1/5 updates incoming. As of today, August 16, 2022, the story is complete. Well, minus the epilogue chapters anyway. Enjoy.

Jenny loved winter back home. Her state got a fair amount of snow and she really liked seeing everything covered in it. It made her feel like she was in a totally new place, a winter wonder land. Rolling her eyes at her own silliness, Jenny got back to crocheting. Since she wouldn't need the mountain of cotton for her period, she worked on making it usable.

After several trials and errors, Jenny finally figured out how to turn her crochet chain. Once she did, she took off with it. She had an incredibly boring amount of free time and she used a lot of it on this new project of hers.

Jenny ambitiously wanted to make clothes first, but that was beyond her skill level. It was better to work on something more basic until she got the hang of it. That's what she ended up doing. She was almost done with an afghan now and might work on socks next. Gloves would be nice too, but Jenny knew she was being awfully optimistic in her newly formed skill.

At least her hooks were easy to make. All she had to do was describe what she wanted to Mestor and he made it almost exactly to her specifications. Simon and Winston were, unfortunately, not great at fine crafts. If her spouses were not helping her make things, they were out hunting or training. Even Mestor had a fire lit under his rear and put in a lot of effort towards growing stronger.

Jenny supported them by keeping the food flowing and fire hot. If they weren't off doing those things, they were pushing her to mate. Well, not really pushing since it didn't take much to convince Jenny. Simon and Mestor, especially, were bad. Winston was the only one she had to approach first. She was able to read Winston better now and could tell he loved the attention as much as the other two, but he wasn't forward about it.

Jenny had worried for the baby, but these mates of hers insisted that mating was good for the child. Harvey had assured her that they weren't exaggerating just to get some action. He effectively killed her best excuse. 'Darn it Harvey,' she thought in mock disappointment.

Some time ago, Jenny heard the call for the fruit wine. There was no reason for her to go. Getting involved with Rosa, Bai, and Bard was not what she was trying for. Drinking the bad wine was a no-go too. Jenny glanced at her storage room. She had her own version of alcohols brewing in there from last season. It was one of the many crafts she had worked on.

Jenny knew of the wine making process that Bai used in the novel, but her parents both liked good wine. As soon as Jenny turned twenty one, they took her to every vineyard in a 70 mile radius, on separate trips of course. Jenny's step-mom didn't like it when her mother and father got together to do things and her dad respected that.

Using the knowledge she gained from those trips, plus what she learned from the novel, Jenny got several experiments underway. They hadn't enough rice for her to make any liquor from that, but she had potatoes. Vodka would work as an antiseptic and she hoped to succeed in making some.

Bai came to visit her sometimes and so did Harvey. Jenny learned that Harvey was the lucky one who got to guard Bai in place of Winston. Feeling both happy for him and bad about the situation, Jenny avoided the subject. Harvey did look very happy after all and she would not be the one to bring him down.

Jenny never turned them away, but she never made an effort to seek them out either. Since Bai was never with Curtis, Jenny wasn't nearly as tense. Even so, Jenny didn't want to hang out with her. Since Bai hid a lot from her spouses, it was hard to have a meaningful conversation with the girl.

They usually spoke about things that would help them. Sometimes Bai would complain, but thankfully, she didn't do that often. Jenny was used to being a catch-all for her friends to throw their emotional baggage at, but she didn't want Bai's. Heck, she wasn't interested in inviting those kind of relationships back into her life period. That's right, she wouldn't do that to herself anymore.

Bai seemed surprised by Jenny's accomplishments and adaption speed in general. Jenny just felt that Bai was slow. Jenny did wonder how long it would've taken her to adjust had she not known anything when arriving here like Bai did. It was only at the level of curiosity though and not deep thought. At the very least, She knew she would have sunk the same amount of effort into building up her den.

"I accepted Parker," Bai said shyly, pulling Jenny from her thoughts.

Jenny had a slight urge to slow clap with a blank expression, but she held back her sarcastic response. "That's good," Jenny forced a small smile on her face as she replied.

Bai sighed in relief. She didn't expect to be criticized, but the near-praise surprised her. A small part of her thought that Jenny might judge her for taking two spouses, but Bai knew that was a foolish thought. Jenny had taken three spouses and would not be in a position to find fault with her. Still, it relieved her knowing that someone from her world would agree with her actions.

Jenny was glad that the other girl never stayed long. She was also a bit envious that Bai's pregnancy was already done with. Eventually, Jenny was going to blow up like a balloon and have difficulties with simple tasks. Even so, Jenny wasn't really upset. Supposedly, having a child changes your whole world and she couldn't wait to meet her daughter.

About two months into the cold season, Jenny's boredom peaked. Playing out in the snow sounded fun, so long as it wasn't raining killer ice, but her spouses wouldn't let her. Jenny could force it, but knew they were acting like that for her health. She let it go and thought of something else.

Thinking about it, Jenny asked Mestor to cut her hair. It had grown annoyingly long and Jenny was done with it. She was literally sitting on it. Mestor was the best choice and Jenny didn't think he could do bad. If he did, she could try any cut it herself... That would probably end up worse.

Mestor was sad to see Jenny's hair shorten, but he was also intent on pleasing her. She had asked him specifically and that was enough to stroke his pride and raise him mood. He cut it mid-shoulder blade and angled it how Jenny had described.

Jenny felt immediate relief having a good amount of weight taken off her head. "Thanks Mestor," she said. Mestor walked around the rest of the day with a pleased and smug expression. Winston and Simon praised her looks making her blush. Would she ever get used to compliments like that?

Jenny spent the rest of the season doing what she could. Unfortunately, Jenny started sleep talking and walking. Whether it was caused by pregnancy or something else, Jenny didn't know. According to her family, she babbled incoherently.

They had caught a few words: their names, mom, dad, novel, among others. Jenny even had a conversation with Sieg who wasn't there. Jenny did miss home and knew that could be an influence. It bugged her that she was upsetting her spouses, but she didn't know what to do about it.

Jenny knew that stress could make people sleepwalk, but she wasn't freaking out or anything. In fact, Jenny was feeling pretty okay. Much better than when she first got here. But she was only sleepwalking now, not before. It must be the baby and her mom hormones messing her up.

Just in case, Jenny decided to off set one of her major worries. She carefully brought up the topic of moving and it was received with confusion. Since she couldn't just come out and say that the city was going to be destroyed, she essentially said that she wanted another home to go to in case the ape king or anyone else tried anything.

Naturally, Winston and Mestor promised (threatened) that they would remove anyone that tried. Simon just nodded his head in agreement. Still, Jenny was restless. She didn't want to put them out, but she couldn't chance their lives when she knew what was going to happen. Her last resort was to tell them about the future. Avoiding that was her plan for now. She didn't want to open that can of worms yet.

Simon was the first to agree, but he tended to agree with anything Jenny said or proposed without thinking about it. Winston was the next to be on board with the plan, seeing the merit in it. Mestor hesitated, not because he disagreed, but because he could tell Jenny was holding something back. He let it go for now, but wouldn't forget it. One day Mestor was sure that Jenny would tell him.

It was decided that they would leave after harvest time. Jenny did worry about the drought, but they had time to prepare. New goal decided, the family worked hard during the rest of the season.

When the temperatures started warming up, Jenny got an unexpected visitor. "Winston!? Are you in there? I know you are. Come out," shouted a stranger. Headache incoming, Jenny pinched the bridge of her nose and stood up. Anybody that called like that would be no friend of theirs.

Sure enough, outside was Rosa sitting atop a tiger. She glanced at Jenny and her eyes lingered for a moment. Jenny lifted her brow in a questioning look. Rosa snorted and rested her gaze on Winston. "Did you actually find a mate Winston? I guess you couldn't do better."

Two sentences. Just two sentences and this women was already in Jenny's black book. "Excuse you?" Considering Jenny's jacked up hormones and her pissed of state, she couldn't help but comment.

"I was going to give you a chance to court me in exchange for an emerald," Rosa said in a high and mighty tone. "But I'm guessing you gave it to that female in exchange for mating. How sad."

Jenny felt a little something snap. She put on her biggest smile and glomped onto Winston's arm. "Too bad for you. You missed out on an amazing male. Good luck getting emeralds now," she said in a friendly voice.

Simon was originally very upset that the other female would insult Jenny, but Jenny's current smile was... creeping him out? It made his skin crawl for some reason. Even if she looked happy, she definitely should not be.

Winston's emotions were in turmoil. He was upset at Rosa for insulting Jenny, delighted by Jenny's words, and also concerned by Jenny's current demeanor.

Mestor watched Jenny and realized that his acting had a long way to go. He never thought to hide venom behind a smile, but Jenny was opening his mind and broadening his horizon.

"What?" Rosa was very angry. From her perspective the uglier female was taunting her. But, she was unable to understand why the female was smiling nicely. It made her more upset.

"Oh and just to clear up your misunderstanding," Jenny emphasized while wearing a benign and gentle smile. "I accepted Winston before the emerald was up for discussion. Who wouldn't want such a powerful and reliable male?" Winston's tail flicked wildly, but Jenny focused on the women in front of her. "I should thank you actually. If you weren't the way you are, I might not have had this opportunity. Thank you Rosa." Jenny poured on the fake, sweet words that could rot out teeth.

Rosa turned an incredible shade of red. The female was thanking her, but it felt like she was being insulted somehow. She didn't get it at all, but it made her see red. "Y-You," she sputtered and seethed. For once in her life, she was truly at a loss for words.

"Yes?" Jenny asked innocently. "Ah, how rude of me. Did you want a drink? I didn't think you'd come far, but it must have been hard on you right?" Rosa appeared to be choking and her males were completely lost. "Simon could you get a cup with fresh water please?" Jenny asked.

"Huh? Yes! Of course," Simon hadn't expected to be addressed, but he ran to complete Jenny's request.

"I don't need it!" Rosa shouted. "We are leaving," Rosa kicked the male below her to get him moving. She was so angry, but also so confused. Instead of getting upset like all the other females, this one reacted the opposite. It made Rosa fume. She wanted to get back at the female for making her so angry, but that encounter left a horrid taste in her mouth. No, she never wanted to see that weird female again!

Not realizing what kind of bullet she just dodged, Jenny let go of Winston. They all went back inside as Simon came out with the cup. Jenny grabbed it and drank it wearing a real smile now. 'That was satisfying,' she thought.

Haters loved to see you get upset and it drove them nuts to see you unaffected by them. At least, that was Jenny's experience. Smiling so nicely and acting stupid we're the final nails in that coffin. That tactic never failed to succeed in her life. Jenny avoided so many headache inducing people that way. The trick was sounding sincere. Jenny couldn't do that exactly, so she had to genuinely believe that she was being completely truthful in her words and actions. If she didn't have stage fright, maybe acting could've been a career for her.

Now if only she could continue to handle Rosa like that, she might be okay. She looked around the room. Winston was trembling with a glow about him and Simon practically had a question mark glued to his forehead. Only Mestor was looking at her with a proud and knowing expression.

Jenny explained herself to them since two of them needed it. Mestor ended up laughing, Winston looked proud, and Simon was still confused. Patting the lost wolf's shoulder, Jenny told him that it was fine if he didn't get it.