Viper had went in the direction to grab Chimera for another hunting trip as she had the last time, by paying a trip to his island. One of his mastiffs would again come to meet her, and she would only look down for a quick grin before the dog went off to fetch Chimera. She was honestly looking forward to the next time they would hunt together by the time they returned to Ashen and went their separate ways. But she didn't have the urge to visit him at any other times of the day, not that she wasn't thinking about him often. But she didn't understand this different feeling she was feeling about the brute, it was something new to her and wasn't exactly sure how to react or explore the feelings. She almost wanted to ignore them, scared to see where it would take her. Viper waited for Chimera's company just off the bridge he had built for his island, surprisingly allowing him that kind of seclusion. Usually she wouldn't worry about that so much, but for some reason she felt it was space that he needed. Once they had had united, Viper would stop by the shrine to pick up supplies that she had prepared as well as a netted material she was borrowing from Hattori. She grabbed a pile of sticks she had sharpened into spikes and placed them on the net to transport them to their hunting location. When they arrived to the willows, she dropped the supplies while she went forward and sniffed around, scouting a location and size for the pit they would dig. This would take a little more time than the last pit, but at least they were exploring their options to what kind of method was best for them, or their favorite. She'd start to dig down to make haste, she was starting to feel like she was taking up Chimera's time as if he didn't want to be there with her, even if it didn't appear that way. Walk "Talk" Think

The feeling of pleasure was still surprising. Chimera was genuinely pleased when Viper called upon him to be her hunting partner. There was something there. Something that he couldn't understand. She wasn't like other females. Not by a long shot. He appreciated that more then he could explain. Oddly enough, he'd been thinking about the woman quite a bit lately when they were apart. It wasn't unwelcome, but it was somewhat unsettling. She was becoming more than just another wolf in the pack. Viper was becoming worthy of his attention. Worthy of being elevated in his mind to something more than less. Meg came to fetch him and Chimera wasted no time in shaking the sand from his black and white pelt. The giant male easily loped across the rope and barrel bridge, coming to the small woman's side. She had supplies beside her which showed that she did indeed intend to hunt. She wished to carry the supplies and he would let her. If she decided that they were too much or the bundle too awkward, he would take over. She made it all the way to the Willows with the supplies though and he commended her for it. Having tossed the supplies aside, Chimera watched with his pale pink eye as she laid out the perimeter of another pit. Once she laid out the size the young man got to work. Again they dug side by side, but this time, when their sides brushed or their hips happened to bump into one another, he didn't pull away and he didn't flinch. Progress. "Chimera Quill Klein"

Viper noticed as Chimera wasn't bothered by their passings this time, and she felt a strange tension as they did. Almost a teasing prickled at her body, she almost felt the urge to push into him like she wanted them to touch, but she didn't really know where the feeling came from. She hid what was on her mind well, at least she thought so, continuing on their task. They had dug out a good sized pit and she made sure she made an incline while she dug so she could get out easily. She had a short flashback of her time imprisoned in Fireside as she climbed up the clumped dirt she had piled. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory, moving to her pile of sharpened sticks and pushing them down into the hole with Chimera. She joined him quickly, not taking the ramp she had and instead leaping from the level ground into the hole with agility. Her footing found the surface and she'd turn to grab one of the stakes, leaning it on her shoulder, and digging a smaller hole to place the stake in before covering it back on the base. She glanced to Chimera to see if he needed any help, her paws making a smaller hole might have been a better base in the ground than his larger paws breaking up more dirt and making it loose. Walk "Talk" Think

The more they worked together, the more Chimera realized that they were a pretty good team. They hadn't failed to bring home food yet. Their success rate was optimum and the pair of them working together was to the benefit of the entire pack. Yeah, that was why they should spend so much time together. Why was he trying to justify their outings? He didn't really know. Perhaps he was just trying to make sense of the whole thing. Viper was a foreign entity in the young mans mind. He had an instant dislike for everyone, and yet there she was. Viper had become a wolf in a sea of annoyances. With the hole mostly dug, Viper took the initiative to plant the first stake. Taking several of the sharpened poles between his teeth, Chi jumped back into the hole, careful not to poke his companion with them. He placed the stack between them both so that they might both grab freely. Seeing that she'd dug a little divot with her paw, the giant wolf tried to do the same. His divot was much larger, but did it really matter when he pressed his weight into the stick and pushed firmly into the earth? He packed dirt close around the spike after. It should have been good enough for the job, but if Viper wasn't pleased with it, she could fix it. This was her show. "Chimera Quill Klein"

Chimera seemed to do well without her so she wouldn't linger behind his shoulder. She would grab one stake at a time, planting it into the ground and packing it in until they ran out of stakes. She climbed out of the pit looking to Chimera to make sure he was coming out of the hole himself before she went on to the final task. She grabbed the netting through her teeth and started pulling it over their hole, making it halfway and looking up to Chimera with a point of her nose, motioning for him to grab the other side to cover the pit and make it flat before they piled packed ice on top of it. She dropped the netting when she was satisfied and then started to sweep snow and ice over top of the netting for the camouflage. They needed this to be a little more thorough than when they broke the horses legs, but there was no point in slaving away at it. When she thought it was good enough she stepped back to examine and noticed how the crystallized vines of the weeping trees played in to the whole scene and she was happy with what they had finished. Her gaze looked back to Chimera as she actually offered him a smile, opposed to his dogs or the surroundings. She went to turn off and start their track. Their target: boar. Walk "Talk" Think

With all of the stakes planted into the ground like limbless trees, Chimera made sure that Viper was out of the hole first before he pulled his much larger body up the slight ramp. How gentlemanly of him. When had he ever cared about such things? It was a new concept. Aside from Siren, he hadn't really cared about the well being of others around him. His sister was the only reason that he was part of Ashen. Not the Empress. Not some sense of loyalty or camaraderie. This development was indeed different and the change wasn't lost on the young dire. Once out of the hole, the small, black, brown and white fae pulled some sort of netting close to the hole and motioned for him to take one side. He did so, gently grasping the thin, woven item between his teeth lest he snap right through it. Together, the pair stretched it across the hold. Chi found a twig or two to anchor the netting to the ground. Taking Vipers lead, Chi too flung a bit of snow over the netting. Not enough that it would sag and fall inward, but enough to camouflage it somewhat. When Viper deemed their work satisfactory, she moved off and the shark toothed brute was right behind her. He still didn't know exactly what their prey would be. Just like Viper, it would be a surprise. "Chimera Quill Klein"

Viper quickly went forward as Chimera joined her, the mastiffs coming along as routine when they were ready to start their hunt. The familiar scent came to her and she would instantly turn toward the smell of boar as she had done so recently with Hattori. Their tiny hooves were in a path in the snow and she would lay eyes on only three of them through the trees. But it seemed they weren’t quiet enough as they approached. Maybe Viper was suddenly a bit too roused to start her chase and kill beside Chimera. They would have to be quick this time to reach their goal. Walk "Talk" Think

Today's quarry would be wild boar. That suited Chi just fine. He rather liked the taste of boar and if they caught several, he would take a whole one for himself and his four dependents. Siren and her slave would appreciate the meal and the dogs were always happy to be fed, though they were more than capable of hunting on their own. It was no secret that the girls enjoyed being doted upon by their master. His attention was why they served him so well. And so, without a word from their master, the girls spread out, ready to hem in their prey. From where the wolves hunkered down in the foliage, Chi noted a trio of boar milling about. He wouldn't be surprised if there were more lurking nearby as well. Boar tended to gather in groups. Chimera spared a glance at his wolfen companion. Being so close, he noted the feminine scent of her and his senses tingled. He needed to focus, but it was a little difficult. Why was this? She was just a wolf. Just a packmate. Just... distracting. "Chimera Quill Klein"

Viper took off quick after the running boar, two more seemed to be hiding where she hadn’t spotted them and like idiots they bunched together in a herd and made way away from the wolves and their trap. Viper turboed around the side of them, spinning them in a wide turn around. At least they were going in the right direction now. Her stamina wore down a little, but Chimera’s mastiff who was usually paired with her made up for her quick. She let her lungs get used to the running as they made way back to the pit, she would have enough in her to make it there and finish the job. Walk "Talk" Think

The pair ran and the pigs fled as expected. The wolves kept on their tufted tails while the dogs hemmed them in on either side. Ever alert, Chi noted the slightly labored breathing of Viper. He glanced in her direction, but she seemed to be doing alright. Maybe she just hadn't been prepared yet? Either way, he surged forward, picking up whatever slack she might have needed. Teeth snapped audibly and the swine grunted. Three turned into five. It looked like they'd have a good haul yet again. One pig tried to cut from the bunch and the dire brute pivoted like a dancer, his big body curling to the side with a snarl that sent the swine rocketing back to meet its companions. Running together like idiots, they could all die at once. "Chimera Quill Klein"

Chimera picked up the slack on Viper’s end, and just as they were coming the the pit that Viper actually had a hard time remembering exactly where they put it, one of the hogs on her side went out of line while she was pondering their location. She leaped forward while close enough to the pit, the other boar should have made it in with out further guidance. Her own body dove onto the boar that swung away from the herd, she wasn’t letting any of them get away, it seemed proper to keep today’s moments perfect. She instantly spun the boar around, ripping out its jugular and quickly moving to the pit to check their spoils, leaving her own kill behind. She leapt down into the pit carefully, pushing the netting down from all four of the boar they succeeded in killing. Putting her shoulder under the closet one, she pushed it up off the stake and the pigs blood rained over top of her. She didn’t mind other than closing her eyes briefly to avoid any splatters in them. Pulling the first one out of the pit, she had her back turned not paying attention to what Chimera was doing in the moment, they could celebrate after. Walk "Talk" Think

The pair ran in tandem, keeping the pigs in line. One cut away and Viper wasted no time in ending its life. While she did that, Chimera and his dogs ran the rest into the pit. Their death squeals were like music and Chi slowed to a halt beside the hole to watch them die. Once the pigs stopped kicking, the brute carefully made his way to the bottom of the pit. Rather than work around the stakes, he began plucking the unused ones from the earth and handing them off to Gem and Meg. Viper pushed one of the pigs off of the stake and was showered in blood. This didn't phase the dire wolf one bit. He noted that there was a bit of blood at risk of dripping into her eye though, so he stepped forward and swiped his tongue along her forehead above one eye, saving her from having to squint against it. He didn't think much of it, he was just helping his teammate. Chi continued to pluck the stakes from the ground until they had only the ones left with pigs impaled upon them. Together, the pair made short work of taking down their prizes, though by the end they would both be covered in blood. "Chimera Quill Klein"

As Viper came back down to remove another pig, Chimera would come up to face her. She was almost stunned as he licked her forehead from the blood, keeping it out of her eyes. But he would move on to remove the next pig, so she would help finish their work. Once their mess was cleaned up and they were just about packed with the kills, Viper would join Chimera at the side, lingering a short moment before pressing forward to brush her shoulder into his side. It almost seemed like the right thing to do, maybe she should just let her body do what it was telling her to do? Instead of worrying that Chimera was not interested in spending time with her? She was thinking that her mind was just filling with silly anxieties that she would gladly ignore going forward. As for the blood, maybe a trip to the springs would do her justice. Not that she cared at all to be drenched in it, but it wouldn’t be comfortable once it was old and dry. The freezing weather wasn’t helping. As she moved forward past Chimera, she turned her head with a strong glance at his own multi-colored eyes. They should be heading back to Ashen now. Walk "Talk" Think

As they worked, Viper brushed her side against his and Chimera... didn't even mind. In fact, it was almost welcome. The woman had crossed a line. She was no longer a nuisance. They worked well together. They didn't need to keep tabs on one another and she pulled her own weight. Why then shouldn't he see her as more than others? It made sense to him that she was more valuable than the other wolves of the pack. Her silence helped as well. There was no need for pointless chatter and it seemed as though she felt the same. If he thought into it, he would realize that he quite liked her. Chimera used the sharpened poles and the netting to craft a makeshift travois. The poledrag would then be fastened about his own shoulders and chest. The snow would provide easy cover to drag their ample prey back home. Already he was anticipating their next outing and he surprised himself at having a rather un-Chimera-like idea. "Chimera Quill Klein"