Chapter 99

"Why did Cloudy catch it? It's not right. Mine will die."

"I don't know."

"Why cover it like this?"

"I don't know."

"Its belly is big, its claws are sharp, very dangerous."

"I don't know."

"Cloudy!"

Titus finally couldn't help but reach out to grab Cloudy, who had been ignoring him, and forced her to turn slightly to face him: "You keep saying you don't know, it's annoying! You clearly know."

"You said you wanted to eat it this morning, that's annoying too!" Cloudy shrugged, trying to push Titus's hand away. Since they successfully returned from their hunting trip two days ago and the third group went out, Titus had been acting very strange.

He hardly slept at night, only dozing for an hour or two before nervously sitting up, tossing and turning in bed. If Cloudy was woken up by him, he would grab her and say strange things, including but not limited to how big the prey he caught this time was, and how he also found a hidden place where a large group was nesting.

In short, he was boasting about how much value he had created in just a few days of hunting. It was indeed impressive, and Cloudy had sincerely praised him... but he had been waking her up way too many times!!

And this morning, Titus finally turned his attention to the innocent green monkey in the cage, probably because he was annoyed that Cloudy had been focusing on the backyard these past few days, either taking care of her slightly budding plants or circling around that ugly little animal.

"It's too dangerous to keep it here, let's eat it." After Cloudy rejected this absurd proposal, Titus started to nag and question incessantly, exhausting Cloudy's patience in just one morning.

She didn't know what was wrong with Titus. Although he wasn't a silent person by nature, he wasn't particularly talkative when there was nothing to do. If he had nothing to do, he would usually leave the settlement or come back soaking wet from swimming to sleep, rather than staying by her side chattering nonsense that didn't need to be repeated.

Did he eat something wrong while hunting?

She squinted and looked seriously at Titus crouching beside her, his eyes shining as if all six pupils were slightly dilated with excitement. His pointed ears fluttered slightly, and when Cloudy looked at him, his ears perked up and stuck to his head, looking very happy.

His skin seemed to be slightly darker, going from 30% chocolate to 40%. It was clear that he was in good health, looking energetic all over.

"Titus, since you have nothing to do, can you help me check on the meat?"

After they returned from hunting, everyone in the settlement was shocked by the size of the prey. It was indeed a very, very large dinosaur. When they brought it back to the settlement, it was barely breathing and eventually was knocked out.
The way to store the dismembered skulls and limbs, as well as the meat in the settlement, is mostly by air-drying. Cloudy took this opportunity to improve the way meat jerky is made by applying spices, air-drying for a period, and then baking it in a stone kiln until dry, turning it into very delicious jerky...

Now, other mothers are probably busy building new stone kilns to roast the jerky, as there is a shortage of spices, so only the first batch was used. The air-dried meat this time can sustain the entire settlement through the third and fourth external hunts, solving the food shortage in the settlement.

Could it be because of this? With the basic survival staple for newborns and other fellow settlers solved, Titus became very relaxed? But it still doesn't feel quite right...

"I'm not going, Mother will look." Titus sat at Cloudy's feet, starting to pick at the mud on the ground. He also stared at the small green monkey in the cage. "It's too small, not as big as the ones I catch."

The expulsion was ineffective, and for the next several hours, Titus seemed to be hyperactive, running around her chirping incessantly, unable to stop. Cloudy finally couldn't help but want to clarify, "Why do you keep going, non-stop." Titus may not have understood her meaning, "Because I came back."

"No... before the external hunts ended, you would be tired. Then sleep for many days, sleeping every day. Not like this, running around, talking non-stop." Cloudy explained with difficulty, "But now, Titus is very energetic. Not tired."

"Yes, I'm not tired." Titus didn't feel like Cloudy was complaining at all, just staring at her with bright eyes. "I help Cloudy with things."

This is also the problem. In the Green Slope and Cave Dwelling period, Cloudy may have had countless tasks for Titus to help with. But now she doesn't have plans to continue making tools, nor anything else to make. Planting and caring for animals cannot be entrusted to Titus...

From what Titus just expressed, he doesn't want to help the mothers with their work, he must stay by her side. Is this being clingy? Being clingy is a good thing... she doesn't mind Titus sticking around, but he talks too much! Today, sometimes Titus doesn't even pay attention to his speaking speed, causing her to not understand many things he says.

Plus, the temperature is very high, and Titus squatting next to her is like a big furnace.

Originally thought Titus's high spirits would end in a day or two, but in reality... five days later, he still hasn't stopped, and during these five days, Titus basically didn't sleep, with the longest sleep being around 3 hours.

Cloudy didn't even have time to feel happy about successfully raising the green monkey, just constantly pondering what's going on with Titus in this abnormally excited state, similar to drinking a liter of coffee.

The answer appeared on the sixth day, Wowben and another mother in the settlement, clearly female... is pregnant. Cloudy was watching the pregnant woman closely.
When Cloudy learned from Wahben that the best time to conceive is when the temperature is highest, she considered that these wild people's bodies were different from those in her world, so she could only assume they had a breeding season, which coincided with the peak temperature each year.

Perhaps the breeding season wasn't so strict, but the highest temperatures seemed to make some people restless. So, was Titus acting crazy because it was breeding season? Besides being energetic, he didn't show any other signs related to breeding...?

However, strangely enough, Titus didn't seem to care about anyone in the settlement being pregnant; his attitude could almost be described as... indifferent. When Cloudy asked about it, he just grunted in response.

After observing the pregnant women, Titus carried Cloudy back home. She still remembered when Matriarch had told her why Titus had no offspring - it was because he couldn't bear the thought of his descendants dying, so he completely resisted the idea.

In conclusion, Titus was truly a peculiar wild person.

"These days, Titus seems very excited," Cloudy sat on his shoulder, lost in thought. She found discussing this topic awkward but not discussing it felt even stranger. "Wouldn't it be uncomfortable if you didn't breed?"

"?" Titus looked puzzled, turning his head to Cloudy. "Why uncomfortable?"

"Just uncomfortable... because... not breeding?"

"Cloudy is strange."

Aren't you the strange one!!

Thinking back over these days, because he often boasted about catching a huge wild beast and was full of energy, unable to sleep, always wanting to help her and show off in front of her. Wasn't this mating behavior? Wasn't it?

As Cloudy thought about it, her face started to blush. No, wait... what was she thinking? If this was mating behavior, what should she do? Did she want Titus to be engaging in mating behavior? She didn't know, it was and it wasn't. Cloudy had always been in a state of confusion about her relationship with Titus - friends, partners, like family, occasionally like lovers.

After crossing to this place, all she thought about every day was how to survive. After meeting Titus, it seemed like she had added something - wanting to survive happily, wanting to play with Titus. His presence undoubtedly protected her mental state.

If she had been alone all this time, although she could survive in the wild, her mental state would definitely be very poor... Going for a long time without human contact would surely drive her crazy, and just communication wouldn't be enough. She came from modern society, and the mental needs of modern people could be terrifyingly large. Phones, computers, idol fandom, subcultures, stage plays, movies, TV shows, music... All these mixed together might still not be interesting enough. Yet, in this era, she surprisingly managed to sustain her mental needs solely through Titus.

She gazed at the wild man's fur.
The fluffy side of her head couldn't help but reach out and rub it a couple of times. The feeling was nice, allowing for uninhibited physical contact. Cloudy had no experience in love, so at this moment, her dependence on Titus might not be "love"... she wasn't sure herself.

However, seeking "love" in such times is already an ambiguous concept in itself, she thought. If Titus were to have a newborn with someone in the settlement in the future, she wouldn't particularly mind, maybe she would even offer her blessings... right?

"..."

No, her brain momentarily stalled. She realized she wouldn't offer her blessings, and just having that thought made her unhappy. The most primal feelings of possessiveness and anger emerged in her mind, even though nothing had happened yet, her brain was already imagining scenarios.

Titus stood with another unfamiliar tribesperson, holding a strange monkey child... so strange!! Everything felt so strange!

She didn't want her tribesperson to become someone else's tribesperson?! Thinking about it, Cloudy grimaced, reaching out and grabbing Titus's ear, shouting, "You're mine!!"

"Huh?" Titus was taken aback by the shout, his ear uncomfortable as he instinctively tried to pull away from Cloudy's grip, only to be held tighter.

The tables had turned, with Titus previously constantly saying this to her, now it was her turn: "Mine!"

"What's wrong with Cloudy?"

"..."

Cloudy let go of his ear, feeling a bit embarrassed after the empty provocation, what was she doing? Senselessly thinking Titus was courting her, and overthinking... was she losing it? "Nothing..."

Although unsure of what was going on in Cloudy's mind, Titus reached out and patted her back, "No need to shout, everyone knows."

"Knows what?"

"I'm Cloudy's."

"..."

Cloudy lowered her head, covering her blushing face with her hand, falling silent, as Titus carried her back to their little hut.