Blur the Lines

The days following Chimera's return from his work trip had seen Ali's life and routines return back to normalcy. She had still tended to his home and maintained the island while he was away, but she had returned to doing it on a daily basis. While he'd been gone, she'd tried to keep as out of the den and away from Viper as much as she could. The crazy woman didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her, nor did she give her any orders or commands when she was in charge, so Ali just tried to make herself as scarce as possible. When she had been in the den cleaning, she was always struck by just how quiet everything was without Chimera or his dogs. Her life with Chimera might not have been sunshine and flowers, but it had been hers. Her life was never going to be anything spectacular; fate had made sure of that from the day she was born. But what she had was good, and it was hers. Chimera gave her shelter, kept her fed, made sure the island was safe. The slavers before him had kept her in a cage, fed her only what she needed to stay healthy and maintain her appearance. Before that were the parents that had never even wanted her...

In her time alone, Aliana found her thoughts wandering to her owner, trying to imagine where in the wide world he was and what he was up to. She knew he held a high rank in the pack, so what sort of important business could he be up to? More than anything though, Ali hoped he'd return safe and return soon. Her existence was build around him, and without Chi she just felt rudderless. Her mind had often wandered to the monochromatic Klein prince following their interactions when he'd helped her with the beehive. She couldn't get the memories of him holding her against him in the rain, surrounding her tiny self in all of him. Occasionally when she'd be cleaning the furs in his bed chamber, Ali found herself fantasizing what it would be like sleeping in here with him the way they had under the trees. She always beat her imagination back into submission, reminding herself of her place, and how there would never be a chance of a prince like him ever desiring her in such a way. He'd made a mistake when he was asleep, that had been it. Nothing more.

Once Chimera had come home, Ali intended to put even more effort into keeping him happy to show how thankful she was that he'd come back safe. She'd gone out to their food stores to find a nice treat to welcome him home with and selected a couple of plump pheasants. She carried the game birds with her while she wandered the forest just to the north of their dens, picking some wild rosemary and thyme to season the birds with. While she gathered her herbs, a low, feline growl made her blood run cold in her veins. She turned on her heels, scouring the area for any signs of danger—but she couldn't see anything. The growl came again, and this time Ali realized it was above her. Wide, aquamarine eyes turned up to spot a young jaguar on a tree limb just overhead. The cat bared its fangs, eyeing the birds on Ali's back, then lunged down for her with a vicious snarl.

Aliana gasped and managed to dive out of the way just in time, able to hold onto the pheasants with her teeth, but suddenly left defenseless—not that she had any fighting skills to speak of to begin with. The jaguar spun and hissed as it squared off with the wolf smaller than itself. Ali tried to back up a couple paces, but the cat just continued its slow circle of her, eyes locked to her. She had no means of escape. Ali's heart raced with fear, and knowing she had no chance of getting away if the cat decided it wanted her instead of the game birds, she dropped the pheasants and gave a panicked cry for Chimera a second before the jaguar went for the small fae with claws bared for blood.

"Aliana"