[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/88/b8/12/88b812f18ba8a6b26dcd85ba4c0fa80f.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/PxWGe0z.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr] [indent][sup][color=black][b]Day 15, Week 3, Cycle 1: Heidevolk Springtime, 19 C°, Sunny but clouded[/b][/color][/sup][/indent] The Volk had spent their next two weeks repeating the steps of their early days, procuring slightly more food every day the better in tune they became with the world around them. Similarly, the shelters they had built had collapsed relatively soon, and they were forced to rebuild them using stronger materials. The [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/9e/11/229e1175100276853d5f34d2f06ed102.jpg]new huts[/url] looked surprisingly cosy from the outside, but offered little room. Of course, this is no problem, since all the Volk had to use the space for at the moment were themselves and their small supply of tools they had managed to procure over the two weeks of experimentation. They now had access to rudimentary axes, which were made by using a stone to put a hole through a large hefty stick, and then inserting the stone into it and tying it in with spun plant fibre. The adze was a similar implement, used to dig instead of chop, and it followed a similar creation process. Along with these primitive tools, they had found that wildly swinging a makeshift club at the water was not a particularly effective way of gathering fish. Instead, they opted to create fishing spears - short spears with a pronged end. It took some getting used to, as the water caused the fish to appear 'higher' than they were, but once they had the hang of it, they could fish effectively. However, in the end they could only pre-occupy themselves with tinkering with tools for so long. Lacking any good material to work with, such as metals, or better tools to create better tools with, they were forced to maintain such an existence for now. It did not take long for two younger Volk to begin walking away from the camp to explore their surroundings further. They had already ventured into the forest while gathering supplies for their shelters, as they were familiar with it, but this did not really provide them any new insights. It was simply the same place it had been before, although upon spotting a nearby deer running away when it heard them, it did give them a new idea on what food to procure. Perhaps the once complacent omnivores that primarily ate berries and fish would expand their culinary efforts soon enough, but now was not the time. The two young Volk instead headed due north, towards the ocean that was visible from the hill where their giant oak tree stood, to see what that giant blue thing was. Of course, it was water, but they had not quite managed to figure that out yet. Primitive beings remained primitive, for now. As future Heidevolk said, 'a savage may carry a tool, but it is still a savage,' and indeed so it was true for these primitives. As they made their way through the sparse forest ahead, which was a continuation of the larger forest due north-northeast to the east and south-east of their 'main camp,' they found their way upon a small spring that came to be from a small hill, seemingly drawing water from underground before sending it back towards the ocean, perhaps through the design of some natural pump that pushed the water up out of the small spring in the hill. Enthralled with this phenomenon, the Volk spent a good hour there trying to see where the water was coming from. [b]“Hu-hu,”[/b] one of them said, and the other nodded. Together they took a drink of the spring before following it down towards the ocean, moving down the hill the water flowed on towards a bed of sand that seemed to stretch left and right and go on forever. Or, well, rather it followed the bend of the bay they were in, and then disappeared around the bend of the land. But, to the Volk and their simple minds, that might as well have equated 'forever.' Once they reached the water, they found themselves amazed by the sheer quantity of the water. If they moved and lived at the beach, they would have water forever! Simply amazed with this discovery, they quickly proceeded to take another drink, only to spit out the water and use their fingers to try and wipe their tongues clean. [b]“Huu!” [/b]one of them screeched before the other joined him, [b]“HUUUU!”[/b] One of them curled their hands into fists and began beating the water, angered by it's bad salty taste. Little did they know that salt, perhaps in smaller quantities, would be their first step towards preservation of food in the future. Instead, it became their enemy for now. Together they began beating up the water, splashing it around until they were so tired they almost could no longer stand, and let themselves fall down into the water on their back, floating around a moment. Wait, they floated? Surprised with this realization, they once again stood up and looked eachother in the eyes. [b]“HUMHUUUU!”[/b] Once again the flailing around began, but this time more in enjoyment than anger. Although it wasn't quite 'swimming' yet, they at least understood that they would not drown immediately, and in fact, that water could be pleasant to be in. Perhaps not quite a surprising fact for other races, but for the Volk, who had never really been 'in' water as much as ankle-height, this was a new found fact. The two youngsters spent the entire day there, splashing around in the water and occasionally resting on the beach, while the rest of their families slaved away at home working on the 'settlement,' if we could call it that. The houses could be pulled up and down within a matter of hours, so in that sense there was no sense of permanence yet, although their lack of knowledge on the surrounding environment meant that they would stay put in the area for now, at least until they had explored some more. When they returned, they shared their findings with the rest of the Volk around the campfire, while sharing a larger portion of fish and berries this time. [b]“Huuuhh... hua,”[/b] one of the youngsters said, raising his hands to the sides of his head to mimic a stag, which the others understood. Then he continued, [b]“Wuuush.. wuuush..”[/b] mimicking the sound of the ocean water pushing up against the beach over and over. His hand moved up and down, showing them the waves, and they all gasped and talked among themselves, discussing the concept of beach and ocean. The merriment was rudely interrupted when the sudden sound of a trumpet was heard in the distance, coming from the west, an unexplored region. A large creature walking on four legs and with a long arm for a nose appeared suddenly, the trumpeting noise coming from its nose echoing through the valley once again. Behind it was a large creature, also on four legs, but significantly smaller than the armnose creature. This creature appeared to be hunting the large armnose, and with a large jump pounced its way onto the back of the armnose. Like this the two creatures disappeared into the distance again, hidden by the darkness of the coming night and behind the various trees masking that position. But the sudden realization that they were not the only dangerous creatures in the area dawned on them. [hider=actions][b][color=black][list]The past two weeks the Volk: [*]Explored the forest: [img]https://i.imgur.com/v2f8tEW.png[/img] This day the Volk: [*] Explored the area towards the ocean, and the ocean itself [*] Found wildlife nearby, in the forest [*] Found larger wildlife to the west, as well as predators[/list][/color][/b][/hider]