Chapter 22

A bit stuffy... and a bit cramped...

After Titus crawled into the tent, the once spacious area felt tight. When she had built the tent, she had already maximized the space, so it wasn't her fault; blame it on Titus for being so big.

Cloudy huddled in a corner, fearing that Titus might stretch out and accidentally tear apart the tent they had worked so hard to build together. "Titus, do you want to rest?"

"Not tired yet." She couldn't see Titus clearly, but she could feel him speaking near her. "Cloudy, you're amazing."

Stop praising me, it's just a simple tent!

"But, the air isn't good." Titus moved to the entrance of the tent, lifting the animal hide to let fresh air rush in. Through the corner of the tent that Titus lifted, Cloudy noticed the entire rainforest outside had been dyed red by the setting sun.

This was a view she hadn't had the leisure to appreciate before. The bright sunlight seeped through the cracks, casting clear patterns on the ground. Cloudy looked at Titus against the light; he was gazing outside, his profile outlined with a thin golden edge.

After spending these days together, Cloudy had grown accustomed to Titus's appearance, except for his occasional terrifying expressions; most of the time, he was quite comforting to look at. Slowly, Cloudy crawled next to Titus, joining him in peering through the crack at the rainforest sunset.

It was at this moment that Cloudy's stomach growled. Setting up the tent had drained a lot of energy, and they had already finished the food they brought during the construction. Now, her stomach felt empty, even a bit sour.

"What's that sound?" Titus widened his eyes at Cloudy. "Did you make that noise?"

Cloudy rubbed her stomach. "Yes."

“Why is there such a sound?”

No, I'm more curious why you're asking such a question! When your stomach is empty, doesn't it growl? "Because I'm hungry, so there's a sound."

"Cloudy, that's strange."

It's not strange at all! She rolled her eyes. "Is there any food here?"

Titus shook his head. "It's not safe to go hunting at this time. Night is when the beasts are out." Even he wouldn't be foolish enough to go hunting near nightfall. However, there might be some leftover food at the campsite. Thinking this, Titus crawled out of the tent, with Cloudy following closely behind: "Where are we going?"

"Maybe there's still some food left here. Let's look around."

The golden-red light illuminated the camp, nestled among tree roots and earth, casting everything in a red glow. Cloudy squinted.
The eyes tried to get used to the dazzling light. During her adaptation period, Titus moved around the camp like a lawnmower, with the ground covered in weeds and dry branches, making it difficult to find anything inside.

Cloudy bent down and searched around, finding nothing but mud and rotten leaves. The spare food in the camp had surely been eaten by passing wild animals. "It seems there is no food."

Just as she finished speaking, something clicked in her head. Titus must have known that the food was gone; he was the one who understood wild animals the best. So, what was he searching for outside? The answer was clear in her mind, but Cloudy wasn't ready to admit it yet... until...

"Cloudy!" Titus's energetic voice filled the air as he held his hand high in the air, holding a bright yellow bug about 10 centimeters long that was still wriggling.

Indeed, a bug. In such an environment, bugs were probably the only food available. Cloudy reluctantly forced a smile, "Titus, well done!" Before she could finish, Titus was already walking towards her with the bug in his hand, looking like he was about to put it directly into her mouth.

"Wait." Cloudy raised her hand to cover her mouth and took a few steps back. "Wait."

“Why? Cloudy, I'm hungry. This is great food." He shook the bug in his hand and spoke very quickly, probably introducing the bug, but Cloudy didn't understand a word. "Cloudy, eat."

The pain in her stomach intensified, and Cloudy looked at Titus and his beaming smile, feeling inexplicably annoyed. "I... will eat, just wait." She wasn't feeling comfortable right now, and hunger was affecting her mood. If she had been in a better mood earlier, she would have swallowed the bug without a second thought.

Seeing that Cloudy was reluctant to eat, Titus didn't force her. Instead, he squeezed the bug's head, placed it next to Cloudy after it burst, and hurried off to find more bugs. One bug wouldn't be enough for Cloudy; Titus remembered how she had voraciously eaten fish before, needing at least a dozen to satisfy her hunger!

As the bug's head burst and its body curled up into a ball, it became clear that this bug wasn't a larva. It had a hard shell covered in dark red spots, resembling a giant hard-shelled caterpillar. Its eight chubby legs sprawled out like seaweed after Titus squeezed it to death, lying limp on the ground. Cloudy felt a surge of acid in her stomach. It wasn't that she was suddenly being fussy; it was a physiological change she couldn't control. Things that used to look pleasant to her now seemed repulsive.

Especially after all the hard work she put into setting up a perfect tent, only to be left with...
"Having this disgusting bug as dinner. Heaven must be watching, it's time to have a steaming bowl of instant noodles!!

Her heart started murmuring, and her stomach became increasingly sore. She couldn't help but squat down, clutching her stomach tightly. While squatting, she clearly felt a little blood gushing out again, making the pain in her stomach even more intense.

Cloudy wasn't someone who suffered from severe menstrual cramps. In her previous world, she would only feel irritable during her period, but the pain wasn't particularly severe. However, now, due to food, environment, and emotional reasons, even though the amount of blood wasn't much, the pain in her abdomen doubled.

Her vision darkened a bit, the sudden intense pain felt like a sharp kick to her stomach.

"Cloudy?" After catching three more bugs, Titus finally noticed that Cloudy wasn't okay. She was curled up on the ground, shivering and holding her stomach, "What's wrong?!"

"It's nothing... " Cloudy's lips were turning pale, the sharp pain earlier was now causing her lower abdomen to swell as if it was going to explode, "I'm fine, it's not an injury."

Titus, feeling helpless, squatted beside Cloudy. He couldn't understand why Cloudy kept emphasizing that she wasn't injured. If it wasn't an injury, why did she look so uncomfortable now? Was it because she was too hungry?

He squeezed the bugs he caught, crushed their heads, chewed them, and then hugged Cloudy's shoulders. With one hand, he lifted Cloudy's head and held her jaw to make her open her mouth.

These actions happened very quickly. Cloudy, in the midst of excruciating pain, had no time to react. By the time she realized what she was about to face, it was too late. The bug paste was already delivered into her mouth by Titus. She stared at him wide-eyed, holding that lump in her mouth, not knowing whether to spit it out or swallow it. She just stared at Titus.

Titus looked concerned, seeing Cloudy puffing her cheeks and refusing to swallow the food. He gently patted her back, humming a very strange tune in her throat, intermittently like a song. However, it was evident that Titus didn't hum this tune often because he seemed quite unsure: "Children who don't eat, Matriarch feeds them like this."

Perhaps the tune Titus hummed was too unpleasant, or maybe because being fed bugs with the mouth was too shocking, Cloudy slowly swallowed the bug paste. The mushy substance, already chewed into a paste, didn't have any taste left, a bit like overcooked oatmeal, sticking in her throat: "Matriarch...?"

Titus nodded, "I've seen it. Many children who don't eat, Matriarch feeds them like this." He crushed another bug, chewed it into a paste, and fed it to Cloudy. The light taps and awkward humming didn't stop. Cloudy felt like she was going crazy, yet she... calmed down, although her abdomen was still very painful."
"Hey, Bug... Cloudy's voice was as light as a thread.

"Jerky."

That was too far away. Carry me over to let Matriarch feed me! Cloudy swallowed the last bug, her stomach no longer sour. She couldn't tell if she was full from the bugs or from disgust. "Matriarch, what is it?"

Titus blinked, looking puzzled. "Cloudy's settlement, isn't there a Matriarch?"

Titus went on to say many things Cloudy didn't understand, but she slowly pieced together her own understanding of what "Matriarch" might be. In general, it seemed that Matriarch was the one who had ordered her to be thrown out of the settlement.

Matriarch might be the most influential figure in the settlement. From the name itself, it was clear that the social structure in Titus' settlement revolved around the "mother." Cloudy wasn't even sure if Titus' "mother" and her own understanding of "mother" meant the same thing.

"Matriarch, very powerful." Titus enclosed Cloudy, holding her close. The two sat in the camp, quietly discussing matters related to Matriarch as the last rays of sunlight faded.

Cloudy tried her best to explain her era and the meaning of mother in her local language to Titus. Oddly enough, no matter how she hinted or gestured, she couldn't get Titus to mention words like "father." The closest term he used was "companion." Cloudy interpreted this as someone of a different gender or a different role who accompanied Matriarch.

In simpler terms, perhaps a caregiver?

As Cloudy felt confused, so did Titus. While he was pleased that Cloudy could communicate with him so well, her words seemed too bizarre. According to her description, there were only three people in her settlement: Matriarch, companion, and herself. This seemed impossible.

"Cloudy, so mysterious," Titus summed up the conversation. "Three people, so pitiful."

Yes, a family of three is indeed pitiful... Cloudy felt that the cultural gap couldn't be bridged for a while. It was getting dark. "Titus, should we rest?"

"Yeah, let's." Titus nodded, not letting go of Cloudy, but taking her directly into the tent. Once inside, Titus sniffed hard, still able to detect a faint bloody scent on Cloudy, though much lighter than before. "Cloudy, the blood smell, it's a bit less."

Judging by today's intake, it should be over by tomorrow... Cloudy thought as she drifted off.
Climbing out of Titus's arms, but his two arms were like pincers, not moving at all: "Let go?"

"No, Cloudy just shivered. This is what we need to do." Titus shifted his body, lying on his side on the ground, holding Cloudy firmly from behind. "Shivering, needs comfort." This was something he learned from the Matriarch; some injured or sick children would shiver, and that's when the Matriarch would hold them to sleep, helping them relax and fall asleep easily.

Is, is that so... Cloudy felt his ears getting a bit hot. Even though it felt very hot and stuffy being held together, but... it was comforting, Titus's chest, as hard as a wall, felt more secure than a bank vault door.

But it's still so hot!! Cloudy wriggled his limbs, as if wanting to wriggle out of Titus's arms: "Hot! Hot!"

"Not hot!"

"It's hot!!"