After the banquet, we returned to my almost empty den. I made a mental note to help furnish it and start an herb garden. I wonder what we will find tomorrow. I began to ask Harvey about the local plants. "Harvey, have you seen a plant that has thick pointy leaves and grows in a circle?" I tried to describe Aloe Vera the best I could. "It is squishy and has a green slimy gel inside the leaves." He thought about it for a minute and nodded. He was unsure why I wanted the plant, but would help me find it. " I have seen plants similar to your description. I will take you tomorrow to search for them." I smiled at him and he froze. I guess my beautiful smile blinded him. His heartbeat rose as he nervously looked away. "We should go to sleep while the sun is down and rise tomorrow with the sun." I thought, it's fall, we should take advantage of the daylight since I can't see in the dark. I guess beastmen follow early rise hours. Harvey shifted into a leopard and laid down behind me to keep me warm. I laid down and absentmindedly petted his fur. He purred so loud, I thought he was snoring! I slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning I rose with the sunlight pouring in through the open windows. I need to get some curtains I thought to myself while bringing up my hand to block out some of the light. That sun is bright! I wish I had some sunglasses. Maybe I will make a sun hat? I have seen straw hats, but I'm not exactly sure how to make one. Oh well, I have time to figure it out. I asked Harvey for some straw and he quickly brought me some. I asked him if he knew how to make it into a hat. He looked at me with a confused expression. I tried to explain. "In my tribe, we cover our heads from the sun." He looked like he just solved an unsolvable mystery and asked me. "Is that why your skin is so fair?" I nodded my head. "That and the plants I use on my skin." He looked determined to help. "I will help you find these plants after we eat. I was thinking, I really hope we find some fruit. I don't want to keep eating meat for every meal. Maybe we can find some eggs.
My grandmother taught me how to sew and crochet when I was younger. My mother in law taught me to cross stitch and my mother taught me to braid. I was always good at arts and crafts, so I figured out how to make a hat. I started by tying a knot with 4 long pieces of straw and criss crossed them until they started to form a circle. I ended up making a visor with a wide brim. Not bad! I thought to myself. Harvey looked impressed and in awe of my creation. I asked him if he would like one. He looked touched, but said, "Male beast men are not as delicate as females. Our skin is thicker so we do not burn as easily." I nodded and put the straw hat on. That should help at least a little until I figure out how to make sunglasses.
Harvey heated some of the leftover meat from last night and it basically turned into jerky. I was having a hard time chewing and had to ask for water to drink down the dry meat. Harvey passed me a stone bowl filled with water he had collected from the river. The water was cool and refreshing. I told him, " Harvey, have you ever made soup before? It's meat cooked in water." He shook his head and asked me, "How does the meat cook in water?" I told him, "I will show you later if you have a bigger pot." He nodded his head and told me, "I can make one for you. That is no problem." He looked excited that I asked him to do something.
We finished breakfast and set off to find some plants and forage for fruits. I was hopeful we could find grapes because I had read about them. I remember the banana leaves and hoped that meant we could find bananas as well. I tried to remember all of the fruits and vegetables that were found in the novel. I rode on Harvey's beast form as we searched through the forest for fruits and plants. I stopped him when I saw the Aloe Vera plant I had been hoping to find. He seemed to know this plant but didn't know why I wanted it. "These plants taste horrible!" He told me. I laughed! I had tried Aloe Vera juice before and was not a fan. I can only imagine what it would taste like to a meat eater. I told him, "This plant is very good for the skin and hair." He nodded and helped me to dig some of the succulents and placed them in my bag. I smelled some lavender nearby and did a happy dance. He looked at me and smiled. "What has made you so happy?" I told him "I smell a flower that I love. It is light purple." He knew what I was talking about and showed me the lavender growing nearby in a clearing. I was so excited to find a lot of lavender. I told him, "These flowers are also great for the skin and smell great!" I added some to my bag and attached some to my visor. Next I found some mint plants. I again got excited. I explained, "These plants are great to chew on to clean my teeth and smell good. They can also be boiled with water to make a tea that is good for an upset stomach." I was curious if I could find some more tea leaves. I wasn't exactly sure what they looked like in their raw forms, but I might be able to tell by smell. I had always had a sensitive nose. Not as sensitive as a leopard beast man, so I asked Harvey, "Do you know of any tea plants?" He nodded his head and pointed to some green leaves. "These make green tea. It is good for energy." I nodded excitedly. I loved my morning black tea, but green tea would work for now. I doubt I would be able to find coffee any time soon.
We were able to find a few herbs as well and some berries. I shrieked in excitement, "strawberries are my favorite fruit! I'm so glad we found some!" Harvey looked happy that I was excited. He was thinking, This female gets excited over the smallest things and she is so intelligent! I was thinking about all the recipes I could use with strawberries. It was fall and the berries would not last through winter. It seemed like a waste to not use them. Maybe I can make some jam or preserves. Hopefully I can find some lemons. I would also love some sugar, but I don't think they ever found any in the book. Maybe I could use honey. I will have to experiment.
I asked Harvey, "Have you seen some yellow fruit that is round and sour?" He smiled and nodded. "I have seen some in the trees. They turn from green to yellow." He led me to a different part of the forest and I saw the lemon trees! I was so excited! I can do so many things with lemons! I can use them for cooking and skin care. My fine hair felt oily and I couldn't wait to clean it with the Aloe Vera and Lemon. I might mix in some mint as well. I decided to pick a lot of lemons. Harvey climbed up the tree and tossed them down. I gathered them in my bag. On the way back to the den we saw the short birds the book mentioned. I asked Harvey to get them for me. He was happy to have easy prey since he was a stripe-less beast man. I was excited to have eggs and chicken to change up the meals. I remembered they had sweet potatoes, spinach and bamboo shoots. I could use those. Harvey foraged for some and found the spinach and sweet potatoes. I told him, "We will have to go to the bamboo forest to find bamboo shoots." Now that I thought about it, maybe they were only available during the springtime. Oh well, I had more variety now than just meat. I was still happy.
We went back to the den and I showed Harvey how to boil eggs. I made a strawberry spinach salad with the herbs I found and some lemon juice. I was still missing oil, but it was ok for now. I remember some wood had oil when it was squeezed. We could experiment with different types of wood until I found the one I needed. I'm sure I would find uses for the rest of the oil. I was about to show Harvey how to make chicken soup with vegetables when we heard a loud howl. Harvey looked towards the Ape king palace and said, "They are back. Winston and the others are back from the salt trading." He looked a little sad when he realized that he would not have all of my attention to himself any more if Winston accepted my invitation to be a part of the family. Next he thought about the protection that Winston could provide considering how much stronger he was than himself. He looked at Shelly and decided she needed more protection. He asked, "Would you like to go see him?"