The days that followed finding Siren washed up on the shore passed in a painful blur. Keeping herself distant from the woman she loved hurt as much as it helped. It tore her apart each night that she wasn't laying in Siren's bed with her and each day that she wasn't sneaking gentle kisses, but it also helped the way it felt her world had been turned upside-down to have some sort of "return to form" so to speak. Going back to the quiet, guarded ways of the life she had been born into, keeping the interactions she had with Siren completely professional in every sense, it allowed her a moment to breathe and process her thoughts without being swayed into forgiving her like she desperately wanted to. At this point she wanted to do anything to stop the hurt looks from Siren and the heartache that tormented her, but that would mean accepting what had been done and pretending that everything was fine. She wasn't entirely sure what was worse. Dalila finished her morning duties quietly and then left Siren in the den, walking with her head low as she moved toward the trees to start gathering fire wood for tonight's fire. Every day was the same now. Each task was repetitive and set in stone. She woke up, fed Siren, combed and braided her fur, gathered fire wood, checked their herb stores, and waited for night to come so that she could tend to Siren some more. It was mind numbing and it some ways that was a good thing. She hadn't been sleeping much and moved as if through a fog, collecting sticks and branches and beginning to form a pile. Her own thoughts were a thousand miles away so she completely missed Aliana's presence until she looked up and suddenly the gray-hued woman was in front of her. She jumped slightly and sighed, putting the stick she had been carrying in the pile. "Oh... Sorry. Hello, Ali." "Speech"

Despite Chimera freeing her, Aliana's daily routines hadn't changed dramatically, if at all. She liked the familiarity of the life she'd built with him, liked the comfort that came with doing what she knew she was good at. It just meant she had more leniency to do what she wanted to at times as well! With Chimera healing and off doing his own thing, most likely tending to Viper after her episode with both of them, Ali was left to her own devices. The den was clean for once with one less wolf in it, the dogs had been tended to, and her garden was watered. All that was left was digging out a fire pit and gathering wood for the fire itself. As autumn gave way to the encroaching winter, the nights had begun getting noticeably cooler, and fires were more common. Ali made a mental note to get some of the extra furs out for their bed tonight.

After she had dug out a pit in the ground for the fire between their dens, Ali noticed Dalila had begun to gather up sticks and other kindling already. Ah, brilliant idea! Eager to help out, Ali started gathering up a few sticks herself and went to add them to the pile, seeing Dalila coming back as well, though walking almost as if in a dream. She was totally oblivious to where she was until she dropped the sticks, looked up at her, and jumped in fright. Ali gasped and looked behind her, thinking Dalila had seen Chimera or something—but it was just the two of them. She cocked her head and turned a curious expression to the mottled fae, giving her a reassuring smile and dip of her head.

"Hello, Dalila. No need to apologize," she said, glancing to the pile of sticks the other woman had been gathering. "You were doing such an excellent job gathering firewood, I thought I might help you. If you don't mind, that is." She smiled shyly, knowing she probably didn't need to ask for permission with her newfound freedom, but old habits, especially ones ingrained in her since birth, were hard to break. "I'm sorry if this is prying, but... are you all right? You seem... distracted today." She had never been very close to Dalila, having scarcely interacted since the day Siren had bought her, but that didn't mean she didn't care for the other woman's wellbeing. In fact, she'd felt like perhaps Dalila was avoiding her on purpose.

"Aliana"

As her mate, Chimera may enter any thread Aliana is in.
____________________

She gave Aliana a small, grateful smile as she assured her that there was no need for her to apologize. She hadn't had a chance to really speak to Aliana since they brought her home from the slave camp, only seeing her in passing as they moved around the island. Dalila had been too wrapped up in Siren and caring for her lady to look up at the world around her much and perhaps that's why she was hurting so much right now. Siren was her entire world and now it felt like it had all been pulled out from under her. She nodded in agreement when Ali mentioned helping her with gathering fire wood, happy for the welcome distraction of another wolf to help keep her thoughts off of herself for a moment. "Of course, you're more than welcome," she said with a nod, glancing toward the pile of wood she had gathered. There was probably enough to build a fire with already, but she had no problem continuing to gather more for later or so that Ali had an equal portion to take back with her. She had been about to sink back into her work when Aliana surprised her with a question, asking if she was alright and mentioning how she seemed distracted. Her ears flicked back and she glanced away uncertainly, a frown pulling at her lips. No matter how much Siren had hurt her she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone else what had happened. She already didn't know how Siren was going to get away with having these pups she seemed insistent upon keeping without Chimera bringing some kind of harm upon them. It was already hard enough to know she was hurting Siren by withdrawing herself from her without risking causing some other kind of upset by spilling Siren's secrets. "Something happened with Siren... I'm just... Trying to process everything," she said vaguely, glancing up at Ali with a forced smile. "I'll be fine." That was yet to be seen, but she supposed there was no other option than to make herself be fine. This was her new reality and she would have to adjust to it the same way she had adjusted to. any other drastic shift in her life. She shifted uncertainly across from Aliana for a moment, reminding herself that it could be worse. She could still belong to Chimera and she could still be subjected to the things he wanted to use her for. "How have you been?" she asked after a moment. She seemed to be in fairly good spirits at least and in good health so at least the worst of her fears for what could have happened to Aliana after she was given to Chimera hadn't come true. She did admittedly feel guilty for not checking on Ali before now, but her shift into being Siren's hadn't been as smooth as she had anticipated and now everything was falling apart. It was hard to think past the immediate future and just keeping herself in one piece much less worry about someone else. "Speech"

All of Dalila's responses seemed too measured to Ali, too well rehearsed and forced. They reminded her of when the woman came to collect her with Siren, how she'd behaved around the slavers and how she'd kept the facade up despite being uncomfortable and on guard. Dalila was hiding behind walls again. Aliana frowned some, her brown creasing with concern as the mottled fae explained that something had happened to Siren and that she needed time to process things. By the gods, that didn't sound good! Ali brought a paw up to cover her gasp to learn that some tragedy had befallen Siren, and immediately she felt the need to help. Siren had taken care of her and patched her up when Chimera had left her in a ragged state of blood and fear. To hear that something had happened to the lovely Klein princess...

"Oh, Dalila, I'm so sorry! Is it something I can offer assistance with?" she asked, wondering if perhaps with their abilities combined, they could right whatever wrong had happened to sweet little Siren. Another thought came to her mind then, and her eyes lit up with realization. "Does Chimera know something's happened? We should let him know right away, he would want to know something has happened to his sister." Aliana made a mental note to go talk to Chimera after this to let him know what she'd learned. Of course, she'd leave Dalila's name out of it. She was acutely aware of the disdain between the two wolves, and she wouldn't wish harm on Dalila under any circumstance.

Despite her concern, Dalila shifted the conversation to her, asking how she was doing. Aliana blinked surprised aquamarine eyes away; nobody had asked how she was doing since she'd arrived at the island. Chimera didn't care, Viper hated her, Siren pitied her, and Dalila had kept her distance. Up until now, Ali had felt alone, with only Chimera to hold onto. The concern from the mottled fae was noted. "Oh, I've been doing well. Better now, actually," she said in lyrical tones with a smile. Her paw came up to trace the edge of the laced leather collar she wore around her neck all the time now. "Chimera gave me this the other day. Isn't it lovely?" She giggled and sat with Dalila, her bushy tail wagging against the ground behind her. "You know, at first, I didn't know what to expect from Chimera, especially with what you and Siren painted him as. And yes, he's rough, and he's aggressive, but he's also caring and generous, and I'm so thankful you bought me for him." There had been a time when Aliana wasn't sure she'd ever say the words she just had, but now that she was here, she couldn't imagine a life without Chimera any longer.

"Aliana"

As her mate, Chimera may enter any thread Aliana is in.
____________________

She was surprised by Aliana's shock and worry - perhaps not by the fact that she was worried about Siren, but just by the strength of her worry and her insistence to help. Dalila was quick to give a shake of her head, saying, "No no, she's... It's more just... something that happened between us," she assured the other woman even though that was partially a lie. Something had very much happened to Siren, but it was something she in the end had done to herself and was refusing to accept help to alleviate. Her ears fell back at the thought of telling Chimera and she shook her head again more insistently. She wasn't sure why she still felt so compelled to protect Siren and her wishes, but everything in her screamed that if Chimera found out it wouldn't end well for anyone involved. He'd kill the pups, punish Siren for leaving, punch her for not keeping a closer eye on Siren... It was just better if he never knew. "No! No, it's... It's nothing he needs to know about. He hates me enough as it is. Siren is fine." She pulled the blame onto herself, trying to paint it as a lovers quarrel to hopefully steer Aliana away from her worry. The conversation turned away from the topic at hand as she turned the attention toward Ali instead. Her eyes gave away her genuine surprise when Aliana spoke of how well she had been doing and at the genuine smile she seemed to wear. Her light blue gaze shifted down to the collar around Ali's neck that she hadn't noticed before as the smaller woman's paw lifted to trace the leather band. Her surprise shifted into confusion as the fellow slave spoke so fondly of Chimera and the gift she had been given - her eyes widening with shock when she called him caring and generous. First Siren calling the man that had done this to her a river god and now Aliana calling Chimera caring... It felt as if the world had gone crazy around her. "I... um... I'm glad he's treating you well," she said after a moment, the disbelief still evident on her face. "I guess I just assumed with how he treated me he'd be the same with all his slaves," she mentioned as she got to her paws, beginning to pick up sticks and twigs again just to find something to keep her paws busy while her mind went reeling all over again. "Speech"

Aliana was a little taken aback by the fervor and insistence that Siren was okay, Dalila seeming to scramble to recover and cover up her own words. The patchwork fae described it as a personal issue that happened between them, then tried to reassure her that Chimera didn't need to get involved, claiming he hated her enough. That much Ali knew was true. Whatever had occurred on the island before her arrival, it had not been good. Chimera held an intense dislike of Siren's servant, but why, she had no clue. It had never been something she'd thought to pry into, nor did she know she wanted to find out the answer. Aliana remained unconvinced, but nodded all the same. "Very well," she agreed. "Just know I'm here to lend you a paw should you need it." And it was true. With the exception of Viper, Ali quite liked all the wolves in her life. If she could prevent any undue burden on any of them, she would.

When the monochromatic fae began to speak of her life with Chimera, Dalila looked shocked. Startled, even? As if the words Ali was speaking were gibberish or didn't make sense. But she couldn't understand Dalila's confusion. Sure, Chimera was rough around the edges, but he hadn't done anything truly horrific to her yet. Well, except for maybe the assault after the jaguar attack, but she couldn't blame him. He'd been keyed up on adrenaline and rage and needed to vent it somewhere. Aliana had merely been his outlet for the time. Dalila expressed her happiness that she was being treated well by Chimera, explaining how he'd treated her differently. "Oh my, how did he treat you? I mean, I suppose he is entitled to use his property as he sees fit, but it sounds like he's been different with us," she said with a nod of understanding. "I'm curious to see if he treat me any different now that he's freed me. Though knowing him, I doubt it." She giggled softly at her own comment.

"Aliana"

As her mate, Chimera may enter any thread Aliana is in.
____________________

Dalila relaxed slightly as Ali nodded and simply offered her help instead of pressing further as she insisted it was just something that had happened between her and Siren. She gave her fellow servant a grateful smile at that, replying, "Thank you. I appreciate it." She'd have to be more careful about when and where she let her emotions show now that Aliana was already suspicious that something had happened. She wasn't certain she'd be able to pull off another lie even if this lie wasn't entirely untruthful. Most of her inner turmoil did stem from how she felt about what Siren had done, she just didn't want to admit the catalyst to it all. She picked up another thin branch or two and a few more clumps of dried underbrush for kindling while Aliana responded to her confusion and disbelief of how she was being treated. She didn't respond right away to the question of how she had been treated, especially not after Ali mentioned how he could treat his property however he wanted. The thought made her ears flick uncertainly. It was the same train of thought that she had tried to justify him raping her with, but it seemed like that sort of life sat more easily with Aliana than it did with herself. Dalila stood looking at the pile of wood between them for a moment while she tried to figure out how she wanted to explain herself when Ali went on, stating her curiosity over how Chimera might act now that he had freed her. That made Dalila stop, blinking as she looked up at Ali again with stunned silence. "He... freed you?" she questioned, trying to make sure she had actually heard her correctly. That thought seemed impossible. Knowing how possessive and cruel Chimera could be, hearing all these things about how he had been caring and generous and had... freed her? None of it made sense in her mind. She hadn't been around him much since they brought Ali home, but she couldn't imagine that he had really changed that much in that short amount of time. But even beyond her confusion around Chimera and how different he sounded, there was another thought that creeped up in the back of her mind that hurt even more than all of that. She wasn't sure that Siren had ever once considered or mentioned freeing her. They had told each other how much they loved each other more times than they could count, she had made a point of showing that she wasn't just here because Siren owned her, but she was still just that. She was still just her servant. Yes, Siren had purchased Ali in order to buy her from her brother, but that didn't make her free. She wasn't free to leave even though her heart had been broken. She still had to work day in and day out for Siren's comfort. The thought settled heavily over her and her gaze shifted to the ground in front of her paws. "I'm really happy for you," she said softly, her mind far away. "I'm sorry, I... I need to go." She turned and started walking away, abandoning the wood she had been collecting and walking as if in a daze back toward the den. She needed time to think, she needed to talk to Siren, she needed to run away, all of the desires clashing and pulling her in a hundred different directions. Part of her was angry, but mostly she was just disappointed in herself for allowing this to happen. "Speech"