Noticing that there were boars in front, all of them held their breath.
Civ whispered, "Don't make a sound and keep your head low."
The silence signaled to Civ that they understood what he meant. He focuses his attention on the sounder. He sees there are 3 adult boars and their offspring grazing on the field.
The boar was very agitated last time because it was protecting something.
The sounder was around 30, including the 3 sows and exceptionally big animals.
"He Civ, what shall we do?". Arsh asked Civ while her voice was trembling.
"Did you see the tracks I made coming here?" Civ reminded them, and both of them nodded.
"Good, you can walk back to those tracks slowly. I need you to be ahead first. Once you see this sign." Civ signed the "X" letter using his finger. "You can run to the camp as fast as you can."
"Why?" Horm worriedly asked.
"We have no time to explain. Please get moving now!" Putting their trust in Civ, they quickly leave the area.
A couple of minutes later, after they left. Civ calculated that they might already be halfway and might be running now.
He measured that he might be around 50 yards (45 meters approx.) away from the sounder. Civ tried to go nearer to the group while holding his breath.
With around 40- 35 yards (36 - 32 meters). He has a closer look at the group. He observes the behavior of the boars. He is hoping to see if there are more weaknesses that he can take advantage of if they hunt one. Satisfied with what he saw, he proceeds now to the hardest part.
He hardened his resolve, slowly stood up, and walked towards the sounder.
"Oink oink". Around 32 yards (Approx. 30 meters), the boars still ignored him.
31 yrds….
30 yrds...
29 yrds…
"REEEEEEE"
One of the sows charged in Civ's direction. This time, Civ is prepared. He runs to the path where he marks the trees and navigates through that area. But after a minute or two, the sow stopped chasing him and returned right away, walking.
Civ runs a couple of minutes more, not noticing that the boar has already left. He sees it walking back to the sounder. Doing this experiment, he discovers two things. First, he can outrun the board, and second, it is territorial. That boar might be protecting her offspring, which is why it did not pursue further.
He continues to walk back to the camp while gathering some berries until he sees his two friends.
"Hey Civ, what happened? Are you okay?" Horm asked.
"Do not worry, the boar did not follow me that far when it chased me. Also, I can outrun it!" Arsh and Horm heaved a sigh of relief, knowing it was much safer compared to the first encounter.
Civ also wonders since the first encounter they had with the boars. It was chasing him relentlessly. 'It might be a different boar.'
When they walk back to camp, Civ wants to go back again tomorrow to the same spot. He wants to confirm if that is the place where they graze. Both of them are against that idea.
"Civ, I don't think it is safe to let the boar chase us." Arsh insists.
"I understand your concern. But we have things that boars do not have." Civ smiled.
"What is it?" Horm asked.
Civ jumps high.
"We can jump higher!" Civ exclaimed.
"Alright, how can it help us?" Arsh was puzzled.
"You see the log you and Horm sat on earlier? We can jump there, but I don't think the boar can jump that high."
"Are you sure?" Arsh asked.
"Well," Civ paused for a moment. "That is what I want to know next time."
Both Horm and Arsh groaned in disbelief as their friend was turning into a madman.
"I don't think we can help you with that Civ. It's too dangerous!" Horm quickly interrupted Civ.
"How about this? Just accompany me next time and observe me from afar. Since I can outrun them, you can just tell me what you see when the boar starts chasing."
Arsh and Horm just nodded since their friend was really determined to bother the boars.
"That will be fine, but if this turns out to be dangerous, we need to stop disturbing those boars." Arsh reminded him.
"Do not worry, everything will be fine." Civ felt relieved knowing that his friends understood him, sort of.
They arrived back at the camp around noon and shared the berries they gathered.
The tribe was happy that there was still food around the area.
Tribe leader Kivrah was also happy about it. "Great job looking for more berries. Tell me, where did you find these?"
The three of them looked at each other, and Civ immediately replied.
"Father, we found it in the far east side of the camp, but a little bit north."
Kivrah was a bit suspicious of what his son said. He knew the berries were already harvested in that area. They might not be able to harvest again before the Tuanir came. There is only one area they have not explored yet. But since his son was able to do it, he brushed it off since they were really in need of a food source.
"Great job. I'm allowing you all to rest for today.." Kivrah commanded them.
"I don't think we can rest yet Father. We still need to work on the task you have given us." Civ reminded him
Kivrah's eyebrows raised. He remembered that he commanded them to work on understanding the stone knife.
"I remember it now. You can work on it, but if you want to take a rest right now, all of you can do it." Kivrah looked at the three of them, and he noticed that they were determined to work on that task.
"Do not worry tribe leader, we want to work on that task so we can contribute more to the tribe." Arsh bowed, and Horm nodded.
"Since you all insist, please tell me later what you all have done." Kivrah smiled.
"Yes, tribe leader!" All of them bowed and left the center of the camp.
The whole afternoon, they just studied and tried to improve the knapping techniques. Arsh was able to make a stone knife on her own, but it was still not perfect. Horm has really heavy hands, so Civ straight up stopped him from learning knapping.
By the end of the day, they were able to finish one knife. It was created by Arsh from start to finish. Civ tried to learn how to create smaller-sized stone knives.
They returned to the Shaman's hut. Told the tribe leader that they would leave again tomorrow to explore the east side of the camp. They are hoping to find more berries.
The next day, the trio left the camp after notifying the tribe leader. They walked from the north side. Civ feels there is nothing to hide since his father already knows where they were yesterday.
He left his two friends the log they sat on yesterday. He instructed them to check on the berries around since the area seemed safe.
When he arrived at the location, the sounder was there grazing. The sows were feeding their offspring. After confirming no male boar was around, he picked up some stones and threw one near the group.
"Reeee!" One of the sows charged toward where the stone was. But since it did not hear any more movement, it returned right away to the group.
Civ did this 5 more times, throwing in a longer distance from the group. The sow still chased, but he noticed that it was starting to get exhausted.
Seeing that the time is right, he reveals himself again to the sounder. The exhausted boar starts chasing him. He followed again the path he took yesterday, but with a slower pace. He sees that the boar is also exhausted. Not running at full speed, but after one or two minutes, it stops and starts walking back.
But before it leaves - "Whoossh"
Civ threw a stone at the boar. Boar looked at him with anger.
"REEEEEE!"
It chases him a little more, but after a couple of seconds, it stops chasing him and returns right away. Civ tried to throw a stone, but it ignored his provocation.
Seeing this reaction, Civ was not surprised but also confused.
"This might be a motherly instinct."
Knowing what his enemy could do, he started walking back to where his friends were. But on his way, he noticed that some of the marked trees were leaking something. He went near one of the trees and examined it. The substance was a translucent yellow, and it had a fragrant smell. He pinched it, and it was sticky.
'Good thing this is available here, but I'm still missing some things.' Civ, let this sticky substance dry for now and come back when the time is right.
He looks around more east and his intuition does not fail him. He saw palm-like trees where leaves looked like hand fans.
"Great! I can start working on that item using this." Civ's smile was from ear to ear.
He grabbed one of the leaf stalks and brought it back.
Civ arrived at the location they wanted to meet. His friends were already waiting for him.
"How was it Civ? Did the boar chase you farther today?" Horm asked.
"They did not actually, but we can go back tomorrow if you like." Civ jokingly teased Horm, and Horm immediately shook his head.
"Why are you dragging that leaf Civ?" Arsh was curious.
"This, I'm thinking we can make something on this one." Civ hinted.
Arsh acknowledged Civ's hints and did not ask further. They decided to go back early today since they already had the berries they collected.
Going back to the camp, they gave the berries they brought today. It was more compared to yesterday that they gathered. Tribe leader Kivrah dismisses them to do their daily task of creating knives.
At the hut, Kivrah looked troubled and stared at the back of the Shaman, who was praying.
"Shaman Mashu, do you think this is the right thing to do?". Kivrah asked.
"Morning Sun will always be with us by the grace of the Sun Goddess. Tribe leader, do not cover the sunlight that is shining." The shaman reminded him while praying.
Back to the trio, Civ instructed Horm and Arsh to focus on creating the stone knife. Right now, Arsh was able to do it by herself. Civ is now focused on the palm leaves he is holding. Using small stone flakes, he scraped the leaflets until the fibers only remained.
He went to the river to wash himself. He also washed the fibers and then went back to his friends and started letting the fibers dry out in the sun.
They finished their day with Arsh finishing two knives. Civ helped her by thinning the core.
The next day, they did their normal routine going north. Based on Civ's experiment, the boar was really not interested in chasing for a couple of miles. Knowing this, he plans to discuss it with his father when they go back to the camp. He brought more palm leaves today. While they were discussing, he noticed a bunch of ants marching in a neat double line going in and out of the mound about 3.5 ft. (1 m.). These ants looked like preparing for something. Civ touches his chin and calls the attention of Horm.
"Horm, can you pick up some sticks along the way? I also preferred dry sticks. If you are not sure, just ask me." Civ asks.
"Sure Civ, no problem" Horm answered without any hesitation.
Once at the camp, they did their daily routine as a group and went back to the back of the camp. Civ helped Arsh thinning the core of the stone and started his own project by looking at the sticks they brought. He chooses three out of the 15 sticks and hides the rest in the cave. When he checked his palm fibers, he was shocked.
"The fibers were already dried!"