She senses it before she sees it.
It's cold, otherworldly, hungry.
It's Soul bounces rapidly between here and the Void, like it's trapped between them, she senses the way it suddenly feels there and then gone…almost like it's dying and being reborn constantly.
The rabbit is a shaking mess, hollow eyes peer at nothing as it hops forth from the thicket of trees lining the back of the neighborhood. Its missing half an ear and where blood would've pooled there's that familiar black tar….
Her gut clenches and she moves forward without a thought, watching as the inhuman creature hops across the grass towards a neighboring house where she can see a dog door in the back door.
But before the rabbit can squeeze inside she catches it in her teeth, pulse racing rapidly in her ears.
Its body is cold to the touch and she can feel the murky blackness seeping between the cracks of her teeth as they sink into the soft flesh of the rabbit.
Focusing inward she pulls on a strand of her Soul, forging it into a solid magical energy as it surges up her throat and into her mouth where it glows an eerie bright white against the blackness.
As soon as the bright mass touches the rabbit it lets out an unearthly screech as the Void-matter frizzles and dries up into nothing under the sudden onslaught of magic energy pouring forth from her Soul.
The body in her mouth goes limp and the wet, black coldness disappears instantly, the rabbit lays between her teeth like a puppet emptied of its stuffing.
Panting hard through her nose she carries it's carcass back towards the tree line where she finds a soft patch of earth between the roots a tree, digging a quick grave she hurriedly buries the ruined body.
Covering it with earth she makes sure nothing can smell the remains before turning back to the yard, the trail it left is still strong and she follows it from the neatly groomed grass to the trees again, she doesn't have to travel far.
Finding the source almost instantly she feels her gut churn and the tears she held at bay from earlier return anew as she stares at the wolf's body near her paws.
She knows exactly who it is….the Void-matter had left his body and moved onto a more suitable body, a bunny the wolf must've caught as a last failed attempt to survive it's injuries.
The wolf's back leg is severely broken and she can see it's ribs clearly, it's once blank-white eyes are now brown and glazed over, a familiar scar runs horizontal across it's muzzle and her heart sinks deeper into her stomach as a sob works forth from her throat.
He was a hunter in her pack, a younger male who had come of age the previous year and had the proving of a successful hunter and tracker.
She had spoken with him on many hunts, his wolf name was Arrow, he preferred it over his given birth name, each wolf in a pack has their birth name and a wolf name that their parents present to them with their first successful Shift.
Bowing her head low she lets out a mournful cry, a sound between a broken howl and a human sob it racks through her as her body shakes with grief, hot tears cascade steadily down her muzzle to hit the earth.
Lifting her head she tips her skull back and releases a long mournful howl, one that would've been echoed by her pack…..if they were here…..
Fighting back more howls she bows her head over his, opening her mouth she calls forth her magic again, feeling the rush of the white energy as it pools in her mouth and seeps like thick jelly from between her teeth to ooze out over his face.
It moves over his body like a thick blanket of moonlight, glittering under the actual moon high above she steps back as her magic twinkles with thousands of rainbows, the white blanket covers his prone body as it shrinks before her eyes.
Within seconds he's gone…and the place where his body once lay sprouts small budding flowers, the magic energy breaks into fractured pieces and take to the sky, disappearing from view as it heads for the heavens.
The sour scent of the Void still lingers in the air and her lips curl in distaste as she continues to follow the lingering trail, her Soul is heavy with grief and anger…she won't rest until she sends all that damned black magic back to where it came from.
Storm was gone when he woke.
Sans blinks the last bit of sleep from his eye sockets as he sits up completely, bright pupils sweeping across the living room in search of the canine, Frisk and Alphys are gone too…
He stands and carefully moves past his sleeping brother to step into the kitchen, the faint morning light appears gray through the window above the sink, but the open back door is what catches his attention.
The skeleton moves towards it and pauses in the doorway as the muffled sound of sniffling reaches his…er skull, "what's wrong?" He moves forward to inspect the kid nestled close to Alphys' side.
Frisk draws their head away from the doctor's side to wipe at their watering eyes, they draw in a shaky breath, seeming to try and reign in their tears in front of the skeleton as Alphys gently rubs their back, "…..I let Storm out…..and she hasn't come back yet,"
Sans looks out towards the backyard in thought, scratching at his skull before resting his hand atop Frisk's head, "hey it's ok, dogs wander off all the time, she probably chased after a squirrel," he assures them.
She's a stray, so he shouldn't be surprised if she wanders off…but he feels something odd in his nonexistent gut, "how long has she been gone for?"
"F-few hours," Frisk answers, calming their sniffling to look up at him, a hopeful gleam to their slightly swollen eyes.
He sighs and looks to Alphys who shrugs, seeming to sense what the two of them had planned, "I-I'll be here with the others until they wake up, i-if she comes back we'll call you,"
Sans nods and looks towards the sparse woods, "alright kiddo let's go," he says, not surprised to see Frisk already has their shoes one as they step down from the back porch to move onto the grass, they wait for Sans to join them before grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the trees.
For a while they walk in silence, Frisk leading the way as the sky grows lighter overhead, the sun rising steadily above the horizon.
"if we can't find her it's not your fault kiddo, these things happen,"
"She would've come back by now…..I know it," Frisk says, determined as they continue to trek on, the last bit of woods thins out into a vast field, markers are setup through it for future homes to be built in the area but other than that it's eerie, Sans can't even hear the birds anymore.
He slowly draws Frisk back, tucking the child close to his side as his pupils disappear, a single blue-yellow flame taking root in his left eye socket as a tense aura settles over them.
"….Sans?" Frisk whispers, their brown eyes locked on something crouched in the field, it's back heaving with labored breaths.
"stay here," Sans mutters, giving the child's shoulder a squeeze as he moves teleports closer to the form, the intense aura is suddenly stifling and he feels his magic crackle dangerously at the overwhelming sensation.
The thing…..whatever it is, is still hidden by the overgrown grass and he cautiously steps forward the last few steps to touch the creature's back.
He recoils quickly as it rolls over to face him.
