What we've lost, what we can gain

The woman saw how her words caused Acere to raise a brow. She knew she had been vague, but she was doing her best to reign in her anger. Her emotions had controlled her when she lived in Winterfell, and they threatened to overwhelm her again. She focused on his voice, speaking of the pines. Bellamy gave a small nod. “When I was walking through Boreas and Auster, looking for a place for my family to call home, I briefly considered them. But… It didn’t feel right. Even if my family settled there, the pines will always be home to Winterfell in my heart.” Her expression softened. “The first place in Boreas I’d truly been shown kindness… and learned what a true leader was like.” Words of kindness and gratitude. Those days when she first met Acere and lived in Winterfell had shaped her, deviating her path from what it had been. Without him, would she still be alive today? Or would her recklessness have driven her into the ground?

A sigh passed Acere’s lips and Bellamy’s ears would fall. So Ignis wouldn’t let Acere reach him either. If the red man would not allow a relative who had only shown him kindness speak with him, what hope would she have of changing him? Bellamy’s own smile faded. “I’m sorry…” She reaches for his paw and places her own on top of it. “I can say that he has not fallen to the point of harming a child. Saga was safe… and she returned… happy.” Bellamy’s gaze fell. “I judge him harshly, Acere. I know that you hold no hatred for your nephew, but I struggle to find a way to approach him and not be guarded… ready to fight… I fear the darkness in his heart… It is almost as if a Dreamend lives within him.” Little did she know that the Praetor demon was practically akin to what she had mentioned.

Now it was her turn to sigh. Her gaze turned to the landscape and for several long, painful seconds Bellamy was silent. When she spoke her voice had hardened. The edge to her tone betrays the anger and hurt she felt. “I wish I could tell you things have gotten better, Acere. But there are wolves out there that are even sicker than your nephew.” The snow beneath her paws crunch as she digs her claws toward the earth below it.

“...Gavroche was brutally murdered. He called for us, but by the time any of us made it to the lands outside Ethne it was too late. The bastard tore his wings from his body, his head… he cracked his ribs… stole his heart.” Tears pricked her eyes, the last three words spoken in a snarl. “He took the life of a healer, of a man who never dared raise a paw to anyone and only wanted to take away their pain. What right did he have!?” Bellamy got to her paws. She was shaking, but she tried to steady herself with a couple breaths. She looked back at Ace, a sea of emotions churning within her eyes.

“The Goddess had mercy on Gavroche. For his selflessness in life, he was granted a new beginning. A life without pain and the memories of suffering he’d endured. He was reborn in our daughter’s litter.” She looked away again, voice growing quiet once more. “...and he will never remember us as we were… the Gavroche I knew is gone… and I will never meet with him again.” A heavy sigh passed her lips. Life seemed to like throwing challenges at her. It felt like everyone she loved was stolen away from her at one point or another. Would her children suffer the same fate…?

"Speech," 'Thought.'