They were able to find a relatively large boulder that could cover the cave entrance. When they arrived, she didn't look at the people who hurt Kit. Only responded to Kit and Nemo's parents.
She watched the children play as they tried to fit the boulder in.
She noticed it covered the entrance completely, which worried her. But there was no other stone they could find to fit the door.
"Is there any way to chip off a piece of this? Any stone tools we could use? If it's closed too tightly, there won't be any air to breathe."
She watched as Xeno's nails turned into claws and chipped away at a chunk of rock. Her heartbeat accelerated. She didn't know whether it was fear or excitement.
Xeno stood there, proud of himself. His chest puffed, waiting for Visha's compliment.
Seeing him like this, she could help but roll her eyes.
She patted his chest as she walked past.
"Roll it in", she shouted.
She watched as the boulder was pushed to the entrance again. This time, she saw the hole. It was double the size of her hands. If necessary, someone could use it like a handle to push the boulder away from the entrance from the inside.
Plus, the ease with which she saw Xeno moving the boulder gave her some estimation of their strength.
It also led her to think about what he could do to her with his hands. It was both exciting and terrifying.
With that done, she started thinking about laying traps.
However, she noticed the sun was already going down. She lamented how early the sun sets during winter.
Lucky for everyone involved, they had gone out to look for berries and such earlier in the day.
However, she wanted to get everything done. So before the sun went down, she quickly asked them to dig a barrier in front of the cave and put some large and tall sticks in. Just in case anything tried to come into the cave.
She lamented that they didn't have anything to camouflage it. But this was the best they could do in their situation.
It wasn't only Xeno and Uri working; it was all hands on deck. Unfortunately, her small muscles and little strength, well, little by comparison to them, weren't very helpful.
When everything was done, she got ready to teach them how to make a fire.
She had Xeno open up a fire pit in the centre of the cave. Using the small opening she found before wasn't sustainable.
She called everyone together. Even the traitors. Yes, Visha considered them traitors. They were all in the same situation, and instead of banding together, they decided to use their prejudices against a small child.
She would teach everyone to make a fire. As for after winter, if Visha decides to stay with them. She wants to separate from those people. People like them will accept your kindness and then stab you in the back when it suits them.
"First things first, you need something that can easily catch fire." She held up a piece of dried bark. "This is what we will use as the base."
She then showed them a stick with a strip of animal skin tied to it. This was what she asked Xeno to have done for her.
Last time she realised it would be easier with something to do some of the work for her.
She made a knot and put another stick in the knot. She placed the stick on top of the dried bark. Using another piece of animal skin to protect her hand, since she needed to touch the top of the stick this time.
She started moving the stick with the animal skin tied to it. Which in turn moved the stick in the knot. She did a small demonstration, then handed over to Xeno, who did the rest.
It didn't take long before she saw the smoke emerging. She asked him to stop, and she breathed life into the fire.
When the embers became stronger, she tentatively put some moss close by, which started the fire.
She advised them not to add too much before the fire got too big, then she went over to sit beside Kit and his mother.
"I never got the chance to say hello. I'm either talking to those two or fainting. But now, I have the chance. I have to say sorry for that. And also, it's nice to meet you."
Visha realised that the women in the beast world did not look masculine, but they always had muscles. They were very defined. But that is to be expected when you spend your life hunting and foraging.
Being too weak would mean death.
There were only five women in the cave, including her. She noticed all of them looked relatively young. Given Xeno's age, which she assumed was 20, the same as hers, his mother should be older. But she didn't look a day over twenty.
"You don't need to apologise. You are the priestess. Being here is enough." Her delicate voice took Visha by surprise.
"Don't call me a priestess. I don't think I'm anything of the sort. My people are able to do so much more than this. For us, this isn't anything big."
"Xeno told me. It means your people are very powerful."
Visha shook her head. Not powerful at all, just piggybacking on generations of knowledge.
She didn't voice her thoughts, however. She knew nothing she said would make a difference. They would still call her a priestess.
"Thank you for what you did for my son." She pointed to Kit, who was sleeping in her arms.
"And for that one too."
She tilted her chin in the direction of Xeno.
Turning, she saw Xeno and Uri sitting together, locked in a conversation about who knows what.
"Why are you thanking me? I haven't done anything."
"You've done more than you know."
At the same time, she put Kit, wrapped in animal skin, on the ground.
Doing a small bow with her hand across her chest, she said, "This should be more formal, but with the uncertainty, I will say it like this instead."
She raised her head, looking directly in Visha's eyes, "I ask this for Xeno, Kit and Uri. Willa asks for this...If you have the chance to go back, I hope you will take them with you."
Visha wasn't sure what to say. Her mouth opened and closed and opened again.
She knew this was a sincere request from a mother trying to protect her children. But she didn't know what to say. Not to mention being able to leave. If she did leave, how would she explain who they were?
If the government got hold of them and knew who they were. There is no telling how much trouble it would cause.
She wanted to tell her no. She knew she should say no. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.
It wasn't until she heard herself saying yes that she snapped out of it.
And seeing the grateful smile on Willa's face, she folded her lips and decided not to say anything more.
Not able to continue the conversation after that, she left, found an empty corner and checked her system status and rewards.