Jenny and the Beasts

8. Practice

July 19, 2022.

 The next day, Jenny started tackling her bamboo project. Harvey walked her through basket making while Simon took care of most of the chores. Harvey also helped her turn her rock fragments into usable tools. She worried that he was doing to much, but he promised her that he was fine.

Jenny diligently worked on the bamboo, carefully breaking the bigger pieces in to smaller ones. Her knife did wonders when she got to a certain point. Once she was fully occupied with her task, Harvey turned bones into tools. Jenny paused to watch his fingers turn furry and clawed. She hadn't taken any moments to appreciate the magic of this world and that was a crying shame.

The two of them worked most of the day. Jenny got up multiple times to stretch and go to the sandbox. She felt like she was working for a long time, but her basket still did not look like a basket. She had, apparently, thought weaving would be an easy craft, but she was wrong. It was still a skill that had to be mastered like anything else.

When Simon came home with food, Jenny had something that looked like a basket. She wished Simon would stop throwing her heated looks. It made her antsy. Despite his obvious interest, the male never pushed her. She was grateful for that.

She prepared the soup and let it cook for a while. She wanted to finish her basket today. Her stomach wouldn't let her, so she ate first. She spooned the soup in slowly and chewed the large chunks of vegetables. She wanted to make them smaller, but tried to mind the meat eaters in the house. Leaving the chunks big made it easier for them to avoid. It tasted decent, all things considered.

Once her hunger was satisfied, she went back to her basket. She put the finishing touches on it as per Harvey's instructions and eyed her work. It looked like a basket, a decent sized one. It took her far longer to make than she would've liked, but she was definitely faster than when she first started. The bamboo slivers didn't bother her much either thanks to the callouses on her hands.

Since she had the idea, she might be able to figure out a fishing basket. A survival game she played a long time ago, had a very basic image of one. She might have to get pretty creative to achieve that without instruction, but at least she could try. It was a shame that baskets here were only used to carry babies. It would help a lot with cotton and other small things.

Jenny used a bowl of water to clean up the best she could. She looked up at the window and noticed a new curtain on it. She felt better knowing that they had a little more privacy and thanks to the two males' efforts.

Jenny woke the next day itchy. Her bug bites were gone accept for the scabbed ones, but she wanted a bath really bad. She spoke to Simon who said the feral hadn't been seen in a while and Jenny asked for an escort to the river. Simon enthusiastically agreed. Jenny didn't know why she asked. Simon would be no match for the the other guy if he was still around. Still, it made her feel slightly better.

Jenny checked Harvey's wounds before she left. They were a lot better. They weren't kidding about a male's ability to heal. Harvey said he should be back to 100% less than a week later and more mobile before that.

Jenny left with Simon for the river. It was pretty busy considering a feral was here not too long ago. She did her business fast and felt immediately relieved. Jenny was used to the modern conveniences and not bathing, for even one day, had done bad things to her psyche.

Jenny did not see the male from that day and sighed in relief. She felt the hairs on her neck raise, but saw only a few onlookers throwing her curious glances. The feeling did not go away until she left. Now clean and no longer being watched, Jenny felt so much better.