The meal eventually wound down.

People drifted away in small groups, yawning, full, content. The chaos of the day had faded into something softer. Something that felt like the beginning of a new normal.

Bai Yue sat by the fire, watching the embers glow.

The logs had burned low, casting long shadows across the clearing. Most of the tribe had gone to their huts. The jaguars had retreated to the eastern fields, exhausted from their first day in a new home. The cubs had been carried off one by one, limp and sleepy, their full bellies rising and falling with slow breaths.

Only a few remained by the fire.

Bai Yue pulled her knees to her chest and stared into the orange glow. Her body was tired. Her mind was tired. But sleep felt far away.

A shadow settled beside her.

She didn’t need to look. She knew the weight of him, the quiet cold that radiated from his skin like the memory of winter.

Han Shān said nothing. He simply sat, his shoulder pressing against hers.

Bai Yue leaned into him, letting his arm snake around her.

"You almost died," she said quietly.

"So did you."

"That’s not the same."

"It’s exactly the same." His voice was raspy. "You threw yourself in front of our daughter. You stood in front of a blade. I watched you fall, Bai Yue. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t—"

His voice cracked.

Bai Yue turned and pressed her forehead against his cheek.

"I’m here," she whispered. "I’m right here."

His arms tightened around her. She felt his breath shudder once, twice, and then steady.

She pulled back just enough to look at his face. The firelight caught the lines around his eyes, the exhaustion he tried to hide. She reached up and touched his cheek.

Then she leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead.

Han Shān’s eyes closed.

From across the fire, a huff was heard.

"You know," Zhāo Yàn said, sprawled on a fur with his nine tails fanned out behind him, "some of us are still awake. Some of us have eyes."

Bai Yue didn’t move away from Han Shān. She just looked at the fox lord.

"Jealous much?"

"Appreciative. There’s a difference."

Han Shān snorted but Zhāo Yàn ignored him.

"Speaking of appreciating things," the fox lord continued, stretching like a cat, "Yòu Lín asked me something interesting today."

Bai Yue’s eyes narrowed. "What?"

"He wants a sibling."

Silence.

"A sibling," Bai Yue repeated flatly.

"A little brother. Or sister. He wasn’t picky. He said, and I quote, ’Papa, all my friends have siblings that look like them and I’m lonely.’"

"He said all that?"

"He said all that. While standing on his head. I don’t know why he was standing on his head. He said it helped him think."

Bai Yue swatted Zhāo Yàn’s arm.

"OW—"

"That’s for putting ideas in his head."

"I didn’t put anything! He came up with it himself! He’s very creative!"

Han Shān’s chest rumbled with something that might have been a laugh. "You’re not helping your case, fox."

"I’m not trying to help my case. I’m just saying. If the subject ever comes up. Naturally. Organically." Zhāo Yàn’s eyes gleamed. "I’m available."

Bai Yue swatted him again.

"OW—woman, you have a violent streak—I’m joking," Zhāo Yàn said, rubbing his arm. "Mostly. Fine. Entirely. For now."

He stretched again, then settled, his eyes finding hers across the fire. His voice softened.

"Something did happen, though. Didn’t it?"

The fire crackled.

Han Shān’s arm tightened around her.

Bai Yue looked at Zhāo Yàn. At his face, uncharacteristically serious. At Han Shān beside her, quiet and waiting.

They knew. Not the details. Not the hospital, not the city, not the world of machines and white rooms. But they knew something had happened, something was different.

And they weren’t pushing.

Bai Yue’s throat tightened.

"Something happened," she said finally. "I can’t... I can’t explain it. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But I’m here. You’re here. That’s enough."

Han Shān pressed a kiss to her hair.

Zhāo Yàn nodded once, slow.

"Fine," the fox lord said. "For now."

"For now," Bai Yue agreed.

~

The next morning, Elder Zhao stood on the meeting platform, his staff in one hand, a scroll in the other, his face doing something between excitement and resignation.

"HEAR YE, HEAR YE," he bellowed.

The tribe gathered. Bleary-eyed. Yawning. The jaguars hovered at the edges, uncertain.

"The twin moons will align in seven days, and we will have the festival of the Moon’s Embrace!" Elder Zhao announced.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"For one week," the elder continued, "the young and the unmated may court. There will be dances. There will be gifts. There will be—" he paused, squinting at the scroll, "—rituals of devotion."

Zhāo Yàn’s ears perked up.

"Courting rituals," he murmured.

Han Shān’s jaw tightened.

"Don’t," Bai Yue warned.

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your tail is wagging."

"It’s the wind."

"There’s no wind."

Zhāo Yàn’s tail continued wagging.

Elder Zhao was still talking. "All unmated males may present cords to their chosen females. The females may accept or reject as they wish. Mated couples may renew their bonds through—"

"Did he say mated couples may renew?" Zhāo Yàn’s tail wagged faster.

"ZHĀO YÀN."

"I’M JUST LISTENING."

Across the clearing, Bai Yue caught movement.

Tao Zi was standing at the edge of the crowd, his dark eyes fixed on something. She followed his gaze.

Zhen was chasing a butterfly.

Her white hair streamed behind her. Her purple eyes were bright with laughter. She was wearing a flower behind her ear, some gift from the morning, and she looked like sunlight given form.

Tao Zi was staring.

Not blankly. Not sadly.

His cheeks were faintly pink.

Then Zhen tripped over a root, stumbled, caught herself, and laughed at her own clumsiness. Her eyes found Tao Zi across the clearing.

She waved.

Tao Zi’s blush deepened. He looked away quickly, his hand coming up to cover his face.

But he was smiling.

Bai Yue bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Oh no," she murmured.

"What?" Han Shān asked.

"Nothing." She watched Tao Zi sneak another glance at Zhen. "Nothing at all."

The festival announcements continued. The tribe buzzed with excitement. The jaguars looked confused but intrigued. The younger beastmen were already eyeing potential partners.

And somewhere in the back of the crowd, a small jaguar cub with dark curls and pink cheeks kept glancing at a little girl with white hair and a flower behind her ear.