"I was training your reflexes and stamina!" the old woman grumbled indignantly. "And you failed miserably. Nothing impressive."
Kaira, who had been relatively quiet, began to move more attentively as they advanced. Her sense of smell seemed sharper than the others'; her nose twitched constantly, picking up scents in the air. And her ears too, always alert to the slightest unusual crackle in the undergrowth, any sound that wasn't wind or birds.
She raised her hand when she noticed something strange, making everyone stop, tilting her head like a dog listening to a command, sniffing the air deeply.
"There are animals over there," she said once, pointing to the left of the trail. "Strong smell. Big."
They slightly changed course following her suggestion.
Thanks to that, they avoided an area where, about fifty meters later, they would find huge, recent droppings and scattered bones, clearly the territory of some active predator.
As the sky began to darken completely, the orange turning to dark purple and the shadows growing long and menacing, Tairo finally raised his clenched fist, signaling a stop.
"We need to rest. The speed of movement has already decreased considerably and everyone is tired. Nighttime is not a good time to walk, we can barely see, we could be easy prey like this."
It made sense and no one argued, everyone wanted to stop anyway.
They searched for a few minutes until they found a huge, hollow log, the result of an old lightning strike that had cracked and burned the inside. It was wide enough to accommodate everyone somewhat compressed, not comfortably, but safe and hidden.
While they organized the space, cleaning up old leaves and checking if there were any animals living there, Kuggi crossed his arms and looked directly at Hawke with a serious expression.
"Today you follow the rule."
Hawke tilted his head, pretending not to know.
"What rule?"
"Men with men. Women with women."
Duggi nodded firmly, determined.
"Just because you carry the old lady on your back doesn't change the group's rules."
The girls avoided looking directly at Hawke, but the tension was palpable in the air. Yuka nervously fidgeted with her fingers. Kaira looked at the ground but with that half-smile on her lips.
They wanted him to protest, to make up some excuse, "I need to stay close to the old lady to take care of her" or something like that.
But Hawke didn't protest.
"Fine."
He raised his hands as if surrendering.
"No problem. Rules are rules."
Duggi and Kuggi seemed surprised but satisfied. Tairo just nodded approvingly.
Yuka leaned towards Hawke, her big eyes shining with that childlike excitement.
"Why don't you do that magic trick?"
"What magic trick?"
"The fire one!"
Hawk smiled slightly.
"I was already thinking about that."
He emerged from the hollow trunk and began searching for material: dry twigs scattered on the forest floor, dry and crunchy leaves, small but firmer branches. He arranged everything methodically, remembering what he had done before, forming a perfect nest of flammable material with a depression in the center.
Everyone watched in silence as he picked up two sticks, one thicker with a natural groove carved into it, the other thin to spin.
This time, instead of doing it alone while everyone just watched, he called Yuka, who seemed to be the only one truly interested in the process. The others were busy massaging their own aching feet.
"Yuka, do you want to learn how to do it? Come here."
She approached quickly, kneeling beside him.
Hawke positioned the vertical rod on the wooden base and placed his hands over hers, guiding her.
"Press firmly. Don't let go. Now spin."
At first, Yuka completely missed the rhythm. The friction failed because she released pressure mid-movement. The spin was clumsy, without coordination.
"Faster, but maintain the speed even if your arm gets tired."
Hawke instructed, his hands still on hers, correcting her when she slowed down or pressed too hard.
Yuka obeyed, speeding up. The most abrupt and rapid movement made those enormous breasts sway gracefully under the thin leather strap with each rotation of the stick, from side to side, rising and falling.
And Hawke couldn't help but look, his eyes automatically drifting away even as he tried to focus on the fire.
'Focus on the fire, it's to light the bonfire, not myself.'
Slowly, smoke began to emerge from the furrow.
Yuka's eyes widened as if she had witnessed a miracle.
"It's coming out! The fire is being born!"
"Keep going, don't stop now."
She sped up, her tongue sticking out between her lips in total concentration.
When the small ember finally appeared, a tiny orange dot shining in the wood dust, Hawke carefully transferred it to the nest of dry leaves with cupped hands and blew slowly, feeding it with oxygen.
The flame was born and grew.
Small at first. Fragile, flickering, it could go out at any second.
Then it grew stronger, spreading to the surrounding leaves, catching on the twigs.
The whole group fell silent, contemplating the fire again; it was always incredible to see it, as if it were a living entity. The heat began to spread, pushing away the growing darkness of the night. The dancing light banished the fear of being exposed and vulnerable.
Yuka looked at her own hands as if she had discovered the fundamental secret of the universe.
"I did it... I succeeded..."
She murmured, almost in a trance.
Hawke stared at her, smiling genuinely.
"Congratulations, new sorceress. Tomorrow you'll try to do it yourself from scratch, right?"
Yuka nodded.
Behind him, seated on a rock,
Tairo watched the fire with an expression difficult to decipher. He was still the number one candidate for the appointed leader; the old woman had given him the herbs, had officially passed on the responsibility. But each flame that was born under Hawke's hands seemed to alter the invisible balance of the group, changing who was really in charge without anyone needing to speak about it.
The crackling of the campfire echoed in the night, soft and comforting sounds filling the silence.
Tairo approached and offered to massage Yuka's feet, then took her away from Hawke, as if taking her, before she could protest.
'My mistake,' Hawke thought, somewhat frustrated. 'I could have offered to massage those beautiful feet first.'
Everyone was finally resting, some with their eyes already closed, others just looking at the dancing fire. For the first time since they left the cave, the fear seemed a little less, more manageable.
But something was still missing for Hawke.
He looked at the small campfire, then at the hollow log where they were going to sleep, then at the open space around them.
'It needs to be bigger. Much bigger. To properly warm everyone in an open place like this.'