Hey guys! So this is a Bella/Alice fic with a main OC who is a werebear. I really wanted to expand the universe beyond just werewolves and vampires into other creatures without taking away from the story. I'm sure everyone else has read the solstice saga and a few other good bellice ones, so some of my character development is inspired from them...

A little about me: I have horrible grammar…really…. so expect some mistakes because I'm still learning how to use commas…. yeah….

Also, I am a procrastinator so I will try to write this all in one shot, but it may take longer and you might not hear from me for months, just be forewarned…. Also, I don't own any Twilight stuff; if I did I would change it to being Bella/Alice since Edward is so angsty…

Note: This first chapter is really long just because it was really fun writing a back-story, so it just kept getting longer and longer, sorry about that. Also just learning how to upload things so sorry if the spacing is off...

One

The forest was damp and lush and the smell of moist soil filled the air. Dew rested on mossy rocks and small birds chirped unseen from the towering trees above. The occasional deer flitted through the forest almost soundlessly along small trails that only it could follow. Elsewhere in the forest squirrels chattered to each other, discussing among other things the advent of fall brought on by the changing of the winds, and the shortening of the days as the sun retreated to bed earlier and earlier than the day previous. The squirrels were interrupted in their gossip at the sound of two humans crashing through the forest. The first was a male, lumbering on carrying a sizable pack on its back and smelling of steak and eggs. The second was a small child, skipping along and occasionally stopping to peer at a tree or pick up a stick. While the adult male did not seem to notice the squirrels sitting in their perch, the small child did, and let out a delighted squeal that promptly drove any creature close enough to hear deeper into the forest away from the child. As the squirrels vanished, the child returned once more to walking behind her father, this time slower with a face that, if the father could have seen, spoke of an imminent arriving tantrum.

Seven-year-old Bella Swan walked through the forest looking for more squirrels. So far, her hike with her father Charlie hadn't yielded any sightings of any animals other than squirrels. She pouted slightly and dragged her feet in catching up with her father. Her dad had suggested taking a hike in the national park and they had spent the morning in the car driving to Port Angeles and going to the national park. It wasn't that the walk wasn't fun; she had met a few kids on the hike who were from different states and were visiting Washington for the first time. She had proudly explained to a wide eyed young boy from Connecticut that while she and her mother lived in Arizona, she visited her father in Forks during the summer and thus got to live in both states. Of course she didn't tell the boy that this was only her second time visiting her father during the summer without her mother flying with her, and that she hated the weather in Washington, because she decided it would seem more grown up to live in two different states and travel on a plane by herself (which wasn't really true).

But Bella found the weather in Forks too cold and wet, and while she appreciated the greenery and the interesting animals that lived here, she would much rather prefer to be in sunny Arizona with her mother. It wasn't that her father hadn't tried to make her trip fun. They went out to eat and went down to La Push, where Bella had a few friends, but Bella was lonely in Forks and aside from Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob, there wasn't much to do in the small town.

Charlie had flown all the way out to Phoenix to pick up Bella, and while Bella had whined that she would rather go alone because she was a big girl, secretly she was glad that her father had held her hand when the plane took off. When they landed in Port Angeles Bella nearly died of embarrassment from riding in her father's police cruiser back from Port Angeles to Forks. Her father joked that she was an escaped convict and that he was transporting her back to headquarters. Bella thought she looked nothing like a prisoner, rather a small girl who could barely see out of the backseat window dying of embarrassment as her father called in on the radio 'I've got that girl and am returning to the base, roger that'.

Bella picked up a good sized walking stick and walked a few paces with it, alternately knocking her stick against trees or stabbing them into muddy puddles. Charlie turned around at the sound, as if remembering his daughter's presence.

"Bella, shush, we don't want to disturb the birds." He said as he pointed up into the trees. Bella looked upward but couldn't see anything, but she put the stick down and continued walking, tugging at Charlie's pant leg to get him to keep walking.

"How much longer?" She asked, unable to keep the slight whine out of her voice. Her father had promised that they would reach a waterfall soon, and then a picnic area at the crossroads of several different trails. Bella wasn't quite sure what crossroads meant, but she didn't feel like asking.

"Just a little bit, can't you hear the water? When we get to the waterfall there might be other kids there. And maybe some coffee and a bathroom." Bella wasn't supposed to hear the last part, so she nodded and pretended to dart on ahead, forcing Charlie to move faster. They had been walking for most of the morning, as soon as they had left the car, and they hadn't stopped. The trail with the green circle that Charlie and Bella had taken crisscrossed with several of the other trails, and was a general loop around a portion of the forest ending back at the park entrance. The trail had at first been gravel, and in some places boardwalks which Bella enjoyed running over, but later they became pine needle covered trails and the only other people Charlie and Bella saw were far off, taking a different route. Now with the possibility of meeting up with other people, Bella no longer felt tired, she felt like a survivor in a foreign jungle re-entering society.

A few minutes later the waterfall was reached, it was a small one, but the stony river had a wide enough section that several kids were already swimming in it when Bella and Charlie arrived. Bella shyly sat on a stone letting her feet dangle in the water; she hadn't thought to bring a bathing suit. Charlie, after making sure Bella was settled, left to get coffee and use the bathroom at the small rest stand that was erected a few yards from the river.

Bella sat by herself, her previous braveness gone as she watched the kids play in the water. They obviously all knew each other, and they hadn't noticed Bella at all. That suited her. She was sitting and pretending to be interested with her sneakers when she noticed a silvery fish dart in front of her and further down the river. Glancing up she noticed that Charlie was not back, so she quietly got up and followed the fish. The river took a small turn, and the other children were hidden by some scraggly bushes, but Bella could still hear them so she wasn't worried.

The river was surrounded by low bushes and rocks stuck out of the water in random jagged points. In the middle of the river, however, perched on a large rock was a woman. When Bella had rounded the corner, the woman had been basking in the now bright sunlight, but now she turned to look at Bella with a gentle yet serious face. Bella turned a bright red as she turned around to return to the other children, but the stranger just chuckled and turned back towards the river. With the stranger not looking at her, Bella watched her more closely.

The woman was very tall, Bella guessed a lot taller than her father, with lightly tanned skin covered in a multitude of scars. Her body was lithe and muscular; she looked like she didn't have an ounce of fat on her, and her muscles rippled whenever she moved. She was dressed simply in cargo pants and a t-shirt, but she no wore shoes, and despite the constant rain chilled weather in Washington she didn't carry a jacket or any other belongings. The thing Bella couldn't stop staring at however, was her hair. It was a shocking white, and surrounded by mossy rocks and lush forests the stranger stood out like a beacon. Bella inched closer and the stranger, splashing her feet in the water, lazily looked over again and grinned. Bella stopped short and almost covered her hands with her mouth, but instantly dropped them and blushed. Although the stranger's hair stood out, it was nothing compared to the horrible mutilating scars around her neck. The scars were of varying width and depth, but it looked like the woman's neck had been gouged out by a large animal, or like someone had viciously ripped the layers off the woman's skin so it would never heal.

Noticing Bella staring, the woman smiled gently but didn't comment and turned back to the river. Perhaps, Bella thought, she could not talk because of the horrible scars around her neck. Or she might not speak English; she did look out of place compared to the others who usually came to hike. Bella hung by the bank shyly, and the stranger made no indication that she noticed the seven year old girl gawking at her. Bella looked uncomfortably at her shoes as the woman continued to bask in the sun, but she couldn't find anything to say. She noticed the silver fish dart out of the shadows of a log and into the sunlight. It sparkled and swam tantalizingly close to the shore. Bella bent down, and watched as the fish flashed and shimmered against the sun. When it swam away, Bella frowned and stepped out onto one of the many rocks in the river. Carefully she balanced on it as she looked for the fish. Then she heard a chuckle. The strange woman had been watching her, and now beckoned to the rock she was sitting on. Bella frowned. Her father had taught her not to trust strangers, and although the woman seemed nice she was probably strong enough to pick up Bella by the arm and throw her over her shoulder and carry her away. But the woman beckoned again and this time gestured first to the rock and then to the water in front of the rock. Curiosity got the best of Bella and she hopped from rock to rock towards the woman.

She stood an arm's length away from the stranger, and now she could see why the stranger had called her over. A school of silver fish was swimming in a small part of the river sheltered by the shade of the big rock, protected from the current and any predators. Bella squatted and watched the fish with fascination, occasionally reaching her hand out to create shadows on the water causing the fish to scatter. Bella laughed and leaned forward more, extending her hand outward to touch the water. Her footing slipped, and Bella could feel herself falling backwards. Before a cry could leave her lips, a strong arm shot out and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up. Once righted, it took a few seconds for Bella to realize that the strange woman now held her by the waist and was frowning at her.

"Thanks" Bella squeaked, and she removed herself from the stranger's gentle grip and stood on a less slippery rock. The woman sighed and sat back on the large rock, but her eyes drifted to Bella occasionally with a subtle frown on her lips.

A few minutes passed, and Bella stood, no longer interested in the fish, but interested in the stranger on the rock. She slowly made her way over, and sat next to the stranger, her eyes moving immediately to her scarred neck and then to her face. The woman gazed back at Bella with dark brown, almost black eyes, not with an unkind expression, but one Bella had seen on her parents a few times. Bella was naturally a klutz, and usually after she fell and grazed her knee, her parents would give her the same 'I better watch you because you'll end up hurting yourself' look. Bella giggled quietly and the stranger turned to look at her.

"I'm Bella, what's your name?" Bella asked, scooting closer. The stranger gave a crooked grin and bent down to the water. She dipped her hand in the water briefly and brought it back to the rock. Bella watched as the woman spelled her name out with her finger on the rock.

"S-s-s-Sula?" Bella read, and the stranger gave another crooked grin. Bella looked again at the letters, evaporating slowly until only the 'l' and 'a' were visible.

"Do you live near here?" Bella asked. The stranger shook her head. Bella blushed and looked down, gnawing on a strand of her hair slightly. It was a habit she had picked up at school that her teacher discouraged, but every once in a while she forgot.

"Is your hair really white? I mean is it your natural color?" Bella blurted out. The stranger gave a raspy chuckle and nodded, a wide crooked grin spread across her face.

"Bella? Bella?" Charlie's desperate voice could be heard clearly over the water. Bella jumped up.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Coming daddy!" Bella turned and dashed over the rocks, carefully avoiding the wet ones as she made it safely back to the bank. The stranger watched her with a small smile as Bella scampered up the bank only to fall flat on her face. The stranger frowned and made a motion to get up, but Bella was back up her feet and still running towards the clearing where the other children were playing. She turned, and blushed slightly as she noticed the woman still watching her. She waved and the stranger smiled back before Bella ran out of sight.

Bella didn't tell her father about the stranger she met. Instead on the hike back, listening to Charlie lecture her about not running off, Bella kept looking towards the river hoping to catch a glimpse of the strange woman basking on the rocks. The whole car ride home Bella was silent; she had decided to keep the story of the mysterious woman a secret, but every summer when Charlie took her hiking Bella always looked for the mysterious woman. When Charlie asked about Bella's fascination with rivers, she responded that she was merely looking for silver fish.

Just some background on bella right after the divorce, I haven't started chapter 2 so it might be a few months (sorry) since I'm slow and trying to catch up on game of thrones and downton abbey... I will describe how my oc character sula looks later, and... yeah I still don't know what I want for the beginning of the story, I have the middle and end but I haven't figured out the beginning. Sorry if I screwed up the spacing and documents, still figuring out how to upload and stuff... I've only ever read on this site, never tried to publish...