They'd made it back through the forest to Fatty, who had eaten all the grass in her vicinity and was looking at them as though pleading to be untied from the tree so that she could eat more grass elsewhere. For the snoufles, life was all about eating grass as fast as possible.
Vaien quietly untied Fatty, and it was clear he was contemplating what Kalla said.
"How does Vaien going back help fix all your tribe's problems?" Zhang Han asked.
It was something he didn't have a clear picture on since he'd only been around Vaien the most from the start. His other run-ins with people had been rare and based on those experiences Vaien was clearly...an alpha when it came to power and menace.
Yet, it was hard to imagine that if he returned to Red Mane tribe it would mysteriously fix everything. The threat of food shortage and the Boris tribe would still exist.
Kalla turned to him and her eyes went wide. "Of course it will help us a lot! You don't know how much morale everybody lost after Vaien left. Plus," her eyes took on a more judgemental look, "you only know the mushrooms underground, so you also don't know how good you have it with my brother. You better treat him really well!"
"Kalla!" Vaien was exasperated.
"..." Zhang Han forgot Vaien lied about his origin. Right. Living with mushrooms underground. He thought it was a little funny. He answered, "I don't think I treat him poorly?"
Kally turned haughty and pompous as she singsonged, "Good, because my big brother was the best hunter in the whole tribe! It's not easy to find hunters that survive long-term. He was famous in the area, too, no one wanted to mess with him. The fact you two can even travel as just a pair is rare, a luxury!"
"Okay, sheesh, he gets it…" Vaien interrupted, half resigned to the nuisance that his younger sister would bring them. It was a grudging kind of family born tolerance. "You know you have him to thank for surviving the spider, right?"
"Whaaat?" her mouth hung open. "Really?" but if Vaien said so, he didn't bother with lying, so it must be true.
Kalla gave Zhang Han a long look. His face was calm as usual as he sat atop the snoufle, an air of maturity radiating from him. Especially so when he never grew annoyed or angry from Kalla's rude ways of speaking. At first she barely spared him a look because he was so weak, but now she thought that after all, the person her brother like couldn't be so simple.
"Zhang Han," she said, staring him in the eyes, "Thanks for saving me!"
Mildly surprised to receive any form of gratitude, Zhang Han just nodded. Although Kalla's mouth might be a bit crude at times and she took after her brother's haughty ways, she still gave credit where it was due.
"Hey," Vaien gestured at Zhang Han, "get down from the saddle. Come over here."
Vaien had dug out medical supplies from their luggage. There were bandages and medicinal herbs grasped in his hands and swirling determination in his irises.
Even Zhang Han was a bit uncomfortable from that intense gaze and took a step back after he dismounted. Seriously, ever since he'd gotten sick and injured that one time, Vaien's attitude had taken a great shift. Before he could be hardly bothered to treat Zhang Han's minor wounds. At most he would grudgingly hold off making him do things if he wasn't in the best shape.
He knew that he should just accept that Vaien was now treating him more...considerately, but it was kind of hard to get used to. Maybe Zhang Han didn't want to admit it that things between them had changed.
Vaien saw how Zhang Han was backing off from him and his expression turned fiercer.
"Don't back away."
Zhang Han took a step toward him, awkwardly and woodenly. His face was a mix of dull confusion and tepidness as he objected, "I can do it myself."
"Just put out your hands!"
There was no point resisting. Zhang Han exhaled a breath and put out his palms and Vaien quickly went to work dabbing off blood and wrapping them up.
Kalla's mouth was gaping open, her two amber eyes widened like bells as she watched the scene unfold. Seriously, it still surprised her every time…
Just why did her brother like him? At this point it isn't just lusting after a person with unique colored hair and eyes. This was a level of dedication Vaien rarely gave to others. And yet from what she'd witnessed so far, Zhang Han was just about the weakest person she'd ever met! He was no better than a pollywoggle. But, he did apparently find a way to get around that spider, which meant...he must be clever.
There was an air of maturity about him, too.
Was that what her brother was into?
Kalla suddenly had an idea. Vaien was willing to listen to Zhang Han's opinion. It might be easier for her to talk to Zhang Han, and have him convince her brother to help their tribe...besides, it would not hurt to know him a little better.
But for now Vaien was still being ambivalent over everything. She didn't want to pressure him too early lest they get into another fight and she wasn't allowed to travel with them anymore. Yeah, she better not piss him off again! At least not right now.
...
Later in the day, the three of them camped near the outskirts of the forest.
A blazing fire sat in front of Zhang Han, just what he needed to stay warm under a cool night sky filled with stars. Vaien had caught a large blue-striped snake for dinner, gutted a third of it and cut that so it could roast over the flame.
"Zhang Han," Vaien beckoned him closer to the fire. "Yesterday you got out of it, but today I'm gonna have you keep the bet we made."
Zhang Han stared blankly at the chunk of snake meat roasting over the fire.
"...however, I don't know how to cook."
Kalla was in awe. "You don't??"
But Vaien just yawned. "Bah, Kalla and I will eat anything, we'll just complain if it's horrible. And everyone has to start somewhere."
Zhang Han had three different kinds of seasonings pressed into his hands. The number was so few and yet so many. One was salt, which he recently learned, the other was this orange powder he knew nothing of, and the last were these small and dried green leaves. Zhang Han didn't even know that leaves would make a good seasoning until now.
He stared at the roasting meat with dull apprehension. How much of the spices was he supposed to use? A lot or a little? Apply more every few minutes while it cooked? He'd watched Vaien cooking things that always tasted delicious afterwards many times, but yet it was hard to tell what kind of nuance he used to do so.
Perhaps what kind of meat was being cooked would also affect the balance that a seasoning had on it. There were so many uncertain factors.
"Zhang Han," Vaien said pointedly. "Just put on some damned seasoning."
With an air of solemnity, Zhang Han pinched out salt and dropped it onto the snake meat. It was sizzling from the flames below but still appeared to cook gradually. He methodically applied the green-leafy herb around the snake.
Vaien could finally lean back and enjoy the sight of Zhang Han cooking. He looked so awkward and confused--how cute.
Kalla wasn't paying too close of attention, opting to remain on the lookout over the forest.
At some point Zhang Han felt as though he'd put too much of the leaves on just one patch of tan snake meat. He was not sure what to do, but picked up a stick from the fire to shift it. The stick he used only had embers along the bottom portion of it, but as soon as he touched it to the snake meat the entire chunk went up in flames.
That was because the meat was covered in its own fats and oils, which were quite flammable when a fire comes into direct contact.
Vaien was a little stunned, but then just ran a hand through his hair as he came over. He put out the fire on the snake meat.
Zhang Han was still reeling from his mistake, staring at the charred mark that appeared.
"...don't sweat over it," said Vaien. "I'm sure it'll taste fine."