Not Alone

Chapter 17: Captain Obvious

Over the next couple of days, we all got busy preparing for the oncoming cold.

Dias worked on creating several large basins for the salt-distilling. His plan was along the lines of boiling the water until dry to kill bacteria and tiny creatures, dumping the salt and debris into a batch of fresh water, and straining it through a spare cotton shirt to catch all the gross shit we don't want in our salt, then boiling the water again until we get a salt slurry to avoid burning the precious mineral. After we get the salt slurry, Dias will either leave it out to evaporate in the sun, or take a smaller bowl/pan-like thingy he carved and place it next to the fire, close enough that the heat will evaporate the water, but far enough away from direct flames that the salt won't burn.

Ugh, what a complicated process just to get some salt. I miss my Himalayan pink salts.

While Dias was getting the tools for salt-distilling, Asper was busting his scaly ass hunting and foraging like a madman, taking advantage of the seasonal surplus of food. All I can really say is thank god we have the smoker going 24/7, otherwise we would be left with more food than we could reasonably eat before it rotted.

I'm mainly just glad that at least one of us knows how to hunt. Dias has barely even tried since he got here, never really having a reason to and I'm not sure how well Silan can hunt on land. I have no doubt that Silan is an absolute terror in the water for the local sea life though, which is going to help bring in fresh food over the winter.

While Asper and Dias have been working outside the cave, Silan and I have been working on the inside. I say Silan and I, but it wasn't so much that Silan volunteered to help prep the house and more so that he refused to leave my side. Like, at all. He won't even leave my side when I dart outside to relieve myself. I actually had to order him to turn around when he refused to leave, which made pooping in a hole much more awkward than it already is.

Anyways, after the result of a couple of days of labor, and abusing the hell out of Silan's strength, the cave is just about as comfy as it's going to get. The bedroom has thick fur covering the entryway, creating a privacy barrier and a way to keep the heat in. I used the thickest furs to cover the cold stone floor and some smaller furs stuck to the walls with tree sap to create a half-ass insulation barrier to stop all the heat from leeching out through the earth. Using Silan's height, I had him carve divots into the roof where we then glued the glowing pearls he gifted me, creating a permanent source of gentle light in the bedroom.

Of course, that only took a single day, so we moved on to the rest of the house, moving the fire closer to the rock wall and creating a stone and mud chimney that connected to the gap. We left enough room that we can still sit around the fire and cook, but having it connected to a chimney reduces the chances of a stray gust of wind shoving the smoke back into the house and disrupting the flow. After we finished the chimney, I set Silan onto making some stone containers, which you think would be difficult for a guy with stubby nails, but honestly? The man was strong enough that the sharpness of his nails did not matter at ALL. Kinda like how easy it is to drag your nail through warm butter and make a divot. Same thinking applies to Silan and actual rocks.

Looking around my house from where I'm sitting by the fire, I nod to myself and smile. It's starting to really come together in that primal, kinda messy way.

Asper sluggishly slithers through the tunnel, his skin damp from water, having obviously washed off before coming inside. Coming over to me, he almost drops his head face-down into my lap, his wiry arms wrapping around my middle with a heavy sigh.

My eyes turn fond as I pet through his long hair "Hard day?"

Asper huffs, his tail slowly coiling around me "It's getting colder, I can feel my hibernation getting closer"