Kione was a lone wanderer and that was a bitter pill to swallow.  It couldn’t have been more than two weeks ago the sickness had killed most of his family.  The family bond was too deep and between the sharing of meat, the laying in a pile around each other, or just the pain of losing one member his large family had died off fast.  Three of them had survived and not caught the sickness but life wasn’t done with its cruel games.  Even as the three tried to deal with the loss of family a lion had attacked and killed off his final two family members.

Kione knew how to hunt, knew how to fight but what he didn’t really know was living alone.  So far he didn’t like the lessons.  He had to change up his hunting style for smaller targets without the support of others.  The African wild dog still hadn’t figured out what to do with his life next.  So far he hadn’t seen another one of his kind and even if he did would they accept him into their family?  

Kione had left the wildberry grove and headed to the beach, ready to be done with too many shrubs and trees for his preference.  Open landscape was the best for hunting and fighting.  The scent on the breeze surprised him and filled Kione’s heart with both hatred and a cruel joy.  Why a lion was here the wild dog couldn’t say but it certainly didn’t matter.  Trotting along he soon spotted the lion.  It was a young male with his mane only half-grown but plenty of muscle still.  Thankfully the brute was likely as dumb as the crabs on the beach.

Killing a lion sounded incredibly good right now.  If he had to guess the brute had been chased away from some other lions and ended up lost out here.  Trotting up to it boldly Kione grinned when the lion roared and lunged at him.  Kione danced away happy to see it was reactive.  “Come on then pal, let's play a bit?” Kione was smiling at the lion, it was going to feel good getting to rip him up.  If only the family was with him.

It was to be a game.  Kione would dash in, get the lion to attack, and even give chase a few strides before it would give up.  Kione did this several times without even trying to bite, just agitating the cat.  When the lion seemed to be tired of the game and tried to ignore him Kione got in closer, biting at his rump before running off with a laugh, licking the blood on his teeth.  The lion chased him to the edge of the beach over that one.  Poor cat, it wasn’t as fast as Kione and the bulky monster didn’t have the lithe dog's stamina.

Kione would kill it, he had decided that.  However, a fast kill was not only impossible but not nearly as fun or satisfying.  When the lion stalled out on chasing after Kione he grinned back at the cat, “tired already? But you’re doing so good.” He took two strides in before the lion gave chase and Kione circled about.  Like a fine dance, the dumb brute didn’t realize the game being played.  Once it was tired Kione would win.  Not like he had anything else to do.


"Speech"

Frequent motion kept the king long and leonine in the warmer months, though he bulked up considerably in winter. Chimera was as fit as they came and he liked it that way, so the massive man was always moving. Always on his paws. Flocked on either side by two great, obsidian mastiffs, the trio cut through the land at a distance eating clip.

A low growl from one of the dogs pulled the man's attention and the trio altered course. The cove was too close to home to not merit an investigation into anything strange. Before they even came upon the sight, the canids could hear the sounds of a tussle along with some trash talk, which Chimera had never understood. If you were going to fight or you were going to kill something, just do it. Don't waste breath on pointless words.

Coming around a rocky bend, the black and white giant finally found the source of the commotion. It was just a little, spotted dog. Well... that hadn't been what he'd expected. The brow above the man's dead eye lifted as he watched the scene unfold. The lion chased, the dog ran. The dog bit, the lion chased. So on and so forth. With a nod from Chimera, Gem and Meg rushed into the fight. Like well oiled machines, they took the load of the attention from the thin canine and ripped into the cat just enough to share the load. However the dog wanted to finish up, they would work with it. The king merely sat to the side and watched.

"X"

As one might imagine the painted dog was surprised when he saw two dogs charging to join into the fray.  For a moment he paused to make sure their trajectory was the lion instead of him.  When they started to help Kione’s eyes lit up, a grin forming.  He’d wonder about why or where they came from or any of the rest later.  There was a lion waiting to be killed for now.

As the two dogs charged, one attacking for a front shoulder, the other the hind end, Kione attacked for the right front shoulder.  The painted dog had no clue how these two dogs fought in the past but they were bold enough to jump in.  Whereas before he was biting to annoy and let go now Kione would bit, thrash his head before dodging a potential counter attack.  Now he was done talking, there was no longer a need to taunt the cat.  Now it was time for the real fight.

As the lion would turn to one of the strange dogs and it had to avoid attacking Kione and the other strange fellow had chances to bite into it.  Kione was sure to not just bite but twist his head to rip and pull off bits of skin whenever he got contact.   At first, each focused around legs, soon the lion was not only tired but its legs were gouged and blood flowing down three of them.

Gem got a deep solid bite into the lion’s shoulder, crunching down and the lion turned to face the dog, mouth open intending to focus its rage on the bold mastiff.  Kione didn’t wait to find out if the dog would evade the attack and instead let go of his leg to run forward sinking his teeth into the lion’s right eye.


"Speech"

Chimera had always enjoyed watching others fight. It interested him to see the reactions to certain situations and whether or not they would vary from his own reactions. He watch with rapt attention as the trio of dogs quickly learned to work in tandem. Gem and Meg pulled from both ends while the spotted dog nipped and bit, dashing here and there.

Enjoying the show, Chimera slid down to lay upon his stomach, long forelegs crossing as though this was just a regular evening for him. Both of the dogs continued to work over the cat, getting a little more brazen with each round. Gem's timing was a little off for one attack and it seemed as though the lion might have injured her, but the dog jumped in and stopped her from receiving any injury. That was good. The dog knew how to protect his comrades. His attacks and his actions weren't selfish. He saw the three of them as a unit and had adjusted his fighting style to fit it.

The dog bit into the lion's eye and the creature screamed and flailed. Meg took that opportunity to latch into the side of the feline's throat. Gem, in turn, slammed her big body down atop the cat so that the other two could finish it off. After all of this, Chimera had seen what he needed to see and knew what he needed to do.

"X"

The lion was now good as dead.  Meg and Gem were proving to be exceptionally helpful.  Kione let go of his grip on the eye but only for long enough to wheel around for a bite at the other eye.  This wasn’t just for killing, this was for revenge, this was adding on a bit more suffering before it died.  Of course, blinding it could be called a useful tactic also.

The mastiffs had the better jaw strength for handling a thick area such as the neck and Kione could tell the lion didn’t have long left. Kione twisted to the side of the body, hunching down on the front legs to tilt his head up and biting, tugging, and ripping open a bit of its underside.  He repeated the motion getting it more open.  There was no way he could of done it unless the lion was mostly dead but now all the response the lion could give was its back legs kicking.  The lion was dying.  Kione cruelly tore into the belly, teeth digging deeper but he only had a second before ducking his head back out.  The lion’s last bit of strength was gone.  It now lay fully on the ground, blood streaming all over the place.  Kione watched its side and noticed there was some shallow breathing but it would end soon.

“Well m’ friends!,” Kione offered up to the two dogs, “great job.  Help yourself if you’d like a beat of meat.  Always best when it's fresh.” Fresh as in before the lion was fully dead, and that would be soon.  Let it feel a bit more pain and realize its fate before then.  If it even could feel anymore.  Kione was about to help himself to another bit of flesh when he looked over where Chi was watching curiously.  Kione had been a bit busy to check but had the wolf shown up with the dogs?  If so why hadn’t he helped them?  Kione knew there was no reason for a stranger to assist him but if these were his companions?  Perhaps they had arrived separately.

“More here than the three of us could eat,” Kione called out to the stranger, “want in?” Not that he knew for sure if the dogs would even join in the meal but no reason to waste the corpse, might as well share before the leftovers just went to the birds.    

"Speech"

The cat never stood a chance. Perhaps if it had been older, wiser, larger... but it hadn't been and luck had been far from its side. Soon it was dead, or mostly dead, it's lifeblood spilling out across the sand and stone of the cove. Gem and Meg had stepped back, mouths hanging open as they panted and caught their breath. The sister's muzzles were stained with blood and they seemed pretty pleased with themselves.

As the spotted dog turned and noted that Chimera was there, it seemed to perk up a bit and drew closer, inviting him to join them in a feast. The massive brute released a gruff chuckle and shook his head. "I don't eat cat." He then nodded to the dogs and, rather than eat, they quickly got to work. The sisters worked together, stripping the tawny skin from the young lion as its last breaths left its body. In the meantime, Chimera had an offer to make.

"You seem like a hard working dog and you obviously know how to hunt and to kill. Odd to see one such as you out alone." The two-toned beast rose to his paws, giving his muscled body a shake to rid his pelt of clinging debris. "I am Chimera, King of Fenmyre. My domain is an island nearby. Should you wish to become part of a pack and put your skills to good use, we'll have this lion pelt ready and waiting for you." Mismatched ears flicked forward to hear the brute's response. The dogs had made short work of stripping the pelt and were now rolling it, preparing it for transport.

"X"

As Kione got a good look at Chimera he noticed just how big this wolf was, definitely if they were standing next to each other Kione would end up having to look up to the fellow.  The dogs were most certainly with him as a nod from Chimera was all it took to have the dogs start skinning the lion. Kione turned his head to glance back at them working at that, a small smirk of pleasure.  It was dead but hopefully, it had felt some of that before it passed.  Kione didn’t have such dark thoughts towards most animals but this was special.

He didn’t look long though as Chimera started speaking to him. The fellow acknowledged his abilities which was an interesting conversation starter, but his mention of being strange to see his kind alone caused a momentarily flinch.  The summary of Kione was explained when Chimera offered him a place in his pack.  Well, that was unexpected and had the painted dog raise up his eyebrows.

Kione wasn’t sure what to feel at first on the offer.  There was a part of him that was ready to rush and agree to join a pack just to have a family again.  The two mastiffs had shown they could work well with him and there would be other wolves assuredly in Chimeras pack.  However, what would it be like, his species in a pack amongst wolves?  Would some of the wolves, or most for that matter, look down on him for being the odd-man-out in the pack?  If they were all as big as this wolf it would be easy enough to have some foolish notion they were better by species.

Did he want to give up on looking for his own kind?  The pain in his heart reminded him how far he had already traveled with no success.  Would he give up a home to search for what might not even be there. “I appreciate the offer friend,” he glanced back to the dogs and corpse before approaching Chimera.  Hmm, King, so maybe friend wasn’t appropriate?

“Do you hold on formalities to your title or by name alone the normal?” Might as well not insult the wolf who was making the offer, “An African wild dog amongst a wolf pack, you might understand that I have to ask where that would leave me standing in status. I have no expectation for status when nothing is known of me, but will I be judged the same as the wolves in the pack?”


"Speech"

The dog seemed to think over the offer that was made and this was a good thing. Had he simply agreed, Chimera would have thought less of him. An eager beaver, ready to jump into whatever path opened up first. Instead, he asked what title Chimera would have preferred. The giant raised an amused brow. The dog would not be a slave. He would be a member of the pack, and so the full title wasn't necessary. "Chimera will suffice," he responded. Though if the dog wished to call him King or Sir, Chimera wouldn't have opposed.

The topic shifted and again the dog asked good questions. Wise questions. Status was an important thing to consider in all things and especially so when pledging fealty to a pack. "Status is earned by hard work and skill, not by species. If you work hard, you'll be rewarded for your efforts. If you don't," The man shrugged and made a 'get out' motion with one paw. "We're somewhat of a family oriented pack," he added. "We have wolves and many dogs like Gem and Meg here." The sisters, having done their duty of skinning the cat, were waiting patiently beside one another, watching the interaction between the two men.

"A decision needn't be made now if you'd like to mull it over. I've told you of the island. Ring for the ferry if you wish to join." Chimera nodded to the man and rose, motioning for the dogs to go on ahead. If the small man had nothing else to say, then Chimera would follow them.

Chimera Klein

Status earned by work was the answer Kione wanted to hear.  Was he really considering joining a pack of wolves?  Chimera spoke again and threw in a word that had more meaning to Kione than he might expect, ‘family’.  He knew most wolves lived in packs but some seemed content to live alone.  Kione couldn’t imagine staying this way forever, alone.  How far had he already walked in search of his own kind?  Even if he did find more there was no guarantee he’d be admitted.  It also wouldn’t be his family that he had grown up with.  They were dead.

The wolf seemed a relatively nice guy, at least so far.  Kione wasn’t so dumb as to think you knew someone after meeting them for a few minutes.  However, ‘nice’ was a relative concept.  Kione wasn’t worried about any grand morals or goals in life.  There was no set of rules of how one should behave or act aside from the pack work well together and care for their own.  If that was what the man was offering it might be foolish not to take it.  There was no reason to believe other wolf packs would make a similar offer.

“I’m Kione,” he hadn’t bothered using his last name lately.  It was the name of a family that no longer existed anywhere but in bitter-sweet memories.  “I’ve been searching for a family for some time.  I thought I was looking for more like me to make that happen.”  Shrug, “It seems my kind are in small supply,” the question of how small still flickered in his mind, “So,” the painted dog had spent enough time alone, “I appreciate the offer.” A nod given to the pelt, “I think I’d like to go where that’s going so I have something comfy to sleep on.  I wish to join the pack.  Words don't mean much but, I can assure you I can work hard and care for my family.” I wish to have a family. He'd never let another family suffer the tragedy of his.


"Speech"

The spotted man did think it over in the end and came to a conclusion that was suitable with Chimera. He would join. He had been looking for a family. "I know you will work hard," the dire admitted. "You seem the type." With a pull of his head, he motioned for the dog to follow. Kione, was his name and the striped giant accepted it with a nod. "The world has been sick and it's time to rebuild. It is my aim to see my pack, my family and my charges thrive and prosper. For hard work there will be great reward. Promotions, ranks, servants, whatever you desire." A little glimpse into Fenmyre life.

"Fenmyre is a different place, unlike any I believe you'll have seen." He cast a sidelong glance at the dog. "We deal in services and flesh. Providing release to those that require it in return for compensation." Yes, it seemed cruel and most time was, but Chimera had standards. "There are no innocents in danger. Each piece of flesh has been covered heavily in sins." Now both eyes found the dog. "Heavily. Murderers, rapists, child traffickers. They come to me to die." He felt the need to be outright and truthful with the man as he would expect no less in return. "If you can stomach knowing what goes on, then you are most welcome on my shores." The dog would never need to even see or interact with the slaves unless he wished it. Chimera was a clever businessman and was very discreet with his clients. If he didn't want you to see something, you wouldn't see.

Chimera Klein

There was a time choosing to join a family of wolves would have sounded laughable.  Now, Kione had met a few wolves and was starting to get used to them.  Besides, Kione was so incredibly tired of being alone.  How many wolves had he decided to be chummy with just to have some company?  Kione nodded at the assumption of working hard.  Honestly, Kione considered most things a lot of wolves seemed to call work as a means of play.  Hunting and fighting were all play in his books.

They patrolled borders and were more possessive of land but if they did that with a friend along with them as they patrolled then it would still be enjoyable.  A different outlook on life it seemed but one that suited the wild dog well.  Kione’s curiosity was perked as Chimera said his back would be like others he’d seen.

Kione was still learning about the oddities of wolves so that he had no doubt of. The descriptions he gave were certainly a thing Kione had never considered before.  There was no sign of distaste but the painted dog was puzzling over the notion.  “They come to you?  Do some of the wolves in your pack go looking for them, or you have someone else brings them?” It was a question of tactics versus morals.  Kione had his own set of ethics and morals but they were less rigid in some areas than others might tend towards.  To him, it was all about the bond of family and if the rest of the world's problems conflicted with it then they best have the power to fight his family to go against it.

“Regardless, who am I to stop a system the pack has set up?  If the wolves are facing consequences for their actions then its no skin off my back”



"Kione"