She wasn’t sure she had ever felt so sad and lonely before. For as long as she could remember Dalila had been there at her side. She lived on the island since she nad Chimera returned here and life together had been so good. Then the water demon had taken her and she accepted the burden he put on her. After everything they had been through that was the breaking point for Dalila. Part of her understood the distance between them and the other part just hurt too much to think about. She didn’t blame Dal, the breaking of their relationship was all on her. But maybe she didn’t quite grasp the jealousy Dalila harbored.

Siren was alone now, something she was becoming far too used to. Chimera was far too busy to coddle her, and Dal didn’t even want to look at her. A sadness gripped her heart. Tiny paws carried the princess through the forest towards the beach. She had been lingering with the deer herd, which helped her feel better but they were nowhere near as intelligent as another wolf. The quiet of the morning roused the emotions within her. The small Klein woman lowered her haunches to the ground and curled her long braided tail around her hips.

The sun was lifting above the horizon, colors beginning to spread over the sky as Siren parted her lips and began to sing. She was confident in her solitude so as her voice lifted above the sand her song was meant for no one but the ocean. And maybe her voice would reach the god who had so thoroughly changed her life. Her voice was clear and sweet, and her heartbreak was heard easily in the lyrics.

"Speech"

All around her, Aliana saw anger, pain, and despair. Chimera always held some natural rage caged inside his heart, but after watching the knock-down, drag-out fight between him and a very pregnant Viper, it became apparent that no one was ever truly safe from Chimera's temper or teeth. Viper was a mess, lashing out at everything—namely her—and still trying to get rid of her. The fight they'd had that Chimera had to break up had shown just how little tolerance the older woman had for her, and any sense of reluctant acceptance and safety was a thing of the past. Viper had shown she was a clear and present danger to herself and to Ali. Dalila looked worse and worse every day, with no smile hanging on her lips and no life left in her eyes. She didn't know what had happened between the other slave woman and Siren, but whatever it was, it was cataclysmic. Dalila looked ready to die.

Then there was Siren herself. The golden princess that had been a prominent feature of the island had become withdrawn, keeping to herself. Only Chimera had really seen her, and she only knew that because of her lingering scent on him every so often. Aliana herself hadn't interacted with Siren since the day she'd patched her up and saved her life. It seemed to the former slave that everyone was going through a period of strife and tension on the island. Happiness was a luxury no longer afforded here. So the clouded fae did what she did best: she persevered. She followed her routines, stuck to what she knew, explored some of the island more freely. It was for that reason that Ali found herself wandering down the soft sands of the coast that looped the island, listening to the gentle lapping of ocean waves as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon. Caught between night and day in a time where spirits thrived, the world was tranquil, as if made anew for the coming day. IT was this time, just before the break of dawn, and twilight that Aliana loved the most.

As she wandered idly down the beach, a sound began to rise gradually over the sounds of the sea. A single mottled ear flicked to try and catch the sound. It was coming from further down the beach, and as she drew closer... was that... singing...? Ali's brow raised, curious paws carrying her towards the sweet melody that called to her like the voice of an angel. It wasn't until she'd rounded a bend in the shore that she found Siren, sitting alone and watching the sunrise with her deer friends around her. The song was coming from her; Siren was singing to no one but the universe and the gods in lyrics so lovely it would have brought the hardest of wolves to tears.

For a moment, Ali froze in place, transfixed by Siren's song. She listened to the melody she sang, a tune clear as crystal, yet weighed with sorrow and hurt that come from her soul. Ali stared with amazed eyes at the tiny golden princess, bewitched by her for a moment. It was easy to see why Chimera wanted to keep her safe on the island; Siren was a treasure. She was beautiful in every regard imaginable. Aliana listened to Siren for a few moments, learning the melody she sang and finding where it repeated. Without a word, Ali began to pad softly closer to the fae, her paws making gentle crunches in the sand to announce her presence. She came to sit near Siren, but offered her some space so she wouldn't make the lady uncomfortable in case she wanted to be alone. Then, falling right in tune with her, Ali joined her in song. She didn't know the specific sadness Siren sang with, but she used her own to tune her vocals; the sorrow of a life lived alone, without the love of parents, of family, of lovers—of knowing nothing but bars and cages for the gray songbird. Together, the two ladies' voices harmonized, carrying on the cool autumn air above the call of the ocean.

"Aliana"

The ocean waves were the beat of her song, the sound of seabirds as backup vocals. Her dual toned eyes slid closed and she sang, sang for all her heart was worth. Which didn’t feel like much these days. The soft breeze tousled her long fur and brought the fresh ocean air deep into her lungs. The words didn’t matter so much as the emotion behind them, but they fell from her lips and graced the morning as the sun lifted above the horizon and shone on her features. She fumbled at the sound of paws behind her and surprise as Aliana’s voice joined to her own.

The emotion in the gray woman’s voice nearly matched her own and Siren returned to her confidence and threw herself back into the song. She didn’t know Aliana very well, but she knew she had to be something special to Chimera to be freed. Their voices married and danced into the air. Together they carried the song out, reaching incredible highs before slowing and settling. The promise of life filled with valleys and mountains and no easy paths.

Siren fell silent, letting the sound of the waves overwhelm her. Dual toned eyes fluttered under heavy lashes as Siren looked out over the ocean before them, seeking the horizon that was slowly turning a light blue. "You have a lovely voice,” she would say eventually after silence settled over them. She said little else though, still so overwhelmed with the storming feelings within.

"Speech"

Music had always been Aliana's one means of escape during her life in captivity, so it was easy for her to lose herself to the song she and Siren crafted together. The chorus of their voices in the air blended like milk and honey: sweet, mellifluous, and smooth as it cascaded through ranges of hopeful highs and solemn lows. Pitches rose and fell like the waves in front of them, dulcet vocals of two faes proclaiming their heartaches and pains to a cruel universe and crueler gods that cared little for them. This was their hymn for the lives they had been given to play, and each lady would play their role to its fullest. Ali, a wolf who had never known the taste of freedom for even a day, and Siren, the fabled princess trapped within her own life by fate and circumstance. Though the highborn and lowborn women shared vastly different origins, there was more similarity than met the eye.

As Siren sang through her final verse, Ali switched to singing soft a cappella notes to accompany her lyrics, fading off to a low hum as Siren concluded the melody, both faes slipping seamlessly into silence. This had been the first time Ali had interacted with Siren that didn't involve her bleeding or being sewn up, and it had felt so powerfully intimate. Aliana had never sung with anyone else before, and to do so with Siren, the lady of the island, and a beautiful vocalist, it felt like an honor! Ali slowly opened her eyes, aquamarine gaze drifting out over the dark sea as the sun began to crest the horizon and bring dawn to Boreas.

Her ears flicked when Siren spoke to eventually break the silence, complimenting her voice and making Ali's heart flutter in her chest. Such a compliment coming from the lyrical Klein princess, especially when she had been the one hypnotized by Siren's vocals! "Thank you, Lady Siren," she said with a gracious bow of her head to the tiny woman, feeling heat flush across her cheeks for having been so bold as to simply start performing with the caramel-colored seraph. "Your voice is... magical. I've never heard a wolf sing as beautifully as you." She decided to leave the thoughts of being bewitched by Siren's voice out of her mouth, lest she make a bigger fool of herself.

"How have you been, my Lady?" she asked after a moment, bringing her teal-green eyes over to Siren's delicate features, marveling at what sort of lineage the Klein siblings must have had to have created an Aphrodite and Adonis such as Siren and Chimera. "I haven't seen you out amongst the island for some time. I hope everything is all right...?" She didn't reveal her hand yet, or how much she knew. Dalila had let it slip that something had happened to Siren, something devastating enough that it kept the tiny she-wolf in reclusion and had devastated Dalila. Ali might not have known the details, but it didn't take a psychic to be able to predict the level of destruction something had caused in her life to hear so much pain and sorrow in Siren's alluring voice.

"Aliana"

The song they shared together was unlike anything that Siren could sing alone. She complimented her with near perfection, the servant girl had truly been an excellent purchase and Siren never imagined she could also sing. Not when half the words she heard come out of Aliana’s mouth were hoarse from screaming. The song settled into silence but the meaning and sorrow she sang into it remained in and on her heart. Had Tiberius heard her lamenting? Had Aliana’s chorus aided in the spell like song? She might never know. If she was lucky, she would never see the river god again.

Aliana spoke equally as softly as the morning blossomed and threw golden color on the both of them and the beaches. The servant girl was honored by her praise, Siren gave her a slight smile and gentle nod in return. "You’re being too kind,” Siren returned humbly. She didn’t sing for the pleasure of anyone’s ears but her own, but hearing Aliana’s compliment did bring a slight flush to the princess’s porcelain cheeks.

Her attention was focused on the waves as Aliana asked after her, though it should have been the other way around. Siren hadn’t checked back in on her wounds. The girl glanced towards Aliana, noticing no real blemishes on her today, all except the shiny new collar. "I’m fine.” She offered in answer then, glossing over her answer and the sorrowful song she sang. "How are you? How is your neck healing?” Siren asked in return as Aliana went on.

"Oh, I had a little accident. I’m healed now.” She assured her vaguely. Good enough of an excuse. She hadn’t been around because she hadn’t been able to walk after everything with the water demon. "It’s sweet of you to worry over me.” Siren never really imagined having a relationship with her brother’s slave, not when guilt had eaten her up inside and not when she had let herself fall so hard for Dalila.

"Speech"

Siren was such the opposite of her brother in every regard. Tiny, delicate, graceful, feminine, and her words bore her sweet, kind, humble soul. To go from Chimera's aggression and violence and need to dominate to Siren's elegance and genteelness would have given any wolf whiplash. It was hard to believe they were both from the same litter, let alone the same family! Even though she accepted Aliana's compliment with much modesty, the monochromatic woman saw the flush of color across the princess' cheeks. Even in shyness, Siren was flawless, a beautiful being crafted by gods and goddesses. Sitting beside her, Ali felt so... plain. Chimera had called her pretty, but if she was pretty, Siren was beautiful.

The Klein princess asked how her neck was healing, and Ali reached a paw up to feel just beneath the leather confines of her collar where the skin was still raised, but healed fully. She would bear the scars on her flesh for the rest of her life, a mark of the time Chimera had nearly killed her in his need to dominate her completely. "It's healed well, thanks to your skillful work," she said with a small smile. "Your brother hasn't been nearly as rough on me since his accident, which has also helped, I think." Other than when he'd choked her the day he gave her the collar, that was.

Siren reassured the cloud-furred fae that she had simply had a small accident and she was fine now. Aliana smiled with a dip of her head and replied, "I'm glad you're better. When Dalila told me, I grew worried." Now it was her turn to feel her cheeks warm with a pink hue when Siren called her sweet for her concern. "You're the kindest, gentlest wolf I've ever known, my Lady. I know it's not my duty to care for you, but I do. You've been nothing but kind to me since the first day, and..." She hesitated, staring out over the water shimmering in the light of the slowly rising sun. "...and you rescued me from a horrible life I cannot imagine." Siren's kindness and softness when she'd rescued her from the slavers had not only led to her freedom, but had saved her life as well. Were it not for the caramel and porcelain fae... She shuddered to imagine what her life had very nearly become.

"Aliana"

Siren was a beautiful young woman, not that she realized that fact. She was sweet and humble, blind to her appearance. In her mind Siren remained the matted little puppy she had once been. Dalila had truly turned her life around, and deserved so much more than Siren gave her. Thankfully Aliana did not push or linger on her compliment as she lifted a paw to the healed wounds and praised her once more. She also gave Siren a glimpse into her relationship with Chimera, he had not been nearly as rough with her since he had returned to the island with his broken ribs. Siren nodded slightly, being mostly self taught at healing wasn’t anything to brag about. However, she did care and did her absolute best in every instance needing her attention. Especially with Aliana.

She wondered what all Dalila had told the woman, but until broken Siren still trusted the mottled woman completely. Even after all she’d done to her. The collared woman went on, her compliments abound and Siren flushed slightly and averted her gaze back towards the ocean. Completely unused to the shower of compliments. It didn’t feel like she was any of those things. "I had to come home with the best,” she teased, but told the truth at the same time. She didn’t feel like anyone could replace Dalila, but Ali embraced her role and flourished within it. "I’m glad you’ve found your place here. I… For a long time I felt guilty trading in flesh…” Siren shook her head slightly, trying to forget the slaver camp and trying to forget her mess with Dal.

"Speech"

Now it was her turn to blush and glance away shyly when Siren deigned her as "the best". She'd never considered herself the best of anything, simply doing as she was taught and as she was told. It was easy to do what was expected of you; living for yourself was where life got difficult. That was why this newfound freedom felt so alien to her. All she had ever known were cages and prisons. They made life simple. Deciding things for herself, having wants and desires, they were foreign concepts and worlds she never dared dream of for herself.

Aliana knew of the young woman's reluctance to be around her initially. She had known she wanted to distance herself, though Ali could not have predicted why. She had felt guilty for dealing with the slavers? That was understandable, and the slow nod she gave Siren echoed her thoughts. But the Klein princess had no reason to feel guilty. She had done a wonderful thing for Aliana, and now she wanted her to know it. "I had been with the slavers all my life. They took pride in telling me how my parents had abandoned me and my siblings in exchange for a sack of gems and never looked back. I never knew them..." she began to tell to Siren, her eyes shifting between looking at her paws on the sand and looking out over the dark indigo waves. "I was raised to be perfect by their standards. Quiet, obedient, subservient, well groomed and well mannered. I thought they were going to try and sell me like I saw them sell so many of the others. But... that wasn't their plans..."

The monochrome fae took a slow breath, looking away almost in shame. "Their leader wanted me for his own personal use... As soon as I turned one, he had me. He was drunk and he wanted to hurt me, so he did. He continued to do so whenever the urge struck, and I did what was expected of me. But as time went on, he had... other intentions." Ali felt the bile rising in her throat as she fought to keep her stomach from churning. "He wanted to use me to breed more slaves he could sell. 'Pretty things' he would call them. He wanted me as his own personal breeding bitch, and then sell my children for profit." A quivering sigh slipped past the young lady's lips as she told herself over and over that this was her life now, and that nightmare would never come to pass. She turned her gaze back toward Siren, still unable to look the princess in the eye from shame. "That was to be my future, and that was what you saved me from. So, from the bottom of my heart, Lady Siren... thank you. Any guilt you felt or still feel, you should let go of. You've given me a far greater gift by giving me to Chimera than you could possibly know."

"Aliana"

Chimera could show his darker side with little provocation, but there was a softer part of him that she saw. One that Aliana seemed to have known as well. However much she knew the more fierce bite of his teeth. Even being ripped open by her lover was not as bad as the fate she had awaiting her. Aliana went on to tell her life story, of being sold at an incredibly young age, brought up as a trained object, and living out her life as intended. Under another’s thumb.

Her fate was particularly cruel, at a young age. Far too young, she was taken to bed and laid claim over by her master who had the intention of using her for breeding. Siren thought back to the man she had traded with for her. The caramel frosted fur on her neck stood at the thought. She practiced in it, traded with them, and it still left a sickening feeling in her gut.

Aliana relieved her of all possibly guilt from the situation. She had found a much preferable life, and even freedom, here on the island with Chimera. She found a place she wished to be, because Siren had chosen her. "Well, when you explain everything like that…” Siren sighed softly, looking Aliana over once more. She looked much healthier, happier, and content than when she had been brought home. "I’m glad you’ve come into our lives.” She told her softly. Chimera was never easy to predict, but he seemed so much more mature and in control of himself since Aliana took her place beside him. Siren could be grateful to the once slave as well.

"Speech"

It took the fair Klein lady some time to digest her tale, but as she did, Ali could see the understanding replace the guilt on her features. She certainly didn't want Siren to feel any shame or guilt for purchasing her. She had come seeking a product for a purpose, and she had found Aliana. It just so happened that fate had smiled down on her for once in her short life the day the caramel and ivory woman set foot into the slavers' den. And may the gods bless Dalila as well for her keen eyes to spot her. Whatever came next in her life, she owed the liberties and the joys in it to Siren. The tiny fae sighed and looked her over, noticing the lady's gaze from the corner of her eye, then said she was glad Ali came into their lives. A warm blush came over Aliana's cheeks, noticeable beneath the pale fur, though she tried to hide it with a shy turn of her head and ears pressed to her crown. "Thank you, Siren." She turned back towards Siren and caught the other young woman's eyes with her own, the gentleness found in her sapphire and silver irises a stark contrast to the hardness she saw in Chimera's.

Ali felt at a loss for words and a loss of breath simply being in the presence of the beautiful nymph of a wolf. She eventually thought of something she'd wanted to ask both of the Klein siblings since she'd noticed it, but had been far too timid and felt out of place to ask of Chimera. Siren, on the other hand, had been nothing but sweet to her through their conversations. "If you don't mind my asking, my lady, but I've been curious... about your and Chimera's eyes. He told me he... sees the dead with it. Is that true?" She stared into Siren's hypnotic gaze, intently losing herself in those eyes. "Are you able to see the otherworld as well?" She'd never met wolves as gifted as Siren and Chimera were with their divine abilities. Chimera, who could peer through the veil between life and death, and Siren... what was she able to see? Could she see gods and heavens, demons and deities all around that other mortals could not? How fantastic, she thought, to be kept in the charge of such magnificent beings such as Siren and Chimera!

"Aliana"

Again Aliana wanted to show her appreciation and she lowered her head and spoke the familiar words before their eyes again met. She gave a soft smile and a nod, but was quick to return her gaze to the sea as silence fell back over them. The sound of the ocean and the cool breeze that flowed over them helped soothe the pressure of thoughts of the future. She didn’t really know what would come next. She’d already felt the bite of so much strife she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Aliana was a soothing presence as well, Siren didn’t feel as though she were rushed or pressure to say anything standing here in her easy presence. Maybe that was part of the magic she wove for Chimera.

Eventually Aliana’s curiosity seemed to get the better of her. She spoke up again, asking after her softly as she requested a question of the Klein princess. Siren returned her blue and silver gaze back towards Aliana as she spoke about the unique dual toned eyes of the two siblings. "I’ve never looked through his eyes, but I can do nothing but assume the validity of his claim.”She had never shared his visions and he did not see the hallucinations of hers. Aliana didn’t stop there though, and asked after her own visions.

Siren was quiet for a long moment as her gaze shifted from Ali to the ocean as she debated what to tell her. "Rarely, I can catch glimpses of possible future outcomes.” She remembered once when she hadn’t told Chimera about what she had seen, and he wound up injured. Caramel ears lowered to her head at the thought of it. "It’s never been very helpful.” She added, and returned her gaze to Aliana. Most of the time she ignored the auras surrounding the wolves around her, but now that she was thinking about it Aliana’s silvery outline was much more vibrant in her eye.

"More frequently, or always I guess, I can see a colored light aura outlining the wolves around me.” She explained even further, guessing that the next question would be what color was around Aliana. "You’re a silver.” She explained. "One of three colors I associate with royalty.” She added with a soft smile.

"Speech"

Siren claimed to have never seen what Chimera claimed to see, but gave no reason to doubt his statement. No, she supposed, she didn't have a reason to deny what Chimera said. She wondered what these magnificent siblings saw through their gifted visions. Chimera obviously saw the dead—but what did Siren see? As if reading her mind, Siren began to answer the unspoken question, catching Ali quite off guard. So Siren had premonitions, glimpses into future possibilities. Ali looked astonished that Siren would say such a gift was never helpful. She could only imagine such a talent would be incredibly helpful to have! Siren could see into the future, to better make decisions and judgments. How could that be unhelpful?

That wasn't the end of Siren's gifts, however. The tiny caramel princess went on to explain how she could also see colored auras given off by wolves like a manifestation of their souls. Again Aliana was astounded by the powers granted to the Klein siblings. They made her feel so... mortal, so average by comparison. To be in their presence, truly it was an honor. Perhaps they were demigods on this plane, granted divine abilities by beings far more powerful than themselves. If so, it made everything Chimera did to her feel more like an honor. To be chosen to be bedded by a demigod when she herself was nothing more than a mortal slave... It was almost enough to make her tremble.

Ali silently wondered what Siren saw when she looked at her, but once more the princess showed her omniscience by answering the question before she ever asked it. Aliana's aura was silver, a color Siren associated with royalty. Ali gasped in surprise. No one had ever called her such a wonderful thing as royalty before. She felt wholly undeserving of the compliment, but took it gracefully with a shy smile and eager wag of her tail. "You're much too kind to me, Lady Siren," she spoke softly. Another question grabbed her mind. "...What color is Chimera's aura?" She was curious to know how her spirit blended and meshed with his. Maybe just out of idle curiosity, or maybe for more intimate reasons...

"Aliana"

Siren didn’t feel as special as Aliana looked her with. She had grown up practically alone save Chimera and she had never really gotten over being a forgotten child. Her premonitions always felt like more of a curse than a blessing. She’d gotten yelled at once when she hadn’t warned Chimera about something she saw. She became obsessed with an idea of how he understood the vision one way but it meant something completely opposite. She hadn’t ever really predicted any event. Her hallucinations were useless.

Alianna seemed interested in the color auras around wolves. Siren saw a golden aura on herself, another of the royal colors. "I only tell you what I see and know.” When she was growing up most of the wolves in Ashen were of Klein heritage and they all bore the golden, silver, and bronze type auras. Siren didn’t know if there was any real correlation with royal status, but maybe it spoke deeper than skin deep. Aliana was more than a slave to Chimera.

Who the woman asked after next. What color was Chimera’s aura? His was one that wasn’t shared with anyone else within the Empire that she knew of. Though she tried not to think about it Tiberius shared it too. "Shadow, smoke, and a red like the glow of fire.” Siren told her honestly with her soft voice.

"Speech"

The concept of what Siren saw was mystifying to Aliana. More and more she was convinced Siren was either some fantastical ethereal being from another realm, or she had been granted a divine power by the gods. How a wolf like Siren remained so humble and graceful when she had been endowed with otherworldly beauty and gifts others could only dream of was just another testament to her marvelousness. She was still reeling from Siren telling her that her aura was of the same kind she was royalty with. Aliana never knew either of her parents, never knew what became of them or her siblings. Could it be so outlandish to believe that perhaps she had been royalty once in her short life? Had her sire been a nobleman who gave her up as soon as she was born? The thoughts stung a little, but it also opened up this wonderful new path for her imagination to run wild down.

Siren answered her question about Chimera's aura with a beat of trepidation, and Ali didn't understand until the caramel and ivory fae spoke again, describing Chimera's aura to her. Shadow and smoke, and red like fire. Ali felt her heart leap up into her throat and her breathing hitched. It sounded positively sinister! But Chimera... he couldn't truly be evil, could he? He was violent, depraved, debased, but he always treated her fairly and took care of her as well. She also noticed how starkly different her master's aura was to those of Siren or the family she described. That was when Ali realized why it all made sense. Chimera was an outcast from normal society, from his own family. He was built and wired differently and that's what set him apart from everyone else. Quietly, Aliana began to wonder what happened when red and silver mixed...

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Lady Siren," she said with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "I... don't often get to just have conversation with others, and I enjoy your company a lot." Who else would she even talk to anyway? Chimera? He was so busy running the island and serving Ashen, he didn't care for casual chitchat. Viper? The woman barely spoke coherent sentences to begin with. Between Siren and Dalila, Ali really only had two friends in the whole world.

"Aliana"