Days 85-110: A Month Goes By

Once the giddy excitement had worn off enough for them to make plans, Gabu and Mei decided to schedule their wedding for the next full moon. When else would have made sense?

They started asking around to make sure they had the right idea about what getting married would involve. The custom here, they learned, was much the same as Jess and Gon had described: The couple stood in the middle of a ring of close friends (their “circle”) and declared their intent to be together for the rest of their lives.

Sometimes, when the couple had a lot of friends or was a high-ranking member of a community, their circle was actually multiple circles, with close friends occupying the inner ring and acquaintances occupying the outer rings. When Gabu and Mei started asking who would want to be in their circle, they quickly found that even two or three rings might not be enough. It wouldn’t be on the same scale as the play had been, or even one of Greta’s forest meetings, but it would be a lot of people nonetheless.

Jess and Gon decided that they wanted to stay in the Emerald Forest indefinitely rather than go back to commuting from the eastern forest. Greta called a meeting to make sure everyone would be fine with two more wolves hunting in the forest permanently, and almost no one spoke out against the idea.

As it turned out, in the days following the play, Jess and Gon had become almost as popular as Gabu and Mei themselves were, perhaps even more so. That didn’t last long, however, as a result of Gon’s habit of baring his fangs and growling at anyone who tried to bother them while they were minding their own business in the forest. There was only so much Jess’s apologies could do in the face of that.

Gabu still relied on Jess and Gon to hunt for him, but he started accompanying them on hunting trips so that he could relearn how to hunt with his broken leg. His leg was continuing to heal nicely, but it could be months before it was fully back to normal. Soon, Gabu was able to catch small rodents if he caught them by surprise, although he still relied on Jess and Gon for chasing prey over long distances.

He wasn’t the only one enjoying a newfound independence. Hikari was finally old enough to take care of himself without the constant vigilance of Toto and Riri looking after him. The young sparrow often visited Gabu and Mei (whom he still called “uncles,” much to their delight) by himself, and took great pleasure in exploring the forest and the sky above it unaccompanied.

Hikari enjoyed his independence so much that he convinced his parents to spend a few days away from the forest, relaxing and enjoying themselves, during which time he could be by himself. Gabu and Mei encouraged the idea, declaring that Toto and Riri deserved a break after all their hard work raising Hikari. After making Hikari promise to tell Uncle Gabu and Uncle Mei if he needed anything, Toto and Riri finally relented and went along with the idea. They returned a week later looking thoroughly relaxed.

The theatre group had been on hiatus since finishing the play, save for one meeting where the group members discussed ideas for future performances. Greta was interested in writing a play of her own, and already had a few ideas to get started. She just needed some time to finalise the story. Mei, for his part, wanted to be an actor this time, although Gabu was happy to continue participating from the sidelines.

In the weeks following the performance, nothing seemed any different on a grander scale. Mei wasn’t sure what he had been hoping for—more couples making the journey to the Emerald Forest so they could love each other freely? If the play had changed the world, then it had done so in small, subtle ways that may take years to be fully realised.

“Never mind,” Takkan had said. “Social revolutions don’t happen overnight. Well,” he smirked at Gabu and Mei, “maybe some nights.”

Mei still hadn’t gone back to Philosophy Day. After what had happened with the stags, he decided that treating right and wrong as things to be studied just wasn’t for him. He resolved to rely on his own intuition in future, since it seemed to serve him better than any of the moral theories Takkan and the others had talked about.

Kuro-san and Takkan continued living together, but Kuro-san started to wonder about whether he wanted to live in the Emerald Forest permanently or go back to live with his herd. Takkan had lived in the forest all his life and didn’t want to leave, so that put a strain on their relationship. Even if Takkan did go with him to Para Para Fields, Kuro-san wasn’t sure his herd would accept a fox living among them.

Mii wasn’t as worried. “I might go back one day,” she said when asked, “but I’m happy staying here for now. I like it here.”

All in all, the month went by fast. Before they knew it, the next full moon, and therefore Gabu and Mei’s wedding, was only a couple of days away.