Chimera had given Nimue a bit of freedom and some time to decompress. She was no longer a loner, scraping along and never knowing when her next meal would come. She was an Ashen wolf now. There would always be enough food and shelter for her. That wasn't all that made a wolf happy though. There needed to be some sort of mental and emotional care as well. Aliana was better at that sort of thing, but Nimue was brusque and standoffish. Chimera wanted the girl to trust him, so he decided to take her out on a task.

"A pack of dogs has been poaching our geese and ducks," Chimera informed the girl, leading her across the raised path towards the center of the estuary. " We're going to remind them that these are Ashen lands and that they aren't welcome here." It should be a straight forward fight. A quartet of wild dogs against a dire wolf and the spitfire that was Nimue.

As they walked, Chimera held a paw out, stopping the girl in her tracks. He motioned up ahead where four spotted canines were feasting on a dead swan. "Keep yourself safe. If it becomes too much, put your back against mine." He would keep her safe just like he kept them all safe.

The king of Ashen made no point in hiding his approach. The dogs stood and growled the moment that they saw him. Chimera growled in turn, his thick coat bristling and making him appear even larger. None of the dogs backed down. Not yet, anyway. Two rushed the brute at once and Chi met the first by sinking rows of shark-like teeth into the muzzle of the dog. Teeth tore through flesh like water and the dog screamed in pain, jerking free and instantly fleeing, a trail of claret left in its wake.
"Chimera Klein"

With a scowl on her face, Nimue reluctantly adhered to the summons of the Ashen alpha. Why he kept disturbing her peace and making her tag along with him, she didn’t know. But remembering the words Rogue had spat at her, already put her on guard around Chimera. Was he really trying to groom her or something? Keeping a close eye on him as they walked, she was also curious about the task they’d be completing- he mentioned something about protecting the estuary, but she didn’t know what that entailed. Entering the territory, they started to follow a raised path leading to the center. He finally revealed the purpose of the mission- chase out some dogs who wanted to eat the geese and ducks. She couldn’t help but laugh under her breath- hasn’t she been claimed over the same thing? This guy sure loved his avian livestock. Nodding to him, her apprehension was quickly replaced with excitement, the chance to stretch her legs and fight out some of her rage more appealing than anything else he may have proposed. When he held a paw out, she stopped suddenly. Looking to him first, she follows his line of sight next, peering into the horizon where the silhouette of four canines were eating something. His words cut through the silence next. Put my back against yours? No way! She thought, but chose to nod her head at him to try and keep the peace. She didn’t want him sending her to the sidelines right out the gate. As he moved forward, she followed, no hesitation in her gait as they approached the pack head-on. Two of the dogs split off and ran at Chimera, the third standing its ground near the kill, and the four, bursting into a sprint towards her. A smirk pulled at her lips, her strength coiling in her legs as she waited until the dog nearly closed the distance before leaping to the right, feinting the canine. Light on her paws and whirling around to lunge at the dog while it tried to skid to a halt, she leaped at its side, sinking her greedy little teeth into its neck. ”Speech”

Chimera couldn't spare much attention for Nimue. Two of the dogs attacked at once. He had faith that the girl could handle the last of them, considering she'd been out on her own for such a long time. She surely would have been dead by now, had she not been able to at least run and hide.

One of the dogs bit into Chimera's shoulder while the other attacked head on. A massive paw rose and planted itself on the dog with its teeth lodged in Chimera's flesh. Jaws opened and he bit at the dog coming head on. The planted paw pushed hard and the other had no choice but to release its hold on his shoulder. The brute curled his neck in tight before lashing out like a snake. Teeth wrapped around the throat of the dog that bit him and, with a nice, good shake, it soon lay dead at Chimera's paws.

"Chimera Klein"

Nimue sank her teeth deep into the dog's neck, adding pressure the moment blood spilled into her mouth. She wasn’t trying to kill it necessarily; just give it a good, sturdy bite to remind it to stay away from their packlands. The dog yelped and started bucking, trying to shake her off but Nimue was strong in her resolve; holding on until the skin broke between her teeth, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet away as the dog continued to yelp. She spit the chunk on the ground and stood up, ready to face the dog again; but it was running off with its tail between its legs, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

Whirling around, she sees Chimera is being attacked by two dogs, one of them, he’s just killed. Rushing over, Nimue grabs the remaining dog by the back leg, pulling it back and sweeping it off of its feet to make it tumble over. Of course, this put a lot of strain on her neck, but she’d power through it anyway.  

"Nimue Vasanti"

The second dog quickly disappeared and Chimera looked back towards Nimue. She had grabbed the dogs leg and was pulling it back away from him. Good girl. The dog was bigger than she was, however, and so Chimera took charge. Teeth latched into the loose skin of the dogs scruff and the giant brute pulled, tossing the other canine through the air. It landed with a thud and quickly yelped and ran away. Well, they didn't all die but they hopefully learned a lesson. Turning towards Nimue, Chimera approached her, giving the girl a once over to make sure that she wasn't injured. Noting that she wasn't any worse for wear, the Ashen King smiled, flashing rows of shark-like teeth. "You did well, Nimue. I'm proud." One paw rose to ruffle the fur atop her head in a fatherly manner. It was the same gesture that he'd use with his own children. If she didn't like it, too bad. "Speech"

While the tripped up the remaining dog, Chimera lunged forward to grab it by the scruff, using his strength to toss it up and away from them. Truthfully, Nimue was a little impressed and envious; watching him throw the dig around so effortlessly made her wish she was bigger. Of course, her little size did have some advantages; like agility, which made it easier to bounce around and avoid attacks.

Watching the dog run off into the horizion, NImue shoots it a glaring look filled with daggers. Her chest is puffed out, shoulders rolling forward, eyes narrowing to slits as she exudes an aura of dominance. Better not come back! She almost forgets Chimera is standing right next to her, looking her over for injuries. His gleaming shark teeth catch her attention, and she turns her head towards him. “Uhh, yeah. Thanks.”  She says, trying to keep up her tough girl exterior. But deep down, she appreciated the compliment. Though, a little rumble did start to vibrate in her chest, when his paw ruffled the fur on her head.

"Nimue Vasanti"