"Girls really need a lot more sleep, don't they?"
Kuggi said in a tone that wasn't aggressive or malicious, more like a lighthearted joke.
Hawke gave a small, genuine laugh in response. Seeing Kuggi there whole, alive, animated, playing, and not horribly torn apart by a giant dinosaur with its entrails spilled out;was extremely good and comforting; it made him strangely excited just to see it.
"Where is everyone? What exactly are you doing?"
"We're gathering food, obviously!"
Hawke arched his eyebrows, suddenly remembering. He had completely forgotten for a moment that giant insects were considered perfectly normal food for those primitive people; almost anything that moved was probably considered potential food for them without much discernment.
Kuggi suddenly cupped his hands to his mouth, took a deep breath, filling his lungs completely, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"EVERYONE! COME BACK HERE!"
The scream echoed violently through the entire forest, reverberating among the giant trees, startling birds that flew out of the treetops. Hawke immediately covered his ears with his hands, pressing hard until the scream finally ceased.
"HEY, YOU COMPLETE IDIOT! Are you trying to attract some dangerous predator or hostile enemy to our side?!"
Kuggi looked at him and brought a somewhat embarrassed hand to the back of his neck, scratching.
"Yeah... it's true, I messed up now... sorry about that."
His voice indicated genuine regret.
"Whatever, never mind."
Hawke waved dismissively, not wanting to cause trouble first thing in the morning.
Little by little they arrived back at the clearing ; with each one who appeared among the trees, Kuggi excitedly repeated that they had already gathered enough, that there was more than enough food for everyone. Tairo returned completely empty-handed along with Duggi, who also hadn't found anything, followed shortly by Yuka, who had been complaining about her aching feet and having to hunt insects. Kaira was the last to return, but she was triumphantly carrying another large insect in her hands and dramatically threw it onto the pile, then gave a small, excited jump in celebration.
They were competing to see who could find the most bodies. Kuggi and Duggi were visibly sad and embarrassed by the result; losing to a girl at anything was considered genuinely shameful for them.
"You have a really good natural sense for finding hidden things, impressive!"
Tairo praised sincerely while Kaira rubbed the tip of her nose with obvious pride.
Everyone ; except the old woman who remained missing somewhere doing who-knows-what , was now gathered around the considerable pile of dead insects.
"I think we can eat in peace now, I don't see any obvious signs of poison in them, and it will be extremely useful for replenishing our spent energy before continuing the arduous journey."
Tairo spoke, making a clear gesture with his raised hand for Kuggi and Duggi not to attack the food yet without permission. "Or perhaps we should take everything with us to eat along the way?"
Yuka protested immediately in a tired voice: "I don't want to carry any more weight! It's much better if we eat everything here now!"
"But you haven't been carrying any weight so far," Tairo pointed out, confused.
'How can you say that? Just look at those enormous breasts she's been carrying all day!'
Hawke mentally surmised that this could be the reason for Yuka's weight and fatigue.
"That's right, it's much better if we just eat everything right here." Kaira agreed, casually tearing off some crunchy part of the nearest insect. "If we spend too much time with them, it might attract other dangerous creatures; they give off a very strong and characteristic smell that travels far."
Everyone fell into a tense silence for a moment, processing the logic. Kuggi and Duggi were already visibly salivating, anxiously awaiting Tairo's final order to ferociously attack the pile of insects like hungry animals.
"I'm not taking that."
Hawke broke the tense silence definitively, his voice firm.
"Kaira is right about the smell attracting dangerous beasts, and carrying more weight on an already difficult journey isn't a good strategic idea. Do what you want with the pile, but I'm definitely not eating it."
"Neither will I," Kaira said almost immediately after him, carefully storing the part of the insect she had earlier removed in a small leather bag attached to her waist.
"Neither will I! And I'm not taking anything either!"
Yuka protested in a high-pitched voice, but the loud, embarrassing sound of her stomach rumbling completely gave her away; she was clearly quite hungry, but she stubbornly refused to eat those raw, disgusting insects.
"Insects are absolutely disgusting!" She looked directly at Hawke when she said this, as if expecting his approval or validation.
"I'll eat it then," Kuggi said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. "Good, that leaves more for us!"
"Much more!" Duggi finished with equal enthusiasm.
Tairo hesitated for a moment, scanning the surrounding area with his eyes searching.
"What do you think, Grandma?"
"..."
"Where's Grandma?"
Before the group could start to worry and go looking for her, the old woman shouted from somewhere nearby in the trees.
"I'm here!"
She appeared seconds later from the middle of the dense undergrowth with parts of an insect still in her mouth, chewing , apparently she had found a forgotten body in the middle of the vegetation and was already finishing devouring it completely without ceremony. The action already clearly showed what she thought about the matter to Tairo.
Hawke reconsidered everything for a moment while observing the scene, his thoughts organizing themselves.
'Yuka is clearly hungry, everyone must be hungry actually I'm afraid, and yet she and Kaira are following my lead without questioning much? Why exactly? Are they really going to starve all day because of my whim?'
The word echoed disturbingly in his mind.
'My whim... it's just a silly whim really, isn't it? I'm the one who initially brought up this idea of disgust for insects, am I really going to harm them because of this personal and selfish whim?'
Hawke continued to seriously consider how his attitude had directly shaped the opinion of the other group members, especially the girls who seemed to trust him.
Meanwhile, Tairo had already made the final decision and gave Kuggi a clear nod of permission. He looked at the appetizing pile of dead insects and just before grabbing it like a hungry animal, Hawke interrupted loudly:
"WAIT A MOMENT!"
Everyone stared at him instantly, clearly surprised by the sudden interruption.
"I'll roast the food over the fire first," Hawke explained, looking specifically at Yuka and Kaira. "That way it's not as disgusting as raw. It's even tasty."
The two girls reacted immediately with extremely excited and hopeful looks.
"How did you do it with the green egg that time?" Duggi asked, also excited, already licking his lips in anticipation of the taste.