It seemed like everyone was waiting for Samantha to say something, but she was exhausted from the already long day and wasn't sure how to react to Bub's understandably defensive mother. She turned to look at the teddy bear that had fallen near Benji's feet, but he met her eyes and shook his head just enough for her to understand that it would be unacceptable for her to bring it to the bear cub. Samantha closed her eyes in pain and took a deep breath before turning around to walk towards Bub's mother, only to find that a large, blond, olive toned male was quickly approaching their group with, presumably, Bub's twin in tow. "Son?", the male asked, tears in his eyes, "Where have you been? We've been searching everywhere for you!" Bub charged at his father and grunted at him as they made contact, his father easily lifting him into the air and above his head, inspecting his son for any injuries or other maladies he might have acquired while they were separated. Satisfied, he put Bub down and allowed the brothers to sniff each other and continue the happy grunting that meant they'd been reunited at long last. Samantha looked at the family and smiled, although there were still tears in her eyes, unaware that the female was still sizing her up. "My son says you saved him in the woods not far from the Bear Tribe. Is this true?" she said as she walked over to Samantha. Although Samantha was above average height for a human female at 5'8", her height wasn't able to compete with this female's, who had at least six inches on her.

"It's true," Samantha said as she wiped her eyes. "He approached me when I was separated from my- my males, and I could tell from just one look that he was hungry and dirty and must have gotten separated from his family. I knew nobody would leave a bear cub on purpose, especially not his family. I told my males that we would take him in, and I promised the cub we would help him find you, or if we couldn't, we would care for him ourselves. He missed you very, very much while you were separated, and I'm so happy that we were able to bring him back to you," Samantha said emotionally, looking into the other female's eyes to let her know she wasn't lying. "My name is Samantha, and these two," she pointed behind her at the males, waiting behind her in deference, "are Spencer and Benjamin, respectively; my mate," she said with a blush, "and my guardian beast." The other female's eyes began to water as well and she smiled at Samantha. "My name is Jewel," she introduced herself, "and this is my mate, Tommy. We are both members of the Bear clan, and these are our sons who were born during this past cold season. Thank you so much for bringing our son back to us; we were starting to think that we'd never see him again. He must have wandered off too far one night while we were sleeping, and we were unable to find him after that even though we looked for such a long time, using every means we could."

Bub wandered back over to the conversing females, grunting now at his mother as though to add to the story. As he talked with his mother, he wound his way around both females affectionately, during which he spotted his neglected toy near Benji's feet and left to retrieve it. "What's this?" Jewel asked her son amusedly, and he brought the stuffed bear back to her, presenting it for her to examine. "Where did you get this? I've never seen anything like it. Tommy, it's a bear!" she exclaimed, lifting it for her mate to see. She looked at it more closely, finding the places where the fur had been stitched together and fluffing up the miniature bear ears sewn on its head. "This is so clever. Did you make this for my son?" she asked Samantha. Samantha blushed at the praise and admitted, "He missed you so much, so my males and I made this to try and help console him. We only finished it recently, so it didn't help very much, but I think the little one enjoyed watching the process, at least." Jewel was excited to find that the arms and legs of the bear moved, and had been articulating them while Samantha spoke. Flustered, she handed the toy back to her son, who nuzzled her hand and obediently brought his treasured belonging to show his father and brother. "You really took such good care of my son, the debt we owe you cannot be easily repaid," the female said softly. "Would you like him to be your male? I think he likes you very much," she added.

Samantha looked back at the two males with panic written all over her face. Benjamin offered her nothing but a smug look, and it looked like Spencer was trying to suppress laughter and jealousy at the same time. She gave them an even more desperate expression for help, but only Spencer stepped forward. "Samantha and I are mates, but we have not mated yet," he explained to Bub's mother. "I am a fox beastman, and I will be the first to admit that I have a jealous side. For Samantha to take in another male before we have mated, I would definitely be unhappy," he asserted slyly. Jewel glared at him in response. "Mate or not, you are still a male. The decision belongs to Samantha, not to you. If she took my son into her family because she likes him, you would have no power to do anything to him," she asserted back as she puffed out her chest. Apparently, Samantha marveled, she did so correctly, because Spencer backed away while sending Samantha a look of 'see, I tried'. Summoning her courage, Samantha said kindly, "You've only just been reunited with your son. He is so happy to be with his family now; regardless of my feelings, it would be cruel to take him away from you now. I'd like for him to have a lot of happy years living with you before he finds a mate, whether that person is myself or somebody else, because that is what I promised him. I won't go back on my word."

Jewel seemed very pleased with this compromise, and as she looked more closely at Samantha's males, she could see that they were burdened with more objects than a female would usually purchase even on the largest of shopping sprees. "Have you just moved to the city?" she asked Samantha. "If so, please allow us to show you the house across from ours. Nobody has lived in it for a very long time, but it is spacious and sturdy. If you were to live there, you could come and visit us as often as you like," she said persuasively. Apparently, she was unwilling to give up on finding a mate for her son, but Samantha saw a chance to make some friends of her own while in this Beast City and readily agreed. "I would love to see it! Please, if you don't mind, lead the way; I'm sure it will suit us wonderfully," she replied, practically beaming. Behind her, Spencer and Benjamin shot each other a look, tacitly agreeing that they shouldn't interfere, but that they also wouldn't let down their guard against their young love rival, regardless of Samantha's words. Bear beastmen were strong and capable even if they weren't known to be bright, and their female's motherly feelings toward Bub could easily change when he became a handsome young man in the not-so-far-off future. They followed Samantha, who followed Jewel and her family, until they reached the female bear's home. Five more beastmen poured out of the door to greet their female with kisses, and then to celebrate the return of their family's cub with Tommy.

Samantha was stunned to learn that Jewel had at least six mates; for the first time, she glanced at the other female's body while she was distracted and found at least that many spousal marks just on one side of her body. She was instantly glad she wasn't prone to nosebleeds; this world was full of surprises, and it seemed Samantha would never get used to them, especially when all of Jewel's sons followed behind their fathers to get a good sniff at their returning brother. Samantha was beginning to feel faint when she felt her hand being grabbed by the female herself. "Let's take a look at the house!" she cried excitedly, pulling Samantha across the road toward a stone home that was obviously unoccupied. The fox and scorpion shot each other another glance and then followed their female helplessly. If they really moved into this house, there was no telling what influences Jewel might have over their own female. Both of them, each unbeknownst to the other, sent up silent wishes to the Beast Deity that this house would crumble before either female stepped foot over the threshold. The deity was apparently otherwise occupied, however, because the house stood firm as Samantha entered, oooh-ing and aaah-ing over various things Jewel was pointing out to her inside. Spencer followed first, his ears drooping, followed by Benjamin, who looked exceptionally sullen, even for him. He had known from the start that this bear cub would be a problem, but he had still managed to underestimate Bub the Cub.