A warm amber glow fell over the village as the sun began to set and the wind had died down and was just a gentle breeze. Even the air felt different now and tension no longer hung above the tribe for they had actually done it.
They had finally killed Snarl.
And on top of their recent victory, the tribe now had the knowledge to further their progress. They could use what they had been shown to make new discoveries to improve all their lives.
For now though, Jemilla felt content to just sit upon a large boulder that overlooked the tribe and watched her people do the things that they did best.
Jemilla smiled to herself as she watched SB and Ducker trying to break open something that they had discovered near Snarl's cave. It was a brown, furry ball that was, according to Chorn, called a coconut.
The knowledge that was bestowed upon them by Chorn was vast and, to be honest, it was rather overwhelming which meant that only small pieces of the information could be processed without getting a headache.
This meant that neither Ducker or SB had figured out how to open it just yet and they were currently trying to pry it open with a stick they had managed to wedge in it.
Both men were pulling on the stick in an attempt to split it open, but instead a loud snap could be heard before both of them fell to the ground with a thump.
Frustation getting the better of him, SB then threw what remained of the stick as far away as he could before picking up the coconut.
'Arrghhhhhh!!!!' He yelled out and before Ducker could stop him, he slammed the coconut onto the ground.
Jemilla raised an eyebrow in concern as the last time she SB this frustrated he ended up with a nosebleed and she didn't want that to happen again. Instead of anger however, a large smile appeared on SB's face as he pointed down towards the coconut which now had now split into two.
Once Ducker had noticed what SB had done he patted his friend on the back and the pair then began to jump up and down and danced, both of them laughing loudly as they felt proud of themselves for figuring it out.
Jemilla smiled at their reaction and felt a sense of pride for her tribe members.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when Emberly squealed in delight. Glancing over to where she was standing, it became clear to what made her so happy. She was standing next to her boyfriend and admiring the slate tablet he was holding. Grunt had been busy with her paintings and seemed to be using Emberly as his muse. Since his first painting of his girlfriend, he had been practicing a lot which meant that his latest attempt didn't actually look too bad.
Emberly's head and body were definitely still not in proportion to each other but at least he had remembered the eyes this time. So that could be described as progress at least.
Jemilla continued to observe the rest of her tribe and for once everyone seemed content. Keeri appeared to be working on a new dance and Tiblyn was trying to copy the moves, with some difficulty however since she wasn't sure how to move her arms the same way as Keeri was doing.
Jemilla then felt a wave of guilt rush over her as she recalled how upset Tiblyn had been when she discovered she had wasted 27 years 'holding up the sky.' Keeri seemed to pick up on Tiblyn's struggle however and helped her as much as possible. At least she was until Schwoopsie barged over in order to tell her latest joke.
It must have gone over well as the group were all laughing together.
Jemilla then scanned the rest of the village in front of her looking for another familiar face but she couldn't seem to find her.
'Spying on the tribe J?' A voice said from behind Jemilla causing her to jump.
She quickly spun her head around to see who had scared her.
'Jeez Zazz! Don't sneak up on me.'
'It was funny though.' Zazzalil chuckled as she sat down next to Jemilla, her arms out behind her to prop herself up.
'So why are you sitting up here like a giant eagle ready to swoop down and grab someone?' Zazzalil asked sounding amused, her head tilting to the side slightly.
'I'm just enjoying the sunset and up here I can still keep an eye on everyone.' Jemilla reasoned.
'That's creepy.'
'No it's not, shut up.'
'Whatever you say creep.' Zazzalil teased.
The pair gazed at the sights before them, each tribe member looking busy as they furthered their understanding of the world around, and even seemed to be having fun whilst doing it.
'They all look so happy don't they?' Jemilla sighed happily.
'Yeah I guess they do.'
There was an edge to Zazzalil's reply that caused Jemilla to feel concerned.
'What it is?' Jemilla asked, an arm hovering above Zazzalil's back, hestitating until she managed to pluck up the courage to place her hand on the small of Zazzalil's back in comfort.
Zazzalil seemed to tense up slightly when the hand made contact which made Jemilla regret her action. At least until she felt Zazzalil relax more under her touch and let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.
'It's just that they never looked this happy when I was in charged and I basically let them do what they want.' Zazzalil said softly.
Jemilla paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say.
'Well there has to be a balance between work and play I guess. Maybe without doing any work, it means that having fun doesn't feel as rewarding.'
'Yeah I guess.' Zazzalil uttered, still sounding upset.
When Zazzalil was like this there was only one way to pull her out of the sadness.
By making her understand that she wasn't alone.
'If it's worth anything, they weren't really happy when I was in charge either. You would know that more than anyone.'
'Yeah well at least you didn't burn down the village.' Zazzalil chuckled sarcastically, but it was clear that she didn't really find it funny.
'Maybe not. But at you were the one to build the village in the first place. If it were up to me we would still be in the cave.'
Jemilla could almost see the cogs turning in Zazzalil's mind, as she considered Jemilla's words.
'Good job we're both in charge then. It's like Chorn said, we need the balance.' Zazzalil said with a smile.
Glad that Zazzalil had cheered up, Jemilla decided to ask a question that had been on her mind for the last couple of days.
'Speaking of which, how do you feel about being a leader?'
Zazzalil thought hard before turning to face Jemilla.
'It's a little scary to be honest but it's also pretty cool since I get to come with new ideas and share them with everyone.'
Jemilla was surprised by the honesty but felt optimistic about Zazzalil's confession. Perhaps they could do this afterall, but only together of course.
'I'm glad. I was worried you would get overwhelmed.' Jemilla admitted.
'You were worried about me? Careful Jemilla, people might start to think you care about little ol' me.' Zazzalil said, nudging Jemilla's side playfully with her elbow.
'We'll have to keep it a secret then.' Jemilla whispered, leaning in so Zazzalil could hear. The pair then smiled at each others antics.
It felt as though a moment was about to happen since the pair seemed to have edged closer to one another during their conversation.
At least one might have happened but suddenly Zazzalil started to figet on the spot, pulling at invisible threads on her dress.
'Actually can we talk about something? Like for real?' Zazzalil said nervously.
'Sure. What's on your mind?'
'Um.. damn how can I put this?' Zazzalil stratched the back of her in thought as she tried to find a good choice of words.
'I kinda know what I'm doing when it comes to the whole leadership thing, but I don't know much about...'
'About?' Jemilla asked, feeling increasingly worried now.
'About being married.'
'Oh.'
There it was. That word that neither woman had said aloud before.
Married.
Zazzalil suddenly felt unable to meet Jemilla's eyes and instead looked at anything but her before continuing.
'We've been married for a couple days now and I'm really glad we got married and everything, but I have no idea what I'm doing. I haven't had any husbands or wives before so I don't really know what I'm suppose to do.' Zazzalil confessed, her face feeling warm as it started to turn a shade of red.
It was quiet for a moment before the silence was broken once more.
'Can I tell you a secret?' Jemilla asked.
Zazzalil slowly turned to look at Jemilla, their eyes meeting again.
'I don't really know what I'm doing either.'
Zazzalil's face scrunched up in confusion.
'But you've had lots of husbands and wives!' She exclaimed, raising her arms to emphasize her point.
'I know. But this is different...'
Zazzalil noticed the panicked look on Jemilla's face as she realised she had said too much.
'What do you mean?' Zazzalil questioned.
Jemilla opened her mouth to answer but found herself being cut off.
'Dinner's ready!' Emberly shouted up from below the boulder.
'We best go before SB eats everything.' Jemilla said, standing up quickly before climbing down the rock, leaving Zazzalil to just sit on the boulder feeling confused at what the hell just happened.