Talks had been completed and Chimera's mind was made up. With Viper having given birth and with Siren having pups on the way, it was time to move on from Ashen and forge their own way. Venom had agreed that their packs be allied and Chimera had given the wolves of Ashen permission to visit the lands of his pack.

Though The chimeric brute was intent on leading and caring for his group of women and children, he was a reclusive beast. The man doubted that he would let many others join. Not unless they were terribly persuasive and could offer him something that he needed. Good luck with that. What did Chimera even need other than a warm body beside him and obedience?

Since he'd made the decision, Chimera moved to the beach and sat by the rope bridge so he could intercept Hela. The rest of the wolves would be coming from their island. Raising his muzzle, the brute released a beckoning howl. Now. Business. Then he waited for them to arrive.

"Chimera"

Aliana worked tirelessly to ensure their herb supplies were prepared for the coming winter. With Viper recovering from childbirth and her son still needing to be cared for, not to mention the children Siren would be bearing courtesy of Chimera again, medicines were going to be in high demand and short supply. Plus with her second birthday on the horizon, she knew she'd need a slew of contraceptives to keep Chimera from spawning a third litter of pups amongst his harem. That is, if she wasn't doing everything she could day and night to make sure they had plenty of what they needed.

She was preserving some meadowsweet and alfalfa when Chimera called for them, the girl's ears flicking to catch the sound with surprise. Chimera had never called a meeting for all of them before. It must have been something critical. Placing the remaining herbs down to finish the dehydrating process, Ali slipped out of the den and followed the shore until she spotted Chimera waiting beside the rope bridge. Curiosity raised her brow. What was he doing calling them out here? Without a word, Ali approached and sat down opposite of Chimera, bowing her head to him more out of reflex than conscious thought. Breaking the habits of slavery was harder than she thought.

"Aliana"

The Klein wolf was on her daily basis patrols, with a paced rhythm through the full length of Ashen's territory, one she forged along Belle and many more who weren't around anymore. Those times seemed far away now and deep inside she kept her displeasure to herself. Venom was her niece, Belle's daughter. And even though she held love for her, she didn't love how the pack had turned. And leaving was starting to grow as an idea. She wouldn't force her kids to leave with her, they could do all they wanted. Walking she heard Chimera's call, and slowly she approached to the rope bridge that connected the Dove island with the main land. Arriving, her eyes felt into a wolf she didn't know, but dismissing her for now she took a seat as well, facing her nephew. "Speech"

Viper certainly didn't get up after her birth and go for a run, as much as she wanted to. But she was often coming out of the den, leaving Moccasin to tend to her son while she at least paced around her den in a close proximity. She felt exceedingly weak after birth, and she couldn't figure out why. It was normal to feel this way for any usual mother, but not for Viper. She had to spend most of her time laying around the den, letting the pup take it's fill or snuggle or whatever pups did. And when she could, she was outside pacing.

She was relaxed in her den though when Chimera called, Moccasin came from his area of then den attentively, laying down beside Viper and the pup before Viper stood up herself and left the den to join Chimera. By the time she joined them she was quietly out of breath and seeming slow just from the looks of the couple that had gathered. She took a seat while she regained herself, it wasn't obvious that she was struggling just from the walk but it may have been easy to see through Chimera's eyes and maybe Aliana's from being around them so often.

"Viper"

Dalila hadn't expected to feel better about things after talking with Chimera, but she did. She couldn't say that she necessarily liked or felt comfortable around the man yet, but she did at least see him in a slightly better light. When he called for them she lifted her head curiously, the summons pulling her away from the work she was doing in Siren's herb stores and around the den to clean up a bit. She had admittedly been letting some things fall to the way side while she sorted herself out and while she wasn't fully back to normal she was at least to the point where she had been able to get a decent night's sleep and felt better about distracting herself with work. Curious to see if this was about the pack that Chimera had mentioned to her before, she went to Siren and gave her a soft smile before walking with her out to the meeting. In the same way that Chimera had given her a bit of an olive branch to make the peace between them she had begun to do the same for Siren. Slowly the sting was starting to dissipate and she was able to go about her usual daily tasks without feeling quite as hurt. Even though she was technically freed, she still found comfort in going through the motions of brushing out Siren's fur and preparing her meals and other little things she did to care for her former lady. When they got to the meeting Viper and Aliana had already arrived along with another woman that she wasn't very familiar with, but she had remembered seeing around the pack before. She settled down beside Aliana, assuming Siren would want to be beside Chimera, and sat back quietly to see what this was all about. "Speech"

Siren’s visual physiology changed little as she progressed into her pregnancy. She felt the differences inside though, she had trouble keeping her meals down a lot of the time. She was sleeping much more, but managed to keep her usual pace to this point. The future was heavy on her mind now, looking ahead to being a mother. Part of her wished she was older going through this experience, but her choice wasn’t relevant when a god sought you out.

Dalila hadn’t left her like she thought that she might. The woman didn’t think she was at Siren’s level but the soon to be queen didn’t think she was good enough for the woman she had hurt. She couldn’t go back on her decision, and that was the knife she drove into the woman’s heart.

Siren’s light napping was easily interrupted by the sound of Chimera’s voice across the water. No sooner had she shook out her long fur that Dalila was there to escort her. She would never be able to undo the pain she inflicted, but the two of them could move forward, albeit slowly.

Siren hesitated at the bridge. Do not leave the island. A shiver raced over her spine as she instinctively leaned into Dalila for support as delicate paws stepped onto the buoyant bridge. "Sorry,” she mumbled to Dalila as she pulled away and followed her to where Chimera waited for them. Aliana, her aunt Hela, and Viper all preceded them. Siren glanced at all of them, slightly concerned over Viper’s state.

Her still slender form slipped easily to Chimera’s side as Dalila had predicted. She sat delicately beside him, wrapping her long braided tail around her hips as he was sure to begin swiftly.

"Speech"

Everyone that he had called arrived promptly. Each of them looked a little confused as to why they were being gathered, but he wouldn't let them wait long. Chimera's mismatched gaze shifted to Viper as she sat. He had noticed her strange behavior lately, but chalked it up to having just given birth to their son. Still, he was keeping an eye on her. The woman looked tired. Very tired.

With Siren seated beside him, Chimera addressed the group of women. "The birth of my son has made me realize a few things." His voice was a low rumble, but it would be loud enough for all to hear. "I am not content being under the rule of another. I would like to build something to pass on to my children." Yes, children. All should know by now that Siren was pregnant.

"There's a large island not too far from here. I'm going to claim it for myself. For my children. For all of us." He didn't ask if they would join. He knew that he could count on those before him, including his aunt, whom he'd spoken to prior. "Tie up any loose ends and take care of whatever affairs you need. We'll be leaving within the next two weeks." He planned on scouting ahead and doing the same that he had done to his current island. He would oust the large predators and make sure that no wolf inhabited the isle. Then he would begin building a place there for the oddball family that he had created.

"Chimera"

Aliana, quiet as ever, sat silently while the rest of the women gathered, including one she did not recognize. Once they had all assembled and Siren taken her place beside Chimera, the brute began, explaining the reason for summoning them. They were to leave the island, to strike out on their own and build something for Chimera's children. Children. Plural. That put a rest to any doubts that he'd impregnated his sister as well. It didn't surprise her; the two siblings were abnormally close, and Chimera treated Siren far better than anyone else, and now it was obvious why. He named their destination: an island to the south, then told them to prepare to leave in two weeks' time.

With all the information given, Ali furrowed her brow. That would put them into early winter. Traveling with a newborn pup and a heavily pregnant fae by then would not be easy, nor wise. Sure, there was the possibility that the weather would remain fair for their voyage, but trying to set up an entirely new home before the snows came sounded... risky. It was not her place to question or challenge Chimera's word though, so Aliana remained silent, saying nothing as she had not been addressed. Some habits died hard, and freedom would likely always be a strange taste in her mouth.

She had much to do now. Her herbs would have to be harvested early, the supplies packed, and her beehive... Oh, she'd never get to see if flourish. That disappointed her more than she expected, but it was what it was. She waited quietly for the others to speak their minds or for Chimera to dismiss them so she could return to the mountain of work she'd suddenly found.

"Aliana"

As Dalila had suspected, Chimera laid out the details for the pack that he wished to form, mentioning his children as the main reason behind the decision to move and not have to live under someone else's rule. Her blue gaze shifted briefly to Siren at the thought of children, but she was very careful to keep her expression from showing any shift in expression. Of course by now they knew she really was pregnant and she held Siren's secret close to her chest. Her gaze refocused on Chimera as he told them to tie up any lose ends and finish their work since they would be leaving in a couple of weeks. Her ears perked with surprise at the very quick turnaround of his decision, but she didn't question it. There would be a lot of work to do between now and then and already she was beginning to put together a list of things that would need to be prepared and packed on top of the concern of moving a very, very young pup and a pregnant mother. She glanced toward Aliana beside her and had no doubt that she was having similar thoughts. Even if they were both free some things never changed. She leaned over to Ali, offering quietly, "Do you want to work together to get all the herbs packed?" She knew Ali had been working on gardens so she was sure there would be things that needed to be harvested in addition to the herb store that she and Siren had been keeping stocked. She felt like some things were pretty easily replaced after the move like some of their furs and meats, but the herbs were a little harder to come by especially since they would be going into winter. "Speech"