The group first followed the deer to a large cabin, built apart from the crowds of towering, bushy trees. Even from outside, they could feel its cozy warmth, irradiating out of the windows.

"This is our bakery," Serena says. "Though, I suppose we also use it as a dining room of sorts. It's also the home of a couple of our villagers, but like I said, they'll be off for some time. If you ever go hungry during your stay, don't hesitate to come in. I'm sure both Misaki and Lulu would be very happy to serve you all some of their delicacies."

"They'll be super happy to do that!" Elena adds excitedly. "To be honest, I've got a bit of a sweet tooth, so, um, I go here a lot. Hope at least one of you can relate, heh."

It's music to Ollie's ears. "Hey Luke," he whispers, "remind me later to, y'know..." Luke easily reads his mind, giving the bobcat an approving thumbs-up.

"Moving on," Serena continues, marching over to the next cabin. It's a deceptively small one, nestled tightly among patches of colorful flowers, with an old stone path marking its entrance. "We happen to be very proud of our work on this one."

"This is our library," the deer boasts. "We finished working on it rather recently, thanks to some late contributions from our friend Soraya. Though it'll probably take some time before our shelves are properly filled up... most of our current lineup consists of old encyclopedias and some awfully vague cookbooks."

Claire can't help but try peeking through the curtained windows, hoping to catch sight of the villagers' book collection. "Serena, is it possible for me to, uh, take a look inside for a moment? I happen to be really, really into books, actually! So, should I ask anyone in particular, or something?"

"No need for that, my dear", Serena answers, with a sly glimmer in her eye. "The cabin is empty, I'm sure none of our friends will mind if we, say, open the door a smidge."

The deer twists the doorknob in front of her as slow as possible. "For the record," the deer says in a low voice, "if you wish to enter the library later, be sure to ask--"

"Me," says the familiar figure standing by the doorway. "Ask me next time, folks."

"Oh! Soraya?!" The deer yelps in surprise, clutching Elena as she catches her breath. "Why are you still here? The rest of the village already headed off..."

The lynx looks slightly tired and mildly irritated. "Well, buddy, SOMEONE has to put all those dusty books on the darn shelves, don'tcha think? ...Really, though, I'd just rather not have Kit doin' that behind my back. I'm the one with two hands and actual muscles, so I figure I might as well put 'em to use. So, I'll be late for the big campfire thingy. Big deal. The fun doesn't start 'til sundown, that's for sure."

Before Claire can say anything, Soraya is already replying. "And, yeah, sorry, Claire. I was on my way out just now. Stop by tomorrow! Permission granted and all that."

The lynx closes the door behind her and walks away nonchalantly, briefly greeting Luke with a smile on her way out.

"Right!" Serena says as she shrugs off the encounter, "so that leaves one last cabin now. You may have seen it already, but it's still worth pointing out."

The group walk towards a large cabin with a shabby, unfinished look, recognizing it as the cabin where Claire slept off her woes. "I know what you're all thinking at the moment," the deer says, "but keep in mind that this is, shall we say, a work in progress. Alex and Nevada have been very patient, and they're welcome in the other cabins, of course, so rest assured this little corner of the world will come together quite nicely in a few weeks."

"Sorry if it looks ugly on the outside," a voice says from behind. The quiet and somewhat husky voice suggests it's Soraya again. "We're still making the inside look decent. Also hey, I'm here 'cause I remembered Nevada asked me to bring her something from here."

The deer responds calmly. "You're a tad too harsh on it, don't you think? I believe the current look from out here is respectable enough. Not only that, but I'm fairly certain you are, by far, the one who has worked on it the most."

"I'm my own toughest critic," Soraya says. "I'm just being brutally honest with myself, really. But it wasn't all me, even, you should've seen when Alex was being all..."

While the lynx and the deer air out their varied opinions on the blossoming cabin, Claire appears to take notice of something odd. Namely, that Umbra isn't around the group right now. She sneaks away from the rest of her friends, turning her eyes and ears to the unexplored woods that surround her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Umbra, standing by an opening behind the homely cabins. The bat's looking away, keeping her eyes firmly locked on something. Claire hurries to her side to see whatever Umbra sees.

"Umbra?" she asks. "What're you doing all the way out here? Serena was just chatting about all the cabins and villagers and..."

Claire's eyes widen.

In front of her lies a massive, sprawling vista of forests, mountains and rivers; while it's very much like what Luke and Ollie saw the other night, this view extends to the very edges of the horizon, aided by the high altitude and clear skies. In fact, both of them could very well make their way down the hill and walk through it all if they wanted. If only for a few fleeting moments, Claire wants to do just that. It could very well happen someday.

"Claire. I know what you're thinking," Umbra says, breaking the silence. "I was thinking it too."

She looks at Claire, who's seemingly at a loss for words. The two are swept in the moment, but it's clear both of them still remember the scare from that same morning. They look into each other's eyes for some time.

Umbra brings Claire closer, huddling her between her arms. "Claire... I was fearing the worst when I saw you fall down. And, if we're being honest, I'm still kinda scared that it might happen again. But right now? Just look at this. Look how far you made it. Our trip's over now, so... let's take a breather, alright, honey?"

The jaguar looks worried, still, but her partner's assurance sure helps. "I will."

The two ruffle each other's hair, hold each other's hands, share some warmth, and share some inspired kisses. However, Claire appears to be too excited to keep it going for too long; she's cracking up a lot. Not that Umbra minds.

"Hey, can y'all get over here?!" A deep voice bellows from the village. It's gotta be Luke's. "We're about to get started!"

With that, the two hurry on over to the village's clearing, where Elena deftly casts a spell that'll keep the fire contained and put it away at dawn. Luke and Ollie look on, their arms wrapped around each other as close as ever. Umbra and Claire cheerfully sit down right next to them, and they welcome them with more petting and hair-rustling than they can handle.

It's a brisk, quiet evening -- aside from the crackling fire, at least -- and the cool, windy days of autumn are well on their way. But the tired travelers, all snuggled together as usual, are just warming up.