She was quickly realizing just how precious free time and alone time were going to become now that Rusalka was in her life. She had already known a little bit of what to expect from the early days of Scylla and Albion's lives and seeing how time consuming being a mother was from Siren even with her there to help, but it was still a different thing being the one experiencing it now. She was more than happy to give every moment of her day every day to Ruse and keeping one and only daughter well cared for, but now that she was pretty much recovered from her brith and Ruse was big enough to be without her for short periods of time she felt like she needed to do something for her sweet Siren that had been helping her so much since she found out she was pregnant. She missed all the time the two of them used to be able to spend together just the two of them so she put together a little plan.

Dalila convinced Chimera to to watch after Ruse, Scylla, and Albion for a while and she gathered up a few supplies in a basket—a blanket, some berries, a couple pieces of dried meats. All the makings of a quick picnic. She even managed to spare a little bit of time to clean herself up since she hadn't had much of a chance for a bath and then she went to find Siren, carrying her basket of goodies with her. Her tail wagged gently as she walked over to Siren, smiling brightly around the handle of the basket she was carrying. Putting the basket down, she leaned down to give Siren a gentle kiss before nodding out toward the beach. "Care to join me for a little date?"

"Dalila Vista Rocha"

Bringing her own children into the world had changed her life completely, her relationship with Chimera and Dalila both. Her sole focus for the last season was birthing and raising her babies, there was no down time, no moments to really slip away. Her other duties had been ignored in favor of looking after Albion and Scylla (and many times Cerberus.) There wasn’t much time at all to think of herself, let alone the ones she loved.

So when the children disappeared and Dalila found her way to her side with a basket Siren was taken by surprise. Caramel ears perked forward as Siren lowered herself from the step ladder as she pruned back some vines in the greenhouse. Dual toned eyes found Dalila easily as she wagged her tail and lowered her basked ot the ground so that they could speak. Siren climbed down, quickly closing the distance between them as Dalila gestured and asked if she wanted to go on a date.

Their relationship had never been conventional, and the prospect easily roused a fluttering in her heart as she grinned. "Yes,” she said without hesitation as she let Dalila sweep her off her feet. Their relationship had its ups and downs but both women knew they needed each other. After everything that happened their bond was stronger than it ever had been. Siren trusted Dalila with her life, and knew their date would be special.

"Speech"

Dalila's smile broadened into a grin when Siren easily agreed to her date, her tail wagging again as she picked up her basket of supplies and started leading the Queen out toward the beach. She certainly didn't think Siren would have declined the offer, but it still made her happy to see the beautiful woman at her side so willing to drop her work so they could spend time together. Their relationship was so different from where they had started as mistress and servant, but now that Dalila had been given the time to adjust to this new way of life she was happy for the change. There wasn't the dependency on Siren that she once felt and she no longer felt like her entire identity was wrapped up in being her slave and serving the wolves around her. She was able to be her own wolf and make her own choices, but could still take care of Siren and do nice things for her simply because she enjoyed it. That made their relationship stronger than ever and as she cast a glance down at the smaller woman beside her she just felt grateful that things had turned out the way they had.

Once they got to a nice place on the beach where the waves couldn't reach them, but they were still fully resting in the sand she stopped and started unpacking her simple picnic. She unfolded the blanket for them to lay on so Siren wouldn't get sand caught up in her long fur before she started pulling out the other foodstuffs she had brought. In the bottom of the basket as a small bottle of wine and she sat it out next to the meats and berries. It wasn't enough wine for either of them to get drunk necessarily unless little Siren drank the whole thing herself, but it would go nicely with their light meal and they could enjoy a bit of the tipsiness of it. She settled in beside Siren with their sides leaning into one another as they laid on the blanket, her tail curling around Siren's hips while she started opening the bottle of wine and taking the lid off of the berries. "It's not much, but I just wanted to spend some time with you," she said almost apologetically. If she had more time to prepare she could have cooked a nice meal for them or made something more elaborate at least, but with Ruse to care for her free time had become significantly more slim.

She plucked one of the berries out of the bowl and popped it in her mouth with a happy hum, enjoying the sight of the waves in front of them with the moonlight glinting off of the peaks of the waves. One of her paws rested over Siren's delicate foreleg while she leaned down to nuzzle her cheek affectionately. "I kind of miss getting to spend all of our time together," she admitted with a soft smile, gently kissing just under Siren's ear. "I'm glad we have our children and I'm happy for the pack we have now, but... I do miss how simple things were before sometimes." With all of their shifting relationships between her, Siren, Chimera, Aliana, their children, the pack... It was a lot to balance and a lot to consider that she never thought she'd have to think about until it happened. There was so much more responsibility on her now and even that was only a fraction of what Siren held.

"Dalila Vista Rocha"

Since Dal and Chi seemed to settle their differences Siren noticed a change in her. It was for the better, she smiled more often and seemed cso much happier. At peace even. Siren was glad to have been able to make the harrowing journey with her, their relationship had been through a lot but they always seemed to find their way back to each other. Like Dalila had always been meant to be at her side. Siren easily dropped everything for Dalila, whatever she needed whenever she needed, not just now when Dal had this planned special for the two of them. The Queen easily fell in step beside the mottled woman and grinned up at her as they walked.

Dalila picked a spot not too far from the forest and not too close to the water, enough that dappled sun covered them for now. Siren made herself comfortable on the blanket while Dalila finished setting out her preparations. The Queen was pleasantly surprised to see a bottle of wine among the refreshments. This really was a sweet little date. Siren grinned, not having been spoiled in a long time. Dalila was there for her, but their main concern now were the babies they were raising. That was why these few moments alone meant so much, as was evident in the way Siren glowed as Dal curled around her.

Siren leaned into Dalila’s shoulder, craving the feeling of having her so close. She grinned as dual toned eyes watched as the win was opened and Dalila spoke what Siren was feeling. "Anything is perfect when I’m with you.” She assured her, lifting her head to steal a kiss from Dalila’s muzzle. A playful smirk spread over her features as she watched Dalila eat a berry before leaning down to nuzzle her affectionately. Their paws entwined and nothing but the sound of the ocean to interrupt them.

"I miss it too,” Siren purred as Dal kissed her caramel ear. "They wont need us forever,” A whisper left her sadly, knowing too well how fast the children of the pack were having to grow up. "Everything will settle, I think things will be even better for us down the road.” She assured Dalila as she leaned a little heavier against her. Pressing herself tighter and following the curve of her neck with her own until she was nibbling delicately at Dal’s jaw line. "Until then we can reminisce now,” her words were a soft whisper as she kissed Dalila’s chin.


"Speech"

It was pretty sad to think about how their children wouldn't need them one day, but a little part of her hoped that they might still want them in their lives at least a little bit. She knew that if she had the chance or the option she would have wanted her mother around for much longer than she was allowed, but she supposed only time would tell. She smiled as Siren assured her that things would settle and would be even better for them in the future and Dalila believed that had to be true. Even though the future was still clouded and uncertain with how things had been, with Siren here leaning into her on this beautiful beach it was easy to believe that things would turn around and the future was only going to get brighter from here.

She gave a soft, pleased hum as Siren pressed more tightly into her and started tracing her neck and jaw with light, delicate nibbles, making little tingles dance over her skin. A grin pulled across her lips as her sweet, beautiful Queen kissed her chin and Dalila tipped her muzzle down to catch Siren's lips, giving her a light kiss in return. "Absolutely," she agreed, nuzzling Siren's cheek happily. Siren had been her guiding light when she hadn't been able to find it in herself and now that she felt more sure on her own paws it felt more like they shined more brightly together than they did apart. The choice she made to stay at Siren's side and Siren's decision to stay with her in turn had strengthened them so much more than Dalila could have imagined and she was so deeply grateful and in love because of it.

Dalila lifted one of her forelegs, shifting a bit to lay more on her side as she wrapped her foreleg around Siren, pulling the smaller woman into her chest. She would always wonder what she ever did to deserve such a flawless, beautiful woman to call even partially her own. She left a trail of gentle kisses and nibbles across Siren's ears and crown, wrapping her up in an embrace while they laid there on the blanket with the soft sand underneath. In-between her affections she would take little nibbles and sips of the berries and wine she brought and would offer them to Siren as well, feeding her berries off of her claws and passing the bottle of wine back and forth between them until she was feeling just the slightest bit of warm, tingling buzz from the alcohol. For a while she was more than content to simply lay here, holding Siren, quietly sharing a little picnic and more than a few affections and kisses. It was everything she wanted their surprise date to be and more and silently she promised herself she wouldn't let so much time go by before she stole Siren away for a bit of time like this again.

"Dalila Vista Rocha"