In the Interim

Together they weathered the storm and didn't get terribly wet in the process. Thankfully the rain fell straight down and there was no real wind to send it beneath the green canopy. Chimera took the brunt of the rain and damp, leaving the woman beneath him relatively dry. He didn't feel as she stroked him or nuzzled her face into his fur, but he would have been confused by it. Women made no sense. The ones that he was surrounded by seemed to make the least amount of sense.

Who knew how long they lay there together? It was only when a deep growl of thunder rumbled the ground beneath him that Chimera finally opened his mismatched eyes. The behemoth pushed his paws into the ground, sitting up. He hadn't realized at first that Aliana had been asleep there with him, but he looked down at her resting form and scoffed lightly. Had she curled up with him to shield herself against the rain? Had she used him to stay dry? Knowing what he did of the woman, he didn't believe this to be the case. She was the perfect slave and always put his needs and wants before her own. That was why he cared for her so well. She would be difficult to replace.

Thunder rumbled again and Chimera looked up. The sky was darkening significantly. It seemed that the light rain was about to turn into a genuine storm. With one paw, Chimera jostled the sleeping woman. "Wake up," he ordered. Whatever softness she'd felt from him in sleep was gone now. Chi rose and gave his big, muscled body a shake. He felt nice and refreshed. "Go back to the den," he ordered once more and knew that she would obey. Only when he was sure that she was awake did he start to move back towards the den himself.

"Chimera"