OOC:: Follow up on the Bellamy and Saga thread. Still not yet in the actual S.S. Antiox territory, but rather on the edge of it outside the borders. They will be having a thread to call for Wren once these two start to wrap up a little. x'D --------------------------- The winged man had traveled with all four companions all over the North and was debating about heading down South to look for his mate. His worry for Bellamy had grown more and more, and though he had the companions with him he couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong… that something horrible had happened to her. Was it her fault though…? The man walked the borders of the wash and the edge of the territory Wren had claimed… some small part of him hoped, and prayed, that he’d find Bellamy again… that against odds he might come across her scent. And then, surprisingly, he did. He blinked, checking the air again - It was her. It was her! He quickened his pace, his green eyes shining as he broke into a run. “This way! She has to be this way!” He kept running until he came across a den. It smelled heavily of polar bears… but the scent was fading. There was Bellamy’s scent there too though. Gavroche hesitated. Was she… He shook his head, calling into the den softly. “Bellamy?” He questioned softly. James shifted on his back, calling out as well. “Miss Bellamy please, whatever’s going on, let us help you!” "Speech" 'Thought.'

The woman had gotten distracted to put it simply… Pulled away from seeking out her mate or even calling at the border for Wren. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do either of those things of course, but the need of a little one had pulled up a motherly instinct within Bells that she couldn’t ignore. The child wasn’t a wolf, no, but she needed someone to care for her. She needed someone to be a mother. There had been no sign of the mother polar bear whatsoever, though Bellamy had looked briefly with the cub and even howled for the other woman once they returned to the den the duo had called home. But the polar bear mother never came… and so Bellamy had laid with the little one, curled around her to keep the cub safe and warm. She knew when she woke again she’d likely need to hunt again. Fish, more likely than not… her shoulder still hurt, and running on it would likely irritate the injury. Well, so would the salt water. It had stung like a bitch getting splashed with a wave yesterday when she was trying to find something for the cub. Sleep had come to her easily enough and, for the first time since leaving Gavroche, there was a sense of calm washed over her. She didn’t see Chaos or Delusion and Calamity on the outskirts of her vision. She felt safe. Bellamy remained curled around the little one when she started to stir. She flicked open her eyes, thankful the nightmares hadn’t returned. Her ears flicked forward, twitching, as she heard a voice, however. A voice she knew well. She uncurled from around the cub, careful to not wake her, and slipped from the den to see a very, very worried Gavroche and James waiting for her. Her gaze softened as she took the small male into an embrace. “Gav…” She rumbled, thankful to see him there. She heard shuffling and turned her head to see Ears and Whiskers as well, her look apologetic. “Running off like that, have you gone stupid?” Ears grumbled. “And your shoulder Bells… what happened?” Ears drew closer to her. “Shhh…” She glanced over her shoulder towards the den but it didn’t seem the cub had awoken. “I’ll explain just… keep your voices down, will you?” She glanced back at them all. She knew that she had worried them all… “I… had an episode, I think… But this one was… different. Worse. Way worse than anything I’ve ever felt or experienced before.” The woman frowned thoughtfully. “I felt like I had to run… but no matter how far I ran I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was right on my heels. It kept coming and wouldn’t let up… Even when my lungs and legs hurt I didn’t want to stop… then I was falling…” The woman furrowed her brow. “I made it to the South but… I didn’t feel right.” She lowered her gaze. “Like I was me but… not… everything was so, so loud…” Bellamy lowered her rump to the earth. “A woman… I think she meant to help me… I lashed out…” Her brow furrowed. The start of it all was fuzzy. She had remembered the loudness in her head… and then… “Ignis Praetor came… a man I knew from before. In Winterfell… before he attacked Acere, and took it by force during my absence…” Her ears lowered. If she had been there when Ignis took over, would it have made a difference? Would Acere have been okay…? Safe? “He defended her… I think. I don’t know. The whole fight something felt off. Wrong. I couldn’t put my paw on it. I fought him. I was angry, Gav, so angry…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “He tore into me… I… I wanted him to hurt me.” She shivered. “It felt like I was losing my mind. I was so on edge… scared… angry… full of hate for him, for myself…” She opened her eyes and looked back at her mate. “He won…” She didn’t reveal the words that Ignis had told her… how she was meant to die… “I don’t know what came of them after that. They allowed me to limp off… I passed out… but not before seeing the fallen twins on the edge of my vision.” Bellamy whined here. “I saw them… I felt their presence… Everything was falling apart… but… when I woke up, though I could see Chaos, there was someone else there too… Bae-Syl. Lucy’s friend.” Bells shook her head. “He… helped me get ahold of myself again. Cleaned up my wound.” She glanced towards her shoulder and then back to Gavroche. “After speaking with him and getting this covered I started back North. I noticed Menagerie had moved, and I was hoping to find you there but... I wasn’t sure where else to look. I began wandering and well…” She gestured towards the den. “I wasn’t the only one in trouble. I found a young polar bear cub stumbling through the snow, hungry, and alone… I tried to keep an eye out for her mother, even called to her… but the woman never came.” She flicked her ears back some. “I know I’m no polar bear, but I couldn’t leave her. She’s sleeping right now… and I’m keeping her with me. With us.” She stated this firmly, letting Gavroche know there would be no argument in the matter. She had made up her mind to help the little one and that was that. At least they were all brought back up to speed. Whiskers shook her head, a knowing smile on her face as Bells finished her tale. She wasn’t really surprised. The woman had a good heart even if she was rough around the edges. Soft and squishy in the middle; she couldn’t hide the nature she’d been born with. Ears on the other paw frowned thoughtfully. “You two raising a bear? As if your relationship wasn't weird enough already…” "Speech" 'Thought.'

Another episode one. One different and worse than anything she’d ever dealt with before. That alone had the winged man worried as he whined for his mate. Despite her having embraced him he worried for her. Wanted to curl around her and tell her that things would be alright… but for now he hesitated. He listened to her tell the tale of where she’d been, what had happened. Silently Gavroche thanked Celeste for Bae-Syl. The man had done right by his family twice now, both for Lucette and Bellamy. He really needed to spend more time with the kid some time. Though there was something else to be concerned with as well, Gavroche knew. The man Bellamy fought, Ignis Praetor. The woman had her reasons to hate the man, and had technically initiated the fight, earning his ire as he protected some woman, but… The winged man couldn’t help but worry that might not be the last they saw of him. If he came into contact with Bellamy again… would they fight? Try to kill one another? Questions buzzed in his head, worry not yet fading from him. He should have known that with Bells nothing would ever be easy… he was going to have to get a look at her shoulder soon too, make sure it go dressed again and she had medicine for the pain… But Bellamy didn’t stop there. It turned out she had found a little one, a cub, in need of help. Gavroche furrowed his brow, looking at her with uncertainty. A polar bear, really? Bears could hurt, even kill wolves… they were a dangerous predator… and she wanted to raise one? He supposed it was young and all but… was it really safe to do so? He could tell by her tone she wasn’t going to change her mind though. “Alright… So we have another daughter now. That’s all it means.” Gavroche relaxed a little. “Are you sure that’s wise? A bear will dwarf Bellamy, and you…” James trailed off as Gavroche nodded. “I’m positive, James. We’re not going to turn her away.” He moved beside Bellamy now, checking the dressing of her wound. “Are you in a lot of pain?” He asked his mate. For now, he'd leave the subject of her episode alone... but it was something that he'd return to later. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Gavroche accepted the idea of Saga even before meeting her and Bellamy breathed a small sigh of relief. Good. She nuzzled his cheek happily, glad that he didn’t question the fact she was adopting a polar bear cub. Bless his heart… he was a good man. His companion, James, questioned it, but Gav was adamant about following his mate’s wishes before he asked about her. Bellamy’s gaze softened. “I’ll be alright. Though… you could take a look at it. Bae-Syl may have performed first aid, but it’s not the work of a healer for certain.” Bellamy glanced towards the den. “And when she wakes I’ll introduce you to Saga. She’s a sweet little cub.” The woman relaxed and prepared for her mate to set to work. It was going to be a long day yet, but at least things were looking up again. /End "Speech" 'Thought.'