Finally, out of strength, Sarah collapsed onto Mark’s chest, breathing with difficulty.

"Saying that last thing... is cheating," Mark panted heavily.

"Hehe..."

And so both lay in silence for a few moments, the only sound being their heavy breathing filling the room.

Sarah was lying beside Mark, her head resting on his chest and one of her legs intertwined with his.

Her breathing was slow and heavy, and her fox ears were completely relaxed, drooping to the sides in a way Mark hadn’t seen from her until that moment.

She raised her gaze to look at Mark.

"If you could..." Sarah said in a soft, slightly hoarse voice, "I’d like you to stay a few more days with me."

As she said that, she wrapped an arm over Mark’s torso and settled closer against him.

Mark felt Sarah’s weight against his chest and raised a hand to stroke her black hair, running his fingers through the red streaks carefully so as not to touch her ears.

"I don’t dislike the idea, but..." Mark said, looking at the ceiling of the room. "I’m afraid I’ll have to decline, miss."

Sarah lifted her head from Mark’s chest and looked at him with an expression of exaggerated indignation.

"You’re rejecting me?" she said in a dramatic tone. "After everything that just happened you reject me just like that?"

"I have things to do, Sarah."

"What things could possibly be more important than this?" she said, gesturing to herself. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Mark looked at her.

Sarah looked at him.

And then both of them laughed at the same time.

Sarah’s laugh was short and soft, with her ears moving slightly, and Mark’s was more of an exhale through his teeth that blended with hers.

After that the two lay back down and the pleasant silence that had surrounded them until a few minutes ago filled the room again.

Sarah rested her head on Mark’s chest once more and closed her eyes, feeling Mark continue to stroke her hair.

The minutes passed again until Sarah spoke once more.

"That was nice and all," she said, still with her eyes closed, "but it’s time to head back."

"..."

"If we take much longer, Zilu and your..." Sarah paused, looking for the right word. "Companions? or whatever they are, might start suspecting something."

Mark let out a faint laugh under his breath while continuing to stroke her head.

"Don’t worry about that," he said. "But yes... you’re right that it’s time to go back."

He slowly sat up, settling at the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor, and sat looking at the floor for a moment, not thinking about anything in particular, just enjoying the last few seconds of calm before returning to the reality outside.

Then Mark felt two arms wrap around him from behind.

Sarah had pressed herself against his back, her tits against him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"...Are you really not going to stay even a few more days?" she asked quietly, close to his ear. "I assure you that if you do, you won’t regret it."

As she said that, Sarah’s fingers began making small circles on Mark’s bare chest, tracing lazy lines that moved up and down without any particular direction.

And then she gave him a soft, slow, deliberate kiss on his ear.

Mark shuddered slightly at the feel of Sarah’s lips on his skin.

’If I let her keep doing this any longer, she’s going to end up convincing me,’ Mark thought, closing his eyes for a second.

Then he turned his face toward her and saw how she was looking at him from his shoulder with that amber eye just centimeters away.

And quickly Mark leaned toward her and planted a kiss on her lips.

It was a short kiss, barely a few seconds, but enough to make Sarah open her eyes slightly with surprise at feeling it.

She blushed lightly at that kiss, having not expected such a sudden move.

"Stop trying to make me change my mind," Mark said, pulling away from the kiss.

Sarah stayed still for a moment with her lips slightly parted, then let out a huff and turned her face away to one side.

"Had to try," she murmured, releasing the embrace and dropping back onto the bed.

Mark laughed hearing her, then got to his feet and stretched his arms.

Then he bent down to pick up his clothes that were now scattered to one side of the bed and began getting dressed.

He put his clothes on piece by piece while Sarah watched him from the bed with her head propped on one hand and her ears swaying lazily from side to side.

When Mark was nearly done fastening his robe, he glanced curiously toward Sarah, who showed no intention of getting up.

"Aren’t you going to get dressed too?"

"In a little while, you go ahead," she replied, stretching her arms across the bed. "Before going out I have to make a copy of the map."

"A copy?"

"Yeah, the original is the only one I have," Sarah explained, lying on her side facing the wall. "So I’ll make a copy and add some notes that will probably be useful to you, safe places to rest, areas it’s best to avoid, that sort of thing."

"Thank you, Sarah... truly," Mark said, smiling at her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," she said, waving a hand without looking at him. "Now go, I’m sure they’re waiting for you out there."

Mark nodded and headed toward the bedroom door.

"Ah, and Mr. Hero," Sarah said before Mark crossed through the door.

Mark stopped and turned to look at her.

"Take good care of my dear Zilu," she said, glancing at him sideways. "Or the next time we see each other I won’t be so friendly with you."

"Noted," he replied as he stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Mark crossed the main room of the house, then went through the front door and stepped outside.

The village lights greeted him along with the fresh forest air.

The lantern candles were still lit and some of the village’s inhabitants still glanced sideways at him as he passed, though with less intensity than before.

Mark walked down the street in the direction of the stone fountain where he had left the others.

And as he got closer, he could see they were all there, Yuki included.

But to his surprise they weren’t sitting and waiting for him the way he had expected.

They were on the ground.

All of them crouched in a semicircle beside the fountain, while Ely had a stick in her hand and was drawing something in the dirt.

Aria was leaning over the drawing, pointing at something with her finger.

Alice was crouched beside Zilu, looking at what Ely was drawing with an expression that was hard to describe.

Rose was sitting on the edge of the fountain with her legs crossed, watching from above with her amused smile.

And Yuki was standing a few meters away with her arms crossed, not participating but observing.

When Mark reached them he stopped in front of the group.

"What are you all doing?"