There was nothing there.
Blanc focused on everything around him, all the Marks on his body enhancing all his senses.
The wind moved the large leaves around.
The smell of humidity, decaying flesh, and a sweet smell from weird flowers attached themselves to his nose.
Between the sound of the wind that crawled into his ears, he could hear the sound of monkeys deep in the trees, a bit of distance away.
His eyes did not pick up anything weird either.
No tracks or feathers on the ground, and nothing was watching him through the trees.
But something was there either way.
Something took one of the jaguars' bodies.
Though frustrating, there was nothing he could do.
He would have to come back and remove the pelts as soon as possible. If not, soon enough, they would begin rotting away.
With that in mind, he turned around, left the rainforest, and headed back towards the campsite to prepare breakfast and wake everyone up.
With breakfast eaten, all seemed to be in high spirits, having learned a lot from yesterday.
So, without delaying anything, they left the tents behind and began their hunt.
"Do we use bait or hunt normally?" Celine asked.
"Normally this time," Blanc replied as they walked deeper into the rainforest, "I want to use this as both of us getting stronger, while also looking for ways to pass into the next Garden."
"Hubby, do you plan on walking around the whole Garden?" Miyanna asked, worry painted on her beautiful face.
"Not today, no. We walk straight into the rainforest and see where that leads us," Blanc explained, "The Gardens are gigantic inside, and the ways into the other Gardens are mostly unknown and up to luck. So, we first have to see what our luck depends on."
"While also hunting? Do we have time for all that, brother?" Kael wondered.
"No, but we have to get stronger, and we have to cross the Gardens from the inside. Getting out and walking to the next Path might be more risky, so we have to at least see what we are required to do to cross from here," Blanc explained his reasoning.
"Wonderfully thought, my love," Celine answered.
"I also like the plan," Lune added, running next to Blanc, perhaps feeling left out.
But none disagreed with Blanc's reasoning.
Though Noble Blood Certa was now concerned with the Metamorphs attacking his Domain, for reasons none of them knew nor cared to know, the situation outside could have very well changed while they were inside.
Maybe it all ended, and now a lot of guards were stationed outside the Paths.
Or maybe, the City of Silver, Kanat, was now in the midst of a battle between Blood Certa and the Metamorphs.
There were too many unknowns when it came to leaving the Gardens.
And Blanc preferred to think of only worrying once, when they leave for good, instead of leaving multiple times as they walked between the Gardens.
By noon, they have walked a great distance, while only getting to hunt a Tapir for Miyanna and two Lemurs for the twins. Not a significant harvest, but for the three, a good progress nonetheless.
However, though walking miles, the end of the Rainforest was nowhere near, which meant that they had to rest for a bit before continuing.
"How are you all feeling?" Blanc asked before he gulped some water.
"I'm good," Miyanna nodded as she sat down on the ground, massaging her calves lightly, "I just need to rest my legs a bit."
"Kael, Lune, you?" Blanc then turned to the twins as they set their waterskins back in their bags.
"Good enough," they said in unison.
Blanc stared for a bit at the two.
Yet again, the Marks they received were the same.
Be it the wolves, jaguars, caimans, or lemurs, no Marks on their bodies were different.
They truly were twins, even in the eyes of the Vita.
For neither Blanc nor Celine remembered reading anything about twins having the same Marks, from the same beasts.
But Blanc pushed all those technicalities aside as he turned towards his pregnant wife.
"How are you, my love?" he asked.
"I'm well, nothing out of the ordinary," Celine replied confidently.
It was clear she told the truth when one looked at her. Though sweating from the heat, she looked full of energy, her pregnancy not affecting her at all these last few days, from what Blanc saw, at least.
"And the little one?" Blanc wondered out loud, just to be safe, as he looked at her stomach, "Any nausea, fatigue, or cravings?"
"Nothing that serious yet, I barely feel any sickness, and I sleep enough to not feel any fatigue, as for cravings, all my needs are met, so nothing there," she explained with a grin on her face that only Blanc and Miyanna saw.
Blanc sighed but changed the subject to another matter before their rest came to an end, and got back to walking in the rough terrain of the rainforest.
The next twenty minutes went quickly, with nothing worth mentioning.
They did not talk that much except when needed, allowing Blanc to focus on their surrounding.
And good thing they did, for he noticed something approaching from all around them by swinging from the trees.
Blanc raised his hand in the air, stopping them in their tracks.
Whatever it was, it moved silently; the only sound that gave them away was the quiet creaking made by the branches they swung on.
Monkeys, Blanc concluded after a few moments of listening.
"Prepare the bows," he whispered, "We are surrounded."
"I don't see anything," Celine replied.
"We've entered their territory unknowingly, it seems," Blanc continued, "There are monkeys in the trees, I don't know what kind though."
Without any other questions from the rest, they all began doing what they had to.
Even Lune gave Miyanna her chakram, in case she needed to use it as a throwing weapon.
And Blanc's question as to what type of monkeys had surrounded them was answered quickly.
A hoot came from behind.
Two more from the left.
Ten in front.
The hooting turned louder, and more and more joined in.
There were at least twenty-five surrounding them.
All howling as loudly as they could and throwing nuts towards them.
"Howler Monkeys," Blanc said, "Prepare to shoot them all down."