Out for blood

Dea had anticipated being followed. Paranoia had her taking a winding path to the caves with her children. Not two days after the had arrived the booming, demanding voice of Sirius echoed through the cave system. Her rage colored her vision and she desperately wanted to eat the warlord, but a softer voice broke her. Zeitgeist had come with him, and while neither of them were entirely known to Dea, she knew they were advanced in warfare. A muffled growl left her maw as she untangled herself from her children.

Slowly the devil revealed herself to the light, clearly assessing the stance of Sirius and rolling her eyes. "What claim does Deathbelle have over me and mine?" Her tones were biting, harsh even. There was no blood of Klein in her brood's veins. Only Archon tied them to the children of Deathbelle, and that was not enough for Dea to return on. Besides, Deathbelle had stolen every good moment from Dea's life. There was a boiling rage that never seemed to stop growing beneath the demon's skin, but the words of Zee still rang in her ears. The demonic goddess had never wanted to kill so badly as now. And she had only one target in mind. Not the messagers, the sender.

"The only reason I ever laid paw in Ashen is gone now. My loyalty was to Archon, not your empress, and she has no right to claim what is mine by blood." Ignoring Sirius and his apparent want for a fight, Dea gave a snort and continued, "I suppose we can add kidnapping to her ever growing list of wrongs in my book. I won't fight, for now. I am tired from the journey here, but know there will come a day when I will take my children away from your selfish queen." She knew the only reason Deathbelle gave a shit about them was because who they had been tied to, and no one could tell her different. It may be safer for the pups to stay with the pack, but Dea wasn't sure she would be able to handle being around Deathbelle.

The empress had stolen her future and let it topple itself into a volcano, perhaps when it calmed down, Dea would do the same. Still, it was either that or having to fight at a disadvantage, something Dea wasn't about to risk. Her pups needed her whole and uninjured, but eventually she would be ready to plunge everything into darkness. "Can we give a good reason, at least? I don't want to hear 'because Deathbelle said so,' or 'because they are the blood of Archon, Deathbelle's husband.' Give me good reason to be loyal to her other than Archon. Because things are strained when it comes to him, and your precious empress is...less than impressive to me. I followed him, I loved him, only him, and she took him. And she lost him." There was obvious grief and anger in her bright pink gaze, her voice strained by a lump that wouldn't go away. She had needed distance from the constant reminder of betrayal and heartbreak. Dea wanted to spare her children seeing their mother crash and burn in her own unique misery. But, she would be damned dead and cold before she ever lost her children.