XiShi's eyelids fluttered open, her vision swimming for a moment before focusing on XueLing. His golden eyes were fixed on her, a disconcerting intensity in their depths as he gazed out of the cave entrance. The light painting the rocky opening was a dusky hue, the kind that screamed almost evening and whispered of missed meals and an overly long nap.

XueLing, ever the tender caretaker, began to explain in his low rumble of a voice, the one he used when he wasn't trying to intimidate small woodland creatures. "You haven't eaten a thing," he declared, as if she was solely responsible for this state of affairs. "And every time I tried to wake you," he continued, his tone dripping with a put-upon sigh, "you just... went back to sleep. Like some... well, like you hadn't slept in a century." He paused, letting the implication hang heavily in the air. "So, I let you sleep," he finished, as if bestowing upon her a great gift. How very thoughtful of him. Whose fault was it ?

He then proceeded, with the casual air of someone discussing the weather, to announce their next course of action. "We're going to fly to my cave now," he stated, the words sliding smoothly off his tongue as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Apparently," he added, the apparently dripping with the kind of exasperation that only comes from having to deal with an entire tribe, "my tribe had decided to shift." He went on to explain that he'd told them to get the move over with while he was off handling his heat. Oh, the sacrifices he makes.

XiShi, pulling herself into a sitting position, decided to engage. "Shifted where?" she questioned, hoping for some sort of strategic location, perhaps a secret waterfall or a hidden grove overflowing with delicacies. Hoping it wasn't what she was thinking of........

"The rock mountain tribe," XueLing replied, his tone nonchalant, as if they hadn't been living in total isolation from anyone else. XiShi's brain screeched to a halt. Wait. Rock mountain tribe? As in, the tribe where the protagonist, that bundle of sunshine and forced-naivete, was supposed to be? And the Feather tribe had, of all tribes to join, decided those rocks were the best option? This was it. This was her moment to get back into the plot.

A surge of complicated feelings washed over her. Well, on the questionable bright side, it meant that she'd be seeing HuanHuan soon. And okay, so maybe that also meant she couldn't have SangYe anymore. But whatever. It was for the best, who needed taken men anyway. No, her focus was where it should be, on meeting the protagonist! Oh, this was going to be just perfect. Yes, perfect.