Time had passed and, once Scylla decided that he'd healed up enough, she led Nero to the Mangroves for a little walk and a chat. She'd kept the man in her own den so that she could watch his progress closely. Not only that. She wanted to learn his mannerisms, his habits, his likes and dislikes. She was a curious woman and, though he was indebted to her, Scylla wanted to make Nero's time with her enjoyable and worthwhile.

"How are you finding your time in Obscura so far?" Scylla asked politely as she picked her way among the mangroves; the gnarled roots stretching across the well worn path. She'd made sure that the giant man was fed and cared for and left alone for the most part. He needed to be healthy and whole if he was to live up to the expectations that she had of him.

"Scylla & Nero"

For bring a slave to the little striped alpha of Obscura, things had been pretty cushy for the massive ancient dire brute. His body had healed quickly from his wounds, a combination of his strong genes and Scylla's attentive care. She'd kept him like a pet in her den while she nursed him back to health, but to be honest, he hadn't minded in the least. Having a pretty little thing like her playing nurse was an enticing position to find himself in. So he'd grumbled through the worst of the pain and played the part of obedient pet until the stitches came out and he'd regained full mobility in his form. For all his begrudging in the beginning, Scylla had proven herself a worthy and talented surgeon, and he'd been intrigued with her methods of running her pack. The prisoner still kept in the pit was an excellent example of her duality that he quite enjoyed observing.

On a hot summer day, Scylla summoned him out for a little trip to their newly claimed territory to the south. The grove of mangrove trees and deltas was close enough to the sea that a pleasant cool coastal breeze was racing through the trees, rippling through his thick arctic fur. It felt glorious. Giant paws trudged behind her, crushing the small tracks she left in her wake with his own massive strides. Scylla asked how he was enjoying Obscura and Nero responded with a pensive rumble. "It's unique; unlike any other pack I've seen," he answered honestly, then added with a sardonic chuckle, "Can't say I've ever known a pack to decorate its borders with fantastical creatures." He was, of course, referring to Scylla's taxidermy projects that lined the borders; mutant freaks designed by her paw and macabre imagination.

Prowling easily across the gnarled roots as if they were little more than sticks beneath his massive girth, Nero followed Scylla, taking in his surroundings in this new environment. "Thank you for saving my life," he said after a moment, sincerity in his husky voice. It was the first time he'd truly thanked her out loud. He didn't like feeling weak or like he had to depend on another to survive, but he was not fool enough to deny that he would have perished if not for Scylla's divine intervention.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero's answer brought a soft little titter from the small fae. Fantastical creatures... "Well, I like to think that I'm different from most wolves. Creative, nice to look at, not boring." She jokingly tooted her own horn. It would have been funny to her if she knew he thought of himself as a slave. She didn't think of him that way. Nero was simply another member of the pack. She'd given him equal rank with the basic wolves rather than subjecting him to servitude. She wasn't all bad.

The arctic brute thanked her then and Scylla lifted one slender shoulder in a light shrug. "We're helping one another out, but you're welcome." She wanted his size and his fighting prowess and his genes. He had wanted to live. Fair trade, she thought.

The day was hot, so Scylla sprawled out on her belly on the cool ground beneath one of the mangroves. The canopy had prevented the sun from baking the dirt, and thus it was significantly cooler in that area. "So what did you leave behind in your old life? Family? A wife? Children?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Scylla was… a peculiar being. She carried herself with a whimsical disregard for how the world perceived her. It was unique and dangerous. Nero knew better than most that the world as a whole liked to try to destroy things that were unique and different from its norms. Scylla fit that bill. He fit that bill. The diminutive striped fae spoke of herself, describing the way she saw herself. Nero could only respond with a rumbling hum. "I can’t say I’ve been bored around you, that is true. Your beasts show your creativity. As for your looks…" The arctic behemoth’s good eyes slid down the Sovereign’s svelte form, appraising her. "Your sire and dam had good genes." Nero was a primal beast; he viewed everything from the point of nature and instinct. Scylla had been well bred by whomever had sired and birthed her, of that there was no question.

The pair of Obscuran wolves settled in beneath the shade of a large mangrove tree, the soft loamy earth nice and cool against Nero’s belly. He’d definitely have to wash some of the damp earth from his white coat after, but he didn’t mind. Nero liked the water and keeping himself bathed and groomed. While they relaxed, Scylla sprawled out on her belly and Nero keeping a passive glance up around them to make sure they were safe, she began to ask him questions about his life before his enthrallment. Nero gave a soft scoff under his breath, a sardonic smirk pulling up one side of his lips as he focused his attention back on his alphess.

"There wasn’t much to leave behind. My kind don’t exist in packs as large as yours do. We live in smaller clans, usually just blood families. My family is all but extinct." As he explained his species’ dynamics, Nero rolled onto his side so he could use a claw to sketch some crude drawings in the dirt. A group of five wolves. "My clan was my sire and mother, my brother and sister, and myself. We lived in a tundra far from here. We were the apex predators of our domain. But when you’re on the top of the food chain for so long, eventually others come along wanting to kill you and take your place." Nero scratched out two of the wolves. "My sire and dam were killed, and my brother was injured by invading predators. Bears, tigers… wolves. They all wanted to kill us. What better way to prove your strength and stake your claim than to fell an ancient dire wolf?"

With a soft sigh, Nero wiped his paw across the drawings, erasing them back into the dirt. The look on his face was impassive, but there was no pain or regret in his expression—just bitter acceptance. "My siblings and I went our separate ways. I haven’t seen them since. They could both be dead for all I know. I could be the last of our kind." Nero’s aurelian gaze lifted to meet Scylla’s once more, a grimly sly smirking his muzzle. "No wives. None have been able to handle me enough to be my mate. There have been conquests, but they couldn’t keep up with me. The ones that were foolhardy enough to try and bear my offspring all perished, either midterm or during birth. No pup I’ve sired has ever survived birth. Their mothers were all too weak and so were their offspring." Nero uttered a grim chuckle and laid on his side sprawled out across the cool earth, grinning at Scylla from where he lay. "Which is why I find your desire for my genes so humorous. It’s a death sentence that you willfully ask for. Any children I plant in your belly would surely kill you outright."

Now it was his turn to ask Scylla about herself. Keeping his golden gaze on her, Nero asked, "And what of yourself, Scylla Klein? How did you get to be alpha of a pack? I know Obscura is full of your family, yet you have no mate here. I assume no children either?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero thought a bit before answering, the he delivered a compliment about her family's good genes. The small woman laughed softly, pure amusement and pride on her pretty little face. "Didn't they though?" Scylla gave her shoulders a slight wiggle. "The whole Klein family is rather attractive if I do say so myself." They were definitely lookers, her kin.

As Nero continued to speak, sharing his story with her, Scylla's expression shifted from one of humor to one of seriousness. She listened intently, eyes dropping to look at the drawing in the dirt. His family, scattered to the winds like leaves. As if knowing what she'd been thinking, the giant brute swiped his paw over the drawing, smudging it beyond recognition. She didn't move to touch him, that would indicate some feeling of pity, and she didn't pity him. Scylla admired him for persevering and overcoming the hardships in his life. Though unfortunate that the world had done him so dirty, he had clearly come out stronger because of it.

The conversation shifted to mates and the hint of amusement filtered back into Scylla's gaze. She listened, one brow lifted as Nero regaled her of his past conquests. He'd had women and he'd planted his seed within them. None had lived to bear his children and he was sure that she wouldn't either. The Sovereign huffed softly and shrugged. "Let me worry about that." There was no doubt in her mind that the pregnancy would be difficult, but having gone through pregnancy before, Scylla felt as though her body would be able to handle it better than one who had never given birth. If she died, then it was meant to be. If she lived, then it would prove to Nero that she was stronger than the bitches that he'd had before.

Now it was her turn to answer questions and Scylla shifted onto her own side to watch the ancient dire in turn. He questioned her about her pack, her lack of mate, and his doubt that she had children. A little chortle pulled from the cobalt and cream fae. "I won my pack in a drunken battle. The former alpha was too confident in his abilities and bet his entire pack on his skill. Not very smart." It hadn't been an even trade either. He bet his pack and all Scylla had bet was joining if she lost. Dummy.

"As for a mate, no. I'm still unclaimed." Blue and grey eyes met the amber gaze of the behemoth beside her. "Like you, I'm difficult to handle." In different ways, of course, but the statement stood. Scylla was strange. She was independent. She didn't need a man and most males didn't seem to know how to deal with that. Aside from this, only one had ever caught her eye as a potential mate and everyone knew how that turned out.

"My blood is indeed out in the world, but I don't claim the pups as mine. I was a surrogate for a pair that weren't able to reproduce on their own. A favor for one that I held in high regard." A dexterous paw moved down to slide along her slim, svelte belly. "You can barely tell, eh?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Scylla's laugh was airy, lyrical even as she enjoyed the humor in his remark about her genetics. Nero, who had never cared whether others enjoyed his presence or not, found that he quite liked the way she laughed. The little striped fae gave a playful wiggle of her shoulders, catching Nero's attention to her movement, and commented on how her whole clan was attractive. Nero gave a thoughtful hum deep in his throat. "Is that so? Well, your family reunions must be quite the spectacle then," the great behemoth chuckled. He was teasing her, letting his guard down and slipping off the gruff mask he always wore. That continued as he regaled her with his origin story. Nero wasn't the emotional sort, but nor was he deliberately guarding or hiding things as he told her his tale.

When he made mention of his past paramours and their grim fates at the demands of his primordial seed, Scylla seemed almost amused by the notion. Challenged, even; like this was some sort of feat for her to accomplish. She told him to let her worry about that and the massive arctic brute gave a sound crossed between a hum of acknowledgement and a wicked snicker. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said very matter-of-factly, a sly smirk sitting crooked on his muzzle with gold eyes flashing mischievously. "At the least I can promise you the best fuck of your life, even if it is the last one." Cocky, confident, but not misplaced. Nero knew he was large and there were no wolves like him around. He knew what he was capable of doing to a fae. If Scylla truly wished to bed and breed with a primal beast, he could deliver her greatest fantasies. It was up to her to pay that price though.

After their banter about himself, then it was Scylla's turn. Nero listened quietly while the elfin fae told her story. She won Obscura in a drunken brawl, which got a lopsided smirk and a rumbling chuckle from the giant brute again. She was so full of surprises, that Scylla... Shrewd as she was dangerous. She called herself unclaimed when it came to a mate and confirmed Nero's suspicions. Scylla didn't strike him as the kind to take a mate. She seemed to enjoy her freedom far too much to tie herself to one. Amber gold and mismatched slate and sky eyes met with mirth in them when she described herself as difficult to handle also. "I can't imagine why. Is it the mannequins, or because they're afraid you'll cut their throats in their sleep and drink their blood?" he teased her in deep playful tones. Nero was clearly unafraid and unintimidated by Scylla's deadliness or eccentric personality. He'd slept in her den with her unguarded and he was still alive. If she wanted him dead and he was meant to die by her paw, then it would be so. The fact that his heart was still beating meant Scylla wasn't the one to take his life.

What surprised him the most though was when Scylla said she did have children out in the world. Aurelian eyes widened and Nero was about to ask when Scylla explained for him. She served as a surrogate to another couple and gave up all claim to the pups. It was... an oddly generous thing for the Klein queen to do for another. This was a very different side of Scylla's multifaceted personality he hadn't seen before. Then she was remarking on how one couldn't tell she was a mother and emphasized the slim, toned form of her svelte body with a wandering paw that Nero's eyes gleefully followed down her feminine curves. A lecherous smirk played on the ancient brute's lips as his eyes roved appreciatively over her form from shapely rump to feminine face. "Not at all. But knowing that, I can see where those hips and ass came from," he remarked with a touch of carnality rumbling in his tones as he admired how motherhood had emphasized those supple features in her body in all the best ways. Scylla was quite the MILF and even more appealing to Nero knowing she desired his genes for her future children.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero promised her the best fuck of her life and the small woman erupted into a fit of laughter. "Love the confidence. We shall see." It was a promise. They would be fucking, the question was simply when. Scylla wouldn't force it. When it happened, it'd happen. Until then, she was perfectly fine seeking her enjoyment elsewhere. Others would come running to her bed at the drop of a hat if she so wished.

Another little titter of laughter escaped Scylla as Nero mused about why others found her difficult to handle. "Drinking blood isn't really my style, but I can't say that I haven't fucked someone and killed them mid-coitus." The cobalt fae shrugged, a little smirk on her maw. She wondered if his blood still stained the floor of the compound. Were his bones littering her father's chambers even now? Perhaps she would have to make a little trip to find out. She could take Nero with her.

The massive brute seemed a little taken aback at the fact that she had mothered children. Giving herself a comfy little roll, mismatched eyes glinted playfully as Nero complemented her figure. "It did fill me out a bit, didn't it." She agreed with him. Not bothering to stay and nurse the rodents, Scylla had regained her figure quickly, but there were some added curves that she quite appreciated. "Pity that I rather like their father or else I'd just go steal one to raise as my heir rather than suffer through pregnancy again." It hadn't been horrible, but she was the type that liked to be able to come and go as she pleased. Being pregnant, she'd had to be mindful. What a bother.

"What do you think, Nero?" she questioned the man. "I do believe our children will be far superior. The cunning and intelligence of their mother, the size and strength of their father. We're both lookers too, so that helps." Again humor flashed in the fae's eyes. He thought she would perish while trying to birth his children, but she knew in her gut that she and the pups would live. Scylla didn't deny that she would be worse for wear after having them, but she would indeed have them.

"Scylla"