Things in Winterfell had been...interesting. Avalon had a litter of pups, but unfortunately, her mate had passed away recently. She had been heartbroken over it, and during her time of grief, he tried to be there as much as he could for her while helping her look after the little ones. Honestly, he had never expected to be the type to look after kids let alone tolerate them, but...he supposed that since she was practically family, he didn't feel bothered by it. She had done so much for him since he was a child, and he felt it was the least he could do.

But now he walked around with the title Uncle Greed. Something that he had gotten used to now...

After making sure Avalon and her pups were doing okay, for the time being, he decided to go off and take a breather. He never had kids of his own. The thought had briefly crossed his mind when Acapella was around, but after she disappeared, well...he had withdrawn again and returned to his antisocial, broody, moody self. He quietly did his duties around the pack, helped Avalon with her kids, and rarely ventured beyond pack lands nowadays.

Today wouldn't be so different.

He walked the perimeter of the pines, his birthplace like many before him. This was where his lineage had once claimed according to Avalon. And also according to her, she had grown up here, too. At this point, it was likely a tradition that kept them rooted here. Something that brought them back once again even though someone that wasn't part of their family led them. It was one of the prime spots in the North, so it made sense to choose this place to settle...

Another day, another stirring of memories.

Bellamy recalled bits and pieces of her past before her family had died. Camilla had died in the cave in… and not long after that her parents and Joslyn. She had once had a normal childhood. She once had a family. It hurt her heart to think that it had been stolen… and her normally aggressive nature had been dampened with feelings of sadness, loneliness, and longing she wasn’t sure how to respond to.

Bellamy padded through the pines with her head lowered and gaze focused on the grass at her paws. She’d been doing a lot of thinking lately, sorting through the feelings she had now, and she found it harder to process them all. Whiskers was helping… but truth be told her “help” made Bells feel worse.

Why was it, even after she had killed the Empress, she felt so hollow?

Maybe she really did need to be around her kind, as Whiskers said. To socialize… but she was, admittedly, worried that a barbaric creature like herself would turn them off. She let a sigh pass her lips and shook her head.

Frustration flared to overcome the sadness and Bells flung herself at one of the nearest pines. The woman, still bearing the cape of the snow leopard she killed, tore at the bark of the tree with her claws. Tears stung her eyes as she continued to attack it, venting out her anger into the bark. It was not a quiet display, nor a pretty one. She just kept lunging until she was panting heavily, backing away from the torn back and wood shavings in the grass.

“Dammit…” Bellamy muttered to herself as her ears pinned back.

“Stop fucking bothering me…” She wasn’t sure if she was talking to the ache in her heart, her memories, or both.