Neve opened his eyes and lay still for a moment.
Something was different. He could feel it. It was definitely not the cave.
The cave was the same... cold morning air, grey light through the entrance, the smell of yesterday’s fire still faintly in the walls. Cael was breathing steadily beside him.
The difference was inside his head.
He sat up slowly and looked at the dried plants hanging along the cave wall. The ones he had been looking at since he got here without knowing what any of them were.
He knew now.
All of them.
The dark bundled leaves near the top — fever reduction, steep in hot water, drink slowly. The pale roots tied with grass — pain relief, chew directly or grind into a paste. The small dried berries in the clay cup — infection treatment, bitter, effective. The grey moss tucked into the corner he had assumed was just decoration — wound packing, absorbs and cleans.
He looked around the cave slowly and his brain named everything it landed on. Properties. Uses. Preparation methods. Dosage. What worked together and what didn’t. What was safe in large amounts and what would kill you if you used too much.
It was like someone had opened a door in his head that had always been there and he had just never had the key.
{Medicine Memory upload complete.}
{Host now has full knowledge of traditional and natural medicine applicable to this environment.}
Neve pressed his fingers to his temple and breathed through it. It wasn’t painful. His head just felt full.
Gideon’s brother was sick.
He knew what that meant now. He needed to see the man first and assess what was actually wrong, but he now had options. He looked at the wall of plants again and felt something unfamiliar settle in his chest.
’Useful,’ he thought. ’I am actually useful here.’
"You’re awake early."
He looked over.
Cael was on his side watching him with the half-awake expression of someone who had been watching for a while without saying anything.
"So are you," Neve said.
"I’m always awake when you’re awake," Cael said. He sat up and reached over, pulling Neve sideways into him without warning. One arm around his shoulders, chin coming to rest on top of Neve’s head.
Neve went stiff for exactly three seconds.
Then his tail moved.
He didn’t do anything about the tail. He had given up fighting the tail.
"You’re in a good mood," Cael said.
"I got the reward," Neve said into his shoulder.
"Reward? From who?" Cael asked.
Neve froze. He had forgotten that Cael was unaware of his system. He pressed his lips together, not knowing if he should tell him about it.
’It would be too hard for him to understand what it is. I guess I should just tell him slowly for now,’ he thought to himself.
"I know medicine. Like your brother."
Cael was quiet for a moment. "Gideon is the village physician and physicians are very rare. Are you saying you know things like him?"
"Well, yes." Neve let himself stay where he was for a few more seconds. Just a few seconds. "Your older brother. I might be able to help him."
Cael’s arm tightened slightly. Not much.
"He’s been sick for a long time," Cael said.
"I know." Neve pulled back and stood up. His tail was still moving and he looked at it once. "I need to go to the village. I promised to teach the cooking today."
Cael stood immediately.
"I’m coming with you."
"You don’t have to—"
"I’m coming."
Neve looked at him. Cael had his arms crossed and his expression on and was clearly not going to be talked out of it.
"Fine," Neve said. "You can come."
Cael kissed his forehead on the way past him toward the entrance.
Neve stood in the middle of the cave for a moment after. He touched his forehead as his ears went warm and kept walking.
.
.
They had gathered the loud grass.
Neve walked into the open clearing near the centre of the village and stopped. There was more bamboo than he had expected — tall piles of it stacked against the surrounding structures, bundles of dry wood beside them, and a crowd of people waiting that was significantly larger than the group from last night.
Word had travelled fast.
He scanned the faces. All male. Every single one.
He looked at Cael beside him.
"Why are there no women here?" he asked quietly.
"Tasks like this are for males," Cael said simply. "Hunting, building, fire. Females stay with the home and the young."
Neve opened his mouth and closed it. He looked at the crowd of men waiting to learn how to cook.
"Fair," he said, which was not what he actually thought, but this was not the hill he was choosing today. He had a list. This was not on it yet.
He stepped forward and the crowd settled immediately.
"Thank you for bringing the materials," he said. "We’re going to do this properly so we don’t end up hurting ourselves. Everyone picks up two pieces of bamboo."
They moved fast. He had their full attention in a way that felt different from yesterday’s curiosity. Yesterday they had smelled the meat and come to see what it was. Today they had tasted it and came back on purpose.
He walked them through it step by step.
How to position the split piece flat. How to find the angle. How to move the second piece with consistent pressure and not too fast, not too slow, just the right speed to build friction into heat. He demonstrated once and then made them try.
The clearing was full of the sound of bamboo scraping bamboo and quiet frustrated muttering as people realised it was harder than it looked.
"Keep the pressure down," Neve said, walking between them. "Not fast, just steady. You’re building heat, not racing."
Cael followed him around the clearing without being asked. Every time someone leaned too close to Neve to ask a question Cael appeared at Neve’s shoulder without seeming to move and the person instinctively gave space.
Neve noticed and he didn’t say anything. He liked it.