The Final Feast

Chapter 20

The next few weeks for One meant raiding beaver dams. She ignored the wood; it was too heavy and not her main concern. She grabbed cementing paste if she could afford it, but her main goal was much scarcer to come by. She dug through the piles of wood to uncover a pile of rare flowers. Snatching them quickly, she ran past the angry residents of the dam and jumped on Corvi's back. She repeated this process every time she found a dam. When she wasn't raiding, she was researching. She watched the Máng Nù very carefully. When they were hunting, she watched their patterns and how they reacted to certain things.

When they were full, she followed them back to the cave and kept her distance, watching and listening from afar. They had two calls: Danger and Food. Apart from that, they were serene as long as they had food in their stomachs. When she ventured into the cave, she took Red the otter with her. They would sit in silence, the little otter squirming with nervous energy. They would listen to the calls and then when they were outside the cave, One would make Red imitate the calls. After a week or so of practice, Red could mimic them perfectly. With the raids and research complete, there was just one thing left to do.