Back in the room, Clara pretended to be angry, determined to make him realize that he can't treat her like this in the future. The silent treatment lasted only a few minutes before Mateo got impatient. Sitting beside her, he used his tail to tickle her. Unable to resist, Clara burst into laughter, and they reconciled.
They decided to stay after all. The other beast in the tribe didn't welcome her, but she was determined to make them like her. After tending to Mateo's wounds, Clara trimmed his hair, realizing he looked even more handsome with a haircut. Today, he didn't have to go hunting and stayed home to recover.
Clara prepared to skin the zebra from yesterday. With a knife in hand, she gestured for a long time, unsure how to proceed.
"Clara!"
It was Dani who came, accompanied by a tall male beast with golden long hair, looking quite heroic. If rotten girls were here, they'd be drooling over these naked pretty boys!
Approaching them, Dani happily grabbed Clara, expressing concern with a furrowed brow, "I heard that Clara was almost taken away by the Black Panther yesterday. Dani was so worried!"
"It's fine now. I'm here safe and sound!" Clara smiled.
Mateo walked out of the house at this moment and saw Jimmy, exclaiming, "Jimmy, you're here! Why didn't you go hunting today!"
"I came to see you. Your fur is messy. Yesterday, I went to pick up Dani and heard about what happened," Jimmy, and Mateo started chatting.
Clara took the opportunity to let Dani teach her how to cut the animal hide. Dani was excited, praising Mateo for his skill in hunting zebras, a challenging feat. Beast didn't need tools for skinning; they just revealed their sharp claws, made long cuts on the zebra, and pulled. The whole animal skin came off easily.
So impressive! Seeing Clara's astonishment, Dani was delighted, swinging her tail high, exclaiming, "Clara, am I amazing!"
Clara praised her, "Dani is indeed amazing!"
Clara divided the zebra meat, burying the entrails. Then, she gave half of the meat to Dani. They couldn't finish it all, and it would spoil if not stored properly. She needed to figure out a way to preserve the meat longer.
Originally planning to have dinner with Dani and Jimmy, both had to leave as they had their own homes. This time, Mateo started the fire, and Clara noticed he used a milky-white stone. With some dry grass, it lit up in no time. Clara tried it herself, finding it much easier than regular stones. Is this the legendary firestone?
Clara sliced the zebra meat and placed it on a stone slab to roast. Seeing the basket of fruits, she wondered if using the juice from the fruits would make the meat tastier.
Mateo was the injured one today, lying on the bed, watching Clara skillfully roast the meat on the stone and experimenting with fruit juice. Can you actually eat it this way? He was quite skeptical. Gradually, the room filled with the sweet aroma of roasted meat.
Clara kept flipping and roasting, and it smelled so good! After cutting a small piece of the roasted meat, she took a bite. The meat was tender, juicy, with a hint of sweetness and sourness. Too delicious!
"Clara! Can we really eat it like this?" Mateo was both excited and doubtful.
Clara handed the roasted meat to Mateo, "Try it."
Mateo eagerly grabbed a piece, shoved it into his mouth, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "It's delicious!"
Meanwhile, outside the door, a fox covered in bloodstains crouched, peeking inside. His eyes gleamed, saliva dripping, "Heartless little female beast, whimper..."
Suddenly, his ears twitched, someone's coming! Retreat!
The old tribe leader and an old woman approached slowly with walking sticks. The old tribe leader was still unwilling. Today, he wanted to personally see this female. As the leader of the tribe, he had to protect the safety of the tribe and couldn't let this female ruin the Lion Tribe.
Before they got closer, they smelled a sweet aroma of roasted meat. Having eaten meat for centuries, from raw to cooked, they had never smelled such a delicious aroma. It was so good.
The two old people quickened their pace. Upon entering, they saw meat roasting on the opposite stove, sizzling with oil.
Clara and Mateo, seeing the two, immediately stood up respectfully to welcome them. The old tribe leader was a brown lion with a serious expression and a long scar on his face, making him look even more intimidating. Clara's heart skipped a beat; could he be here to kick her out!
"Old tribe leader, grandma, why are you here?" Mateo greeted.
The old tribe leader nodded, his eyes fixed on the meat on the stone. For the first time in centuries, he smelled such a delicious aroma, but as an elder, he had to maintain his composure.
Clara sensed the unfamiliar atmosphere. Despite her fear of the tall, fierce-looking old tribe leader, his words were critical. She needed to butter him up.
"Old tribe leader, grandma, I just roasted zebra meat. Would you like to have some? Let's talk after eating!" Clara hurriedly invited, skillfully cutting and putting the roasted meat into a turtle shell.
The old tribe leader and grandma had been drooling, pretending to be reserved at first. However, after tasting the meat, the two gluttons threw caution to the wind, devouring all the roasted meat. Mateo squatted on the side, drawing circles, whimpering... he hadn't eaten much.
The fox squatting outside the wall had tears and saliva flowing together, muttering in his heart, "Heartless little female beast! No conscience!"
After being full, the old tribe leader was in an extremely good mood. It was truly delicious! For centuries, he had never eaten such tasty roasted meat. Clara seemed a bit more pleasing to the eye now.
This time, the old tribe leader came to inquire about Clara's background, considering this peculiar female was really similar to that terrifying species. Clara briefly explained how she arrived here and simplified her past life as much as possible.
Although the old tribe leader found it astonishing, he couldn't help feeling that Clara's description of the world sounded strange. He had never heard of such a place, with clothes, plenty of delicious food, and many things he had never heard of. Could this female really change the Lion Tribe? After enjoying her meat, the old tribe leader naturally leaned towards positive thoughts and mentioned some prohibitions in the tribe before leaving.
The old tribe leader didn't chase her away, and Clara couldn't help but jump for joy. He allowed her to stay, indicating that she could now live in the tribe. Clara was overjoyed and pledged to make the others accept her.
At Mateo's request, Clara roasted a lot more zebra meat. Suddenly, she thought about making jerky to store the meat longer. After being full, she cut all the meat into slices, laid them on a stone slab, and used fruit juice to roast them. While eating fruits, she unexpectedly discovered salty fruits.
This turned out to be a perfect substitute for salt, and the meat roasted with this salt-fruit tasted even better. Mateo, full and content, lay on the bed in bliss. How happy!
Clara put a portion of the roasted meat in a basket, hung it on a tree outside to dry, and took the rest to give to Gloria! Thinking that Gloria might not be home at this time, she left it for later. Carrying the peeled zebra skin, she went to the stream!
Arriving at the stream, Clara saw many females, tall with sun-tanned skin. Their chests were relatively flat, but they had feminine features, especially their deep and bright eyes.
They were very wary of her, giving her strange glances. Thinking of that night, Clara felt a bit uneasy. Everyone probably thought she would bring disaster to the tribe! However, remembering that the old tribe leader had accepted her, she had nothing to fear. In the future, she would strive to live better.
Approaching the stream, she planned to greet everyone, but the females ignored her, busy with bathing and chatting. Oh well, she would take it slow and get to know them later! Clara squatted by the stream and started washing the zebra skin. Suddenly, she slipped, and she fell into the water.