Grandma didn't seem convinced. Her eyes, experienced and tired, having seen many promises turn to nothing, narrowed even further.
"If there was so much food..." The voice trailed off, full of venom. "Why didn't you bring anything?"
Tairo opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"It's..." The voice lost its animation. "It was far. Very far. It took me all day to get there running from the carnivore. There wasn't time to hunt anything and get back before dark. And even if I had hunted..." He looked at his own frail body. "There was no way I could carry food back alone. It's too far."
"Hmm." Grandma grunted. "Too far. Too dangerous. Too..."
"But I believe you, Tairo."
The voice came from Yuka.
She leaned forward, her large eyes fixed on the young man. There was something in her gaze; pure, unreserved trust.
"You've never lied before. I know you're not lying now."
Tairo smiled at her. An open, sincere smile that lit up his thin face.
"Thank you, Yuka." His voice softened. "And I know the way. I can get everyone there. But..."
"But what?" Kuggi asked impatiently.
"The place is in the vicinity of where the village of the bad men is."
A kind of silence that seemed to suck the air out of the cave fell.
'Bad men again.'
Hawke looked around. The expressions all changed at once. The men tensed. Grandma frowned even more deeply. Kaira and Yuka exchanged a quick, meaningful glance.
'This village seems like a serious problem. But honestly?'
Hawke thought about the food. The insects. The raw eggs. The men licking their disgusting fingers.
'Bad men are less scary than eating giant raw insects for the rest of your life.'
"That's risky." Kaira was the first to speak. Her voice was low, controlled, but the worry was visible in her eyes. "Very risky. The village has many warriors. Many. They steal, they kill..."
"They take women," Yuka added.
Her voice was small. Very small.
Tairo nodded slowly. "I know." His voice was calm. "But look around."
He pointed to the cave. To the empty walls. To the few scattered belongings. To the people there.
"Look at the situation here."
No one answered.
"There's no food. The animals are gone. The fruit is gone." His voice grew firmer with each sentence. "The water is drying up, the nearby stream doesn't have half of what it had last month. And now there's a carnivore prowling nearby."
He paused. He let the words weigh heavily.
"How long do you think we'll survive here?"
Silence.
"One moon? Two?" Tairo continued. "Hungry, without water, with a huge beast wanting to eat us?"
Duggi and Kuggi exchanged glances. Kuggi scratched his sparse beard. Duggi ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"Staying here is certain death." Tairo raised his hand, pointing in the direction he came from. "Going there is risky, yes. Very risky. But at least there's a chance. There's food. There's water. There's a possibility of surviving."
He looked at each of them.
"It's risk or die of hunger."
Duggi was the first to speak.
"He's right."
His voice was deep. Humorless now.
"I spent all day searching. I didn't find anything. Nothing at all. Only water." He shook his head. "We can't stay here anymore."
Kuggi nodded, the movement slow but decisive.
"I agree. It's risk or die."
Grandma said nothing. She just kept looking. Hawke nodded as well.
"That makes sense." His voice came out clear. "Staying here without food, with a predator lurking, with the water running out... it's not sustainable. We'll die slowly instead of quickly, but we will die."
Everyone looked at him. Perhaps for the first time, they truly considered him part of the group.
Grandma remained quiet for a long time.
Her eyes scanned each face. Duggi, waiting. Kuggi, impatient. Tairo, anxious. Kaira, worried. Yuka, confident. Hawke, too calm.
Finally, she sighed.
A heavy, tired sound, that seemed to come from the depths of her soul.
"When are you leaving??"
Her voice was low, but clear.
Tairo answered quickly.
"Tomorrow morning. The sooner the better. Before the carnivore returns. Before the hunger gets worse."
"Tomorrow." Grandma repeated the word as if tasting a strange flavor. Then she nodded slowly. "Then tomorrow. May the spirits protect you."
She turned her back and limped back to her corner, near the campfire.
The decision was made.
Kaira approached Hawke. Her eyes met his.
"It's going to be dangerous."
"I know."
"There could be death."
"I know."
She frowned, confused.
"Then why do you seem... excited?"
Hawke was surprised; he hadn't realized he was showing excitement. A faint, involuntary spark must have lit up his eyes because Kaira noticed it immediately. He paused for a moment, thinking about insects, raw eggs, men licking their fingers, and women eating crumbs.
Then he thought of large, fragrant red berries. He thought of adventure.
A crooked smile appeared on his face.
"Because there are fruits there."
Kaira blinked.
Then she laughed.
A genuine, unrestrained laugh that lit up her face in a way Hawke hadn't seen before. Her eyes narrowed, her shoulders relaxed, her whole body felt lighter.
"Fruits. Of course." She shook her head, still laughing. "The priority."
"Obviously." Looking around, Hawke saw the group. Duggi and Kuggi dozing near the campfire, their bellies full. Tairo talking quietly with Grandma, probably explaining more details of the route. Kaira and Yuka together, sharing a piece of cloth that must have served as a blanket.
Individuals.
Real individuals living in a harsh world, striving to survive.
And tomorrow, they would all risk their lives together.
Hawke leaned against the stone wall, feeling the cold rock on his back. He looked at the cave ceiling, at the small holes that let in light.
His stomach still ached with hunger.
But for the first time since waking up in that world, he felt something beyond confusion and discomfort. Hope perhaps, or maybe it was just hunger.
'Anything is better than this.'
Tomorrow would be the beginning of something. Something dangerous, uncertain, potentially deadly.
But it was also the only chance they had to change their situation.