The return (Stella/Natasha)

Things had grown mighty hectic as of late, and among all that mess, one of her three amigos ended up in the crosshairs of some faceless enemy that texted her some rather unsavory pictures recently. In truth, it took every fibre of her soul to maintain composure, but somehow, she persevered.

Part of her felt that whoever this bastard was, they didn't intend to kill Stella. They wanted to prove a point and escape without facing any consequence. It was a tough pill to swallow, no doubt, but as long as Stella returned home, she could pick up the pieces and go from there.

When Stella opened the door, she was met with a warm and familiar embrace. An embrace that always occupied her return from a long day. A heavy burden likely rested on her shoulders now, and she wasn't exactly confident sweet words and a warm meal would suffice this time around, but she was here to welcome her with open arms and let her know she was safe now. Mama bear was here, and she was ready to nurse one of her cub's wounds.

"Welcome home, sweetheart. Christ, I'm... so happy to see ya right now. I'm real sorry I couldn't be there to help."

"Missed you too, sugar."

Considering what transpired, Natasha thanked the heavens above that Stella was even alive and in her arms. She was well aware of the tactic the heartless bastard was tryin' to employ by sending her pictures of Stella's battered and bruised form, so the likelihood of her dying wasn't a certainty. Even so, just knowing she was moments away from it hardly made the salt in the wound any easier. Worse yet, there wasn't even half of that happiness in her form she was accustomed to. Without hesitation, she welcomed the young woman in as she maintained the embrace, softly patting her head as she led her somewhere warm she could sit.

"I can whip up some supper if yer feelin' famished or anything, Stel. If ya need anything to talk about, I'm here."

"Don't worry 'bout none of that, honey. I'm just glad yer finally safe and sound."

As the mother bear consoled her cub, Natasha gently ran her fingers softly across Stella's head. She'd developed quite a close bond with this redhead rascal, and it hurt her fiercely to see her crying like this. A face like this deserved to be unblemished and unbruised, with no tears or anguish. To know someone could be so heartless as to strike her down and torture her made Natasha angry. Even so, anger was the last thing Stella needed to see right now. And so, she let her remain in her arms for as long as she wished, continuing to console her with a mother's warmth, humming softly.

"Again, I think I speak for this Veralia and all of us when I say we're glad yer still alive. When yer hurt or wounded, of course we're gonna worry. That just means we all love and care for you a bunch, more than you can ever imagine, pumpkin."

"Come now, sweetheart. None of that."

Natasha shook her head as she allowed the woman to cry on her shoulder. She knew the regret weighed heavy in her soul, but that didn't mean she had to admonish herself for something that was, ultimately, out of her control. The harsh reality of it was---situations like these weren't too uncommon. There were heartless folk in the world who had ill intent no matter where they were. Unfortunately, it just so happened this one was particularly vicious. Reflecting on it forever would do her no good. It never did any soldier good.

"You all went in there as a unit. You were not leading them. You were a soldier among other soldiers. None of that blame should fall solely on yer shoulders."

"Of course. That's somethin' that definitely can't be overlooked. Good thinkin', sweetheart."

After all, if she so brutally attacked Stella, who was to say this bastard didn't intend on making her life even worse and attacking other quincy? Without hesitation, she handed Stella her phone. Here, she hoped, Carla hadn't fallen victim to any assault of her own. If it got to that point, she'd simply take matters into her own hands and track this woman down herself.