Chimera imagined that Reila would be upset with him, but he hoped that, as she sobered up, she'd realize why he'd left her that night by the fire. Despite whatever awkwardness might lay between them, the King of Fenmyre was intent on spending time with the tri-colored fae anyway. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with her. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He enjoyed his time with Reila and wanted more of it. Every time that they were together, he became more attached to the woman. It was a double edged sword.

In the early morning hours before the sun rose, Chimera collected Reila. They were going on a bit of a journey. It was the only place he knew that held the item that he needed. They would be headed all the way to the falls near Hallows lands and they would be dragging a cart and supplies, so Chimera left things in the capable paws of Dalila and Cerberus as they would be gone for a few days.

The land around the falls was lush and green. The falls themselves were loud as always, but their destination was a little downstream so the roar of the water wouldn't be as deafening. The pair picked their way along the edge of the water, the cart rolling along behind Chimera. All around them the birds were singing, bees were buzzing. The world did as the world had always done. Through the canopy of viridian leaves, sunlight filtered down upon the pair. After a time, Chi chose a decent spot to set up camp alongside the river. Before they would get to the task that he had in mind, the black and white man set up the tent where Reila would sleep. After that, he collected a massive pile of firewood. It would be easier to do it now rather than after they were tired from digging.

"Chimera Klein"

When Chimera asked for Reila to join him, she wouldn't deny. She was having second thoughts and hard feelings after she had went to kiss him and he left her even after the subtle effects of the wine wore off the next morning. Chimera had told her that one of his queens was concerned about the time they had spent together but in the end it hadn't stopped him from being with her again and he didn't tell her he wasn't interested so... really she was facing off with feelings, this time harsh, that she had never experienced before. That didn't hinder her from their time together however.

She joined him silently, which wasn't new for them but he could probably feel the tension between them now. She was still kind and gentle in her motions and expressions but things were different. Once they stopped to make camp, she had helped as she had any other time. Helping Chimera pitch the tent and collect some wood herself for the fire. She wasn't aware why they were out there or for how long, she didn't ask. In fact she didn't say anything at all. She took a seat inside camp and waited to see what Chimera had in mind.

"Reila"

The pair didn't speak which wasn't out of the norm, but Chimera could feel the tension there. He didn't like it, but he wasn't entirely sure how to make it go away. There were many factors at play and he couldn't ignore all of them just to slake his lust with the bob-tailed woman. There was a developing attraction, it was true. The more time they spent together, the stronger that attraction grew. Chimera just couldn't act upon it. Not when there were so many things that could go wrong.

Once camp was set up, Chimera started the fire so that they would have blazing hot coals ready for the next step of their project. With a pull of his shoulder, the two-toned brute motioned for Reila to follow him. At the bank of the river, he began pulling away great swaths of soaking wet earth, digging in deep until the soil turned from silt to clay. "The clay here is dark and rich, I'm told." Muddied paws pulled up a big pile of the thick, obsidian clay. In the light, it showed little sparkles of blue, which he didn't particularly care about. He just wanted their pottery to be strong. "Fenmyre is in need of clay pots, so I'm willing to give it a try." But was she?

Chimera turned his full attention to the tri-colored woman, fixing her with his mismatched gaze. There was a silent apology there if she cared to look. Perhaps they would talk a bit while they were crafting their pots. In the meantime, Chimera placed the wad of clay on a big slab of bark, then dug down for more of the malleable material.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila's quiet paws followed Chimera to the river bed and she listened intently to what he had in mind. She looked around the trees briefly before seeing him pull up some of the clay hidden under deeper soil. Still without saying anything, she worked over the edge of the hole he had dug to make it wider and easier for the two of them to pull out the mass amounts of clay with more room to work. She had her own slab of bark she placed the sparking earth clay in plentiful amounts. Her gaze wasn't shy towards Chimera, she could see every emotion he brought to her. But she wasn't so easy to forget. She wouldn't believe that Chimera had intended to upset her, but she didn't want to work herself back up to be let down and rejected again. It was a feeling she would rather not experience again.

Sliding the bark boat back toward camp, she set it a distance away from the fire so it wouldn't dry out on the edges. She moved to the cart and pulled a knife from the supplies before grabbing a pretty thick stick and shaving down the edges to make it as round as she could. It was hard to work shapes into pots with just her paws, so the smooth stick would help with shaping the inside of the pottery. She almost stopped there but instead did the same thing so Chimera could have one too. She brought the sticks and the knife over before settling and grabbing out a glob of the clay to get to work.

"Reila"

The silence continued to stretch between the pair. Reila took her own slab of clay and made her own preparations. Chimera was just going to dive in paws first and hope for the best but Reila brought him tools to assist in shaping the jars. "Thank you," he rumbled, but didn't move to use the tools just yet. In fact, he didn't do anything yet. It was obvious that he had no idea what he was doing, so he watched the bob-tailed woman first, hoping that she might have some idea. He would try to copy her process if he could.

After seeing how she shaped and smoothed the clay, Chimera attempted to do the same. It was difficult with such large paws, but he was trying his damndest. His pottery would most likely be big and bulky while Reila's would be smaller and more precise. He didn't care much. Pots were pots. Dalila, Siren and Ali might care since these pots were going to be used to store herbs and things, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

The tension between them was beginning to wear on the dual-toned man. He case a glance towards the woman and broke their silence. "It wasn't my intention to upset you," he informed her. She should know what he was talking about.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila only glanced as Chimera started to shape his own bit of clay, struggling due to the size of his paws. She couldn't help but smile at the scene, a silent giggle inside her as he tried his best to make the clay work between his paws. She had caught him looking over at her own work too to catch on to her own methods. She just let him do his own thing though. She figured he wanted to help. Though maybe next time he could gather the clay and she would mold it.

She grabbed her smooth stick in her teeth as she formed the inside of the pot, getting the clay in a thinner and sharper edge. Finally her paws gently smoothed the clay on both sides before she was ready to set it up by the fire to dry.

She laid back down to start on another pot when Chimera had... she'd take that as an apology. "I'm not upset." She nearly insisted and went to move on to something else. "If you just fan out the edge of the pot," She stood for a moment to do so, gently pushing the edges of Chimera's clay so that the top curled down and not minding if their paws had brushed against each other in the process, "It won't be so deep then." It was fine if the pots were wider than hers, but it would be more difficult to make use out of them if they were taller and deeper. She laid back down to work back on her piece. She wouldn't scold Chimera as much as she may have wanted to laugh, but they could find a way to include him too.

"Reila"

The woman assured him that she wasn't upset and Chimera snorted a soft exhale of air. "You certainly seem upset." Yeah, maybe he was picking at her a bit. She wasn't acting like her normal self and it was because he hadn't kissed her beside the bonfire. She had been inebriated and it hadn't felt right, so he had denied her. It was as simple as that in the man's mind. Just like a woman, it wasn't so simple in hers, apparently.

Reila rose and came to help him with his pot, giving him pointers on how it should be done. She slid her slender paws down the clay, touching his paw in the process. He attempted to mimic her actions, sliding his paws in the same manner that she did, but he ended up making his clay container very wonky and lopsided. Lips peeled back and the brute growled in frustration. One big paw rose and fell, smashing the clay down flat. He was obviously giving up. Clay spattered his coat and the man made a sound of disgust, ears flattening out side ways in irritation.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila sighed carefully as Chimera considered that she wasn't okay. "I'll get through it." She'd rather forget what had happened. Maybe she was the talk it out type, but not right now. She was still exploring the ways of true life after her servitude.

She could feel Chimera's frustration even without having full contact with him or even really look at him. She tensed up as he slammed his paws down on the clay, not in fear but the initial reaction to the splatter it made. Her cheek pulled back slightly in response and she waited a few seconds before doing anything else. Her paws went to gather the clay between them without word, taking off a portion to put to the side before getting a general mold of it herself. Her paws than reached forward for Chimera's placing them over the rough outline of the pot and guiding them in motion to smooth out the outside. After a moment she stuck her own paw inside to thin out the wall and then grabbed her little tool to make the sharper corners. She guessed they would have to do it together, or Chimera could go pout until she was done. She was reacting as she did many hunting trips prior. Oblivious to her actions toward him as her paws reached out to grab his. It was more the fact of forcing herself to not want anything else from him.

"Reila"

Reila assured him that she would get through being upset and the man muttered under his breath before looking back to his stupid pot. Whose fucking idea was this? Right, it was his. Idiot. What was he thinking trying to make fucking pots? His paws were the size of pots. You didn't make pots with pots! And so he smashed the clay under his paw and growled. The man wasn't used to being bad at things. He was the son of an Empress. A King in his own right. He was supposed to be good at everything. Apparently the line was drawn at fucking pots, however.

Ears flattened in irritation, Chimera hadn't even noticed at first when the woman rose and moved towards him. Only when she settled beside him and took his paws in hers did he look at her. She gently helped him shape the container, moving his paws along with hers to teach him the technique. Together their paws flew over the clay, whipping it into submission. Before them lay... a pot. Reila smoothed the inside herself as her paws were much smaller and better suited to the task. Show off...

Chimera's face screwed up for a moment. Did he thank her? Did he try to make another pot on his own? In the end, the brute took his messy clay covered paw and swiped it down the side of Reila's face, leaving a big swath of mucky clay from brow to chin. If she was going to be crabby, maybe a bit of play would snap her out of it. Hopping to his paws, the dire brute picked up another pawful of clay and chucked it at her, backing up a bit in case she did the same in turn. His expression was childlike, inviting play, and very, very unlike the austere giant's normal disposition.

"Chimera Klein"

She definitely wasn't expecting as Chimera swiped up some of the stuck clay on his paws onto her face. She flinched lightly from the surprise but as she looked up to see that he was just playing with her she couldn't help but smile. A little more meaningful than she had been the whole trip, but not to her highest.

She stayed laid down in her position as Chimera rose to grab more clay, a look of fake defeat on her face. And of course, she wasn't expecting him to keep going. Her body slid backwards a little as the clump of clay landed just between her chest and paws, her maw opened in more of surprise. Mirrored in her own way of his playful advances. Her leg ran across her face to try and brush off the clay he had originally marked her with. She was quick to get on her paws however, swerving slightly around him to get her own spot of earthen clay to toss back at him. Which she did, underhanded and towards his barrel. That was only the distraction though.

She leapt up on her hind legs, clearly no match for the massive king but if he wanted to play than she would do so. The smile on her face much more genuine and probably what he was used to from her. She went to wrap her frail legs up around his shoulders as if she could bend his weight under her and smash him into the clay they had gathered. The intent was there but she would know better than to think she could topple him.

"Reila"

Reila seemed a little caught off guard by the smear of clay, but didn't rise to his bait. When he threw the clay at her, however, the woman lit up. Her mouth went into a little O of surprise and she moved to wipe the clay from her face. Then it was on. The small fae jumped to her paws and darted quickly around him. Chimera spun just as she was whipping a pawful of clay back at him. The brute tried to dodge, but that was exactly what she wanted.

The bob-tailed fae leaped onto him, wrapping slender arms about his neck. She wrestled with him, throwing her weight to the side as though trying to smash him into the pile of clay that they'd collected. Fuck it. Chimera allowed the woman to topple him, his big body smashing into the pile of wet earth with a squelch. While on the ground, he grabbed a big pile of the clay and let it plop right on top of Reila's head like a dirty little hat. She deserved to be just as filthy as he now was.

Low laughter pulled from the man as he watched the comical sight of the woman with a head full of clay. Then, without warning, he was on his paws, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder. On three legs he hobbled to the river that ran down from the falls and, without further ado, tossed her ass in.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila wasn't really surprised as Chimera folded to her and plopped down in the clay dragging her along with him. Her ears pulled back as he splat a bit over her head. She shook a little as she could laying on the ground, the ball of clay falling under her while some of the glittering runny parts dripped downwards on her face and head. She found herself if only for a second feeling that sense of admiration being this close to him. But before she could consider shutting it down or even noticing, he was throwing her over his shoulder and throwing her into the river.

She splashed down on her stomach, her paws patting down in the water as she gave him silly smirk in response. Luckily she was okay with being a little rough and playful, she had the background to not be so delicate as he tossed her around of course without intending to hurt her. She rolled over in the waters, showing her belly to him as she rubbed her back along the smooth rocks on the bottom of the shallow part of the river. Rolling back to stand on her paws she reached out to him, "Your turn." But she wasn't even clean herself. Maybe it was kind of dumb too, there were still pots to be made. But it seemed the two had other things in mind. They could still have a little fun.

"Reila"

As he tossed her in the water, Reila took it in stride. She wiggled about and the water was cloudy with clay. Chimera watched her as she rinsed off and couldn't help the first little bite of lust that struck him like a tiny snake. He ignored it, however. He was good at ignoring things sometimes. Others, not so much. Today, he could push that lust aside.

Reila rolled to her paws and beckoned him to join her. Little alarm bells went off in the mans head, but he ignored those too. Padding down the embankment, he moved out into the water, heading in deeper than where Reila stood. This portion of the river was narrow and not deep at all, so the water came up a little past the line of his back. He ducked under, submerging himself wholly and hoping for the best that the clay would wash off of his side where it had been mashed all the way down to the skin. He might need to do some scrubbing, but... if they were just going to make more fucking pots...

Surfacing, he moved back into shallow water beside the woman and sprawled out on his belly on the smooth stones. The sensation of the flowing water tugging at his tail and longer fur was pleasant. The water was the perfect temperature for a prolonged dip thanks to the warmth of the season. Chi fixed a lazy gaze upon the tri-colored fae, wondering what she had in mind now.

"Chimera Klein"

Chimera went out into the depths of the water, letting the natural rush of river water brush through his fur to get the clay off. Just as Reila, it wasn't perfect. She almost went out to swim in the water to join him but by then he was returning to her.

As they had before back at Aspen, she turned her body into him slightly as they got comfortable. Her not unusual wandering eyes admiring him while she wasn't catching herself to take a step back. It was all natural, and with the fun they had she couldn't sit back and think that all of it was fake. If she stayed like that for a longer period of time, she may have shut it down. But instead she was standing up with pools of water flowing off her pelt. Approaching his side she spoke, "Here," before pulling water up over his side and shoulder. The clay wasn't matted in his fur or anything, so it was easy to wash off with just a couple gentle brushes. She'd move down his ribs before heading back up around the center of his neck and then she was done. Laying back down beside him where she rubbed her paws together under the streaming water.

"Reila"

Always thoughtful, Reila moved up beside him and began rinsing the clay out of his fur. The brutes neck curled to the side a bit so that he could watch her work. If he wasn't aroused before... Chimera had a weakness for touching and massages. It was a little uncomfortable laying in the rocks, but it wouldn't have been wise to get out of the water at that moment. He had to calm down somewhat first.

Once Reila was done rinsing the clay from his coat, she lay down in the stony shallows of the river beside him. The brutes pink eye fixed on her and he decided to return the favor. One soaking paw rose and moved along the edge of her cheek and muzzle, pulling away some of the clay that he'd smeared there. He dipped his paw a few times, repeating the action until all of the clay was gone and the pale fur of her cheek shone brightly again.

Chimera was beginning to think that his idea of play had been a bad one. He just hadn't liked seeing the woman upset. She surely wasn't upset at the moment, but the casual touching was treading a fine line and he was at risk of toppling over that line the more time that they spent together. There wasn't remotely a risk of him loving the bob-tailed fae more than Aliana, but if someone had asked him if he cared for the fae beside him, he wouldn't have been able to honestly say no. And that... was troublesome.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila wasn't expecting Chimera's own touch to her face, or maybe it was that she didn't know there was more clay spots on her. Either way, she felt that flutter of intimacy as Chimera did as she did to him even if touched in completely different ways. That seemed to be where she drew the line. She wouldn't have before, but now...

She let Chimera clean off her face, her gaze downwards towards his chest but if only for a few seconds her eyes looked up at him with more heated and tempting tones. She dropped them back down though, and when Chimera was done she took another few seconds before rising up and outside of the river to shake off her pelt.

She did look back at him before heading back into the camp that was right next door. She slid the sleds of clay over the the rocky backboards of the falls, covering the divot in shrubbery so that the clay wouldn't dry out. With the evening coming around, they could work on more pots tomorrow. She may have been diverting from Chimera really, maybe it seemed that way or maybe it didn't. She checked the pot she had set by the fire, taking it over to the cart that would be used to haul back to Fenmyre. And finally she laid down in front of the fire, trying not to get too lost in the flames.

"Reila"

A sigh pulled from the man as Reila quickly exited the water and moved off towards camp. He waited a few more minutes in the shallows of the river before following suit. Up on the bank, he gave his coat a shake, fur sticking up in damp spikes. Drying by the fire would be ideal. He didn't think that he had any more pots in him tonight. Or ever again, for that matter.

Moving back into camp, Chimera rifled around in one of the packs that he'd brought. He extracted a smaller bag. Padding back to the fire, he lay down somewhat close to the woman, but not intimately so. Placing the sack between them, he opened it, withdrawing a bottle of wine, which he placed next to Reila before pulling out strips of dried, seasoned venison. He hadn't brought a bottle of water because the river was right there. Unnecessary weight. Popping a piece of the venison in his maw, Chimera chewed and swallowed, then rose and left without a word.

Some time later he returned with two little spikes in his mouth that glittered as they caught the light. Laying back beside Reila once more, he handed her one of the spikes. "Give it a try," he urged. He'd been told about the sweet treats that grew behind the falls and hoped that the sugar might sweeten his companions disposition. Whether she tried it or not, Chimera's tongue swept over his own sugar spike and he released a little sound of pleasure.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila just laid by the fire as Chimera had pulled out his own supplies. Her gaze moved to him and then the bag as he dropped it down and pulled out what was inside. She took a piece of the venison while he was still there but once he turned to walk away was when she popped open the bottle of wine and took a sip. There wasn't really any reason beyond waiting for Chimera to turn his back, it was more like some kind of urge she felt. That sense of tension in her nerves was growing back.

Chimera returned and offered her a crystalline spike which she honestly didn't even know what to do with at first. She knew once he took his own taste. She too went ahead with a small lick just for a test, and she was not disappointed with the results. She hummed a little as she mustered a smile for Chimera, "Thank you." She said quietly for all the things he had done for her. Not just what he brought along, but for his time too really.

The sugar drip stones had given her the idea to mix with the wine. She put the spike sideways in her mouth, dragging it out at the tip and really filling her mouth with the watered sugar before tipping back a bit of wine and making it go down easier. The wine was already good, but the sugar definitely made it easier to down quicker. She pulled the drip stone through her mouth one more time before taking another swig.

"Reila"

After he handed the sugar stick over to Reila and settled down, she thanked him quietly. She had spared him a smile, but was still sullen. Well... there wasn't much else that he could do. She'd just have to either work through it, or not. If she didn't, things would continued to be awkward between them and he felt that, eventually, their good times would end. He wasn't looking forward to that. Despite whatever might be going on in her little head, Chimera enjoyed the time that they spent together.

After licking his stick a few times, he glanced over to see what Reila was doing with her own. He watched as she held it in her mouth, then drank a sip of wine along with it. Hmm. Did that make the nasty drink taste better? It was no secret that Chimera didn't drink alcohol, but he had to admit that he was intrigued by the notion. He placed the end of the sugar stick in his mouth, collecting the sweetness in his saliva. The brute then reached out and took the resting bottle from the fae's paws and took a drink much as she had. The sugar did help to make the dry fruit concoction more palatable. "Smart," he complimented before handing the bottle back to her. He wouldn't drink any more of it, but he'd enjoyed the sweet taste that he'd had.

After a time he became tired of the sugar stick and tossed it into the fire. Night was catching up to them and the forest around them was darkening. Chimera added another log to the fire and sprawled out on his side, his cheek flat on the grass. The brutes eyes closed to block out the bright light of the fire, but he was still very much awake.

"Chimera Klein"

Reila smiled as Chimera took his own drink with the sugar stones. She had only seen him take a bowl of wine once but she wouldn't question and she wouldn't force him either. As Chimera was finished he laid down as if he was done for the night. Reila finished the bottle herself in another two or three swigs and she was feeling it.

She followed after Chimera, throwing her sugar stick into the fire and just laying there for a moment staring into the flames. Her cheek too laid down on the ground as she was lost and fuzzy, her gaze looking over to Chimera's form. Lazy eyes looked over him like she had before, and she reminded of that first time they had been together by the fire rather than the last. The drink hadn't made her feel harsh emotions like she had been, and it made her nerves settle down a bit. If Chimera was worried about her doing something rash under the influence before, he as wrong. Now was much more the time to be worried.

She finally rose on careful paws, feeling woozy but not completely out of her mind. She didn't pause at all as she approached Chimera and put a paw on his shoulder. Her eyes would have looked into his without word if he had looked up at her, but either way she went to lean over his back and start that familiar gentle massage over his shoulders. She had only ever done this once before, and a little less under the influence. But whether Chimera thought she was acting just out of the alcohol or not, she wanted to do this. She wanted more actually.

"Reila"