NovaTale

Chapter 16- Lost Souls

"You're a moron if you really think there was anything you could've done." came the voice of Strife from a short distance away, steering clear of the debris and needless destruction. "You remind me of a five year old throwing a temper tantrum because he just lost his blankie. If it's that serious, why the hell are you here, destroying innocent trees instead of taking your dumb ass out there to look for her?" 

"I don't even know if she's here!" He said, lowering his head slightly in defeat.

Despite knowing she was right, it still didn't sit well with his pride to acknowledge it, so he didn't give her the satisfaction. He merely turned, looking her way with browbones raised. He did feel bad for the earlier incident where he just let loose with his magic and accidentally frayed one of the white bandages she kept wrapped around the scales on her forearms just below the sleeves, rolled to the elbows of her tattered green bomber jacket. The woodelf in her couldn't be helped, what with the long, pointed ears and all. The fish however, she hid as well as she could. Strife had a rough look to her. Rugged, almost. Long, wavy black hair in the back hung down to her shoulders, just barely covering the white fur lined hood. Oddly, her bangs were stark white, shaggy like the rest of her hair, but shorter; framing a pointed face. They also served to cover the tiny blue scales lining the area just near her ears. The reddish hue of her eyes, which basically matched the highly worn bandanna she had wrapped around her neck like a scarf, was also another one of her eccentric features. Still.... it wasn't as though he could really be one to say anything about eyes... being that he merely had nothing but sockets. Her tall, brown combat boots, laced tightly halfway up her legs covered the webbing in her feet, but she was still a bit sloppy with the holes in the black leggings she wore above them. 

The only thing that bothered him was the curiosity, nagging and almost lusting for answers as to why she would go so far to cover up half of her heritage. He supposed having Undyne for a half sister could be rough at times, but they hadn't so much as spoken to one another in years. Yet another set of uncovered knowledge that drizzled his mind with thoughts. It at least distracted him long enough to calm down before finally turning to her. "Fuck it. I gotta find her." slightly glancing at his soul, Sans felt resolved. Knowing that if she was here and he didn't do anything at all to get to her before someone else did... His wrath would wipe out the entire Underground if anyone harmed her. Or worse, somehow did anything that would take her away for keeps... 

"I'm goin' to check the rest of the woods. Maybe she showed up at another Save Star and got lost... I dunno."

Strife leaned off to one side, putting all her weight on one hip and crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk. "And you're not even gonna think to ask me if I wanna come?" she said with a slight lift of one brow. Sans didn't answer at first, wondering why she'd be so interested in his endeavors. It wasn't like this really had anything to do with her. "Why? What's in it for you?" he finally said, still questioning her motives. 

"Are you kidding? It's not every day a human comes to the Underground. Why the hell wouldn't I wanna meet the human that caused you to do all this?" she said, pointing out all the damage he'd done to this part of the forest. Scratching the back of his skull, he relented. "Yeah... I'm uh.. Sorry about that. I'm sure somebody could use the lumber. This just makes their job a little easier." 

Strife only stared ahead, continuing to grin. "Probably. I'm sure I could find a few people who would be happy to take this mess off my hands." 

As Sans began walking, traipsing through branches that he kicked aside to get through, Strife quickly turned and followed in tow, gaining the same pace until they were side by side. Silence was a welcomed friend at the moment as it gave him time to think. When they finally reached the dirt path that would lead them deeper into the forest, Sans hardly noticed how much darker it had become until he received an elbow to the arm. Sinuous limbs of dark trees appeared like claws, protruding through the crowded rows of enormous trunks with gaping black holes that seemed to stare at them like eyes, ominously watching them in silence. This was the part of the forest even Strife didn't enter unless it was absolutely necessary. There was something about this place that set her teeth on edge and made her recoil from even the prospect. Not that she'd never explored the area, but it definitely wasn't something she made a habit of.