Celine opened her eyes slowly as her mind returned to her, blinking rapidly for a few moments before she noticed Blanc and Miyanna next to her.
"All good?" Blanc asked, watching her sapphire eyes intently.
Celine nodded, a warm smile pointed at the two, "All good."
"Wonderful. Come," Blanc said, offering his hand to help her to her feet.
Which she also accepted gracefully, as she asked, "What now?"
"Well, I think it's enough for today, we should look for a good place nearby," Blanc replied, turning slightly to the side. "Kael, Lune, come, we are done!"
"Okay," yelled the two a bit of distance away as they ran back.
"Good job defending us, little ones. I'm proud of you," Blanc said, patting his younger siblings' heads, "Now go pick what arrows you can find that are not broken and grab them."
"Yes," said the twins in unison as they ran off, happy to be able to help their older brother with something, rather than just tagging along.
After ten minutes, while Kael and Lune were picking whatever they could find, Blanc, Miyanna, and Celine were resting and grabbing something to eat while they talked.
Blanc and Celine could already feel their newly acquired changes from the harvest, but Miyanna was yet to be fully accustomed.
And so, in these ten minutes, all she did was listen to Blanc and Celine tell what they felt they had received, but when Kael and Lune joined them, Blanc asked her, too.
"How does it feel, my love?" Blanc asked, turning towards Miyanna.
"Weird," she replied as she closed and opened her fists, "I can feel strength, but that's about all I can figure out. Besides that, as much as I try, I can't tell if there is anything else. I see the same, I breathe the same, more or less, I feel the same."
"That's to be expected," Blanc replied, "Gorillas are closely related to humans, and most of their senses are almost the same as ours. The differences are in strength, durability, and muscle density. That is where you should look, try to focus on."
"But even then," Celine began, adding, "A difference between no Raw Vita in your body and having one harvested is significant, but not by a lot. And your Mark is still a white one. You will have to keep harvesting as much as your body can, and slowly, you will feel the differences slowly adding up, sister."
"Well said, my love," Blanc nodded to Cleine's words before focusing on Miyanna again, "You have already begun harvesting, now, you will just have to keep on doing it."
"Understood," Miyanna replied shily, seeing how all were focused on her.
"Well then, now that we are rested, too, let's look for a nearby place to set up the tents," Blanc instructed, getting up.
"No need for that, Brother," said Lune, "We found one."
"Did you?" Blanc replied, surprised, "Show us."
And with a nod from Kael and Lune, the twins took the lead, for a short one hundred feet inside the rainforest, before they arrived.
"Here it is!" Lune exclaimed proudly.
"Are you proud yet?" Kael asked.
"Very much so," Blanc said, looking at the clearing. "Did you clean the place up?"
"We did," Lune nodded.
"Impressive," Celine giggled, looking at the place Kael and Lune had prepared.
It was a clearing of about twenty feet between one tree and the next, and despite being inside the rainforest, it was well hidden by the weirdly shaped trunks of some trees.
The ground was flat, and no leaves or plants stood on the ground, as the pile of freshly rooted plants and leaves stood in two piles next to the clear ground.
Though a gesture one would find cute, and even though Blanc was proud, he could not help but worry.
"I am proud," Blanc began, "But next time do not do such a foolish thing again."
"What?" Kael replied, surprised by Blanc's words.
"Do not get me wrong," Blanc said, "But tell me little ones the plants you took out of the ground, tell me their species and if some are poisonous or not."
"I-I," Lune began stuttering.
"Blanc," Kael muttered, "We did our best, and you are still not happy?"
"I am happy you did this for all of us, but what if a plant you picked was poisonous, or behind a leaf on the ground stood hidden a venomous snake? Do you see yourself as immortal, Kael?"
"... No," Kael replied in a whisper.
"Luckily, nothing happened," Blanc kept going, "And I am proud of what you have achieved both during the fight and here while defending us. You both deserve a fitting reward, but keep in mind these words for the future. If you do not know what plant you are looking at, do not touch it, okay?"
Kael could only nod while whispering a small 'I'm sorry,' but Lune got caught in another matter entirely.
"Reward?" she asked.
Blanc chuckled as he crouched down in front of the two, "Indeed so, little ones, do forgive me for my words, a brother must worry sometimes, too."
"I forgive you," said the twins in unison.
"Thank you," Blanc smiled warmly at them, before getting to his feet.
"Wonderfully done," Celine whispered to Blanc's ear, "You already have the makings of a good father."
Celine's words made Blanc blush, but Miyanna found herself in agreement with Celine's words, even though she lacked the courage to speak her mind as clearly as Celine did.
"Y-yes," was the only word she managed to speak, and even that one came out as a stutter.
"Thank you," Blanc smiled, as he took both their hands and kissed them, "Time to grab them a reward and search our surroundings."
"Are you leaving?" Celine asked, surprised.
"I have to see what food I can find, see what other beasts are there around us, and bury the gorillas so that it will not attract predators near us," Blanc explained.
"Near us?" Celine wondered, realizing that there was more to Blanc's words.
Blanc nodded, "Yes, I will look for a place to bury them a bit of distance away, then tomorrow, we will take them out and use the smell of blood to attract predators to hunt and harvest them."
Miyanna's eyes went wide at his plan. "Great idea."
"I agree that it's a fitting plan," Celine nodded, "What should the rest of us do in the meantime?"
"Set the tents, and if the pool is clear of blood, let Kael and Lune take a bath," Blanc said.
"Oh?" Celine's eyes sharpened as if grabbing themselves of Blanc's soul, making him unable to lie, "And what about Miyanna and me taking a bath after?"
"W-well," Blanc stuttered, looking away, unable to hold Celine's gaze, "I thought that it would be fun to bathe together once Kael and Lune go to sleep, and you know…"
Celine bit her lip playfully, "The water might be cold, you know."
"If you don't want to wait, you can go ahead without me," Blanc muttered.
"Aren't you the cutest?" Celine giggled before she turned to Miyanna, "What do you think, sister?"
"He is indeed cute," she nodded confidently.
"I meant about bathing together when he's back," Celine said, specifying what she meant.
"Oh, I-I see…" Miyanna stuttered, realizing what she meant, "I would like to do it together."
"There is your answer, my love," Celine giggled, "Go, do what you have to do, and we will get things ready here for your return."
"Very well," he nodded, before turning around to go tell Lune and Kael, "I will be going then."
"Wait a moment," Celine said, stopping him in his tracks, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Was there something else I forgot to mention?" Blanc wondered as he turned back to face his two wives, when suddenly, with a strength Blanc did not know Celine had, he grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss.
"Oh my," Miyanna muttered, seeing the aggression with which Celine acted.
"That is my answer to your idea," Celine said after removing her lips from his, her sapphire eyes locked onto his grey eyes mere inches away from one another.
"Don't forget me, please," Miyanna said, putting her face closer and closer to theirs.
And in a moment, as if having the same idea in mind, both Blanc and Celine went in to kiss Miyanna, which only resulted in a three-way peck on each other's lips and a headache as their heads collided.
"Fuck," Miyanna muttered, placing her hand on her forehead, "I've seen rocks softer than your skulls."
Even though it hurt, Blanc and Celine could not help but laugh before redoing it correctly this time.
He then turned and went and explained to Kael and Lune what they had to do now, while he was gone, to which they agreed happily, well passed the sadness from earlier.
"Well then," Blanc said to the four while attaching the shovel to his bag, "I will be back shortly."
And with that, he turned on his heels and headed back towards the pool to take care of the gorillas' corpses.