The sun rose over the rainforest, calling in a new day.
A dangerous day for the five. But one that was required if they ever hoped to get stronger.
Blanc was near the fire, placing yet another wet log over the burning coals.
After last night's activities, his wives soon fell asleep, and he went out to eat what was left of last night's dinner. Also, someone had to keep watch in the rainforest. Many predators lurked in the night, which kept him awake so he could tend to the fire.
He was not tired yet since, with each harvest of Raw Vita he took in, he felt his body gather more and more endurance. To the point that he could comfortably stay awake for two days and two nights.
But he also slept when he had a chance, for it was beneficial for him. He felt his head was clearing up a bit, even after an hour of uninterrupted sleep.
But enough about that. Breakfast was ready, and the rest had to wake up.
He first went inside Kael and Lune's tent to wake them up.
"Hey, wake up, little ones," Blanc whispered softly as he placed a hand on each of them.
"Mmm," Kael muttered, a frown on his face which indicated clearly that he was angry with whoever was disturbing his dream.
"Wake up, you two," Blanc said, this time in his normal voice, as neither of the twins had woken up yet.
With his patience lost, Blanc took the water and started slowly dripping it on his younger siblings' foreheads, something which managed to wake them up wonderfully. However, it also angered the two as they began roaring at him to get out.
Blanc took it as a success and ran out of the tent laughing as he went to wake his wives as well.
"Morning, beautiful wives, time to wake up, breakfast is ready," he said softly as he stood at the corner of the bed.
Luckily, their sleep wasn't as deep, with both slowly opened their eyes at his words.
"Good morning," he said to the two, smiling.
"A good morning indeed," Celine replied in a whisper as she watched him.
"Morning," Miyanna replied as well, yawning as she started stretching her body, still in bed.
"Get yourselves ready and come grab something to eat. We're going hunting soon, and you will need strength," Blanc said as he turned on his heels to leave.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Celine asked.
Blanc realized what he had forgotten and turned back to his wives and kissed both before heading out of the tent.
Only a small 'Good boy' could be heard as he went out, which made him sigh.
There were more important things to get ready now, and it did not take long for the others to join him after using the rainforest as toilets.
Breakfast went by just as fast as it came, with them eating fruits and drinking berry juice. They also had to make a quick maintenance check on all their gear and weapons, just in case there was something they had missed before.
By Vita's grace, there was no such thing to worry about.
Wiping off the blood of their swords was the only maintenance they had to do. An important thing that had to be taken care of, but one that took less than a few minutes to complete.
They also removed the beds and the tents, just in case something came by while they were gone.
However, they placed a great number of logs on and near the fire so that they could dry out by the time they came back.
But now, with everything ready for the day ahead of them, they took off towards the place where Blanc had buried the gorillas.
"My love," said Celine as they walked, "The fauna in a rainforest is quite diverse, with many predators in or near rivers. Will we hunt those, too?"
"I would like to," Blanc nodded, "Caimans, eels, and giant otters, would be great harvests, just to name a few."
"How?" Miyanna wondered.
"Luckily, I buried the gorillas close to the river above, a river which should hold some of the beasts I mentioned," Blanc explained, "We will cut a gorilla up, and go fishing."
"That sounds awful," Kael sighed.
"But not today," Blanc chuckled at the words of his younger brother, "Today we are hunting with bait."
"So, fishing?" Lune muttered.
"On dry land," Blanc nodded, just as his foot pressed deep in a patch of mud on the ground, "As dry as we can get, that is."
None could hold back their laughter at Blanc's words, which made some of their tension ease up.
"Then, by this time next week, we will attempt to cross into the other Gardens," Blanc continued as the laughter died down.
"What Garden should we attempt?" Celine wondered.
"The Moose Path leads to a taiga. The difference in temperatures might be too harsh, but that's where I would like to go next," Blanc replied, "But only if we catch some turtles here."
"How harsh is the difference?" Miyanna asked.
"Harsh," Blanc said the next moment, "The cold in a taiga can easily kill, and the beasts there match the taiga's harshness."
"Why would we want to go there then?" Miyanna replied with another question. Baffled by her husband's words and the casual way with which he spoke.
"Because that harshness will be beneficial for us if we harvest enough," Blanc said as they approached the spot where he buried the gorillas. "All of you will see. Once we leave that Garden, all of you will be glad we went there."
"I agree with Blanc on this," Celine said, "Taiga beasts are one of the most expensive beasts to buy Marks from."
"So we are doing it to save money?" Kael asked.
"Not really," Blanc shook his head, "It will be a valuable experience for all of us."
"If you say so," Kael muttered.
"We are here," Blanc said to the group as they entered the clearing.
The hole in which he buried the gorillas was untouched throughout the night.
Seeing that luck was on their side, Blanc took the shovel and dug up their corpses. The heat and humidity of the rainforest were already causing the gorillas' bodies to rot, which also worked in the group's favor.
After pulling to corpses up, Blanc began cutting them open at their torso with his sword, enhancing the smell of rot and blood in their surroundings.
And even though it was an unpleasant sight and smell, not one argued, not even Kael and Lune. All knew that all this was for them to get stronger.
When Blanc was done, he began explaining his plan to them.
"Stay hidden behind thicker trees, let whatever comes to get as close to the bodies as possible. If there is only one beast, we will subdue it and decide who gets to harvest it. But if more come, kill freely, but safely. Understood?"
To which all nodded without a doubt.
But there was more Blanc wanted to say to them, "We must also remain silent. I have the best hearing out of all of us, so I will use that to keep track of if something is approaching. And if something does, I will click my tongue two times, like this *Tch, Tch*, understood?"
All nodded, but Kael raised his hand in the air, "Will you also do that to let us know when to attack?"
"For that, I will click it three times like this, *Tch, Tch, Tch,*, okay?" Blanc asked.
"Understood," Kael nodded.
"I think that's about it," Blanc concluded. "It might take a while until something comes, but are you all ready?"
"Yes," they all replied in unison.
So, as before, Blanc went and kissed his wives before offering Kael and Lune a peck on their foreheads, "Love you all. And may the Vita be with us."
And with that, they all went to take their hiding place.
An hour passed with the five of them remaining in their hiding spots, moving only to wipe the sweat rolling down their foreheads or to take a sip of water.
The rainforest buzzed around them with life, restless. Yet nothing approached the corpses. Nothing bold enough to try taking something that large.
But patience, as always, rewarded those capable of having it.
Blanc heard it first as quiet taps, always in pairs, cam from three different directions.
A pair from the river. A pair from the direction of their campsite. A pair from their right.
Jaguars, most likely, he concluded.
*Tch. Tch.*
Weapons were drawn instantly, tension rising in the humid air. But something felt wrong.
Jaguars walked in pairs during their mating season. Was it always this late in the Garden?
And why were there six approaching?
Could they actually use this…?
But there was no time to think. The jaguars closed in.
Close enough for Blanc to see them. Close enough for the jaguars to see each other. Close enough for all six to bare their teeth and growl, slowly circling the bodies.
For jaguars, first come meant rightful owner of the kill, one worth defending to the death, whether against the rival cats now arriving from every direction… or the humans hidden in the shadows.
Tap. Tap.
Growl. Roar.
The clearing vibrated with the sound of a standoff on the verge of breaking.
And it didn't take long until it finally broke, shattered by hunger and... by greed.
They lunged at one another, claws swiping, bodies slamming, throats releasing deep, guttural screams.
They fought savagely for the meal before them, never realizing that in this clearing, they were no longer the predators.
They were the prey.
The prey that had taken the bait.