4/5 updates for August 16, 2022.

It took about a month for the leopards to get their village back. Jenny only saw Eve once during one of her walks. They had a pleasant chat and Jenny almost convinced herself to move back with Eve. That village survived the devastation that would occur in the city.

There were several issues with that, however. First, it was close to the city. Too close if the ape king became serious about targeting her. Second, it was far from the ocean. Even if Jenny and the rest were fine with living there, they would have to get salt sometime.

Humming aloud, Jenny thought about it some more. It wasn't like she had to move permanently. It could be a temporary home for her. She could move on after the catastrophe. But then, they may have to do double the work for no great gain. While Jenny was thinking about it, Winston gave her a nice surprise.

"Jenny," Winston said gently. "I do not know if it'll be to your liking, but I had a den built in Camel Hump Valley." Jenny jumped up dramatically, or she would've if she still had jumping capabilities.

"Really!? When did you? How?" Jenny was both confused and excited. He just took a huge worry off her shoulders.

"Sometimes when I'd go to hunt, I'd stop by and work on it," said Winston sheepishly. He was glad that she was excited about the surprise. He still had to give the credit where it was due. Winston planned to build a den, but it was Mestor's idea to keep it a secret until it was complete. He wasn't thrilled with the idea, but Mestor convinced him, saying that Jenny would worry about them overworking. "Mestor helped."

Jenny was so relived that she gave them both awkward hugs. It was impossible to bear hug when you stick out so much in the gut. Jenny carried high and small, but the bump made certain actions more difficult. Hugging was one of them. Both males were thrilled too receive the gratitude and happiness from their mate. Winston was glad he took the younger male's suggestion.

Simon wagged his tail and Sieg huffed. They were responsible for guarding Jenny more often while the other two were off completing their project. Feeling much better and still quite excited, Jenny gave both Sieg and Simon a kiss on the cheek for their roles.

Simon bounced around with a huge, goofy grin on his face. Sieg was originally leaning against a cushion, but was now on the floor where he had fallen. Jenny laughed a hearty laugh at their reactions. Simon practically skipped away to do chores. Sieg picked himself up off the floor slowly, trying to pretend like nothing happened.

Jenny did not want to move away from Harvey at first. Partially due to the fact that he was her friend and partly because he was a doctor. It wasn't like he would be too far away to reach when she needed him, but it unsettled her.

Harvey was visiting Jenny more frequently as she neared her due date. It wasn't necessary since she wasn't having any complications, but he could tell his presence soothed her. When the topic of moving came about, Jenny cleared the room and spoke to him directly. "Harvey, there's something you need to know," she started.

Jenny told him what she knew and he refrained from questioning her. The gravity of the situation weighed on him. If what she said was true... Harvey's thoughts spun as he sat dazed. Jenny gave him enough time to absorb what she had said.

Jenny planned to tell her family what she knew once she was safely away from the city. She didn't want them to panic with her. If she was right about timing, they would still have a couple of months before the disaster happened. They had yet to experience drought, but Jenny knew it was coming. She had a well here and managed to convince Bai to dig one for herself.

Getting back on topic of mayhem and doom, Jenny was sure they still had some time. It was May. Next month, the crops should be ready to harvest and she would give birth. By her guess, the city would fall around late July or August. Exact dates and timestamps weren't really specified in the novel, so she had to pull what she could from memory and hazard a best guess. The drought is supposed to hit hard and Bai makes it rain. Jenny wanted to be gone before then.

Harvey eventually grasped what Jenny was telling him. Unfortunately, Jenny had a hard time telling him to watch out for Bai. The best she could do was say, "The ape king may try to blame the disaster on Bai. Be aware just in case."

Harvey nodded solemnly. He didn't know how much faith to put in Jenny's words, but knew that she had no reason to lie to him. He could tell how much she wanted to explain herself since she kept opening and closing her mouth as if she would speak.

"I will go with you," Harvey said. Jenny's shocked expression turned to one of disbelief.

"What about Bai?" Jenny questioned.

"I will come back before the disaster you speak of occurs and help her out of the city," he said resolutely. "Before that, I will help you deliver the female cub."

Both relieved and guilty, Jenny accepted the help, but questioned why Harvey would leave Bai. "I am a doctor and Bai Qingqing has not accepted me as a mate," Harvey's heart stung as he answered. "I will always put her first, but she is not in danger now. I will try to convince her to leave the city, but I don't know if her males will let me close."

Jenny didn't hear anything wrong with his words, but his face gave him away. She felt like they were similar. They both tried to cover their negative emotions up with logic, convincing themselves to think one way while feeling another. Jenny was glad that she didn't have to try as hard lately, but Harvey was different. Feeling for her friend, she had an urge to give him a hug. She offered, but Harvey declined.

Once everything was decided, they slowly moved their goods to the new house. Winston would return frequently to tend to the fields and could still use this house. Jenny helped pack and organize, but left some necessities for Winston behind.

Jenny had to get creative with how she helped. Bending down was impossible. Instead she used her butt and thigh muscles effectively. After all this squatting, her rear was going to be so toned.

Honestly, Jenny looked good for being pregnant. She figured it was due to her being in such good shape before and keeping somewhat mobil after the fact. She might have put on a few extra pounds aside from the baby, but nothing dramatic.

After packing the last few bags that she could, Jenny sat down to rest. She was only somewhat tired, but Simon insisted that she sit down and relax. The men worked and had everything except the last of their daily necessities delivered to the new home.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited. There was nothing wrong with her house and she liked it, but it was too close to the drama for her liking. Jenny also preferred the quieter village compared to the bustling city and was ready for the change.

Jenny sent Harvey to tell Bai of her decision to move, but had no one else she wanted to tell. She wondered when the ape king would realize that she was gone. Bard had left her alone for the most part. Over the course of her pregnancy, he did keep his one-sided promise. Several suitors had approached her at his order. He sent her a variety pack of males. It included two wolves, two eagles, two apes, one tiger, and one leopard. None of them had less than one mark and two of them had three stripes.

The ape king was not messing around. He really sent her some of the best singles. She would watch from a distance to show she was at least paying attention. That, and she wanted to watch how they would react to her family. She usually had Sieg by her side. Some of the idiotic suitors would snarl or give him a disgusted look. Jenny sent those guys on their way quickly. They weren't worth looking at further.

Jenny wondered if the ape king will feel relieved to have her out of his sparse hair. He should, unless he saw her as some big shot schemer. If he did, he'll probably wonder what she's up to. Either way, she was going.

Bai didn't take it well that she was ditching and almost tagged along with her. Jenny couldn't tell her to stay in the city, even though she really, really wanted to. If the city wasn't going to fall, she would've come up with some kind of half-truthful story to feed the girl. Unfortunately, her good conscious couldn't insist on it. Instead, Jenny remained neutral on the topic and did not encourage Bai.

Parker and Harvey took it upon themselves to build a home in the village for Bai. Jenny prayed that it would take a while to finish. It probably would since Bai only had Parker and Curtis as spouses. Though, Jenny learned that Shuu still pursued the girl and Muir stalked her. If they helped, Jenny's peace would be short lived.

They left for their new home early one morning. Much to Jenny's irritation, the ape king came to see her off. "Is there something about the city that displeases you?" He asked her, concern lacing his voice.

"No, not exactly. I just wanted less fuss around me and my cub for now," Jenny tried to sound as reasonable as she could. She made it sound like she was going on a vacation and planning on coming back. At least, the ape king took it that way.

"I understand. The city will welcome you back when you are ready to seek its comfort and protection," he stated.

Jenny wore her friendly smile and bid him goodbye. At this point, she didn't care what he thought. The city would go down and she was not coming back.

Jenny sat on Sieg's gator back. It was the first time she got to touch it, so she took advantage. His scales were rough, bumpy, and cool to the touch. If it wasn't for the fur barrier between him and her, she wouldn't be feeling so comfortable.

Sieg and Simon would take turns carrying her and they were going to take a slow pace. The village was not far away, but it took them the better part of the day to arrive. Eve was there to welcome her and Jenny felt good about that. Maybe she could work on making a friend like she had wanted to.

Most of the village took Sieg's presence poorly. Jenny summoned up her courage and made a public announcement. Once everyone was aware that Sieg was effectively taken, they settled down. She felt extremely proud of herself. Maybe she would conquer her stage fright.

Once they arrived at the new den, Jenny's jaw hit the ground. It was a huge hut, made at the furthest edge of the village. It had three bedrooms and a main living area. All of her items were stored and organized already. The smell of wood filled the air and tickled her nose. 'How in the world did they make this so fast?' Jenny questioned in awe.

Outside, they had a garden already planted, just like her previous one. Half of it was plowed and waiting for seeds that she would plant. Her wannabe scarecrow stood guard as some birds roosted on its shoulders. It looks like she had to fire him, he was doing a crappy job.

Smiling and taking in her new home, Jenny realized the men were all waiting anxiously. "Its amazing!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. It really was. The location was perfect and the house looked solid.

All the men looked prideful and they settled into their new home. Simon rolled all over the floor and Winston rubbed on every wall. Mestor followed suit, but Sieg remained where he was. He looked just as happy as the rest, but Jenny figured it had more to do with her earlier proclamation rather than the new place.

Once she was situated, Harvey gave her a quick check up and left to work on Bai's den. Jenny spoke to her family and they gave Harvey a pass to sleep in their den until he had a place to live. Feeling satisfied with that, Jenny helped cook dinner. She wasn't encouraged to hold a knife or much of anything, so she focused on mixing prepared ingredients, stirring, and tasting.