you'll come back

The more time passed the more it felt like some inescapable but abstract thing. Deathbelle continued to get old, she felt herself slowly deteriorating as she clung to the remnants of what her life had once been. From the highest title in the land, to feeling lower than the dirt beneath her speckled paws. Habari gave her a lot, a purpose above all else. Routine, going through the motions, that was why she was still here. Belle hadn't found her old spirit, she grasped for reasons to feel needed, but nothing would bring back what was stolen from her. Life was dull, like the color had been drained from everything that had once given her joy. The taste of good food became bland, the sun’s light was diminished, crystal clear waters were foggy.

She held onto guilt that didn’t belong, especially the one that she lived with daily. The fact that she wasn’t strong enough to pull herself out of it, nor find the will. Like her spark had been snuffed out Deathbelle was little more than a warm body. She paced through the days, making that mindless trudge to the inevitable end. Part of her had given up already, that was evident in her emaciated frame and sad coat.

The other part of her kept ot habits and traditions like they would save her life. The once Empress waded through the grasses of the gulley. It had always been a home to the delicate and rare herbs and healer needed. The new life a greenery helped to brighten the light in her eye and lift her steps. But she remained a pitiful sight.