Ooc:: Set after fight thread with Incendio and before the thread with Drifa that I swear to Luns is coming. x'D Just needed more of a set up then I intended.

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This sucked.

Her intentions had been to find Acere so she could talk again… she hadn’t intended to meet the members of his pack this way… and right now she found herself to be on the grumpy side which Ears, of course, was quick to point out was her fault. By rushing ahead and not listening to Whiskers she had waltzed right into pack territory and was attacked by a kid who sought only to protect his pack. She was lucky she had met Acere and that he kind of understood… if he hadn’t her fate could have been much, much worse.

Acere had spoken with both herself and her opponent after the fight, much to her dismay. Bells had sent Ears off, cackling, as the devil teased her for her reactions with the alpha. The bottom line, however, was because of what had happened she needed to stay here for the time being. She needed to heal, for one, and two she had trespassed so she had to learn. Whiskers had spoken on the pack’s behalf and Bells had grumbled as she wondered whose side the badger was on.

Acere had apparently gone to get a healer and the antlered kid, well, Bells wasn’t sure where he had gone. She wasn’t sure she cared as she shifted grumpily to avoid laying on the injured leg. 

It fucking hurt.

...and she was so lost… baffled by the odd ways things worked here. No, she corrected herself bitterly. They weren’t odd. She was the odd one; an outsider. And yet, as frustrated and bitter as she was, the young woman couldn’t help but let a sigh pass her lips.

What she wouldn’t give to feel a sense of normality. To be ignorant of the shit she’d seen… of the lives she’d claimed and the blood she claimed. They saw her aggression, they saw her uncultured ways. Did they think it was fun on her end? To not understand and be pretty much alone? 

What wolf had a badger and tasmanian devil as their family for fucks sake?

Bellamy growled at herself, chasing off those thoughts. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t see how she felt. They wouldn’t understand how she worked. She was the monster those Lyennian’s created… that was all she’d ever be. She wasn’t some kind hearted creasture that was there to rescue the lost and broken… she wasn’t there to make the masses happy… she was a killer, the monster that they said would come slay their children, their families, and end it all. She shifted a bit, curling a bit tighter as she flicked her ears against her skull and closed her eyes.

But the thing about monsters… was that they weren’t born…

They were created.

...and sometimes… 

...they weren’t as scary as they were made out to be.

She sauntered through the pines in search of her siblings or someone to play with. She wanted to keep her mind off her mother and each passing day that she kept occupied seemed to help with that. They were young still...would they eventually just forget about her altogether? It was possible. But for now Heloise stuck around in her thoughts until she found something to occupy herself with. She sighed and watched as a cold puff of air disintegrated before her eyes, listened as the ground crunched softly beneath her feet. Her ears flicked to hear the sounds of spring birds around her and her nose twitched to smell...other things. Something unfamiliar. Or rather, unfamiliar someone's. Her head tilted to the side as she scented them, one wolf and two other things not familiar at all.

Curiosity pulled her along, caution practically thrown to the wind and against all better judgment, she followed the source of the scents. They seemed like they were on pack lands...so that meant they were okay, right? She had yet to have formal training about the borders and intruders so she didn't think much of it. Maybe it was a pack mate with their companions like daddy had! She flexed her claws into the earth in anticipation as she moved, tail wagging as she sought them out. And upon seeing who it was she had smelled, she observed them as she approached but she didn't slow or stop.

At least...not until she was right up next to the foreign wolf's backside.

Grinning and giggling, she placed her paws on the females back and hoisted herself up until she was balancing on her, lavendar gaze peering over towards her face. She was mostly careful to keep her claws sheathed so she wasn't stabbing or poking the woman. Something she learned to do early on when she played with her dad or siblings. "Hello~ who're you? Who're they? You're real pretty!" She smiled wide at Belle, tail gently wagging as she sought to maintain her balance.

Bells didn’t know how long she had laid there in silence. She wasn’t aware that Ears had slunk back somewhere close and was laying down… nor did she notice that Whiskers had crept back and was watching her with a warm smile on her face. She certainly didn’t hear the approach of tiny, cat-like paws of some kid.

But then she felt pressure on her back and just… froze. Her body was tense and, to her horror, the kid climbed the rest of the way onto her body. What… what the hell was this? She twitched an ear, shifting her head to stare at the child in bewilderment.

Where was her parents?

Why was she on her?

What… even…

Ears was watching the two with a wide grin on his face and, finally, he could contain himself no longer looking at the surprised horror on Bells face that he started busting a gut like he just lost his mind.

“Bahahahahaha! You’ve stunned her into silence, kid! Hahahaa!”

Whiskers rolled her eyes as the devil as she shifted onto her paws and approached their wolf companion and the young one.

‘Gracious… Bells what a mess you are…’ The badger thought to herself as she closed the distance. “Hang on there, darling... She needs a little help back into reality.” Whiskers leaned in and gave Bells a sharp bite to the shoulder.

The pain, more like a pinch, was enough to jolt Bellamy back into the world of aware. She growled, spinning her head towards Whiskers.

“What the f--!”

“Bells!” Whiskers cut her off and motioned towards the little one.

Bells turned to look at the kid again, frowning as she did so.

Right… kid…

“Sorry… I… what?” She flicked her ears back once more.

She canted her head to the side and furrowed her brow as she stared at the ball of fluff.

“You smell like Acere…”

Okay so she didn't expect the reaction she got at all. She felt the body beneath her tense up, the woman going practically rigid. The only movement from the woman was a twitch of her ear before she turned her head to face her. Practically nose to nose, Winter grinned wide and her tail wagged more before her attention turned to the creature that was laughing. She stunned her into silence? She couldn't help but giggle while the devil laughed and then the other creature came forward and she watched as the badger nipped the lady's shoulder. She winced slightly at the thought of being bit like that but it didn't look like a hard bite...but then again she had never been bitten by anyone other than her siblings and that was just with play fighting.

The woman promptly began to shout something but was cut off, and Winter couldn't help but stifle another giggle at the womans reaction. And when she said she smelled like Acere she grinned big and wide, the small puff ball puffing her chest out and standing as tall as she could with pride. "Yep! He's my daddy!"

The kid was just so happy… The innocence, the smile… it stirred something within Bells she didn’t quite care for. Her head hurt, as if she started thinking to hard but couldn’t quite figure out what had her so puzzled. Her face scrunched up in confusion and she watched the smaller wolf. This feeling… why did she feel so sad? Yet… happy? It was weird and she didn’t like it. First it started with how Acere made her feel during their talk… and now this kid…

Well that soon made sense. This pup was Acere’s daughter. Standing on top of her body as if she was on a mountain. Honestly, had it not been for the kid’s size Bells would have taken offense to anyone crawling over her like that. The thought of being beneath someone, anyone, unsettled her. But maybe since this girl was a kid she’d be alright. She continued to stare, brow knit together, as she tried to place why this kid made her feel so damn weird.

“You’re… dad…” She spoke the words slowly, brokenly, still frowning. Whiskers watched her with a frown. Bells was acting bizarre… was it the fight maybe? Or something else?

She shook her head, as if trying to shake off the fog and moved to set her head on her uninjured leg. “You really uh… shouldn’t stand on others. Especially those you don’t know, you know? They might… I don’t know… gobble you up or something.” She flicked an ear. The feeling was getting worse.

“Well you’re not exactly gobbling her up~” There was Ears, typically little shit he was. Bellamy shot him a glare.

“Fuuu--nk off, Ears.” She caught herself, if barely, and shifted her body slightly. She was mindful of the kid on her back though. Shifting too much could cause her to lose her balance and fall.

“You should go find your dad.” Her voice was quiet. “Keep close to him.”

This lady was strange. But then again Winter didn't really know what strange was. For all she knew, she was the strange one. Her stubby horns that had been growing and her cat-like paws and even fangs were an example of that. But when the lady mentioned she shouldn't climb on others or they might gobble her up drew a gasp from the girl, her eyes widening and her ears flattening slightly. Was this woman saying she was gonna eat her!? She took a pace back, but stopped when the other funny creature spoke up. Her gaze flicked to the thing called Ears and then back to the woman, her sudden fear and apprehension having disappeared. For now, anyway. The child wasn't really scared of much, nor did she have much to fear here. If this wolf was here in pack lands, it meant daddy thought she was okay right? Otherwise she wouldn't be here, right?

When Bellamy told her she should go find her dad and stay close to him, she thought for a moment before deciding to carefully climb off off the woman and stand on the ground instead. "My daddy's busy right now, I'd just get in the way." Not entirely true. She could probably stay out of the way if she had to, but she didn't feel like going on a patrol or watching her dad do boring alpha things. So she was here, talking to this lady and so far she wasn't bored. "I'm Winter by the way. So...what's your name?" She knew she had asked earlier, but she supposed the woman had just been too surprised to answer before.

Bellamy was relieved when the child slipped onto the ground. It was strange being near a kid… it made her feel weird and she wasn’t sure how to respond. Hearing her speak, however, Bells flicked her ears back and groaned. “Yeah… uh… my bad.” He was dealing with the aftermath of her charging in here like it was fine. She wasn’t sure what all Acere would need to do now but… she was sure she had caused more aggravation than her presence was really worth. Still… she was a bit glad she had been able to see him again all things considered.

Winter… the kid was quick to give her name and Bells gave a soft sigh. She doubted she was going to have the little on run off any time soon… might as well make the best of it, right?

“Bellamy… of Foi.” The female flicked an ear.

“You really aren’t worried about strangers, are you, Winter?” Her voice was a bit softer now.

Whiskers chuckled and the badger came up closer to the pup.

“Well, considering your nature Bells, I’d say she has nothing to worry about from you at least.” She ignored the sharp glare the wolf gave her and dipped her head.

“I’m Whiskers by the way. That grumpy devil over there is Ears.”

The tasmanian devil huffed.

“I’m not grumpy!”

Whiskers chose to ignore him too, dropping her voice so that Winter was the only one who would hear her.

“...I think it’d be a wonderful thing if you and Bells became friends, don’t you?”

At last, she introduced herself as Bellamy of Foi and the young girl couldn't help but cock her head at the name. Foi? She wanted to ask what that was but she became distracted by Bellamy's question. "We don't get a whole lotta new visitors," She admitted. At least, not any that stuck around long enough for her to harass. Besides, daddy said that anyone allowed in the pack was safe to be around. And since Bellamy was here, that meant she was safe, right? Her attention was quickly drawn to the two strange creatures nearby and she couldn't help but giggle when the one said he wasn't grumpy. And when the other came closer and spoke to her, Winter's tail set to wagging as she eagerly nodded. Truth be told, she wanted more friends. Everyone was so busy doing their own thing that she didn't have that many yet. Turning back to Bellamy she asked, "What's Foi? Is that just your name like mine is Praetor?"

Bellamy was surprised, breaking away from teasing Ears when the girl said they didn’t get a lot of visitors in Winterfell. In Lyenne, she recalled, there was always someone coming or going… though she did suppose that was an Empire and thus bigger. She glanced back to the child, surprised at just how… naive she was. But… that was how kids were supposed to be, wasn’t it? In a way Bellamy was envious of the youth for being so carefree. She longed for that innocence, innocence that she would never have again…

Dismissing the grumpy devil she looked to as a brother, more so than a companion, Bells focused on Winter as the girl asked about Foi. With a thoughtful frown Bellamy shook her head, answering calmly.

“It is not a surname, no.” The female answered calmly.

“Where I come from, Lyenne, when you introduce yourself of Foi, the faith or religion of Lyenne, it is because you have been stripped of your true name.” The female glanced towards her bleeding leg.

“There was an evil Empress that ruled there… cruel and cold hearted. She took away my family, my parents and sisters, as well as my freedom. My name was stripped away… but my faith could never be taken. I held onto the belief that the Divinities and their parents, the Great God and Goddess, would aid me in gaining my freedom.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

“Nox blessed my flight by sending me Ears, the little Devil here. In fighting for him I gained my courage… and I fought to escape, slaying the evil Empress in the process.” The female glanced towards Winter.

“I hate the idea of anyone taking away someone’s freedom… that makes them thieves.” Bellamy said softly.

“Would… you maybe want to hear more about the religion of Foi?”