Chapter 65

On the eighth day after Cloudy arrived at the settlement, the accumulated water in the rainforest had mostly receded. This signaled that the first group of hunters was about to set out, with Titus, the most skilled hunter in the settlement, naturally being among them.

Despite this, Cloudy was somewhat anxious. During these eight days, although she had settled in the community, she had little interaction with the locals for most of the time, except when the Matriarch occasionally called her to help in the longhouse, where Wowo would also be around.

Could she really stay alone in the settlement for several tens of days? Cloudy felt a bit restless. After providing a warming solution for newborns, she had to wait for the materials needed to make down jackets to be brought back by the hunters from outside before she could start crafting. So, during this time, she was essentially idle, only helping the Matriarch with miscellaneous tasks in the settlement, such as organizing hay and drying some food.

However, these chores taught Cloudy a lot. She learned about nearly twenty different "herbs" found by the locals, and besides herbs, Wowo also taught her how to make thin slices, a type of convenient dry food that can be carried around.

She also learned how the locals drilled holes in stones, which essentially relied on brute force... but relying solely on brute force had its drawbacks. If the force wasn't controlled properly, the stone would easily split into two parts, leading to a high failure rate. Therefore, stones with holes were considered lucky symbols in the settlement, worn as ornamental items on necklaces to symbolize faith. The necklace the Matriarch gave her when she was invited to the settlement already had two of them.

Thinking about being cooped up in the settlement for the next several tens of days, surrounded by unfamiliar people, Cloudy felt a bit nervous.

"Titus, Titus..." she got up and nudged the wild man sleeping beside her. After several nudges, Titus grumbled half-awake, "What's up? Is it morning?"

"No, it's still night."

Titus let out a mournful sound, "Then why wake me up?" He had just finished repairing several roofs today.

With only moonlight inside the house and the settlement quiet, only the sounds of insects could be heard. It wasn't Cloudy's fault; in such a quiet night, it was hard not to start overthinking when unable to sleep.

"Are you all going to start hunting outside again in two days?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Titus turned over, placing a hand on Cloudy, still half-asleep.

"Can I join the hunting party, go with you all?"

Titus pondered for a moment, then instantly became alert, "No, you can't! It's too dangerous! Why would you even think of that, Cloudy?"

As expected, she was denied, and Cloudy wasn't surprised because her proposal was made in the dead of night when she wasn't thinking clearly, "I don't know, these days in the settlement, I actually have nothing to do."
"Sure. Here is the translation of the Chinese text you provided:

"To help newborns, we need to wait for the materials..." These are all excuses, carefully imagining that being afraid of boredom, feeling that there is nothing to do is just an excuse, she just can't get away from Titus a bit.

"Is hunting outside really dangerous? I can't go with you guys at all?"

"When Cloudy doesn't rest, she will be exhausted. And other hunters won't agree to take you out with us."

Indeed, if she really followed Titus for an external hunt, she would just be dragging her feet. Titus and the others move very fast, and she can't keep up.

"If Cloudy feels bored, she can explore around the settlement, or even return to the cave nearby. However... staying in the settlement is the safest. I won't worry when I'm hunting outside." Titus' voice became quieter. "Cloudy came to the settlement for safety..."

Before he could finish, he closed his eyes and fell back asleep. Normally, Titus is very energetic, but these days he is very sleepy, preparing for the upcoming hunt. This time Titus slept even deeper, while Cloudy couldn't sleep at all.

She always felt something was wrong, for example, now Titus was holding her like a doll, and their sleeping position had become completely natural, like breathing. Titus must have no thoughts about her, because in this era... people probably didn't have the concept of love and affection, everyone was just partners, breeding for food and to strengthen the settlement, not to fulfill their spiritual world.

But Cloudy was different, she came from a place that valued the spiritual world highly, she had this need. So, is Titus the one for her?

The moonlight was temporarily blocked by clouds, darkening the room. This made the insect noises outside even more disturbing, Titus' arm on her was very heavy, and very hot... uncomfortably hot, but pushing her away would make her feel empty.

"..." She had indeed done many things for Titus, things she wouldn't dare to think about in modern times. Cloudy had never been in love, her knowledge in this area was only from friends, movies, TV shows, and novels. So, it was difficult for her to determine if her feelings for Titus were just a bridge effect.

If the first local person she had met was someone else, would she also become dependent?

In this unfounded dilemma, Cloudy spent a night without sleep. In the morning, Titus saw her dark circles and exclaimed, "Cloudy, did I hit you last night?!"

No, if you hit me, the wound would be even more exaggerated.

She sat on the bed, rubbing her eyes uncomfortably, "I didn't sleep last night." She didn't feel sleepy at all now, but thanks to the appearance of sunlight and Titus' silly face, some private or negative thoughts from last night were temporarily gone."
Faded away.

"It's so hot." Due to lack of sleep, Cloudy, feeling a bit irritable, tried to kick away Titus' thigh leaning against her waist. After the end of the rainy season, not only did the rainforest become hotter, but this wild man was burning like a furnace. "Tonight, I'm sleeping on the ground by myself."

"Then I'll sleep on the ground too."

"I'm sleeping alone!"

"No way!"

Just as Cloudy and Titus argued loudly about where to sleep at night, someone arrived at the door.

It was a local stranger whom Cloudy didn't recognize, but from his appearance and attire, he seemed to be a hunter.

"Titus, the kids are ready. We're training outside today, and you should come too." A hunter almost as tall as Titus stood at the door, curiously glancing at Cloudy. "Is this the new mate, the monster we threw out before?"

Titus growled disapprovingly, "Shut up, don't look." He got up directly from the bed to shield Cloudy.

The hunter also looked quite young. Cloudy bent down and peered through the gap between Titus' waist and elbow towards the door. During this stolen glance, the hunter and Titus exchanged words at lightning speed, making it impossible for Cloudy to understand a single word when they spoke at a normal pace.

Only after the hunter left, Titus briefly informed her that they would eat later, and he had to train some kids who would be hunting with them outside.