Ducks went quack and so did Maki.Quackity quack quack. She'd taken a liking to puddles and water, liked to splish and splash, play pretend and embrace her overactive imagination. And it was fun to play in Grammys home, she liked all the smells of the other wolves, knew they were family like they were all part of one big story together. She really liked that thought, liked even more that she was the main character in it. A duck character with flappy wings and a beak that went quack.

She waded a little deeper as she watched the other ducks bob about the surface, till she almost couldn't touch the floor. How did ducks do it and make it look so easy? Maki felt like if she couldn't touch the floor she'd sink. Hmmm.

Chimera's children were scattered to the wind. He missed them, but he was confident in their abilities. Besides, the dire brute had been defeated by his health. Chimera felt as though he was a failure and there was no reason for his brood to return to his side. At least he knew where some of them were. Others were more elusive. Four were in Elysium for sure. Another was in Valta. Chi had asked his mastiffs to track the kids down as best as they could and they hadn't disappointed. Still... the once horrible giant missed children.

As the two-toned behemoth lay at the edge of the lake, motion caught his eye. A flash of black and white in the water brought the man's head lifting from large paws. With singular vision he watched the water, his gaze on the set of ears poking from the water. Further out, ducks swam to and fro. They were small ears and curiosity bit the brute on the tail. He rose and made his way around the bank until he came close to what he soon realized was a submerged pup. The ducks moved off a bit at his presence but soon eased again once the big wolf was sitting. "A little too furry to be a duck," Chimera playfully rumbled before sliding down to lay on his belly, forepaws dipping into the edge of the water. Mismatched ears shifted forward and he waited for the pup to react. Would it be terrified of him or would it be trusting as some pups were?

"Chimera Klein"

There wasn't much Maki was afraid of. So far she hadn't been given any reason to be frightened, the world was bright and warm, but most importantly safe. So when a wolf as big as her Da moved on over she wasn't startled or surprised, but was rather interested in his coat, they were similar, sort of! His voice was deep and rumbly, a far cry from her Da's lazy drawl but the words he said did bring a thoughtful frown to her cute little face. He was right...ducks didn't have fur and she didn't have feathers. Hmmm.

If she sunk further down into the water so that just her neck and head was showing, she would surely look more ducky. Ducks also didn't have ears so she flicked hers down, pressing them against her skull as best she could. Meanwhile, the big wolf settled down on the shore, getting so comfy Maki was sort of tempted to join him, big wolves were nice to cuddle with and it was always fun to pretend a big tail was a fancy scarf or feather boa.

"Quack?" She asked, which was duck speak for: how about now?

The giant's pale pink eye watched as the pup considered his words then sank further under the water. She gave a questioning quack and it was incredibly difficult to keep from laughing. Instead, Chimera put on a very serious face and nodded his head. "Very convincing," he assured the girl. "No one would ever know that you were a badger and not a duck." Just to tease a bit. Of course she wasn't a badger, he simply wanted to see her reaction. The father in him urged him to do so.

Chimera lowered his head to his paws and continued to watch the girl, wondering if she would come out of the water or stay within. "Does this duck have a name?" The brow above his unseeing white eye lifted as he questioned her. As of yet, Chi had no idea who the kid was.

"Speech"

Maki puffed up, all pleased and proud like a duck with pristine plumage. And then her mismatched ears caught that he called her a badger and instead of taking offence she giggled, realising that maybe he was onto something, she did look kinda badgery didn't she! But badgers didn't sit around in water like ducks, they were on and land did...badger things, whatever that entailed. Wading to the shore, he was now able to see her tail wagging in earnest, flicking water all about like a garden sprinkler.

"M'Maki!" She told him with no fear or hesitation at all. And why should she be worried? Family lived here. This was a sort of home, a place to go if the road made her paws tired. "Do you know my Grammy? She's real nice and pretty." Maki rambled as she stood in front of him, liked to think she could be taller than him, even if only because he was laying down. But even then he was like a mountain, black and white fur that rose and fell.

The little badger waddled from the water, dripping everywhere, and moved towards him. Chimera chuckled at the child, not minding at all that she was getting him wet. She was a cute little thing and, once again, he thought of how very similar she looked to his own children. It was uncanny, really. He didn't remember doing anything that might sire an accidental litter on someone. Then the girl cleared everything up.

Maki was her name and she spoke of her grandma. Gears shifted and everything clicked into place. Venom was the only one around Ashen with new grandchildren as far as he knew. It would explain the coloring for sure.

With his head still down between his paws, Chi watched the dripping pup. "I do know your Grammy. She's my sister." Behind Chimera his tail lazily shifted back and forth. He was such a softie for pups... "That makes me your uncle Chimera." He watched the girl, curious what she would do with the new information.

"Speech"

"Oh!" Maki cheeped, like a bird who'd just found a whole bush of berries ripe for the pecking.

She knew she had a lot of family and that was why travel was so important, so that they could see and love them all equally! But to learn she had an uncle was very exciting for the little sushi roll, certainly one who was so nice and rumbly, voice like a thunderstorm but soothing, like she was listening to it from the safety of a warm den.

"Hellloo uncle Chimeeraa." Her tail wagged high, flicking droplets of water about all over again. She was as pleased as a plum, just below stories and daydreaming, family was her next favourite thing in the whole wide world! And she was such a lucky girl to have such a big family, full of such lovely and blotchy people!

Waddling forward-oh so like a dappled little duck- she laid down in front of him and stared up at him, lips tugged into such a broad smile her cheeks were tiring quickly.

"Do you have any stories? I love stories! Daddy has stories too, but Mumma says I shouldn't always listen to him cause he says silly stuff sometimes."

Maki was absolutely ridiculous and Chimera instantly fell in love with her. He missed being surrounded by children, so any opportunity that he could find to soak up a little puppy time, he would take. Ruse had been adorable and sweet like this. She still was, really, but there was just something about the innocence of puppyhood that could never be matched again.

The girl tried out his name in a comical fashion and the black and white giant chuckled in response, his shark-like teeth flashing for a moment. She really was the perfect little wolf. He appreciated her confidence and the fact that she was playful and obviously quite creative.

As Maki came and lay before him, Chimera placed his chin upon one paw so that he was closer to her level. She spoke again, asking if he knew stories. A contemplative rumble reverberated through the behemoth and he gave a slight shrug. She finished up by saying that her dad told silly stories and Chimera's dual-toned eyes sparkled with mirth. "Sometimes stories are silly. Sometimes they're scary, or sad or happy. It all depends on who is telling them and what message they're trying to get across." Black and white ears shifted forward as he looked at the small pup. "What sort of stories are your favorite?"

"Speech"

Maki took a moment to think real hard about what stories she liked. More than anything, she loved the possibilities, the potential for anything to happen, for the mundane to turn into the magical, that anyone could be special. Even someone like her. But on the opposite end of the spectrum she'd taken a liking to scary stories too, the sort that had her wondering what lingered in the shadows, made her wonder if she should wander into some cave, what would she find?

"I like 'venture stories. N'd monsters and princesses!" There wasn't a lot she didn't like to be honest, there was value to be found in most stories she'd heard. Except maybe those ones that were a little too complicated for her to understand, all deep and meaningful with so many layers it made her head swim trying to work it all out. "Mmm, uncle Chi I think you look like...a bad guy who turns good guy n'd uses his powers for good and not evil." She nodded sagely, as if she knew it all.

The girl answered quite as he expected. Adventure, monsters, princesses. Chimera nodded as she rambled off her list, giving her his full attention. Maki seemed like the adventurous sort and her interaction with the ducks proved that she had a creative mind. Again, Chimera thought about just keeping her.

What Maki said next brought a deep, rumbling chuckle from the dual-toned giant, lips pulling back to flash his shark-like teeth in a grin. "I used to be a very bad guy," he informed her, not ashamed of his past. He was still a bad guy, depending on who you asked. Chimera was definitely capable of unsavory things and his views on the world were much different than the views of others. Fatherhood had changed him and had made him realize just how important family was.

Chimera snuffled in the fur atop Maki's head once more. "I'm still a monster, Maki, but you are family. We share the same blood, so you never have to fear me." Quite the opposite. These days, Chimera would protect his family to his last breath.

The brute's pale pink eye fixed on the girl and he gave his head a slight tilt. "Would you like to play a little game, Maki?" When the girl eagerly agreed, Chimera nodded. "We'll take turns telling parts of a story. I'll start, then you tell me what happens next. We switch back and forth until we weave a whole new tale." The man waited for a moment to see if she had questions, then he began their storytelling game.

"Once upon a time there was a sweet little black and white princess. She was sad because a monster kept her locked away in a dark cave with only a small window up above for light. The monster kept the girl fed and cared for, but she was lonely. And then..." He passed the tale off to Maki, curious to see where her mind would take her.
"Speech"

Maki wasn't afraid. Like he said, he was family and they'd never done wrong by her. She trusted him with her whole little heart, and it beat for moments like this, when she could like at the world with wide-eyed wonder. His story telling idea sounded amazing to her, she near vibrated with anticipation, Chi was full of so many good ideas! Smart and clever and big and kind and- she loved him a lot! What else was there to say? She listened with perked ears, mismatched eyes watching his mouth as he formed the words, the image forming so clearly in her mind. Adults were always so good at this, Maki sometimes prattled too much when telling her stories, too much fluff and build up.

"And then-" And then what? Uhh. Hmmm. "And then one day she got mad! Real mad cause the monster bought her lizard and everyone knows lizard ain't nice eatin'" Or at least that was what Daddy had said once. "So she told the monster, it wasn't very nice to feed her food she didn't like. Harrumph!" She put on a grand show of being annoyed, rose to her paws and stomped about like she was throwing a tantrum.

Black and white ears shifted as he listened intently to the girl's addition to the story. Lizards didn't taste good, it was true. Snake wasn't bad though. Maki thumped about in an exaggerated manner and Chimera chuckled, flashing wicked teeth as he did so. Then it was his turn for the next part of the story. "Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "The monster liked eating lizard and thought that he had brought the princess something that was good to eat. However, hearing that she didn't like lizard, the monster became very sad and even shed a tear. The monster then asked the sweet princess what she would prefer to eat. He would get her anything that her heart desired." Chimera nodded to Maki. "And then..."

The brute was thoroughly enjoying their little storytime. For as much of a bastard as he was and as many lives as he had taken, Chimera really was just a big softy for puppies.

"Speech"

Oh no! Maki stumbled to a stop, her expression dropping, so very aghast that the monster was upset! She fumbled a little, her brows furrowing as she tried to think of something that the princess would like, maybe something that would make the monster happy too. Everyone liked rabbit, the bones were good for crunching and she and Daddy had played fetch with their fluffy tails before.

"And then the princess decided she would only eat rabbit if the monster got enough to share. Eating alone was very boring and even though he was still a monster and had very sharp teeth, it was real 'portant to smile." She shot him her best and biggest toothy grin, lips pulled back so far it looked more like a grimace than anything else. " 'N maybe they could make a picnic out of it!" Maki danced at the idea, twirling in a stumbling circle. "The princess promised she wouldn't run away or 'nothin'! She'd be on her very best behaviour!"

Yet another chuckle left Chimera as Maki provided her portion of the story. She really was a clever little thing. Chi gave his head a tilt, gaze shifting to the sky as though deep in thought once more. Eventually, he began to speak.

"The monster wiped away his tears and nodded to the princess, promising that he would return with more rabbits than the girl could eat in one sitting. He left the lizard there just in case she changed her mind." Chimera grinned, brows raising before he continued. "The monster soon returned with three big, fat rabbits that he placed before the girl. 'What do we do with them?' he asked. 'I've never had a pink...pi...picklenick, before.' The monster had no idea what a picnic even was. He'd never had a friend before so he'd never done a lot of things that happy people did." Lifting a paw, Chi motioned to Maki. It was her turn.

"Chimera Klein"