The three people got to work collecting the moss. During the week, they were able to make another large bowl. Vish couldn't help sighing at the toughness of the Tiger tribe's claws.
Fil was the one to help carve out a large basin for her to use. She has been making the vitality stew for everyone these past few days. Everyone has shown improvement in their overall health and stamina. Even Visha felt it was a blessing in disguise.
Whoever this Hearth Keeper is definitely knows how to put the surrounding flora to good use. Visha mused that she might meet this person someday, if they were still alive.
Today, instead of using the basin to make vitality stew, she would use it to make a paste with the clay moss.
It is relatively simple to make. The dilemma lay in how to get water and clay moss to bind. According to the recipe book, she needs something called binder reed. Does Visha know what binder reed is? No.
Which means she needs to use Nature's Echo to check whether this reed is nearby. They say that where there is a poison, the antidote is close at hand.
Visha started looking around the cavern, while Xeno and Uri continued to pick enough clay moss to ensure that five caves could be covered.
She found it in a damp alcove. It is a reed-like plant with thick stalks. It grows in shallow water. What Visha needed was the sap from the stalk. When cut, it produces a sap which acts as a natural emulsifier.
Visha couldn't help jumping for joy when she found it.
This was exactly what she needed. She used the stone knife to cut some stalks and went back to Uri and Xeno.
Xeno stood there with a bundle of clay moss in his hands. Uri stepped up to take the binder reed from Visha when he saw her coming with it.
"Ready to go back?" Uri asked, with a smile.
Visha nodded.
On the way back, Visha started explaining to them what she wanted to do.
"The place is getting colder. Although we have ways to warm the cave, I think we need extra protection." Motioning to the clay moss and binder reed in their arms, "these things can make a paste that can cover the holes in the cave. It can also trap the heat. So if we use the ever-embers, we should be warm all winter."
Pleased with herself, Visha couldn't help humming and swaying as she walked.
The two men saw her joy and smiled at her. Her glee caused them to be happy as well.
They didn't call the others to help.
Visha decided they would experiment on their own cave first, before bothering others.
When they arrived, they saw Krag and Chi walking around. It seemed they had gone out to explore on their own. It is understandable, as staying in a cave all day long would be torture for many people.
Especially considering what Visha thought she had discovered about the two people. With her guess, she was no longer as wary of them as she had initially been. She knew she might be wrong, but she was willing to take a chance.
She figured there must be a reason they decided to follow her when she left the cave. And whatever their actual motives, she would discover it eventually.
"Did you go exploring?" she asked.
Chi nodded, "We couldn't stay in the cave all day. It's cold, but at least it's something to do."
Her eyes looked briefly at the things in the male's hands. She didn't ask questions.
Visha, however, seeing her looking smiled and said, "I'm using it to block the cave. This place might get colder, so I decided to fix it."
Chi nodded, and Krag looked at the two men.
"Krag, remember what you promised," Xeno called out to him.
"I remember," he responded, nodding slightly.
Both couples made their way to their respective caves.
Visha couldn't lift the stone basin. She took the reeds from Uri and asked him to bring the stone basin. She then used the ever-ember to build a fire.
She only needed to place it close to the dry moss for a while for it to ignite, and she could make a fire. She still didn't understand how it was able to make moss combust, yet she could hold it in her hands.
She shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore.
As she stoked the first, Uri brought the stone basin. Using some strong wood, they hollowed out the center and used it to hold the basin. This way, the stone basin would heat up without sitting in the fire.
It took some time for the stone basin to heat up. So, while they waited for the water to simmer, Xeno and Visha shredded the clay moss. Uri broke the reed and squeezed the sap into a bowl.
The three sat together doing their individual work.
Visha couldn't help but look at Uri's missing left hand. She wondered if the system would reward her with something that could help him one day. Maybe, a robotic prosthetic.
Seeing him with one arm made her feel sad.
At the same time, she didn't pity him. She knew that wasn't what she needed to do. What she needed to do was to make him feel secure. Let him know that regardless of whether he has one or two arms, he will still be able to protect her.
She realized that the protection of females is a big thing for the Tiger and Snake tribe.
The experience with the people who came to take the cave made her realize that she is trapped in a bubble. The people she might meet after winter could pose a threat to both herself and everyone in this grotto.
She hoped they wouldn't run into major trouble.
But sometimes, heaven has a sick sense of humour.
As they worked, she looked at Uri. She couldn't help looking at his lithe body that was obviously built for agility. His eyes that seemed to speak, telling you a thousand things at one or conveying nothing. His angular face and his hair full of reds and yellows.
No matter how many times she saw him, she couldn't help being in awe.
Then, there is Xeno, whose body is obviously bigger than Uri's. His body looked more athletic. The muscles are more prone to explosive power rather than being nimble like Uri. His hair seemed like a mane around him. His face, all sharp angles.
Yet, no matter which one of them, Visha could not help that she was undeniably attracted to both men.
"See something you like, Sha'mīn." The smirk on Uri's face made me blush a little.
"I'm looking at how handsome my men are. Should I not?" She smirked back at him, now opening, ogling them both.
"Look, you can look as much as you like. If you wish, I can take off everything I have on and give you the chance to examine me thoroughly." His eyes darkened.
Holding her gaze, she felt as though if she gave him the chance, he would take her right now. His hungry gaze scorched her and sent shockwaves through her body.
She broke away from his gaze and continued breaking up the clay moss.
Where she couldn't see, Uri licked his lips, like the predator he truly was.
Waiting for the chance to taste his female.