3 Chapter 2 - Neanderthal Youth

Shak'Ar breathed in the fresh spring air and suddenly his stomach rumbled.

Shak'Ar went inside his family tent and grabbed a piece of jerky, but he wanted something more substantial.

Othar saw him and came close.

Othar: "son, we are gonna go fishing, come with us"

Shak'Ar: "fishing? how?"

Othar: "well, the common technique is making some holes in a side of the river and a stone wall blocking the current, so when the fish come close you just throw them out of the water, simple right?"

Shak'Ar: "why not using a spear?"

Othar shook his head: "no son, it's quite hard and it just breaks a lot of spearheads, even if you hit the fish it ain't a guaranteed kill also"

Shak'Ar touched his chin in thought: "I have an idea... can you wait for a while?"

Othar shrugged with a sigh: "sigh... we will go first, just come when you are ready"

Shak'Ar: "okay dad~"

Shak'Ar collected some antler bone, some sinew rope, a stick, and some leftover stone pieces from making knives, setting it all on the floor near the cave entrance to have light to work.

Anzu came at that moment.

Anzu looked curiously at the materials on the floor: "what are you making Shak'Ar?"

Shak'Ar: "A harpoon"

Anzu was puzzled: "what's that?"

Shak'Ar chuckled: " you will see" he grabbed the stick and some stone flakes "first, you carve a groove in the wood, then..." he placed a small ember on top of it "you let it burn through the wood, meanwhile," he grabbed the antler now "on the side of an as straight as possible piece of antler, we carve the shape, first straight and then the spikes"

*(like this: https://www.agefotostock.es/age/es/detalles-foto/hueso-arpon-pesca-dordo%C3%B1a-region-francia-paleolitico-periodo-c20th-siglo-artista-desconocido/HEZ-2663339)

It took a lot of waste stone pieces that were a subproduct of making stone knives and spearheads, to carve the bone properly, but finally, Shak'Ar got spike hooks carved on each side, he then picked a pointy stone flake and used it to carve a hole in the base of the bone piece, using it like a drill.

Shak'Ar: " well, with that done I just need to tie the rope to the stick"

Anzu: "hmm... it took a lot of work, are you sure this is better than a normal spear?"

Shak'Ar: "a normal stone spear will cut the fish, but if the fish pulls away it will scape anyway"

Anzu pointed at his spear tip: "I don't know, you didn't use any birch bark glue on that tip, how will it hold itself to the spear?"

Shak'Ar finished carving a hole at the tip of his stick and smoothened it with a smooth river pebble, the hole an exact fit for the harpoon bone tip.

Shak'Ar put the tip in, held in place just by friction, and tied the sinew rope to the holes to the stick and bone harpoon.

Shak'Ar: "like... this! no need for glue"

Anzu had already sat down nearby: "Finally, I thought you were ignoring me"

Shak'Ar: "one image is worth a thousand words after all!"

Anzu: "...what?"

Shak'Ar: "... forget it, see the friction keeps it in place"

Anzu: "hmm but the moment it hits a fish it will get stuck and fall, what's the use then?"

Shak'Ar pointed at the rope tied at both ends: "that's what the rope is for, the fish can swim around and get tired, while I can just wait, and pull it out of the water once its tired"

Anzu touched her chin: "that is a good idea..."

Shak'Ar: "of course, also bone is easier to give shape than a stone after all" he looked in the direction of the river "let's go test it out!"

Anzu: "okay!"

They arrived at the river, and the adults in the village were almost done building the trap.

Othar saw Shak'Ar and waved at him: "Shak'Ar what took you so long? Your mother and I are almost done with our part"

Shak'Ar offered him his harpoon: "I was making this father"

Othar examined it, easily taking off the spear point and shook his head: "you need to glue this part son, we were gonna make some birch glue later"

Anzu: "I told him that too!"

Shak'Ar: "it's made to ve that way, see the rope father? with that, it remains connected until the fish gets tired"

Othar: "hmmm sure, give it a try then"

The three went a bit up the river to avoid disturbing the others, and came close to a bend on the river with lots of fish.

Shak'Ar readied his harpoon: "take that!" but completely missed the fish "huh? what happened?"

Othar by the side laughed: "Jajaja, the water is tricky son, things aren't where you think they are, you need to aim lower, let me try, I used to be stubborn about this when I was young too"

Othar readied his aim, and easily speared a big river bash, the point came loose but the rope held the fish as it struggled to come loose for a minute before tiring.

Othar was quite surprised as he easily took the fish out of the water: "son, this is quite useful"

Shak'Ar: "see? with this the tribe won't need to spend so much time fishing, once they learn they could easily catch fish"

Othar massaged his beard in thought: "that's true, our walls always break every year when the river freezes, but I do see value in both methods, anyone can carry rocks, but spearing a fish through the water is quite complicated" then patting his head "so you better practice a lot to teach the others, come let's eat this one with the others"

They walked behind Othar as Anzu came close to Shak'Ars ear: "I can't believe that worked, where do you get those ideas?"

Shak'Ar shrugged: "I just have"

The rest of the tribe also caught lots of fish, they then ate some raw and left the guts near the bank, ready to roast the fish at a different location.

Shak'Ar: "dad, why can't we smoke the fish near the cave?"

Othar paused and looked at his son: "this valley is quite peaceful son... but there are monsters out there son, if they smell food they will travel long distances to get it"

Shak'Ar: "but... don't we cook inside the cave in winter?"

Jhana that was nearby answered instead: "it's okay in winter, the smoke doesn't go far in the cold, and some monsters sleep in winter, but in the summer... it can reach the mountains..." her face becoming serious.

Shak'Ar: "...what's on the mountains?"

Othar was about to talk, but Jhana held his shoulder and shook her head.

Jhana: "monsters, just monsters son, never go to the mountains..."

Shak'Ar: "Okay..." but deep inside... now he wanted to go more than ever, muttering to himself "monster's huh... I'll be a monster hunter then... hehehe~ I need a weapon first, time to start looking for some metal... some natural cooper or malachite would be nice..."

They smoked the fish in the forest, and went back to the cave.

The next morning, Shak'Ar made a rudimentary backpack with some sticks, and a huge leather bag, as he went back and forth to the river, bringing clay, sand, and limestone.

Anzu: "what are you making now?"

Shak'Ar: "hah... hah... it's... concrete uff..."

Anzu rolled her eyes: "let me help and catch your breath, what else do you need?"

Shak'Ar nodded as he sat down, it had been a tiring morning, and his back was killing him.

Shak'Ar: "I need... some wood... to heat... the limestone"

Anzu nodded: "Sure, be right back" sprinting away at top speed in the direction of the forest.

Jhana that was looking the whole time asked: "son, where is she going? are you done with your project?"

Shak'Ar: "forest... get some... wood"

Jhana's eyes opened as she ran to get her spear: "call your father!"

Shak'Ar was confused: "what?"

Jhana: "we roasted fish yesterday! the forest might have monsters! it's dangerous to go alone!"

Shak'Ar's face paled, muttering: "monster's already... but my oven and copper ain't ready yet..." he clenched his teeth imagining Anzu in danger, his face becoming determined "let's go!"

Anzu had started running ten minutes prior, but thankfully Othar was an excellent tracker.

Othar examined the ground in the forest: "hmm she went this way..."

Right at that moment, they saw Shak'Ar's backpack thrown by the side.

Othar, Jhana, and the tribe members following got serious.

Othar: "let's hurry"

Shak'Ar was becoming increasingly nervous as they all ran through the forest, the breeze was refreshing, and full of earthy smells, the place would have been popular back on Earth surrounded by the huge trees all around, but when those trees could be hiding a huge predator behind... the story was way different.

At that moment Othar stopped.

Othar: "I hear something..."

Shak'Ar concentrated, and he could hear shouting from their left, so he pointed to the left and said: "that way! let's go!"

He was so on edge he ran as fast as he could, now leading the group in front.

They heard shouts and loud growls, and soon came to a clear in the forest. A huge cave bear was trying to claw at Anzu that had climbed a huge tree, her back was bleeding from a claw mark though.

Shak'Ar: "shit! Anzu!!!"

Othar: "Son wait! don't attack alone! feel the spirit of the wolf people! surround it and attack as a pack!"

Shak'Ar's head cooled off as the enormous bear turned around, just twelve meters ahead of him, he should have felt scared, but his blood was boiling in anger, that stupid bear was trying to eat his best friend, at that moment he felt a hand on his right and left shoulders, his father was to his left, and his mother to his right.

With the power of the group, everyone started advancing as they stabbed forward with their spears. It worked perfectly, as the bear slowly retreated, his enormous paws and claws swinging in the air as they almost broke a couple of spears.

Shak'Ar could see Anzu by now, her face looked pale and tired, but she smiled at him.

The bear was surrounded as the spears kept poking at him, but the bear wasn't going down, they could poke deep enough as the bear had a very thick skin and fat underneath, so they risked their spear getting stuck or pulled every time.

The bear kept turning in place and roaring to different hunters as those that faced its back would poke it in a continuous loop, replacing any broken spears, when it was Shak'Ar's turn though, he had a better idea.

Shak'Ar: "my thick stone spear can't go through the hide bit... what about... this!" his spear stabbed inside the rectum of the bear in one go, piercing and mangling all organs in its path.

The other tribesmen took a step back in front of the gruesome scene, even clenching their butts as the bear roared in pain.

The bear tried to turn around, but that just broke Shak'Ar's spearhead, tearing quite a bit of the bear's organs in the process.

Othar: "...that... will ruin the meat..."

Shak'Ar: "saving Anzu is what's important now"

The bear was big, but quite overnumbered, the hunters hid behind trees if the bear tried to charge at them, and others would poke it from the back, the bleeding was brutal, and soon the bear was panting, barely able to move.

Othar: "it's time"

Othar took out a bone knife from his belt and gave it to Shak'Ar.

Othar: "take the spirit son, you earned it"

Shak'Ar: "...what do you mean?"

Othar: "rip the hearth out and eat it, get the strength of the beast, urus will be your guardian spirit"

Shak'Ar nodded seriously: "okay" as he walked up to the panting bear and stabbed its neck, cutting it open. The light soon faded in the eyes of the huge cave bear as it fell to the floor lifeless.

Shak'Ar then walked up to the tree Anzu was in, and carefully helped her down.

Jhana then grabbed her, as she looked at her son: "we got her, eat the strength of the beast son, be quick before the spirit flies away"

Shak'Ar was sketchy about it, but seeing everyone's serious faces, he could only do it: "Okay, clean the wound with clean water and-"

Jhana put a hand on his shoulder: "don't worry, Rhahiki is on his way, he knows how to cure wounds, Anzu will be fine"

Shak'Ar was doubtful inside of the medical knowledge of the crazy shaman, but he would offend everyone if he voiced his concerns, so he just walked back to the bear.

He kneeled next to the corpse and cut under the ribcage, then pushed his left arm inside till he felt the shape of the hearth, trying to pull it off, but it was no use.

Othar laughed: "you need to cut off the veins first son"

Shak'Ar's face got a bit red, he had wanted to rip it off like in the movies, but it was impossible.

Shak'Ar: "Okay..."

He cut open more space and pushed both arms inside, grabbing the veins with his right hand, and cutting with his right hand.

In Spain, it's common to hang prey, and bleed it out, even manually pumping the hearth, as the blood leaves a bitter taste on the meat if you don't drain it, but there was no time for that now, the hearth was still slightly pumping as he took it out.

Shak'Ar: "what now? do I cut it with the knife? roast it?"

Othar: "no son, bit it and eat it, fire damages the spirit inside"

Shak'Ar: "...sure...okay..."

Shak'Ar bit on the still hot hearth, and he felt it pump and twitch in his hands, the tissue was still very much alive, his mouth soon full of the metallic taste of blood, he had never been a fan of liver, much less a hot pumping hearth from a bear.

The iron taste on his mouth was making him gag, but bite after bite, he finally finished the hearth, but his stomach wasn't feeling good at all.

Shak'Ar muttered to himself: "ugh... not even some water to clear the taste..."

Rushed steps were then heard as the shaman Rahiki came over carrying a sack on his back.

Rahiki spread a big bison skin on the floor.

Rahiki: "put her on the carpet!" and started examining Anzu's wounds, he then chewed some plants and applied the paste over her wounds, then applied some dry moss over it and wrapped them with some flexible tree bark.

Shak'Ar: "is she gonna be okay? anything I can help with?"

Rahiki observed the blood covered Shak'Ar and the bear corpse behind, and put a hand on his shoulder.

Rahiki: "meat, and water, that's how you can help, she won't be able to move while her wounds heal, and she needs to change the herbs every three days"

Shak'Ar: "why not every day?"

Rahiki shook his head: "unfortunately, I don't have enough herbs, if anyone else got injured, then I wouldn't be able to heal them..."

Shak'Ar slowly nodded: "I... I understand..."

Rahiki patted his back once more: "we will carry her back to the village, you have a bear to butcher"

Shak'Ar nodded: "thank you"

Rahiki laughed heartily: "no need to thank me young one, it's my role in the tribe" smiling widely and leaving with half of the hunters, six of them grabbing the edged of the fur to carry Anzu back.

Othar and half of the hunters stayed behind.

Othar: "well son, how does the spirit of the bear feel?"

Shak'Ar: "...my stomach hurts"

Othar laughed, as well as the other hunters.

Othar: "yeah, that tends to happen the first time haha~, well let's get started, we have a lot of meat to carry back!"

They started by cutting the thick leather in the underside of the paws, and separating it to the sides using spare arrowheads, and pieces of sharp stone, cutting between the skin, and the fat layer underneath. Once a hold of the skin was secured they grabbed tightly and used their first to separate the skin.

Once the four limbs were skinned, they chopped them off at the joints, they were then hanged from a tree and cut into smaller slices to smoke. Some tribesmen were also back with containers by now, so they put the cut fat there.

They had made a fire nearby for smoking most of the meat, but some cuts they roasted in hot rocks over the fire, the pot with the fat rendered most of it liquid, so they put meat in other containers and drenched it in fat, lard was a good way to keep food for long, as since ancient times people have preserved meat in oil.

Once they were rested, they opened the belly of the bear, the smell was horrible as poop and bile had contaminated most of the insides by now.

Shak'Ar looked at his dad: "it's too contaminated, we better throw them-"

Othar shook his head: "such a wasteful mindset son, the excrement can just be washed, the intestines will be used to repair spears and knives, the liver will give strength to the sick and injured, the kidneys will be roasted over the fire for the old, the stomach and lungs cut and boiled with fat and other meats, nothing goes to waste son"

Shak'Ar: "...but there could be bacteria..."

Othar was confused: "bact... what?"

Shak'Ar sighed: "forget it, let's keep going..."

The smells assaulted his nose as he cut off the anus, and ripped off the organs from the connective tissue, setting them on baskets full of green leaves that some hunters would take to the river to clean. The bones came next, they were split with a couple of biface rocks or hand axes, and set into a pot, the marrow was then boiled into a thick soup, and the clean bones were then transported back to the village to make tools and armor.

*(hand axe: https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_axe)

After an entire day of work, only the skull and skin were left, Othar cut open the throat, and split the jaw, separating the skin from the skull, and carrying them both to the village.

Over the next four days, Shak'Ar would use the claws and teeth to make a necklace for him and another for Anzu, dry the skin in the sun using some stretchers, and then use the boiled brains from the bear to soften and protect the leather. Then he broke the bear skull, and polished it, so it could be worn as a kind of mask inside his bearskin coat. In the end, he had to widen the eye holes by drilling the forehead of the skull too, but the final result was quite intimidating and protected from the cold and wind.

He renounced his share in the meat and organs to be able to get all the materials he needed to make a new suit.

The full bear suit consisted of a huge coat full of pockets inside, boots, pants, arm guards, globes with eight of the claws, a mask, and pieces of bone reinforcing the entire thing.

There was a problem though, once he put on the entire set it was quite heavy, and really hot inside too.

Othar that was looking whistled: "quite the creation son"

Shak'Ar sighed: "thanks..."

Othar: "oh? why the long face?"

Shak'Ar: "it's way too heavy and it makes me sweat a lot..."

Othar nodded: "well, that seems to be the case, what about just using it in winter then?"

Shak'Ar nodded, and with no other option had to make a simple wooden mannequin and left the suit inside his room. He hadn't told anyone, but he planned to make a trip to the mountains in winter to get some metal ores, he needed all the preparation he could manage.

As he had been doing the past days, Shak'Ar then visited Anzu.

Anzu was lying down sideways on a pile of animal skins when Shak'Ar entered.

Shak'Ar: "hey, how are you doing?"

Anzu groaned: "it hurts..."

Shak'Ar: "your back still hurts?"

Anzu: "...yeah..."

Shak'Ar looked around and her usual caretaker was gone: "why are you alone?"

Anzu: "...the blood..."

Shak'Ar was confused: "the blood?"

Anzu: "...my parts are bleeding dummy, women need to be alone those days..."

Shak'Ar came to an understanding: "ah... your period... it's okay I don't care, let me take a look at your back"

Anzu sat up and slowly removed her coat painfully: "okay..."

Shak'Ar helped her take it off in the end and slowly removed the bark bandages: "the wounds seem to be healing properly... did anyone change your bandaged?"

Anzu shook her head and pointed to a corner: "Rahiki left herbs so I can do it myself during the bleeding days..."

Shak'Ar was flabbergasted and sighed heavily: "how do they expect for you to reach your own back... sigh, these people..." he grabbed the herbs and sat behind Anzu "I will do it myself"

Anzu: "Okay..."

Shak'Ar chewed on the herbs and applied them over the closing wounds, then some dried moss, and finally the bark fiver bandage.

Shak'Ar: "that should do it... how's that Anzu?... Anzu?"

Anzu: "ah! y-yeah, thanks..."

Shak'Ar saw her ears were red: "okay... I will let you rest"

Anzu nodded, as she laid back down on her side: "...okay..."

Shak'Ar exited her cave and thought to himself: "if we had baths we would need fewer medicines and would be healthier... seems like I can't delay making concrete anymore..."

Shak'Ar was getting ready to go to the forest when he met his cousin Hir.

Hir was an excellent trapper, and usually came back with some small animals to eat.

Hir: "Oh Shak'Ar the mighty bear hunter!"

Shak'Ar: "well... I didn't hunt it alone..."

Hir: "I know right? but my mother keeps telling me about it, I bring back small animals while my cousin Shak'Ar hunted a bear for the whole village... truly heroic, sigh..."

Shak'Ar: "aunty Matka? well, don't worry about it" patting Hir's back "what you do is important, you give variety to our food and keep us healthy"

Hir was a bit flattered, so he changed the topic: "...thanks... so... were you going somewhere?"

Shak'Ar: "oh? yeah, to the forest to collect wood... what?"

Hir: "dude... after what happened to Anzu?"

Shak'Ar shrugged: "I need wood"

Hir: "sigh... I will go with you, I wanted to set some traps there anyway"

Shak'Ar: "thanks"

As they were exiting the valley though, they could hear an argument going on, so they ran to the sound. In a clearing, they saw Adze on the ground, with a hit on his head, and in front of him was Otki. Otki was an orphan hunter boy, he was always jealous of everyone, and was quite overbearing with those weaker than him.

Otki: "Not so brave without Shak'Ar around huh~"

Adze: "I was just going for water, why did you hit me?"

Otki was angry: "don't play dumb! Hana is always looking at you! no matter how I improve or get stronger, she's always looking at you!"

Adze: "w-what? I just like growing plants, there's no way...-"

Otki: "exactly! someone that can't even hunt like you-"

Shak'Ar: "ENOUGH!"

Both boys froze as they saw an angry Shak'Ar running at them.

Adze was relieved: "Shak'Ar!"

Otzi, on the other hand, was scared, that if he messed with the village leader's son he might be exiled: "S- Shak'Ar... we... we were just talking..."

Adze: "that's a lie! he hit me!"

Otzi: "n-no...I- I just-"

Shak'Ar: "I said enough didn't I?"

Hir: "you sure did cousin"

Otzi was sweating in nervousness: "I will go then"

Shak'Ar: "not so fast... you seem to like Hana, but... this is not the way, why would she be with a piece of shit like you?"

Otzi was about to go, but Shak'Ar's comment hit right at his insecurities, he couldn't let it go.

Otzi slowly turned around, his face full of anger: "what did you just say?"

Shak'Ar sighed: "are your ears full of shit too? wow~"

Otzi couldn't take it and sprung forward to punch Shak'Ar: "you bast- guh!"

But Shak'Ar advanced, and with his palm from below hit Otzi's chin, launching him back.

Otzi twitched on the floor as he lost consciousness.

Shak'Ar: "well that's awkward" he looked at Adze "are you okay?"

Adze: "Yeah, thanks a lot..." he looked at Otzi on the floor "what about him?"

Shak'Ar: "him? don't worry about that" Shak'Ar sat on top of Otzi's stomach, and fiercely slapped him over and over.

Just one minute later, Otzi was awake, his cheeks inflated from the slaps.

Otzi: "w-what is-" his eyes dilating as he saw Shak'Ar "you bastar-!"

*SLAP!*

Otzi: "let me go-!"

*SLAP!*

Otzi: "I... I have things to do so-"

*SLAP!*

Otzi: "I... what do you want?"

Shak'Ar: "Apologize to Adze, he will decide whether to forgive you or not."

Otzi: "are you for real? how could I-" a slap sent him to the floor again.

*SLAP!*

Otzi: "...fine, I understand..." he looked at Adze with resentment "...forgive me... please..."

Shak'Ar: "the most insincere apology I've heard in my life..."

Adze: "I-... it's fine Shak'Ar, just let it go... I'm okay..."

Shak'Ar sighed as he shrugged: "sigh, fine..." he then pointed at Otzi "you come with us to the forest"

Otzi was scared: "to... to the forest?... why?..."

Shak'Ar smiled: "relax~ I just need you to carry some wood~"

Hir: "yeah, not like we would murder you in the forest and blame it on some animal right?"

Shak'Ar: "exactly, now Otzi you lead the way~"

Otzi was sweating coldly, but seeing their serious faces could only walk in front: "huh... I- I'm sorry so-"

Shak'Ar had a cold face: "walk"

Otzi: "okay..."

Contrary to his expectations though, they just collected wood, Otzi was loaded the most, barely able to walk.

Soon a big pile of wood was gathered in front of the cave home in three trips.

Otzi was panting, he hadn't been so tired in his entire life, but the fear of death had kept him going until now.

Otzi: "is... hah... is this... enough..."

Shak'Ar: "hmmm for now it should do..."

Otzi: "T-Then... I will go... rest..."

Shak'Ar: "sure~"

Hir: "then me too, urgh... my back is killing me, what do you need so much dried wood for?"

Shak'Ar smiled: "to make lime, you need to heat limestone on the fire and then water it, if I mix that with refined clay and sand from the river... I should be able to make concrete"

Hir was confused: "concrete? what's that?"

Shak'Ar: "hehehe~ you will see~"

Hir sighed: "you are a really weird person cousin..., I barely had time to set my traps due to you... sigh, I'm gonna go take a nap..."

Shak'Ar: "sure, sweet dreams! thanks for the help!"

And Shak'Ar started piling limestone and wood inside his clay oven, using some hoof mushrooms to transport the fire from the cave to his oven.

Shak'Ar: "nothing like a good fire~"

At that moment Adze came with a sack.

Adze: "here, I collected some grain, thanks for earlier..."

Shak'Ar slapped his back: "it was nothing man, why don't we cook something in the meantime?"

Adze: "cook? what do you wanna make?"

Shak'Ar: "well, we should be able to make pancakes, or at least flat bread... need to make an Indian tandoor oven..."

Adze: "what?"

Shak'Ar: "nothing, can you bring me... some lard, and see if anyone has an egg"

Adze: "okay"

Shak'Ar set a flat stone on top of his clay oven while he waited.

Adze came back a couple of minutes later, accompanied by a boy and a girl, Shab a very silent muscular boy, always with a serious face, and Khaan, a cheerful girl that loved cooking.

Adze: "they said they wanna know what you are making before giving the lard and eggs..."

Shak'Ar sighed: "Sure, sit down friends-"

Shab: "dish"

Shak'Ar: "huh?"

Khaan: "oh don't mind this bloke, he means what are you gonna make?"

Shak'Ar smiled: "pancakes~"

Shab: "hmm taste?"

Shak'Ar: "their taste? well in this case salty I guess, I wish I had some sweet herbs..."

Shab nodded and rummaged a pouch around his waist, taking out a fist full of sun dried berries: "to make sweet, use this"

Shak'Ar was surprised: "oh, thanks this will be good"

Shab just nodded: "hmm"

Khaan: "we also like cooking you see? we can't let you create all the new foods right~" giving Shak'Ar three bird eggs, and a cup of bear lard.

Shab's face got serious as he deeply nodded.

Shak'Ar was surprised, but also happy to see others wanted to develop: "well let me teach you then~"

Shak'Ar first ground some grain into fine flour, teaching them how to do it, and poured it into a wooden bowl, along with a cup of fermented yeast water, he then ground the berries and added them to the mix, he then added the three eggs. Finally, he melted the bear lard in a clay pot over the fire, and added it to the mix.

The liquid dough was now the proper consistency.

He then oiled the hot flat rock, and used a wooden spoon to pour some of the mix over it, soon flipping it using a scapula bone as a spatula.

Khaan: "wow~ it smells good!"

Shab nodded: "good smell indeed"

Adze: "it really smells good"

Shak'Ar plated the first one: "here, try a piece everyone!"

Shab's face slightly untensed: "...delicious"

Khaan: "so good~"

Adze: "I like it"

Soon other tribe members smelled the pancakes, and came to try them.

Shak'Ar looked at Shab: "can you make the rest? I'm gonna take some to Anzu"

Shab nodded: "yes, leave it to me" calmly taking the bowl from Shak'Ar and imitating his movements perfectly.

Shak'Ar opened Anzu's door and saw her sitting cleaning blood from some pelt.

Shak'Ar: "how are you feeling?"

Anzu: "my stomach and back both hurt... I feel like shit..."

Shak'Ar took the bloodied pelts: "I will clean them later, here try this"

Anzu blushed slightly: "thanks" she looked at the bowl and grabbed a pancake "what's this? so fluffy..."

Shak'Ar smiled: "go ahead, try it"

Anzu nodded and took a bite: "quite good!"

Shak'Ar nodded: "Indeed, with some honey or maple syrup it would be even better..."

Anzu looked at Shak'Ar deeply as she finished three pancakes, her period make her not be too hungry, but the pancakes were really good.

Anzu: "...how do you think of these things Shak'Ar?"

Shak'Ar just shrugged: "dunno, it just comes to mind I guess..."

Anzu finished the pancakes quickly: "...You never told me why you needed the wood"

Shak'Ar: "oh that, it was a surprise but fine, I plan on making concrete to make a big bath in front of the cave, we could also build a sturdy wall to access the cave, smooth out the cave floor, properly divide rooms with brick walls... it's quite useful I promise"

Anzu: "Can't wait to see what you make then"

Shak'Ar: "of course, gotta go back, get well soon okay?"

Anzu: "sure, thanks for the food, and washing my pelts"

Shak'Ar smiled: "no problem"