The kitchen smelled like toasted bread, sliced sernuk, and whatever joy was born from preparing food with someone you loved. Lyra stood at the counter, her hair tied back and sleeves rolled, stacking sandwiches into a basket while Hassian hovered nearby, carefully wrapping each one like they were priceless artifacts. Which, given the size of Simon’s appetite, they kind of were.

“Don’t forget Rex won’t touch anything with cucumbers,” Lyra said, handing him a lidded jar of carrot sticks.

“I remember,” Hassian muttered. “He made a speech about it last time.”

“A full eulogy,” Lyra said, smirking. “For a cucumber.”

Tau let out a single soft woof from his spot by the door and seconds later the front gate creaked open.

“They’re here,” Lyra said just as the sound of boots hit the steps. The door burst open in a whirlwind of chatter.

“Ready to bag some puu?” Rex called out, already slinging his bow over one shoulder.

“Do you smell that?” Saraya leaned into the kitchen, sniffing dramatically. “Is that garlic bread?”

Simon clapped his hands. “Sandwiches! I knew I loved you people.”

Lexi beamed. “Something special is happening.”

“Good news, kids,” Hassian said, turning with a calm smile and hands on his hips like an overworked camp counselor. “We are going on a field trip.”

Lyra grinned. “Daddy’s taking us to Mauvais Way and De Mer Dock today. Lot more space. Way more puu.”

The kitchen erupted in cheers. Saraya actually spun in place.

“No way!” Simon said. “That’s amazing—Lexi, didn’t you say you wanted to see the docks?”

“I want to dive off the docks,” she replied, eyes bright. “While holding a downed ogopuu in triumph.”

“You’re not dragging a puu into the water,” Saraya said, but she was already grabbing a sandwich.

As the others bustled around grabbing gear and stuffing food into their bags, Hassian leaned close to Lyra, voice low enough that only she could hear it.
“I’m… kind of getting used to the ‘daddy’ thing,” he murmured. His lips quirked. “Might even like it.”

Lyra blinked, then bit back a grin. “Dangerous words, hunter.”

His eyes lingered on her a second longer than necessary before he turned back to shoo Rex away from stealing extra snacks.
"There's cucumbers in that" he fibbed.

No Puu Left Behind

Mauvais Way was crawling with ogopuu.

Slime shimmered in every puddle, glistened in the reeds, and somehow managed to get inside Simon’s boot before the hunt had even started.

“Bro, I haven’t even moved yet!” he cried, yanking off the boot and dumping it out onto the grass.

Lexi gagged dramatically. “That’s it. Burn the boot. Burn the whole leg.”

They spread out into formation—Lyra, Saraya, Rex, Simon, and Lexi—all armed and more than a little overconfident.

“Okay, puu count is at least a dozen,” Rex called. “One waveback near the water. Couple of emeralds on the left. Blues in the reeds—”

A rockhopper launched before he could finish.

It hit Lexi square in the chest.
“AHH! It’s ON ME!” she shrieked, flailing. “Get it off! GET IT OFF!”

Lyra doubled over laughing as Saraya calmly walked up and swatted the frog off her like it was an annoying dish sponge.

“You okay?” Saraya asked, holding out a hand.

“Emotionally? No. Spiritually? Traumatized.”

“Physically?”

“I might have slime in my bra.”

“Who doesn’t?” Saraya shrugged.

Meanwhile, Simon and Rex were tag-teaming two blues that were trying to scale a mossy rock.

“Left! No—right! No—left again! They’re doing the swirl thing!”

“They’re coordinated!” Simon shouted, unleashing an arrow. “They’ve evolved! They’re learning teamwork!” His arrow thunked into a nearby tree.”Oops”, he turned to see if Hassian saw that and was met by the hunter’s glare.

The ogopuu simply blinked and oozed sideways.

“I swear they’re mocking us,” Lyra muttered, notching another arrow. “I saw one waggle its tongue.”

Then—movement from near a large rock.

A waveback ogopuu, twice the size of the others, glistening like a mucus-coated tank, started making its slow charge toward the water.

“That’s our guy!” Rex pointed.

Arrows flew.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

It should have gone down after the fifth hit. Or the sixth. Or the seventh. But somehow, the puu kept trucking along, dragging its slimy bulk over the grass like a creature possessed.

“It’s juiced!” Lexi yelled. “It’s full-on puu rage mode!”

“Kill it!” Simon screamed. “Before it—”
Splash.
“...gets in the slime pit,” Simon finished, grimacing.

The ogopuu now had a thick coat of extra mucus and a noticeable smug wobble as it lumbered toward the water.

They were down to their last desperate shots.

“Come on—COME ON—” Lyra urged, loosing another arrow.

It hit. But the puu didn’t fall.
It was inches from safety.
Then—fwip.
An arrow sliced through the air.

The waveback gave a single shocked gurgle and crumpled just shy of the water’s edge.
Silence.
Everyone turned.
Hassian stood just behind them, bow still humming from the shot, already lowering it with maddening calm.
He arched a brow. “He was a menace to society.”

Tau let out a satisfied snort.

Simon clutched his chest. “I swear—one of these days, your coolness is going to kill me.”

“Right?!” Lexi wailed. “Can you at least pretend to struggle?! Just once?!”

Rex leaned toward Lyra. “Does he practice that kind of timing, or is it just encoded in his DNA?”

Lyra smirked. “The timing is in his DNA. The coolness he practices in front of the mirror.”

Sandwiches and Secrets

They gathered near the rocks that jutted out just above the waterline, a wide slab of stone worn smooth by centuries of salt and sun. It made the perfect lunch spot. Tau and Kaja immediately flopped into the shade, tongues lolling, while the group sat in a loose circle passing around drinks and unpacking the sandwiches Lyra and Hassian had made that morning.

“Okay, who put berry jam on grilled meat?” Rex asked, holding up his sandwich suspiciously.

“That would be me,” Lyra said proudly.

“You’re a maniac,” he declared, before taking a big bite—and immediately nodding. “A delicious maniac.”

Conversation turned to ogopuu strategy, slime-related trauma, and exaggerated retellings of the day's battles. Lexi had gotten slimed twice and was pretending she could still hear it squelching in her boots. Saraya swore she had invented a new battle cry. Simon made dramatic gestures illustrating the size of the waveback they all had chased. It was chaotic, messy, and exactly the kind of joy the hunt was meant to spark.

After everyone had eaten, Saraya nudged Lyra and tilted her head toward a quieter corner under a tree. Lexi followed instinctively, clutching her water bottle and looking curious.

“Secret girl meeting?” Rex called after them. “Are we allowed to have one of those too?”

“No,” the girls said in perfect unison, already walking away.

From his spot on the sun-warmed rocks, Hassian watched the girls wander off—three silhouettes against the lazy gleam of the bay. He wasn’t listening, not exactly, but he didn’t need to. He saw it happen.

Lexi froze mid-step.
Saraya’s mouth dropped open.

One heartbeat later—
“NO. WAY.”
“I KNEW IT!”
“Do you have a dress?!”
“Can we help plan it?!”

There were squeals.
There was jumping.
At least one of them looked like she was about to launch into orbit.

From a safe distance, Hassian raised his sandwich to his mouth and took a slow, contemplative bite.

Well. I guess she told them.

And yet… he couldn’t stop the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It snuck in like sunshine through a crack in the blinds—uninvited, unrelenting. Because Lyra was glowing. And if that was what marrying her looked like…
Yeah. He’d take it.