Had she been hiding, maybe? The young pup rolled in the grass of the nook enjoying how the peickly tendrils poked into her soft white and black fur. Her violet eyes were turned towards the blue sky, small clusters of clouds were blown across it by the soft wind blowing today. Yet voodoo would always be mad that whenever she glanced at the sun it hurt her eyes! It must be shy, Voodoo thought to herself. Then with a sudden flip she shot up and stood on all fours. The nooks grasses were almost taller than she was!

My had she grown, though she had spent a lot of her time doing a whole lot of nothing. Wasnt this the time in her life tbat she was supposed to be learning the most? She stretched her limbs forward her legs bending as her mouth opened tongue lulling out for a moment. She shut her jaw and gave a little shake. Maybe her mom would play rough with her. Bounding over to a clearing the pup sat doewn and curled her tail. Tilting her head to one side she decided she would practice her howl. The pup raised her head and while not the most graceful noise her sharp howl for her mom came across. She tried not to make it sound needy, even though she was.... needy.

Deathbelle was slowly trying to bounce back from losing Magnus, she was still debating about stripping his name from her children’s, but that seemed far too petty even for her. She should have never given it to them in the first place, not after he hadn’t even shown up to their birth. They were growing like little weeds, before she knew it they would be young adults and grasping harder to their independence. A fact that she wasn’t certain she could wrap her head around. For so long they were the reason she continued on, she’d seen so much loss every day was a struggle. She was helping raise her late brother’s child, she was struggling with the loss of her own… Life was difficult for the fallen Empress.

There was one thing that brought her joy and even more important purpose. Her young children. Not far from the den she heard Voodoo call out to her innocently. The sound brought a soft smile to her dark features as she slipped from the den and followed the sound to a little clearing. ”Vi,” she spoke softly as her mismatched paws brought her to the young girl. She leaned in to nuzzle her soft cheek as she leaned back and tilted her head with interest. ”Your howl is really starting to get impressive.” She praised her with an almost forced smile. She did her best to hide any sorrows or trepidation from her young ones, they deserved the whole of her, not the hollow woman she felt like.

Voodoo may have been too young to understand, to her Deathbelle was her hero. It didnt occur to her that there were emotional battles within her mother's mind. She also hadnt been affected too harshly by the absence of a father, her cousins didnt have one. Her family and pack meant everything to her it was her family. Her mothers touch sent her tail into a frenzy for certain. Wagging back and forth furiously she kept her paws under control so her whole body didnt shake. Her mother complimented her on her howl and Voodoo puffed out her chest.

"Its important to grow a big boy howl!" She exclaimed exuberantly. Her purple eyes gleamed now that her mom was here. "Will you play with me ma? Socerer busy and everyone else is doing something." She dramatically flopped on her tummy spreading her limbs out. She didnt know how to fight but she wanted to learn? Heck her brother was probably better than her already. "I wanna learn how to bite people..... hard." she held a bit of michevious nature in the sentence. Looking at her mother expectantly sprawled on the grassy ground.

Deathbelle missed Magnus, but that didn’t mean she wanted him here. He didn’t even deserve to be in their lives now. Maybe he was dead, Deathbelle might never know. She did her absolute best, but there was no substitute for having a father. She raised one littler with Archon, and maybe her first litter really was her greatest accomplishment. Her children with Hannibal were broken and scattered, partly because of Hannibal leaving and then her own weakness that showed through when he left. Maybe if she had been there more for them… She tried not to think about her failures with her second litter. The only thing she could do was to do better for her sweet children from Magnus.

Voodoo mentioned having a ‘big boy’ howl and Belle chuckled softly. ”I am very proud of your big girl howl.” She praised the girl and kissed her forehead. ”Do you want to play, or would you like a lesson?” Belle questioned her gently, tilting her head questioningly. Play and training could be one in the same though. ”Maybe a fun spar?” She grinned further, despite how deep the hole in her chest was she still could feel the joy her children brought. They were the reason she still remained here instead of giving up, because they were worth it.