Kipo and her friends had settled down for the night. They had followed Scarlemadge for days now, but hadn’t caught up yet, too many mutes on their tail and hindering their pursuit.

It was just the 5 of them again, the humans who escaped had stayed back to find a new burrow, continue hiding from Scarlemadge. A bigger group would’ve drawn too much attention either way, according to Wolfs stoic assessment.

“Hey Wolf, look! I can control the fur growing!”, Kipo exclaimed excitedly, earning a hush from the younger girl. “That’s great Kipo, keep your voice down!”

Kipo just smiled and retraced the fur along her arms. She had been training her mute powers and her control over it ever since her dad confirmed he knew something and she just… caught a falling piece of ground like it was nothing. Those powers could be her only chance at saving her dad, and she had to be able to rely on them! (It was Wolf’s idea. She was finally over Kipos half mute identity, the thought of losing her just didn’t sit well with her, no matter what. And if Kipo could actually protect herself… well, Wolf knew all about survival)

As Wolf checked the nearby area, Benson and Dave prepared dinner over a fire, watching Kipo train. It was their new routine, especially since finding out about the bounty on Kipo, the ‘burrow girl’.

It didn’t take them long to eat and they were quick to extinguish the fire before it got dark enough for the light to attract predators. Or bounty hunters. Or… anyone really.

As they lied down to sleep Kipo reached out, pulling them all closer to her. “Thanks guys, for being here”, she whispered, sleepily. Wolf tried to hide her smile but failed. She didn’t even attempt to fight free of Kipos grasp on her, knowing the girl was stupporn to a fault. And strong, if she wanted to be. Benson cooed, throwing his arms around Kipo, Wolf and Dave, the latter, currently in his teens, grumbling something about personal space and “Ugh, why you all so mushy…”. Mandu squiggled into the hug, squeaking, not willing to be left out.

As they all quieted down and started falling asleep, a sound started up. A weird… humming, similar to that of the Humming Bombers, yet completely different. It had a calming note, and was also way, WAY too close to belong to a Humming Bomber. Wolf sat up with a jolt.

“What IS that?!”, she asked, whisper yelling. Benson shrugged, still lying down. “I think… it’s coming from Kipo?”, he asked, looking at the only person among them already asleep.

Wolf frowned and bent down to Kipo. “It is! But… what is it?”

Dave- who had again molded into his adult form- spoke from behind Benson. “I believe she might be purring. The parts we’ve seen of her mute looked cat like, so… who knows”

Wolf, Benson and Mandu all stared at Dave like he said something wise. Said mute just looked at Kipo, none the wiser, and the stares turned to said girl, who continued on sleeping and… purring.

“You’re kidding…”, Wolf mumbled, facepalming. Of COURSE Kipo would be purring. She’d be surprised if her adoptive sister would ever stop once she figured it out, it was just so HER…

Benson meanwhile had a hard time not laughing out loud and waking Kipo. He fell back beside the girl, listening to the quiet vibrations, feeling them due to the close proximity.

“Wolf, you gotta lie back down, this is awesome”, he murmured, already half asleep, Mandu squished between him and Kipo and Dave on their bellies. Wolf just rolled her eyes, acting exasperated, but she lay down with a small smile, closing her eyes to enjoy the purring. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Kipo did this more often….