Feng Yiren clicked his tongue from near the fire. "That lion cheats."

"He does not cheat," Lin Huahua said.

"He kisses your hand every time he is caught."

Lin Huahua blushed in the bath. "That is called apologizing."

"That is called cheating beautifully."

Mu Qingyi gave a soft laugh, and the sound made the cave feel warmer.

By the time Lin Huahua finished washing, her skin was no longer cold, her cheeks had regained color, and her hair had been gently squeezed dry by Hu Baiyu with a soft hide towel. He wrapped her in another warm hide, carried her back to the main room despite her weak protest, and set her down on the softest fur near the fire. Mu Qingyi immediately placed a folded hide beneath her feet so they would not touch the cold stone, while Feng Yiren brought the fish over with an expression that was still annoyed but also far too careful for someone claiming to be angry.

The fish had already been rubbed with spices.

Feng Yiren had done most of it while pretending he was not listening to her in the bath.

He had cut shallow lines into the flesh the way she taught them before, pressed crushed sharp leaves and sweet root into the openings, rubbed the outside with fragrant herb paste, and set it over the heated stone near the fire. The smell slowly filled the cave, smoky and rich, and Lin Huahua’s stomach gave a small sound before she could stop it.

All three males looked at her.

Her face heated instantly. "That was not me."

Feng Yiren glanced at her stomach. "Then should I feed the cave wall?"

Lin Huahua pouted. "Why are you like this?"

"Hungry?"

"No."

Her stomach made another small sound.

Feng Yiren’s red fox ears perked with victory.

Mu Qingyi took the cooked fish off the heated stone before the fox could say anything worse. "Eat first," he said gently. "Argue after."

"That sounds unfair," Feng Yiren said.

Mu Qingyi gave him one mild look. "You can eat too."

"I meant unfair to me."

"Good," Lin Huahua muttered.

Feng Yiren heard her because beastmen hearing was ridiculous, but before he could reply, Mu Qingyi had already sat beside her and started removing bones from the fish. He did it slowly and patiently, checking each piece before placing it on a clean leaf plate. Hu Baiyu sat on her other side, close enough that his thigh almost touched hers, and watched every bite as if the fish might betray her too. Feng Yiren sat across from her, still sulking, though his tail betrayed him by swishing every time she took a bite and looked pleased.

Lin Huahua ate the first piece and blinked.

It was good.

Really good.

The spice had gone deeper this time, the fish was soft and smoky, and the flavor was warm enough to chase the last of the river fear from her mouth.

She looked at Feng Yiren despite herself. "You did well."

Feng Yiren froze for half a breath.

Then he lifted his chin, trying to look proud and unaffected. "Obviously."

Lin Huahua narrowed her eyes. "But you are still annoying."

"And you are still unable to follow simple river rules."

"Are you going to bring that up forever?"

"Yes."

Mu Qingyi placed another piece of deboned fish onto her plate. "Eat."

Lin Huahua obeyed, though she still glared at Feng Yiren over the plate.

Hu Baiyu noticed that her hair was sliding forward while she ate, so he reached out and gently tucked it behind her ear. The touch was soft, but because her ears were still sensitive from the whole frightening day, they twitched against his fingers. Hu Baiyu froze in fascination for one second, then touched the air beside her ear as if asking permission to do it again.

Lin Huahua blushed. "No playing with my ears while I eat."

Hu Baiyu immediately lowered his hand, looking so guilty that she felt bad at once.

"I mean, later," she added quickly. "Maybe later."

Hu Baiyu’s lion ears perked up.

Feng Yiren stared at her. "So he gets later, but I get scolded?"

"You deserve scolding."

"I made the fish."

"You also yelled at me."

"You nearly drowned."

"You are yelling again."

"I am speaking at a normal volume."

"You are a fox. Your normal volume is annoying."

Mu Qingyi quietly passed Lin Huahua water before the argument could rise again, and she accepted it with both hands. She drank, then noticed Feng Yiren still looking at her with that strange mixture of irritation and relief.

That made her soften a little.

Only a little.

She lowered the cup and said, "I really did not mean to scare you."

Feng Yiren’s expression changed.

For a moment, the sharpness faded and something raw came through.

Then he looked away. "Do not do it again."

His voice was lower now.

Lin Huahua’s ears drooped slightly. "I will try."

Feng Yiren turned back so fast his red hair shifted. "What do you mean you will try?"

Lin Huahua immediately lifted her plate in front of her like a shield. "I mean I will not do it again."

"You better."

Mu Qingyi looked at both of them and smiled faintly, because this was how they spoke. Feng Yiren used scolding as care, Lin Huahua used arguing as defense, and somehow they were both slowly learning what the other meant even while pretending not to.

After the food, the cave became calmer. The fire burned lower. The fish bones were gathered and set aside. Mu Qingyi saved a few cleaner pieces for later, Hu Baiyu took the empty water cup and refilled it without needing to be asked, and Feng Yiren leaned back on one arm with his fox tail curled beside him, still watching Lin Huahua as if she might suddenly follow a glowing beetle into the wall.

Lin Huahua rested against the furs with her stomach warm and full, and for a little while she let herself enjoy the feeling of being alive, clean, fed, and surrounded by three males who cared too much in three completely different but equally overwhelming ways.

Then she shifted her feet.