oh making bad decisions

Dalila felt a conflicted stab in her chest at Siren's words, trying to comprehend what situation could have possibly put Siren into the kind of position where she couldn't have said no. When Chimera forced himself on her she had been his property. His slave. Even if she had been caring and serving Siren she had still been his and because of that she quite literally had no choice but to allow him to have what he wanted from her. Siren had no master, she was no slave. She was a princess that had everything she could ever want given to her. Dalila shifted uneasily as she tried to piece together things on her own, but there was huge gaps that demanded answers before she could comprehend what happened. It was hard for her to look at Siren with the way she buried her face, so obviously hurt and overwhelmed, but Dalila's naive heart was broken and it demanded answers.

There was still a huge question mark around the thought of this man being a "water spirit" as Siren called him, but she could put that aside for now. "I looked all over the island for you," she said softly, thinking through things out loud with her gaze fixed on her paws from where she sat beside the bed. "So I know he wasn't here because I would have found you or at least a stranger's scent... So... Did you get swept out by the storm? Or did you leave on your own? Did... Did you know who this was? The man who did this to you?" She tried so hard to not be hurt, to not feel as if she had been cheated and slighted in all of this, but it was hard. It was hard to not feel heartbroken at the idea that she had done so much to try and protect and love her lady to keep her happy here just for her to leave on her own free will and allow this to happen.

She didn't really even want to wait for Siren's answers. Facing the truth that she was already too sure was the case hurt too much. Before Siren could give her the truth, if she even would, Dalila got to her paws again and she slipped away to go out to the shelves where their herbs and supplies were kept, collecting a cluster of meadowsweet, another bowl, and some sweet berries, mashing them all together while her mind reeled, feeling the need to keep herself busy to avoid her own emotions. She returned to Siren's side a few moments later, placing the medicated berries in front of her. "For the pain," she told her simply, her voice quiet and detached. More pieces began to fall into place in her mind slowly but surely and a horrible realization crept up on her. "You were in heat." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them and her ears flicked with worry.

For at least a brief moment she was able to look past her own feelings of betrayal, falling back into the role of Siren's caretaker and servant - the only role she should have allowed herself to ever have for the princess. "There's herbs you can take to stop the pups from forming," she said quietly, glancing up at her lady uncertainly. "I could go out and hunt for them now... if you want them." Or was this what she wanted? Had all of this been planned? Dalila began to wonder if she had been delusional in feeling as if she was enough for her lady, her chest squeezing painfully with emotion that she was desperately trying to push away and bury down.

"Dalila"