"Come on, get up."
After a night, we began our exploration of the forest.
The good thing about being an Australopithecus is that both walking and trees are options for transportation.
"Let's organize into two teams; one will keep watch from above, while the other will move on the ground."
"Max, you and your team will take to the trees, and the rest of us will stay on the ground."
"Alright, at any sign of something, we'll alert you."
"Okay, let's go now."
The forest didn't seem to have much beyond tall trees and a variety of vegetation.
We continued entering the forest until we found something.
"Um, chief?"
"What is it?"
"What do you think we'll find here?"
"Uhmm, Cornelio, I'll be honest with you, I have no idea, but I hope we find some areas with new types of fruits."
"Fruits?"
"Yes, if we increase our variety of foods, we can ensure more types of nutrition, which can help our health."
"I see, it's like drinking water instead of just eating fruits with water."
"Something similar."
"Chief, we're seeing something from up here."
"Max, can you see what it is?"
"No, but we can see something moving."
"One thing or several things?"
"Can't tell."
"Let's all climb up and heighten our guard."
"Yes, sir."
We moved in the direction of some sign of life.
After climbing the trees for a few minutes, still no sign of any animals.
Later, I asked Max about what he had seen. From what he said, it could indeed be an animal, but it could also be nothing. Perhaps it was just the wind, and he got confused due to nervousness.
Maybe some animal saw us and moved away.
Given our numbers, this would be quite normal.
"Let's continue, remember, stay alert."
We proceeded cautiously.
After some time, finally, a sign of an animal.
Droppings; some trees had scattered feces on them.
This was a warning sign that from now on, it was someone else's territory.
"Stop, let's stay here."
"It's still early, chief. Why are we stopping here?"
"From here onwards, it's the territory of some animal, and we don't know which one."
"I still find it very unlikely that any animal could do anything against us."
"I usually don't agree with Aurelio, but we have spears and other weapons. I don't think there's any animal capable of being a significant threat to us."
"That giant crocodile only had a chance because of the terrain. This time, we're on our own turf, and even if this animal can also use trees like us, we'll still have the advantage."
"I understand what each one here wants, but my decision hasn't changed!"
"We know nothing about this forest, we don't know what lives in it, or the vegetation in it. We could step on a poisonous plant that could kill us in seconds, or worse."
"Ah, alright, chief, but where are we going to stay?"
"Uhmm, that tree over there should be good enough."
I know they think it's highly unlikely that anything can defeat us in an environment we're accustomed to, but after that cave, I don't even know where I am anymore or what we might encounter.