"Tanya, what do you think about Shaman Leon?" Miles asked.
Miles thought she was asking about the shaman's healing skills, so he answered, "Shaman Leon is really good. Since he came, fewer people have died in River Village each year. So even though River Village is far from the center, we actually have more people than other villages."
Tanya thought back. River Village didn't even seem to have a hundred people. That was considered a big village?
"What's wrong?" Miles didn't know she had already met Shaman Leon. Thinking about her background, he thought she might be afraid of being discovered.
That made him nervous, so he carefully asked, "Should we leave this place?"
"Go where?" Tanya asked.
"Far away. Somewhere the shaman won't find us."
Tanya paused and then smiled. She patted his shoulder and said, "We're not leaving. We're not scared."
Miles got a little frustrated. He was just trying to protect her. But she looked so relaxed and cheerful. She didn't seem scared at all. Maybe he was just overthinking.
After making some pottery and getting chili peppers, Tanya really wanted to eat chopped chili fish head.
She wanted to eat it, so she decided to cook it. The ingredients were ready, so why wait?
She took out the last fish from her space, cut off the head, and since they had many people to feed, she cut the whole fish into pieces. She asked Star to wash the pieces at the river. She kept only the tail in her space to make soup another day.
She also cut some wild boar fat and put it in the clean clay pot to make oil. She poured the oil into a clay jar. Then she used that oil to fry the chili peppers. Because ingredients were limited, she made a simple version of chopped chili fish head using only the spicy peppers.
At first, when they saw her put the spicy fruit into the pan, Star, Moon, and Miles all looked shocked. Could that even be eaten?
No way. It smelled so strong. People had even hurt their throats trying to eat it before.
But when the pot started to bubble and the smell of fish and spicy chili spread through the air, they all couldn't help but swallow.
The smell was so new and strange, but it was also incredibly good.
It was the first time they realized those dangerous river fish with sharp bones could become such delicious food.
Tanya laughed when she saw them drooling. She served them each a bowl. "Want to try?"
The three of them quickly took their bowls and picked up their chopsticks. The food was hot, spicy, and full of flavor.
"So good."
"Really delicious."
Even Miles, who was grown up, bit his tongue while eating. It was his first time tasting something this amazing.
So the spicy fruit could actually be used to make such tasty food.
Chili makes people sweat. Even though Tanya didn't use a lot, it was still their first time eating it. Soon they were all sweating.
"It's too spicy on its own. Eat it with the stewed meat," Tanya said.
Star and Miles each tried a piece of stewed meat. Suddenly, the meat tasted even better.
Miles and Moon usually only liked eating meat and didn't want wild vegetables. But Star tried dipping wild vegetables and mushrooms in the fish head sauce and said, "Wow, the wild veggies are so good."
The four of them ate until they were full and happy. They didn't notice they had finished the whole pot of meat and fish. Each of them leaned back, feeling stuffed.
Only the phoenix in the corner was chewing on grass leaves, smelling the meat and fish and looking very sad.
It was the first time Miles felt so full and satisfied. After resting a while, he went into the woods and cut down a tree.
Tanya thought he had eaten too much and needed some exercise. She didn't say anything but started to worry about the food in her space. If they kept eating like this, the meat in storage wouldn't last long.
So not only did Miles need to keep hunting, but Tanya also had to go out and look for more food that could be used as a main dish.
She thought of the sweet potatoes growing behind the house. She could use her wood power to help them grow faster, but if they grew too fast, it might seem strange. She didn't want to cause problems, so she decided to help them grow just a little bit faster.
While checking on the sweet potatoes, she added a little of her wood power. It wouldn't make them ripen right away, but it would help them grow sooner.
Miles soon came back with some wooden lids he made for the clay pots and jars. The lids fit perfectly.
Tanya was happy with the result. But she didn't see Miles or Moon nearby. She asked Star, "Where did they go?"
It was already late in the day, not the usual time for hunting.
Star pointed to the river and said, "Miles said he wanted to catch fish. Moon went with him."
Tanya walked to the river. There were not only fish there. There were shrimp and crabs too, and those tasted amazing.
Miles really was the top warrior in the tribe. He was good at hunting and also great at catching fish. By the time Tanya arrived, he had already caught several big, fat fish. Moon didn't want to lose and tried hard, but only caught a small skinny fish. When he saw the difference, he felt very disappointed.
Tanya gently patted his head and encouraged him. "Don't worry. You're still young. When you grow up, you'll be just as strong as he is."
Moon felt better and said, "I want to be like Miles. I want to be the strongest warrior in the tribe."
Then he realized he said something wrong. Miles had been kicked out of the tribe.
He quickly stopped smiling and felt bad for speaking too quickly.
Miles acted like he didn't hear anything and kept catching fish.
Tanya felt a little upset. "Hey, if you keep fishing like that, there won't be any left."
"No way," Miles said as he threw two more fish onto the shore. "No one else eats them. Just the few of us. Even if we ate for many lifetimes, we wouldn't finish them all."
"Haha, you're right. Fish grow faster and have more babies than people."
Tanya didn't have anything to say to that. Let him catch more. Her space could keep the fish fresh for a long time.
Miles probably knew that too. That's why he was fishing so much, maybe even to let out some anger.
Tanya remembered what Moon said earlier and asked, "Do you really want to go to the center of the tribe?"