Chapter 31

Things unfolded in such a way that a variety of coincidences collided, creating the awkward scene that it is now.

Previously, she had always shown great interest in fire in front of Titus... but she felt that her relationship with Titus seemed not yet solid enough to offer whatever the other wanted at any cost. Now, everything has changed.

Before stealing the fire, Titus had warned her that it was a very serious matter, and if discovered, they would definitely face harsh punishment. Cloudy didn't know how severe this "harsh" punishment could be, but she definitely didn't want such a thing to happen to Titus. "Titus, why did you give me fire?"

Titus didn't answer, still staring blankly at the fire. Cloudy felt that the fire in front of him might have left Titus perplexed. His strange eyes were wide, filled with confusion, his mouth slightly open, and his ears trembling slightly, unsure of what emotion to display.

Was it incomprehensible why flames had appeared out of nowhere here... At this moment, the small fire stick Titus had handed her was still burning, fearing that the fire Titus had brought might go out, she decisively threw it into the fire.

With a crackling sound, the small stick traced a low arc, tumbled a few times in the fire, and merged with the burning flames as if it had never existed.

Titus finally came to his senses, not understanding what had happened, but feeling like he should say something. "Cloudy, impressive..."

Cloudy nodded, feeling like her nose was going to reach the sky. This was the primitive fire made entirely by hand. "Yes, this time it was really impressive."

"How did you do it?" Titus squatted on the ground, feeling his head buzzing, staring intently at the flames inside the pile of stones. "Why? How can there be fire here?"

With her hands on her hips, Cloudy felt very proud. "I made it."

After feeling proud, she felt a bit empty. If she had been a bit lazy today and not made fire... then she would have easily obtained the fire that he brought, her hands wouldn't be swollen, and her body wouldn't ache. Her efforts just now seemed a bit embarrassing in front of the fire Titus brought.

But it was still different, very different.

The key was that she could make fire herself. Maybe luck played a part in these flames today... but as long as she replicated today's materials, she could ignite the fire again. If she relied on Titus to steal fire, she couldn't keep asking Titus to steal every time the flame went out, right? But speaking of stealing fire...

"Titus, stealing fire... is very dangerous, right? Why do it this way? I'm worried." Titus should have been punished several times by now. "In the future, don't do this."

"Um..." Titus clearly hadn't come back to reality yet, still pondering the matter of the flames.
"Udy, did you find this outside? Or did someone else give it to you?"

"Cloudy made it, did someone else teach you?"

"Where did you learn to make this? She shook her head with a frown, "I made it myself." She gestured with her hands a few times, speaking very seriously.

"Made it with wood, by myself."

Titus made a strange sound, he circled the fire pit several times, muttering words that Cloudy couldn't understand, his eyes shining brightly, "Cloudy, made fire? How amazing, why? Why!"

That's the right feeling. She accepted Titus' admiring gaze comfortably, "Pretty cool, right?"

"Very cool!"

"And, and!" Cloudy took Titus's hand, leading him into the wooden house to show off her bed, "Lie down, try resting! I made this, it's very comfortable."

She pushed Titus onto the bed, then bundled up the down jacket and placed it under Titus's head, "How is it?"

Because the bed was made according to her own height, when Titus lay down, his two legs hung completely outside, and his shoulders were partly suspended, "Cloudy, it's too small..."

It's not the bed that's small, it's your big head. Titus's reaction left this futuristic person very unsatisfied, she reached out and pushed Titus's exposed shoulders inwards, "Squeeze in a bit! Curl your legs up, lie all the way down. It's very comfortable!"

Titus was a bit reluctant but still tried to follow Cloudy's instructions, trying to curl up into a ball on the bed, "Still, too small. I want a bigger one."

Darn it, just say I'm amazing already. Cloudy held Titus down, trying to make him feel the beauty of this bed, "Uncomfortable? Am I not amazing?"

"Amazing..." Titus couldn't hold it any longer, he spread out again, covering Cloudy's small bed like a vacuum-packed pillow being opened, "Is there only this one bed? What about mine?"

Cloudy scratched her head, "Do you want to put your bed here?"

Titus became impatient, "Yes! Put it next to this one, we can rest together."

His bed... Cloudy looked at her pitifully small living space, feeling that if she put Titus's bed in there, there would be no room for anything else in this wooden house. She wished she had built it bigger back then, "Wait a moment, I'll help you make one!"

Titus's ears perked up, "Cloudy, this place is becoming great. Much better than a cave." It was only at this moment that he suddenly noticed the dark round spot on Cloudy's face wasn't dirt but a scar.

"What happened to your face?" He gently held Cloudy's left cheek in his hand, "Why are you injured?"

"You're also injured on your leg." Cloudy turned to show him.
On Cloudy's leg, there was a wound. "A few days ago, some animals broke in and scratched me, but I managed to kill them all!"

"If only I hadn't left here." Titus frowned, squatting down to carefully examine the wound on Cloudy's leg. However, the wound was healing well, and he didn't see any worrying symptoms. "Does it hurt?"

"A bit, I can't run yet. I think I'll be fully recovered in a few days." She patted Titus on the head to reassure him, "In the rainforest, getting injured is unavoidable, right?"

Titus was a bit annoyed but still nodded, "Outside the cave entrance, we can set traps. I'll teach you."

"Great!" Cloudy's eyes lit up. Having Titus, a hunter, teach her how to make traps was fantastic. After showing off her bed, Cloudy dragged Titus around her wooden house, showcasing its perfect roof and walls.

After all the boasting, they both sat down by the fire pit. Cloudy began to demonstrate her excellent stone grilling skills.

The stones near the fire pit were already scorching hot, just needing the meat slices to sizzle on them for a few seconds, then flipping them with two thin sticks for another round of grilling. A delicious piece of grilled meat was ready, and she eagerly fed it to Titus.

Since meeting Cloudy, Titus hadn't enjoyed roasted meat for a while. This familiar taste had been missed for days... The two of them ate around the fire pit like monkeys, enjoying the grilled meat like a celebration, and soon the meat was all gone.

Satisfied, Cloudy wiped her mouth, and Titus patted his belly, "Cloudy, you can do anything, even make fire."

"Isn't the fire in the settlement made?" Cloudy asked.

Titus shook his head, "I'm not sure. Fire has always been there since birth. No one told me it could be created; they only said it was given by the sky and the sun, to be protected and continued."

So, lightning fire, right? Flames discovered accidentally in places struck by lightning, or sudden forest fires starting somewhere.

"Did you steal the fire without being caught?" After eating and drinking, Cloudy began to worry about this again, "I don't want you to be punished; I'll worry."

"Don't worry, no one found out," Titus grinned, "Even if they did, I wouldn't be here."

Then, Titus vividly described how he brought the little fire sticks here. After learning how Titus had brought the fire, Cloudy fell silent, deeply moved... but also burdened.

Because the flame couldn't be transported at night; its bright light would attract attention anywhere. Titus could only carry out his theft plan during the day. Titus shared the details of the theft, but Cloudy was mostly silent.
I didn't understand it all, but to summarize, it's about sneaking in, stealthily poking the flames with a small stick while the onlookers are distracted.

Then, holding the small stick, quietly sneaking out of the settlement. The act of stealing the fire and leaving the settlement happened the next day, when it was cloudy and Titus didn't show up.

Having to constantly switch sticks to keep the fire alive in his hands, Titus couldn't run fast and had to walk slowly, significantly prolonging the journey. To make matters worse, he faced a wild animal attack in the jungle, forcing him to abandon the stick and fight the beast... which naturally led to the flame going out, making him return to the settlement to steal it a second time.

The second attempt to steal the flame wasn't as smooth as the first; he was stopped and had to do many things before finally finding an opportunity during daylight yesterday to sneak out of the settlement with the fire. This journey took a day and a half, sometimes crawling slowly forward while holding the stick to avoid animal attacks.

After several days of effort, he joyfully arrived in front of Cloudy with the flame, only to realize there was already a flame there...

Titus drooped his head: "I don't understand. Cloudy is favored by the fire, it's the sun, why was she kicked out?"

"I don't understand either." She chuckled twice, "Titus, will you tell the people in the settlement that I can make fire?"

After some thought, she realized that the fire in the settlement was accidental, and no one knew how to create fire from wood, meaning she had a ticket to enter the settlement.

Titus blinked, looking excited: "Cloudy hopes that I tell the Matriarch? You can make fire, you can definitely live in the settlement!"

In theory, she should consider that even though the cave was very livable now, the settlement would surely be safer, right? She felt an inexplicable inner turmoil. Would living in the settlement be a good thing for her? It was fine with just Titus, as he was friendly, but what about the others?

It was an entire village of people, could she adapt... Cloudy felt she needed a few days to think about this: "Can we not tell them?"

"Not tell them..." Titus seemed a bit disappointed, but he would surely act according to Cloudy's wishes, "Okay, I won't tell them. This is Cloudy's and my secret."