Tanya stood by the edge of the village, watching as Bogart and his group tossed a bloodied and unconscious man onto the ground before walking away. She recognized his face immediately.
"It's Miles!" Star exclaimed, rushing over to get a closer look.
"Miles is incredibly strong," Moon added. "He can lift a woolly mammoth and hunt a saber-toothed tiger alone. How could he end up like this?"
Tanya was taken aback by their blunt words. Even someone from the end of the world like her found it hard to hear.
As Bogart and his group left, Star wanted to go help, but suddenly, Miles stirred and struggled to stand. He seemed to have the same destination in mind. When he looked up, his eyes met Tanya's.
For a brief moment, surprise flashed in his eyes.
Tanya raised an eyebrow. It was a strange coincidence. They both had been attacked by a giant snake and were now both cast out of their tribes.
Moon admired Miles greatly. When he saw his idol injured, he rushed out into the rain to help him inside. Star quickly started a fire.
Fortunately, Moon had gathered a lot of firewood the night before, so they had enough for now.
Tanya noticed that Miles's wounds had worsened overnight. His condition was deteriorating rapidly. She frowned and reached out to touch his forehead. It was burning hot.
"You're running a fever," she said.
She looked him over and asked, "You haven't cleaned or treated your wounds. Do you want to die?"
Star spoke up softly, "The shaman isn't in the village. He was called to the central tribe by the tribe leader."
Miles shook his head and looked at Tanya. "You..."
They were on the outskirts of the village, where only those abandoned by the tribe lived. Considering the siblings' past situation, Miles understood and didn't ask more questions.
Summer rains came quickly and left just as fast.
As soon as the rain stopped, Tanya went outside. With his fever this high, if they didn't find some herbs to treat him, he would surely die.
Miles also stood up, unsteadily, as if he wanted to go outside.
Tanya didn't understand. "You're injured like this. Where are you going?"
She didn't want to come back with herbs and find that he had already died from his injuries.
Miles knew his condition was bad. He leaned on Moon for support and used a wooden stick to help him walk. In a weak voice, he said, "Follow me."
His voice was faint, and his face was flushed, clearly suffering from a high fever. He was getting weaker.
But he was determined to go out.
Moon, full of admiration for his idol, didn't hesitate. Without waiting for Tanya to speak, he helped Miles out of the hut and into the distance.
Tanya followed with a cold expression. She couldn't understand why she was concerned. She was an outsider; why should she care?
Miles led them to a cave not far from the village's edge, very close to the hut. As they approached, Tanya smelled a faint scent of blood.
Miles pushed aside some branches and weeds that were covering the entrance and leaned against the cave wall to enter. After confirming it was safe, he waved them in.
The cave was dim, but it was shallow enough that the outside light illuminated the interior. Inside, there was a dead... lion?
It looked like a lion, but much larger than any she had seen in the animal world.
Moon exclaimed first, "Is this a cave lion?!"
"Miles, you're amazing! You hunted a cave lion by yourself?" Moon's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Cave lions were extremely fierce beasts. Even the tribe's warriors hunting together might not catch one because they were pack animals and rarely hunted alone.
Then Moon thought of something. "Miles, did you get injured while hunting this cave lion?"
Miles nodded weakly, leaning against the stone wall. "This place isn't safe. Move the meat. The lion isn't big, but it will feed you three for a while."
Tanya had been listening quietly. Looking at Miles now, she felt something stir in her hardened heart. This primitive man was interesting. Knowing he was dying, he still left the meat for them?
Their eyes met. Tanya smiled slightly. "Thank you."
Then she and Star dragged the cave lion to the riverbank, skinned it, cut the meat, and cleaned it. There was a lot of meat and many edible organs.
She kept some for the next two days and stored the rest in her space.
Hundreds of pounds of meat disappeared into thin air. Star stared in