At Blanc's words, Celine, Miyanna, Lune, and Kael pulled out their own hooks from the water and drew their weapons.
Lune and Kael pulled out their bows and nocked an arrow on the string, while Celine and Miyanna pulled out their swords.
The fight Blanc was having with the beast underwater was a difficult one.
It had enough strength that it did not allow itself to be pulled to the surface, but was weak enough not to be able to draw Blanc into the water.
It was a fight of endurance between the two, and if it came to endurance, to stamina, that became a fight Blanc knew he would win.
Ten minutes passed, and they were still at it, but the beast was slowly getting exhausted.
"This is no eel… or any fish for that matter," Blanc muttered.
"A caiman then?" Celine asked.
"Mhm," he nodded, taking a step back, pulling the beast closer and closer to the surface, "We need to decide who kills it."
"I can take another," Celine replied.
"So do I," Lune added.
"Kael? Miyanna?" Blanc asked, taking another step back.
With that step, the beast was now below the surface, clearly visible, confirming that Celine was right.
It was a black caiman.
"I-I," Miyanna stuttered, looking at the beast and at Blanc in quick succession, "Don't need it."
"Are you sure? It might be useful to you," Blanc said.
Miyanna nodded, "I can take others."
"Kael, hurry, do you want it or should I kill it?" Blanc asked.
"I, uh, I, I can't kill it alone," Kael attempted to reply, afraid.
Blanc groaned, taking another step back, "I can help you."
"No, uh, the next one, you take this one," Kael gave up, too afraid, despite the thoughts he had earlier.
"...Fine," Blanc muttered as he placed his feet firmly on the ground, as the beast broke up the surface tension, being able to see the back of the caiman.
How should I do this? Blanc wondered to himself.
But as soon as the beast's eyes turned towards him as it slowly pulled at the string deep in its mouth, Blanc knew how to do it.
He quickly changed the position of his hands, placing his left hand as high as he could on the rod while placing his right hand as low as possible.
"Lune, Kael," he began, "Put an arrow on its back. That won't kill it."
And the twins did as they were told, or at least attempted to.
Lune managed to place an arrow on the lower back of the caiman, near its tail.
However, Kael's arrow flew straight into the river.
But that was enough for Blanc.
With a heavy groan, he placed all his weight into his legs and pulled as hard as he could.
The strength with which he suddenly tugged at the rod threw the caiman out of the water, straight into the air, ten feet above them.
As he saw the caiman above him, he let go of the rod, falling on the rocks, and pulled his sword.
All took a few steps back as Blanc positioned himself a foot away from where he thought the caiman would fall.
All he had to do was place the sword, pointing straight to the sky, and let the falling caiman do the rest.
And the caiman did not disappoint, as it fell headfirst into Blanc's blade.
The blade passed straight through its brain and out through its hard skin.
The caiman was dead before its tail hit the ground.
Though all were shocked, they did not wait too long before they sheathed their weapons and grabbed the rods instead.
"Will you be harvesting it now, my love?" Celine asked.
"Mhm, that's what I plan on doing," Blanc nodded, "Feel free to keep on fishing, I should be done here in a minute."
"Do your thing," she added before sending the hook back into the water.
"I-it was amazing, hu-hubby," Miyanna stuttered.
"Thank you, my love," Blanc smiled at her, but did not linger on the gratitude or that smile for too long before he went to his knees.
Both the gratitude and the smile were honest. No matter how frustrated he was over what happened, and no matter how sad the mistakes his wives made him feel, he still loved them and spoke honestly.
His anger will pass. His frustration will pass, too.
But his love will remain.
However, before he placed his hand atop the caiman's chest, he looked at his younger brother, who was still looking at him.
"Kael," Blanc said, "This was an opportunity. An opportunity for you to defeat your newfound fear and get stronger at the same time. Don't throw the next one away, understood?"
"Yes, Brother," Kael nodded, eyes now on the ground.
"Since you all wanted to keep going, we won't leave this place until all of you have harvested at least once," He said out loud.
But he did not wait for a reply or an argument against his words.
He placed his hand on the caiman's chest, and his mind fell below the surface of the world.
By the end of the day, all five of them had a large patch of light gray on the skin on their upper backs.
It looked like the large scales that stood on the ten dead caiman on the ground next to them.
The Mark of the Caiman.
This new Mark did not offer strength, but in exchange, it offered them resilience and high durability.
They all felt their skin somewhat becoming thicker and stronger.
But that was not all that it offered them.
It offered them the bloodshed they needed to get past what happened this morning against the Jaguars.
It made Kael calmer with each of his two kills.
He was still shaken by what happened, but at least these two kills ensured that the jaguars would not leave a scar on his brain.
Miyanna was, by the end of the day, already talking casually with Celine about random things and giggling.
She was still stuttering here and there when Blanc talked to her, but she had at least forgiven herself for her mistake.
Celine was back to her casual, flirty self with Blanc and Miyanna, though Blanc rarely replied to her subtle advances, even if he noticed them.
As for Lune, by the end, she was jumping around, moving her body after a day of mostly sitting, rejuvenating her muscles while also being glad that the air around everyone had changed back to what she considered normal.
And Blanc… well, he still was the same.
He was glad that at least all were happier now.
That Kael got past the worst of his fear, that Lune was full of joy and energy, and that Celine and Miyanna proved that one mistake did not make them less, but a better person, actually.
The speed of their adaptability and the change they showed during their fights was frightening to witness.
The monologue in his head returned a few times during the day, and he found himself arguing against his own brain many times.
One side saw the change in his wives, saw the regret for the mistake they made, and how that incident pushed them forward both as warriors and as humans.
He was proud of them and was ready to forgive them, now that the frustration in his soul subsided to some extent.
But the other side of him was still angry.
He argued that being too forgiving would only make the forgiven more complacent and more overconfident in what they have to do, which may lead to new mistakes.
But he was not a general of an army.
He was a brother. A brother who managed to save his little brother.
And he was a husband. A husband who had seen his wives make a mistake and do better because of it.
A husband who had witnessed the deep love his wives carried for him and how he rediscovered just as much he carried for them, too.
A husband who had watched his wives regret their mistake, and, in their own way, find how to find forgiveness in their own souls.
Isn't that exactly the essence of humanity?
Isn't that exactly what makes one human?
How could he, a human who had failed, a human who will keep on failing, judge, and not forgive what had already passed?
Isn't it good enough that nothing happened?
…
It is.
He will have to forgive and ask for forgiveness.
But not now. Now it's time they went back to their campsite.
Perhaps, after dinner, when they are alone.
In a place where he could apologize properly.
"I think it's enough for today," Blanc said out loud, "We grab the jaguars for their pelts and a caiman to eat back with us."
"What about the rest, my love?" asked Celine.
"We return it to the same nature that provided us with them," he replied, grabbing a caiman by its tail and throwing it inside the river.
And so did the others, before they returned to their previous campsite.