Most of what remained of the day passed for Blanc, Celine, and the twins while harvesting.
Only to switch from harvesting the Raw Vita from the wolves once they were done to resting, talking, eating, and finding out about their new powers.
Two anomalies have occurred during this bountiful harvest of theirs.
First, there were the twins and the conclusion they came to after trying their newfound changes and strengths.
After two harvests, it turned a light gray, but even after they harvested the four that both of them had, their Mark only remained as a dark gray.
Their rewards? Overall Strength, agility, stamina, and an increased sense of smell and vision.
After all four of their wolves had been harvested, the increase in their strength became even more obvious.
Each successive wolf felt lighter in their hands; what had required both hands and great effort before the first harvest could now be moved with a single hand, as if on a casual stroll by the last.
When they tested themselves, pushing their limits, their movements remained constant but sharper, more precise, and completely under their control.
They could maintain this for over an hour before even one showed signs of heavy breathing, a testament to their new stamina.
Unfortunately, they had also confirmed the smell Celine mentioned to Blanc a few hours before, making Blanc's cheeks turn red from embarrassment, making him want more than ever to take a bath.
But despite their newfound strengths, he couldn't ignore the obvious any longer.
Kael and Lune shared the same rewards and identical Marks. The same paw Blanc had received as well.
It was too rare for such an occurrence to just happen. It made Blanc question it. As well as the reason why it happened.
No matter how much he thought or discussed it with Celine, the same answers kept returning.
It was either a coincidence atop a coincidence, which was rarer in itself than the other, more obvious answer. The pure fact that they were twins.
Neither Blanc nor Celine had ever heard of any records written by the Archivum Civitas that mentioned such an anomaly had happened between twins.
However, a situation such as theirs was, perhaps, just as rare as the coincidence it might have been.
So, after seeing that no issues occurred during Kael and Lune's harvest, they had no choice but to cast it aside.
Since another anomaly came out, as both Blanc and Celine were at their fifth wolf. Coincidentally, it was the pack leaders.
Once both of them finished harvesting, the Marks they had, which were until then only a light grey, suddenly turned black. The limit of Raw Vita one can harvest from a type of beast before the Vita stops handing out rewards, and instead starts damaging the person themselves.
If one were to keep harvesting the Raw Vita from the same type of beast, after their Mark turned black, changes mentally or physically usually appeared, making the people greedy enough to risk it usually go mad or die from complications.
But there were exceptions even to that fate. Mutations can continue, warping the harvester into monstrous forms. Like the dreaded Moroi, one of the Cursed Beings.
"How can such a sudden change be?" Celine asked, looking at her Marks.
"I'm not sure," Blanc thought, "But as weird as the jump in color is, weirdly, I feel as if it makes sense. Do you not?"
"What do you mean?" Celine frowned, confused by her fiancé's point.
"The rewards I received. The other four kept on adding on top of them little by little, but this one felt like pouring a bucket of water into a glass half full, filling it instantly." Blanc explained, trying to find the right words. "And it also makes me feel, more…"
"Protective?" Celine guessed.
"Somewhat, yes," he nodded.
"I agree, it feels the same. Were these wolves that different?" Celine wondered, looking at their corpses.
"Perhaps? They were the leaders after all," Blanc concluded.
"Fascinating," she thought out loud, before realizing it, "A pity though. That means these two are extra," she said, as she looked at her two remaining wolves that she did not get to finish harvesting.
"Yep, you cannot do it now. All the same after all. We have grown stronger, and that's all that matters." Blanc concluded.
"What? Won't we at least take their furs?" Celine asked, surprised.
"My love, tell me. Do you know how to skin an animal?" Blanc replied with a question of his own.
Celine shook her head, "No, but you do. You managed the lynx, no?"
"True, but we have twenty of them." Blanc began. "Well, excluding the few who make up a wolf only after attaching the pieces, there are still at least fifteen who are whole. Kael and Lune don't know how to do it, and the sun is soon to leave us. It might take me until morning just to cut them all up properly."
"But the furs might be worth it," Kael said, as he and Lune entered Blanc and Celine's conversation.
"And they are good covers," Lune added.
"Only the furs," Blanc nodded. "The meat's tough and hard to cook. We've got enough supplies for now, and there's too much of it. Smoking or drying the meat would make too much smoke. Or worse, attracting predators to us. And we cannot just use the fur directly off the animals as covers, Lune. They need to be cured. Otherwise, they will just rot."
"What do you suggest then?" Celine questioned.
"That we leave the corpses behind, and move as far away towards the mountain. Or, bury them and rest nearby. Beasts will be attracted to the scent of blood. And even as we are now, stronger than before, we cannot just keep on fighting. Especially not in the dark," Blanc explained, showing them the beautiful sky above them, which was visible between some bald branches, revealing a shade of deep blue. The sun would soon set.
"I guess you make a fair point, unfortunately," Celine sighed, having to agree with Blanc's opinion.
"How about this," said Blanc, "If tomorrow we find the cave Father mentioned, and it is close enough, I will return here and get a few pelts. Is this good enough?"
To his questions, all three agreed. And before long, they moved the carcasses into a big pile and were back on the road, walking as far as they could towards the mountain while they still had some light left.
About an hour later, the darkness returned over the Golden Forest and made it difficult for them to advance without doing what they had done the day before. But it was not worth it anymore.
They were exhausted and far away from the Iron Line, so they would surely be safe until the sun rose again unless some other beast decided to pay them a visit.
Luckily, they found a large opening in the trunk of a giant tree, large enough for two sleeping bags to fit comfortably.
"Kael, Lune, as before, you two sleep together, and Celine and I will switch during the night and rest in turns," Blanc instructed, lighting a torch.
"Why can't we also keep watch?" Kael asked, "We are stronger now."
Blanc and Celine both smiled at his offer, but soon declined it.
"Little Kael, while you are stronger now than you were before, it does not make you less of a human. You need rest," Blanc explained.
"But-" Kael wanted to argue. However, Lune stopped him.
"They are right, we need rest. Come," said Lune, offering her hand as she was about to enter the sleeping bag.
With a sigh, Kael accepted the invitation. "Good night."
"Good night, little ones," replied Blanc to the two of them.
"Good night," added Celine, before taking Blanc a bit further away so they could talk in peace, without disturbing them.
"You should rest too, my dear," Blanc said to her.
"I could say the same. You rest first tonight, and I'll wake you when it's your turn to keep watch," Celine countered.
"Fine," muttered Blanc, before asking the obvious, "Then where are you taking me?"
"What do you mean?" Celine frowned, "Did you forget your words?"
"No, but I hoped you did," Blanc replied with a sigh.
There was another anomaly that both felt happening as they harvested the Raw Vita of the leaders. But that neither of them wanted to mention.
A simple thing, really, but one that they never thought mattered.
The two wolves were partners as well. And the Raw Vita they absorbed brought with it a wish. An instinctual desire for the other. One that imprinted itself onto Blanc and Celine.
One that made it hard for Blanc to control.
"Why would I forget?" Celine asked. "I do not want to forget such a thing."
"Me neither, my love. But…" Blanc muttered, losing his thoughts behind the physical stress he was now feeling because of the desire.
"But what?" Celine questioned, before locking lips with him, not allowing him to answer.
Blanc almost lost his reasoning right then and there, but made it just enough to mutter a few more words, "My love, if you are not pregnant yet, I think you will be after tonight if we keep going."
"And what if I want to become a mother?" Celine asked, in between kisses.
Blanc was already beyond the realm of rationale; his mind unsure if he was the one uttering the words that left his lips or the black wolf, "Then I will make you one."
"Good," Celine replied with a wild grin.
By the time they finally stopped, the night was already nearing its end. With both of them agreeing that there was little to no point in trying to sleep for half an hour.
Quietly, they got dressed and returned to where Kael and Lune lay, peacefully asleep. Seeing them safe and undisturbed by their... noises brought the couple a small relief.
A relief that turned Blanc and Celine back to their preparations, quietly getting some food ready for the day ahead, while the Omu Mountain loomed above them like a giant towering over an anthill.