The sun had begun to set as Dalila stepped out of the dens they had been setting up with their return to Boreas and settling within Ashen's borders. She hadn't had a reason to wear her armor in her time away, but today she had put it on again for the first time and had done a patrol earlier in the day since she had taken up the mantle of one of Ashen's fighter ranks. In a way it was almost comforting, getting back into a regular routine and having tasks to complete throughout the day, but at the same time it was strange being back in Ashen again after so long. Of course the setting was different now, but her life was so drastically different than it had been the last time she was a member of Venom's pack. Being back here again took some adjustment–mentally and physically. The terrain was very different here compared to their old island home and the tropical lands they had stayed in to the south so it was going to take some getting used to while she also contended with the thought of being thought of being led by someone other than Chimera once more.

She had taken off her armor and put it away within their chambers before shaking out her fur and stepping out to do just that. She followed the winding curves of the cliffs, her pale gaze taking in the layered, stripped rock faces as she went. If nothing else it was nice to take in some of the cool, early evening air. As they drew ever closer to spring she knew the side effects of her heat season would fade soon enough, but it had been a bit more difficult to ignore now that they were no longer traveling and on the road with her job as one of the group's protectors to distract her. Eventually, her ivory dipped paws came to a tapered part of the cliffs that looked out over a canyon, the vast expanse of it seemingly going on forever in either direction. She paused and lingered there, daring to peek out over the edge before stepping back a step or two with a soft chuckle. The dimming light made the heights a little more palatable since she wasn't able to clearly see the bottom, but she still didn't enjoy them all that much.

"Dalila Vista Klein"

Though he wasn't back to full strength, that didn't mean that Chimera would sit still and wait. He was an industrious brute and was working hard to return to his former self. Since their return, the dire giant did partial patrols, working on his stamina as well as building muscle once more. There was no excuse for being weak and since he'd asked for entry into Ashen not only for himself, but for his family, the man felt an extreme need to pull his weight and then some.

Each of his fae's were working hard to make their new pack a home. He loved them for it. None of them waited to be told what to do. They all took the initiative and did what they could. Hunting, herbalism, healing, defending, patrolling... they did it all. He couldn't let them down, and so the man pushed himself to be better every day.

Chimera had been out on a patrol when he noticed Dalila moving ahead of him. He followed, coming up behind her as she leaned out over the edge of the cliff. Ears perked at her chuckle as she moved backwards, bumping right into his forelegs with her shapely rump. Baritones rumbled as the man reached up to place a gentle pat upon the aforementioned bottom. "Not thinking about jumping, are you?"

"Chimera & Dalila"

As she backed away from the edge of the canyon, she felt her rump bump into something and she gasped with surprise, making her head quickly turn to look behind her, bringing her pale gaze to look up at Chimera. She sighed and relaxed once more as a grin pulled across her lips at the pat he gave her rump, giving him a playful glare. "No, quite the opposite, in fact," she replied with a chuckle as she turned around to face him. She leaned into his chest affectionately as she nuzzled the side of his neck, her tail wagging gently behind her at his surprise presence. "It seems that I have a distinct dislike of heights." This was the first time that she had really been around somewhere so high up consistently since their other homes had been mostly flat or simply hilly, but she knew she'd adjust quickly enough and luckily she didn't think there was much reason for her to be near the edge of the cliffs that often. Wherever Chimera wanted to settle she would follow–even if it meant getting over a silly fear of heights.

She settled down onto her haunches, deciding that sitting felt better than standing given their current location, and then leaned back from him a bit so that she could see his face again. "How're you feeling?" she questioned as she slipped one of her paws around his foreleg at his elbow, giving his chin a tender lick. It was a question he had been asked hundreds of times since he fell ill, but she couldn't stop herself from worrying about him. Even now as he continued to heal and improve, she still had to check and make sure that his own work ethic wasn't making him ignore any of his symptoms and he wasn't pushing himself too hard too fast. They were both guilty of that good yet sometimes detrimental trait so it was something she in particular had been on the look out for. For a while she had feared the worst and had slid back into the role she had taken on when she was leading the pack in his place, caring for their family as best as she could, but seeing him up and well enough to at least be a bit playful and flirtatious did a lot for her nerves.

"Dalila Vista Klein"