The female had put off her visit to the North after meeting with Acere... but at last she was on her way. The former alpha was her main tie to Winterfell, yet, something deep within her gut told her to go find out the current state of the pack. It wasn't as though she didn't trust Acere, in fact, she trusted every word... and it made her feel angry; angry and sick to her stomach. The thought that families could do that to each other, much like Gavroche's own kin tried to do, made her blood boil.

It had taken a lot of convincing from a certain winged wolf to not run off before she was fully healed. But once she was able bodied she made sure her companions were ready to head back to the pines where Winterfell once stood.

Bellamy wasn't sure what she was going to accomplish when she got there. She didn't really have a plan of action. But she was angry. Were any of the wolves she formerly knew still in Winterfell? Were they okay? If Ignis was willing to hurt his uncle and cousin in that way... then...

Bellamy slowed to a stop and dug her claws into the snow at her paws. The crunch sounded distant to her ears, her breath coming out heavily. She had been traveling through the snow and ice at a hurried pace, a one track mind leading her on the way to the Sparse Pines. She could make out the boundary in the distance now and she narrowed her faded green gaze.

"You sure about charging up to the border like this?" Whiskers asked her. "It could spell trouble..." The badger glanced up at Bellamy with uncertainty. "...and it could become an unnecessary fight."

Bellamy was quiet. She continued to stare out towards the horizon, tail lashing back and forth with irritation. Finally she let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes.

"No, I'm not." The woman confessed. "But... If I just leave things as they are... is that…"

"It's not really your fight, Bells." Whiskers countered gently.

"I know you care for Acere and his family... but to get involved in more drama? Is it really worth it?"

Bellamy huffed.

"I... I don't know." She looked away from the badger and sighed again.

"I just…"

"Feel a lack of purpose?" Ears chimed in.

"So you're going back to your old roots from when you were a slave. Fighting was all that was... you really need to learn to enjoy more things." The devil scratched an ear.

"You're one to fucking talk." Bells countered.

She knew he was right... they were both right...

"It's still not right..." Bells grumbled.

"No, but neither is you trying to deflect from the real issue." Whiskers nosed her side. "It can't hurt to get some information, but I don't think you should head directly to the border either. Why don't we head back towards The Wall? Maybe we'll get lucky and a former packmate of yours might wander by."

Bellamy frowned and looked back towards the pines. She shifted on her paws for a moment, furrowed her brow, and hesitated... but at last gave a nod and turned away from them.

"Alright then... Let's head towards The Wall."

Turning tail the female began to trudge back through the snow, companions sticking close. Her mind was whirling; what was she going to do with herself?

Casso came up short of finding prey to take back to the ship from within Incindium's territory and that drove him out of the pack's borders to begin searching for something to hunt out there. He was glad they had a well stocked store of food right now and that the pack wasn't too large to deal with since this cold weather seemed unrelenting. He still hunted at least a small something each day, partially to make sure they weren't working through their store of dried meats unnecessarily and also just to give himself and Yuri something fresh to eat occasionally. He had done his best since his brother took over the pack to stay connected with the pack, but it was difficult. He almost felt like he was just living there separately with his mate while the rest of the pack lived around him.

Thus far he hadn't found enough issue with that fact to do anything about it and he didn't think he would until the weather improved. As it was he was just happy to have a place for him and Yurei to live safely. He was confident that he could take care of himself on his own, but looking out for himself and Yurei as well was another story. And then there was the whole worry he had over his brother to deal with as well... So far Ignis hadn't caused any more damage since his violent take over of the pack, but he truly wondered if he'd ever really have the trust of everyone again. He still wondered how deep Ignis' issues ran - if they were as deep or worse than his own - but did his best not to think too deeply about that possibility.

Boris swooped low over his head with a hoot to get his attention, causing him to lift his two-toned gaze till it landed on the dark brown and white striped woman that was trudging through the snow ahead of him. He slowed to a stop and paused as he watched her for a moment. She was familiar enough to make him pause, but not enough for him to feel comfortable getting her attention. He chalked it up to yet another face he had seen in passing or a misplaced feeling of recognition and brushed it off. He turned his attention away from her so he could start scanning the empty plain for any sign of something he could hunt, but kept her in his peripheral vision just in case.

"Casso" | "Boris" | thoughts

It was only once they arrived at the wall that Bellamy allowed herself to stop. She felt at a loss, unsure of what she wanted to do from this point on. If she went to Incendium now, well, Whiskers was right... she would fight. She would fight and... what would that gain her? More wounds for Gavroche to fuss over? That was if she was even able to return to him. The last time she had been injured in the pack she had needed to stay to be properly treated... and that said, if she was injured that badly, she doubted a wolf that would attack his own kin would just let her leave.

"I know you want to help, Bells." Whiskers tried to comfort her. "But going in without a plan, or even a plan to fight... Isn't good." The badger sighed softly. "I don't want to see you hurt anymore. You've been through a lot already."

"So what do I do then? Will he even listen to reason if he'll attack his own family? Whose to say violence isn't the answer?" Bellamy frowned and glanced down at her companion. "What if no one else stands up to him? What if... What if I'm the only one with the gall to do it? But then I don't, just because there is a risk? Things could get worse..." She furrowed her brow. "He could hurt more innocents..."

"Bold of you to assume that the new alpha is the only guilty party. You weren't there." Ears pointed out.

Bellamy rounded on him quick, snarling.

"And you expect me to believe that Acere or Winter started it!? Or brought it on?!" Anger shown in her eyes as her voice raised. "Acere is a damned good man, and I don't believe his daughter has a mean bone in her body." The female scoffed.

Ears looked at her sadly.

"You still don't know the reasons, Bells. Ears is right. You can't be so quick to judge others for their actions. Remember the raid...?"

Bellamy sighed as Whiskers brought that up.

"Fine... But... how am I supposed to figure out the truth then...?"

As he worked his way down the length of the wall, his ruby and sapphire gaze combing the mostly barren plane for any sign of prey, he kept an ear toward the maybe stranger to listen. From the distance he was at he could only catch bits and pieces of the heated exchange she had with a couple of creatures that he assumed were companions of hers. Until she began to mention names he could have written it off as some kind of family squabble or conflict unrelated to his own situation, but as soon as he heard her say Acere and Winter his attention was fully grabbed by her. He slowed to a stop, listening till she asked about finding out the truth. Perhaps he hadn't been too far off about her appearance at least being familiar. He knew there were quite a few wolves around the time before and after Ignis taking over the pack that had left or gone missing so it wasn't out of the Relm of possibility that she could be one of them. He still didn't know her name so it couldn't be someone that he had personally interacted with, but she clearly had a vested stake in what had happened.

With a leap he vaulted over a dip in the crumbling wall, landing on the side she was standing on. He brought his gaze to her curiously as he started moving toward her. "Excuse me... I'm sorry, I don't mean to eavesdrop. I just thought you looked familiar and then I heard what you were saying about Acere and Winter..." He stopped a few feet from her, not wanting her to feel threatened by getting too much into her personal space. Boris came to land on the wall beside him, the snow owl looking at the trio inquisitively. "I assume you were part of Winterfell?" he asked just to confirm what he had already suspected. She certainly didn't have any traces of the pack's scent left on her pelt so he knew it had been a while since she was there at the very least.

"Casso" | "Boris" | thoughts

"I don't know, Bells." Whisper confessed. "But... if we just give it tim--"

The badger fell silent as she watched a stranger leap over a crumbled spot in the wall. Her nose twitched curiously, gaze sliding back to Bellamy to see what the woman might do.

The female wolf turned towards the stranger quickly and instinctively raised her hackles as she prepared for the worst. Past experiences told her to be guarded, at least at first, and while she could hope that things would be different each encounter she couldn't break that thought that she should be prepared for a fight just in case. Her ears slid back and she took a breath, trying to steady her nerves, as the man came closer and spoke.

He was... curious...

...and Bellamy realized that his scent was familiar even if she couldn't place it.

"I was, yes. Under Acere's leadership. Though it was a bit of a mess, admittedly." Bellamy glanced towards Ears and then back towards the male.

"But some... complications arose. I've been away from the pack for some time." The she-wolf took in a breath. "If you're asking... do you happen to know what happened? Why the pack changed paws?" She furrowed her brow.

"I thought about going to see the alpha but..." She shook her head. "Not such a good idea."

He gave a nod when the woman confirmed that she had been a part of the pack when it was still under Acere's leadership. The fact that she had been away for a while now explained why she didn't know what had happened to the pack, but it didn't explain why she was this vested in finding out an answer. He scoffed softly when she mentioned going to see the alpha and ultimately deciding that it was a bad idea. "Yes... I wouldn't say that confronting him about anything is the wisest choice. It seems like he can be a bit... volatile at times." He knew he was trying to be kind to his brother with his wording, though he wasn't one of the ones directly effected by his behavior so maybe it was easier for him to do so. Yes, he had taken over the pack he lived in and he still didn't quite forgive him for how he had treated his own family members, but with the world in the state it was currently in he couldn't turn his back on a place to live.

"But to answer your question - yes, I know what happened. I was there." He sighed softly with a small shake of his head, glancing away from her as he spoke. "Ignis confronted Winter about what he felt was a lack of effort and leadership on her part and challenged her for the pack. She didn't fight him for it, but others did. There were several that challenged him for their freedom just out of outrage for what he had done, but I don't believe any of them were successful. Winter and Acere were exiled." That was the quick and dirty of it without going too far into detail. He brought his mismatched eyes back up to the stranger again as he added, "I haven't noticed any violence from him since then, but... Just from being his brother and knowing the kind of demons we fight I do worry about him. That's why I've stayed - to try and help him and hopefully keep him from causing any more damage."

"Casso" | "Boris" | thoughts