She can't swim, and unfortunately, the spot she stood at faced the deepest part of the water. Clara struggled in the water, her feet finding no ground.
"Oh... help!" Clara urgently called for help. The female beasts standing on the shore were somewhat curious. In their eyes, Clara seemed to be playing in the water by herself, appearing quite joyful and even happily shouting something they couldn't understand!
A strange female indeed. The female beast started to leave, and Clara felt a chill in her heart. Her struggling energy faded away, she swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, and then sank to the bottom of the pool.
Jimmy had just escorted Dani home and happened to pass by the waterfall. He witnessed Clara washing her animal skin and then accidentally falling into the water. Of course! He thought Clara was just playing in the water since, ever since he was a child, he knew that beast could swim. Many of them loved to frolic in the water here.
But why did she not come back up after falling in? Jimmy suddenly realized something was wrong, shouted that it's not good, and the Morla tribe people were invading. He hurriedly rushed over to rescue her.
Jimmy ran over and jumped into the water. Seeing Clara floating at the bottom like water plants, drifting with the current, he quickly lifted her out of the water. After bringing her ashore, he shook Clara. Luckily, she coughed up a few mouthfuls of water. Seeing herself being held by a stranger, Clara was startled for a moment, then remembered – wasn't this Jimmy, who had just visited their home today?
Clara broke free from Jimmy's arms, grateful, and said, "Thank you! Your name is Jimmy, right?"
With so many female beast around, why didn't they save her? Clara felt quite hurt. Could it be that she was really so unlikeable?
By the edge of the water, Clara, soaked through in her white beast animal skin clothes, revealed her delicate and slender limbs. This petite and frail appearance stirred something in Jimmy's throat. A blazing fire ignited within him. However, she was already Mateo's mate.
"Yeah! Was it the morla tribe attacking just now?" Jimmy was puzzled. He hadn't seen any morla tribe people underwater.
Morla tribe? What's that? Clara shook her head. Right! Her zebra skin. Looking into the pool, fortunately, the animal skin had been washed to the shallows.
Jimmy was confused. Without the morla tribe, how did she end up sinking? He wanted to ask but hesitated. Seeing her searching for something, he noticed the animal skin and went over to retrieve it for her.
Clara took the animal skin, thanked Jimmy again, and suddenly remembered she hadn't introduced herself. She said, "I'm Clara! Thank you, Jimmy!"
After expressing her gratitude, Clara hurriedly went back. She was soaked, and changing clothes was necessary.
Jimmy offered to escort her, but Clara declined. She hurried back, shivering from the cold. Inside the house, she looked for clothes. Luckily, she had washed a couple of outfits. It was too cold; she definitely needed something with sleeves.
Busy undressing, Clara suddenly noticed Mateo. He was looking at her curiously, while Clara, holding the hem of her clothes, had already pulled them up to her chest. She quickly pulled them down again. Mateo blinked. "Cla, why are you all wet?"
"Oh! I fell into the water just now," Clara casually replied. Although she spoke lightly, there was a tinge of bitterness in her heart. She had nearly died, and she needed to be more careful in the future and stronger.
The house wasn't that spacious, and Clara didn't want to change clothes in front of Mateo. She wiped herself as best as she could. Mateo watched her every move. He had glimpsed Clara's waist just now—so fair and slender. Suddenly, he realized that Clara was quite different from the female beast he knew, a noticeable difference, like the meat he had been eating recently. A discovery he had never made before, and it was a good one.
Mateo suddenly felt like a little deer had collided with his chest, jumping exceptionally fast. Not good! He was getting sick. How could this be happening? His body was heating up, and he remembered a time in his childhood when he felt the same, almost dying.
He was sick! What to do! Mateo lay in bed, touching his chest. His heart felt like it was about to jump out, and there was a ball of fire in his stomach, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Clara finished wiping herself and her hair. When she turned around, she saw Mateo lying on the bed in obvious pain, clutching his chest.
Could he have suffered internal injuries? Clara hurriedly approached, asking, "Mateo, what's wrong? Is it pain in your chest?" As soon as her hand touched the back of Mateo's hand, he reacted as if struck by lightning, but strangely, he felt incredibly comfortable.
"Cla! I'm sick. Let me feel your hand!" If Mateo hadn't said it so seriously, Clara would have thought he was messing around. Feeling the hand, really?
The two sat facing each other for a while. Mateo felt his heartbeat faster and faster, while Clara studied Mateo's hand. His palm was large, fingers slender, covered with a layer of white fluff, and the nails were long and pointed—probably convenient for hunting!
Clara suddenly sneezed. Would she get sick if she continued wearing wet clothes?
"Cla, are you cold? Let me warm you up."
Clara shook her head, pulled her hand away. There was still sunlight outside, and she needed to find a way to renovate this adobe house. If Mateo stayed, she wouldn't be able to change clothes. Mateo insisted on warming Clara up, but she insisted on going outside. In the end, she used the excuse of fetching grilled meat to send Mateo away.
After hanging the zebra skin on a tree, Clara went to collect the grilled meat. Huh! Why was there still so little left? There were originally a basketful of grilled meat, and now only three pieces remained! One of them was even torn in half! A thief had eaten some!
Clara searched around the front and back of the house but found no suspicious beast. She entered the house and asked Mateo, "Mateo, did you eat the meat hanging on the tree?"
Now that Mateo's fever had subsided, hearing Clara mention meat made him immediately crave it again. He stood up, grabbed the basket, and upon inspection, found only a little over two pieces left. "Cla, why is there so little left?"
It wasn't Mateo who ate it, so who could it be? Clara told Mateo about the situation, and he became furious, cursing the thief who dared to steal his food. If he caught them, he would beat them to death.
In the end, with only a small amount of meat remaining, Mateo managed to wedge it between his teeth, and Clara had some fruits. As the night darkened, Clara lay in bed, unable to sleep. She would be staying here from now on, and there were many difficulties ahead that she needed to overcome one by one.
"Clara, keep going!" Clara whispered to herself in her mind. Then she turned over, snuggling close to Mateo's chest. It was really warm to sleep like this.
Mateo's heart started beating rapidly again; his illness was relapsing.
The scent of spring grew more intense, and the vast forest seemed to awaken overnight, with grass growing, birds chirping, and flowers blooming everywhere.
In these days, Clara had been studying how to sew animal skins. She needed a needle and thread. Recently, Mateo had caught many animals, skinned them, washed and dried the hides. After kneading and rubbing them, the hides were ready for use.
She planned to set up a screen in the house to divide the space into two parts. This way, it would be convenient for changing clothes and wash up later. After all, she was a girl, so she still had to pay attention to some physical hygiene.