Chapter Text
The rain is as treacherous as it is peaceful… or at least it can be for a bitty.
Most days when Axe knows a storm is coming he’d burrow into the soft fabric of his bedding and listen to the sound of falling raindrops hitting the side of his home, lulling him to sleep much like a lullaby. When he’s been caught out in the rain -usually during a scavenging run- the little Horrortale Sans would quickly find a dry place to hunker down, high above a possibly flooding earth, and watch the ensuing deluge, feeling at peace.
But right now Axe is not at home, and he is not under cover. For the better part of the day, the Horror bitty could see dark clouds gather in the sky, smell the scent of water blowing in on the wind, and even feel the earth gently rumble from the force of distant thunder. He knew that he should have stayed indoors, preparing a fire to later heat a thimble of hot chocolate for him to enjoy when the downpour finally hit. He knew that if he did, he’d be cozy and safe right now underneath the covers of his favorite blanket.
But Axe is a bit of an idiot, and when he saw the flash of vibrant azure from a passing Blue Jay, well… He couldn’t help but throw all rational thought out the window and follow it, desiring nothing more than to see such pretty feathers up close and claim them for himself.
No, wait… Not desire. Need.
He NEEDED to get those feathers. To possess and covet and treasure. To squirrel away with all the other pretties he NEEDED to hoard all to himself. Normally Axe’s… fixation doesn’t give him any problems, but pursuing a bird -a very healthy one, he might add- turned out to be a very difficult and time consuming endeavor for something as small as him. Turning mid-afternoon into late evening by the time he finally caught his quarry.
So now here he was, far from home, stuck in the middle of an intense downpour with lightning cracking through the sky and thunder echoing loudly across the landscape. The rain came down in cold sheets that quickly soaked the little Axe bitty through and through, ignoring the protection his faded blue parka provided him. It caused his bones to not just grow cold but also numb. Heavy, fat droplets of water pelting his body over and over again drove away nearly all sensation, making Axe look down at his grip every so often to confirm he was still holding onto his catch.
Axe likened walking through this rain to what he imagined it’d be like to walk underneath a waterfall: a heavy force of water pressing down upon you, enveloping you completely, putting you at just as much risk of drowning were you to simply look up for too long. Still, despite the miserable conditions Axe had to endure as he slowly made his way home, he smiled.
‘worth it,’ the Horror Sans thinks to himself as he drags along the body of the Blue Jay easily twice his size by a scaly foot with little effort. Yes, chasing after this bird was a dumb idea, yes being out in this storm is dangerous and could get him killed, but he succeeded in obtaining his pretties. Those feathers of blue and white were perfect and beautiful and H I S and most certainly worth the exhaustion that came from chasing this creature all over the neighborhood. The little Axe’s only regret is that he couldn’t have more.
Looking back over his shoulder, past the falling rain and dim lighting that makes it hard to see more than vague shapes, Axe could just make out the large, dark splotch of crimson that stains the pure white breast of the bird. Despite the heavy deluge, the water had not completely washed away the mark.
The hunt had dragged on for too long. As his fatigue rose his desire for a clean kill fell. Axe would have so many more pretty feathers were he able to just break the thing’s neck like he wanted, but alas, the creature was much too sharp to allow him to get so close. At the risk of wasting all the magic and energy for nothing, Axe had to spill blood and thus sully many of the precious pretties. The tail feathers however were able to come out unscathed, thankfully, so he happily plucked those from the still warm corpse and tucked them away where they would be safe and untouched by the coming rain.
Hearing a loud boom of thunder echo upon the alleyway walls, bouncing back and forth with a deafening reverberation, Axe flinched and quickly dropped the bird leg in favor of clapping tiny hands over where his ear holes would be. When the ringing inside his broken skull finally faded, the bitty grasped at the oversized hood covering his head and grumbled as he pulled it tighter over himself.
That hurt. The fluffy fur of his parka had done a decent enough job muffling the thundering thrums so far, but it seems the storm epicenter was now much too close for it to continue being effective. Letting out a long sigh, Axe quickly reestablished his grasp upon the bird leg and changed course. He dragged his burden along a detour of winding alleyway turns that would take him out of the narrow, dirty pathways to the open space of the city outskirts. Before him stood a forest that borders the urban landscape, separated only by a drainage ditch. The woods contain its own set of dangers in the form of stalking predators, but out here Axe’s non-existent ears will at least be spared from the sky’s amplified roaring.
Keeping a wary eyelight -his only eyelight- upon the shadowed forest as he trudged forward, Axe once again considered the possibility of finding shelter so that he can finally rest, warm himself up, and dump the collection of water that’s been accumulating inside his skull. All the sloshing around is getting uncomfortable.
It’d be nice to finally stop for the night and sleep… but doing so with such a fresh kill was just asking for some animal to jump him. The rain might wash the scent away, but Axe would rather not risk it. Of course, he could always dump the body, but he had stalked this thing for half the day and he’d be remiss to waste food like that.
No matter how much a nap sounds good right now.
Occupied with these thoughts, surrounded as he was by the soothing din that enveloped him so completely, the little Horror was understandably startled to hear a loud burst of something else break the peace.
It was an ethereal sound. A call, no, a scream full of fear and desperation that had cut past the cacophony of thousands of falling raindrops and went straight to his soul. It caused Axe to stall in his tracks as his head turned this way and that, crimson eyelight contorting its shape to mimic a series of confused blinks. Was that... what he thought it was?
Wondering just where that otherworldly melody came from, the little Horror Sans stilled and tilted his skull to the side slightly to carefully listen past the deafening noise of water droplets hitting pavement and wet earth. He could barely pick out the sounds... but after a time he was certain he could hear someone yelling mixed alongside animalistic screeching.
Axe eyed the overgrown grass, the direction where the dark forest loomed, and decided to indulge in his curiosity. The commotion he heard could not be far off, so he readjusted his grip upon the dead bird and stepped off the crumbling asphalt walkway into grass and mud. Pushing his way past stalks of vegetation and walking around pieces of trash, the bitty soon reached the edge of a concrete drainage ditch. From his vantage point at the top, the little Horror carefully scanned the sloping edges towards the bottom where he was able to barely see shadowed forms moving in the dark.
Frantic splashing, animals snarling, the sounds of a struggle painted a picture of the scene before lightning cracked with its sudden light to reveal the pieces he was missing. In that moment of illumination Axe was able to see that three rats had cornered a small figure wearing a cloak at the gaping mouth of a culvert. Focusing his eyesight to clearly perceive the souls below through the heavy rain allowed him to see that the cornered creature had only a mere slither of a soul, confirming his suspicions that it was another bitty.
That scream from earlier was sent from the guy’s soul as a desperate call for help. Even now he can hear the rhythm of the other’s soul song trilling erratically in utter panic, despite having quieted down to a mere frantic wailing after the initial piercing cry. The guy must have run down into the ditch not knowing that the culvert had a cover over its entrance with bars spaced too close together to let them through.
The little Horror watched the soul shard wiggle in place as the rat souls bounced every which way while loud screeches and water splashing was heard. The dim lighting barely allowed him to see that those rodents were dodging long, thin projectiles thrown their way. Only perhaps once or twice did Axe see the larger silhouettes flinch alongside an accompanying pained cry, indicating that while the cloaked bitty was putting up a determined fight, it wasn’t enough. All they could do was keep the hungry beasts at bay, not putting up enough of a threat to scare them off or even make an opening to get away. Eventually they will tire, they will slip up, and they will die.
Knowing this, seeing this, listening to the panicked cries of a bitty desperately trying to stay alive as they fought tooth and nail against their attackers, Axe looked upon the scene and felt…
Nothing.
No compassion stirred in his soul shard, no urge to help a fellow bitty. His glowing, crimson gaze was cold and impassioned as he observed the dancing figures below, feeling nothing more than mild interest. No concern, no empathy, no care… It’s a heartless reaction, Axe knows, but it’s not something that can be helped. Not something that can be forced.
Not something a broken thing can feel.
Ignoring the familiar prick of self-loathing in the back of his soul, Axe takes in the scene for a little longer before deciding to turn around to continue on his way home. Tired, hungry, and thoroughly soaked, the little Horror’s thoughts turned to warm fires, dry blankets, and dinner. Just as he was contemplating whether he should use the spices he found the other day for cooking, a flying bone attack suddenly cuts off his path and lodges itself into a nearby tin can, causing the piece of trash to fall over and roll around from the force of the impact.
That cloaked bitty must be getting really tired if their attacks are starting to miss so bad they are getting flung all the way up here. Axe watches the piece of trash slow its rolling with mild interest until lightning flashes once again and he catches the glint of something colorful reflecting off the bone.
Eye sockets widening, the bitty’s soul jumped excitedly at the brief display. Without a second thought, he dropped the bird leg and quickly walked up to the bone attack, staring at the construct. Unable to gleam much with the red glow of his eyelight alone, Axe reached into his jacket and pulled out a giant flashlight. Or at least giant when compared to him. It’s something he found on a set of lost keys a long time ago.
The little Axe did not like using this keychain when it wasn’t necessary. Even with this blinding rain he knew these back alleyways well enough to not require its use. It’s not wise to waste batteries, but this is important. This is special.
Hefting the large flashlight onto his shoulder for support, the Axe clicked the light on and aimed the beam at the bone. What he saw caused his already large eyelight to dilate in awe as he sucked in a breath. The pure white bone shimmered in all colors of the rainbow with pastel hues surrounding the construct in a soft, reflected glow much like a halo in the presence of such a bright light. The little Horror was transfixed, mesmerized by such beautiful iridescence as he reached with his free hand to carefully, almost reverently, pull the bone out of the tin can. Axe held the construct like a precious treasure as he gently ran his thumb over the surface.
Smooth like porcelain. A delicate yet colorful china. Nothing like his own bone attacks… His are always jagged and full of holes. Magical osteoporosis thanks to lack of available magic. While this bone is strong and breathtaking his constructs are brittle and broken. A surge of self-consciousness gnawed at his soul at the comparison, but it was easily ignored as he was enthralled by the sight of the pretty rainbow glow.
Out of the corner of his eye, the little Horror noticed another bone attack sticking out of the dirt. Eagerly, greedily, he ran over and snatched it up. Then a third. Then a fourth. As he admired his small collection in the beam of his flashlight, Axe wondered if he asked nicely enough the cloaked bitty would make him some more.
Then he became aware of the world again and heard the screaming.
Oh. Right. The guy is still fighting off rats. He forgot about that.
Quickly the little Horror clicked off his light and stuffed both flashlight and bone collection into the depths of his jacket before sliding down the sloping side of the drainage ditch. Landing at the bottom, the bitty barely noticed the water reaching his knees as he studied the fight, gaining glimpses as arcing lightning in the stormy clouds above occasionally lit the area. The rats were closing in for the kill, but they had their backs turned to him.
Slowly, carefully, all without making a splash of a sound, Axe crept up towards the closest rat. Quietly he reached once again into the depths of his sopping wet jacket and pulled out a butterfly knife. It was obscenely large in the small bitty’s hand. Folded up it nearly matched the Axe’s height of six inches, but with practiced movements the blade within gracefully twirled out of hiding with hardly any effort.
The blade slid easily through flesh as it was plunged deep into the rat’s back. A gurgled screech left its maw as its dying breaths were choked with blood seeping into its lungs. The second rat barely had time to stand on its hind legs and turn around before its neck got sliced open. The gash so deep its head was barely attached to its body. The rodent never had a chance to make a sound as warmth and life flowed freely out of the wound into the water.
Looking up from the collapsed form of his second kill, the Axe bitty saw that the third and final rat had finally managed to pounce the cloaked bitty and pin them to the ground. The other had managed to summon a long bone, allowing them to just barely keep the rodent’s constantly snapping jaws from biting off their face, but the rat was just too heavy. Their weight was enough to push the cloaked bitty under the water, resulting in half drowned yelling and sputtering as they struggled to keep their head above the surface in their fight for survival.
A fight they most certainly would have lost had the Axe bitty not harshly grabbed at the rat’s fur, yanked it off, and rammed his knife straight through its skull.
It was finally over. The battle won. Casting the area back into relative silence with only rainfall and rumbling thunder as the world’s soundtrack. The little Horror allowed himself a moment to enjoy the resulting calm before yanking his weapon out of the rodent’s cranium.
In no time at all, the drowning bitty shot back up out of the water in a coughing fit, gasping for air. Still completely panicked, they scrambled to stand before they were anywhere close to being ready for the expenditure, tripping over their feet and just barely catching themselves before they could smash their face into the bars lining the culvert. It wasn’t until they swiftly turned around, back against the grating with their bone attack raised in a defensive position, that they finally noticed the danger had passed.
Or at least the danger with the rats.
There was still the matter of there now being a bitty with a giant, bloodied knife and a single, piercing red eyelight cutting through the darkness standing over the slaughtered remains of said rodents. Axe didn’t feel offended when the wheezing bitty fearfully inched their way along the side of the culvert barrier, keeping their bone attack raised between the two. He knows he’s pretty scary looking.
Fortunately the other didn’t get far. As soon as their feet made contact with the side of the ditch, the cloaked bitty stumbled and fell onto the concrete slope in their fatigue. Exhaustion made pushing themselves back up very difficult. They lacked the strength, and their heavy breathing made it seem as though the air no longer had any magic to it. It made Axe feel a little light headed just watching them.
Axe observed the other for a few seconds before moving forward. He didn’t get even two steps in before one end of the magic construct was quickly pointed at him again, causing the little Horror to pause. Axe considered the other for a moment, taking in just how their soul still cried out. There was less panic to the melody, but more fear. Uncertainty lacing the ethereal notes. One might first think to try using reassuring words to calm the other, but words have never done the Horrortale Sans much good.
So instead he answered a song with a song. He let the volume of his own spiritual resonance rise until the other could hear it. With practiced ease, Axe manipulated his tune to sing a soothing melody. One that was gentle… calm… nonthreatening… One that conveyed the intent that Axe had no desire to harm the other. It is such a basic form of bitty communication… but an effective one nonetheless.
Their reaction was almost immediate. The bone attack was still raised in defense, but all futile efforts to stand, to flee, halted. The other bitty merely stared at Axe as they drew in ragged breaths, looking as though they were doing all they could not to collapse on the spot. In response, the frantic tune of their own soul song shifted to contain less panic, less fear, but more uncertainty. To reaffirm his intent, Axe relinquished his weapon first as a show of friendliness. With a practiced flick of the wrist, the balisong folded back into itself, allowing the Horror to slide the oversized tool back into the depths of his jacket where it seemingly disappeared.
The cloaked bitty stared at him a few moments more, eyelights searching him for any reason to doubt… and then finally their form slumped and collapsed fully onto the concrete slope, bone attack dissipating the moment it left their grasp. The wailing soul song finally calming, quieting, trilling with exhausted relief just before it could be heard no more.
Axe took this as his cue to finally close the distance between them and kneel by the bitty’s side. Up so close, the first thing he noticed was that the other is so… small. So much smaller than him. It really shouldn’t be so surprising, considering how Horrortale Sans and Papyruses are usually larger than most bitties, but Axe was still caught off guard by the size difference. He is broad and big boned while the other appears to be lithe with a deceptively delicate looking skeletal structure. Were they standing, the little Horror would guess the guy probably only came halfway up his rib cage at most.
The next thing he noticed were the eyelights. Stars on fire, he had never seen anything like them before! They changed constantly into different shapes and colors, neither socket ever matching. Triangles, squares, circles, spirals… At first they were changing rapidly, but as the other bitty calmed and regained their breath the shapes slowed down as well. It took Axe longer than he would have liked to pull his gaze away from the pretty display of switching colors, finally allowing him to notice in the dim lighting that under the cloak this guy is wearing a dress. Torn up and slashed in various places from the fight, but still a dress all the same. Odd… Most skeleton bitties identify as male. Does this one see themselves as female? He’s heard such bitties exist, but this is a first for him personally.
Overall, this guy (girl?) was… not what Axe had expected.
This tiny thing fended off three full grown rats? Sure, they weren’t going to win, but with how long they seemed to have lasted Axe had thought they’d be… sturdier. More solid and tough. Not a dainty little china doll. Color him impressed.
“are ya okay...?” the much larger bitty asked in a soft, quiet voice that was gravely and rough from years of disuse. It was a… bit of a stupid question once he thought about it. No, obviously this guy was not okay, so quickly he clarified by asking “are ya hurt…?”
In the following silence, Axe at first feared that his softly spoken questions had been swallowed up by the sounds of the surrounding rainfall, but a weak and breathless “M-Maybe…” answered him after a few seconds.
Their voice sounded hoarse. Probably from almost drowning just now, though he could still pick up that their tone was... higher pitched than what was usual for a Sans-type bitty. Or at least he thought it was. It didn’t sound female per say, but it was definitely high enough to pass as ambiguous. Soo… yes? Might be a girl? Maybe??? Slowly, shakily, the maybe-girl bitty begins to sit themselves up.
“I-I think… think I’m- AH!”
A pained cry suddenly leaves the smaller bitty’s mouth as they try to stand up, forcing them to fall back down with a whimper. Axe was quick to notice an out of place dark splotch upon the lighter fabric of the dress and pulled up the hem without hesitation, inciting a squeak of surprise from the other.
They’re bleeding, that much was obvious from the dark substance contrasting against the much lighter bone, but he couldn’t tell how extensive the injury was in so little light. The occasional lightning strike brought with it brief flashes of visual clarity alongside the sky’s distant rumbles, but all he could really discern was that there was a large crack along the length of the right femur leaking an inky black marrow. Axe saw other dark lines etched into the bone, hinting that there could be more damage, but he wasn’t sure how bad the smaller wounds were.
“hmm… don’ think it’s... too bad,” the little Horror mumbled as he stared intently at the injury, hoping more lightning would conveniently flash to give him another brief instance of light. He couldn’t be sure, but he swears he saw the same rainbow sheen those bone attacks had in the depths of the bleeding magic, though much less vibrant and noticeable. It reminded the Axe somewhat of how motor oil looks in water, but much nicer. His curiosity wanted another glimpse to confirm, but after a few moments the larger bitty gave up and pried his gaze away to look up at the other’s face. “least it’s nothin’ some monster candy can’t-”
His voice halted upon noticing the bright blush on the other’s face. They were looking away all shy and embarrassed, eye lights stuck on a magenta diamond and purple square, but the Axe bitty didn’t care about the bashfulness.
That blush was a freaking rainbow. Brighter and more vibrant and far richer in color than all those bone attacks combined. The Axe pulled down the dress and sat back for a moment, staring at the other in thought.
“…………………………...mine.”
Blinking, blush fading, question marks replaced the diamond and square as the confused bitty looked at the little Horror.
“Uhhh… What?” was all they managed to say before getting scooped up into the larger bitty’s arms, causing a surprised “eep!” to be let out.
“mine,” he repeated simply. Pretty bone attacks, pretty eyes, pretty blood, pretty blush… Yeah, it’s decided. He’s going to keep this cloaked bitty all for himself.
They’re going to make a nice addition to his collection.
