The Villainess Will Live a Good Life

58. The Worst Has Passed

So... I foresee this chapter needing more editing, but I got thoroughly distracted today. I'll have to have a look at it another time to clean it up better.  I hope you enjoy, nonetheless.   --May 8, 2023

Elizabeth rested a lot and did not leave her den much. The males that tagged along with her were all interested in pursuing her excluding the brown wolf. Nana had won the latter's heart when she sold him those herbs months back.

Nana wasn't positive if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Liam had been a potential thought on her radar. He was the one main lead she actually thought about stealing a long time ago since he was a kind soul.

But things were different than when the idea of a stealing a main lead first occurred to her. She was still learning how to balance her affections and spilt her time among seven mates. She had a well-established family and couldn't start considering him now. Not until she found and struck a balance in her recently expanded family.

If there was one good thing to note, it was that Liam was a sweet and friendly, albeit, naive male. Unless he had a personality change, Nana was pretty sure he could fit in their family easily. But now wasn't the time and she conveyed that to Liam without letting Karan send him off.

Thankfully, Liam was a reasonable male. He promised to not trouble her, but swore he wouldn't go anywhere far. He looked sad, but then again, he must've lost his mother by now. He was holding up better than Nana expected, but he was probably burying his feelings.

With Elizabeth home safe, the gang eventually got back together. Kibwe and Aspen were overjoyed to have Elizabeth back. Their mood was contagious. Nana got just as excited and so did Amil who was by her side. Mundo sat down next to her and stared at them all curiously.

Nana noticed he was using two legs again and felt it must be Karan's preference to always be partially shifted. It was probably warmer for Mundo to not touch the ground with his whole tail.

Nana eyed the furs wrapped around him and smiled. She was glad he liked the clothes she made him. She even sewed several small scorch kon into them to help with warmth. He'd have to be careful not to burn himself or the clothes though.

Since everyone was in a great mood, they talked about improvements. Their discussion remained high energy and it attracted others.

Jura and Matis joined them and Nana discreetly sniffed. It wasn't on purpose. Really. It was like saying don't look at the red fire truck passing by. Everyone will look. Her nose told her exactly what she expected. She'd have to congratulate her friend later.

Aside from them, Kabuki hung out close by like a nonchalant stalker. The old male Chrono, forcefully joined them without an invite. When Amil tried to warn him off, Chrono went off on him. Verbally. Old males are scary in their own way.

The discussion picked back up again and ended with Nana and Elizabeth drawing on some wood pieces. The pictures helped old Chrono get their ideas better. The males started dispersing after that. They were eager to get started on some of the things they discussed. Old Chrono was skeptical, but motivated. The rest were impassioned and optimistic. Nana was eager too since she didn't want any credit stolen... Nah, that didn't matter too much to her right now. She was just going to let herself be optimistic with no strings attached.

When it was just her family and Elizabeth's family left, Nana asked about the jaguar.

"Matis and I haven't... not yet." Elizabeth looked at the ground.

"Yet." Nana parroted. "You seem to like that word."

"Yeah, now can we move on to something else, please?" Elizabeth pleaded while glancing around.