Aliana carried a long, thin stick out of the forest that surrounded their den, carrying it briskly over to the open section of woods just a little trot past their dens. The clearing she had found was populated with wildflowers, sunny and warm. When she'd come across it, she had been thinking of ways to help improve the island for Chimera and Siren. Chimera proved to be a challenge to figure out what made him happy, since she rarely ever saw him show any signs of enjoyment lest he was on top of her or Viper, but Siren was much easier to figure out. She knew of the princess' proclivity towards the healing arts, and had spied a small herb garden she kept. Ali came up with the plan for how to expand and help the plants thrive—and perhaps maybe find something Chimera enjoyed as well along the way. She wanted to surprise and delight him with something. He'd been taking good care of her, despite her piecing together that she had been brought in to settle some sort of debt between the wolves of this island. Even if she hadn't been his first choice, she was damned well determined to be better than whatever Dalila had been before her.

Setting the stick down, Ali formed a rough rectangular outline in the clearing, pausing to adjust the sticks this way and that, then stepping back to gauge and visualize her project. She hummed while she worked, a soft, somewhat somber tune, and tried to think of all the more uses her project would yield beyond a bounty of fresh plants, flowers, and herbs for her and Siren. While she went to turn the sticks again and adjust her blueprint further, a twist too far pulled at the scabbed over wound on her neck and made her wince with a gasp. A careful paw came up to rub the tender spot where her neck and shoulder met, knowing it would scar over as it healed, a permanent memento from the first time Chimera had claimed her—truly, wholly claimed her. Speaking of, she suddenly realized she hadn't seen her owner all day. He must have had some business on the mainland to attend to.

Keeping herself busy with her work, Ali stepped back to observe the frame once more and then, deciding she was content with its position, started heading back towards the den. She would need to figure out a way to get all the raw material she needed for crafting that later.

"Aliana"

After leaving the slave woman the day prior, Chimera had left the island to hunt and slake his other lust. In the end, he'd found a big, fat sow and had wasted no time ending its stinking, porcine life. The creature had bled and kicked and fought and bled some more, and it was exactly what the chimeric man had needed. Already he'd emptied her innards, the scavengers could enjoy those, but he'd taken great care in snacking on the unborn piglets that had been tucked within the pig. Tender little delicacies, all of them. With a full stomach, Chimera hadn't even wanted to begin lugging his kill back to the island until morning.

With a strap secured to his chest, Chimera pulled the big, bloodied pig back to the island on a pole drag. It wasn't easy going, but in time he managed. Getting the beast across the drifting barrel bridge would be more difficult, but he would manage that as well. In time, the sow was deposited in the deep, cold food cache and the pole drag was placed in a room at the top of the cache. With his muscles sore from the hunt and the trek, he'd planned to seek out the slave woman to make her ease his tension, but he caught her in his field of vision, moving purposefully away from the den with a stick i her mouth.

Crimson stained the mans pristine white coat, the blood still covering him from his hunt. He hadn't had time to wash it off just yet and it seemed that he wouldn't have time for a while still. The pull of curiosity was too much for Chimera. The blood spattered man made his way towards where Aliana had disappeared, pushing through the greenery himself until he came to where she'd obviously been working. Looking at the strange placement of sticks, the brutes eyes narrowed, the pale pink orb pinning on the woman. "What are you up to?" He didn't trust her and it showed in his voice. Chimera trusted no one aside from Siren and even she couldn't be wholly trusted.

"Chimera"

Think of the devil and he shall appear. From behind her, Aliana heard the gruff voice of Chimera demand to know what she was up to. The small fae nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to face her owner in a hurry—and staring in shock at the state of him. Chimera was covered in blood, the viscous fluid clinging to his fur and matting it in places. There could be no question to what he had been up to after slaking his sexual lusts with her. Something had lost its life to him. Ali bowed her head to him, her ears meeting her skull while she greeted him.

"Oh! Hello, Sir, welcome home." She glanced behind her at the rectangle formed from the sticks. "I was thinking I might try to build something useful for us in my downtime." Aquamarine eyes turned back to meet his, keeping her head lowered while she searched his expression to gauge whether he was angry with her. "I know Lady Siren loves her flowers and herbs, so I thought I'd build a beehive. The bees could help grow her garden, and provide honey for us to use for treats." Aliana hoped he wouldn't be upset with her for wasting her time on this project of hers. Then again, Chimera didn't need a reason to use her. She was just trying not to provoke the brute, especially not after what she'd seen him do to Viper.

Ali's eyes moved from his to the crimson covering his coat, more visible on the white than the black, but still equally as sticky and shiny on the ebony fur. "Would you like a bath, or a massage, Sir? Or something to help you unwind after your... activities?" she asked, taking a single step closer to him. Anticipate his needs. Keep him content. No oils or perfumes, just water and her paws. She had learned her lesson the last time. Plus he looked like he was still tense, and she hadn't gotten the chance to really soothe him yesterday. If anything, he looked more wound tight now after his hunt.

"Aliana"

Chimera had been prepared. He'd been prepared to be angry. To lash out at the small monochromatic fae for some reason that he hadn't decided upon yet. It pleased him to see the shock and horror on her pretty little face as she took in his bloodied appearance. It ignited something deep inside him. Some sadistic furnace that was being stoked and fed by her reaction to him. It all went away though. The very moment that she shared her plans with him, it all went away. All of that anger. All of that hot, ragey fire. Gone.

The brutes mismatched eyes narrowed slightly as though he was trying to discern whether or not she was fucking with him, but he saw no dishonesty in the woman's face. She was truly crafting something to help his sister. Aliana seemed embarrassed that she'd been caught building a hive to house the bees that she hoped would pollinate Siren's garden. Chimera stared at her for a long, long moment, his expression hard and most likely unreadable.

He was... touched. Aliana was sweet and thoughtful. The woman must have realized how important Siren was to him. Or maybe she was simply just that selfless and kind. Either way it went, Chimera was pleased at the task that she'd put upon herself. More than pleased. He was thankful. That was a rarity. Rarer still was when he opened his mouth and a soft but low, "Thank you," rumbled forth. Anything that would make Siren happy would ultimately make Chimera happy.

Despite her project, Aliana remembered her place and offered to tend to him. That, he realized... That was what a woman should do for her man; her master. "No," he rumbled and turned away from her. Chimera would go to the beach, cleanse his fur of the blood and viscera that clung to him, and then make his way back. If she was going to take the time to do something for his sister, then he would help the woman with her task. "Tell me what needs to be done." He was offering his brute stretch to pull or carry. Whatever she might need to expedite her process. This was his way of thanking her for her efforts to please Siren.

"Chimera"

Just as Chimera had been prepared to erupt, so too had Aliana been prepared—prepared to receive the bites she knew would inevitably be coming her way for wasting her time, prepared for her body to take whatever Chimera desired to do to it, whether it was with his claws or his teeth or his cock. She saw the way his eyes narrowed, knowing he could only see her through the left, but feeling the same rage spilling forth from both. She flinched inwardly, ears folded back, tail tucked between her legs, trying to make herself as small as possible. It was impossible to read anything in the brute's stony expression, making it nerve-racking to wonder just what might come next. But none of her predictions would have anticipated the words that fell from his lips in a low, masculine growl.

"Thank you." Ali blinked in surprise, her tension releasing simply from the shock of hearing him thank her instead of punishing her. Aquamarine eyes gazed up at her master curiously, wondering if this was some sort of hallucination, or if perhaps he was playing a trick on her. But no, Chimera's expression seemed to soften a touch now that he knew what she was up to. Was it because it was something that benefitted his sister? Had she been right about her observations? Chimera refused any service to himself and moved to go wash himself up, to restore his magnificent coat back to pristine condition, then asked what she needed. Ali didn't respond right away, still too taken aback by the shift in his personality to this side of him she'd never seen before.

"O-Oh! Well, I still need lumber for the structure itself. Tree limbs that might have fallen or can be broken off and aren't rotted." She followed beside him and slightly behind as she spoke, rapidly running through her mental checklist of supplies she needed. She already had some sharp stones to use as chisels to whittle the wood as she needed. "If it's not too much trouble, do you think you might be able to help me gather some wood, Sir? They need to be whittled into something usable, like planks, or notch out some pegs and holes in them to lock them together." She chanced a glance up at him, giving him a small smile as she added, "Thank you, Sir."

"Aliana"

No matter how practiced the woman may have been, she couldn't hide her surprise as he thanked her. For some reason that Chimera couldn't explain, he liked seeing the surprise on her face. The way that her aquamarine eyes lit up and her mouth hung agape... it pleased him. Yes, he loved to see her cower in fear before him, but he found that he also enjoyed this as well.

Chimera was well aware that his shifting moods often sent others reeling. He didn't know where his moods would go himself. It was as though he wasn't in control of himself. He went along with whatever emotion happened to be picked out of the hat. Today, with a turn of the winds direction, Chimera was now feeling thankful and surprisingly tender.

As Aliana informed him of what she needed to finish her gift for Siren, the two-toned brute nodded. He then peeled away and left the island completely. He knew where he could find relatively straight saplings that could be cut and stacked however the woman wished. Chimera was gone for perhaps and hour. Maybe two. When he returned over the bridge, it was with a large stack of long, equal length green trees tied and attached to his back. Hattori probably wouldn't be happy that his bamboo trees had been cut down, but fuck him.

Balancing the trees upon his broad back was no easy feat, but he managed to make it back to the clearing where Aliana had begun to work. He sent the trees clattering to the ground and rolled his mighty shoulders. "Will these work?" Mismatched ears flicked forward as he questioned the woman.

"Chimera"

Chimera nodded and left without another word to her. Aliana had learned that Chimera's methods of communication were often nonverbal and she was learning to listen to his body and expressions as much as she did his words. Left on her own again while he went to gather the raw materials, Ali continued to scope out the clearing and rearrange the template she'd set up for the beehive until she was satisfied with its layout. She headed down to the beach while she waited for Chimera to return, scoping out some pieces of driftwood to use as the roofing. She found a piece that was decently sized and relatively flat, perfect for her purposes, and dragged it back to the clearing.

Once she heard heavy paws approaching, she glanced up and regarded Chimera with bright eyes and a smile. The stack of nearly perfectly straight bamboo stalks slung across his back would work perfectly! While Chimera hauled the bamboo to her, Ali watched the way he moved, the powerful muscles rippling and moving just beneath that fine coat of perfect monochromatic hues, almost perfectly bisecting the large brute. He was intimidating and indomitable and intense, it was no wonder why he was the lord of this island. He rolled the stalks off his back with a woody clatter as if they weighed nothing and asked it they would suit her.

"Yes, these are perfect! Thank you, Sir!" She beamed as she looked over the stalks, mentally making measurements of where to cut and notch them. "Now they just need to be cut down and I can start putting the notches in so they stack together and don't topple-" Her words drifted off as she tried to move one of the stalks, realizing just how heavy each one was. She blinked in shock, then turned her aquamarine gaze back to her master while he rolled his shoulders. He had carried all of these all the way back here on his back?! "Are you sure you wouldn't like a massage, Sir?" she asked. "Even just for your shoulders? These... These aren't light." The bamboo cutting could wait if Chimera wanted to have a break and soak in some gratitude from the dainty little fae for lugging all of these back home for her.

"Aliana"

It seemed that the bamboo poles were sufficient for the job. Good thing, too. The bastards had been fucking heavy. Chimera's shoulders and spine ached, but he had refused to make more than one trip, stubborn ass that he was. When Aliana asked if he needed a massage, he noted the slight look of concern on her face. He was devilishly handsome, but she couldn't be falling for him just yet. Perhaps she was truly just that nice.

Chimera gave his head a shake in the negative. "Finish your project." If it was a gift for Siren, his sore shoulders could wait. Besides... it might be interesting to watch the woman work. The gargantuan beast slid to his belly on the cool ground beneath the shade of some overhanging trees. He wasn't a daytime wolf for the most part. The bright light burnt his pink skin and hurt his pink eye. The shade wasn't terrible, but he wouldn't be able to stay out for long. Silently, Chimera hoped for clouds.

After a while, the brutes chin found its way down to rest upon one bent paw. His rose colored eye watched the slave girl work, but his eyelids kept drooping lower and lower. In time, sleep claimed him. In sleep, Chimera looked peaceful. He almost looked as though there was no way that he was a bloodthirsty, abusive monster. Surprise surprise.

"Chimera"

While Ali was indeed concerned for the wellbeing of her owner, she was far too inexperienced with emotions to recognize anything beyond her duty as his property. Kindness was a trait she bore, but more than anything, Aliana was dutiful. Her personal projects, her needs, any desires she might have had, they all came second to Chimera's whims and wants. It was why she didn't feel disappointment when he refused her second offer of a massage, simply nodding her head to acknowledge she had heard him, then obeyed his instructions and turned back to the bamboo. While her master rested, Ali picked up some of the sharp stones she'd found and began to whittle away into the bamboo stalks at measured intervals, cutting out notches and slots for makeshift pegs to fit in and interlock the stalks. There was no way she would be able to accomplish all of her work in one day, but thanks to Chimera, she had a tremendous head start.

Ali spent the rest of the day measuring and preparing the stalks for use, testing and making sure the interlocking system she'd come up with worked, and then began to lay the foundation. It wasn't easy moving the heavy stalks, and she considered asking Chimera for help—but when she caught sight of him dozing peacefully, she couldn't bring herself to disturb him. She'd never seen Chimera sleep before. He had his private bed chamber with Viper, hidden away from the world, and she slept in the dogs' nook. He looked completely at peace, the usual grump or barely contained rage that was usually on his face melted away. To Aliana, he almost looked... content.

So she instead gradually rolled each stalk to where she needed it, doing her best not to overexert or injure herself. She'd be no good to Chimera as an invalid, and then she feared what sort of bites he might deliver to her then. She had gotten the foundation set in place with the stalks set into a small trench she'd dug so they wouldn't roll or move when Chimera got his wish and dark clouds began to roll in from the sea. A cool wind accompanied them, and shortly after a light drizzle that hinted towards a greater storm. Ali frowned, but continued to work through the drizzle until she had the foundation set. That would have to do for now. The wind was starting to pick up and she could smell the electricity in the air.

Heaving a sigh, Aliana stepped back to admire her work so far with a smile. All she'd have to do now was start stacking and locking the rest of the stalks in place and it would come together! But first... She turned toward Chimera, stepping almost silently with petite paws over to where he lay. Underneath the trees, he probably hadn't felt any raindrops. She couldn't let him nap out here in a storm. His den would be much more cozy for a snooze, plus she had an inkling that he'd probably snap at her for letting him sleep out in the rain. "Sir...?" she spoke to him, sitting about a foot from him with her head dipped towards his to try and rouse him without touching him. "Chimera, Sir? I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's starting to rain."

"Aliana"

Chimera slept and he slept well. Maybe it was the heat of the sun warming the ground. Maybe it was the steady noise of the slave woman as she worked. Whatever it was, Chimera hadn't slept so well in quite a while. The canopy of wide leaf trees that hung over the man kept the droplets of rain from wetting his fur. He vaguely remembered smelling the rain, but his mind refused to release its hold on sleep. Even when the grey and white fae came to wake him, Chimera was as stubborn as ever and refused to wake.

As Aliana extended her neck, placing her head close to him so that she could more easily try to wake him, one big foreleg snaked out, hooking around the fae's neck and shoulders, before drawing her in against his chest. The sleeping brute hugged her to him, adjusting his frame a little so that her much smaller form was molded to his chest and belly. This was something that he often did to Viper while they slept if she started muttering or rolling around too much. This wasn't Viper, but his subconscious didn't know that.

Chimera curled his neck, placing his muzzle upon his shoulder, thus creating a sheltered little cave of sorts for the woman's head. He continued to sleep, unaware of the rain that was slowly falling harder and harder. The gentle hiss of rain on the wide leaves above was even more soothing than the sound of the woman's work. Chimera, though a very clean brute, had slept in the rain many times. It didn't bother him. If anything, he very well may have liked it.

"Chimera"

In a blur, Aliana felt Chimera's powerful foreleg reach out and grab her around her shoulders, the girl barely getting a chance to gasp before she was being pulled off her feet and tucked up against the monochromatic brute's strong, virile form. He kept her hugged up against him, holding her much smaller body to his chest while he surrounded her with his body. Ali didn't know how to react or respond, her heart pounding in her chest from the sudden rush of shock and panic. When he'd grabbed her, she thought for sure he was attacking her for waking him up, but this was different—startlingly different from what she expected! Chimera was cuddling with her, protecting her, treating her like how she imagined he treated Viper. He must have been dreaming she was Viper, and a part of her genuinely worried what his reaction would be when he woke up and found her in his arms instead of his mate. Despite that fear though, Ali didn't dare move or try to wake him for fear of bringing that reaction on sooner.

Besides, she... really didn't want to wake him. Having her svelte, petite form nestled into the nooks of his body, feeling those taut, powerful muscles keeping her held and swaddled in amongst him, she felt safe, protected... and something else she couldn't quite place, but it had her heart racing in her chest the way it had whenever he intimidated her. Chimera blocked out the world around her with his head, completely engulfing her with his body, his coat, everything about him. His scent, rich and masculine and potent, filled her senses, and his coat was soft and warm, keeping even the most accurate raindrops from reaching her. For the first time since her purchase, Chimera made her feel well and truly safe with him.

Ali listened to the brute's slow, steady breathing as he slept, letting herself relax gradually into his embrace until she was no longer rigid with worry and instead actually allowed herself to ease into a state of comfort. Chimera had never been this gentle or caring with her before, and she didn't really want it to end just yet. He'd no doubt be in for a rude awakening when he saw who he was actually sleeping with, but until that moment, Ali found herself enjoying Chi's unconscious affections. She reached a trepidatious paw up to brush over his chest, nuzzling her snout into his fur until her cheek met his skin. Her body was exhausted after her work, and being held like this for the first time in her life felt like the greatest of luxuries.

Her eyes slowly drifted closed, lulled into total relaxation by the feel of his powerful heart beating just beneath her cheek and his rhythmic breathing breaking the steady sound of rainfall. It didn't take Aliana long to fall asleep in Chimera's arms like that, at ease and feeling safer than she'd ever felt before. She might come to regret it later when he woke up and saw her, but for now she allowed herself to savor this moment between them.

"Aliana"

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"

To say that sleeping surrounded in Chimera's strong, protective embrace had been the best sleep of her life would not have been an exaggeration. Aliana had grown up knowing straw on a cave floor and hard earth when she was transported. Sleeping with Chimera's dogs was a significant upgrade; they at least had proper bedding, and though it was cramped, she was happy to simply have a nicer place to sleep. But tucked away in Chimera's arms, hidden from the world and safe from anything, Ali was able to well and truly relax. She didn't think of the bites that may come when he woke up, or the abuse she'd likely receive from Viper for sleeping with her mate. She simply enjoyed the small comforts he gave her, as they meant more to her than he would know.

She didn't know how long they slept together like that, as her slumber was mostly dreamless and restorative, but when she was woken, it was noticeably darker, and the rain had picked up in force with rumbling thunder joining the chorus. She was woken to a gentle shaking, blinking open sleepy aquamarine eyes to peer around and find Chimera looking down at her with that hard stare he always wore. The peaceful Chimera had retreated back within him, and the Chimera she knew had returned. She nervously slid away from him when he stood up, rising to her paws and shaking off loose leaves and debris from her silken coat before smoothing it back down to the curves of her body, feeling refreshed and unlike she ever had before. He ordered her back to the den, and though still somewhat groggy, Ali nodded and gave a simple, "Yes, Sir." Their peaceful interlude together might have been over, but it had left a lasting impression in the young fae's memory.

Ali immediately set back to the den, hurrying through the heavy rain to avoid getting too wet as she left the shelter of the trees. The weather was turning into a true tropical storm, so she understood Chimera's abruptness about them getting back home. She paused at the entrance long enough to glance back at her owner and make sure he was coming as well before dipping into the shelter of his home. She shook her coat free of the loose rainwater as best she could, then hurried to grab a couple of spare furs she'd tucked away for extra blankets or towels. It was quiet inside the den, meaning Viper wasn't home, probably off doing whatever Viper did. The petite fae draped one over herself and gave her body a quick dry before hurrying back to the entrance where she waited for Chimera with the fur in paw for him to dry off with, whether he wanted to do it himself or allow her to dry him off.

"Aliana"