Busy as a Bee

The island was quiet ever since Chimera had left on his business trip. He hadn't explained the nature of the work he did for the pack, but Aliana thought it best not to ask questions of him above her station, not matter how curious she might be about her master's duties and life. From the moment she was brought to the island, she had been in the ownership of Chimera, so to suddenly find herself without his direction felt... strange. He had, of course, left her with tasks to complete, her daily chores and errands, but beyond that her life was suddenly strangely empty. She had more free time than she knew what to do with, especially since Viper had taken to essentially pretending she didn't exist when she could or bullying her when that became impossible. With only Viper's messes to tend to, keeping the den clean and their home maintained was actually proving to be quite easy. At least she wasn't having to wash stains out of the bedding in Chimera's room as frequently when he wasn't home.

In her downtime, Ali had thrown herself into her pet project: the beehive she had shown to Chimera just before he left. With a place to house bees come the spring, the little buzzing insects would be able to pollinate the flowers and bring more blooms to the island, help grow Siren's herb garden, and provide the wolves with an abundance of honey. She was already thinking of ways she could use the honey for Chimera, perhaps by making some honeyed fruits or meats, or maybe making a mead for him to enjoy in the evenings while he unwinded. Maybe Siren could use the honey in some of her poultices and remedies. The possibilities were near limitless!

With her dedication to the project renewed every time she thought about it, Aliana made her way over to where she had Chimera lay out the raw materials to build the hive. He'd been so gracious to get her what she needed before he left, seeming to come around to the idea when she mentioned the benefits it would have for Siren. Ali had been with the wolves for a couple of months now and she was learning them quite quickly. Chimera would do anything that had a tangible benefit to his sister. Aliana looked over the progress she had made so far. A rudimentary frame had been established and stood in the clearing close to their dens, but not so close that the bees might bother any of them. The rest of the raw timber she had already carved down into workable planks with some stones acting as chisels. Now all that was left was carving in the slots to connect them together and putting it into a workable structure.

Picking up the stones she'd been using, Aliana went to her pile of planks, measuring out with her paws where to put each notch and peg to interlock the planks. Without any sort of adhesive or mortar, she'd had to get creative in making the structure hold together. Her tiny paws worked deftly, using the stone to carve out the slots with back and forth sawing motions. It was slow work, but it was working. Plus it was better than sitting idle, waiting for Viper to come beat her up some more or wasting away time until Chimera came home. She thought back on her life prior to being bought, to sitting in the cell with nothing but the lessons of the older matron slave and the silence and the waiting—so, so much waiting... How had she ever managed to survive without going insane? Maybe because it was the only life she'd ever known? She'd never even seen the beach until she came here. Despite the challenges and hardships her new life held, Ali knew it was far better than what the slavers had given her or planned for her. At least here, Chimera gave her purpose, provided for her and the others, gave her more than she had been told was possible.

Aliana moved from plank to plank, carving out the slots and pegs in each one and preparing them for the building step. Once that had been completed, she began to take plank by plank over to the frame, setting each one in interlocking patterns, making sure they fit together snugly and held firm with no gaps in between any. The last thing she wanted was for the beehive to be compromised by any weather. After the first layer was locked in, she stepped back to inspect her handiwork, then moved on to add the next layer of planks, then the next, and so on until she'd used them all and build a sizable square box. She topped it off with a larger piece of driftwood she'd salvaged from the shore and allowed to dry, the bigger piece capping off the hive with a nice, single piece of roof. That would allow them to remove the roof to access the hive whenever they wanted to harvest any honey from within.

Allowing herself a small smile at her own craftiness, Ali began to gather up a few wild blooms and stuffed them inside the hive. She highly doubted any bees would come to roost this late in the season, but it never hurt to try, and it might help to prep the hive for the spring. With her work complete, it was only a matter of time before they got to reap the bounty the bees would provide. It had taken almost all day, but Ali could return to the den feeling like she'd contributed something good to Chimera and Siren's lives.

WC: 951 / 800

"Aliana"