Chapter 108

Recently, the settlement has become busy again, as everyone is preparing for the last two external hunts before the rainy season.

Cloudy is not as sensitive to the arrival of the rainy season as the locals. She just feels that the recent temperatures are relatively comfortable... perhaps what Titus and the others consider a "low-temperature warning." After being reminded that the rainy season might be approaching, she deliberately left the settlement to observe the state of the rainforest several times. In the morning, more rainwater does accumulate on the leaves of some broad-leaved plants.

Moss is thriving, and the soil is moist. The colors of vines and shrubs are quietly changing from a striking deep green to a sandy yellow or slightly dark green. Insects are less active compared to when the temperature was extremely high before. On the contrary, birds in the rainforest often come to the ground as if searching for new nests. Of course, it's also possible that at this time of year, fruits are only growing on low plants, and the canopy no longer has food.

Since Cloudy arrived, she has had few opportunities to interact with birds. Although she previously made a bow and arrow, the range was limited due to material issues, so she rarely hunted birds. Local people consider birds to be small in size with little meat, and capturing them requires relatively more effort, making them not the optimal prey. So, apart from when Cloudy requested bird feathers for insulation material, the locals do not intentionally harm the birds.

Thanks to the season, before the rainy season, Cloudy was able to observe many birds she had never seen before. However, most of these birds are quite ugly, with large heads and rugged body shapes. Fortunately, at least more than half of these odd birds have beautiful feathers, and sometimes feathers fall as they land from the canopy to the ground. Lately, Cloudy has been very keen on collecting beautiful bird feathers.

Of course, besides feathers... she also does not forget to use wooden spears or bows and arrows to bring back a few slow-moving prey to improve their meals at home.

During this time of collecting beautiful feathers, another significant event occurred—she experienced an unusually long menstrual period, lasting about 8 days, which is almost the same as in modern times. For Cloudy, this is a sign of good health and normal nutrient intake, which is a great thing!

Although Titus is used to her occasionally bleeding for a few days, this time the duration was too long, and he was so scared that he kept asking the Matriarch for medicine, leading the Matriarch to think she was dying... The result was that when she had her period, the Matriarch carried her to the sacrificial platform in the longhouse, and then all the mothers in the village surrounded her, singing strange tunes softly.

At that moment, Cloudy indeed had a feeling... "If they continue singing, it feels like something is about to be summoned." After the singing was complete, she was forced to drink a bowl of strong-smelling concoction. After drinking it, her period became even heavier that night, like a nourishing soup.

Although this somewhat speechless event occurred, Cloudy was still quite happy in the settlement.
Everyone is friendly, and she has finally found a sense of belonging. Lately, she hasn't needed much help, so besides taking care of her backyard and going for a stroll in the morning, she spends most of her time at her workbench.

Her workbench is now filled with all sorts of materials, the most prominent being a large pile of colorful feathers on the left. Cloudy plans to use these beautiful, soft feathers to create decorations that can uplift her mood.

Apart from feathers, there are many intricately patterned stones collected from the river. She has carved faces on these stones and named each one.

Bone pieces with holes drilled through them, wood cut into strips, stone powder, some charcoal powder wrapped in leaves... the materials are quite disorganized, but she can't be bothered to sort them. Today, she doesn't need these odds and ends for her main task, which is the slate placed next to her workbench.

These slates were specially prepared in advance by Titus. Shaped stones hammered into form, she kept three as backups for a lunar calendar, while the rest are used to record events. In the settlement culture, writing hasn't emerged yet, but locals use symbols to keep track of things like the location of prey and medicinal information.

Not long ago, she consulted Matriarch about the meanings of most symbols and discovered that only Matriarch in the settlement is involved in the "recording" work, a duty passed down from one Matriarch to the next. Everything from the continuity of fire to the production of medicine is stored on animal skins in the Matriarch's home.

She also wants to try recording her own manufacturing recipes on the slate, and... as she inspects the previous slate calendar, she realizes it's been about ten months since she moved to the settlement.

She hadn't realized it had been so long. She pokes at the slate with a thin stick, pondering the marks on it when Titus returns.

Earlier in the day, Titus was called away by other hunters to deal with the bones and innards of a large prey outside the settlement. Cloudy went to see him at noon, but the hunters had scattered the innards everywhere, and the stench was so overpowering that she couldn't keep her eyes open, so she had to tell Titus to take a bath before coming home... and then she fled.

"Cloudy, we're cooking together at the longhouse tonight. Are you coming, or should I bring something back?" As soon as Titus entered the house, he playfully embraced Cloudy from behind, like a bear sitting on the ground. "The last hunt was successful. Everyone used the poison and traps made by Cloudy."

"Really?" The so-called poison was actually a root of a plant she had discovered earlier, which caused paralysis and convulsions in insects almost immediately when consumed. She ground this poisonous root and spread it on bait, which the previous team of hunters took out for testing.

But all of that is not important now. She is currently pondering another important matter: "Titus, I want to teach others how to make fire."

When the next rainy season arrives, she will have been living in the settlement for a year. From the initial doubt...
Feeling uncomfortable and now well-fed and rested, not worried about being carried away by wild beasts. She thought it wasn't quite appropriate to keep hiding anything, especially since the skill of making fire could bring about so many changes, allowing both outsiders and locals to freely and flexibly use flames during hunting or the rainy season.

"Really?" Titus blinked, a bit puzzled as to why Cloudy had kept this secret for so long, only to suddenly decide to teach others now. But Cloudy did what she decided to do, she surely had her reasons. "Now?"

"I'll carve it on this." Cloudy struggled to pull her hand out of Titus's bear hug, lifting the slate on the table. "Take it, teach the Matriarch."

"Why me?"

"Because Titus is very skilled." Cloudy said this, but in reality, she was just afraid of teaching this groundbreaking technique and then being surrounded by the Matriarch and other locals, starting to chant in a summoning whisper... Although she was used to living in the settlement, no matter how many thousands of years passed, she couldn't get used to being the center of attention! It gave her goosebumps.