Follow the Light

Chapter 7

The turkeyfish was roasted over the roaring fire, but that wasn't the only thing roaring. The Croods were indulging in something that had never occurred. An actual meal. But not just any meal, no, this was a feast. Sitting inside of the big, golden, juicy meat, was Thunk. He yells out before stuffing a huge chunk of meat into his mouth.

"It's an avalanche of flavor!"

The family was eating like rabid animals, they were practically mauling each other for the slabs of meat. Their howls and snarls filled the air, giving a frightening ambience.

As Guy was eating his fill, he stared, both amazed and shocked at how they were behaving. He senses a presence settling down beside him. He looks to his right to see Luna had taken what he thought was reasonable for a girl her size. She catches him looking and turns her head swiftly, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. In her hand was a leaf the size of her two hands, and sitting on it was her portion of what she was going to eat.

"What, does it surprise I'm not getting as much as my family?" Leaning closer, she teased him, smirking at him with lowered lashes.

"Actually, kind of. I wasn't really too sure how much you ate but you eat reasonably, I guess?" He replies, shrugging his shoulders, not sure how to grasp the average amount she would probably eat.

As Gran crawls over, feral, Luna just tosses a bit of her meat to her. Guy was startled and just threw all of his food at her, while Belt stuffed everything into his mouth at once.

"They're a bit high-strung, but I promise they're not always like this. We've just never had this much food before," laughing into the back of her hand at the both of them, she explains the strange behavior that befuddled them. "Even Eep will be like that, she's a Crood through and through."

Just as she finishes, they turn over to see Eep waving awkwardly as the background is filled with the family acting vicious with the food. The both of them wave back, Luna smiling at her sister while Guy does as well. Surely someone who was waving awkwardly wouldn't contribute to the madness.

He eats his words just as Eep rips a leg off and consumes it in a manner just as fiercely as the rest of the family. The two teenagers and sloth cringe at this, Guy in particular, Luna doing it with a borderline smile. As she finishes, she licks her hands and fingers, coming to sit in front of the older two.

"Looks like we won't be having any leftovers," Guy says, wanting to start conversation between them. But he didn't expect them to look at him in confusion and wonder. And he definitely didn't expect the question that would tumble out of Luna's lips.

"What are 'leftovers?'" Luna tilts her head, having never heard that before.

"You know, when you have so much food you have some left over," He explains for the two sisters.

"We never have that much food." Eep answers, the reason behind their lack of knowledge on the word, revealed.

With those words, Grug was struck motionless. The whole family all go from feral to somber, the reminder of their scarce life casts a shadow over them.

Belt places a paw on Guy, sympathy and pity in his voice. Guy turns from Belt to Luna, setting a hand on her delicate shoulder. She looks at the hand before gazing at Guy, heartbroken. Placing her hand on top of his, she leans into his side.

Ugga tries to fix this broken atmosphere by asking Grug if he would tell them a story.

"Th-that's a good idea. How about a story, huh?"

As soon as he offers, the rest of the Croods settle around him. Luna takes a seat behind Eep, playing with her fiery hair.

"Once upon a time, there was a little tiger and a little leopard, who lived in a cave with their family."