CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


She'd spent months trapped with that group of boys barely much older than her. They hardly did anything but tease and threaten, but it still frightened the otherwise 'tough' girl that hardly believed anything could touch her. It seemed that they too were much too afraid to really try anything, but instead were more focused on that they had kidnapped someone and less of what to do next. Thankfully she'd been free from the group for some weeks now, yet was only just beginning to find her way home from the most northern parts of Boreas. Having never traveled that far before, it was far more difficult than she imagined getting home. As she lurked through the familiar fog of the swamplands, she wondered what they thought of her disappearance. Had they looked for her?

As Belladonna trekked closer to the borders of the empire, a lump formed in her throat. It had been a long time since she had been home and suddenly she was nervous. For so long all she wanted was to be home, but now after months of absence, Belladonna had a bit of cold feet. With the moon high in the sky, Bella paused and decided to wait for a bit and catch her breath. It was only then that she noticed her heart racing and did her best to calm herself down to settle her nerves. A great big welcome home wasn't exactly what she was hoping for, but she at least hoped they'd noticed her missing.

hey, miss murder,

"Speech"


Malachai didn't really know where he was going, his paws were just taking him out of the pack lands today, no particular reason... just because. A more superstitious wolf, like maybe cousin Toxicity or something, probably would have considered what was about to happen some kind of fate, or maybe a sign of a higher power. But for Malachai catching the scent of his long-lost sister did nothing but pique his interest... minimally at that.

It was enough to make him adjust his meandering, turning his paws towards where the scent was leading him. One moment the swamp was the only thing around him and the next he was rounding a bend and his sister was there, seated on the ground. "You look like shit." That was the first thing that had popped into his mind. The best hello she was going to get from her brother, who quite frankly had little to not attachment to her... at least right now.

Art by Shirohoru

CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


As her nerves got to her, Bella found herself sitting despite the ground being less than desirable to sit on. She was definitely ready to be home, to fall back into the swing of things and catch up on what she'd missed out on. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly ready to face those she hadn't seen in some time. Even though she had no intentions of leaving Ashen when she was kidnapped, she wondered what the others thought. Did they think she ran away, off towards some different life? Bella would never leave her family, extended or immediate. Not by choice, anyway.

She was struggling to control her anxiety, taking slow and deep breaths while she thought through a game plan to approach the borders. She was certain that just entering the lands wouldn't be good for her. She'd have to call for Venom, or Hattori, or someone else she supposed. It wasn't until a familiar voice broke her thoughts and her gaze found the familiar shape of her brother, although he had grown as she had. They were looking older now, something Belladonna hadn't seen much in herself. Looking at Malachai, though, she really felt how long she'd been away from home in the pit of her chest. Although his words were less than friendly, a smirk cross the girls dirty face as she laughed. "It's been months and that's all you can manage to come up with?"

hey, miss murder,

"Speech"

Bella laughed and Chai just blinked, shrugging as she spoke. Truth was Malachai didn't really feel all that attached to his missing sister, they had a missing brother too and as far as he was concerned he was closest with Panic, because she'd... y'know. Been there. He didn't really have an opinion on if either of his other siblings had left or been kept away from them outside of their control. He hadn't grown up with them in his life, and he certainly wasn't emotionally intelligent enough to even feel he'd lost anything because of that. "You're right it's been months... Here's a reminder, I'm Malachai, I think decorum is dumb and really don't care if I hurt anyone's feelings because I say what's on my mind."

That was it, a plain and simple truth, and true to his words it was what he felt, even if it was a little barbed, certainly not because he was trying to hurt his sister but because he just didn't have the empathy to understand how it might come across. He looked her over again. "What happened to you?" She really did look kind of like shit... but then a more pressing question. "Are you coming back?" Back to Ashen, back to the place he called home, back to their mother. That was an interesting question, Hela hadn't mourned her missing children for too long, of if she did it hadn't been in front of him and Panic, how would the woman even react?

Art by Shirohoru

CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


Bella's face hardened when Malachai didn't find humor in her jest. Obviously he wasn't the kind to have fun and although it annoyed her to the bone, she supposed she couldn't blame him. She had been gone and even though she had missed the family she was torn away from, it would seem a warm welcome home would not be on the table. If Malachai didn't even care about her absence, then how did the rest of the family feel? Did they forget about her, too?

His attitude wasn't exactly uplifting and put her in a sour mood rather quickly, so when he did finally ask what had happened and if she'd return, she couldn't help but believe he was faking interest. She waited a moment to answer, her gaze hardening before setting off ahead of her and towards Ashen as she started to move in that direction. "Don't let me get in your way." Her tone changed, dropped an octave even it seemed. If Malachai didn't care, she had to find out for herself what their mother thought. If she didn't care, then maybe she wouldn't be coming back after all.

hey, miss murder,

"Speech"

If Malachai had any emotional maturity he might have cared that his sister was hurt by his remark. The young man only rolled his eyes as she moved to push past him. He rounded on her. "I'm sorry did you want me to pretend I feel something I don't? Fall over myself crying? I just said I'm not the sentimental type. Seems you care just about me as you're assuming I care about you." Malachai plodded after her, picking up his pace, easily overtaking her and moving to stand in front of his sister. Narrowing his eyes.

"Now are you going to tell me what happened to you or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" His lips curled. Maybe it wasn't exactly easy to understand and while yes he didn't exactly feel much fondness for his missing sister, this was in a way, the way he showed her cared. He cared more to find out if she'd left of her own volition and then he could easily reject her or if he had reason to give a shit that she'd finally made her way back.

Art by Shirohoru

CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"


When he moved to stop her, Bella glared at him. Although he was successful, she listened in silence, rolling her eyes as he finished. She really didn't have much intention of telling him anything, but maybe telling him would change his mind. Not that changing his mind would change hers at this point, but it would be nice to get an apology out of him, even if it was only a minute chance. She looked up to her taller brother, her dual-hued eyes glaring hard into his similar, yet mismatched ones.

"I was kidnapped." She snapped, baring her teeth briefly until her teeth clicked shut. She turned then, moving around him and heading towards Ashen again. She wouldn't be stopped this time, whether he cut her off again or not. Truth of the matter was, Malachai didn't care why she was gone when she had disappeared and it was painful to think that her entire family may feel the same.  

hey, miss murder,