Free. That word still felt incomprehensible as she moved through the island, sticking to the outskirts along the beach while the conversation she had with Siren continued to run through her mind. For Aliana it seemed like being freed had simply meant continuing her life as it had been with Chimera, but for her... What did that mean for her? If she continued to spend every moment of her day with Siren the way she had been before would she just drive herself mad with heartache? But there was also the thought to contend with of the pups she was likely to bare and how that would affect things and how Chimera would likely be even more of a fixture at Siren's side because of it and that just made the ache in her chest grow deeper.

The waves washed lightly over her paws as she walked, staring down at the sand in front of her. She hated that she knew the truth of it all. She hated that weight it put on her shoulders and she almost wished that she could have continued to live in ignorant bliss, loving Siren and doting on her endlessly. The pain in her heart ate at her and made her want to be vengeful. The thought of admitting to Chimera what she knew had crossed her mind, but she knew she never would. She'd take the secret to her grave for Siren. No matter how much it all hurt, no matter how shattered she was, she couldn't retaliate and hurt the delicate princess.

She slowed to a stop, watching the foamy waves lap at her paws for a long moment. It felt like her thoughts were walking her in circles. Being with Siren reminded her of what she couldn't have, but leaving and striking out on her own hurt in its own way and the thought of living without a job or a purpose worried her. She was free, but... Is that what she wanted? Isn't that what she should want? Was being free without the woman she loved worth it? Her jaw tightened and she turned away from the beach, walking back toward the center of the island to seek out the male that she had avoided at all costs since the day she was traded for Aliana. She couldn't make the decision so she needed someone else to make it for her. He was easy enough to find and once she was certain he was on his own she approached him with her head held low. "Chimera, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Dalila"

Of all the wolves that could have approached him, Chimera wouldn't have expected Dalila to need something from him. Her disdain for him was obvious, but he said nothing about it simply to keep Siren content. The bright light of day kept the brute restricted to the shady parts of the island due to his sensitive eye and his pale, pink skin. When the woman found him, he was sprawled out on his side on a grassy patch of cool earth, overhanging greenery acting as a natural canopy. The woman came straight to him and asked to speak with him. Chimera's eyes narrowed for a moment and he raised his head from where it had been resting upon the earth, fixing her with his stare before placing his head back on the ground with a sigh. "What do you want, Dalila?" It was no secret that things were sour between them. She'd turned Siren against him for a moment and it would be difficult to forgive her for that. The brutes tail thumped rhythmically on the ground, a sign of his annoyance. She was intruding upon what would have otherwise been a great nap. He did find himself wondering what could be so important that she'd actually come to him, however. Nothing had happened to Siren or the woman would have been much more frantic. Instead, a noxious wave of depression wafted off of her. He couldn't wait to hear what she had to say. "Speech"

When Chimera fixed her with a hard glare, her ears flicked and she wondered if coming to him was the right thing to do after all. Between how he had forced himself onto her and the jealousy she felt when he was with Siren it was difficult for her to feel civil toward him, but it always seemed like that feeling was mutual. She settled back onto her haunches uncertainly as he lowered his head back to the ground. As much as she didn't want to put her fate in his paws again, she couldn't continue to live in this limbo and heartache forever. She knew herself well enough to know that being a slave and a servant was all she knew how to be and even if she wasn't a slave she still needed some kind of firm direction and task. She needed that hard view of the world that Chimera had instead of the soft kindness that Siren gave her - even if it hurt.

She picked her words carefully, hesitating for a breath before she forced herself to tell him what was on her mind. "I... wanted to apologize," she said softly, shifting her gaze away from him to look at the ground in front of her paws. "I never asked Siren to stand up for me or to try to take me from you, but I also didn't try to stop her. I... I misunderstood her reasons for doing so. I take the blame for that and I apologize for causing any problems." It was words she hadn't been able to force herself to say before now. It had been easier to be lost in the love Siren was giving her and avoid Chimera entirely instead of trying to mend things between them, but now she didn't have much choice. While she hadn't necessarily misunderstood Siren's reasons, it was easier to say that than to say how deeply she had fallen in love for her mistress and how she had misconstrued the relationship she thought they had. It was easier to just write it off as a misunderstanding and put the blame on herself than to say it was Siren's fault in any way. "I also don't believe I got the chance to properly thank you for helping me when Viper attacked me so... thank you."

She glanced up from the ground, slightly curious to see how he would react. She had gotten the sense that he had disliked her from the day they bought her, but after hearing Aliana's glowing review of him she couldn't tell if something had changed or if it truly was all just directed toward her. Either way, she forced herself to move on before she could lose her courage. "Besides that... I was hoping you could help me make a decision. Siren... Siren has both told me that I am free and also made it very clear that what I wanted for the future and what she desires are very different." That was the only way she knew how to phrase her situation without out right saying that she loved Siren and now knew she would never get that dedication in return. She sighed, looking away again as her ears pinned back with her conflicting emotions and confusion. "I don't know how to be free. I... I don't know if I want to be. I don't know what to do. I don't think I want to leave Siren... I don't know where I'd go even if I did. I just... I just need some direction."

"Dalila"

Dalila began by apologizing and Chimera's gaze narrowed further. Did she want something from him? Why else would she be apologizing? He listened as the woman tried to justify and explain the ordeal that had turned him against her and made no move to comment on it. At least she realized that she was at fault. It almost made her likeable. Almost. The mottled woman then thanked him for standing up for her against Viper and he scoffed lightly, still watching the woman as she sat there uncomfortably. Chimera was still waiting for her to get to the punch. What did she want from him? The only reason that Dalila would approach him was if she wanted something. Something that Siren couldn't give her. Moments later, Dalila continued and her words allowed the brute to put two and two together. A lover's quarrel. That was what this boiled down to. Siren and Dalila were in the middle of a spat. About what, Chimera didn't know and he didn't care. If Dalila made Siren happy, then he was fine with them fucking. If Dalila hurt Siren... well... That was an entirely different story. Dalila finally got to the heart of the matter. She wanted him to tell her what to do. He was good at that. The man still lay upon his side in the shade but his tail no longer thumped in irritation. He looked at Dalila. Truly looked at her. Though she tried to hide it, he could feel the emotion pouring off of her. She honestly had no idea what her place in life was at the moment. The black and white brute mulled over his choices for a long, silent moment. He could tell Dalila to get out of Ashen if she wasn't happy. Tell her to pack her shit and go. Or, he could spin things in the opposite direction. Have her stay. Have her come with them to the island that he planned to claim. Another body to guard the shores. With minimal effort, Chimera rolled to his paws. The behemoth gave his thick coat a shake before he moved in closer to the confused woman. "I know that you and Siren have been sleeping together. I don't care, so you don't have to hide it." Anyone with a nose could tell that the two had been sleeping together. "As for direction, you need to be the one to decide that." The brow above his milky white eye lifted. "Unless you'd like to become my slave again." Then he'd have zero problems with telling her what to do. "We're going to be leaving this island behind soon. I've decided to forge my own pack in a place where I won't be bothered. I counted on having you come with me." If she was free, then he wouldn't order her to join them, but the brute made it  clear what his wishes were. "In life, you take what happiness you can get, when you can get it. Things don't always work out in the way that you plan." Viper was proof of that. He hadn't planned to have children with her. He hadn't planned to take Aliana to mate as well. Or Siren, for that matter. Since the woman was already feeling so down, Chimera did his piece to mend what was broken between them as well. "I shouldn't have treated you as harshly as I did, though that was indeed the reason that we purchased you." That was as apologetic as Chimera got. Take it or leave it. The brutes speckled nose gave a little wrinkle. "Do you need a hug or something?" It was obvious that the situation was awkward, but he lifted one foreleg to invite her in for a hug anyway. Females liked hugs, it seemed. "Speech"

Besides a scoff at her thanking him for helping her when Viper attacked her, Chimera was noticeably silent throughout everything she said. However, she noticed how the flicking of his tail had stopped and when she looked up at him he seemed to be studying her for a long moment. She never knew what to expect from Chimera, especially not when she approached him like this with so many topics that she would have normally liked to avoid, but it seemed like she had at least avoided making him mad so that helped calm her slightly. Her blue gaze followed him uncertainly as he rolled to his feet and gave himself a shake, having to lift her head to be able to maintain eye contact with him now that he was standing. Her immediate instinct as he moved closer was to back away, but she made herself remain sitting where she was as he began to speak.

Him stating so plainly that he knew about her sleeping with Siren caught her off guard, making her eyes widen with surprise. What surprised her more was the fact that he said he didn't care. He wasn't the type to hide how he felt about something so she didn't expect that he was lying, but it was still somehow hard to believe. He seemed so protective and possessive of his sister, at least from her perspective, so she had assumed that he wouldn't be so accepting of the things that she and Siren had done together. But that did make her realize that she was the only one that seemed to not be able to accept sharing the wolf she loved with others. Chimera clearly loved Siren and he had at least some kind of relationship with Viper and Aliana. Aliana and Siren at the very least seemed to accept this situation fairly easily - Viper was an outlier in most regards so she didn't care to think about what the smaller woman thought. If they all could agree to this why couldn't she?

A small part of her had kind of hoped that Chimera would simply give her a command to follow or declare what she should do, but instead he told her to figure out her own direction unless she wanted to become his slave again, seemingly respecting the fact that she had been freed by Siren. As strange as it was, the thought of being his slave again wasn't immediately tossed out as a possibility. Facing so much indecision and choice only caused her to spiral out of control and the possibility of having things decided for her again felt appealing. The only thing that made her hesitate was the fact that Siren had paid so much to buy Aliana in order to buy her freedom in exchange. It felt like giving herself back to Chimera would be an insult to Siren and as hurt as she felt she didn't know if she could do that to Siren.

She remained quiet and thoughtful as he spoke, considering it all. She was surprised when he mentioned how he was planning on them leaving here soon and forming his own pack, but didn't comment on it right away, listening as he went on to remind her that she should take happiness where she could get it. He was certainly right in the fact that things didn't always go as planned even though she really hadn't had a plan. She had just taken things as they came and all of that had landed her in this position. If she had put more thought and foresight into things she might have been able to prevent herself from growing so attached and from allowing herself to love the way she did, but it was too late for that now. She frowned a little with thought, her ears flicking as she thought of how happy she had been to be at Siren's side, taking care of her all this time. Even though nothing had turned out as she expected and even if she couldn't have what she wanted, she wondered if there was still a way to have some of that happiness back.

She was pulled out of her thoughts, refocusing on his face as he admitted that he shouldn't have treated her the way he had even if that's why they had purchased her, getting the closest she would probably ever get to an apology. She was stunned by it and she thought to herself that maybe Aliana had been right about him after all - especially as he begrudgingly offered her a hug, raising his foreleg to welcome her into his embrace. A little smile twitched at the corners of her lips, mostly from the disbelief that Chimera of all wolves would offer such a thing even if it was out of a feeling of obligation. As awkward as it was, she felt like it would be even more strange for her to deny the olive branch he was extending so she rose to her paws to cross the small space between them and lean into his embrace for a moment. It was certainly strange and unexpected and perhaps even a bit uncomfortable, but she couldn't deny that she appreciated the effort he made.

She only lingered there for a moment before she stepped back again. "I will come with you to your new pack," she assured him with a small nod. Even if he hadn't given her any direct answers or commands like she had originally hoped, he had given her a different perspective and one that was far more firm than her own and that was almost as good. "I don't want to offend Siren by agreeing to being your slave again after all she did to buy me away, but I do appreciate how direct you are and if there is anything you need of me I would rather it be a command than a question." Perhaps with him as the alpha she would do better as a free wolf in his ranks than she had in Ashen's. Only time would tell if she could learn to adapt to a new way of thinking about things or if she would just fall back into the same pit falls as last time. Thinking about Siren still made her chest ache, but she didn't think that anything would relieve that any time soon. Making herself think about relationships differently would take time, but she could take Chimera's words of finding happiness where she could find it to heart.

"Dalila"

Dalila hesitated as he offered her an embrace, but eventually stepped forward and pressed herself into him. Chimera gave the woman a few awkward pats before she stepped back and the situation ended. He still enjoyed the smell of her though. What would it take for the woman to just agree to sleep with him? He'd enjoyed it the first time, though she hadn't. How couldn't she have realized how new he was to sex back then? He was significantly more skilled nowadays. The mottled woman spoke again, agreeing to come with them to the new pack. Well of course she would. There was no doubt in the man's mind that Dalila would go wherever Siren went. Slave by title or not, Dalila was a slave to Siren just as Aliana would forever be a slave to him. It was that servant mentality. They couldn't exist without belonging to another. That was proven when Aliana continued wearing the collar and it was proven now as Dalila asked him to give her orders instead of asking. That was easy enough for him. One brow arched and Chimera huffed softly. "Then I order you to keep my sister happy. Don't make her cry again." Yeah, he knew about that. There were little birds everywhere. Little birds that whispered stories in his ear. "Continue serving her and making yourself useful." Winter was on its way, but not for them. Siren would need Dalila's assistance during the move, though it wouldn't be terribly far. "Do you need anything else?" The cold veneer was sliding back into place. Dalila was disturbing his resting time and needed to go. Especially if she was too much of a prude to curl up and rest with him. "Speech"