After Blanc's mind returned from the harvest, his Jaguar Marks turned a light gray.
And with all the rest done with their own harvest by the time he came back to it, he knew that trying to hunt anything else now would be foolish.
Celine and Miyanna were lost in their own thoughts, and for good reason, since Kael had almost died because of them.
Kael was still half in shock, unable to talk properly.
And Lune, too, was not in her right state of mind.
Blanc knew that hunting now would only lead to more and more mistakes.
Mistakes he wasn't sure they could afford.
However, the rest of the group did not agree with Blanc's thoughts.
"My love, I know we made a mistake, but our time is limited here. If we stop after doing only this much, your hopes of getting stronger can be thrown out the window," Celine explained.
"Brother… I'm fine," Kael added, not believing his own words.
"Listen to him," said Blanc, "He's shaking while telling me he is fine. I know what I said, and I know what it means, but he won't be able to fight in his mental state."
"I should say the same, then," Celine replied calmly, "Your frustration over what happened is making you make a rash decision."
"Let's keep going, Brother," Lune said, "I will calm Kael down."
"I'm sorry," said Miyanna, "All this happened because of me."
Blanc turned towards her, looking her up and down, "This was a mistake, yes. But one none could have foreseen."
"I know," she nodded, "But I think Celine is right, better to hunt and get stronger. It will only make us get past this mistake that much faster."
"Amazingly said, sister," Celine nodded, "When a warrior becomes afraid of the battlefield and what he has seen in one, the best thing that he can do is fight some more. You know this. You know that waiting it off will only make it that much harder for Kael to get past."
"What will you have me do then, my dear wives? Hm? Send him straight into the jaws of death right after he saw right inside them?" Blanc sighed.
"That is exactly what we have to do," Celine nodded.
Blanc exhaled sharply but did not say anything further.
Even though he did not want to admit it, their idea was better than his.
Kael's state of mind would improve if they kept on hunting and getting used to the constant danger. When the Moroi grabbed him at the cave, he was lucky that he passed out, but now, he saw right inside the mouth of a jaguar that planned to end his life.
As for his two wonderful wives, nothing would make everyone get over their mistake easier than proving themselves over and over that they cannot repeat past mistakes.
And Lune's mood would surely improve once she sees the rest getting better and better.
Who was he to deny them all of that?
He was a husband and a brother.
But was that enough? Was that enough that, even in front of reason, he would be able to deny them this chance out of concern for their safety?
It was frustrating beyond belief, but he knew the answer.
"We will not be hunting for the rest of the day," Blanc said to the rest.
That clearly made all of them voice their opinions loudly.
"My love, why would you-" Celine began to speak, but Blanc raised his hand, which made her fall silent.
"Hunting won't do, but fishing, however, that might work. Who knows how long we will have to wait now until something else comes here again," Blanc added, making direct eye contact with his wives and siblings, "Is that satisfying enough for you all?"
And satisfying it was, as a sharp nod from all followed his question.
"Good," he nodded, "We bury the gorillas, then take the jaguars with us to the river."
"Are you planning on using them as bait?" Celine asked.
"But of course," Blanc replied, "While we can't eat their meat, there are beasts in the river that would kill for it. And I plan on taking their pelts for ourselves. They might come in handy on the Moose Path."
While they buried the gorillas, they kept on talking about who and how they would be fishing, and with the gorillas buried for good, and the plan more or less done, they each took their own jaguars towards the river.
Towards the river that flowed straight into the waterfall, as well as the river that Blanc saw the turtle in.
As they arrived, he told them about where he had seen that baby turtle, its direction, and Blanc's worries about the river.
"Look there," he pointed towards their waterfall, "How can a river this wide turn into that small a waterfall?"
"What do you think, my love?" Celine asked.
"That inside the river, there might be underground caves or some sort of tunnel that pulls most of the water elsewhere," Blanc explained.
"Do you want to check it out?" Miyanna wondered, her face still showing guilt, but at least she was calmer now.
"That would be a death sentence," he said, "The currents would drag most of us down and keep us there, drowning."
"Never mind," Miyanna muttered.
"How are we finding the turtles then?" Lune asked.
"I am not sure, yet, Little Flower, but one thing is certain. Is that, there are some turtles here, and that is reason enough to look for them," Blanc said as he placed the jaguars he carried down.
"How are we sharing the turtles if we find them?" Kael asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"Depends on how many there are, but if there are fewer than we are, we will see then, Little Kael, why?" Blanc asked.
"C-can I get one? Please, I do not want to die," Kael muttered, his eyes watered by tears.
Even though nobody heard, a small cracking sound could be heard as Kael spoke.
It was Blanc's heart at his younger brother's question.
"Yes, you deserve it," Blanc whispered, offering Kael a warm smile.
"Thank you, Brother," Kael replied.
Blanc attempted with all his might to hold back his tears, and the best idea that came to mind was changing the subject.
"Enough about that," he said to the four, "Let's start fishing beasts."