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Life took a strange meaning when you started it afresh with no memories of what you had previously been. Navi Vis was finally discharged from the Hargeon Hospital after spending what he considered to be the first four months of his life recovering from death, his body being a half drowned broken mess when it was fished from the Hargeon docks.  One of the nurses told him it was a member from the guild Blue Pegasus that brought him in, however they never came to see him after the fact… they could have forgotten about their act of kindness or been too busy on one of their quests.

That was no matter to the man, once he had a job and a place to live, he would pop by the guild to give his thanks to the stranger. For now, he had a mission of his own; get a job and find a place to live. The clothes he had been found in were blood soaked and torn to shreds, luckily the hospital staff had found something he could use. A pair of flip flop sandals, some dark below the knee shorts and a brightly coloured floral shirt he chose to wear open. It was surprisingly fitting to the man; it helped that as part of his rehabilitation he had taken to extensive exercising.

The one issue had had now as he hobbled down the streets of Hargeon… his right leg had not healed to what it should have been. It had been so badly damaged that he was always going to have a pronounced limp now. Though the use of a cane helped him there.

The man had spent most the morning already going to businesses of nearly every type to enquire about work, for one reason or another he had been turned away at every opportunity.

“Sorry mate-” Navi left understanding that the barber shop was not looking for an older apprentice.

“We got no openings friend-” The construction worker told Navi as he moved to start dragging a wheelbarrow of bricks away.

He expected this to be hard, but there was no giving up. There were still more options for him to try. One of which being a store that specialised in selling sweets and candy. One that many of the nurses had used to get the man special treats as a help to motivate his recovery. He was not in the shop long as he talked to the old shop keeper. “Hello, I was wondering if you had any job opportunities… I am in need of work.” He said politely, slightly embarrassed that its taken so much effort.

The elderly shop owner looked the tall, muscular scarred man up and down and a shiver ran down his back. With a gulp he shifted to place down the batch of hard candy he was making and turned his attention to Navi. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can take you on.” He said with a loud sigh. “You’re too scary and you’ll scare off too many customers.”

The tall man understood this and nodded with respect to the owner. “Thanks for your time.” He said with a quick bow of his head before turning and leaving and walking into a whole new scene. One of three boys in their late teenage years, two of them seeming to bear down on another that was smaller than them in many ways.

“And you’ll always be a loser!” One of the bigger and more well-built teens spoke. Pushing the smallest and nerdy looking of the bunch from the shoulder with enough force to make them stumble back and fall on to their rear.

“It’s what you get for being such a smart ass! Take this!” The other one said while he was not as tall as his friend, he certainly had enough girth. He was making a kick that was aimed to the nerd’s head, one that if it impacted would lead to some pretty severe damage.

Navi felt a deep urge, a mixture of anger and annoyance combined with a sense to protect those who couldn’t or refused to protect themselves. It drove him to move, putting his cane in the path of the bully’s foot, making him lose balance and fall backwards himself. It was a slow fall, one that everyone could tell was going to happen but the more rotund of the bullies did everything in his natural power to stop. The floor shook as Navi righted himself and looked down at the lads.

“Now lads, why are you being so pathetic to this young man?” He asked, his gravelly voice deep and soothing as he stood between the two and their victim. “To feel good about inadequacies you have yourself?” He asked, shifting his position and offering his hand back to the victim who shakily took it and looked surprised when Navi easily hoisted him up.

“That twerp showed us up in class!” The athletic lad said as he helped his friend up and looked at Navi with a venom in his eyes. “Yeah! He made us look stupid, like we don’t know anything!” The other added, now he was finally up.

“I-I only answered the question Miss Leons asked… I was trying to help.” He victim said making Navi nod slowly, the situation coming out… this was jealousy.

“Well, that doesn’t mean that you should be attacked for helping.” He said letting go of the weedier lad’s hand and looking back to the bullies with his full attention, his muscular form more exposed as a burst of wind ruffled his open shirt, his scars clearly flashing in the light of day.

“Real men know when they are wrong and can admit it, they show respect to everyone and only use violence when they have to. What you two just did is not manly at all. In fact, it was pretty cowardly.” Navi explained, this speech coming from the depths of his soul. “How would you two like it if I used this cane to whoop your asses to the other side of Fiore?” he asked, not in a menacing way but genuinely curious to see their responses.

The bullies looked between each other and then to the man. “We’d feel pretty bad sir.” The athletic one said, thoughtful as he looked past Navi to the nerd he was just bullying. “I’m sorry Kyle.”

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Everything happened so quickly, the young Kyle managed a meek smile as he raised a hand to the back of his head and held the back of his skull. He seemed to be abashed to actually receive a sincere apology from the lads that had been tormenting him. He didn’t get a chance to open his mouth as a childlike voice called for a stop to be put to the activities.

Navi heard the child, and in a moment, he let his naturally hardened instincts take over, he moved without thinking. His arm outstretched, his palm enveloping the athletic lads face gently and pushed it out of the way before a childs foot could impact it at speed. He kept his arm outstretched to catch the mini missile before she could careen past the scene and into the sweet shops window. It wouldn’t do to be the cause of property damage to the store he had just been rejected from. It would not do his reputation any good at all!

He bent the crook of his elbow and let go of the Athletic boy’s face to wrap the girl in a half hug as he spun around to lessen her momentum. When the spin had finished, he looked down at her and to the woman who was chasing her down calling her name.

“Whoa there Princess, these young men had learned their lesson. Giving them black eyes would have just been cruelty.” The amnesiac spoke, shifting his hold of the child to have his hands under her armpits and his arms fully outstretched to keep her little feet away from potentially getting his face.

The bullies nodded at the words of wisdom quite vigorously as they recognised the woman that had been running after them. “Yes sir, we have!” The chubby lad said, taking a step back and looking to Kyle. “Hey… I’m sorry I was a butt. Can we start again?” He asked, moving around Navi to stand by Kyle.

The athletic young man righted himself after being pushed to safety and had wide yes. “Thank you, Mister.” He said before shifting to stand beside his friend and Kyle. “Y-yeah. Todd is right, let’s start again.” He said not wanting to be involved with the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus… especially after one of her daughters flew in to try and beat him up.

The blond man let the lads have their own conversation as he turned his own attention to the mother. It was then that he saw another woman springing up at full speed with another child in her arms. “Ah, good afternoon, ladies. I assume this one is one of your?” He asked, looking back down to Jessica who was held aloft.

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The old bear was not going to lie to himself when he saw interaction between the woman and her child, he was also feeling a twinge of parental envy as if that was something he wanted in his own life. Did he have a child in his old life that he was missing? Could someone who accrued such a tally of scars have been capable of giving that kind of love? It sent a minor shiver up his spine, one that was easily masked by a jovial smile to both the women and their children.

“Oh, it is no worries, if I hadn’t of stopped those lads from being bullies, I am sure your little warrior princess would have.” He replied to the first woman, letting a chuckle rumble as his words ring aloud. In this situation he was more than sure he was the good cop to little Jessica’s bad cop, while she likely didn’t intend to come off that way a boot to the face after an opponent had stopped fighting and begun changing their ways was certainly not a good look.

The other woman mentioned something about their cuties, the context being enough for the blond to put two and two together. They were a couple, that was cute. They had a connection beyond just friendship and base urges something that the man couldn’t remember if he ever had, or who with. “Strong indeed.” He agreed, looking between the two children with a friendly smile and with his free hand patting each gently on the head.

Everything was run of the mill and fine to the amnesiac until the brunette called out to a creature that had not been there before and tore a hole in the fabric of space and time to create a pathway to a park. This widened his eyes; he knew of magic and had even seen it being practiced in the hospital… but this was entirely new. It was exhilarating, he could feel his heartbeat increase and his base instincts to just get moving tickled at the back of his mind.

“Call me Navi, I would love some ice cream.” He said containing a more feral smile to be presentable to the women and their precious girls. “I’ve had a rough day looking for a job and place to live, so an ice-cream pick me up would be fantastic.” He admitted, moving to carefully hobble along behind them with his limp aided by a simple wooden cane.

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With the invite confirmed by the raven-haired woman the underdressed blonde man picked up his pace to keep close to the family. Then he suddenly stopped and looked back to the group of teens he had left to talk and smiled, calling out to them with a wave. “Lads! Remember, men show respect. Violence comes when there’s no other choice. And Kyle! If those two start losing their way come and find me!” He raised his voice to get his words to them, but he did not shout, there was no need for aggression in this situation. With that the amnesiac turned and let the young men move on with their lives, having given them a promise that he would be there if they needed advice in the future. It wasn’t much but it was all  he could give, something from the heart that just felt like the right thing to say.

The portal closed behind him as he moved to keep close to the family again, his cane hitting the ground with a shaky thunk. He was listening to the woman speak, now free of children as she turned to business. Was she some sort of business owner wanting to offer him a branch he could use to craft spear that would let him tame his future?

“That’s the thing, I do not know. what I can do.” He said honestly, the frustration about not knowing who he was shining just slightly. “I woke up four months ago in the hospital with no memories of my life before that day. They say I was fished out of the bay by a member of Blue Pegasus.” The blond explained carefully as the pair reached a bench and the girls ran to the play area with their brunette mother. He paused as he watched them run, happy just to be together, making that pang in his heart return.

“I own nothing but the clothes I was given and this cane… the cold isn’t really bothering me at all. It actually feels pretty nice out.” Navi admitted with a shrug and a chuckle, the nurses think he is an icebergian so that would explain his tolerance to cold weather quite well. Maybe when snow started to fall, and a chill wind blew over the land he would feel the need to dress up in more layers but for now his open shirt and shorts were just fine.

“The only thing I really know about myself is what I am.” He looked at his hands and clenched them closed, his muscles bulging as the blood flow increased in intensity and pressure and then softening as he let his hands loosen. “Not who I used to be.” He whispered, a reseloute smile gracing his face as he looked up to watch the family play in the park.  

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As the pair sat on the bench and just let the world pass by and the children, and their childish mother, play in the park, Navi let the weight of his problems sag from his shoulders as he relaxed. While the bench itself was a good seat, in the long term this was not comfortable in the slightest, his scarred body complained that the cool wood was too hard.

As they were talking the woman mentioned something about how she knew who had found him before going on to console him about his lost feeling. He looked over to the mousie haired woman and smiled. “Maybe, the doctors thought I could be Icebergian.” He said with a shrug. Then the important question came, one he was expecting but not one he was wanting to ignore. Where was he going to live?

“Well, here’s the thing.” He said, looking away into the park, where the view of the brunette and her kids came back. “I’ve got nothing, I was discharged this morning and told not to come back. What you see is all I’ve got.” Navi explained with a chuckle and smile, somehow deep down in his core he knew it could be worse and he could still bounce back with enough effort.

“I was going to try Blue Pegasus, but I don’t know what I can do, I think I have no magic, and to top it all off I am cursed.” His earlier chuckle returned with a vengeance, threatening to become a full on laugh. He leaned back and looked up into the clear blue skies and outstretched his arms across the back of the bench he was on. “Ursanthrope, or so the doctors called it. I’m a spooky werebear.” Navi uttered, not wanting those words to make their way to the kids, just in case it scared them like it did the more superstitious of the nurses.

Why was he opening this bleeding heart out to this stranger? Was it because he was just that down low? Or did that gut feeling that this woman and her wife were genuinely good people actually have legs to stand on? It was no matter in the long run, if she got scared, he would just leave Hargeon and make his way around. Life was what one made of it, and he had a clean slate.

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The prospect of being given lodgings for being a member of Blue Pegasus was very appealing, especially if he could join and make use of magic items instead of his own magics. It was good, the idea of the guild being his new start in life was perfect. He had presented his bleeding heart to this woman when he should have held back some secrets, hidden his curse.

It was when she chuckled that he stopped his doubting about what secrets he had just spilled and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Just like her partner and children she had a great outlook on life and could see the bright side of everything! While she admitted Navi was the first Werebear that she had heard of or met, he was not the first were-person she or the guild had. This line was the last piece of the puzzle for him to figure out that this was a very high-ranking person in that guild.

“Well, when this shifted into a job interview, I did not expect to find out this curse was as widespread.” The bartender spoke with a relieved smile and a soft chuckle, his gaze shifting away from the ground and up to the other half and the children playing. Their laughter and joy washing over him in a relieving sense, that everything was going to be ok.

“I don’t know anything about the guild or its members, but I assume you are a pretty big shot. You carry yourself strong and you smell important.” He said explaining, leaning forward to lean his elbows on his knees and his chin on his raised hands. “You know everything about me but what name I’ve been going by… Call me Navi, I was found with a scrap of paper with that word scrawled on it in my hand.” The amnesiac admitted, now sitting up straight and offering an outstretched hand to shake, his arms showing evidence of plenty of scars.

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“Go easy on me, I’ve been a new man for just four months. That’s barely enough time to learn all the perfume brands the hot boss ladies use.” He jibed back to her, letting a dry chuckle rumble from his throat as his shoulders shook, trying to contain his mirth. The hand that shook his was impressively smooth, almost as if they had never worked a hard day in their life, though from his grasp he could feel her knuckles and the weapons that they were. His own hands despite the months of recovery were rough, looking as if they had been through wars and battles. His grip however was light and restrained, not out of fear that he’d crush her hands, but more from the practice of someone who instinctively knew how to cause harm with them.

“Well Alisa, if you will have me in your guild I will gladly follow a woman like you, and your other half.” He said, letting go to return to a lean, though most of his body was still facing hers as he let the hand fall onto his knees. “There’s one skill I retained… well picked back up. I seem to be a wizard behind a bar, mixing drinks to anyone’s tastes.” The werebear spoke, lacing his words with a sense of pride that many would find overpowering. He had learned that he had this skill after getting a few bottles from his nurses for a present to congratulate his rehabilitation. Those bottles were put to good use mixing cocktails for the many nurses that attended that party… this was the main reason he was getting discharged; it seemed his antics were a bad influence on the poor women of the hospital.

He returned his attention back to the kids, one of them being Alisa’s wife. “I suppose I could baby sit too, if you have to go out and do important things. ” He suggested, noticing how one was such a rowdy warrior for justice, the girl he had caught mid flying kick. Bundles of energy and well-intentioned good values, something that he enjoyed seeing, feeling like he was once similar. Being a part of helping those young lasses learn to channel their good natures as they grow into women would be an honour… It would be something that could potentially fill a massive hole that seemed to be so vast in his core that screams could echo into it. Then again being raised around a guild said to be as virtuous as Blue Pegasus would be more than enough for most people to take to the path of light and justice.

“Oh… what’re their names? I don’t wanna go offending these princesses now.” He said, chuckling again with a smile.

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The wear bear nodded at the acknowledgement that he could slot in well to the guild as a bartender, though he shook his head at the teasing about that and baby sitting not being the best of combinations. Maybe not but they were not mutually exclusive to one’s time now, were they? He laughed out loud at the idea of trying to serve drinks with the boisterous red head trying to copy him from a stool to the side, a thought that sent an errant pang of guilt through his heart.

He calmed down in time to hear the names and get a rough outline of the personalities of the girls, but not their other mother. That should come in time, something Navi wasn’t going to press for… though it may just become so awkward if he never actually hears her name… A nickname will have be to made up for her in that case. “Jessica and Mariana, cute names. You must be proud of them, all three.” He joked, noting that the eldest of the girls over there was acting just as childish in her play.

“If you’ll have me Alisa, I’ll gladly work for Blue Pegasus.” Navi announced, shifting to stand up from the bench and to lean on his cane, stretching his legs as best he could. Deep in his bones he was eager to find a place to lie his head and call his own as a base of operations to eventually pursue exploring this new world.

“And I think I will take you up on any sort of magic lessons, I can feel a burning deep in my bones for adventure.” Navi added, his smile turning to that of a predator, wide and toothy. It was the smile of a thrill seeker about to jump from an air ship, a warrior moments before battle. He offered the woman a hand to help her up from the bench and to her own feet so they could keep the talk going as they walked. Maybe getting to know the other half of hers and their children.

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The grizzled werebear nodded at the idea of the paperwork getting sorted when the group got the guild hall, and he could be formally inducted as a member to the Guild Blue Pegasus. This meeting had to be an act of fate or some sort of divine intervention, it was almost too good to be true that he met a high-ranking member of Blue Pegasus the day he left the hospital with nothing to his name and no where to live. From everything he had read in his four months recovering and from his gut instinct this was going to need to be repaid some time later, or something was going to bite him in the ass… maybe not as hard as being left to float barely clinging to life as his old memories vanished.

“Do I look like a man that shied away from close combat in my old life?” Navi asked with a laugh, shaking his head as a playful smile came to grace his face. “No, it’s in my bones to use my hands and claws to tear through my enemies” The amnesiac explained now his quick bark of laughter had died down, the amusement in his voice with how sure he was in this surprised him. Old instincts died hard it seemed.

His train of thought was interrupted when Sofia and the kids came, bringing with them a childish energy that was refreshing. “The Mommy empire sounded like a serious threat to the alliance of princesses, they had to use all their powers it would seem.” Navi joked, noting how the kids seemed to be just a little bit more tired now that they had their play time. Again, that pang of longing rushed through his heart at the thought of a potential family of his own, as if some deep recess in his heart was screaming out, but about what he did not know.

“Anything that is not grape flavoured. I have an irrational hatred for the things.” Navi said, his smile vanishing and his tone taking a steely note as he voiced his dislike for the accursed things. He didn’t know why he hated them, but one doctor seemed to think it was his werebear curse that drove a primal instinct… were grapes even poison to bears? It would make some lick of sense if that were the case.

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