Chapter 59

"..."

After sleeping through the night, Cloudy finally got up and was ready to set off. However, Cloudy stood in front of the workbench deep in thought, looking very serious.

"What's the matter, Cloudy?"

Titus stood by the shore, watching Cloudy standing in front of the small wooden house. He carried a bag packed by Cloudy, and after finishing their meal yesterday, they began to pack up. They collected quite a lot of things inside and out, but most of them were materials they wouldn't need. In the end, Cloudy streamlined the package to a few pieces of clothing, some tools, and a few sturdy jars.

In addition to the package, he also tucked in half a fish leftover from yesterday's meal. Originally suggested to be eaten this morning, Cloudy, however, was absent-minded and had no appetite, so he had to start a fire and eat a little on his own. Holding the items, he stood by the shore for a while, seeing that Cloudy was still motionless.

"Aren't we leaving?" Titus walked back from the shore and stood next to Cloudy, only to realize she had been staring at the two colorful stones on the table. "Do you want to take them with you? I can help carry them."

"No, leave them. They guard the house," Cloudy couldn't quite express her current feelings. She was a bit scared and excited... She was finally going to interact with the social system of this world. She looked up at Titus, the tall man who was also looking down at her.

The somewhat inhuman face, after these days together, had completely been accepted by her. Thinking back to the first time she saw Titus, she was really scared to the point of numbness, but fortunately, Titus was very friendly at that time... Now, looking at him, Cloudy even found Titus somewhat cute, especially his very agile ears, sharp teeth, and heavy pupils, all of which she had grown accustomed to. This combination of inhuman features had become the most trustworthy appearance for her.

Originally, identifying Titus's expression would take some effort; his smile sometimes seemed no different from anger to Cloudy. After spending so much time together, she could finally accurately read Titus's expressions. This time, it was worry: "Don't worry about me."

Besides getting used to his appearance, communication between her and Titus had become smoother, with almost no more hiccups, unless Titus spoke very quickly.

"I'm just thinking about when we'll come back next time." She looked at the small wooden house, where their two simple grass mat beds were still side by side. This dwelling was not perfect, but it was the first place she could call home. She now felt so reluctant to leave, largely because her intuition told her that once she went to the settlement, she probably wouldn't return to the cave.

She didn't know why she was thinking like this. Did she want to live in the settlement long-term? If the people there accepted her, she would definitely be very willing... Cloudy hadn't sorted out these thoughts yet, so she could only pause for now.
Don't worry about the time. She placed Wilson and Chuck together, picked up the leaf-wrapped package on the tool table and wrapped it around her back, grabbing Titus' arm: "Let's go!

...

On the way to the settlement, nothing special happened. Cloudy sat on the raft while Titus stood in the water, pushing the raft forward. They had packed everything they needed at the front of the raft.

The pond water was as clear as ever, but the water level seemed to have dropped a bit from yesterday. Titus pushed the raft faster than yesterday: "When we get to the settlement, is there anything I need to be aware of? Like talking to others..."

"Don't talk to anyone else."

"...I'm serious about this question."

Titus made a grumbling sound, clearly unhappy about having to bring Cloudy back to the settlement with him: "Cloudy could just stay at my place. The Matriarch can see you alone."

Don't make me look like some kind of secretive fortune teller, okay?

She glanced back at the wild man still pushing the raft vigorously: "You clearly wanted to bring me back to the settlement before, why not now?" Cloudy remembered when they lived in Green Hills, Titus had expressed a desire to live together.

"Because now I think Cloudy isn't suited for the settlement. While the Matriarch needs you, the others... I'm afraid they'll speak ill of you." Titus was well aware of how his people viewed Cloudy: "They don't hate you, they fear you, they think you're a monster."

"Because of my different eyes, right?"

"Yes."

"But anyone in the settlement could easily kill me. Once they realize that, I won't be a monster anymore." Just a joke, and an ugly one at that!

However, being disliked or feared by the locals was inevitable. In her world, such racial discrimination was common: "As long as there's no danger to my life, I can live alone in the cave. If you continue hunting outside... I'll have to gather things on my own. What if I encounter people from other settlements? I can't possibly fight them."

Yesterday's events still haunted her, which is why Cloudy was considering living in the settlement. While Titus' settlement might not be the best fit for her, it could provide shelter. In the rainforest, making compromises for survival was not shameful.

Titus probably thought the same way, which is why he didn't respond but kept his head down, pushing the raft forward.

The only sound left in her ears was the raft cutting through the water, drowning out the animal cries in the forest with Titus' splashing.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the water's surface as the two navigated through the gentle columns of light. Occasionally, Cloudy was blinded by the intense light, thinking, "Has the rainy season only been over for a few days? Why is the sun so harsh... The temperature keeps rising, just sitting on the"
The raft remained motionless, causing everyone on board to break out in a sweat.

"I want to get off." She adjusted her position and slid into the clear pool water. The pool's bottom was covered with long, emerald green water plants. She didn't need to dive in; her feet could touch the soft grass. "It's so hot."

Titus watched Cloudy swim towards him and extended his arm for her to hold onto. "Do you really feel hot?" He couldn't feel it at all; the current temperature was very comfortable for him.

"It's very hot..." Cloudy held onto Titus's strong arm and let him guide her forward in the water, like a buoy. Occasionally, she would kick her legs to shake off the water plants entwined around her feet.

As she immersed herself in the icy pool water, her thoughts slowed down. She half-closed her eyes and rested her chin on Titus's arm. "What is your home like, Titus? Is there a place for me to sleep?"

"Of course..." Titus wanted to say there was, but these past few days had been too busy, and he wasn't sure if Cloudy would agree to come to the settlement, so he hadn't had time to prepare another bed.

"If not, I'll sleep in your bed." Cloudy guessed that Titus hadn't prepared anything when he hesitated. "Is this payback for me not preparing for you before?"

"No!" Titus lifted Cloudy out of the water by her arm. "But it's okay, the bed at home is much larger than the one in the wooden hut. We can sleep together."

Indeed, Titus was a big guy, so his bed must be quite spacious... It was strange that he hadn't gotten sick from sleeping on that poor grass mattress in the hut during the rainy season.

The rest of the journey was filled with chatting and joking around, with Titus pushing the boat. By early afternoon, they had arrived just outside the settlement. As they approached, Cloudy could hear the noisy shouts coming from inside: "What's going on?" She hadn't heard so many voices in a long time and felt a bit nervous.

"Well..." Titus listened for a moment. "It seems they've caught some good prey, and everyone is busy processing it."

Cloudy instinctively hid behind Titus and slowly moved forward. On the way to the settlement's gate, they encountered many tribe members engaged in activities outside. After exchanging greetings with Titus, everyone's attention focused on her.

"Is this the one Matriarch wants to see?" Everyone was asking, some even speaking to her from a distance. "Can you speak? I heard you visited the settlement during the rainy season."

Titus was impatient and waved his hand to shoo away the people around them. "Go about your own business, don't bother us."

Unfortunately, the shooing didn't work, and many people continued to walk alongside them. By the time they reached the gate, about eight or nine people had gathered around them... Cloudy wished she could just...
Individuals were buried in Titus's animal hide apron, what's going on here! Can she not be treated as a rare creature for people to gawk at!

Unfortunately, to the locals, Cloudy was indeed a rare creature. The settlement's gates were wide open for the tribe to come and go about their business, and the bright afternoon sun made the whole settlement feel very cozy. However, Cloudy didn't have time to observe all this, as more and more people came to gawk at her after entering the settlement.

Everyone was talking all at once, and their speech was too fast for her to catch everything. Shortly after entering the gate, Titus had to lift Cloudy onto his shoulders and run inside. Initially, Titus had planned to take Cloudy directly to his hut, but news of Cloudy's arrival in the settlement spread quickly, and a few high-ranking mothers were already waiting at the intersection ahead.

"Titus!" the leader loudly stopped Titus, who was still running, as if sensing that the wild man was about to take the settlement's guests back to his house. "The Matriarch is waiting; take the guests straight to her."

So many people, really so many people... It was completely different from the situation during the rainy season; now everyone around was looking at her. Cloudy felt a bit of panic setting in, and now she strongly agreed with Titus's earlier suggestion to stay inside his hut until the Matriarch needed her...

Cloudy lay on Titus's shoulder like a sack, without a chance to speak. So she simply relaxed her body and acted like a sack, thinking that there wouldn't be so many people around when she met the Matriarch, right?

More and more people arrived.

Around twenty people were sitting together in the room, and when Cloudy walked in, they all turned to look at her, like feeding fish in a koi pond.

"Thank you for coming to the settlement," the Matriarch, sitting in the middle, stood up, opened her arms, and walked towards Cloudy, while also looking at Titus, who stood behind Cloudy like a wall. "Titus, leave. Let your companion stay with the mothers."

Titus had thought he would say, "No, I want to stay with Cloudy." But he just grumbled a few times unwillingly and then left the room.

Leaving Cloudy alone with around twenty strangers...

She looked at the approaching Matriarch, swallowed nervously, and said, "Titus... Can't he stay with me? I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid, Titus's companion. You saved his life, so you are a companion of our settlement." The Matriarch's large hand landed on Cloudy's shoulder. "Now, we want you to know that the settlement welcomes your arrival, so we have prepared a ceremony for you."

It was only then that Cloudy noticed the people in the room were gathered around a small central platform.
Seated on a cushion, the small table was likely made of stone, now adorned with flowers and various plants. In the center lay what seemed to be... perhaps a newborn's skeleton.

Cloudy felt a cold sweat breaking out as she asked, "Titus really can't come in?"

"Titus is a hunter; this is a ceremony for mothers," Matriarch embraced Cloudy, leading her into the room. "We want you to know that the settlement values your ability to navigate during the rainy season, and we wish to welcome you."

Cloudy then noticed that Matriarch's speech had noticeably slowed down compared to before, probably due to Titus reminding her... realizing this, she relaxed a bit. Matriarch slowing down her speech for her proved friendliness, so there was no need to be nervous. And if this were a very bad ceremony, Titus would never allow her to come.

"Please sit on this," Matriarch guided her to the small stone table. "We hope your abilities will bless the newborns in the settlement."