August 8, 2022.

After a week of non-stop rain, the sun finally showed itself. Jenny and most of the other city residents went out to enjoy it. Jenny met with Bai and they chatted politely. Jenny's escort today was Mestor, whereas Bai's was both Curtis and Parker.

Jenny noted the same dynamic she knew from her reading experience. Curtis was still a bully and Parker was a pushy male who tried his luck often. Keeping her observations to herself, Jenny insisted that she had stuff to do. She wasn't lying, but she was using the excuse to her full advantage.

Jenny wasn't going to comment about the girl's living situation, but that didn't mean she would stick around to watch it unfold in front of her. No, if Jenny was going to do anything, she would flip the plot on it's head. Or, she would avoid it altogether.

Jenny got Winston and that was already plenty. Her confidence had grown remarkably since she had first come here. It felt like she could accomplish a lot on her own, even if she wasn't technically alone. Her life was still a far cry from what she was used to be, but she was adapting. Jenny would have to make time to recall any little bits of helpful info from books, blogs, her friend's ramblings, and even the few youtube videos she watched. Any little thing could make her day to day living more convenient.

While thinking about things she could try with the little knowledge she had, Jenny went to the cotton field to harvest any last blooms. Both her and Mestor gathered goods and hit the river. Today, they saw no sign of Sieg. Jenny was both glad and a little disappointed. Glad because she didn't want the fuss or chaos that would unwittingly follow the gator. Disappointed because she was starting to find the guy oddly entertaining.

Shaking her head, Jenny went back to accomplishing what she could. Once finished, the two returned with arms and bags full of goods. While they were out, Winston had assembled the coop and Simon went to find short birds to fill it with.

Winston left to hunt while the two of them started cleaning the cotton and organizing the rest of the things they collected. Some time later, Simon came back with three short birds. Jenny was ready to cheer. She loved eggs and now they could have some. "Thanks Simon," Jenny thanked him with unconcealed joy. She really was thrilled. Later, she would make sure to thank Winston for putting the coop together.

Simon felt pride well up inside him and returned Jenny's smile. He was always disappointed in himself for his lack of strength, but he was able to contribute to his family without it. That did make him feel a somewhat better. Even so, he would go train today and see if he could find more birds after. Jenny told him the coop could hold fifteen birds and he wanted to fill it up.

Jenny spent the rest of the day outside. She intended to enjoy the sunlight as much as she could. The garden looked great. Jenny weeded when she needed a break from the other crafts. Once her chores were settled, she exercised, bathed, and got started on dinner.

Jenny and her family had a pleasant evening. Simon started sleep talking from his position on the floor. Jenny chuckled and got a fur to put under his head. 'This guy can really sleep anywhere. The stone floor can't be comfortable,' Jenny thought.

The rest of them eventually settled down for bed. Jenny snuggled up against fluffy fox fur and purposely didn't look at Winston. It was the first time he was sleeping next to her in human form. Jenny tried to quiet her heart, but failed. After much struggle, she fell into fitful sleep.

The rain started up once again. Jenny made the most of the days by going over any helpful ideas she could recall as well as creating things as usual. By the time the rains quit, Jenny would probably have a full set of bamboo furniture, minus a bed.

The short birds were easy keepers once their feathers were cut. They ate anything, just like the novel said. Sieg visited a few times with a dinner request. Jenny tried to have food ready, but Sieg had no concept of schedules. Sometimes he'd come around breakfast, sometimes dinner. When he showed up in the middle of the night once, Jenny put her foot down.

"Dinner. Come in the evening for dinner," Jenny massaged her temples. Nothing like an unexpected visitor at midnight to aggravate everyone in the house.

Like a good gator, Sieg listened to her. "Okay," he agreed. He didn't care when he ate as long he got to eat Jenny's food.

About two weeks into the heavier rains, Simon succeeded in getting his first stripe. Jenny tried to make it into a celebration to congratulate him. Jenny knew he had been feeling down about being weak. Jenny could never pacify him either. Then again, it wasn't really heartening to know that someone weaker than you is telling you that it's fine to be weak. Well, maybe that was just Jenny's perspective.

"Congratulations!" Jenny said and clapped. Apparently, this concept defied beast logic, so Jenny had to explain. "This is how my kind express congratulations."

Jenny gave the excited Simon a once over. He didn't have any wounds, but it looked like he put on some muscle. It wasn't a crazy amount, but Jenny noticed. Jenny did think the novel mentioned something about Parker growing when he got another stripe. 'Hmm, it's could've been a translation error, but maybe it was literal,' Jenny wondered.

Her thoughts were brought back to Simon who was staring at her with unadulterated happiness. It hit Jenny right in the heartstrings. Simon was practically shining and he turned his beams towards her.

That night was hard. Harder than anything else Jenny had ever gone through. Well, maybe she was exaggerating. She found herself in forced cuddles all night long. It didn't help that Jenny could feel Simon's breath on her neck or his firm arms hugging her into his equally firm chest. Yeah, Jenny didn't think she would last very long.

Jenny woke up the next day feeling like crap. She didn't sleep much at all and it pissed her off. She could be a morning person or a night person depending on her schedule, but Jenny could never handle having her precious sleep stolen from her.

Jenny slowly accomplished her morning routine with dead eyes. Since Simon leveled up, he got to guard Jenny for the first time in a while. He was thrilled and Jenny was... She was going back to bed and could have really cared less right now.

Jenny briefly wondered why Winston ever left her side with Sieg hanging around. Although they were better about it in her family, feral prejudice was still a thing. Deciding not to think about it for now, Jenny passed out.

After a few hours of great rest, Jenny opened her eyes to see Simon smiling softly down at her. When she caught him looking, he flushed red and turned away. Jenny sat up and looked at a blushing Simon. Feeling a swirl of emotions, Jenny wasn't sure what to do. 'Pounce him,' said one inner Jenny. 'Run away and find some chores to do,' said another wimpier Jenny.

Jenny would never be direct... But that was before. Back when she had no confidence or expectations. Simon liked her and she knew it. There was no fear of rejection or worries about feelings not being returned. She could question his feelings, if she let herself. Insisting to herself that it was this desperate world's fault that he liked her or that he would've fallen for almost any decent women from earth. Maybe a part of her felt that way, but it wouldn't change anything to dwell on that. She didn't want to dwell on it either.

For the fist time, she felt like she wanted to reach out and touch him. It gave her the butterflies and made her nervous. Jenny bit her lip hard. Why was she hesitating? It wasn't like they had to sleep together right away and even if it led to that, that was fine wasn't it?

Simon sensed the shift of mood and looked at Jenny. He wasn't usually the best at reading her, but he felt that the way she was looking at him was a little different than usual. It made his heart race.

Jenny squashed all negative emotions that tried to bubble up inside her and reached outwards towards Simon. She felt kind of stupid doing that, but she wanted him to decide. When he did, Jenny let herself go with the flow. She didn't have experience, though neither did Simon. At least he was able to take the lead after some prodding from herself.

It was still early that afternoon when Jenny had woke up from her nap, but time passed quickly. An embrace led to a kiss and a kiss led to a more passionate response. Jenny did not hear when the others returned and did not worry about it until after the fact.

Simon only stopped when her stomach made obnoxiously loud sounds. "You need to eat," said a sunny Simon. He got Jenny some water to clean with and she took it. Once Simon left to help with food, Jenny felt a strong wave of embarrassment hit her.

She had actually done it... Jenny buried her head under the furs and held back some unholy screeches. No, she needed to act more collected than this. She had to bathe and go eat. She also had to feel guilty about forgetting the rest of her family for that short while. Yeah, she had things to do.

Wiping down quickly, Jenny couldn't help but replay what happened in her head. It wasn't as amazing as she thought it could be, but it wasn't bad. It hurt at first, but she got over it. Feeling the flush cooking her face, Jenny dressed quickly and straightened up the displaced bed of furs. She wondered which ones were dirty and needed washed, but couldn't tell.

Her mind went back and forth until finally, Jenny decided to focus on the tattoo. She hadn't really looked for it, but now she was going to. Her arms and legs were clear so she peeked down her shirt. She saw nothing immediately and her chest was blank. Hopefully, Simon wouldn't be upset by that.

A flash of dark caught Jenny's eye and she lifted her shirt up. She found a tattoo of a black wolf right above her left hip. Jenny eyed it and felt it. It was smooth, of course, and looked professionally done.

Jenny put her shirt back down and dragged her somewhat sore body to the door. She had to figure out how to walk out of this room and face the rest of her family. When she finally did muster up the resolve to go out, she found that she was the only one stressing about this. At least, as far as she could tell.

As the days passed, Jenny noticed a difference in both Mestor and Simon. The former started initiating more contact. Sometimes it was something as simple and quick as a brush of hands. Other times, it was more obvious. Simon wasn't the only one who started to cuddle in his sleep. Though Mestor was careful about not smothering her unlike a certain wolf.

Simon on the other hand, was less needy. He appeared to be happier and more comfortable than before. Jenny didn't know if the change was due to his stripe or their mating. Perhaps it was both.

Winston changed too, though it was slight. He was becoming more expressive towards Jenny and the rest. Whatever walls he had put up between himself and others, they were now coming down. Jenny did her best to help him relax. She tried to show him that he was a part of the family too. Jenny chatted with him whatever chances she got. It somehow increased her confidence knowing that he had a hard time talking. As twisted as that may have been, Jenny used it to motivate herself to action.

Almost everyday, Sieg would show up for dinner. He was somewhat inconsistent with time, but it wasn't like he had a watch or clock. Several incidences occurred and Sieg got into multiple fights. He won of course, but thankfully managed to not kill anybody. The ape king even paid her a visit with the wolf king in tow to speak about Sieg.

"Female. My name is Bard, the ape king. About the feral that approaches you, are you mated or considering mating him?" Bard questioned.

Jenny felt her forehead twitch. She got it, but it still bugged her that this culture only thought males could have a spousal relationship with females. Honestly, she had no freaking clue about Sieg. She was winging the situation with him, but was not planning to take any more males yet. She told the ape king her intentions to the best of her ability.

Bard was more amiable than she expected. From her understanding of his character, Jenny did know he took his job seriously. He just let his mate's desire for an emerald fuel his ambitions. His mate gave him a time limit and threatened to leave him for the ocean if he didn't bring her a green crystal. The again, Jenny knew that he was scheming before then. What was his purpose? Just power? The novel didn't go into his reasoning, at least not where she read up to.

Sill... just because Jenny understood his desperation, didn't mean she thought it justified his actions. Since she knew what drove him to do what he did, Jenny planned to use that knowledge to stay out of his black book. As for the rest of his ambition, she could only guess. Since Winston was on her side, maybe he wouldn't target her. That or he would because Sieg was hanging around her too. She didn't have enough information yet and decided to play it safe. She would not do anything stupid that could jeopardize her family.

Jenny treated the king politely. He did try to pry into her, but she talked her way around any uncomfortable topics. Of course, Sieg decided to show up for dinner. Jenny sighed and wondered if the ape king timed it this way on purpose. Winston had chased off several wolves that were likely spying on them. It wouldn't be weird if Bard knew that Sieg showed up around the evening time.

To avoid conflict, Jenny passed bowls of food around. She had ready and waiting for Sieg and her family beforehand. It was her attempt to diffuse the potential of conflict before it occurred. Since Bard and the wolf king had mates, she didn't have to worry about them thinking of courting. After she used her speaking skills well, she managed to convince the males to accept the food.

They both praised her dish while Sieg requested another bowl. She felt funny about leaving them on the front porch in the rain. The two new guests did have hand-crafted umbrellas, but they were getting a little wet anyway. The water pretty much slid off Sieg, so Jenny didn't worry about him.

Once all was said and done, the ape king looked at Sieg one last time before leaving. He started coughing and Jenny stared a hole into Bard's back. Did he test Sieg as he did Curtis?

Jenny went back inside and they finished dinner. They discussed the ape king's visit and intentions, after they had filled their bellies with food. There was no evidence of foul play yet, but Winston said he did not trust him. Jenny agreed, but wasn't willing to antagonize Bard. Should she avoid him or try to use him?

Jenny had thought about what course of action to take and decided to leave after the harvest season regardless. There was no guarantee that the timeline wouldn't be disrupted thanks to her interference, but the city should still fall no matter what she does or doesn't do. As soon as she collected her seeds, she would leave. The question was, how could she warn others of the impending disaster? Jenny would never delude herself into playing hero, but that didn't mean it sat well with her to turn a blind eye to the problem.

If she could come up with a plan to help out she would. If Jenny was unable to come up with something smart, then she could still try something less intelligent. She didn't want guilt eating her up later. Since that was a worry for another time, Jenny went back to the immediate situation. Could she join hands with the ape king knowing that he targeted Winston? Would she be able to act and fool Bard into thinking they were allies? She would think about it some more before deciding.

According to the men and what she knew of the book, the rainy season would last a total of three months and was the rough equivalent of autumn. It wasn't like it would rain everyday, but it would be very wet most of it. She wouldn't be able to go outside much unless she wanted to get drenched.

That meant she would have to do most things in the house. So that is exactly what she did. They didn't come to an immediate conclusion about the ape king, but Jenny decided to remain on good terms with him for as long as possible. If things went well, she could pry deeper into his intentions and maybe influence him. She was thinking highly of herself, but shrugged it off with a sardonic chuckle.

If she failed, that was fine too. If fact, failure would give Jenny a perfect excuse to wash her hands of the matter. Jenny was getting quite a bit of entertainment imagining herself changing important things, but she didn't care at a deep level. The moment it became an actual threat to her or her family, she was out.

Jenny turned her efforts back to exercising more. There was still plenty she could do in her home. The side bedroom was acting as storage, but still had enough room for her to use it as a work out space. She would craft when she wasn't building her stamina, but felt bitter knowing that she may not be able to take that much to her next den.

Jenny hummed to herself while thinking, 'Was there a reason to wait that long? Could they build a den elsewhere first and load it up with her things ahead of time?' It might be possible, though that would mean sending someone out for a long time to take care of it.

Jenny ran ideas around in her head. Regardless of what she decided to do in the future, she still had to work on improving 'now.' That's exactly what Jenny did.

Her efforts were rewarded. After a month into the rainstorm season, Jenny was finally okay with the state of her den and muscles. Of course, the house still lacked a bathroom, but plumbing and piping wasn't something Jenny could really tackle. Winston promised to make a bed once the weather dried up thanks to another careless comment she made. Other than that, she had bamboo mats for every need and some small chairs and stools. They even had a proper dining room table made of a stone slab. She was in better physical shape than before and it was nice.

"Jenny, would you like to try this?" Mestor questioned as he held up some citrus fruit pieces. Drawn from her thoughts, Jenny humored him.

"Yeah." Jenny held out her hand, but Mestor ignored it and placed the fruit piece against her lips.

Jenny refrained from rolling her eyes. Mestor had been slowly pushing these little things until Jenny started to get used to it. Well, somewhat used to it. Anytime his fingers would linger on her lips, Jenny felt her heart skip a beat. It bugged her knowing that he was doing that on purpose, but she couldn't tell him 'no.' Then again, she didn't really want to.

Jenny glanced at Simon who was looking at her and Mestor seriously. She felt a twinge of guilt, but knew better now. Simon didn't care if Mestor got her attention, so long as he got some too.

Jenny thought she had gotten used to the the whole polygamy thing, but sometimes she still felt like she was doing something wrong. Of course, she suppressed that notion when it came up. This wasn't her world and she got that, but it felt like she had to hardwire her brain and make it feel differently too.