Sirius flicked his gaze to Dove as he pointed at the Warlord's nose. He didn’t have to tell him Empress to see to the other man first, she was already making her way towards him. He grinned at her fondly behind her back, and knew he owed her a full explanation once this was done.

He decided to say nothing, so he did not risk ruining Deathbelle’s gentle words. Instead, he sat, letting the slowly clotting blood run down his nose and holding in a grimace. He would let Deathbelle take the lead. She was the right wolf to have picked, she was calm, questionless, and supportive in the moment. No need to tell Dove that she was an Empress, or he imagined he would scamper off before he could say ‘boo’

The woman refuted his words with kindness in her eyes, and Dove, still wary was on the receiving end of it. He sighed, not wanting to deal with conflict any longer, as there had been enough of it today. He looked at the woman and merely nodded his acceptance of her care, and though his nails dug into the soil beneath, he would make no move to back away if the woman came forward. His gaze landed on Sirius, expecting an order of some sort, perhaps even words to convince Dove to allow the expecting female to tend to him. But the man said nothing and Dove, even in his hollow state, thought that interesting. Lavender eyes swiveled down, appraising the ground as sound renewed around them all. Birds and wind and the ocean far off. Sound was behind him, and Dove tensed, mechanically moving his head until he could glance over his shoulder. A rabbit, white as snow and frozen in shock, eyed him from its place amongst foliage, and Dove glared at it bitterly before turning back to the woman before him. "Speech"

In her presence Sirius was quick to quiet himself and defer to her judgement, as the well oiled machine they were. The pair of them had always worked well together, a reason they could manage an Empire together. No matter the time or distance between them they knew they could count on the other. Both men remained silent, an interesting development in things, but at least she would be allowed near enough to tend to the stranger’s injuries. She trusted Sirius to protect her if the rogue offered up any more fight. He seemed quite resigned to his fate.

”My name is Belle.” She said softly, filling up the silence as she worked carefully, not wanting to cause him anymore harm. ”Are you enjoying the weather?” Her questions innocuous as she skirted past any personal information. ”The leaves will be reaching peak color in the next few days. Despite the eruption it has been a beautiful Fall.” She spoke of nothing, just trying to gain his trust and a little engagement.

The woman set to work immediately, and Dove stood still for her. It wasn't the first time he'd had to have injuries patched by a healer, though it was the first time he was being tended by this woman specifically. He swayed slightly as exhaustion reared its head in the wake of the emotions wrought by the day, but stayed standing rather than sitting, as would likely have been prudent. He was tempted to lower his head, just enough to release the tension in his shoulders, but kept it up, lest he impede Deathbelle's work. Her words fell on still pinned ears, and Dove regarded the woman warily. "I am Dove," he said shortly, though not unkindly. "The weather has been kinder to me than others," he said, pointedly looking at the ground and not at Sirius. At her next words, Dove blinked, the distraction of her words finally piercing through the previously thin but unmoving veil of anxiety and his ears coming unpinned from her dome. "Eruption? "Speech"

OOC Note: Kat, Sea says that you can skip Sirius since he's twiddling his proverbial thumbs.

ooc: I’m sorry for the wait!! Feel free to poke me if I do it again.

Sirius remained quiet as she tended to the man and his wounds, they weren’t near as bad as they looked as she was quick in her efforts to make him more comfortable. Deathbelle could see the exhaustion in him, even on a normal day a fight with Sirius was no laughing matter and she didn’t know what he’d been through before that either. He replied to her easily enough, offering his name. He didn’t give her any more fight about tending to him either. She smiled sweetly and pulled away from her work, ”Alright, you may relax now.” He was nearly one piece again, but it would be his body that did the rest of the work.

”Volcanic Eruption.” She reiterated with unending patience. ”We had a colder than normal year, the weather has been thrown off since it blew almost a year ago now.” She told him further, glad that she had been able to pull a bit of conversation from him. ”Everyone is hopeful next spring will see our return to ‘normal.’ I suppose that means you aren’t from around here?” Deathbelle tested the waters, seeing if he’d open up about himself.

Sirius watched quietly as the two wolves talked, and Deathbelle worked. The Empress was a calming presence, and did a far better job of soothing the man then the Warlord would have ever managed. He might be a reckless, brash fighter, but the woman in his life kept everything running, despite it. Between Deathbelle and Zee and Iolare, they seemed to be able to keep his mistakes from making a worse mess of everything. He loved all three of them so much. Io as a sister, Zee as a mate, and Deathbelle as the woman that could never be. He seated himself quietly, playing watchdog as Deathbelle healed him, body and spirit. A fond smile playing on the edges of his lips when he realised her quiet words soothed him as much as they did Dove. the familiar sound of her voice was all he needed, the words mattered less. He closed his eyes, forgetting for a moment to play guard, as he listened to the familiar sound of her, and realised how much he had missed her. There had been a time in his life when he was never more than a stone throw from her. "Speech"

The woman worked steadily and quickly, and although she didn't mince words, Dove could tell there was kindness there. He was still on edge, waiting for the other paw to drop . . . and he was becoming exceedingly tired of it. He hadn't known peace since he left his family behind all those months ago, and if there was one thing Dove was desperate for, that was it. Her words brought minuscule loosening of his muscles, a small sigh as the woman stepped away to give him space.

He nodded, and though his eyes were still weary, he finally met her gaze. "Aye," he agreed. "The earth will heal if given the time." It was a vague response to her words, but it was all that he had to offer just then. At her question, though, Dove laid eyes on Sirius for the first time since her shenanigans and wondered how much information he should offer. Lavender hues landed on the glaring wound on the other male's snout; he was practically wheezing without even moving his mouth, and if he'd had the energy, Dove might've flinched at the sound of it.

"I am," he said, the words hesitant as his eyes darted between the two wolves, his words forgotten. Hesitation caused his ears to swivel back in apprehension, and he shifted nervously on his paws. His eyes landed on Sirius, Deathbelle all but forgotten for a moment. "A peace offering," he said harshly to the male. "For the wound I've left." Sirius had asked him questions about his past, and though Dove felt no obligation to the man, guilt was riding him hard. He didn't wait for Sirius to respond and merely offered the words to him alone, forcing himself to briefly disregard Deathbelle's presence. "I am from a kingdom to the east. Born last in a line for five for the throne. I left when my mother passed."

Dove didn't know how the other wolf would interpret that, but to him, it held a great deal of information. The location of the kingdom was insignificant, but to be born last in line for a throne was a mere hint to the internal struggles his family dealt with on a daily basis -- a mere hint at what had left Dove as this small, shaking thing that apparently didn't know his own size. And his mother, who he mentioned to no one and refused to discuss with even his brothers under the harshest of circumstances -- to reveal that he left when he could have had a throne meant there was truly nothing left there for him.

His eyes snapped back to Deathbelle and mechanically, he nodded his head. "Thank you for your care, Deathbelle. It has been invaluable." It wasn't necessarily her care that had been invaluable, but he would let the woman interpret that as she wished.

"Speech"

Tracker.

Deathbelle had finally killed any romantic feeling she might have had for Sirius when he and Zee had denied her an instant answer in her proposal after the two of them split from the main empire to create the Armada. She didn’t forget the pain of loss and the denial of the one thing she had always wanted but could never have. Despite being under his blue gaze, the Empress had her attention fully on the man under her care.

Dove didn’t hesitate to engage her in the conversation, and she saw it as a win that his gaze reached up to hers. She gave him a soft smile, but his eyes moved to Sirius as she offered her question. Her own lilac gaze turned to the warlord and his own need for care. She sighed softly, and ears swiveled in Dove’s direction to indicate she was listening to him, turned her attention to Sirius and patching him up.

The two of them hadn’t been this close in a long time, and with movements that seemed more intimate than they aught to be the ivory splashed Empress cleaned Sirius’s open wounds. She was mostly ignored as the answer to her question was directed to the Warlord. Working just as swiftly she finished making him whole as Dove’s attention returned to her.

She grinned politely and nodded her head softly. ”You’re welcome, Dove.” Though she’d been called and instructed by her once bodyguard she truly meant her words. For a few moments she wasn’t the leader of an Empire.