Life could change in the blink of an eye as Deathbelle knew all too well. Suddenly Hari was gone and she was raising his infant child. Since falling from grace Beathbelle found her purpose in the children of Habari, her own and now her brother’s. Her beloved sibling was gone but he’d left her with his offspring. Deathbelle missed him though. Harbinger was a reminder of the past, of a time of prosperity and glory that no one else around her remembered. A link to her past that was now as gone and distant as those times itself. Deathbelle had little heart left to ache, but it felt like the fewer pieces she was left with the more each loss hurt.

She felt like everyday she mourned and there was little light left in her once blazing royal purple gaze. There was one other relic she could rely on, one that she had once felt was the other half of her. Raised beside her and only leaving her when death seemed to separate them. Sirius was once her one and only friend. Now she barely knew the great Warlord. He rose to heights that she had only barely touched. Now his princess was a mere shell of the young spitfire woman she had once been. Deathbelle was always larger than life, but that only meant life could wear more of her away. Like a stone battered by the ocean she was eventually toppled. She gave all of herself, and the world gave her nothing in return.

Thistle and Snowberry both had been worried about their mistress, and one evening led her outside Habari. She eventually found herself at the springs, and both creatures showed off their thoughtful gift. The springs were decorated pleasantly, the last of the summer flowers petals were sprinkled around a perfect pool of water. A dinner set up with a bottle of mead awaited her and the song of cold crickets and frogs would be the background music. The rain seemed to have let up, but the clouds in the sky were a perfect canvas for the colors of the setting sun. Belle was stunned into silence as her heart swelled with love for the owl and the lemur. There was one more surprise though, and Deathbelle’s gaze was brought up to the forest closest to the Armada as she heard someone coming through the golden foliage.

The Warlord made his way swiftly to the hot springs. His son’s kea had fetched him, and told him that there was something strange in the territory not far from the Armadas. Not willing to leave something unexplored - especially when the pesky parrot gave him few details - he made his way there with all haste.

His eyes weren’t on the way the steam rippled from the pools, or the sprinkle of petals from trees giving up their coverings for the Fall. It was on the scents of the place, the way the heat and sulfur masked it, and the shadows where things could hide.

When he caught sight of another wolf he came alert - and then was startled to realise he recognised the wolf. His Kea guide gave a cackling laugh, and lifted off higher into the air. Vanishing in moments through the tree tops.

He started after the bird a moment, and then his eyes fell to Deathbelle, the food laid out next to the mead, and Belle standing there, watching him. He opened his muzzle, surprised, and a little confused. “Are you the strange creature Mortis’s Kea warned me about?” his voice falling way to amusement. He had been set up.


"Speech""Speech"

Her lavender gaze fell on Sirius as he seemed to part the forest and appear before her through the fiery vegetation. The once Empress felt the corner of her lips pull into a Klein like smirk as she looked him over. He held himself much more proudly than the last time she had seen him, and she couldn’t help but admire the little smile that hinted on his features when his blue eyes rested on her. She was instantly brought back to a time much different from the moment they were experiencing right now. Before the Empire, before her husband, before she thought he had died in that ambush…

A soft sigh left her dark lips as her body relaxed at the revelation. By some act of companions or god she wasn’t sure, Sirius was here beside her in this gorgeous little nook. The only one left who could really understand her. Still as he slowly walked forward she couldn’t help but notice the confusion on his rugged features. He spoke, not a greeting but an explanation much like what she experienced. Her companions leading her here for this surprise. Was Sirius intended to be here, or was this a pleasant coincidence?

”I don’t know, am I a stranger, Sirius?” She asked almost sadly as she looked up into his gemstone eyes. Her head tilted slightly as the memories they shared raced through her mind, up to the point where everything changed when she kissed him. ”Will you join me?” She asked him then, gesturing to the picnic readied for them. They had food and drink, the sun was working on setting and the hot springs were beckoning their tired old bodies.

There was amusement to her, and something else. Something hinted in the depth of her eyes and the curve of her lips. Her invitation heightened the sense, and he paused. Lingering on the threshold. There was a weight to the Warlord as he looked at her. "Deathbelle..." he said softly, is this really a good idea? he wished to voice, but it died on his lips. This was the first time he had seen anything akin to joy in her in a long time. If she wanted to walk down memory lane, and push aside the pains that haunted him, who was he to ruin her fantasy?

He couldn't bring himself to hurt her now, when he had already done so time and time again.

Instead, a slow, roguish smile started on his lips. "I suppose there's too much food for just you, and we shouldn't let it go to waste" he acknowledged. He stepped closer to the hot springs, and glanced out of the corner of her eye, looking for... there she was. Bast. Seated on her haunches, watching the perimeter. It gave him some allowance to relax, knowing she was watching his back.

He hopped up on the ledge of the spring, almost slipping as he misjudged its slipperiness, and sliding in with less pose than he would have liked. A small splash of water from his drop ensured he was well wet, and likely Deathbelle was as well. "You coming? Mind your step..."

"Speech""Speech"

She could nearly hear the words he dared not to say. Deathbelle felt the pressure in her chest and the lump in her throat. This was nothing she would have ever set for herself, being alone with Seer was never a good idea. She always felt less than when they parted, and she ached when they were together. For a moment she hoped that he would turn away, say his goodnights and leave her to the meal her companions prepared for her, but he grinned instead. Sirius took her offer without anymore hesitation. Instead of settling down with a meal he shifted towards the bubbling springs. The corners of her lips did not turn to a frown though,, despite everything they had been through and all the pain they endured he still made her smile.

Instead of attending to their dinner the massive man lifted his hulking frame to the ledge of the spring and heaved himself into it, making no small show of it. Water flooded over the sides and splashed against her ivory streaked pelt. She shook herself lightly as he became the one to invite her in. She smiled softly at him, an expression that hadn’t graced her features in a very long time.

Carefully Deathbelle brought her delicate paws to the lip of the pool and lowered herself into the hot water. Even just a moment submerged and she could feel the tension leave her limps and the sorrows begin to soothe away. She sighed softly, relaxing against the side of the spring as she tried to settle herself. Belle was very aware of how close the two of them were, and she huddled to the side to avoid touching him. ”This was what I needed.” She sighed softly again and blinked closed her vibrant violet gaze. ”Relaxation is in short supply these days.” What with the young wolves she looked after and her duties in Habari. As well as the grief she carried with her everywhere.

There it was, the rising worry in her eyes as he began to say those words, then swallowed them back down again. She knew what he had been about to say, and she had feared it. There had been a time… a time when their presence hadn’t been on the edge of a razer, so easy to slip and cut each other.

The moment passed as he allowed it to, and he was - at least for the moment - glad that he had done so. Her soft smile made it worth it, the understanding that he was risking his wounds by staying here.

She entered the pool with more grace then he had, and found her own place against the side. His paw touched hers, and he was aware of the way she huddled into herself, maintaining a distance between them. He wasn’t the only one at risk of getting hurt here. He raised his head upwards, looking up at the sky. Giving her a chance to adjust to his presence. “I know the feeling” he agreed. Quiet and space wasn’t relaxation - it was too much time to think, and remember.

So he filled the silence with words, a half smile crooking his lips. “Do you remember - we must have been, oh, what, one and a half? And we snuck into your fathers Spa. Your idea, if I remember. I thought he was going to kill us both when he found us” he chuckled softly. “I was sure he was going to assign me to scrubbing chamber pots for the rest of my life…”

"Speech""Speech"

Deathbelle would not begin to curse the name of the dead nor speak badly of them. Deep in her heart she regretted many previous decisions having to do with wolves loved and lost. In a life full of loss Sirius had been her first and her most damaging. When she had been forced to leave him for dead in the desert she hadn’t ever really been the same wolf afterwards. The two of them grew up together, she could go through thousands of catalogued memories together, so why was this so hard?

Her chest tightened as he put his massive paw over her own, Violet eyes were drawn to the place beneath the water where her toes curled into his. No one had to see, and only the two of them would ever know about this little show of affection. That didn’t stop the skip of her heartbeat as she looked back up to his features, averted as though he was trying not to scare her away. She spoke quietly, letting her know he felt the same way. They’d both been through a lot. Too much, more than either deserved.

To her surprise Sirius went on softly, reminiscing about a time so very long ago. They were getting on in years, on the downward slope together. His story brought up memories long forgotten, but she smirked as he reminded her. Belle remembered the story a bit differently. They were very nearly two, and Hamiclar hated the idea of them alone together in that spa doing… unsavory things. ”He almost did kill us,” she chuckled lightly, trying to let herself loosen up.

”Do you ever wonder where we might be, if my father’s Empire still existed?” She asked him softly as her lavender eyes lifted to his features, following the slight curve of his sabers over his elegant nose and into his infinite sky blue gaze.

His memory brought a chuckle from Belle, as he had intended it to. His eyes crinkled back at her, and he didn't move his paw. She had caught him in a rare mood. Stable, and calm. Had he ever felt the madness around Deathbelle? It was a terrible, tantalising thought. Like he desperately needed something to hold onto, and here she was. The friend of his youth. He couldn't think of her as a touchstone. That thought was too dangerous, and instead he let her words carry him. Thinking back to that moment when her father had stumbled upon them, in one of Deathbelles attempts to seduce him. She had wanted him to love her, and he had always known her worth was so high above his own.

When he spoke next his voice was serious, but his eyes teased, warning her that his next words weren't as serious as they sounded. "Very well. The drought never happened, your fathers kingdom still stands. Hannibal is either king, or is preparing to become so. Your father has given you up as a political bride to someone important and remote. A border Warlord perhaps. Uniting you to strengthen his kingdom. As your personal guard, I of course go with you."

He began to weave the story as the day drifted to a close around them. The lengthening shadows sharpened the angles of his face. He had closed his eyes and leaned back against the ledge of the hot pool. Still but for the story-teller lilt of his voice "Your husband at first is kind, attentive. You find that affection and love you always wanted, and you think 'this is it. My place in life' but as time goes on he becomes more aggressive, his patience is short with you. First, he hits you. Taunts you. Weaves doubt through your mind until you believe the fault is your own. He pushes you around, he hurts you. I can not let it stand, and I kill him one night for what he has done to you. You and I flee together in the dead of night ..." he peeked open an eye, to see how she was following along to his tale.

"Speech""Speech"

He held onto her paw, even with her little chuckle he held onto her. They had seen so much together, and she regretted terribly the deterioration of their relationship. Deathbelle knew she had made a grave mistake when she gave into temptation and stole her kiss from him. The first and only time that their lips were pressed together. She never should have allowed her heart to act, and there wasn’t a single excuse that could be acceptable. Deathbelle ruined their relationship and fell from her throne in that moment and yet she still held tightly to that memory.

Dark blue eyes returned to her gaze as he answered her question, his voice was serious but his gaze lighthearted. She knew what he had gone through recently because she was experiencing the same. They both needed a moment to return to a better time, or in this case a different universe. She listened quietly, mismatched ears relaxed as her body did the same. She didn’t hold herself quite as tightly to the edge.

The direction Sirius took their lives surprised her, in this version he never died out on the sands. She was given away in political marriage to another kingdom. That certainly was never out of the realm of possibility. She wouldn’t have been given to a very prominent pack, having been born from Yvonne instead of Hamiclar’s queen.

Darkness fell around the pair of them, the sun’s setting throwing brilliant colors in the sky above them. He’d closed his eyes and leaned back as he lived and built a life that would never happen. It wasn’t a happy life, but it was very likely to have actually happened had the pack survived the drought. Their lives would come to a tipping point and he finished with suggesting that they had run away together after he’d brought about his own form of justice.

Violet met his cornflower gaze as he blinked open his eyes, their vibrance reflecting the brilliant sky above. Her heart beat heavy in her chest as she immersed herself in his story, thinking about what could have been always hurt, but this felt different. The corners of her lips pulled back just a little as she squeezed his paw lightly. ”Running away together…” Her voice was almost dreamy as she suppressed the rush of emotions. She was thankful for the warm tinged light that fell on them, it his the way her features blushed.

He nodded solemnly, but he wasn’t done. He watched her for a moment, and felt the squeeze of her paw, before he continued. “The border lord's brother sends out a force to hunt us. We share moments huddled together under long grasses, in hollowed trees, and in quick runs across open fields. Sometimes we laugh together. Maybe we will kiss. Others we are fretful, how will I keep you safe?”

“The lord’s men find us, they drag us back to his home together. You watch them execute me in the courtyard, and the Lord takes you as his bride. One day, he wakes up, and you have taken poison. You never wanted this life.”

He let out a soft, slow breath. Watching her to see how her story affected her. He wasn’t saying it to bring more pain.

“Or, alternatively, your fathers kingdom falls. You escape, and venture out into the world. You prove that you are so much more than a political bride. You forge your own kingdom, here. Your knight returns after you think him dead, and for a time… things are good. You find love. But then you lose him, and you lose your throne, and you find yourself forgotten in a quiet pack without power. You forgot that fate isn’t always kind, and you forgot that every single thing here, from Ashen to Armada to Habari, and even the Hallows have emerged from what you started here. What you created. You hide here, Deathbelle, but you were the start of all this. The power, and thing that people loved and swept towards. Do you truly wish a quiet life from now till the end?” he regret in that moment that he had helped her retire. He wanted her to find happiness, but her happiness hadn’t been in this quiet life. It had been when she was trying for more, reaching and creating.

Seer confirmed what she said and went on, not quite finished weaving his dream to her. Deathbelle listened, as much like their real lives, they rose and fell yet again. In the end they would both experience their own tragic demise. She looked away fro him as she accepted this alternate reality, a feeling of familiarity in this distant Deathbelle's plight. She felt a return of th ememory of her own idealiation of suicide as she failed to cope with the losses in her life. Her chest grew tight and her eyes stung, but Sirius wasn’t quite finished.

He spoke again, the sun finally falling below the horizon as he spoke about the true reality of their lives. They were here, everything around them was here because of what she started. Deathbelle blinked again and lowered her eyes to his chest. What was he getting at? She knew she was a shell of her former self, but that was what life did. It wore and wore and wore her away until she wasn’t even recognizable to the woman that created the Ashen Empire.

Did she want to live a quiet life, a supporting role for her niece for the rest of her life? How much longer was her life going to continue? How much longer could she carry on? ”I have little choice, Sirius.” She told him softly. There was no returning to her place in Ashen, she would never be accepted as Empress again. She had Veigar to care and look after, but once he was grown, wouldn’t it be better to disappear into the woods?

The darkness fininished claiming the world, and he was blinking at her from the faint silver of starlight. He could see the pain his words were causing her. The sadness etched into her skin. He was speaking of what she had created, and she was hearing everything she had lost. He reached forward, the water rippling around him as he pulled out a paw and touched the side of her face gently. "Lies." He said, his voice soft and sad. "Lies. You came here with nothing. A shipwreck surviver, fleeing a broken world. You saw this land, and you shaped it to your desire. A force to be reckoned with. A catalyst of change."
He paused, as if only just realizing how close he was to her. Looking at the paw that touched her face. Pain.

He was not well, the Ashen Warlord. The cracks had started when Deathbelle had almost died in his care. When he had been left for dead. He had thought them healed, but Zees presence had only slapped a bandage over them. With her death the wounds stood jagged and open, worse then before. He couldn't be what Deathbelle needed. He couldn't be right for her, when he caused pain so easily.
"Deathbelle... my little phoenix" he said softly, the rotten, selfish bastard. This way lay dragons. He paused before the plunge, knowing she coumd heal him, but the cost might be her own sanity, her own life. "... the food gets cold, are you hungry?"

The last feeling she expected was his paw against her cheek. Sirius tilted her head so her eyes met his own. His movements were soft and gentle, and his gaze was that of the man she fell in love with. She felt a stake drive through her heart and she bit her lip as she pressed down the wave of emotions. Of a deep burning desire that she had ignored and beat down for a very long time. She might not have been in this mess had she been successful in her endeavor. If she had only resisted that overwhelming pull towards him. The Warlord spoke determinedly, he told her what she said was a lie. The world was her oyster. All she needed to do was harvest it, but she didn’t know if she could agree with him.

She was a different woman. Bent, broken, and worn down she was a shadow of the wolf she once was. ”Maybe I used to be.” Belle whispered to him, leaning into his touch despite herself. Despite everything that happened to get to this moment she still couldn’t resist him. Her cracks were showing, she knew he was feeling his like open sores. He spoke her name softly, her nickname that she had worn so proudly at one time. Now she felt like ask that had nothing more to give. There was no phoenix to take her place.

He paused and she searched his gaze and could see everything she ever wanted, but could never have. She didn’t know what she expected, but as he spoke again she knew she had done right all this time. It hurt so bad being so close, but so very far away. She knew deep in her heart what needed to be said between them, but he reminded her of the meal they had waiting instead. ”You’re right.” Her voice was soft and hesitant as she turned away. Tears stung at her eyes, she pulled from his touch and aimed to lift herself out of the water.

So much history between them. Rich and burning like coals through his vains. Being near her only became more dangerous. The emotions of all that history threatened to overwhelm them, to take them over. He pulled away from the edge, and he caught tears brightening the royal purple of her eyes as she began to lift herself from the water. The way her fur clung to her frame as it pulled free of the water reminded him of how long it had been since...
He shook his head, and hung his paws over the side of the ledge, looking at the woman in front of him.

"Deathbelle..." She deserved so much more then him. She deserved the truth. "My night terrors returned. I am volatile, I can feel it like a nameless rage in my heart. I do not do well alone, and I am afraid. Afraid that I do not know if I want you because I love, or because I want you to fix the broken pieces inside of me. I fear that I need you, and that makes it so dangerous for us both to be near each other. I would not have come here willingly. Each time I let you leave is harder then the last" He admitted. He hung on the edge of the pool, watching her. He was a selfish, violent bastard. Did she know just how dangerous he was becoming?

She lifted herself over the ledge and onto the earth beyond the natural spa. She could feel Seer’s eyes on her, but she didn't dare look back even as he called out her name. He paused again but her mismatched ears flicked back, making it obvious that she was listening. Belle stood still but she could hear the truth in his voice as he confessed softly. Losing Zee had revealed just how broken he was. His inner demons returned without her there to keep them at bay. They easily took over while he was alone.

Deathbelle expected this kind of confession, but what she didn’t expect was him to mention love. His fear that he didn’t know the difference, but she wasn’t even sure there was one. Loving him and healing him went paw in paw, but that was the real danger wasn’t it. After so long and after she had suppressed her lifetime of feelings how could she relinquish that wall?

”Then don’t leave me again.” Her words were barely more than a whisper, but she finally turned back towards him. Her hesitance was obvious, but as her violet eyes met his blue she couldn’t forget the desire that resided in the broken pieces of her heart. Of the years she spent pining after a man she had always known was her other half.

She turned back to him. There was no revulsion, no fear in her. Did she not care if he used her? Clung her? Forgot how to ever let her go? Her words were intoxicating for his desire for them to be true. Still, he lingered, doubting. This was Deathbelle, his friend through all his life. What if he held onto her too tight. What if he hurt her?

He finished hoping out of the spa, steam rising as his warm fur hit cold air. He shivered, and sat down beside the carefully laid out food. "Alright." He said, his voice soft in the darkness "if I clung to you, if we tried this - truly allowed this to happen for the first time in our lives... you would drop everything in Habari and join the Armada? Stand at my side?" He looked at Belle, his eyes hungry for the familiar colors of her face. This was the last cliff, if she gave permission he knew he would throw himself off it in a heartbeat. Take the plunge, no looking back.
Mine.

There was no fear because she felt no fear. Sirius had always stood by her side and protected her, for almost as long as she could remember. Nothing had been right after she caused the rift between them, but here and now looking into his deep blue eyes she thought that maybe she could find the path again. Deathbelle had been so lost for so long that having him here and now, saying these words, left her nearly in a state of shock. Like she was dreaming and just trying to cope with the horror that was her life. That wasn’t true though, they were here together, both craving what couldn’t be. What she thought would never be.

He agreed, he would cling to her like he’d never done in their lives. She would be at his side, and they would never have to be alone again. For the first time in their lives he would finally allow her to love him like she had yearned for… For so very long. Deathbelle could hardly believe the moment was real. After everything they had been through and fought against, it took losing everything to gain the one she wanted.

”I would.” She said without hesitation, but there was a condition. ”I can’t just leave my children.” They were very nearly old enough to decide if they wished to remain in Habari or follow her to the Armada. She looked up to him then and every hesitancy she had disappeared. He was everything she had ever wanted and needed. Blue and purple eyes met, and Deathbelle felt her hope return, felt the desire for life rekindle. It was a small flame, but all she had needed was Sirius. ”Hold onto me, Seer, don’t let me go again.”

A growl began inside the Warlord, and it was a slowly building vibration in his throat. He stalked towards her then, like a hunter who had found its prey. He crowded her, placing himself inside her personal boundaries. The edges of his thick coat just barely brushing against her. After so much strife and struggle and heartbreak. Just like that? She promised herself to him. The patch he would hold over his broken pieces. Some part of him cried out in the back of his mind. The voice of doubts, who would never again believe that his path would be an easy one.

He had to lower his head to look into her eyes, now that he stood tall over her. He raised a paw, claw extended, and gently held it curved against her throat. Pushing it upwards, tipping back her head and exposing her throat. He leaned forward, brushing his fangs against the throbbing vain found there. His growl vibrating through the pulse of her blood. He did not break the skin, and after a moment he closed his maw and turned it into a kiss. A promise, a warning. "Mine." He whispered against the soft down of her dark fur. "Mine, now and always. Everything else we can figure out along the way." Like the children she warned him she would not leave without.

It felt like it was all too easy, but after filtering through all of their memories together she knew it wasn’t. Incredible loss and sorrow had to be endured before they could live through this moment. Before Deathbelle could finally have her heart's truest desire. There was no fear as Sirius growled darkly and stood and closed the distance between them. Their wet fur mingled but barely touched as he hesitated again. Belle didn’t lower her gaze this time, vibrant eyes watched him, taking in his every movement and action, fearless and… relieved.

He towered over her, he always had. He’d never raised a paw against her, and she knew that he never would. The sensation of losing control was overwhelming as he put a claw to her throat and the once great Empress submit to his touch. He lifted her chin and revealed her vulnerable throat. She caught her breath, not for fear or trepidation but surprise at the feeling. Her belly suddenly consumed in flames. Her throat burned where he touched as he leaned down to trace his incredible fangs over her jugular. Sirius growled again and sent an aching shiver down her spine. After so long tamping down her desires she could finally allow them to flourish. And they did.

Finally Sirius claimed her as his, declaring it with a determined word and a kiss against her pulsing vein. She whined softly as he spoke those words she never believed that she would hear. Now and always she would belong to her Warlord. ”Yours.” She whispered back, scarcely able to breathe as she lifted delicate arm and weaved her cat like paws into the thick fur of his neck. Deathbelle trailed her claws over his skin as she stared deeply into his night sky eyes. There was only a moment of hesitation as she memorized the moment, then leaned forward to kiss him, finally able to do so without regret. Belle pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes and unleashing all of the deep emotions she held back their whole lives. Nothing she had shown him could compare to passion built up over a lifetime of holding herself back.

There was something euphoric about the Empress submitting to the possessive Warlord. His, proven by her actions and her trust. His eyes burned as he trailed his lips across her neck for a moment. When he pulled back she captured him with her stunning royal eyes. Holding him in place with the emotions burning beneath them. Then she was taking control and he relinquished it to her. Letting her reach upwards towards her lips. Their first kiss free of other ties. He closed his eyes and groaned softly beneath her kiss. Tasting her. "I would promise you the world, my Phenoix. Rise again." He barely moved his lips to make the words. His muzzle tickling against her own as he refused to move any further away from her. Even to speak.

He moved gently then, firm but kind as he leaned into her massaging paws, and pressed his own against her. Starting at her shoulders, and sliding his paws down. His claws gently catching in her fur. Not enough to hurt, but enough to leave goosebumps down her body. Trailing behind her shoulder blades, leading towards her stomach. He kissed her again, claiming her muzzle as his paws moved further down yet. His long reach giving him an advantage as he found the area between her back legs, and continues his slow, torturous massage. Promising her the world with his paws and his tongue.