Visha turned to the side to see Uri walking towards them. The women who had gone to get animal skins were trailing behind him.
"What happened?" he asked, walking up to her and kissing her forehead.
She looked at Grik disgustedly, "Someone doesn't know how to take no for an answer."
Uri looked at the man, his body tense. The man dared to try and hurt Visha simply because no one was here. It doesn't take much to understand why he was cast out. He is just like the others.
Not misunderstood like them or trying to keep their family together.
He is one of those who are cruel to everyone. They are only satisfied if everything goes their way or they get everything they want.
Uri wanted to tell him to leave, but couldn't. He knew what the winter would bring. Even if this man was greedy and disgusting, they would still need his help. He was one of the few able-bodied beast men in the cave.
His being here both risked Visha's safety and secured it.
"Go back," Uri said, his tone harsh.
Grik chortled, "This is the man you want? He won't even defend you when something happens. With only one arm, how will he hunt? What can he give you? You would prefer to stay with a man who is not worthy than someone like me."
He puffed out his chest, trying to look domineering. It only made Visha sneer.
She may not have known Uri long, but she knew there must be a reason he didn't make him leave.
She didn't respond and instead turned to Uri, her face excited. Right now, she would tell him what she found. Afterwards, she would talk to him and Xeno about what happened.
Visha did not even realise she accepted Uri and Xeno as hers. Her mind only registered that she was in trouble, and one of them showed up.
That was what she needed. A person who could be counted on.
Although Xeno wasn't there, he was counted.
"Look," she held up the ginger, "this is a good thing. If someone gets sick, we can cut this up and heat it with water. It will help get rid of their sickness."
Uri looked at the thing in her hand, amazed at what it could do. Although he thought it was oddly shaped, if Visha said it helps people, then he believed it.
He hugged her, showing his joy.
Visha frowned and pushed him away slightly. "You smell like blood. Did you get hurt?"
Her eyes scanned his body. It was only at this time that she realised how dirty he was. She looked around at everyone who had been digging; they were all dirty.
The ginger came just in time. Everyone needs a bath. With how cold the waters are, they are going to need a lot of ginger. She didn't want anyone getting sick. Ginger might help, but it wasn't a cure-all.
Uri smiled at her concern.
"I'm not hurt. We went hunting, remember. We caught something."
"So why is there so much blood on you?"
"Most of it is from us dragging it back. When we finish here, we can go and look."
"Sure, she smiled, "there is also something I want to talk to everyone about."
She watched Uri and Grik holding a large animal skin. The potatoes were piled up into a small hill on it. However, they moved with ease. She noticed the women, although their bags were smaller, still had a considerable amount of potatoes.
She looked at the bundle of ginger she was carrying. Her pile wasn't as big as theirs, yet she felt the strain.
All the strength she was proud of vanished. She thought her strength and stamina were good. After seeing this, she realised she was on the bottom rung.
She could help but ask herself how they were so strong.
It took some time to dig everything out. There was a lot. It should be enough to eat for a few months if needed.
The first time she went to the cave, she looked at the giant...lizard?
She used Nature's Echo and saw it was called a Grivel. Apparently, it was aquatic. They come up to the surface from time to time but mainly live at the bottom of lakes and rivers.
It wasn't until everything outside was collected that Xeno came to her. He also had to deal with the Grivel inside.
Seeing him coming up to her for a hug with his bloody palm, Visha stopped him.
"Visha, do you not like me anymore?"
She glared at him, "What are you talking about? Don't you see how dirty you are? Who are you trying to hug?"
His face fell, looking like a big puppy. Visha laughed, but still wouldn't allow the hug.
She looked outside the cave; there was still some daylight left. She needed to talk to everyone before they started getting ready for bed.
"Excuse me, fellow cave dwellers. Can I get everyone's attention?"
One by one, they turned around. When she was sure she had everyone's attention, she started.
"I'm not sure what things are like in your individual tribes, but for my tribe, this," as she gestured around the cave, "would be unacceptable."
"I'm not trying to discount your efforts. I just think the place could use a little cleanup. Also, I would love it if everyone took a bath. We don't have to go every day, but every few days until we can't help it would be good. Or we can make more stone barrels like the one you have to store water for the rest of the winter."
"There's also the matter of food. The food that was found and hunted needs to be rationed. I want to assume none of us has had a winter like this. So we need to be mindful. We need to figure out a way to distribute food so that everyone gets a share. I don't ask to be full, but at least 50% is enough."
Everyone listened as she talked. She wasn't sure how they would feel about what they proposed. She looked at the group of seven. She expects their negative responses.
For her group, she knows they understand what is at stake.
Visha once again didn't realise she was getting closer to this group of people.
No one talked at first. Maybe they were trying to understand what Visha was proposing.
Someone finally stands out, Grik, the man-the beast-who almost hurt Visha.
Uri and Xeno stand on either side of Visha. Uri was able to tell Xeno what happened today. He didn't like it. However, they both decided to talk to Visha about what to do.
"Every one of us here knows a beast man's appetite. This little meat can't sustain anyone. As for those things," he pointed to the potatoes, "just because you say they're edible, that means we eat them?"
Visha raised an eyebrow, "I never told you to only eat this all winter. This won't sustain so many people. We still need to go hunting and foraging. We need to collect as much as possible before the harsher winter starts."
She turned to look at the pregnant woman, "I'm sure you don't want your female to have a hard time. So you will definitely hunt as much as you can. Just as well will forage."
It sounded like a threat, but it wasn't. Visha only wanted to let everyone understand what was at stake.
"Even if we hunt, it doesn't guarantee we will find meat. Why do we have to risk ourselves and still end up hungry? I refuse."
Hearing his refusal, the other beast-men from his group also refused to "go hungry".
"Then leave. No one is stopping you. If you don't want to share, you don't have to. All you need to do is step out that cave door and never come back."
Visha didn't show weakness. The two men on either side of her gave her the confidence. She felt safe knowing they were there.
Quite frankly, seeing the strength that beast-men possess, she knew she was much weaker, but that wouldn't stop her from standing her ground.
Her defiant gaze ran over all the people in the group of seven, forcing them to make a choice: either leave or stay. If they chose to leave, their lives were their own; they would not help.
Who knows how long the staring contest lasted?
However long it lasted, the ultimate winner was Visha.
In the end, it was agreed that females would get half the amount a male got.
Now, Visha just needed to figure out how to split this cave and make it more roomy and then teach them how to smoke meat.
With no salt...