Time had passed and, once Scylla decided that he'd healed up enough, she led Nero to the Mangroves for a little walk and a chat. She'd kept the man in her own den so that she could watch his progress closely. Not only that. She wanted to learn his mannerisms, his habits, his likes and dislikes. She was a curious woman and, though he was indebted to her, Scylla wanted to make Nero's time with her enjoyable and worthwhile.

"How are you finding your time in Obscura so far?" Scylla asked politely as she picked her way among the mangroves; the gnarled roots stretching across the well worn path. She'd made sure that the giant man was fed and cared for and left alone for the most part. He needed to be healthy and whole if he was to live up to the expectations that she had of him.

"Scylla & Nero"

For bring a slave to the little striped alpha of Obscura, things had been pretty cushy for the massive ancient dire brute. His body had healed quickly from his wounds, a combination of his strong genes and Scylla's attentive care. She'd kept him like a pet in her den while she nursed him back to health, but to be honest, he hadn't minded in the least. Having a pretty little thing like her playing nurse was an enticing position to find himself in. So he'd grumbled through the worst of the pain and played the part of obedient pet until the stitches came out and he'd regained full mobility in his form. For all his begrudging in the beginning, Scylla had proven herself a worthy and talented surgeon, and he'd been intrigued with her methods of running her pack. The prisoner still kept in the pit was an excellent example of her duality that he quite enjoyed observing.

On a hot summer day, Scylla summoned him out for a little trip to their newly claimed territory to the south. The grove of mangrove trees and deltas was close enough to the sea that a pleasant cool coastal breeze was racing through the trees, rippling through his thick arctic fur. It felt glorious. Giant paws trudged behind her, crushing the small tracks she left in her wake with his own massive strides. Scylla asked how he was enjoying Obscura and Nero responded with a pensive rumble. "It's unique; unlike any other pack I've seen," he answered honestly, then added with a sardonic chuckle, "Can't say I've ever known a pack to decorate its borders with fantastical creatures." He was, of course, referring to Scylla's taxidermy projects that lined the borders; mutant freaks designed by her paw and macabre imagination.

Prowling easily across the gnarled roots as if they were little more than sticks beneath his massive girth, Nero followed Scylla, taking in his surroundings in this new environment. "Thank you for saving my life," he said after a moment, sincerity in his husky voice. It was the first time he'd truly thanked her out loud. He didn't like feeling weak or like he had to depend on another to survive, but he was not fool enough to deny that he would have perished if not for Scylla's divine intervention.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero's answer brought a soft little titter from the small fae. Fantastical creatures... "Well, I like to think that I'm different from most wolves. Creative, nice to look at, not boring." She jokingly tooted her own horn. It would have been funny to her if she knew he thought of himself as a slave. She didn't think of him that way. Nero was simply another member of the pack. She'd given him equal rank with the basic wolves rather than subjecting him to servitude. She wasn't all bad.

The arctic brute thanked her then and Scylla lifted one slender shoulder in a light shrug. "We're helping one another out, but you're welcome." She wanted his size and his fighting prowess and his genes. He had wanted to live. Fair trade, she thought.

The day was hot, so Scylla sprawled out on her belly on the cool ground beneath one of the mangroves. The canopy had prevented the sun from baking the dirt, and thus it was significantly cooler in that area. "So what did you leave behind in your old life? Family? A wife? Children?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Scylla was… a peculiar being. She carried herself with a whimsical disregard for how the world perceived her. It was unique and dangerous. Nero knew better than most that the world as a whole liked to try to destroy things that were unique and different from its norms. Scylla fit that bill. He fit that bill. The diminutive striped fae spoke of herself, describing the way she saw herself. Nero could only respond with a rumbling hum. "I can’t say I’ve been bored around you, that is true. Your beasts show your creativity. As for your looks…" The arctic behemoth’s good eyes slid down the Sovereign’s svelte form, appraising her. "Your sire and dam had good genes." Nero was a primal beast; he viewed everything from the point of nature and instinct. Scylla had been well bred by whomever had sired and birthed her, of that there was no question.

The pair of Obscuran wolves settled in beneath the shade of a large mangrove tree, the soft loamy earth nice and cool against Nero’s belly. He’d definitely have to wash some of the damp earth from his white coat after, but he didn’t mind. Nero liked the water and keeping himself bathed and groomed. While they relaxed, Scylla sprawled out on her belly and Nero keeping a passive glance up around them to make sure they were safe, she began to ask him questions about his life before his enthrallment. Nero gave a soft scoff under his breath, a sardonic smirk pulling up one side of his lips as he focused his attention back on his alphess.

"There wasn’t much to leave behind. My kind don’t exist in packs as large as yours do. We live in smaller clans, usually just blood families. My family is all but extinct." As he explained his species’ dynamics, Nero rolled onto his side so he could use a claw to sketch some crude drawings in the dirt. A group of five wolves. "My clan was my sire and mother, my brother and sister, and myself. We lived in a tundra far from here. We were the apex predators of our domain. But when you’re on the top of the food chain for so long, eventually others come along wanting to kill you and take your place." Nero scratched out two of the wolves. "My sire and dam were killed, and my brother was injured by invading predators. Bears, tigers… wolves. They all wanted to kill us. What better way to prove your strength and stake your claim than to fell an ancient dire wolf?"

With a soft sigh, Nero wiped his paw across the drawings, erasing them back into the dirt. The look on his face was impassive, but there was no pain or regret in his expression—just bitter acceptance. "My siblings and I went our separate ways. I haven’t seen them since. They could both be dead for all I know. I could be the last of our kind." Nero’s aurelian gaze lifted to meet Scylla’s once more, a grimly sly smirking his muzzle. "No wives. None have been able to handle me enough to be my mate. There have been conquests, but they couldn’t keep up with me. The ones that were foolhardy enough to try and bear my offspring all perished, either midterm or during birth. No pup I’ve sired has ever survived birth. Their mothers were all too weak and so were their offspring." Nero uttered a grim chuckle and laid on his side sprawled out across the cool earth, grinning at Scylla from where he lay. "Which is why I find your desire for my genes so humorous. It’s a death sentence that you willfully ask for. Any children I plant in your belly would surely kill you outright."

Now it was his turn to ask Scylla about herself. Keeping his golden gaze on her, Nero asked, "And what of yourself, Scylla Klein? How did you get to be alpha of a pack? I know Obscura is full of your family, yet you have no mate here. I assume no children either?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero thought a bit before answering, the he delivered a compliment about her family's good genes. The small woman laughed softly, pure amusement and pride on her pretty little face. "Didn't they though?" Scylla gave her shoulders a slight wiggle. "The whole Klein family is rather attractive if I do say so myself." They were definitely lookers, her kin.

As Nero continued to speak, sharing his story with her, Scylla's expression shifted from one of humor to one of seriousness. She listened intently, eyes dropping to look at the drawing in the dirt. His family, scattered to the winds like leaves. As if knowing what she'd been thinking, the giant brute swiped his paw over the drawing, smudging it beyond recognition. She didn't move to touch him, that would indicate some feeling of pity, and she didn't pity him. Scylla admired him for persevering and overcoming the hardships in his life. Though unfortunate that the world had done him so dirty, he had clearly come out stronger because of it.

The conversation shifted to mates and the hint of amusement filtered back into Scylla's gaze. She listened, one brow lifted as Nero regaled her of his past conquests. He'd had women and he'd planted his seed within them. None had lived to bear his children and he was sure that she wouldn't either. The Sovereign huffed softly and shrugged. "Let me worry about that." There was no doubt in her mind that the pregnancy would be difficult, but having gone through pregnancy before, Scylla felt as though her body would be able to handle it better than one who had never given birth. If she died, then it was meant to be. If she lived, then it would prove to Nero that she was stronger than the bitches that he'd had before.

Now it was her turn to answer questions and Scylla shifted onto her own side to watch the ancient dire in turn. He questioned her about her pack, her lack of mate, and his doubt that she had children. A little chortle pulled from the cobalt and cream fae. "I won my pack in a drunken battle. The former alpha was too confident in his abilities and bet his entire pack on his skill. Not very smart." It hadn't been an even trade either. He bet his pack and all Scylla had bet was joining if she lost. Dummy.

"As for a mate, no. I'm still unclaimed." Blue and grey eyes met the amber gaze of the behemoth beside her. "Like you, I'm difficult to handle." In different ways, of course, but the statement stood. Scylla was strange. She was independent. She didn't need a man and most males didn't seem to know how to deal with that. Aside from this, only one had ever caught her eye as a potential mate and everyone knew how that turned out.

"My blood is indeed out in the world, but I don't claim the pups as mine. I was a surrogate for a pair that weren't able to reproduce on their own. A favor for one that I held in high regard." A dexterous paw moved down to slide along her slim, svelte belly. "You can barely tell, eh?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Scylla's laugh was airy, lyrical even as she enjoyed the humor in his remark about her genetics. Nero, who had never cared whether others enjoyed his presence or not, found that he quite liked the way she laughed. The little striped fae gave a playful wiggle of her shoulders, catching Nero's attention to her movement, and commented on how her whole clan was attractive. Nero gave a thoughtful hum deep in his throat. "Is that so? Well, your family reunions must be quite the spectacle then," the great behemoth chuckled. He was teasing her, letting his guard down and slipping off the gruff mask he always wore. That continued as he regaled her with his origin story. Nero wasn't the emotional sort, but nor was he deliberately guarding or hiding things as he told her his tale.

When he made mention of his past paramours and their grim fates at the demands of his primordial seed, Scylla seemed almost amused by the notion. Challenged, even; like this was some sort of feat for her to accomplish. She told him to let her worry about that and the massive arctic brute gave a sound crossed between a hum of acknowledgement and a wicked snicker. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said very matter-of-factly, a sly smirk sitting crooked on his muzzle with gold eyes flashing mischievously. "At the least I can promise you the best fuck of your life, even if it is the last one." Cocky, confident, but not misplaced. Nero knew he was large and there were no wolves like him around. He knew what he was capable of doing to a fae. If Scylla truly wished to bed and breed with a primal beast, he could deliver her greatest fantasies. It was up to her to pay that price though.

After their banter about himself, then it was Scylla's turn. Nero listened quietly while the elfin fae told her story. She won Obscura in a drunken brawl, which got a lopsided smirk and a rumbling chuckle from the giant brute again. She was so full of surprises, that Scylla... Shrewd as she was dangerous. She called herself unclaimed when it came to a mate and confirmed Nero's suspicions. Scylla didn't strike him as the kind to take a mate. She seemed to enjoy her freedom far too much to tie herself to one. Amber gold and mismatched slate and sky eyes met with mirth in them when she described herself as difficult to handle also. "I can't imagine why. Is it the mannequins, or because they're afraid you'll cut their throats in their sleep and drink their blood?" he teased her in deep playful tones. Nero was clearly unafraid and unintimidated by Scylla's deadliness or eccentric personality. He'd slept in her den with her unguarded and he was still alive. If she wanted him dead and he was meant to die by her paw, then it would be so. The fact that his heart was still beating meant Scylla wasn't the one to take his life.

What surprised him the most though was when Scylla said she did have children out in the world. Aurelian eyes widened and Nero was about to ask when Scylla explained for him. She served as a surrogate to another couple and gave up all claim to the pups. It was... an oddly generous thing for the Klein queen to do for another. This was a very different side of Scylla's multifaceted personality he hadn't seen before. Then she was remarking on how one couldn't tell she was a mother and emphasized the slim, toned form of her svelte body with a wandering paw that Nero's eyes gleefully followed down her feminine curves. A lecherous smirk played on the ancient brute's lips as his eyes roved appreciatively over her form from shapely rump to feminine face. "Not at all. But knowing that, I can see where those hips and ass came from," he remarked with a touch of carnality rumbling in his tones as he admired how motherhood had emphasized those supple features in her body in all the best ways. Scylla was quite the MILF and even more appealing to Nero knowing she desired his genes for her future children.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero promised her the best fuck of her life and the small woman erupted into a fit of laughter. "Love the confidence. We shall see." It was a promise. They would be fucking, the question was simply when. Scylla wouldn't force it. When it happened, it'd happen. Until then, she was perfectly fine seeking her enjoyment elsewhere. Others would come running to her bed at the drop of a hat if she so wished.

Another little titter of laughter escaped Scylla as Nero mused about why others found her difficult to handle. "Drinking blood isn't really my style, but I can't say that I haven't fucked someone and killed them mid-coitus." The cobalt fae shrugged, a little smirk on her maw. She wondered if his blood still stained the floor of the compound. Were his bones littering her father's chambers even now? Perhaps she would have to make a little trip to find out. She could take Nero with her.

The massive brute seemed a little taken aback at the fact that she had mothered children. Giving herself a comfy little roll, mismatched eyes glinted playfully as Nero complemented her figure. "It did fill me out a bit, didn't it." She agreed with him. Not bothering to stay and nurse the rodents, Scylla had regained her figure quickly, but there were some added curves that she quite appreciated. "Pity that I rather like their father or else I'd just go steal one to raise as my heir rather than suffer through pregnancy again." It hadn't been horrible, but she was the type that liked to be able to come and go as she pleased. Being pregnant, she'd had to be mindful. What a bother.

"What do you think, Nero?" she questioned the man. "I do believe our children will be far superior. The cunning and intelligence of their mother, the size and strength of their father. We're both lookers too, so that helps." Again humor flashed in the fae's eyes. He thought she would perish while trying to birth his children, but she knew in her gut that she and the pups would live. Scylla didn't deny that she would be worse for wear after having them, but she would indeed have them.

"Scylla"

Scylla's light laughter was starting to become infectious, and each time he elicited a giggle from the tiny fae he found his own lips curling upwards at the corners too. Yes, he was a confident bastard, but you needed to be confident in life to survive. Doing anything half-hearted or unsure was a surefire way to get yourself taken advantage of or killed. Scylla's remark about drinking blood being outside her fancies, but then mentioning killing a lover mid-coitus did earn her a raised brow from the gargantuan brute. He didn't even doubt the validity of that claim for a second knowing the kind of wolf Scylla was. Now that was a story he wanted to hear! "Is that so? How afraid for my life should I be?" he teased her back. Should he be concerned that she'd want to off him the moment he impregnated her? His gaze lingered on her shapely ass. Hmm... it might still be worth it

Nero's lustful gaze couldn't help following the wiggles and movements of Scylla's svelte body as she made a show of herself while talking about how motherhood had filled her out nicely. Yes, he had to agree with her there. Nero obviously hadn't known Scylla before, but he could greatly appreciate the curves of her hips, the supple roundness of her rump and chest, and the smooth planes of taut muscle in between. A perfect hourglass shape that demanded to be handled with eager paws. Hey, Nero was a red-blooded brute, sue him for imagining what being under her tail would be like. But then she mentioned liking the pups' father and how she otherwise would've stolen one to be her heir and Nero... he felt something twinge inside him. Was it jealousy? He couldn't say. Nero had never felt jealousy before. But hearing that Scylla still appreciated the brute that had knocked her up already stirred something possessive inside the ancient dire brute. A primal urge to stake his claim and his dominance to ensure Scylla never thought of this unknown brute again while he was around.

When Scylla asked for his opinion on their future offspring Nero gave a pensive huff as he considered what their genes would create when blended. "If they inherit your mentality and my physicality, then I fear for the rest of the world what we would breed." A deep chuckle rumbled in the Goliath brute's chest as he shifted to lie a little closer to Scylla, being bold and daring to push the envelope a bit with her. They had slept together before so closeness was no stranger to them, but the intimate and explicit intentions were growing between them now. Nero reached a giant paw across to take Scylla's into his own, turning them so her petite paw was resting atop of his, showcasing their immense size difference. "If my genes are all you require, then why not take them now?" It was a fair question. Nero was indebted to Scylla. If she wanted his DNA to breed powerful heirs, she could have them at a whim. Aurelian eyes locked with mismatching sapphire and obsidian, seeking the truth behind her intentions. Scylla wanted more from him than just his seed. That much was becoming clear.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero questioned her after she told him about killing someone mid-coitus and again Scylla chuckled. "You needn't worry. He simply offended me and didn't know it until I got what I wanted out of him." The brute in question had acted as though her family's compound belonged to him. He had shown the place off and had claimed her father's hard work as his own. "This was back before adulthood, mind you," Scylla continued, "He was much larger and I had to get him into a compromising position. What better position than flat on his back with me on top?" The fae made a funny little face and drug one nimble digit across her throat. She wasn't at all ashamed of it either.

Nero's thoughts about their future children were met with a grin. She shared the same sentiments. Whatever little monsters they created, Scylla had high, high hopes for them. They would make her proud or they wouldn't be living up to their potential. That wasn't acceptable at all.

The situation shifted to one that was a little more serious and Nero questioned her again, asking why she didn't just take his genes now if that was all that she required of him. One brow arched in question as the small woman lay on her side, her paw resting within his own. "Darling, at what point did I say that this was all that I required of you?" Grey and blue eyes held Nero's golden gaze. "I'm many things, but I'm not entirely self absorbed." Scylla continued to hold his gaze, though she moved a little closer herself, nimble digits playing over the brutes big, rough pads.

"It would be cruel of me to force children from you and not allow you to acknowledge them." There were a few little morals scattered about in there. "If I'm allowing you to acknowledge them, then you'll have to be ranked appropriately, won't you?" It wouldn't do to have the Sovereign of Obscura mate with some measly, rankless underling. She was too proud for that. "I'm simply waiting to see what you're made of, Nero." Waiting to see if he had what it took to make a name for himself within Obscura. Would he work on his skills? Would he honor his word? Would he worm his way into her good graces? Time would tell.

"Scylla"

Scylla's response to his concern about her sexual slaughter was the opposite of reassuring, but Nero hadn't exactly been intimidated by the little fae either. He knew she was dangerous, but if the Old Gods saw fit to end his life between the thighs of Scylla Klein, then so be it. At least he'd die with a grin on his face. Whatever that brute had done to offend her before must have been some heinous crime against her. The more Scylla described her sordid murder, the more Nero's brow raised over eyes of gold. Before she'd hit adulthood? Scylla had clearly been quite a promiscuous yearling. The mental image of her riding this much older brute to his doom... well, it did things to him. Arousing thing. Scylla was morbidly proud of her past it seemed, judging by her playful reactions. Nero was not one to judge. He found Scylla's dark history and macabre personality to be endearing. It was all so quintessentially and unapologetically Scylla.

"My my, isn't that an enticing mental image," he remarked with a grim chuckle that rumbled deep in his broad chest. An unabashed grin made itself at home on the ancient dire's lips. He couldn't care less what others thought of his proclivities and turn ons, but Scylla embraced them all with good humor. He wasn't concerned with scaring her off. As if to prove that point, Scylla scooted her tiny frame closer to his own, her dexterous paw playing idly with his rough paw pads. She seemed surprised by his question, asserting that she didn't just want him to give her powerful children. She wanted to see what he was made of, what he would make of himself in Obscura. She wanted him ranked highly in her pack. She wanted him to stay. Nero held Scylla's gaze, molten pools of gold smoldering into ice and obsidian. He was beholden to her, but she wanted more than a debt to bind them. Nero... hadn't been expecting that.

A low, pensive hum rumbled in the massive brute's throat while he considered her words. His gaze dipped, lowering to where their paws were touching. Watching the way her digits played around with his. So small, so dainty, and yet so powerful and confident. She was not afraid of him. She actively wanted a future with him playing a part in it. What that part was remained to be seen, but she wanted it. Wanted him. "What I'm made of..." he murmured in husky tones, repeating her words. His gaze lifted to lock with her mismatched eyes once more. "If you are challenging me, Scylla Klein, then you'll find I'm highly competitive." A wry smirk crossed the arctic behemoth's lips, eyes flashing with a playful energy while his own dexterous digits began to flex and caress over the striped fae's soft paw pads in turn. "And how will the potential future mother of my children show me what she's made of?" He was teasing her, playing with her, goading her to see what she might do to seduce a creature of the Old Blood.

"Scylla & Nero"

Nero commented upon her youthly escapades and a soft scoff ghosted through pink nares. "Enticing, sure. It took a while for the ride to be over, if you catch my drift." Let that serve to either entice him or repulse him, she was unapologetically herself in all situations. That would never change. The day that she stopped being herself was the day that she died. If someone didn't like the way that she was, then they could kindly fuck right off, please and thank you.

Once she'd given Nero a bit of insight as to their situation, the brutes expression shifted. He became momentarily pensive, his brows drawn together in thought. Scylla's nimble little raccoon fingers never stopped toying with his big, meaty pads. She stroked each curved claw, dipped in between each toe, allowed her own soft pads to glide along the webbing between. He murmured her words back to her and one brow arched. What was he thinking?

Eventually Nero spoke, informing her that he was quite competitive if she was indeed challenging him. "Life is a challenge, darling. Will you rise to it as you have everything else?" So far Nero had not been a disappointment. His next words did strike a discordant note within the Sovereign, however. Interesting...

Nero asked what she might do to prove herself in turn and a bit of ice filled the fae's blue and grey gaze. "I've nothing to prove," Scylla informed him, her tones saccharine sweet. "Anything I want, I take." The cobalt and cream fae extracted her paw from Nero's and smoothly pushed to her feet. There was challenge in her gaze as she looked Nero dead in the eye. Small in stature but confident as a mountain, she queried, "Should I take something from you, Nero?"

"Scylla"

And entice him it did. The imaginative delight of the svelte little Sovereign enjoying her ride with him was arousing to say the least. Picturing her relaxing, freshly fucked, calmly watching as her lover/victim gradually succumbed to her poisons almost had him salivating. That degree of power and control spoke volumes of the little enchantress. Their paws continued to weave in between one another's, Nero's massive paw acting more as a bedding for Scylla's nimble digits to caress and explore between. The size difference between just their paws was comical. He could not deny how nice Scylla's touch felt though. Dexterous toes curling and stroking between his own, exploring him and studying him like he was one of her pet projects. She described life as a challenge, but before the behemoth brute could respond, she was already beginning to contradict herself.

She leered at him with a venomous gaze and sternly stated that she didn't have anything to prove. Nero couldn't help the scoff that immediately slipped from his nares, the edges of his lips turning up at her display of sassy defiance, more amused than intimidated by her icy retorts. She took her paw back from his and stood to look him in his eye. The gigantic brute remained lounging where he was, feeling no need to rise and stand above her, though perhaps it might remind her to be wary of who she spoke to. Confidence and recklessness were separated by a fine line, one Scylla was skirting dangerously close to.

When she rebuked his words and insisted she took whatever she wanted, then threatened to take something from him, Nero simply held Scylla's mismatched gaze with an icy, unyielding stare of his own, his smirk slowly melting off his face like frost in the sunlight. "Everyone has something to prove. Even you. If you didn't, you wouldn't have taken a pack. You wouldn't be invested in growing it. Your actions betray your words." Nero tipped his head to one side, looking at the challenge in her eyes with a curiosity. He'd poked a sore spot. But why was this the nerve that broke her mask? Nero was deeply curious. "I know you're not foolish enough to believe you're above the laws of nature. Nature always has balance. For every take, something is given—willingly or unwillingly." Nero shifted to roll to his belly then, placing all four of his paws beneath him braced against the ground. Would the little striped fae feel froggy enough to try something spicy? "You are free to try to take something from me, Scylla. But what are you willing to risk to try?"

"Scylla & Nero"

Was there ever a time when Scylla wasn't feeling froggy? Nero's words brought the woman's brows to furrowing and her nose wrinkled slightly. Yes, everyone had something to lose, but she was the one in power. He was the underling that was being given a position on a silver platter. That was her beef with the situation. They weren't on equal footing. Not yet. Nero still had much to prove to the Sovereign before she thought of then as equals.

Nero stood, inviting the small fae to take something from him if she could and Scylla's vision shook. In an instant, she was closing the distance between them. Woobie came in from behind, the bush dog aiming to sink his teeth into the glacial brute's heel as more of a distraction than anything. Scylla, meanwhile, launched herself upwards, using her dexterous digits to cling to the mouthy man's coat as she sought to scale his big form, making her way up towards his head. Once there, she would strike out with her maw, intending to sink her teeth into one grey ear. Hopefully she'd leave him a little reminder of herself.

"Scylla"

Scylla vs Nero for maim (Ear scar)
Round 1/?
Age: Over 1
Size: Extra small
Build: Light
Offensive Battle Accessory: Dagger and sheath
Defensive Battle Accessory: Steel and leather armor
Companion 1: Dark Blue Bush Viper, Female - Battle
Companion 2: Bush Dog, Male - Battle
Mutation 1: Enhanced vision - Perception
Mutation 2: Dexterous Paws - Offensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Healer
Specialty: Anatomist