at what Rarity is doing but makes no move to accept the gesture nor refuse it.

Then he looks back at Papyrus, and just stares at first, the lights in his sockets dull and wavering. It feels like waking up in the lab all over again, with Papyrus and Frisk looming over him. Yet, even as he remembers Papyrus clearly now, he can't help but see a vision of someone else.