Chapter 83

Titus sat with his legs crossed, back against the tree trunk, his expression very serious. His eyebrows were furrowed, possibly due to the seriousness or nervousness, his pupils slightly dilated, almost filling his eye sockets, making it hard to see the whites of his eyes. His ears drooped tightly against his jaw.

Cloudy squatted in front of him, her expression not much better: "How are you feeling? Any better?"

"Um..." Titus's shoulders trembled slightly, his ears twitched twice. "I don't feel anything!" He now had stars in his eyes, his belly swollen and making gurgling sounds like water inside. Cloudy had forcefully filled him with a lot of water, and now he just felt uncomfortable, with his stomach bloated, head and eyes aching.

During his long time as a hunter, Titus rarely felt at a loss. The first time he felt lost was when he saw his compatriots die in front of him, the second time was when he was seriously injured for the first time during a hunt, the third time was during the rainy season when he lived in the cave with Cloudy, and now... now he didn't understand, he just felt physically fine but uncomfortable.

When Cloudy said something to him while he was uncomfortable, he didn't understand the last word, it sounded like Cloudy's settlement language, and the sound was probably "hangover."

"I want to kill them all, they're making me so uncomfortable." Titus covered his gurgling belly, slowly lay on his side, unable to relieve himself. "I want to kill them!"

"You've already killed them all." Cloudy comfortingly patted Titus's head. "Karma and I found the bodies of the enemies, with the markings you left behind. You drew my mark, remember?"

Titus vaguely remembered: "I was there, I saw them tear off your arm. I thought you were dead. But I couldn't find the body, so I left a mark..."

Using her mark as a grave made sense: "But Karma is missing, have you seen him? He and I went deep into the rainforest last night."

Titus shook his head, not looking particularly concerned about Karma. Perhaps as fellow hunters, he wouldn't worry so much about a companion... However, Cloudy couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, fearing that the body she stepped on earlier was Karma's. If so, it meant that during Titus's poisoning, not only did he kill the enemies but he likely also killed any companions who came to help.

Cloudy shared her thoughts with Titus, but he shook his head in denial: "I can remember scents, I haven't smelled Karma's scent, nor have the others."

"Are you sure? It took you a while to recognize me."

"I'm sure."

"Really?"

"..."

After Cloudy's repeated confirmations, Titus began to waver, lying on the ground making the same howling sounds as that morning.
"Impossible, impossible. Cloudy, why are you doing this? I know I didn't kill them, why are you misleading me? I'm not sure now."

"I'm not misleading you, I'm just confirming!" After giving Titus some water, Cloudy noticed he was becoming more alert. At least he hadn't repeated the nonsense of 'I saw many Cloudys!' As long as she kept talking to Titus, his logic seemed to be getting clearer.

"Maybe when you recover, we should look for other people." Cloudy pointed under the tree, "Also, is there anything to eat around here? Tell me, I'll go find something for you to eat. You probably haven't eaten anything these past two days."

"I feel like I ate something." Titus frowned. "I feel like I'm not hungry."

"You're not hungry now because I just made you drink a lot of water. You'll be hungry once you pee."

Titus wasn't hungry, but Cloudy was almost starving and had started nibbling on tree leaves. In fact, she had already done that. The leaves she used to give water to Titus had been crushed and chewed down, having a refreshing taste somewhat like cucumber, but with a more bitter and sour aftertaste when chewed, pulling at the walls of her mouth like something in the center was tugging at them.

Now that she knew Titus was okay, she relaxed all over, and the feeling of hunger became even clearer. Yesterday, due to being highly focused mentally, Cloudy hadn't paid attention to thirst and hunger. Now, she really wanted some dried meat and fish stew. Speaking of which, she rarely had dried meat and fish stew after returning to the settlement.

Dried meat and fish stew... thinking about it brought memories of the small wooden hut in the cave. Although there were very lonely times there, she felt very content after Titus returned. The days before the rainy season were the happiest for her after crossing over, like a summer vacation that couldn't be relived.

Cloudy blinked, looking at Titus, then at the dense and deep rainforest behind her. This was a place she had never set foot in, with completely unknown trees and animal species, surely with very high survival difficulty... not a place suitable for her to live in.

If she wanted to continue exploring here, she didn't think she was afraid.

She had changed, no longer the weak modern person she was months ago. Now she could rush into the depths of the rainforest to find Titus without hesitation, hide her tracks, travel at night, and look for clues of prey. She could do a lot now. Cloudy felt like she had become half a wild person, and if she had Titus's physique, she would be a complete wild person.

Should she feel... proud? Cloudy's eyes sparkled as she looked out at the rainforest beyond the platform, the sunlight getting brighter, specks of light dancing like glittering butterflies fluttering around, as if in a green lake. Maybe because she was at a higher distance from the ground, she couldn't smell any earthy scent.
The air here is denser and filled with the unique fragrance of plants compared to outside.

She didn't want to return to the settlement.

The idea suddenly appeared in her mind - she didn't want to go back, and she didn't want Titus to go back either. What about Kama and the others? According to their logic, Titus didn't need to continue risking his life to find companions.

If she left the settlement with Titus, then Titus wouldn't have to worry about the newborns anymore, nor would he have to hunt for the entire settlement. He would have what he wanted. But should she do this? She was definitely selfish, doing things for the settlement only because she liked Titus, and Titus wanted her to help the settlement, so she followed suit.

Cloudy shifted her gaze back to Titus, who was still lying on the ground groaning. Without a doubt, Titus was important to her, and without him, she would once again experience the pain of loneliness. But asking Titus to give up the settlement and leave with her would be too selfish.

The settlement's actions were undoubtedly selfish as well, but that was the "order" in the larger context to ensure the survival of the tribe in history, they had to do it. And she was just purely selfish, she liked Titus, wanted to be with him, didn't want him to be sad or in a difficult position - this was a personal thought.

She missed the times of freedom, drinking fish soup shoulder to shoulder with Titus in the cave, squeezing onto the tattered leaf bed in the small cabin. Titus rested his head on her down jacket, and she rested on Titus's arm.

"Titus, are you awake now?" Anyway, let's hear Titus's thoughts first. She moved over to hold Titus's hand. "I want to talk to you about something."

Cloudy's voice sounded serious, as if she thought she was going to be scolded for not being able to urinate, and was about to apologize and explain herself when...

"Do you want to leave the settlement and live somewhere else with me?"

Cloudy was almost knocked over by the suddenly sitting up Titus. She pushed her hands back to support her body. "What's wrong with you! Are you feeling unwell?"

Titus's face leaned close to hers, their noses almost touching. She couldn't see Titus's expression clearly, she could only hear gurgling sounds, as if Titus was making them from his throat. And then...

Titus started sniffing her again non-stop.

"I'm serious!!" This time, Cloudy used even more force to hit Titus's shoulder, her ears turning red with anger. "How many times do I have to say it for you to understand, I've said it so many times!! I'm serious!"

"Ah!!" Titus never expected Cloudy's punch to be so painful this time. She hit him right in the middle of his collarbone, causing him to start coughing uncontrollably. "Cloudy... you've gotten stronger."

The veins on her forehead pulsated, and she felt like rushing to bite Titus's ear: "Now..."
"Are you sure, if you think Cloudy is dead, then Cloudy is dead."

"No!! Cloudy is not dead! Cloudy is right here with me!" Titus howled even louder, holding onto Cloudy tightly. "Cloudy may scold me and hit me, but it's fine."

"...?" She couldn't be bothered to think about what the savage was babbling about. "Did you hear my question just now? Do you want to leave the settlement?"

She deliberately pulled back a bit from the settlement, allowing herself to observe Titus's expression. "Titus, during the time you've spent in the settlement, I understand why you don't like it. I understand very well. I think it's normal. They can't give you what you want, but you keep giving them what they want, and you're not happy."

Cloudy didn't give Titus a chance to interrupt. "I enjoyed living in the cave with you. I was very happy. When you left the cave to hunt outside, I felt very lonely. Looking back now, I didn't want you to go hunting outside. You could have brought back just enough for yourself to eat, without considering the whole settlement and the newborns."

When it came to the newborns, Titus's expression did indeed become somewhat stiff. Abandoning the newborns must have been very difficult for him, Cloudy understood.

"Regarding the newborns, I have provided two solutions for the settlement, warm shelters and warm clothing. I believe this can improve the newborns' survival. The next rainy season will be safe."

"Or, we could go back to how things were before." Cloudy felt this solution would be more acceptable to Titus. "I will leave the settlement and return to living in the cave, while you stay in the settlement."

"But why does Cloudy think like this?" Titus's mind was still a bit slow. "The settlement is safe, there's no harm in the settlement. I don't like the settlement, but you're safe in there, that's what I think."

"I don't feel it's safe there now. You will participate in hunting outside, you will be in danger, just like when you were captured this time." Cloudy took Titus's hand and placed it on her left chest.

"Now, only when Titus is safe, will Cloudy be safe."