What You Mean to Me

Had anyone asked, it would have been difficult to explain the emotion that was running through the black and white man. He was hurt, wounded, offended, angry, sad and a whole slew of other things, none of which he would admit to. Aliana gave his paw a squeeze and he squeezed back in turn. He knew that she didn't hate him, but it seemed that she didn't love him. Growing up, Chimera hadn't needed love. He hadn't needed anything. It took him a while to sort his adult self out, but the brute soon realized that he did have needs. He wanted to be feared, respected, worshipped, but he also wanted love. Not love from everyone, but from the select few that he allowed close to him. Aliana was one of the few and her lack of reaction to his confession honestly wounded him.

She was pregnant. He knew this. They both knew from the very first time that he had unleashed inside of her in front of the cabana. Children conceived from rape. Yes, he wanted to eventually have children with the woman, but this wasn't how he wanted to do it. "If it's too painful and you want to end the pregnancy..." he left the rest unsaid. If that's what she wanted to do, then she had his blessing to take whatever she needed. Siren was almost back to normal and could help Aliana through her ordeal. Dalila could help as well. The clouded woman wouldn't be alone.

Whatever he had planned to say next was cut off by the sea of bluish crabs. Fireflies flitted back and forth between them with an iridescent glow reflecting off of everything that their light touched. Both wolves were on their paws and Chimera placed himself between Aliana and the unnatural army of pinching beasts. The giant hadn't realized at first, but other things were coming out of the ocean behind them. Massive sea dwelling creatures that looked something like a walrus, but with strange, floppy faces. With each undulation of the bulky forms, those faces wriggled and bounced. It was an uncomfortable sight and was made even more unnerving by the blue glow that came from their small, beady eyes.

Aliana refused to leave his side and the behemoth growled, his fur bristling. With the crabs getting closer and closer and the gargantuan seals at their back, Chimera used his body to herd the woman away. He kept his eye on the larger threat, which was definitely the seals. In doing so, Chimera stepped on one of the crabs, crushing it underfoot. He looked down and watched the blue glow disappear as the crustacean died. Big mistake. Upon seeing the death of the crab, the hulking seals bellowed and moved faster towards the wolves. The crabs quickly scuttled out of their way.

One of the seals drew in close and tried to use its body to mash Chimera into the ground, but the brute was too quick. He sidestepped and sank his sharp teeth into the bulbous face of the seal. Blood filled his mouth and he quickly spat it out, not trusting whatever sorcery was taking place. Chimera continued to herd Aliana through the tide pools until the land flattened out and they could make a run for it. When the pair hit the raft, Chimera wasted no time in working their way across and back home. He only hoped that the sea creatures wouldn't find his own shores. Looking back out over the water, he was relieved to see that there was no longer a blue glow.

"Chimera Klein"