Chimera and Reila had left the island early that morning with the intention of going hunting for something fresh to display at the festival. They'd caught a nice, fat buck, but neither of them really wanted to head back just yet. It seemed as though they would have another over-nighter. Aww shucks.

The weather was pleasant enough that they wouldn't need a tent. A small fire would keep them warm during the chilliest hours of night. Chimera already had the fire going and it crackled and popped, accompanying the sounds of crickets, cicadas and evening birds. The sun was mostly sunk, but one could see the last vestiges of pink and purple through the breaks in the canopy of cedars.

"It was good that we chose this place," he rumbled at the bob-tailed fae. This atmosphere was very soothing to the man. He was quite at ease here beneath the tall trees. The stream cascading away from the falls babbled gently beside their camp and Chimera took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of cedar and oncoming autumn. He was incredibly mellow this evening.

"Speech"

Reila had given Chimera all the time he needed with his new daughter and Aliana, which was all fine with her. But if she was truly honest with herself, dug deep down into her soul, it was easy to say that she missed that more constant presence of him. It was harder for her to say or realize that she was feeling a loss of what she couldn't share with him. Still she didn't feel as high as his queens, maybe even as far as feeling exclusive or as much as she and Chimera could be. But with the experiences she felt with him over the last few seasons, she was having this faux sight of future with him. A bigger future, and maybe one she could never have with him. Though she tried to shut those thoughts out most of the time. All of the time.

As they settled after their easy hunt, working as a team was easy for them at least, She helped gather a little more firewood as Chimera started the fire and they would both go to settle at just about the same time. She was a few steps behind, maybe on purpose. She didn't falter for a second, but she had to admit she felt a little weird finding her place beside him again after he had experienced this maybe not new for him, but still new experience all the same. She believed in giving him that time for his family regardless of with who. And the short time apart had paid a toll on her. It wouldn't be obvious as she immediately, carefully dropped down beside him and leaned her shoulder into his as she looked up at the changing skies. Again, not new for her to see especially having a life out on the ocean prior. But it felt different to her being here with him. Even if they had shared moments like this before.

Reila's eyes washed over the last fading colors of the sky as Chimera spoke, taking a moment to say anything herself. As if she was so focused, so happy to be in this moment with him. Soaking every bit of light and warmth here. And she was. Maybe he could see the sense of admiration she had for the life she had after her time on the ship. If only looking at the way she saw everything around her. "It is relaxing." She spoke again, her eyes turning up towards him with maybe a little cliche flutter in her eye, "And beautiful." She smiled gently as her head rested along his neck and she reached out a paw to place over top of his. There was a sense of innocence with her, and really it was true too. Because it was much more than just physical between them. Or at least she thought so. It was more that looking into a bright future wasn't a part of her or at least from the life she came from. She liked to live in the now.

"Reila"

The pair worked independently to prepare their campsite, but came together shortly after. Reila lay beside him, their sides touching and placed a paw upon one of his much larger appendages. Extracting his paw from her hold, Chimera lifted his foreleg and draped it over the woman, pulling her close against his chest while rolling onto his side a bit for comfort. He held her gently in case she wished to pull away. They'd been intimate, their bodies joined as one, yet he still treated Reila as though she was a fragile thing. Only time would change that.

There was no way that he could know exactly what was going on in the fae's head. He wasn't terribly worried about it either. If there was something wrong, he hoped that she would tell him. Her soft words brought an equally soft chuckle and he met her gaze as she looked up at him, then proceeded to nuzzle into the top of her head as she rested against his neck. "Beautiful indeed," he mimicked, though he wasn't talking about the sunset. The fae in his arms was quite lovely and he wanted her to know that he found her attractive.

"I've given you a promotion. I can't remember if I've mentioned it." He knew that he hadn't and was just being a brat. "I'd like to have you as a member of my close council alongside Erystotle." Pulling his head back, the brute curled his neck so that he could meet the woman's blue eyes. "What do you think?"

"Speech"