The first rays of dawn were barely painting the sky a pale, hesitant pink, and already, chaos reigned. It was far too early for this level of absurdity. XiShi, whose patience usually rivaled that of a seasoned monk, let out a sigh that could have wilted a flower. It was, she calculated with weary resignation, the nth sigh of the morning. She watched, as if observing a particularly irritating nature documentary, XueLing and HuanHuan locked in a verbal joust that resembled a pair of squirrels fighting over a particularly large, and rather stale, acorn. SangYe, one of HuanHuan's mates , bless his quiet soul, sat beside her, his face an identical mask of long-suffering tolerance, both of them mere spectators to the escalating theater of the absurd that was their mates.

One might reasonably wonder, what was the eternally cheerful HuanHuan doing here at such an ungodly hour? Well, as it turned out, after that rather memorable negotiation weeks ago , where XiShi had, with a single well-placed verbal strike, shut down XueLing's admission of petty behavior (a detail, admittedly, glossed over in the official record ), HuanHuan had developed a sort of hero worship for her. Apparently, silencing XueLing was comparable to parting the Red Sea, or perhaps a little less dramatic―like winning a particularly difficult level of Candy Crush. So anyway, HuanHuan had arrived to extend a dinner invitation to her cave, for which XiShi was genuinely grateful; a respite from the current cacophony.

But then, enters XueLing. That man, he was a magnet for drama, a connoisseur of conflict, a walking, talking soap opera. Now, they were locked in a heated debate over the same medicine HuanHuan had promised his tribe, a situation that was clearly a ticking time bomb of annoyance. HuanHuan, with admirable yet futile restraint, had pointed out that crafting potent potions requires, you know, time, patience, and not a constant barrage of complaints.

"XueLing," XiShi's voice, sharper than a freshly sharpened blade, cut through the air, "I swear, if you don't shut up this instant... forget about getting anywhere near me tonight."

The effect was instantaneous. The cave, which had previously reverberated with the sound of bickering, fell into a stunned, deathly silence. It was a silence so thick, so profound, it could have been bottled and sold as a cure for noisy neighbors.

Wow, XiShi thought, inwardly patting herself on the back for mastering the art of the withering threat so early in the morning.

"Thanks for that, XiShi!" HuanHuan chirped, bouncing towards her and pulling her into an enthusiastic hug, which earned the still-silent XueLing a glare that could have melted glaciers. SangYe, visibly relaxing, finally exhaled loudly, relief written all over his face as the crisis was averted.

"So, you'll be there tonight? Right?" HuanHuan asked, her eyes wide, the epitome of contagious, if slightly manic, glee.

"Of course,"