diff --git a/scripts/dekc_common.py b/scripts/dekc_common.py
index 3fa564c..a3041a7 100755
--- a/scripts/dekc_common.py
+++ b/scripts/dekc_common.py
@@ -1035,15 +1035,19 @@ def ensure_catalog_index(bundle: Path, catalog: str, title: str | None = None) -
 )
 
 
-def _escape_link_label(label: str) -> str:
+def _escape_link_label(label: Any) -> str:
     """Make a concept title safe to use as a Markdown link label.
 
     An unescaped `[AREA]` title renders as `[[AREA]](/cat/x.md)`, which the OKF
     graph reader's link regex cannot match. That yields a MISSING edge rather
     than a broken one, and validate reports only broken edges -- so the concept
     silently loses its catalog backlink.
+
+    YAML titles may also be typed scalars (for example integers or booleans),
+    so normalize to text at this rendering boundary. Untyped, one bad title
+    aborts the whole catalog refresh after ingestion already wrote concepts.
     """
-    return label.replace("[", "\\[").replace("]", "\\]")
+    return str(label).replace("[", "\\[").replace("]", "\\]")
 
 
 def refresh_catalog_index(bundle: Path, catalog: str) -> None:
@@ -1067,7 +1071,11 @@ def refresh_catalog_index(bundle: Path, catalog: str) -> None:
         if p.name == "index.md":
             continue
         fm_c, _ = parse_frontmatter(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-        label = _escape_link_label(fm_c.get("title") or p.stem)
+        # `or` alone sends a falsy-but-real title (`0`, `false`) to the stem.
+        title_value = fm_c.get("title")
+        label = _escape_link_label(
+            p.stem if title_value is None or title_value == "" else title_value
+        )
         layer = fm_c.get("layer")
         # Only annotate catalogs no sibling plugin renders. On a shared catalog
         # the annotation is what makes the file churn back and forth.
diff --git a/scripts/dekc_pack.py b/scripts/dekc_pack.py
index 2a9c030..9a4e8f0 100755
--- a/scripts/dekc_pack.py
+++ b/scripts/dekc_pack.py
@@ -154,7 +154,11 @@ def _consider(src: str, nxt: str) -> None:
         if not is_concept_path(bundle, path) and path.resolve() != target_path.resolve():
             continue
         try:
-            src = "/" + path.relative_to(bundle).as_posix()
+            # rg_list_files resolves its hits, so a bundle reached through a
+            # symlink alias (macOS /var -> /private/var) makes relative_to
+            # raise and silently drop a real lineage neighbor. Canonicalize
+            # both operands, as is_concept_path already does.
+            src = "/" + path.resolve().relative_to(bundle.resolve()).as_posix()
         except ValueError:
             continue
         fm, body = _parse_rel(bundle, src)
diff --git a/tests/test_dekc.py b/tests/test_dekc.py
index ba101d3..17eb70a 100644
--- a/tests/test_dekc.py
+++ b/tests/test_dekc.py
@@ -90,6 +90,16 @@ def test_layer_annotation_only_on_catalogs_we_alone_own(self):
             own = self._bundle(td, "layers", "Gold tier", layer="gold")
         self.assertIn("\u00b7 gold", own, f"lost the annotation on our own catalog: {own!r}")
 
+    def test_yaml_scalar_titles_render_as_text(self):
+        """`title: 421` parses as an int. str.replace on it aborted the whole
+        catalog refresh, after capture had already written concepts."""
+        cases = {"integer": ("421", "421"), "boolean": ("false", "False"),
+                 "date-like": ("2026-08-31", "2026-08-31"), "zero": ("0", "0")}
+        for slug, (yaml_title, expected) in cases.items():
+            with self.subTest(title=slug), tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as td:
+                line = self._bundle(td, "tables", yaml_title)
+                self.assertEqual(line, f"- [{expected}](/tables/a.md)")
+
     def test_refuses_a_catalog_this_plugin_does_not_declare(self):
         self.assertNotIn("adrs", CATALOGS)
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as td:
diff --git a/tests/test_retrieval_ladder.py b/tests/test_retrieval_ladder.py
index c5200aa..c2dbb56 100644
--- a/tests/test_retrieval_ladder.py
+++ b/tests/test_retrieval_ladder.py
@@ -69,6 +69,43 @@ def test_pack_rg_matches_scan_graph(self):
         self.assertEqual(scan["reverse_index"], "scan")
         self.assertGreaterEqual(scan["node_count"], 5)
 
+    def test_lineage_pack_survives_a_symlink_aliased_bundle(self):
+        """rg_list_files resolves its hits, so relative_to raised on an aliased
+        bundle and the lineage neighbor was dropped — while the pack still
+        reported `reverse_index: rg`.
+
+        The symlink is built here rather than leaned on: mkdtemp yields the
+        /var alias on macOS but a plain /tmp path on Linux, which would make an
+        alias-dependent test inert on CI — the platform this must not regress on.
+        """
+        tmp = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp())
+        self.addCleanup(shutil.rmtree, tmp, True)
+        real = tmp / "real"
+        real.mkdir()
+        bundle = tmp / "alias"
+        bundle.symlink_to(real, target_is_directory=True)
+        self.assertNotEqual(bundle.resolve(), bundle)
+        (bundle / "index.md").write_text(
+            "---\ntype: Bundle\ntitle: T\n---\n\n# T\n", encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        tables = bundle / "tables"
+        tables.mkdir()
+        (tables / "root.md").write_text(
+            "---\ntype: Table\ntitle: Root\n---\n\n# Root\n", encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        (tables / "caller.md").write_text(
+            "---\ntype: Table\ntitle: Caller\nlinks:\n"
+            "  - target: /tables/root.md\n    rel: reads_from\n---\n\n# Caller\n",
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        scan = pack(bundle, "tables/root.md", hops=1, max_nodes=8, use_rg=False, use_index=False)
+        accel = pack(bundle, "tables/root.md", hops=1, max_nodes=8, use_rg=True, use_index=False)
+        scan_paths = {n["path"] for n in scan["nodes"]}
+        accel_paths = {n["path"] for n in accel["nodes"]}
+        self.assertIn("/tables/caller.md", scan_paths)
+        self.assertEqual(scan_paths, accel_paths)
+        self.assertEqual(accel["reverse_index"], "rg")
+
 
 class TestSqliteIndex(unittest.TestCase):
     def setUp(self):