Once they got to the cave, Larann could see that it was a lot more spacious than the hut. It also had little shelves where bedding could go. It was dusty from disuse, but it would be fine while they were watching the carnivores.
They spent all afternoon watching the carnivores. When it came time to go back to the village, Larann asked if it would be possible to stay in the cave for now.
"Someone would have to go back and get some food and bedding," Shuiss said.
"I'll go," Mura offered. Looking over to Larann, he came close and took her hand in his. "I'm the fastest and can easily avoid the meat eaters." With that, he darted off leaving her with Sawa and Shuiss.
There wasn't much to do while they watched. They couldn't clean or else the dust would let the creatures know they were there. As they watched, they could see that the female carnivores never went far from the caves. The males would go and get food for the females and bring it back. When they feasted, all of the females came out of the caves, but the males would stand guard at the cave entrances while they feasted.
Mura came back with some food that could be eaten without fire and water in a large container. He also laid out some furs.
"Is that going to be enough for everyone?" she asked.
"We'll sleep together and take turns with the watch. The entrance should be high enough that the meat eaters shouldn't come here, but they are acting very territorial." Shuiss stared down at the clearing below, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "Usually, they only do that in nesting grounds."
After deciding the order of night watch, Sawa and Mura snuggled up with Larann. Shuiss had been unlucky to get the first watch, with Sawa having the second and Mura having the morning one. Larann offered to stand a watch, but the men told her that she should rest more. She would have protested, but her body reminded her that she had been kept up last night by these three men.
The night was uneventful and by the time she woke, Mura was already standing watch. Larann looked beyond him to the sunrise. Deep shades of orange, red, and yellow filled the sky.
I guess no matter where you are, a sunrise is beautiful in any world, she thought.
She twisted out from under Sawa and Shuiss, she walked over to a niche that they had set up so she could use the restroom. When she finished, she wished that she had water to clean herself with.
The cave was filled with dust, and it was all over her. At this point, she should have just given herself a dust bath. Larann heard that some creatures had to have one because their fur was so dense, water never dried on them.
She padded lightly over to Mura sat next to him. He glanced at her and back down to the old clearing.
"Anything new happen overnight?" she asked.
"No, they nested down in the caves overnight. Shuiss said that these creatures were most active during the morning and the males have gone out to hunt."
"What do they hunt?"
"On the plains, they tend to live close to water and eat fish there. They also scavenge from the larger kills of the bigger meat eaters. But here, it looks like they have been hunting small creatures."
Before he could say anything else, he held his hand out and stilled, hiding in the shadows. Larann tried to peek over, but he pulled her back with a shake of his head.
She could hear something lumbering through the woods. At the edge of the clearing, there was a crunch and thump. Then whoever it was darted back though the forest, lighter after having lightened their load.
"So that is why they are still here." Larann turned and could see Shuiss standing back in the entrance of the cave far enough to be hidden from whoever had stopped below.
Mura and her stood looking over at the large kill that had been placed in the clearing.
"Someone is feeding them." She whispered.
"We would have noticed if there had been such a sharp decrease in smaller game." Shuiss looked over at Sawa who was still sitting on the blankets. "It was Urse."
"Why are they keeping them here?" Sawa asked.
"So that no one could come back. Relai would have failed with how it is being managed otherwise." Larann looked over to the kill. Already, the meat eaters had flocked over to eat. This time, the males ate first before the females came over.
Larann had an idea.
"What if we waited till the male left to hunt and then brought a kill to them? The females will come out to eat thinking that the males have brought them food and we'll be able to sneak into see why they won't leave."
Sawa thought about it. "I think that could work." Looking down at the clearing he realized something. "There used to be a ledge over there." He pointed to the edge of the clearing. "If we put the kill there, it would provide some protection from being seen, but we would have to work quickly."
"Is there a place inside the cave to hide if we can't get out in time?"
Shuiss laughed. And then walked to the back of the cave.
"All of the caves have an inner room to store food and items." He pushed aside a stone to reveal a small opening. They are small enough that even if the meat eaters found us, they would be hard pressed to get in."
"Shuiss, you go with our wife to the cave. Mura and I will find a large kill and bring it back. If they catch on, we'll try to protect you."
That was the moment that Larann realized that her husbands didn't even know her name.