As the sun sank, the atmosphere of Etveya's forest once more fell into darkness. The enormous trees that encircled him provided shade for Gideon as the Garavons, who had been following him all day, stayed above the treetops.
The only sound was the wind rustling through the dense foliage that covered the entire region. Then, using the wooden branch he carried around as a broom, Gideon started to sweep the small area around him. removing the dried grass and leaves. He laid the sticks and trees he had gathered on the ground and built a tinder nest after making sure the small area he was in had been cleaned.
As soon as he had done constructing the tinder nest of easily ignited sticks, he knelt and started spinning a two foot long stick as a spindle on top of another wood. Because of the Garavons lurking in the trees, he refrained from climbing up to rest, and because there weren't any packs of Unicorn Wolves out like last night, he chose to create a fire on the ground.
He spun the spindle repeatedly while biting his lower lips; it took some time, but he eventually managed to start his own fire. When he saw the fire, he smiled and sat next to it, adding more wood to it.
"Joining the Boy Scouts has its own set of benefits," he ascertained. He sat on a large wooden plank behind him, staring at the fire he had started.
He remained silent for a few moments while eating the fruit of Ilagina, the only accessible fruit that he was certain was edible. He had four of them, one of which he was already eating, and the other three were just lying on the ground beside him.
"I wonder how long it will be before I reach civilization," he thought as he stared at the fire. "Or if I'm on the right track."
Some of the creatures in the area were drawn to the fire he set, they eventually descended from the trees and made their way toward him to join him in the heat of the flames. The fire was approached by five Garavons. Except for the fact that they were more muscular than he was, they were the same size as Gideon. They appeared imposing, but they exhibited no signals of antagonism toward him. The only things that could be seen in their yellow eyes were curiosity and a desire to learn.
Gideon did not speak or move when his visitors entered his small sanctuary; instead, he simply observed them with his hazy but alert eyes, watching for any indication of anger from the Garavons as a result of the fire he had started. They usually just sat in the trees and watched him, but this time they were seated next to Gideon by a lone campfire. Their lovely, cotton-like white furs that covered their entire body overwhelmed Gideon's eyes with admiration when he saw them up close. The animal next to him appeared to have extraordinarily soft fur, but despite his intense urge to touch them, he did nothing but watch.
One of the Garavons mimicked Gideon by bringing its black palm close to the flames and laughing as it felt their warmth. Similar to the first, the other four did the same, giggling and then whooping with joy at their discovery.
"You like fire, huh? But I'd say playing with them isn't a good idea," he said, staring at them. Although he couldn't detect any danger in their approach, he was still on the lookout for any changes in the Garavons' behavior and would flee if he saw any.
Gideon had eaten all of the Ilagina he had in less than an hour. The Garavons were still there, silently accompanying him, and whenever his gaze met one of them, all they did was cackle and show their teeth at him as a greeting.
"You're all more peaceful than I expected; to be honest, I expected you to swarm on me the moment you saw me walking around." He rested his hand on his chin. "But the corpses of those horned, giant wolves tell me that you are hostile; what could possibly be the reason why you are not attacking me—of course, I am grateful—because dying by being swarmed by giant monkeys is not a preferable way to die for me."
The Garavons cackled in response to his question, clapping their hands in the dying light of the campfire. Before the fire went out, Gideon stood up and walked toward the nearest tree, intending to rest at the tree's root. However, one of the Garavons lightly pushed him, enough to keep him from falling to the ground. When he returned his gaze to the Garavon, it was already over a tree, whooping at him and tapping the trunk it was on.
For a brief moment, Gideon's eyes were filled with wonder, and his jaw dropped as he realized what the Garavon was trying to say. "Man, this world is strange... and somewhat amazing," he said, picking up the branch of wood he was always carrying and extinguishing the fire before climbing up to the tree where Garavon was calling him.
When he reached a high height of the tree, the Garavon who had called for him vanished from his sight, leaving him alone.
"Thank you, I guess?" he murmured.
He looked around and noticed that the moon was not as bright as it had been the previous night. It was absolutely dark all around him, making movement incredibly risky and difficult. When Gideon had an idea, he narrowed his eyes.
Before sitting down, he cut the nearest oval tree leaf in half, leaving the other half attached to the tree. He then stroked the wood branch he was holding against the branch he was standing on. marking the tree in some way. Finally, he positioned the wooden branch on top of his thighs while he sat with his back against the tree's trunk, with a certain area facing the way he recalled.
He closed his tired and dizzy eyes as he yawned. "Good night to me."