Spending time with his youngest daughter was Chimera's goal today. He didn't spend much time with Scylla because she was just so standoffish and always wanted to do her own thing. The girl was quick as a whip, but her mind didn't want to sit still long enough to talk to anyone. Chimera was feeling rejected and so he sought out the small, speckled child of Dalila's.

Evening was taking hold of the island and the light was muted with a spattering of clouds. The small girl padded along around him and the behemoth kept his pace slow so as not to hurry her. He wanted to see if she had an ideas of what she would like to be as she grew. Already Albion had made a decision. Cerberus was slowly coming into himself. Scylla... whatever.

"Ruse," he purred, seating himself in the sand before sliding down to lay on his belly. "Do you know what you want to be when you're older?" Pulling her close, the King's tongue ran over the top of her head, grooming some rogue fur that drifted about in the warm breeze. He wanted all of his children to learn as much as they wished and the earlier he could get them started, the better.

"Chimera & Rusalka"

Ruse bounced along beside her father, occasionally darting around and between his legs with little giggles and grins. She always loved spending time with her father, especially now since her mother was more busy with important stuff and she was usually left to hang out with Aunt Aliana or Aunt Siren instead. Her dad was by far her favorite so whenever they got to hang out it was her favorite thing! She got to go out and explore more with him than she did with Aunt Aliana cause she was so, SO big and round right now and Aunt Siren was usually working in the gardens or something like that and that just wasn't as fun. Sometimes Ruse peeked a glimpse of the bigger stretch of land across the water and she wondered what it was like off of the island. Maybe she'd be able to convince her dad to take her one day soon!

She was caught up in her day dreaming so she almost missed her dad stopping, trotting on ahead a few steps before she realized his much larger legs weren't beside her any more. She skidded to a stop and turned to look at him when he said her name and she grinned, running back to him and plopping in-between his front legs once he had slid to lay on his stomach. Her ears perked curiously and she looked up at him attentively as he asked her a question, wondering what she wanted to be when she was older. Her head tipped to the side with a hum, a little, thoughtful frown pulling at her expression. What did she want to be?

As much as she loved her father she definitely didn't think she'd want to do what he was doing. He seemed like so much work and not a lot of fun! She didn't like all the stuff her mother and aunts did with the smelly plants either. What she did like was exploring, running, talking, playing tricks... All that kind of stuff was very fun. "Maybe I'll be an explorer!" she decided with a nod after a bit of thought. "Or... Or like a spy! Yeah! A sneaky spy and I'll make everyone like me so they never suspect a thing! And I'll know how to get everywhere cause I'm also an explorer!" she told him excitedly, hopping to her feet with her tail wagging, grinning up at him. She reached up to give his chin a kiss, looking up at him expectantly as she added, "Doesn't that sound like fun, daddy?"

"Chimera & Rusalka"

The girl was full of boundless energy. He couldn't even remember being her age, but he imagined that he hadn't been as energetic. Of course, he was too busy abusing Siren back then... Chimera gave his head a shake and watched as Ruse realized that he was no longer beside her. The pup stalled, then came bounding back to him, plopping between his forelegs. She was such a lovely little thing. The way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. Chimera adored this little girl.

Who would have thought that Chimera would be a good father? He was a total prick in all other aspects of his life. He had been a horrible child. He hated everyone else's children. Why then was he turning out to be a loving, caring creature when it came to his own? It still baffled him every time he thought about it. Looking down at the adoring face of his tiny little daughter, Chimera knew that he could never be anything but good to her. To the rest of them as well.

After asking the girl what she wanted to do, she took a moment to think about it before coming up with an answer. Chimera laughed softly once she was finished. When she asked if it sounded like fun and gave his chin a little kiss, Chimera wrapped his big forelegs around her, pulling her against his chest. With that, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him and depositing the small pup on his wide, black and white chest. "It sounds like a lot of fun. If you wish to be a spy and you wish to travel all the world, I'll make that happen for you." He stared up at her, his gaze going serious. "You'll have to work hard to be the best though, okay?" He expected all of his children to work hard and to excel at their goals and interests. This darling child would be no different in that aspect.

"Chimera & Rusalka"

Ruse grinned and erupted into a fit of giggles as her father wrapped her up in his big forelegs, pulling her into him as he rolled onto his back till she was perched on his chest, grinning down at him with a wide smile while her tail wagged like crazy. She wiggled and shifted till she was perched on his two-toned chest like a sphynix with her little paws neatly in front of her and grinned proudly when he agreed that her plan indeed sounded like a lot of fun and that he would help make that happen for her. She had no doubt that he would. She had the best daddy in the whole world and why wouldn't the best daddy ever make her dreams come to life?

Her pale ears perked when his expression noticeably got more serious, giving him all of his attention since she could tell it was something important. When he told her she'd have to work hard and be the best her grin reappeared and her tail wagged as she replied, "Of course, daddy! I'm going to work really, really hard and be the best explorer and the best spy of all time! I'll work hard just like you and momma!" She giggled and wiggled up his chest till she could nuzzle into his neck. "I'll make you proud, daddy! I promise!" Hopping up so that she was standing on his broad chest, she grinned down at him excitedly. "I'm gonna learn how to be so fast and strong and sneaky and... and... whatever else I need to learn!"

"Chimera & Rusalka"

The girls giggles were music to his ears and Chimera chuckled as he swung her time frame upwards. Ruse really was the cutest little thing. When things got serious, she settled down and agreed to do everything that she could to be the best. Again the brute chuckled. "I know you will, love." The girl nuzzled into his neck and he licked the top of her head lovingly. "And I'll do everything to make sure that you're the best." It was like a business agreement of sorts. As long as she worked hard, he would work hard for her.

Already Chimera was thinking about who he could employ to teach the girl the art of sneaking and spying. He definitely wouldn't be the one. Perhaps The Hallows had a wolf that could teach the girl. As for traveling, he couldn't do that either. But, again, he could find someone that he trusted to take her places, show her the world. Whatever he had to do, it would all come together in the girls favor.

"You're being good for your mother, right? That's one of the rules," he reminded her. It was expected for all of the Fenmyre pups to respect their parents. In return, the pups wanted for nothing almost to the point of being spoiled.

"Chimera & Rusalka"

She beamed happily up at her father  when he told her that he’d  do anything to make sure she was the best. Her mother always told her how lucky she was and reminded her to be grateful for all the things they had and she knew this was one of those special things to be thankful for too. She didn’t really have a concept of what it was like to not have these things, but she still believed her mother all the same. "Thank you, Daddy,” she said sweetly, giving a little kiss to the side of his muzzle.

Her mismatched ears perked when he asked if she had been behaving for her mother. "Yes, Daddy!” she replied easily, her little tail wagging. For the most part she definitely wasn’t lying, but she was brushing aside and ignoring all the times that her mother had to correct and scold her for all the trouble she tried to get into and all the threats to tell her father, but usually she was good so that still counted, right?

She looked up over the waves near them and pointed out toward the shore on the other side. "Will you take me over there soon?” she asked, looking back to him with big, blue and pink eyes. She wanted to see what the rest of the world outside of the island was like so bad! Of course she had no idea just how big the world actually was and that the dams and cedar trees she saw in the distance were just the beginning, but she wanted to see it all! "What’s it like out there?”

"Chimera & Rusalka"

She really was the cutest thing...

Ruse assured him that she was being good for her mother. Chimera knew differently, but she hadn't done anything outside the realm of childhood behavior. She was simply a curious pup and it sometimes got her into trouble. Chimera didn't mind that one bit. That was how you learned. Mistakes and corrections. Dalila had kept him in the loop about the girl's behavior and sometimes seemed exasperated, but he hadn't seen a need to step in just yet.

As the girl looked out over the water towards the mainland, Chi's gaze shifted that way as well. She asked when she'd be able to go there and the brute chuckled. "Soon. You just have to get a little bigger first." He nudged the girls chin with his nose. "Work on your skills and we'll get you over there even faster," he promised. As for what it was like over there... "It's much different than our island. You're all safe here. Out there, there are many dangers. Many wolves and other things that would seek to hurt you." Chimera wrapped his thick forelegs lightly around the girl and held her close. "That's why I need you and your brother's and sister to be able to protect yourselves. Work on your skills. Fighting, negotiating or running away. As long as you can get out of a dangerous situation, I'll worry less." How many times could he stress that he needed them to work hard?

The man's pink tongue pulled over the girls cheek. "Until you're big enough and skilled enough to head over to the mainland, you get to stay here with me," he grinned. "That's not so bad, is it?"

"Chimera & Rusalka"

Ruse pouted a little when her father told her that she could only go to the main land when she was a little bigger, just saying that it would be "soon". She wanted to go see everything now and waiting to grow was so boring, but of course her daddy knew best so she'd just have to keep waiting even if she didn't like it. When he nudged her chin she refocused on his similarly two-toned gaze and perked a little at the promise that if she worked on her skills it would get her there even faster. She was already motivated to work on stuff just because she wanted to make him proud and be the best sneaky spy she could be, but that was just a cherry on top! The faster she learned the faster she'd get to go and do and see all the things she wanted to!

She listened while he talked about the mainland and how dangerous it was and how they were safe here on the island. Well, she definitely already knew that she was safe here, there was no question about that! Her momma had told her about the dangerous things, but hearing her dad say that they were dangerous felt different. Nothing could be dangerous to him! He was the biggest, strongest wolf she knew! She snuggled into him when his forelegs wrapped around her and she nodded in agreement to her and her siblings needing to know how to take care of themselves. She definitely didn't want to worry him, especially not when she was doing all the exploring she wanted to do.

Ruse grinned and giggled when he kissed her cheek, her tail wagging happily as she reached up to put a kiss on the end of his nose in return. She shook her head when he asked about staying here with him being so bad, giving him a bright smile in return. "Definitely not bad! I wanna stay here with you forever, Dad. Well... I wanna go explore sometimes, but I'll come back!" she promised with a giggle. She snuggled into him again with her head in the crook of his neck, attempting to wrap her little forelegs around his neck and failing. "I love you, Dad!"

"Chimera & Rusalka"