"What the-" Eilidh questioned with furtive shock, watching as Bella stomped deeper into the room, standing up the easel where it could be seen by everybody before falling to her knees and dropping the scrolls to be organized. Turning to her friends, both of whom watched with a mixture of worry and confusion, Eilidh slowly approached the mousy woman, clearing her throat to make her presence known.

"Uh, Bella?" she questioned lowly.

The woman shook her head, though it was more like her head had scurried back and forth with how quickly it had moved, almost as though it had simply vibrated, "No, no! Can't look! If I don't, they're not there!"

Her brow forcing itself forward, Eilidh watched the woman with determinate fury, "Bell! You can't-" She examined all that was before her. "-give a presentation? without looking at your audience!"

"Wanna bet?!"

She dropped her head forward, turning toward the others with faint resolve, "Come on, they were really looking forward to seeing you again."

Bella paused her arranging, turning her head to the side to offer a glance that didn't appear to fully approach Eilidh's face, "That's a lie."

"Why would I lie?!"

"To get me out of the house."

"That was one time. and we had fun, didn't we?"

Bella frowned, "You made me put my book down."

"And we had fun! I think you're forgetting a very important part about that day."

With a face nearly approaching a scowl, Bella returned to her rearranging, leaving Eilidh to return to the others, Skyla having already resigned herself and sipping her tea. Ariella, on the other hand, watched attentively, smiling with the sort of adoration a mother might be expected to have - and that her friends from her pre-maternal years might find wholly foreign - slowly standing and approaching the two. Eilidh clenched the muscles in her arm, not knowing how this might go, as she had figured Bella was already stressed as it was. Still, she trusted the matriarchal woman, even as she crouched behind Bella, crossing her arms atop her knees and watching her work with a gentle smile.

"Hello."

In a split second, Bella's entire body spun around like a rocket, her voice nearly shouting, "Hello, sir or ma'am!! My name is-!"

"Bella! Bella, yes, I know; we've met," Ariella smiled gently, her nod slow and soft, "I just wanted to welcome you to my home. You're more than welcome to anything you may need while you're here: food, drink, the restroom, whatever have you."

The cowering woman's eyes shrunk, as though calculating, "Have you a library?"

From the corner of her eye, Ariella could see Eilidh gesturing with a flat hand across her neck, signaling her denial, though she answered affirmatively, "Why, yes, though it's not the most expansive in the world, I'm sure. Fergus has accrued some literature here and-"

Bella stood up in place, her eyes vacant.

"I want to go to there."

Dropping her hand from her face, Eilidh groaned, "Okay, after the- presen- Why a presentation?"

"Well, you invited me to a gathering, so-" Bella shrugged, her tone meandering between confidence and uncertainty, "I couldn't write out my findings on paper to give to just one of you to read at any one time."

Ariella smiled, "That's actually quite considerate."

"Isn't it, though?" Skyla agreed, turning in her seat to better view the easel that had been erected, "What is this, sea life?"

Bella shook her head, "Seal- life."

"Sea life."

As though her brain were having to slow down to process, Bella's eyes began to go blank until Eilidh gently took hold of her shoulders and patting them, "Just- pay her no mind. We hardly do, ourselves."

Skyla rolled her eyes at such a slight, though she couldn't help but see the teasing humor behind the words and, indeed, the entire situation.

Returning to her easel, Bella shook her head, "Just sit, and-" She failed to continue, simply waving Eilidh and Ariella off as she completed her preparations. The two shared a glance before meandering back to their seats, the former taking a weary gasp of breath, now uncertain how all this was about to play out, only to be jolted back to reality as Bella began to shout.

"This-!" she threw a finger toward the poster that now sat atop the easel, a crudely drawn picture of what appeared to be a sea lion, perhaps, "-is a seal!"

The three women watched, all expecting some continuation, though Bella - who hadn't turned around, and was simply staring at the easel as they were, finger remaining outstretched - didn't offer such a progression, merely standing there silently. Eilidh's eyes turned to Skyla, then Ariella, attempting to ascertain a proper path forward, unaware as to what was presentation and what was social deficiency.

"Yes," she finally spoke, knowingly, "That is a seal."

Bella nodded, dropping her hand, "Good. Now that we all agree on that..."

She removed the first poster, rustling amongst the remaining posters to find the next one, owing to Skyla's wide and wary eyes falling onto Eilidh. She raised her arms in a pleading motion, gesturing forgiveness for the poor young woman, though all appeared to be absolved when, in an instant, the crude drawing was replaced with a sheet of parchment so indelibly chock-a-block with writing so as to be near-intelligible without, perhaps, a microscope.

"Now, after extensive research, it is my somewhat-professional opinion that this is a very bad idea," Bella explained without consulting the poster, still turned away from the group.

Eilidh raised her arms, "Well I'm not keeping it as a pet! Just until it-"

"It will require pounds of fish a day, for one. They are social beings, and being alone in your home will likely cause it distress."

"What if it's like a Bella Montgomery?" Skyla quipped, causing Eilidh to throw her a stare.

"Sky!"

Bella assured, "No, I rather take that as a compliment. Though, I doubt the same can be said of seals. I would recommend returning it to the Loch as soon as you return home."

"Oh, and allowing it to fend for itself? It's not going to get very far with that wound."

A shrug as Bella offered matter-of-factly, "Such is life, oftentimes."

Skyla gave an agreeable tilt of the head, "I think I like her. Though, I'd still like to pet the thing before you do so."

"Well-" Eilidh frowned, "Based on your recommendation, I'll be sitting in a Dumbarton prison for killing a hunter."

Crossing her arms and dipping her head, Bella muttered, "I recommended no such thing..."

Recognizing her intensifying heatedness, Ariella stood up, crossing the space between the couches and sitting beside her friend, "Eilidh, I understand it's distressing-"

"Oh, it's a little more like irritating," she griped with a severe frown, "You give me shit for my parade of imbeciles, and the moment I'm given the opportunity to help something who isn't likely to leave me worse off, you tell me to just walk away."

Skyla's brow raised, her shoulders tensing as she hadn't put the pieces together until just now, though Ariella had done so already. She reached a gentle hand up to Eilidh's shoulder, attempting to comfort her in a silence that had grown so thick that even Bella had spun her head around to cut a line through the uncomfortable quiet.

"Well, I was hoping it would be a situation less- feral, to be sure," Ariella muttered, with only the slightest hint of humor, "Look, you've got a right good head on your shoulders. I think even Bella would agree that you've the heart to know when to step back when you sense things grow to be too much for you, correct?"

She eyed the diminutive woman, who took a moment to think before acknowledging, "I think, perhaps. Rather, I've been given no indication, in our time together, to believe otherwise."

"So, a yes, then," Ariella grinned, returning to Eilidh, "If you want this to be a good deed, then you have my support." Her eyes jumped to Skyla. "I assume she has yours?"

Skyla shrugged, "I mean, did you think it a question that I would inquire of a visit? Of course she has my support."

"Then-" Ariella returned, "Do what you feel you have to, Eilidh. We've all had to wade through shit in our day; if this is a chance for you to find something different, I'm all for it."

Frowning, Eilidh conceded, "Well, I mean, it's not as if I think it's going to change my life or anything, but-"

"Perhaps it'll be a step in the right direction. Skyla didn't ward off ale all at once, you'll recall; she spiked it with tea and gradually weened herself off over a year or two."

Skyla shook aquiver, "Gods, did you have to send a wave of nausea my way?"

"Bella," Ariella turned toward the presenter, who immediately spun away in a burst of social anxiety, "While I'm sure we all appreciate your somewhat-professional opinion, you've spent what appears to be a great deal of time with this presentation that I'd hate for you to have wasted. If you could continue with the finer points of the caring for seal life, we'll be all ears, won't we?"

Such was this woman's tact, Eilidh recognized, being only one of the features that had made her the matriarchal figure of this group of three, years ago and even until now. Rather than taking offense, Bella seemed somewhat overcome with the compliment, taking a moment to collect herself before continuing along.

"O- Okay, then," she nodded, "So, uh- Seals, or rather, a collection of species only recently classified under the genus Phoca, including common seals, Pagos vitulina, harp seals, Pagos groenlandicus, and ringed seals, Pagos hispida; though, without seeing this seal, I can't exactly tell which it is, though proper care, I'd imagine, wouldn't vary much between-"