GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Harbringr was regretting his decision to head west. So far all he'd found was sand and heat and it was simply miserable. He was swiftly learning that it was best to travel in the night rather than the day. The sun rose higher and was soon to reach its noon apex. Panting he moved to sit then yelped at the heat of the sand on his rear end. Now that was just adding insult to injury! His paws burned but soon he caught sight of a small oasis, fueled by an underground spring. Thank the spirits! He slipped into the shrubs, sliding on his belly underneath the shade to relax for a moment before he moved to the small spring. It was a pool of water about six feet in diameter but it was a welcome sight and he swiftly gulped down the water as if he'd never had a drink in his life.

The Klein woman had become experienced in desert travel. She walked during the cool of the nights and she found shelter to sleep through the heat of the day. The night previous Belle had walked an impressive distance, but as the sun started to touch on dawn she had found a small oasis to curl up by for a long sleep. She hadn’t expected to be awoken by the sound of a mongrel drinking.

Ready to jump up and chase them off Deathbelle hadn’t expected her brilliant orchid eyes to fall on one who shared her blood. She felt her hackles lower as she slowly unraveled her limbs and stared upon the two toned face of her half brother.

”Harbringr.”

She offered in her sweet vocals, her own mismatched ears perked towards him. How long ago had he left their motherland? He looked well fed. Had he seen any of their other siblings?

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... The water was warm but he drank greedily anyway. It tasted just as good and he knew he needed to keep hydrated after that journey. Someone said his name and at first he didn't respond. He didn't always trust his hearing and for a moment he thought the name had only been in his head until his nostrils caught the scent of a wolf. Not just any wolf, either. His sister. Grinning Harbringr lifted his head and turned to see Deathbelle standing there, lovely as always. He licked the water from his chin. "Belle, you are a sight for sore eyes. I'd been hoping to run into someone from our family here. How are you? Have you run across anyone else?"

Her brother was obviously parched as he took in the water eagerly, and he seemed to hesitate before fully acknowledging her presence. She was greeted with his bright dual toned gaze and a welcoming grin. Already this reunion was much more pleasant than the beginning of the one with Roman. The two of them had dredged up some serious emotions out of the depths, this meeting however, both wolves were all smiles. Har was full of questions as he took her in.

He looked to be in good shape, if not a little dehydrated. She smiled sweetly back at him before closing the distance between them and offering the black and white titan her affections in the form of a nuzzle to his wet chin.

”I am well,” She replied warmly, leaving him as she set back on her haunches. Her ivory tail wrapped around her paws as she settled in to catch up. ”I’ve seen Roman, but the rest have eluded me thus far.” Royal purple gaze looked him over once more. ”You’ve recovered from the famine.” A statement more than another question, they had lost too many members of their family to the tragedy. Ana’s face appeared in her mind as she was reminded. ”Did you have much trouble on your way?”

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Harbringr was pleased to hear that his sister was well. He took another few big gulps of water then sat back, his posture relaxing. His ebony ears flicked forward. So she'd seen Roman? Well, one was better than none but it was a shame she hadn't found Hannibal yet. "Mostly, physically at least but there are some things famine causes that you don't recover from." The loss of their kingdom still plagued him. It stirred his dreams with horrors and embedded his gut with a hunger that couldn't be sated with mere food. Hari shook his head. "Not what I would call trouble. If anything the journey has been mostly quiet. I've had a few bad run in's with some loners but as you can see I remain unscathed. What about you?" He gazed at his sister. She seemed well enough but it was often hard to tell. "What area's of this land have you searched? I've been trying to keep an ear out for word of Hannibal but I haven't found anything yet. I'm starting to wonder if he's really in these lands."

Belle watched as her half brother finally quenched his thirst and sat back comfortably to converse. The Klein woman lounged easily, bright lilac eyes lingering on his dual toned form. ”...some things famine causes that you don't recover from." She blinked back the deep emotions and feeling of loss as he said it. Ana, Yvonne, their father… they were never coming back. Deathbelle swallowed hard as she tried not to weep in front of Harbringr like she had Roman.

Their conversation didn’t linger there for very long, Har shifted to her question. He hadn’t had much trouble but a few run ins. She didn’t doubt his ability to take care of himself, their father had taught him the way of tooth and claw just as much as she.

”I haven’t seen much. This strip of land leading up to the river. The desert reminds me of home.. in a morbid sort of way.” She offered in silk tones as hr eyes shifted to the horizon and sad thoughts of home returned to her. ”I haven’t seen enough to make up my mind on his whereabouts. Though I have been asking.” She hadn’t any bad encounters with loners, but none of them had been able to give her any information either.

GOT AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER But the devil always won... Belle swallowed hard and Harbringr reached out to nuzzle her shoulder gently. They'd been living like kings, everything had been going their way and if he was honest with himself Harbringr had hardly bothered to learn how to deal with loss. Even now it seemed surreal. Part of him expected those they'd lost to suddenly show up.   Settling down next to the water like a sphinx, Harbring let his front paws dangle in the water. It felt good, cool and soothing on his weary feet. Belle hadn't seen much of the land yet, nor had she found traces of Hannibal. Hari nodded lightly. He wasn't terribly surprised. When Hannibal wanted to be scare he could really make himself scarce. "Well, I'm sure he'll turn up eventually. Do you intend to make your home in these lands? If it didn't trouble you any I'd like to stay close. I'd hate to find a member of the family only to lose them again."

Har offered a bit of comfort to her distress, she leaned into his affection as their conversation continued. She offered him a subtle smile to assure him of her control over her emotions. Belle followed his motions as he sunk into the water, the heat of the day was a perfect time to relax into the water of the oasis. Harbringr had no worry about their eventual reunion with the heir and their brother. She nodded to that, hopefully he’d appear sooner rather than later. As to her brother’s follow up questions.

”I think so. The land is much more diverse, and I'd be more inclined to move when it decides its through with us.” Part of the reason so many of them had died was because of the adherence to tradition. It had taken the Kleins much too long to seek better solace. ”I agree, it’ll be nice to have someone there to watch my back.” She smiled and offered him another affectionate nudge. ”We should try and keep going once the sun starts to set. Get as much sleep as you can while it’s hot.” She offered suggestions despite her wording coming off as commands.