Another fork stuck in the road

The way Siren said her name and leaned into her chest made Dalila's chest ache, but a little smile pulled across her lips all the same and her paw continued to stroke soothingly over her back and shoulders. "It's okay, I've got you," she said gently, settling onto her haunches so that she could let Siren lean on her more easily while the wave of nausea passed. Her ears folded back while her foreleg slipped around Siren's shoulders, pulling her gently into an embrace to support her while she fought with her own conflicted emotions. She hadn't fully accepted for forgiven what Siren had done, but it was hard to deny the relief she felt feeling Siren lean on her like this. She knew she could never have the life she had really wanted with Siren and she knew she would never be Siren's first pick, but these little moments like this reminded her why she had enjoyed being Siren's servant. Siren was so easy to love and even if she hadn't thanked her for her help before like she did now Dalila did at least know how appreciative she was of it.

Dalila struggled with herself for a moment before finally giving into her temptations and leaned down to give the top of Siren's head a gentle kiss. She just didn't have it in her to be cold or distant with the delicate woman when she didn't feel well. It felt like a dangerous and slippery slope to allow herself these little affections that she missed, but in that moment all she wanted to do was help Siren feel better. "Ready to go back inside?" she asked once it seemed like Siren's nausea had at least momentarily passed and once she confirmed she was Dalila helped her back to her paws and led her back into the den and into her bed. "I'll get you some water," she said before going to collect the bowl and the water skin she had filled the night before, placing the bowl beside Siren and filling it quietly. Chimera's reminder to find happiness where she could get it continued to run though her mind. If she was really going to stay with Siren for the foreseeable future and if taking care of her still made her happy then did she really want to keep keeping herself from that happiness even if she did have to share the woman she loved with others?

She sighed softly as she sat the water skin down beside the bed, looking down at the floor of the den for a long moment before she finally let herself settle beside the bed and rest her head beside Siren's so that their muzzles were nearly brushing together. It was the closest they had been besides when she was helping tend to Siren's fur or helping her bathe and it made her heart skip, her ears flicking back against her head. "Can I ask you something, Siren?" she whispered, her gaze finding Siren's uncertainly. "If... If I could share you with Chimera... Is that something you would want? Would you want to go back to how we were before?" she asked, leaving part of the decision in Siren's paws. She didn't know if she would even want her back and Dalila still didn't know if it would hurt too much to allow herself to love Siren the way she used to, but she wanted to try tip toeing into that direction. She didn't feel the same animosity toward Chimera she once had and if he was the only other one that held Siren's heart then perhaps she could learn to live with that if that's what Siren wanted so that she could continue to hold on to a little bit of that happiness she brought.

"Dalila"