#roegedame

Bleibhar growled in contentment as he sank his paws deep into the snow.  Nimble couldn’t help but smile at that.  The only good thing that could be said about Coerthas’s eternal winter was that it made her ursine friend very comfortable more so than most of the rest of Eorzea particularly in the summer months.

She scratched the bears back and her mind drifted back to when she first met the little furball:

The Waverunner had just set anchor down on one of the islands off Areslaent.  Nimble, then eight summers old, had been permitted to go ashore for the first time as the crew gathered supplies.  Her father Hyrtbhar told her to not wander too far inland for the island they were on was uninhabited and there were plenty of wild beasts.

Content at first to stay on shore and search the breakers for shells, interesting rocks and little creatures to look at, she was at first obedient.  But then there was a strange sound, like an infant bawling and she couldn't just ignore it.  The adults were too intent on gathering supplies and seemed to not notice it.  Thinking it could be a child in trouble and lost from maybe a shipwreck, Nimble followed the sound intent on helping as best she could.

What she had found however once she reached the source was not an infant but a bear cub the little thing was reared up on the overt carcass of its mother shaking and bawling.  The mother’s throat was gone, its blood now black in the snow.  Overtly some sort of beast had picked a fight with her and she lost.  Calling gently to it the bear cub had turned toward her snuffling wairily.  Then it sat on its haunches and began bawling again.  Rummaging though her pockets Nimble found some dried fish jerky.  Slowing she walked toward the cub holding out the jerky.  It sniffed several times then delicately took it and began eating.  Nimble gave it all she had and coaxed it to follow her back to where the ship was anchored.

Suffice to say her parents were none too happy to see a bear cub in tow of their daughter but when she explained what she found and begged them to allow it they permitted her to bring it onto the ship with the assurance she would take care of it and train it.