Armed with his trusty blazer, Eric got to collecting the moss he found and bringing it back to his dwelling, hoping he could somehow make a half-decent bed out of it. He made three trips back and forth before getting tired.
“Man … huff … there isn’t enough of it yet. The blazer is doing its job, but I just can’t fit enough. I’ll need at least … what … five more trips to gather enough of it for a bed? I mean, sure, it’s better than nothing, but all this walking is tiresome, man.”
“Do I call it a day now or keep going? Hmm … I’m already pretty tired from all the walking, and if something attacks me … it won’t be good.”
“Yeah, I should call it a day. I can sleep one more day on a hard rock. Shouldn’t get impatient … that would be a dumb way to die.”
“I better get the campfire going then …”
-----
The next day, Eric got back to it.
“Huff … ok … with this one, I think two more trips will be enough to make a decently-sized bed. Then I’ll have to go back to exploring these caves again, but at least I’ll have some proper rest.”
“I never realized just how important a good night’s rest is. Not until I had to spend a few nights without a bed.”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“Ah, it’s you,” Eric said without turning his head, waving his hand dismissively, “I don’t have any fish with me right now, but you can have this piece of meat you gave me before. I don’t really have a use for it.”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“Why are you so …”
Looking towards the source of the roaring, Eric’s jaw hung open once he realized the severity of the situation, “… oh, fuck …”
“Oh, fuck. Are these … your friends?”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“I … I don’t know if this little piece will do for all three of you guys, but maybe you can share it?” He grabbed half of the skinned carcass and shook it before him, “I myself am not very nutritious.”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“Here, catch!”
As soon as the carcass was in the air, Eric started retreating as quickly as possible. He considered running but quickly decided that pointing the spear toward the enemy was the best thing to do since he had no idea just how quick his opponents were. He hoped that getting them into the tunnel would negate their numerical advantage and force them to go one by one.
The carcass only managed to entertain one of his pursuers, though. The quickest of the bunch started running away as soon as it managed to catch it, leaving the remaining two reptiles not just hungry but also very irritated.
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“Should I run towards the tunnel? Fuck it, I’ll run towards the tunnel and then turn back! I can’t fight them both at the same time.”
Eric dropped his full blazer and started sprinting like he had never sprinted before. The nomadic essence hidden deep inside his body finally unleashed itself, putting him on par with the best athletes among his people for a few moments.
Just a few moments, but that was all he needed.
He started turning even before he had reached the tunnel, the muscles in his primitive arms contracting and dancing happily, lusting for the chance to finally stab at the mighty foe. To do what they were designed to do instead of doing all that meaningless, bureaucratic nonsense that Eric had forced upon them for the last two decades.
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Even his heart gave them its full support, pushing the blood through their blood vessels as fast and hard as it could.
But … things changed.
Three dinos were in front of him again, but they were arranged differently this time. The closest one had its back and tail turned towards Eric, facing the other two.
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
Since his primitive brain had focused all of its capacity on the upcoming fight, it took him a while to realize that the dinos were roaring at each other and not at him.
As his tense muscles started relaxing, thoughts finally started rolling through his head again.
“I should run now, now that they’re busy with each other. This is a perfect opportunity to escape, I don’t …”
However, the dinos were quicker than him. After some intense roaring, the two dinos facing Eric turned around and walked away. Surprised and upset, Eric stood there like a frightened deer, unsure what to do.
Until the last dino finally turned around to face him.
“Wro!”
Eric just stood there with the spear still pointed in front of him, so the animal repeated itself.
“Wro!”
“Uhh … yeah … wro to you too.”
“Wro!”
Then the animal turned around, minding its own business. It didn’t walk away like the rest of them, it stayed relatively near Eric, but it didn’t show any hostility towards him.
It just … kept him company.
Eric observed it for quite some time. It walked around at a slow pace, examining the clearing in detail. It kept going around and around, examining the same areas over and over again.
But it wasn’t paying any attention to Eric’s blazer. Eric expected it to be most interested in the blazer since it was the only out-of-the-ordinary thing in the clearing, but it kept ignoring it even though it had walked right next to it several times.
Finally, it dawned on Eric.
“Are you … patrolling the area? Are you on guard?”
The animal didn’t bother responding.
“Is … is that you, Smartass?”
This time, it stopped for a moment to look in his direction. Eric couldn’t find hostility of any sort in its eyes. It just looked … indifferent, for lack of a better word.
It stared at him for a brief moment before going back to its business.
“Well … thanks, Smartass … I owe you a big one.
“…”
“I don’t have any fish to thank you, but feel free to come to my camp anytime you want some.”
“Wro!”
“Yeah, you’re welcome. Can I get my blazer? It has something that I kinda need right now.”
“Wro!”
“Ok, thanks. I’ll be on my way now. Take care.”
“Wro!”
-----
After a while, Eric returned to the same clearing to gather more moss, but this time, he returned with several fish strapped to his chest with the help of some vines. And he found a familiar creature waiting for him there.
“Oh, hey Smartass. I see you’re still here.”
“Wro!”
“You aren’t patrolling anymore, huh? You’re just lying there, enjoying the sun … or whatever.”
“Wro?”
“Anyway, look what I have here,” Eric said while taking the fish and dangling it in front of the reptile, “Some fishes as thanks for saving my ass back there.”
“WWRRROOOO!!!”
“You like it that much, huh?” He couldn’t help but smile widely, “I’m not a fan of fish, but it certainly beats rats.”
He threw the fish in front of the reptile, who immediately jumped on it.
Munch! Munch!
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about your gift. We do need variety in our diet. I just wish I’d find some juicy fruits that aren’t poisonous, or at least some more of those berries.”
Munch! Munch!
“Also, thank you for keeping this area safe too. I think two more trips will be enough to get all the moss I need. I just hope I won’t have to make a frame for the bed, too. That would be a real pain in the ass.”
Munch! Munch!
“By the way, what is that lump on your nose? I don’t recall noticing it before. Then again, I didn’t really have a chance to take a good look at you like now. You used to scare the shit out of me, but now I see that you aren’t really a bully. You’re more like a mobster, asking for some protection money.”
Munch! Munch!
“But hey, you’ve earned it. You’ve earned every single fish. Besides, it’s not like I can eat it all. This blazer proved far more effective than I expected. I thought that food would be the main issue, but it turns out that’s the one thing I don’t have to worry about.”
Munch! Munch!
“Anyway … I don’t know if you can understand me or not … but I was thinking of taking our partnership even further. You see, I have some exploring to do. Lots of exploring to do. And, as you can see, I’m not really a fighter. I’m much more of a provider. I’m not as alpha as you are. So, there’s a chance something will eat me out there if I go alone. But … with you by my side, there’s actually a chance I may stay in one piece. It would really help if I had someone strong and capable by my side.”
“Wro!”
“Besides, you don’t want someone killing your food bank, do you? That’s why you went against those guys, right?”
“Wro!”
“And I just need to do some exploring, that’s all. We don’t even have to fight anyone as long as they don’t attack us. And think of all the things we may find along the way! Think of all the new foods we may find! Who knows what else is waiting for us around the corner, besides the rats and fishes!”
“Wro!”
“Yeah, I knew you’d understand. Also, one more thing. If we’re going to be partners, I guess calling you a smartass won’t do. You are very smart, but that just doesn’t feel right. How about … how about lumpy?”
“Wro?”
“You know, because of that lump on your nose. It’s nothing derogatory, it’s actually quite cute. That lump makes you look different from the other dinos, and I can see it right away. I don’t mean to be racist, but you guys all look the same to me.”
“Wro!”
“Ok, lumpy it is then.”