Ever since Reila had mentioned her lack of control, Chimera had been eager to test her to gauge how much or how little control she actually had. The night prior, he'd informed the woman that they were going hunting. They woke early and made their way out of the territory. Chimera had prey in mind and their hunt would take over a day. They would be out in the wilderness overnight, at least. It would give the pair time to get to know one another. He still needed to get a feel for this woman who thought herself a danger. As someone who was a danger, he needed to know.

As they neared the grove, the scent of boar was thick in the air."There are some very large boar here," he informed her. It was the reason that he'd brought her this far out. They didn't come unburdened, either. Chimera had pulled along the small cart that he'd purchased from some traders. They would be able to load up the cart with meat and take it back to Fenmyre to be processed and cured. He would pull, of course.

Locating a natural corridor, the dire brute began to dig. "We'll dig a pit and chase the pigs into it." It didn't need to be terribly deep. Just deep enough for them to impale themselves upon the spikes that he'd brought along in the cart.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila was prompt as Chimera had arranged they go out on an early morning journey for a hunt. Along the way she was quiet unless spoken to, probably what the brute expected. There was actually little that Chimera didn't know about her, she wasn't that exciting or at least she thought so. She was an open book if he asked, her past, her training, there was nothing for her to hide. Even the feelings surrounding her trauma that seemed to linger more physically than she had been aware of. Honestly if he poked anymore, she'd probably be discovering herself along with him at this point. She had the room to.

They ventured out to the grapevine cathedral, Reila had journeyed through before. She knew the lays of the land, but not necessarily what resided in them. When not on the ship they typically stayed in caves of mountain sides or areas that could host a number of them. They usually traveled in groups. Bent Canyon was a frequent night stay for the traders and merchandise.

She eyed him as they walked along, and had considered offering to pull the cart for a while. She could have handled it fine but she still kept her mouth shut since he seemed to pull it without strain. Maybe he'd feel the burn and weight later. Once they arrived and Chimera suggested the boar nearby, Reila lifted her nose to smell around the cathedral and finding the traces of the boar in the distance. She moved beside Chimera, starting to go ahead and dig in the perimeters as he did. She was acting as his little helper, it wasn't anything new for her.

"Reila"

Silently the pair worked together, digging the pit into the land. Chimera piled the excavated dirt onto either side of the pit, trailing it outward a bit so that it would create a natural chute. Wide paws continued to work, pulling out great chunks of earth to add to the rest. The man's ears kept swiveling as he dug, keeping track of the woman and their surroundings.

Down into the earth they dug and Chimera eventually decided that they'd dug deep enough. Taking the bundle of pre-sharpened stakes from the cart, the brute slid down into the pit and began using his heavier bulk to push them into the ground. He expected Reila to hand them to him one at a time, reaching a mud encrusted paw upward to accept each stake. All in all, she was a good little helper.

"Chimera Klein"

They worked side by side until the pit was as Chimera wanted, Reila was much better as the second man rather than the leader. But honestly it could have worked both ways. Sometimes she had to lead.

She hopped out of the shallow hole so she could hand Chimera the stakes they had brought along, but after watching him use his impressive strength to push a couple stakes down into place she carefully dropped the remaining stakes inside before coming in after them. She quickly dug a small funneled hole with her dainty paws before holding up the stake for Chimera to push it in with more ease. "Here." She spoke with a smile before ensuring he had that one driving into the ground before swiftly making the next small stake hole and proceeding in that fashion. If nothing else they were working more closely to each other.

"Reila"

Reila handed him the stakes for a time, then jumped into the pit and began making small divots in the earth into which he could lodge the stakes. It was effective and Chimera made a rumble of approval. The man was all business and didn't even think twice about their close proximity. They were here to hunt. To kill. That was what was on his mind. Perhaps afterwards when his blood was pumping and he had flesh between his jaws... but for now, he was simply here to poke sticks into the ground.

Once the stakes were situated, the giant brute moved around the pit, cleaning up the debris and detritus. It wouldn't look natural to the landscape, but if he could smooth out a few edges and cover some things up with the plethora of grape vines that clung to every surface, then he imagined a fleeing pig wouldn't have the time or wherewithal to tell the difference.

Turning his attention to the speckled woman, the dire brute pulled his head in the direction that he believed the pigs to be in. "Are you ready?" He certainly was. She would know what to do, so he wouldn't go over any sort of plan with her. Run pigs into a hole. Simple as that.

"Chimera Klein"

They both escaped the hole in the ground and Reila followed along as Chimera worked on camouflaging the pit. She extended some of the vines and brush over and around it, giving it the finishing touches before regrouping with Chimera.

He asked if she was ready and with a nod she responded, "Yes." She waited for Chimera to take the lead, but had he waited on her she would have stepped forward. She simply went with the flow of things. All that mattered right now was reaching their goal and moving the pigs into their trap to take the meat back to Fenmyre.

"Reila"

After making sure that Reila could exit the pit and hearing her affirmation that she was ready, the two-toned brute moved off through the grove of trees. The stench of wallowing pigs grew stronger and he knew that he'd chosen the right direction. In time, he could hear them as well. The wolves had to stick to hiding behind the thicker trees as their was little undergrowth here. Peering out from behind the tree, Chimera eyed the pigs, taking note of the number, the size. If they could run them all into the pit, they could go home with a good haul. His target was a large boar, however. Even that one pig would prove to be a decent meal for the pack.

Turning his attention to Reila to silently ask if she was ready, the giant noted a chunk of dirt clinging to her cheek. Raising one paw, he brushed it away from white and grey fur. Then he split off from the fae and silently moved, skirting around the pigs until he was behind them. If they ran together, they could hem in the porcine pack and push then right into the pit. From his place, Chimera made eye contact with Reila, silently asking if she was ready to run.

"Chimera Klein"

They made their way through the cathedral, Reila picking up on all the signs of the boar as Chimera did. She was silent and stealthy as they moved through the brush and trees, maybe not totally a master hunter on her own but working her way there. She was quite the jack of all trades at least.

As they peered over to the pigs, Chimera looked to her one last time before his paw raised to flick off a bit of dirt from the digging off her cheek. The blush she made seemed more out of embarrassment while her paw too ran across her face in response but no... it was more than that.

Not dwelling on it, she watched as Chimera moved around behind the group of boar. Reila would have liked to take them all for the many young mouths they had to feed. With one nod of approval, Reila leapt out of the brush with Chimera to drive the herd towards their pit.

"Reila"

With the nod from his hunting partner, the pair both leaped from cover, moving as one. The pigs squealed in surprise and scrambled out of their wallow, the lot of the instantly running as fast as their short legs could carry them. In that moment, their children were forgotten, their mates forgotten. It was a free for all. That suited Chimera just fine.

The giant man threw his weight into his paws, snapping and snarling at the heels of the pigs. He could have caught one or two, but that wasn't the point here. The point was to get them all to the pit. More than once Chimera had to leap to the side, preventing a pig from escaping and he noted Reila doing the same. As they ran, the big brute realized that they were a rather good hunting team. Something about it reminded him of his time spent with Viper and a pang of sadness struck Chimera in the heart, almost making his pawsteps falter. He recovered, however, and resumed his chase, though his gaze was a little harder now. He wanted to sink his teeth into these things.

"Chimera Klein"

With the hogs loud and quick on their hooves, Reila worked on keeping them in line from the side while Chimer pushed them mostly from the rear. She was a bit more agile and swift on her paws where he was more built for brute strength and the kill.

Her healed leg felt weak in the run, but she still pushed through with no real harm done. Driving the pigs to their trap, she tried her absolute best to keep them all in line so they could take the plentiful supply back to the pack. The pot was in their view now, it wouldn’t be long. And honestly she couldn’t wait to rest her leg when they got there.

"Reila"

With one final snap to the heels of one of the larger hogs, the whole passel rocketed down the chute. Once the first pig crashed through the meager covering, the rest followed suit. Their terror filled screams made Chimera wince. He'd always hated the sounds that pigs made and he couldn't wait for them to die. Every single pig had fallen victim to the pit fall. Five in total. It was a good haul.

Moving to the edge of the pit, Chimera looked down into it. The smaller pigs were already dead, but one of the larger was still weakly thrashing. Plucking one of the stakes from the ground, Chi spun it point down and lodged it in the boars neck. The creature flailed a few times, then died.

After the run, the big brute needed to catch his breath. Jaws were parted, tongue lolling out in a pant. He seated himself and turned his gaze to the bob tailed woman. "Well done," he complimented. "Rest your leg." There was still a lot of work to do. They'd both earned a little breather, however.

"Chimera Klein"

Once they reached the pit Reila was relieved they had plunged the whole herd of hogs into the pit and immediately stood by as Chimera grabbed  an extra stake from the ground and ended the blood curdling screaming. Reila looked up at him for a moment before he went to relax and she went to lay down with her paws dangling over the pit’s edge as well.

Her gaze moved over to the bleeding hogs, it was quite a gruesome scene as their blood ran down the stakes and from other parts of their body. She was getting lost in her head as she watched and observed, but really she was just shutting down completely. The sight and the smell of their blood was enough to put her on edge, but not enough to make her feral.

After sometime she snapped out of her state of mind and carefully made her way into the pit where she put her shoulder underneath one of the pigs and pushed upwards to remove it from the stake. The mess of the blood and the smell of the hogs on her body didn’t bother her otherwise.

"Reila"

Chimera had noticed the slightly glazed look on Reila's face, but didn't pay it much mind. A lot of wolves basked in the afterglow of a hunt and he assumed that she was doing something similar, as was he. The giant man had sprawled out on his belly for a time, stretching his muscles and giving himself a little break before the task that awaited him in the bottom of the pit. Reila rested as well, though she was on her paws more quickly than he was. The woman slid down into the pit and pressed her shoulder up under one of the hogs, lifting it off of the spike. Chimera released a little hmmph, then leaned over the side, grasped one of the spikes between his teeth, and pulled upward. He repeated this until all of the spikes were out of the pit. Now all they had to do was drag the hogs up and out.

With the pointy danger gone, the black and white dire entered the pit as well. He latched his teeth into the largest of the hogs and hauled it out of the hole. The action was repeated until all five pigs were laid out side by side. Just as he had done to the gazelle, Chimera used teeth and claws to open up the bellies of the hogs, turning their innards into outards. The brute pushed the viscera into the empty pit just to get it out of the way.

With his white pelt stained red, Chimera flicked his tongue over blood stained lips, his eyes on the woman. "How is your leg?" He needed to know how close she was to being fully healed. He understood pushing oneself, but pushing oneself to the point of damage was counterproductive.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila helped Chimera by pushing the hogs out of the pit as he pulled though she probably wasn't doing much. He seemed to manage everything just fine. She tossed the spikes up onto the ledge of the pit before hopping back out and seeing Chimera gut the pigs. She had already made it past the hump of her trauma or at least put herself in a place where it wouldn't bother her, so she easily went over and finished assisting Chimera by pushing the guts into the pit.

Chimera asked how her leg was which it was still sore and awkward but she wouldn't let it hinder her as she did during the hunt. "It's fine." She reassured with a smile and a couple waves of her paw as if testing it. She grabbed a large leaf hidden in grapevines before sticking her claw under one of the pigs skin and pulling out some of the fat under the thick protective layer. She looked to Chimera before suggesting, "Did you want to go wash?" She guessed she would be going without him anyway. The only thing she'd pick up on the way was some lavender before finding a lake or stream nearby to cleanse her pelt of the blood.

"Reila"

Reila questioned him about cleaning himself of the pigs blood and Chimera gave his bloodied fur a cursory glance. Did it bother her to see him covered in blood? "Soon," he stated motioning for her to go ahead with a tilt of his head. He would find her. There was still work to be done before they could relax for the evening. He wouldn't be hauling this hefty a load back after such strenuous activity.

Chimera pulled the cart close and began dragging their haul onto it. Biggest pigs on the bottom, smallest on the top, though one he left out for them to eat for dinner. He secured the carcasses with ropes, then covered them with a large oiled skin to protect them from both the elements and any scavengers. Collecting some wood, Chimera built a little fire, staking the smallest pig over it to heat the meat and give it a little bit of smoky flavor. By the time they were finished cleaning the pig blood from their fur, the meat should have been cooked through well enough. Deeming his work done, Chi followed Reila's scent, moving in the direction that she'd gone.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila nodded carefully as Chimera stated he would wash later and dismissed her to go on her own. She didn't care much for the blood on him, it was more of what was on herself. The way it was drying on her fur was bothersome. She found a stream that ran along the outside of the cathedral, placing her large leaf to the side and mashing the lavender and fat with a good amount of water and placing it inside the bank of the stream. The fat was swished around enough it was no longer in it's original form. The mixture created more of a running lotion that she used on her fur that washed out the blood and left a light smell of lavender present.

By the time she was nearly finished, she turned to see Chimera emerging from the grapevines after her. When he was close enough, she raised a paw out towards him to invite him into the stream. Only if he joined her did she go to place the lotion-soap onto his chest where the blood of the pigs had run off of his face. She really didn't think much of it, didn't think he could be bothered by it or that it may have been inappropriate. She had lived her life tending to the needs of others, all needs. Not just the darker and pointless desires.

"Reila"

A pale pink eye lighted upon the bathing woman and she noticed him in turn. Reila waved him over and the behemoth of a wolf waded into the stream. The water was cool and refreshing and he stopped to take a drink before closing the distance between them. Chimera could smell the lavender thickly in the air and his speckled nose wrinkled in distaste. As Reila raised a paw, intending to mash some sort of concoction into his fur, one big paw flew up and grasped her wrist before she could touch him with it. "No," he spoke, releasing the small woman's appendage. "I detest lavender." He appreciated the gesture, but... ugh.

Taking a step away from the tri-colored fae so as not to undo all of her careful washing, Chimera immersed himself in the water. Once the water loosened the clinging blood, he began gently dragging his claws through the thicker fur on his chest. The water would clear away most of the rest, but there were chunks of viscera lodged in the thickest fur. The stream ran red as it pulled the blood away. Chi dunked his face below the surface of the water and gave it a good scrub with his paws. The man surfaced, turned to the fae and shrugged. "Did I miss anything?"

"Chimera Klein"

Reila's heart nearly stopped as Chimera abruptly stopped her paw before she could reach him. She could say she was rather surprised, and only when he told her what the problem was did she shyly back off just a little, some sort of anxiety ran through her in that moment. Surly a kind he would know having worked and lived with slaves. "Oh, I'm sorry." For the first time since they had met, she had a hard time actually looking at him. The sense of doing something wrong had actually put her into a more slave-like demeanor. "I'll wash off again." She immediately went to the mixture she had created, opening the stone barriers and letting it flow down the river to be forgotten.

She quickly rolled over in the stream water, most of the floral scent she had rubbed on her back and rump from pushing the pigs off the stakes. The smell would most likely not be completely gone, but she would have tamed it. Rolling back over on her stomach, she waited for Chimera to finish his own wash while she still let the river water flow over her rump. He asked if he had missed anything. Her eyes reluctant and carefully scanned over his face and chest as she looked, "Just a little on your chin." She didn't know he would have dinner waiting back at a little camp he had set up for the night. But really either way she'd probably stay where she was until he was ready to move on.

"Reila"

The immediate change in Reila's disposition as he stopped her from mashing the lavender into him was noted. He almost felt bad about it, but he hadn't done anything rude or out of line. He simply didn't like smelling like a flowery little female. "Reila," he began, but she was already pulling away with the intent to wash the lavender from her own body. He didn't care if she smelled flowery, he just didn't want to. The big brute inhaled deeply and released a long sigh before going back to washing himself.

Having asked Reila if he missed a spot, she fought to look at him, though eventually informed him that he's missed a spot on his chin. Chi gave his face another thorough washing. The woman still wouldn't look at him and Chimera sighed. Moving across the stream, he came up to her and, much as he had before, lifted a paw to raise the fae's chin, gently making her look at him. "I'm sorry if I frightened you," his voice was soft, as was his expression. "You are my wolf, Reila. You needn't fear me." One rough pad slid over her chin before he released her. It was going to take some work until she found her balance with him.

"Come," he spoke, stepping past her and onto the bank where he moved off a ways to give his slick form a decent shake. "Dinner should be just about ready to eat by the time we get back." Lifting one black-toed paw yet again, he motioned for her to follow him back to camp.

"Chimera Klein"

When Chimera approached her, she was able to turn her head to face him again, which again was just a part of how she was trained. In a way, Reila may have never been Chimera's. Everything she did was out of how others created her. Not shaped, but built. She was never her own. There would probably never be a time she was free of her prior life. It was like she put her chin in his paw as he raised it, but when he spoke she too couldn't help but feel bad for the way she reacted knowing that it was something that could have bothered him. "It's not that, it's... I actually don't know what it is. But it isn't you." She wasn't necessarily afraid of Chimera, it was just this part of her that was expecting something bad or harmful when she messed up or missed something.

With Chimera leaving the water, Reila stood and followed behind him, standing a short distance before shaking her pelt as well. Not expecting a prepared dinner when they got back she responded a little surprised, "Oh, thank you." And went to follow him back to camp as he suggested.

When they returned, she let him handle the cooked meat by the fire while she went to the cart and grabbed a couple of the pelts they had taken along. She first laid one out for Chimera if he chose to lay on it, then laid hers out but waited for her share of the meal before going to wrap herself up in the pelt to dry off a little better.

"Reila"