Everyone would need to get some of the soup. Regardless of whether they were ill. Prevention is much better than needing to cure it later.
She looked at the ingredients in front of her.
They were relatively easy to find. She had iron-tubers from their quest for food. It looks a little like yams (guinea yams). Then there is the silver knot, which she found recently. The beast fat she rendered from the many beasts they killed.
The only thing left is water. She can find that by the pond. She used the water pouch to make sure the water was safe to drink.
The recipe is just enough for one person. So Visha multiplied the amounts by the number of people in the cave, plus Krag and Xeno, who had yet to return.
She made sure to ask Willa, Chi, and the still sulking Heta to help peel the tubers. Each tuber is chopped into chunks and added to the water. The beast fat and silverknot are added. When the moss dissolves, the soup should be thick and ready to eat.
Each bowl had to get its own small fire. None of the things had a handle, so she wasn't able to hang them over a large flame. Right now, besides Xeno, no one knows about the inventory. This is why she did not use the ever-embers.
She would tell Uri about it another time.
It wasn't fair that Xeno knew and Uri didn't.
Visha made sure to build four small fires. The two children would be able to get some. There was also Willa's husband and Uri. They were the ones who needed it most right now.
As the second batch was being cooked, Xeno and Krag walked in.
Xeno's smile was big. As if he had achieved something great. And he did. All his nagging paid off. It helped that Krag wasn't sure where they were. In addition to Visha walking all over the place, their scent was everywhere. He could only be led by Xeno.
Xeno, in turn, took advantage of this to get him to agree to teach him to fight in human form.
Bounding over to Visha and Uri, Xeno couldn't help telling them what he saw. In his happiness, he grabbed Visha's face and kissed her, then he grabbed Uri and did the same.
Both of them were stunned.
They couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Was being a distraction such a good thing?
Xeno, however, didn't give them the chance to ask. He immediately went into his rant.
"You won't believe what I just saw!"
"A dancing deer?" Visha mused.
"What's a deer?" Xeno asked.
She waved him off. "What did you see? You're excited as soon as you come in. I can only guess the distraction was a little too successful with the way you're acting."
"The beast man watching is from the Bear tribe. To distract him, we asked for a challenge. At first, I was going to do it, but Krag jumped in instead. After the bear shifted, Krag stayed in human form."
"When I tried to get him to let me do it, he refused. They started fighting, and I was ready to jump in at any time. Even if it was a challenge, I couldn't let him get hurt. But he didn't..."
"He was able to fight in human form? Against a bear beast man?" Uri's brow furrowed.
"Exactly! They grappled, and every time it looked like the bear beast man was about to win, Krag would punch him and the beast man would end up staggering back or doubled in pain. He waited until he got up again before fighting. If the beast man hadn't yielded, I think they would still be fighting."
Visha watched Uri's expression change. Uri stared at Krag, who was sitting with Chi. The way Uri watched him, as if trying to find his hidden secrets, made Visha realize that fights in human form aren't common. Much less being able to win without shifting.
The couple doesn't really talk much to anyone except each other.
Visha never paid it any heed. Since the last time they sided with Grik, she didn't feel the need to get to know anything about them.
However, now she looked closely. She didn't see anything strange. They were a couple who seemed very close. They were able to know what the other was trying to say without actually saying anything. Their movements were as if they were two parts of the same whole.
It brought her mind to Uri and Xeno. Although she liked both of them, they weren't as close as Krag and Chi. They didn't have that kind of effortless ease to them.
She refused to dwell on it, however. If they were able to form such a bond, it would be a matter of time.
Uri finished his examination. Unsure of whether he found what he was looking for, but didn't ask. If he wanted to say something, he would.
"So you're excited about seeing him fight like that? Why don't you ask him to teach you?"
The soup was finished, and Visha motioned to Willa to allow the others to come for their soup. Now there were only three bowls left, one of hers and the two who just come in.
"He already agreed to teach me," Xeno said proudly.
"How did you manage to do that?" asked Uri.
"I asked him. A lot. All the way from where we fought to when we almost got here...But it was worth it."
"Hmm...maybe it will be. It's a good skill to have. It might also improve your beast skills. You should do it."
Visha watched as Uri thoughtfully analysed.
"Are you hoping to get some training from him, too?" The look in Uri's eyes made Visha wonder if that's what he wanted to do. "Ask him, maybe he's willing."
As the three looked over, their vision collided with the couple. Except Xeno, who was still smiling from his good news, the rest seemed to be observing each other.
It was then that Visha noticed something. She wouldn't point it out. She wanted to know if she was correct. She would wait until they decided to reveal themselves.
It seems this world just got a lot more interesting.