Now that it was public knowledge that Keelin was his mate or something, they had to make appearances. At least, that was how he thought it was supposed to work. He couldn't keep the woman trapped in their den all the time, now could he? It wouldn't be very...mately of him. So Merrick had an idea. He pilfered a basket from the stores and filled it with various meats and things, then rolled up one of the thick furs that he'd also pilfered from the stores. With that, he told Keelin to follow him and away they went.

Merrick led the brindle-coated fae across the land bridge and into the other territory that Manea held. The rolling plain had many jagged peaks of rock sticking up out of the ground. It was an odd place, but whatever. As they walked, herds of antelope rushed away from them, giving the wolves a wide berth. Had he been alone, Merrick might have been tempted to murder a few, but he was here with a purpose. He was going to sit Keelin down, tell her that he was going to fill her with puppies, then tell her that he was going to kill all but one of them. No, really.

Out into the plain they went. Up above the sun shone brightly, warming the otherwise chilly day. Winter was coming, but it wasn't quite here yet. The air was cold at times, but it wasn't unbearable. The purple giant led the woman up the incline of one stone peak that he noted leveled out at the end. Once there, he unrolled the fur for them to lay upon, then plopped the basket down as well. Without waiting for her, the brute sprawled out on his belly, giving a stretch as one hind leg extended out behind him. Merrick was very good at making himself comfortable. He shot a glance over his shoulder, wondering why Keelin wasn't doing the same.

"Merrick Mendacium"

She had experienced a great many things while living with Merrick, but when he told her to come with him while carrying a basket of food and a rolled up fur she really did think she had seen everything. For a minute she wondered if she was dreaming or perhaps transported to a different universe, but as they made their way out to the rock garden she had to finally accept that this wasn't a dream at all. He had at least briefly discussed the possible future of having his pups and having a permanent mate with her before when he gave her the option of being free of him, but she certainly didn't expect him to go taking her on dates or anything of that sort. Even still, she followed him obediently with just a bit of confusion and suspicion.

Once he brought her up onto one of the stones that jutted from the ground and leveled off she watched him set up their picnic with even more confusion. First he plans this whole thing, prepared it, and now he was even setting it up to? She didn't have to do any work? She was baffled, but strangely flattered in a way she wasn't used to. It all caught her off guard enough that even as he laid down and got comfortable she was left standing there at the edge of the plush looking fur until he looked back at her. She chuckled a little, mostly at herself, and came to join him. Laying down across the fur, she stretched out similar to him with her lithe form along side him. "So... What did I do to do to deserve such a nice picnic?" she questioned as she glanced at him curiously, genuinely interested to see what had gotten a brute like Merrick to put this together.

"Keelin"

It took her a moment, but Keelin eventually sprawled out beside him, laying her body so that it was touching his. She questioned him and Merrick scowled for a moment. "We're keeping up appearances, woman," he informed her. "You can't look like a slave. You have to look like my mate, which I suppose you are." He gestured idly in the air with one big paw. "Picnics are mate things, are they not? So here we are, picnicking." It was no secret that he wasn't good at this sort of thing.

Digging into the basket, Merrick pulled out a pack of seasoned venison. Were you supposed to cook this sort of thing? He had no idea. Keelin was the one that prepared the meals. He had just grabbed whatever he could find in the stores. That included two bottles of wine. He popped the cork on one and took a long draw, seating it between himself and Keelin in case she wanted a sip as well.

"There are things that we need to discuss," he informed her. "Things that you need to be prepared for. I won't have you making a scene after you give birth." He cast the woman a side eye, prepared to talk about the ins and outs of Mendacium beliefs after she had finished eating.

"Merrick Mendacium"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she probably should have known better than to think she had uncovered some deeply hidden romantic streak in the purple-hued man. He told her they were keeping up appearances as mates as if she should have figured that out on her on and she gave a small nod, smiling softly. "Ah, of course." She didn't know how serious he had been about the portion of things that would make her his mate. She had little reference or understanding of committed relationships so she couldn't really say for sure if picnics were actually a thing mates did regularly or not, but if he said so then she figured it was as good a guess as any and she wasn't going to turn down this rare treat of Merrick doing something nice.

He pulled out the meal he had gathered for them and it was an... interesting choice, having the venison seasoned, but not cooked. She didn't say anything though, instead turning her attention to the wine he brought. At least they would have something with a strong flavor to wash down the meal. He placed the bottle between them after he took the first drink and after giving him a glance just to make sure she was allowed to have it she took the bottle to take a drink herself. He started speaking just as she was swallowing her drink, which she was grateful for since she might have choked on her wine if she hadn't when he mentioned making a scene after she gave birth. She looked to him with a bit of an uncertain, puzzled expression as she sat the bottle back down, asking, "What would I have to make a scene about?" What more could their possibly be beyond playing the roll of his mate and bearing his pups for him?

"Keelin"

So he wasn't good at this picnic thing and he hadn't brought anything to make a fire. After Merrick took a bite of the raw, seasoned meat, he made a face of disgust, his nose wrinkling, but he didn't spit it out. Instead he swallowed the nastiness, then took another swig of wine once Keelin was done. Well... at least they had wine, right? The brute rummaged around in the basket, looking to see if he'd thrown anything else in there. He lifted out a jar of... something, and handed it to the woman beside him to open. Hopefully it was something edible. In the meantime, he repackaged the venison meat that hadn't been touched and threw it back in the basket, already grumpy that he'd fucked up lunch.

When Keelin asked what she would be upset about, Merrick didn't pull any punches. "Mendacium law, only one pup gets to live. The rest will be culled." He took another drink of the wine, still waiting for her to open the jar. "You won't have to choose. I'll pick and I'll be the one to kill the rest." He could spare her that. A good trade for bearing his children, he supposed. It wouldn't be the first time he'd killed pups, though they hadn't been his own. It most likely wouldn't be the last either.

"Merrick Mendacium"

Keelin watched as Merrick attempted to take a bite of the venison he brought... only to have him grimace at the unpleasantness of it and wrap up the rest to throw it back into the basket. Well, it was the thought that counted, she supposed. He handed her a jar and she pulled off the lid with a bit of effort to reveal what appeared to be some cut up pieces of fruit she couldn't immediately identify that likely seen better days. It was unclear if these had been intended to be eaten sooner rather than later and were forgotten about or maybe if this was someone's attempt at making some kind of fermented fruits gone wrong. Either way, the smell coming from them wasn't entirely pleasant and she wasn't sure if they should even attempt to eat them. She didn't want them to get sick over a stubbornness to actually eat something on this picnic. She quietly put the lid back on the jar and set it back in the basket and instead just focused on the wine. At least it was tasty and she felt like maybe she might need a bit of alcohol to get through whatever it was Merrick was trying to warn her about.

In true Merrick fashion he didn't have any lead up or build up. Instead he just spoke plainly and gave her the rules unceremoniously. All but one of the pups had to die and he would be the one to pick the survivor and kill the rest. Considering she was still getting used to the idea that she was going to be having pups and bearing his children and was his "mate" for all intents and purposes this bit of news felt like just another thing to add to the whirlwind. She almost wished they could go back to living on the ship and continuing on their lives as slave and master. That at least was easy and understandable. This... She didn't really know what to make of this. She took another drink of wine and tried to figure out how she felt about the rules he laid out for him from his family.

She thought maybe it would shock her more than it did, but after the life she had lived so far nothing really seemed to shock her. She couldn't say she was particularly eager to be a mother and she didn't know the first thing about raising a pup so would it be that terrible to have her job cut down to one? As she thought that she realized she should probably feel worse about thinking about this so logically instead of thinking about how many pups would have to be killed for no other reason than his family's traditions, but she had lived a difficult life already. She knew the world wasn't wonderful and perfect. If anything it would just spare those pups whatever darkness could have been ahead of them. "Alright..." she finally agreed with a bit of uncertainty, setting the bottle back down after another drink. The wine was starting to warm her, but her mind was still clear. "How do you decide which one gets to live?" she asked curiously, more interested in the thought process behind all of this than the act itself.

"Keelin"

It seemed that the jar of whatever he'd plucked from the stores was worthless too and Merrick internally seethed. Next time, if there was a next time, he'd make Keelin choose whatever they'd be taking. Try to do something nice and it all gets fucked up... He wasn't a cook, he just killed the shit. How was he supposed to know which meat was good meat and which meat was gross and seasoned? Once Keelin placed the jar back in the basket, Merrick pushed it away from them with one big paw. At least there was wine, he supposed.

Lifting the bottle, Merrick took a big draw, swishing the liquid in his maw before sitting it back down. He'd just unloaded a lot of information on his new 'mate,' so he gave her a moment to mull it over and sort herself out. He was being kind and generous. In the end though, it didn't matter. If she was staying with him, which she was, Keelin would have no choice but to provide him with children, which he would then murder. That's how it went. It was expected and he would do what was necessary to soak up this cushy life that his sister had provided.

Eventually Keelin agreed, though she didn't have to, and questioned him. Since they weren't eating and his attention didn't have to be on the basket, the marbled brute rolled into his hip, giving the brindled fae his full attention. "Usually it has to do with gifts," he clacked his big, obsidian talons together as an example. "If it doesn't look like any of the pups have gifts, then you just choose the on that you have the best feeling about." The man gave a shrug, speaking matter of factly as though they were discussing the weather. "I'm obviously not a father, so we'll see what happens, when it happens." He should have taken a mate and began producing new Mendaciums long ago, but he hadn't. No doubt it was frowned upon, but what the fuck did he care? He'd get to it eventually As long as he forced some woman to pop out at least one of his pups, he was filling the quota.

"Merrick Mendacium"

Keelin looked to his talons as he clicked them together while he explained that usually the pup with the most gifts got to live. She thought about some of the other Mendacium wolves she had seen around the island from Manea with the sharp ridges of bone coming out of her head to her children who both had markings that glowed. His explanation definitely checked out and certainly explained why so many of them had various mutations and rare traits going on. They were all kinds of various colors with deadly or interesting traits. She glanced at her own paws, wiggling her unusually dexterous fingers. In a way her own "gift" had helped her survive, though in a very different way she assumed than all of these wolves did. They were all better equipped for fighting and killing. Her ways were more intellectual and pleasing in nature. She could logically understand why they would favor wolves that had traits like that to work with.

She nodded as she took in his very mater of fact statements about the killing of their children. At least right now before she had ever experienced birth or motherhood or any of those other things that she had been told were beautiful and wonderful she couldn't really see the issue. They'd pick the one with the best gifts, only have to worry about raising one pup, and she didn't have to be the one to kill them. She was sure she was taking it surprisingly well and she wondered to herself if it was ever a deal breaker for couples in their family that were a bit more traditional than theirs. She slipped a paw over to his, tracing her toes lightly over his foreleg. "Is there anything else I should know? Or does that just leave the making of these pups to do?" She wasn't fully drunk just yet, but she was feeling a bit looser with that warmth flushing her cheeks so it was easy for her mind to go back to what would lead them to these plans and consequences to begin with.

"Keelin"

Merrick noticed as Keelin looked to both his clawed paws and her own dexterous digits. She understood what he meant and he allowed her as many moments of silence as she needed to sort through the thoughts that came with such a statement. Whatever children she managed to produce, all would die but one. They would be chomped to death and buried somewhere on the island. He wasn't too sure where Manea's cemetery was just yet, but he would soon find out.

The purple brute sipped the wine, as did his female counterpart. After a while, she broke the silence, questioning him and throwing in a bit of innuendo there. Her paw slid over his and the brute chuckled darkly. "There's more, though not as important." The purple man shrugged a lavender shoulder. "Now that we're mated, it's for life. You can never procreate with another, nor can I." Not that he would want to. He was only doing this now out of obligation. "If you ever get knocked up by someone else, all of your pups die. Whoever you fucked will die. You will die." Not entirely true, but she didn't know that. It would serve as a warning for her to behave herself. The woman was scarred, yes, but that didn't make her ugly. Keelin was quite attractive and that would make her desirable to other males.

Since she'd seemed willing, Merrick rolled onto his pale back, using big, powerful forelegs to heft the small woman so that she lay down the length of his belly. "Are you so eager then for me to plant pups within you, Keelin?" Both wide paws settled upon the fae's hips as he looked up at her from his pillow of stone. He was always eager to be inside of the brindled woman and she always seemed eager to be invaded by him.

"Merrick Mendacium"

Keelin was glad that Merrick got a bit of humor from her comment about making these pups that he had tasked her with having, a smirk lingering on her lips. He went on, assuring her that the other stuff wasn't as important as the fact that all but one of their pups would need to die. She supposed that made sense. It was something that was drastically different from any other family dynamic she had ever heard of or experienced so that was definitely something she needed to know ahead of time. She wasn't bothered when he told her that she could never procreate with anyone else and if she did then her, the pups, and the other brute would all be killed for it. She had no real desire to be with anyone else these days and most certainly didn't want to have pups with anyone else. If she was being honest, if Merrick didn't decide that she would have them she probably would never willingly chose to have children, but she would for Merrick.

Before she could say as much though, Merrick scooped her up with one strong foreleg and put her on top of him as he rolled onto his back, catching her off guard but making her grin. She responded with a pleased hum as she settled on top of him, her lithe body stretching out along his. The wine that she had been drinking made her warm and a light tingle spread across her skin, making her feel a bit wobbly and floaty as the alcohol fully took effect on her much smaller frame, but it also loosened her normally more reserved and careful way of acting. She pulled herself up as his large paws settled on her hips, straddling across him while her smaller paws rested on his broad chest, the claws at the end of her dexterous toes combing through his dark fur. "And what if I am?" she questioned with a sly grin. "Being yours and getting to be ravaged by you forever seems like a pretty good deal to me."

Her hips shifted to roll back into him, teasing him with steady, sensual movements of her body while her tail took part and swept across certain more sensitive parts of him as well. She wasn't usually the one to really try and rile him up or initiate with anything more than suggestive comments or affections, but some combination of the wine and the idea that she was essentially chosen to have some kind of significant role in his life beyond being his servant made her feel like doing more. Her toes curled around clumps of the fur on his chest while she continued to work her hips back into his, feeling all of him against her until she was finally able to sink herself onto him with a breathless groan.

"Keelin"

It seemed as though the woman liked her new seat upon his belly and lap. She stretched her little body out along him, curling her skilled digits in the fur of his chest, prompting a rumbling growl of pleasure from Merrick. Her words regarding being impregnated drew yet another growl from him, but this time it was a growl of intrigue, the brow above his marked eye lifting curiously. She wanted to be his? Willingly? That was a shocker. After all of the things that he'd done to her. After all of the abuse and the nasty things he'd said. After the scars upon her body, she was choosing to be his. Choosing to be filled with his pups. It was... arousing, to say the least.

The dainty fae ground her heated nethers against his, pulling a groan from the man as his body responded with prompt eagerness. She knew what to do to get him riled up, they'd been together long enough and had fucked long enough for her to have learned his triggers. Sliding herself along him teasingly was one of those triggers, and as her tail drifted lower, brushing lightly across other bits, his grip upon her hips tightened momentarily. He knew what was coming and so did she.

The striped fae positioned herself well and sank onto him with a breathy moan. Lavender ears pricked forward, catching ever second of the sound. He loved hearing her. Not because of her own pleasure, but because it was all thanks to him. Without his body, there was no way that she'd feel such pleasure at all. It was a testament to his own prowess, girth, and skill. Granted, he had to give a little positive reinforcement to keep her going. It was only fair.

Taloned paws gripped the woman's hips and he pushed her down upon him, groaning out her name as he did so. Not "Woman." Not "Slave." "Keelin..." he groaned, lids dropping closed as he savored the heat of the fae. She was like wildfire and he was a dry forest waiting to be consumed by her. With Keelin on top, all Merrick had to do was hold onto her hips and let her work for a while. When he felt like he needed more, he'd take control. For now, however, he was content to let the woman ride.

"Merrick Mendacium"

The feeling of making them one was certainly nothing new to her, but every time was just as thrilling. She loved the feeling of his paws gripping to her hips and pushing her down onto him, still playing a dominant role even when she was on top. She would have it no other way though. She wasn't the kind of woman who wanted to feel powerful over the brute she was with. Instead, she'd be over top of them almost as a kind of show. She loved to bring him pleasure, to show off for him, to earn his attention. She was easily falling into that mind set as usual when he caught her off guard with a little thing that probably wouldn't have seemed like much to most, but it stood out for her. Her ears perked as he moaned her name, making her blink with surprise down at him for just a moment before she was swept up into the pleasure again. There were so few times that he actually called her by her name instead of some title, descriptor, or insult that she took note of it—and immediately decided that she loved the sound of him moaning her name.

"Merrick...!" she gasped back as she quickly fell into a roll and rock of her hips against his, her head tipping back as her ruby eyes flickered closed, her paws gripping onto the fur of his chest while she got lost in that blissful abandon on top of him. She always made a point of moving her body in ways that he liked, showing off her lithe, supple form for him all the while. As she was riding him little thoughts of accepting his pups, him getting her pregnant, and carrying his children started to filter through her mind and as her eyes blinked open to look down at him while she gasped and panted from heated pleasure. In some ways agreeing to this arrangement was purely out of her own need for survival and feeling as if doing this would secure her a permanent place in his life, but as she looked down at him with the both of them finding pleasure in one another, she couldn't imagine a life doing anything else or being with anyone else at this point. She had genuinely learned to like him and all of his rough edges despite the risks of it.

Keelin's movements became more and more passionate and eager as she built and climbed toward the peak of her pleasure, doing everything she could to bring Merrick along with her. The two of them with the light buzz of the wine mated with reckless abandon out in the middle of the rock garden without any concern or regard to who else might possibly be passing by. Her gasps and moans grew louder with each passing moment until she was fucking him with everything she had and right at the very end crying out with pleasure as her hips fell hard into his, trembling on top of him as she went over that peak she had been chasing on top of him.

"Keelin"