“Our body?” Both Arsh and Vel asked.

  Kivrah, on the other hand, was calm and wanted to know more.

  “Tell me Son. How can you achieve it?” Kivrah, being the leader of their tribe for a long time, was aware of the struggles of his people.

  Some of their tribesmen are being grazed in one way or another while gathering berries.

  Mostly in the upper part of the body. If they can protect it, it will be a big help when they leave the camp.

  Civ stared at them with a complicated look.“Uhhhhhh. It's complicated to explain Father. I think it is better for me to show you how to make it.”

  He started working on de-hairing in all parts where there is still hair. When he is done, he requests Vel to get more water, and he rinses the hide with the reserved water in two jars.

  Horm saw the three of them at the back of the cave, and he called Civ.

  “Hey Civ, I have a question for you.”

  “Oh Horm, you just came in the right moment. Help me with this one. Hold this.” Civ handed him the other end of the hide.

  Horm holds the other end, but he was weirded out by the texture. “What is this?”

  What he felt was a familiar texture, but it was slimy.

  “This is the skin of the boar, and the hair was removed. Now, please walk back until we are able to stretch the skin.” Civ continued walking back. With no time to reach, Horm just walked back until it was stretched.

  “What is next Civ?” Horm holds the tension in the hide.

  “We need to turn it like this and do the opposite on your end.” Civ starts twisting the hide. Then Horm followed, twisting the other end in the opposite direction.

  SQUISSSHHH

  The water starts escaping the hide.

  They worked on rinsing the hide a few more times until Civ was satisfied with the rinse.

  “Thank you Horm. What was your question again?” Civ walks to one of the trees and picks up a jar.

  “Oh nothing, I was going to ask when you are going to Sou-euhggghh! What is that smell?!” Horm instinctively pinches his nose to stop smelling it.

  Everyone around also pinched their noses to avoid smelling it.

  “Wait Civ, that was the urine you asked us to fill?” Horm realized what Civ was bringing.

  Vel just arrived with a new batch of water, and also noticed the smell.

  “Yes Civ, I remembered you asked us that. What will you use it for?” Remembering that Civ and he already did some materials mixing, he had an idea or two what Civ is going to do with this.

  “You are right. I will use this to further soften the skin for the next step.” Civ starts pouring half of the aged urine in the bigger clay basin that Vel recently made. Then he poured a jar full of water into the basin.

  Then he mixes it.

  Looking at the hide, it is still not as pliable to his liking. He put it in the basin. Soaking it with the diluted urine should further soften it. This makes it easier to prepare for the next application.

  Civ put a stone on top of the hide to submerge it in the solution. “Then we wait for it to soften in a few days!”

  “UUhhhhggg!” A painful groan was heard from the audience.

  “Come on. When I work on it the next day, I will let all of you know.” Civ guarantees it to the group.

  Everyone felt relieved.

  When Civ finished the process, Kivrah and Arsh left while Vel stayed.

  Noticing Vel, Civ asked,“ Vel, I thought you were doing something. Do you need something for me?”

  Vel cannot make eye contact, and he is fiddling with his thumbs.

  Civ paused for a moment and said.

  “Sigh. Alright, let me help you with the task my Tribe leader gave you.” Civ cannot resist helping his apprentice.

  Vel smiled and clasped his hands. “Thank you Civ. I will make sure to help you next time.”

  He and Civ went in front of the cave. They started working on the clay.

  Civ asked Vel first.“Tell me Vel, is it possible to make a cover for this jar using clay?”

  Vel quickly replied. “I do not think it is possible.”

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Civ nodded to Vel’s response. “Your answer is right but also wrong.” He brought a light flat stone and put it on top of the jar. Covering most of the mouth.

  Vel's eyes widened, and he slapped his forehead. “Oh, I did not think about it.”

  In fact, Vel was fixated on accomplishing this with clay. He did not notice that what the tribe leader only needed was to cover the smell. Covering it with stone will also do the work.

  “But don’t be sad Vel. We’ll make a new one. With a new function!” Civ smiled and started working on the clay he had already mixed.

  He coiled most of the half in a straight line. After that, he slowly applied a coil mud and made a dome on top of it. The size that he is working on now is half the height of the jar they made.

  While Civ was focused, Vel did not make any unnecessary noise and held his questioning.

  After making a half dome, Civ continued to make the coil outward until he was satisfied with the size.

  “There you go. We are done with the first part. I believe you can make it too, Vel right?” Civ smiled as he was awaiting a reply from his student.

  “Yes. I can make it right away. But how can we make the cover for this?” Based on Vel’s deduction, this should not work either. Since the smell is what they need to hide, covering it with a flat stone is still not enough.

  “What do you mean? By stone?” Civ’s brows furrowed.

  “Yes Civ.” Vel energetically nodded.

  “It will not be made of stone. Let me teach you this.” Civ pulled a handful of clay from the pile.

  He made a plate-like clay mould. Then he placed a big leaf, covering the mouth of the pot. Next, he gently places the plate-like mould upside down and makes indentations on its edges.

  He lifted the mould. For the last part, he rolled a 2-inch-thick slab of clay about 3 inches long. Then he placed it in the middle of the plate-like mould, and then shaped it like an arc top.

  “There you go, the lid is created now! Have you followed my process Vel?” Civ looked worried that he had made it much faster than he expected.

  “No Civ. I understand it correctly now!” Vel was happy that he learned something new again from Civ.

  “Great. If you can, make as much as you can today. So we can see if we created it right.” Even though Civ knows the process, the result may vary. If they can have multiple options, it will give them more data on how to improve the pot.

  With that resolved, Civ returned to the back of the cave and made a few handheld spears.

  Today, they decided not to leave the camp. Aside from the few sightings of the boar, they do not have reason to leave the camp for today.

  The night passes without any problems.

  The morning came, and Vel woke up earlier than Civ.

  “He Civ, wake up! We need to check the pots!” Vel tugging Civ to leave the hut.

  “Aallllrrriggght, just give me a moment.” Civ tried to open his heavy eyes as the chilly air ran over his body. A smell of wet grass was still around.

  As he slowly opened his eyes, the Sun Goddess was still asleep. The crackling fire from the campfire was their source of light.

  “Where did you dry it?” Looking around, Civ noticed that the pots were not here.

  “Come!” Vel still holds Civ. Dragging him at the back of the cave.

  Seeing the pots, it was around 4 clay pots with lids made.

  Civ's foggy mind clears, and his eyes quickly open wide! “Well done Vel. But let's check these first.”

  They sat in front of the campfire that died where the pots were dried. Out of four, only two passed the quality check and do not have cracks. It was the one made by Him and the last pot Vel made.

  Civ was still surprised. Even though Vel made mistakes, he was able to make it right in the last pot.

  “Great job on this. I think you can start teaching it to others once you are able to make it with asking me.” Civ explained.

  Vel respectfully bowed to Civ. “I will make sure to learn this as fast as I can.”

  Vel wants to familiarize himself with this right away. Not only because the Tribe Leader requested it. But he needs extra time for other things, such as bow making and learning how to use a bow and arrow.

  For Civ, they need to make as many as they can. Not only for cooking purposes, but also to improve the skills of the tribe.

  As the chill still bites their skin, both of them quickly return to the campfire. The sky is still dark, but Civ’s mind is already awake. This cold feeling made him recall something. A liquid that can warm their stomachs.

  He let out a deep sigh. ‘I’ll need to look for plants for that.’ Civ continued to stoke the fire while rubbing his hands. Vel and Civ talked about the improvements they could make in the handheld spears and arrows.

  After an hour, the sky is starting to brighten. Noticing it, Civ woke up the rest of the hunting group to exercise.

  Today, Kivrah joined them on their morning exercise. This gives the group extra motivation to complete this morning routine.

  When the exercise ended, the hunting group left their Tribe leader lying down in the grass.

  Kivrah was trying to catch any breath he could.

  Civ sat next to him, teasingly smiling. “Everything good Father?”

  Kivrah tried to speak a sentence, but he decided not to. “NO!”

  Civ laughed at the struggle of his Father. Even the group was exhausted in the first few days of this exercise.

  “Do not worry Father. If you follow us every day, you will not be as tired next time.” Civ assured his Father.

  “Yeah, I guess I need to follow your advice.” Kivrah closed his eyes and tried to rest in silence.

  Since Kivrah does not want to be bothered, Civ quietly left his side and went back to the cave.

  At the cave, Civ checks the boar hide he soaked yesterday. After removing the stone above it, he touches the hide. ‘It’s pliable now!’

  Civ was expecting it will be done within a few days. But it was ready for the next step the next day! However, he is in a race against time right now, and he needs to work on this hide before the day ends.

  Eyes sparkling, Civ covered the basin again and looked for his Father.

  Kivrah was still at the back of the cave, trying to sit down.

  “Father, I have permission to ask.” Civ cheerfully walks towards his Father.

  “Tell me what it was?” Kivrah looks up to his son.

  “Can we go to the south today? I need to collect spices and woods.” Civ explained.

  “Alright, let me join again today. Do we go out and hunt rabbits also?” Kivrah asked.

  “Yes, that was the most important part.” Civ nodded.

  “That is great! You can call the firewood group. We’ll head south right now!” Kivrah commanded.

  The firewood team was happily followed by Civ. They also want to further explore the south side of the forest.

  This time, Vel did not go since he would focus on the tasks Civ gave to him. Aside from Horm, Arsh and Safi volunteered to accompany the team.

  Before the left, Arsh raised a question.

  “Civ, why do we need to hunt rabbits? We still have dried meat.”

  Civ paused for a moment and replied with a teasing smile.

  “To lure the boars!”