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.
