Having been gone nearly a whole season was bound to have it's downfalls despite the many upsides it had. A mission for Sirius was something he'd never turn down, but leaving without telling Deathbelle was something he should have thought a little bit more about first. He never thought he'd be gone as long as he was though either, two weeks at most. He felt like he owed it to Sirius to keep searching though, to find some kind of trace, but he had no luck. Malalia or her home pack were no where to be found.

After a long rest and a good meal, he was quick to seek out the empress and grovel. She would certainly be angry that he left without saying goodbye, and perhaps she'd already moved on. It pained him to be without her, especially after having spent so much time with her while he healed in her den. He was terrible at goodbyes, but now he believed he was stupid for not saying something. Hindsight was fifty-fifty, he supposed.

Readied with a bouquet of flowers, various pinks and purples from the summer blooms, he trotted through the Armada territory and into Ashens, towards the empress' den. There was no garuntee she'd be there at this time of day, but he could hope she'd at least be near enough to hear him call if not.

"Empress?" He called when he approached her den, words muffled through the flowers. He was nervous, anticipating the worst. Would someone else come answer the door?

Venom had yet to decide if she wanted to take up the palace as her own residence or move. It was kind of pretentious, but it was also spacey. Perhaps with a remodel? Venom wasn’t sure so she hadn’t touched it hardly. Though her attention was easily grabbed by the man and his bouquet of flowers. She’d seen him here before, the one mauled by the bear. The one her mother had seemed to fancy, the one who’d disappeared and sent Deathbelle into another of her crazy spirals. Abraxas above, how had her mother ruled for so long?

”Yes.” She offered, though she wasn’t the wolf he was asking for. ”I’m afraid I’m not the one you’ve intended.” Venom stepped from the shadows of the forests beside the entrance of the palace. ”It’s been a while since you’ve been here. Deathbelle no longer rules.”

Magnus had placed the flowers down at the first sound of a voice, and it wasn't one he expected. It was the one of the girl he had sparred once, the daughter of Deathbelle. He swallowed hard, confused and curious as to why she would have answered instead. Where was Deathbelle?

Venom stood before him and confusion was written all over his face at her words. No longer rules? What happened to her? His heart began to race and out of nervousness his tail fell limp at his heels. He didn't even know what to say, accept maybe the obvious where was she. A frown tugged at the corners of his lips and he bit his lip to prevent it from sticking around too long. She must have left, probably with someone else. He knew he should have said goodbye.

"Oh.." He didn't know what to say. Clearly Venom was the Empress now, as she was the one to have answered his call and who else? She was in line from birth, it could only be her. "Congratulations, um, on your rise." He tilted his head down in somewhat of a bow, his mind reeling with where she could have gone. What did he really expect though? Maybe nothing really was between them, and he was just stupid for thinking so. "I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry for disturbing you." He swallowed a lump in his throat as he held back the moisture building in his eyes and began to turn to solemnly return back to the Armada.

Perhaps she was taking too much pleasure in his pain, but the way confusion spread over his features made her suppress an amused grin. He was hurt by her revelation, confused where her mother might have gone. Let him squirm, just another rat to her mother’s hole. Venom swore she would not end up like her. She watched as he cycled through his emotions and returned his gaze to her before speaking softly. His uncertainty further amusing her, but Venom would never allow him to see that. Sirius would kill her.

”Thank you, Magnus.” She said sweetly, enjoying her new lofty title. ”You couldn’t have known. All is forgiven.” Deathbelle would come back, of that she was sure. But perhaps, if the gods smiled down on her, Magnus would in turn break Deathbelle’s heart yet again. ”She will come back.” Venom promised with a much too sweet smile. ”You know, she seemed a little… off right about the time she realized you’d gone.” Venom added, wondering if that statement might add to his building strife. She didn’t make any move to follow him, and would let him go if he wanted.

A million different thoughts raced in his mind, from where she was to when she'd be back and many things in between. What if she'd met someone else? He couldn't help but think he was stupid for not saying anything to her and figured he deserved whatever he got in return for not doing it. Sirius didn't seem to want many to know that he had sent wolves out to look for Malalia so it would make sense that he wouldn't even share the news of his absence with her, though from Warlord to Empress, he did assume there would be some notes shared. Regardless, it was apparently a mystery and he was biting himself in the ass for not saying goodbye.

His frown was still evident on his face while Venom spoke and a soft sigh escaped his lips when she said that she'd return. While he wanted her to more than anything, he was afraid of what would happen from there. Would she return with another man and be angry at him? It was really all too much to think about right now. "I should have told her about the mission." He continued to frown, depression weighing heavily on his features. He offered Venom a strained smile as he made his move to leave. "Thank you for your time, Empress."

He's started walking before he finished his words, eager to get away and dwell on his thoughts and emotions until he either got over himself or all was mended with Deathbelle. He made this bed, so he may as well lay in it.