In the Interim

Aliana carried a long, thin stick out of the forest that surrounded their den, carrying it briskly over to the open section of woods just a little trot past their dens. The clearing she had found was populated with wildflowers, sunny and warm. When she'd come across it, she had been thinking of ways to help improve the island for Chimera and Siren. Chimera proved to be a challenge to figure out what made him happy, since she rarely ever saw him show any signs of enjoyment lest he was on top of her or Viper, but Siren was much easier to figure out. She knew of the princess' proclivity towards the healing arts, and had spied a small herb garden she kept. Ali came up with the plan for how to expand and help the plants thrive—and perhaps maybe find something Chimera enjoyed as well along the way. She wanted to surprise and delight him with something. He'd been taking good care of her, despite her piecing together that she had been brought in to settle some sort of debt between the wolves of this island. Even if she hadn't been his first choice, she was damned well determined to be better than whatever Dalila had been before her.

Setting the stick down, Ali formed a rough rectangular outline in the clearing, pausing to adjust the sticks this way and that, then stepping back to gauge and visualize her project. She hummed while she worked, a soft, somewhat somber tune, and tried to think of all the more uses her project would yield beyond a bounty of fresh plants, flowers, and herbs for her and Siren. While she went to turn the sticks again and adjust her blueprint further, a twist too far pulled at the scabbed over wound on her neck and made her wince with a gasp. A careful paw came up to rub the tender spot where her neck and shoulder met, knowing it would scar over as it healed, a permanent memento from the first time Chimera had claimed her—truly, wholly claimed her. Speaking of, she suddenly realized she hadn't seen her owner all day. He must have had some business on the mainland to attend to.

Keeping herself busy with her work, Ali stepped back to observe the frame once more and then, deciding she was content with its position, started heading back towards the den. She would need to figure out a way to get all the raw material she needed for crafting that later.

"Aliana"