The world was crumbling around her. Surely it was a sign...however much she wanted to believe it, she was unsure. The spirits stopped screaming at her and had been quiet for days. Hannibal had vanished to who knows where again and the world was on fire. She had stood up for Hannibal's honor time and time again just for him to fuck it all up time and time again. Perhaps she had been wrong about him being the rightful heir...though she still didn't quite believe it was her younger sister with her clashing ways, either...she snorted as she wrapped her tail over her paws. Friends with slaves? She still believed father would be rolling in his grave if he knew. The night was old and the moon hid behind ash and cloud. The priestess sat motionless, staring out over the canyon as Spring steadily crept up on them. Winter had been a hard season for all, though she couldn't determine yet if Spring would make way for blessings...or more curses. "Can you see me?"

Deathbelle felt the animosity of her sister when the great meeting of the high ranks occurred. Before Archon’s death, before Hannibal’s disappearance. Much had happened since then and the Empress could only assume that her sister was with her brother who was supposed to have been building up a force and creating another wing of the Empire. When Pandora showed up without their brother.. Belle needed to know from her sister’s dual toned mouth if she knew where Hannibal was. What happened to him.

As the night wore on she found her paws on the path her sister had traveled recently, and without much thought about it found herself in her presence. ”Pandora,” she offered in light greeting, curious if her sister would invite her into her company.

She could smell her approach, and when her name fell from her sisters lips, she twitched an ear and quietly shifted over to offer her a place beside her. She would remain quiet for a time still, staring up at the stars as she tried to discern any potential signs. But the sky was so choked up with ash that she could barely make out even a single one. Frustrated, she sighed and looked down into the canyon. "They've been quiet since the eruption." She murmured, her frustrated tone evident. She had gotten quite used to the whispering and screaming in her ear, but now she felt unsettled the longer they remained quiet. Without looking at Belle, she added "I'm sorry about what I said in that meeting. Clearly you're doing a better job then Hannibal has ever done so far. Even if I don't approve of you making friends with slaves." She hadn't quite bothered to keep up with the goings on in the pack since she returned. "Can you see me?"

Pandora offered a silent invitation and Deathbelle would accept without any words. Slowly the Empress lowered herself beside her sister and the two of them shared in the quiet of the night. Eventually Pandora’s frustration would shift from the tense way she held her body to an audible sigh before explaining herself. The spirits in her ear were silent. Deathbelle perked a brow but did not push her sibling, likely she had no idea why it had happened in the first place. Deathbelle did know that her daughters had seen their father in a dream. ”My husband died in the eruption.” She started, ”My daughters say they talked to him in a shared dream after Obi performed a ceremony with them.” She didn’t know if it would help her sister, but surely she would be interested in the information either way. ”Don’t apologize. You have always done what you believe to be right and I can’t begrudge you that.” She smiled as Pan told her that she still didn’t like the treatment of her slaves. ”You don’t have to approve,” she offered a chuckle to accentuate her poor joke. ”Father might not have either, but I enjoy their love and adoration. Not their fear.” She explained herself, knowing it wouldn’t change her sister’s opinion.