Chapter 53

The weather is getting hotter.

Just two days later, Cloudy felt like there was no air to breathe in the cave. With her period coming on strong, any slight movement caused continuous bleeding. For these two days, she could only lie on the bed without doing anything, using leaves underneath her to manage.

The good news is that the rain has mostly stopped. Now, there are only brief showers in the morning and evening, with no rain the rest of the time. The sunlight has gradually returned to the cave, making the pool water shimmer.

As Cloudy lay on the bed like a dehydrated fish, panting to cool off, Titus was outside enjoying his raft life. With the rising temperatures, he would occasionally jump into the water for a swim. After playing, he would come ashore to check on Cloudy. Seeing her still weak, he would fetch some water to help clean her up, asking, "Feeling any better today?"

"Okay, I guess," Cloudy turned over, letting Titus clean the bloodstains on her back. Besides the lower abdominal pain, her thighs felt sore and weak, which she considered normal reactions. "Do you want to leave the cave and play outside?"

Titus hesitated, "No, I'll stay inside with Cloudy."

"Liar, you went out this morning. I heard it." Early in the day, Cloudy heard the sound of something heavy splashing in the pool outside, which quieted down until she woke up later. It wasn't until around noon that the cave echoed with sounds again.

It was clear that Titus had slipped out on his own to play.

"I didn't!" Titus tried to explain, "I was diving to see if there was anything underwater."

"Really?"

"...Sorry, I did go out." Titus shook nervously, "But, I was looking for food. I wanted to get meat for Cloudy! Or fish!"

"Did you catch anything?" Cloudy's eyes lit up immediately. After days of eating roots and stems, she was craving something more.

"No..."

Well, if Titus had caught something, he would have rushed in with fish or meat, shouting about it. "Why not? Is it because the rainy season just ended, and animals are scarce?"

"Yes, most of them are in places without water. Fish and insects in the water are hard to find because the water areas have expanded." Titus wasn't very familiar with the water landscape around the cave after the rainy season. In the settlement, as it was built on higher ground, once the rain stopped, people could move around in the settlement or near the wooden walls.

The cave was completely in the deep water area, and Titus was a bit confused for a moment. "In the settlement, after the rain stops, we will catch fish or large insects in the nearby pools. Some people climb the cliffs where flying animals nest."

Looking at it this way, the settlement is indeed a habitable place.

"I used Cloudy's blood to lure water..."
The prey in the middle, all useless. Only very small insects gathered, not tasty, and Cloudy doesn't like to eat them."

"Yes..." Wait, with what of mine?" Cloudy's eyes widened. "My blood?"

"Mm-hmm." Titus nodded, looking very happy. "I think the smell of blood is strong. It's good bait."

It's strange, but... never mind... what he said makes sense. Cloudy tried to sit up from the bed, but her thighs were too weak and sore; she could only manage to sit up with Titus's help. "Titus, are you going back to the settlement? Since the rainy season is over, there's nothing for you to do here."

This question caught Titus off guard; he opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I... indeed can go back for a visit."

Cloudy had been considering sending Titus back to the settlement since yesterday, not because she found him annoying, but because the cave's food had dwindled to just tubers and some plants he didn't like to eat. As Titus had just mentioned, if he returned to the settlement now, he could still hunt around the settlement with his people.

She could continue to survive on tubers, but it troubled her that a big guy like Titus was only eating plant roots every day. The month-long rainy season had depleted almost all the reserves in the cave; she needed to start planning anew.

"How about you go back first?" For Titus's sake, Cloudy began to work on him psychologically. "Staying inside the cave and seeing you bored is no fun. You might as well go back to the settlement and find something to do. Plus, they held a funeral for you... why not go back and see them." During the torrential rain period, she could paddle a makeshift raft and reach the settlement in a day; now, if Titus went back, it would only take half a day.

"You just need to make a raft outside; you've already learned how, right?"

This made Titus hesitate a bit. The rainy season had just ended, and the settlement must be very busy... who knows how many newborns were lost during this rainy season. Although he didn't like many aspects of the settlement, he still cared about the well-being of his people. "I can go now and come back in the evening."

"It's okay; you can come back after the water recedes. I'm safe inside the cave, and we have plenty of tubers to eat for many days." In reality, Cloudy was a bit afraid of getting too used to always being with Titus. The first half of this rainy season was full of panic during the torrential rains, but the days of idling with Titus afterwards were too leisurely.

Several times she even thought that Titus would continue to live with her in the days to come, but that was impossible. After the rainy season, there would definitely be a food shortage in the settlement, and Titus would start his next hunting task outside. "Go back and check on the settlement; your people will be happy to see you alive."

"But Cloudy is still bleeding." He now fully understood that occasional bleeding from Cloudy's wound was normal, but it still looked scary. For example, just now, he had helped Cloudy change the tree bark under her.
Leaves, new leaves already had a small pool of blood gathered on them, spreading along the veins of the leaves towards the edge. "Or should I go back to the settlement and find something to eat? Bring it back?"

This doesn't seem like a bad idea either... Cloudy's period of laziness during her menstrual cycle had arrived. Thinking about how hard she had worked for Titus during the rainy season, now she thought it wouldn't hurt to enjoy some wild service.

"You can come in a few days with food." After saying this, Cloudy felt her face flush. "You don't have to bring it, I have enough to eat!"

"I will bring food over." Titus smiled, revealing a set of sharp teeth. "Finally, it's my turn to bring food, the rainy season is over, great!" After discussing for a while, they both agreed that they could split up and act independently. Titus and Cloudy agreed to return to the cave at the latest in three days, so Cloudy wouldn't worry.

After packing up... which was just a small amount of dry rations and a few bone knives, Titus swiftly left. Cloudy felt a bit uneasy for a moment, but quickly pushed the feeling down.

Titus's absence actually made her feel more at ease during her period, and she didn't care much if the blood flowed everywhere. After resting until the pain in her lower abdomen subsided, she went outside the wooden hut. Before Titus left, he had helped her start a fire. She boiled some hot water to drink, wiped her body, then peeled some roots and cooked them with water. After filling her stomach casually, Cloudy went to the work table to study the map.

It was time to make a plan; the weather was warming up, and life was returning to normal.

She wouldn't wait for the water in the pool to completely recede before going out to collect things. After this period, she would start heading out of the cave. The first thing to do was to build a raft outside, which wasn't a problem.

The question was, which direction to explore? Leaning on her chin, staring at the map on the wall, going straight out of the cave was towards the settlement, where the swamp water was very deep and quite dangerous, but it was also the route she was most familiar with. However, Cloudy wanted to try something new. Heading east after leaving the cave was where she had set traps before, and a bit further was a small pond where she often caught fish. She wanted to go there to see if there was anything to gain.

Throughout the entire rainy season, her weapons stockpile had not been depleted. After her period, all she needed to do was prepare a raft, bring weapons and dry rations, and she could set off directly. Thinking about this, Cloudy also felt a bit excited. She had been trapped in the cave for too long, just like Titus, and she really missed the days of running around outside. The rainy season had just ended, and there would surely be many new things she didn't recognize appearing outside the rainforest...

She hoped to find more delicious things this time. After the rainy season, she would have plenty of time for exploration. She was no longer a newbie in the beginner village.

Before the rainy season arrived, she had built and discovered many things on her own, making the cave more habitable during the rainy season. So, after the rainy season, she had to find a way to step up her game... exploration, construction, stockpiling. What was more urgent now was the extremely damp wooden hut and the meat reserves.
The basic materials are running out, and they need to be collected. Cloudy counted on her fingers, feeling more and more uneasy as she planned. Why does thinking about things lead to more thoughts?! She sat in front of the tool table, starting to scratch her head. Perhaps she had been too lazy in the late rainy season, and now she suddenly had to get busy. It felt like the despair of having to work for 7 days straight right after the National Day holiday...

No, she couldn't let her mind and body become lazy. Titus had already set off to face a pile of work at the settlement; she couldn't just waste away at home!

But with her period, there wasn't much she could do. Maybe she'd think about it tomorrow.

In a dilemma, Cloudy lay on the table. She reached out and held two small stones that were placed in the corner. The faces of Wilson and Chuck were still somewhat clear on the stones. She kept rubbing these two stones repeatedly, as if doing so could bring her some comfort.

Let's start by collecting food, but... rather than collecting food, it seems more important to go out exploring. The rainforest has temporarily turned into a swamp, with many new things...

But it's very damp inside the wooden house, and it's getting harder to sleep on the bed... Should she collect materials to make a new one, or just roast it by the fire to continue using it?

If her period ends tomorrow, she'll have to go outside to build a raft; it's so tiring...

Maybe she should just sleep at home for three days and wait for Titus to come back with food.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Cloudy sat up abruptly, beginning to scorn herself. And she immediately decided that the first thing she would do after her period ended was to grab her weapons and go out to explore.