And that frustrated her more than she wanted to admit.
Right now, all she could do was buy ti—ti to figure them out, ti to decide how to lead them, or if she even could.
She took a deep breath, trying to shake the weight off her chest.
What a ss, she muttered inwardly.
Night had fallen quietly, wrapping the forest in cool air and soft shadows. Kaya sat near the fire, sleeves pushed up, focused on the large clay pots in front of her. She’d asked Cutie not to help tonight—not because she didn’t need it, but because she wanted to do this herself. He had enough on his plate, taking care of the injured. And well... she had a lot of new spices she was itching to try.
The at she bought from Abaya wasn’t going to last long, so she decided to cook it all—maybe five to seven kilos. She didn’t have a way to asure, but she could guess. She cut it into small pieces, working quietly as the flas flickered beside her.
There wasn’t any oil, which annoyed her, but she made do. She poured water into the pot, tossed in the at, and started adding crushed garlic, onions, dried chilies, turric, bay leaves, and whatever other spices she’d managed to get from the market. The sll didn’t co right away. At first, the fire crackled, and steam rose slowly, but soon... it changed.
The scent started drifting into the air—rich, warm, spicy. It was enough to make her pause and smile a little. Behind her, the Nikala beastn, who’d been eyeing her with quiet doubt all day, began to turn their heads. So sniffed the air. So stared.
They didn’t say anything, but she could feel the change. Even the most serious ones looked curious now.
She had to cook in three pots, one after another, because they were too small to hold everything at once. It took a long ti, over an hour and a half, but she didn’t rush. This wasn’t just food. It was sothing warm in their stomachs. Sothing familiar. Maybe even a little comforting.
When the last pot was done, Kaya stood, brushing her hands on her clothes. She was tired, smoky, and sore from crouching for so long.
Kaya glanced down and frowned. Her top—wasn’t it white before? Now it looked like it had taken a dive into a muddy pit. Torn in a few places, stained with dirt, dark and musky like damp soil. She let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead in irritation.
"What the hell..." she muttered under her breath. Yeah, this one was done for. No way she could wear it again.
She looked around and her eyes landed on the basket she’d brought back earlier. Oh right—she’d picked up so clothes too. She dug through it and found a roll of thick white cotton fabric buried at the bottom. It was heavy, a bit rough, like sothing spun by hand. Definitely not the modern soft kind. But honestly, it wasn’t bad. Winter was creeping in anyway. Sothing thick and warm would be useful.
As she was inspecting the cloth, a voice interrupted her from behind.
"Um... do you want to make clothes?"
She turned slowly, not expecting anyone. Standing there was one of the quiet ones from the Nikala beastn group. She hadn’t caught his na yet, but she rembered him—he barely spoke a word since they’d t.
Kaya stared at him for a mont. Her eyes landed on the small brown ears poking out of his head, twitching slightly.
"You..." she said, trying to piece it together. She tilted her head. The ears were familiar, but not enough to spark recognition. She racked her brain—it’s not like she could na every animal on earth on command.
Seeing her confused expression, the man gave a small nod and said simply, "I’m a bear beastman."
Kaya blinked. A bear?
Her eyes instinctively scanned his lean fra again. He was tall but thin—kind of like Vayu, the snake. Definitely didn’t scream "bear."
"...You don’t look like one," she said honestly, still a bit thrown off.
The man just gave a small smile and shrugged, like he was used to it.
Kaya, still holding the fabric in her hand, let out a tired sigh. This world... was just full of surprises.
But just as Kaya was about to say sothing else, a thought struck her—there was no sewing machine here. No needle kit. No nebulizer. Nothing. So how was this guy even going to fix or make clothes?
She stared at him for a mont, a little unsure. Her eyes dropped to his ears, which now drooped ever so slightly like he was worried she might say no.
"Umm... okay?" she finally said, her tone more like a question than an answer.
The mont the word left her mouth, his ears perked up instantly, and a wide smile stretched across his face—like soone had just handed him a sack of gold. Kaya blinked. What just happened?
She glanced around, then looked back at him. Wait. What was his na again?
She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh... so... about the asurents, um... Mr. Bear... sir?"
At that, his ears twitched again, clearly amused, and he chuckled.
"My na is Kyuu," he said gently.
Kaya scrunched her brows. "Huh? Q?"
The bear man shook his head, smiling. "No, no. Kyuu."
"Wait," Kaya said, pointing a finger toward her temple like she was thinking hard. "You an... K-Y-U-U?"
That did it.
Everything around her went quiet.
Like dead quiet.
It was as if she had just whispered so ancient forbidden spell into the wind. All eyes in the cave turned to her with a stunned look.
Kaya blinked, looking from one wide-eyed face to the next.
"Um... did I say sothing wrong?" she asked, voice low, confused, and just a bit defensive.
Silence.
Even the fire seed to pause its crackle.
Kaya looked back at Kyuu, who now stared at her like she’d grown a second head.
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