Ella's Wild Beasts

CHAPTER 4

Ella sat with her dirty cut, and bruised feet in the cool water as she thought. She had always been deeply fascinated by the idea of homesteading and survival. She watched many shows and videos on the internet. She also read some books when she was younger. Luckily she remembered a good deal of the content. The real issue is Ella knew that all of that was completely different from putting it into practice. The only real nature thing she did was her monthly hikes, which was probably the only reason she was able to tolerate the long treak here, and some light camping. She could hold all the knowledge in the world but without the ability to use it then the knowledge was useless.

   Not to mention almost all of that content had modern times in mind with tools, gear, and other resources used. Here she had nothing. She only had a little in mind when it came to these primal tactics. Ella sighed then repeated her goals. "First water. Then shelter. Then food. I now have a reliable water source. Now shelter. It will be night soon." She looked at the brilliant sky started to dim with early evening. "I need something for tonight it may not be perfect but I can start working on something tomorrow. For now I need to look around and see if I can find anything, maby I can find some food if I'm really lucky." Ella groaned as she stood her stomach aching but no longer grumbling. The water seeming to have temporarily satiated it.

...

   Ella had been wondering around near the water fall but always keeping the cliff in sight and where she could hear the waterfall. The night bugs had started to come out and the air was full of their calls. She still had mud on her skin so that helped deter them a bit, but she still seemed like a prime snack. With itchy skin and sore body she took what she had gathered back to the pool.

   Her arms were full of long leafy branches from the lower limbs of trees. With the limbs dragging behind her she took them to the spot she found shortly after her search. It wasn't ideal but it would do for a night or two. It was a small opening under some large boulders near the cliff with enough distance from the waterfall that the area wasn't very damp. Ella had moved most of the rocks out from the opening, so the area was a little larger and comfortable. It was still really small though. All she could do was curl up in the small space and shelter herself enough from wind or any rain.

   After she cleared the rocks and stones out she had found that the sand in it was actually quite soft. But she knew laying directly on the ground was a bad idea so she set out collecting moss and grasses to form a nice comfy nest of sorts. With the branches she layered them on the outside of the entrance for more cover and insulation. Luckily while out she was able to find some plants with edibal roots and a stray berry here and there. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. Tomorrow she could concentrate on food and familiarizing herself with the area. With that Ella curled into her makeshift nest and soon exhaustion took her.