Chapter 85

After eating and drinking their fill, Titus somewhat regained his energy, and his eyes were no longer clouded as before. Cloudy believed it was the power of the insects. While Titus was eating, she closed her eyes and ate one as well, sparing no description of the taste and texture, but she made it clear that she would never eat such a thing if she had a choice.

By the afternoon, Titus finally felt something. He ran to the platform to deal with the "issue," and Cloudy had to follow along. She was afraid that Titus might stumble and fall off the edge of the platform, even though with Titus's weight... she wouldn't be able to stop him from falling, but at least she would save face.

After the matter was more or less resolved, Titus took a deep breath and looked visibly more relaxed. "I can't see anything in front of me that's glowing. I feel much better now."

"Do you feel stronger?" Cloudy pinched his thigh and arm. "If you're feeling stronger, should we leave here? Should we return to the settlement today?"

She decided that if Titus said they couldn't leave, she would prepare to live on this platform for a few days. Last night, she had a restless sleep; there were no beds or pillows here, making it very uncomfortable. The only comfort might be the thick, natural plant curtains hanging down on both sides of the platform, cleverly enclosing it in a semi-open space.

The platform was ten meters long but only about four meters wide, relatively narrow. This morning, while Titus was sleeping, Cloudy cleared away some slippery plants to avoid her slipping and falling to her death.

"Not really," Titus shook his head, still feeling weak in his legs. "Usually, I could carry you and we would quickly return. But there are many wild beasts around here, I think it's quite dangerous, we can't move."

The platform beneath their feet was sturdy enough for them to stay on for a few days. Food and water were not an issue; Cloudy was confident that the resources on this big tree would be enough for them to eat for over ten days, so they didn't need to worry about going hungry. "Then let's stay here until you recover. Maybe Kama will find us? Or someone else will find us, and then they can take us back."

Titus smiled, "No, it's been two days already. If they see the bodies everywhere without me, they will go back. They are about to start the external hunt soon, and the Matriarch won't allow the hunt to be delayed."

Alright, considering the time, Kama and the others must have returned to the settlement yesterday. Cloudy felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She tried not to think about the settlement, as it only made her anxious. It was better to take things one step at a time. "I want to prepare a bed so we can sleep comfortably after sunset today. We both need to clean up."

Titus was too weak now, so Cloudy nodded obediently to whatever she said. "I want to help. I should be able to make a bed."

That's fine. Cloudy looked around; she only needed to collect some large tree leaves.
Sure, here is the English translation of the text you provided:

"Come, let Titus gather and lay them out. Cleaning the body is a bit troublesome, collecting water from the leaves is not as comfortable as jumping into the pool for a thorough soak. Thinking of this, Cloudy began to miss the small pool in the cave... I wonder what the cave looks like now.

Having climbed up and down 20 meters to collect food, Cloudy doubted her own physical strength at this moment. So, she shifted her focus to places that didn't require climbing. Cloudy first picked some curtains surrounding the platform. Unfortunately, these plants with soft small leaves, although good natural screens, were uncomfortable when laid on the ground. Gathering all the leaves together didn't yield much.

While she was trying, Titus thought she was peeling the leaves to eat. Without waiting for Cloudy to speak, he picked up the leaves on the ground and started munching on them. Cloudy was a bit speechless, but she couldn't say that she didn't consider these leaves as food: "Is Titus very hungry? Just ate a lot of bugs."

Titus had eaten at least a dozen bugs, but the greasy stuff couldn't satisfy him. "Very hungry, I want meat." Titus chewed on the leaves with his eyes fixed straight ahead. "Eating too many bugs makes me uncomfortable."

Really? So, you know that eating too many bugs makes you uncomfortable. Cloudy lowered her head, rubbing the vine in her hand. After removing all the leaves, these vines, only half a finger wide, caught her interest. Unlike the vines she used before, this one was more like a willow branch, strong yet very flexible. "Titus, besides deep in the rainforest, are there these plants elsewhere?"

"No, only here, and there are more further in." Titus looked at Cloudy. "Cloudy, aren't you hungry? You didn't eat much earlier, just a little."

"Not hungry, not hungry." Cloudy had to toughen up. Although she was a bit dizzy from hunger, she really didn't want to continue eating bugs. "I'll make the bed first, and then I'll find you something to eat."

Titus looked a bit awkward, yes, awkward... Cloudy saw him like this for the first time, his eyes flickering, lips moving, wanting to come closer to her, but due to feeling weak all over, he could only squirm in place. "Cloudy, don't you dislike it, the hunter is useless."

There was no trace of self-doubt, hesitation, or unease in his voice anymore. Cloudy could tell that this wild man lying on the ground, squirming slightly, knew she would answer "don't dislike it," so he deliberately asked like this. In other words, Titus was being coquettish, even though he didn't know exactly what being coquettish meant, he had already learned it instinctively.

"Don't dislike it, Titus is useful. I like it."

Just as Cloudy finished speaking, she saw Titus's ears flap twice, and a terrifying smile appeared on his face. "I still want to eat bugs, will Cloudy catch them for me."

While chatting with Titus, Cloudy had already casually gathered the vine she had just mentioned."
The items were neatly bundled up, ready to be taken away when she left. She planned to collect more later, thinking she could use these vines to challenge herself with weaving a backpack or something similar.

Next on the agenda was preparing a bed for the night's rest, which wasn't complicated at all. She just needed to gather as many tree leaves as possible from the surrounding area. As she collected, Cloudy stumbled upon a large leaf under which there were numerous clusters of purple-red insect eggs, resembling pomegranate seeds.

While she found it disgusting, Titus was delighted. He plucked the eggs one by one, crushing them to extract the insect juice. Cloudy, after a brief taste, gave up - there was no sweetness like ripe fruit, only a pungent smell.

Creating a simple leaf bed didn't take long. Even the pillow was made by rolling up leaves. After enjoying the insect eggs, Titus lay down comfortably on the bed. He seemed completely unconcerned about their current situation, exuding a sense of relaxation that Cloudy couldn't help but notice.

Cloudy decided not to disturb Titus with negative talk. He needed a positive mindset to recover from his discomfort. Once Titus was settled, Cloudy planned to climb a tree for the second round of food gathering, aiming for the larvae hidden beneath the moss.

The second climb went smoother, as Cloudy remembered the footholds and climbing route from the morning. After ascending about 10 meters, she dropped the moss directly down to Titus, who caught it skillfully.

After peeling off five clumps of moss, Cloudy adjusted her position and sat on a nearby tree branch, taking a deep breath. Her mind was blank at that moment.

Following the routine of chatting with Titus, making the bed, and collecting food left her feeling weary. The once lush rainforest now took on a yellowish hue as the day progressed, resembling wilted greens left too long in the fridge.

As night approached, she would return to Titus to rest together, awaiting the sunrise in the darkness. They would then continue their daily routine until Titus recovered, at which point they would return to the settlement and resume their planned life.

Cloudy glanced at the nearby area, where the giant leaves were tinted yellow by the sunlight, swaying gently in the wind. Their different colors shimmered in the light, creating a dazzling effect. She found herself swaying her legs along, trying to uplift her mood.

Taking care of Titus and playing with him brought her great joy. Having someone by her side made the days much more bearable than trying to find happiness alone.

However, amid the joy, a sense of melancholy crept in for Cloudy. She had intended to rest and calm her mind, but her thoughts began to wander again as she looked down through the gap between her knees.

Just a slight lean forward, a loosening of the grip... What was she thinking? Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she realized that perhaps too much had happened in these past few days.
Feeling overwhelmed leads to strange emotions. It could also be due to exhaustion from lack of rest and not eating enough. If she were given a large pot of stewed meat soup right now, she wouldn't have time to think about whether she's tired or not; she would just dive into eating.

She raised her hand to her forehead briefly, then after a short break, she continued working. Besides the food for Titus, she also gathered some edible plants for him. Later, no matter what, she had to stuff a few big white worms into her stomach to calm the restlessness caused by hunger.

...

"What's wrong?" Titus stared in astonishment as Cloudy grabbed a larva and stuffed it into her mouth. "Wait, you don't like eating this, do you?"

Cloudy, with her eyes closed, didn't have time to respond. She covered her mouth with her hand, forcing herself to crush the insect with her front teeth and swallow it down. "Wu wu... wu wu..."

"Cloudy! Don't cry! Why are you crying?!"

Surely, she cried because it tasted bad! Cloudy still kept her eyes shut, bravely eating the worms.