The prince hadn't slept but a mere pawful of hours since learning his father would never again return. How could he? Plague's sleeping place had been the expanse of his father's back, resting his hindquarters on his mother as Archon held her close. The cadence of his father's strong heartbeat and steady rise and fall of his breathing had been they boy's lullaby. His father's body heat had been a blanket of security that lulled him to sleep. Without any of that, no security or heartbeat, there was no hope of sleep until he simply couldn't keep his eyes open. Then he would crash and sleep for a couple of hours -where ever he happened to fall- and there was no hope of rousing him.

Sure, his mother tried to be all of that and more, but she lacked the great solidarity of Archon, there was a softness in her frame that Plague found...uncomfortable to sleep on - not to mention his sisters didn't appreciate having their brother's butt resting on them. His nights were filled with trying new positions and resting places, all in vain. It was to the point that Plague began to wonder if he would ever sleep again, or maybe the fallen god would take mercy on the prince and give his father back to him. The dark deity was not known for his mercy, and Plague felt he was weakened for wanting such things as the dead to spring to life, but he couldn't bring himself out of it.

He was at a low spot for his energy levels, staring blankly at a sigil scratched into the ground by Tox. It was their father's this time, and with a whimper, Plague felt himself curling over the lines and allowing tears to fall down his face. With his eyes closing, Plague drifted to sleep curled on top of the sigil of Archon, carved into the ground by his sister. She wasn't aware just how much the familiar lines aided her brother, but he tried to always find one to sleep on. Somehow, he could pretend he slept on his father's back again, and if he focused really hard he could almost hear that strong heartbeat in his ears. Within seconds, the boy crashed into a dreamless sleep, his cheeks wet and tear marks staining the red dirt where his father's sigil had been carved.

Deathbelle suffered through her grief as best she could, but she knew the loss of Archon was hitting much more heavily on her children. They were never far from her mind, they were getting bigger and growing fast. Her heart ached for the days where Archon held her close and their children were no bigger than beans at her side. The thought made her sigh heavily as cat clawed paws carried her through the red stained rocks. Her toes had finally ceased to cause her pain, and the claws were sharp and sheathed. There was no click against the stone at the sound of her claws, she was a silent stalker.

Her foot falls made no sound as she rounded the bend and saw Plague sleeping in the recess. Mismatched ears fell to her skull as she gazed at the poor boy. Ashen’s only Prince. He barely slept, no matter what she tried to do to help. Now that she could see his deep slumber she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch him.

The Empress couldn’t help herself and she slid in beside him, still able to curl her body around the boy’s small frame. She didn’t aim to wake him, her movements couldn’t have been more gentle as she settled in against the red stone.

The boy had finally reached a stage where dreams would come to him, after so long. In his dream, he played with his father, they were pretending to fight off invisible enemies. The dream showed in small yips and twitching toes, but the smile was plain on his face. The giant that was his father batted a paw at Plague, and the pup returned this with a nip to the same paw. For the first time since learning his father had passed, the pup gave a small laugh in his sleep. The dream ended all too soon, his body registering the warmth from his mother as he began to stir.

Opening deep emerald eyes, the young prince started awake. Being tossed into bitter reality was too much for his young mind, and it whirled under the shock. The sound that ushered from him was pure heartbreak, a choking sob that threatened to take the very breath from him and he felt as though he would surely die from renewed pain. "Momma...he was right here!" The young boy turned and buried his face into his mother's chest, finally letting the dam break as tears poured from him and he shook with the weight of his grief. "We were even playing!" His words were muffled by the thickness of her pelt, but the sorrow in his tones could never have been mistaken.

How would he ever recover? How could the dark god give him such a good dream, when reality was so harsh? Why would the diety do him this way? He was confused, but he knew the dream had been nothing more than that. Now he faced the crushing realness of his loss, and that nothing would fix it. He let go, pouring tears into Deathbelle's fur. Would he ever be better?

No matter how careful she was fated to awaken the boy, but not after the sweet dreams seemed to whisk him off somewhere not a cruel as here. She savored the boy's sleep induced smile, and involuntarily curled closer. Plague would wake moments after. He opened his huge forest green eyes and Belle was struck hard at her heart, having Archon’s gaze stare up at her from his son was almost too much. Her own will broke as he pressed his features into her chest and sobbed his loss.

Tears slipped down her own cheeks as she was reminded again of the hole her husband left. She sniffled softly and returned Plague’s gesture with her own nuzzle into the spiked scruff of his neck. ”Hold tightly to your dreams and memories, my son.” She offered with soft and gentle words, her own tears staining her cheeks. She hoped his dreams of Archon were not like hers, so far all she could see when she closed her eyes were his last few moments over and over again. The grief caused her to feel sick as she allowed herself again to divulge in the sorrow that was their loss. She held Plague tightly to her breast, unwilling to even think about letting him go.

Plague sobbed heavily into his mother's chest and went limp in her embrace as she held him tighter. Time snuck by slowly until the boy's cries were spent. But when he could finally cry no more, he sought to cling to the memory of his dream. While they had not spoken in his dream, they had been playing, and Plague could find comfort in the happiness of his subconscious. At least he got to meet his dad, not knowing him would be far worse. With a hefty sigh, the boy peeled himself back from his mother. Peering up at her with those eyes, the prince tilted his head. "Momma...can you teach me something? I want to learn, I am bored." Waving his white tail, he looked up with his ornately painted features and flexed his spikes excitedly.

He wanted to be distracted from sadness, not to bury it, but to heal it. The boy needed to do something with himself. It wasn't long before he was licking at her maw and spinning in circles. "See? I am done being sad for now. I want to do something." He twirled a little more and pointed at a nearby bush with small yellow flowers on it. Pointing at the desert roses with his pink nose, the albino prince asked his mother the most important question. "What's this?" Looking back at his mother, he gave a small grin, waiting expectantly for an answer.

nightmare prompt

Deathbelle had been experiencing nightmares for as long as Archon had been gone. They interrupted her own sleep and she was running low. Seeing her husband vanish behind the lip of the volcano haunted her ever night, but even that couldn’t compare to the nightmare that would be losing one of her children. Archon was gone, but their beautiful, perfect little heirs still remained. She was able to power through the difficult days of being alone, she had to. The brood was counting on her, and she had to be strong for them.

She held onto her baby tightly, she couldn’t hold tightly to Archon but she could be here to let Plague hold tightly to her. She allowed him to cry all of his tears and she was thankful she could experience every one. The volcano could have swallowed her up as well, but she had been spared. Her pups were still with her, though in some nightmares Archon’s form was replaced by one of theirs. The terror was too real, but his close presence settled the plagued Empress.

She evened her breathing as her son stirred in her arms he pulled away to look at her, his sadness buried. Deathbelle had to withhold a sigh as she pushed down her emotions and wiped one last tear from her cheek. ”Of course, Dearheart.” She spoke gently as he wagged his beautiful white tail. He wanted to do something, and Belle couldn't deny the distraction. ”That. Is a Desert Rose, or a Sabi Star. They’re very poisonous. I’ve not tried it, but when your grandfather ruled the Kleins it was said one of the tribes he conquered used it on their weapons. No wolf walked more than a mile before dropping dead because of the poison.”