Chapitre 39: On Her Own

Jessica looked at the dead hares, puzzled, until it dawned on her that Cerra had brought them for her as a gift, which made her believe that the big, beautiful cat had finally accepted her as a member of her family, which made her smile, and then she looked at the cubs, who were literally drooling while looking at the hares but didn't dare to move a single paw, which made her chuckle.

She picked up the hare and the bone knife, took them near the washing space, and started cutting them. She was inexperienced because she had never butchered any animal because you just don't need to if you can get everything from the supermarket, but she still tried, which was a big accomplishment for herself because it wasn't easy for her.

She recalled seeing Blaze, so she followed his action as she remembered, and surprisingly, she successfully removed its skin and innards. It took her nearly half an hour just to cut those small preys because her hands kept trembling at first, and when she made up her mind to be strong, her bone knife started to slip from her hands because it wasn't as sharp as the modern knives she was used to using, but she completed the entire task just like Blaze, except she got herself covered in blood and her hands and even her face had traces of the blood because she unconsciously upraised her hair.

When Cerra came toward Jessica and licked the blood from her cheeks, then started licking her hands, Jessica was surprised but then scared because it was blood that Cerra was licking; after all, she was a tigress. This thought made Jessica's body stiffen instantly, and she didn't dare to move. Maybe Cerra sensed her worry, which made her halt and look at her face.

Cerra made another lick on her face, nudged against her face, and again went to sit at the entrance to guard, Jessica couldn't help but look at her with admiration because she could easily tell that Cerra was already treating her like family, whereas she couldn't let go of the idea of Cerra attacking her, which made her feel guilty.

Then she looked at the cubs who were sitting behind her, peaking at the raw meat in her hand intently, which made her smile, and she put half of the raw meat in a tray and called the three cubs, "Cutie pies, come fast and you can have this," and surprisingly, they came on her command and started eating the raw meat she offered. Jessica rubbed their small, soft heads as they ate very cutely, then went toward the big stone basin filled with water to wash herself clean.

Thankfully she removed her fur jacket earlier, or else it would have gotten stained too. She dried herself with a fur towel and then went inside the room to change her clothes. She tried on the clothes that Levi had made, and surprisingly, it turned out that the dress material was so light and stretchable that it was very comfortable to wear. After changing into shorts and a crop top, she washed the blood stains and spread the clothes near the fire because it started to rain outside.

After she was done, she went toward the stone stove. In a big pot there was stew that Ell had cooked in the afternoon, which was covered with a wooden lid. She then went toward the wooden vegetable rack, which was filled with a variety of vegetables, some of which she couldn't identify.

She picked the ones that she knew and noticed that in a big covered stone bowl there was freshly cleaned and already cut meat that looked like it was from a boar because of the fat layer. She took everything she needed and sat down to cook something for herself. She took a flat, rectangular pan and decided to sear the meat after applying the simple seasoning she made after crushing fresh chillies with lime and salt.

Jessica did everything very skillfully, and when she placed the lean seasoned pieces on the hot slate, it started sizzling because of the fat, releasing a very fascinating tasting aroma that made all the cubs come running and get on her lap in curiosity. Jessica enclosed all of them with her one arm as she stopped them from burning themselves while she flipped the meat with her other hand using a wooden skittle.

After some time, she was done sautéing her vegetables in the meat fat, and then she heated the stew. She took some for herself, and the rest she put in the different bowls for the cubs. She placed a portion for Cerra too and took it to her with an animal hide so she could sit on it because the temperature dropped a lot because of the heavy rain.

Cerra looked at her cubs eating eagerly and then at Jessica, who brought her food and made a lick on her face as a thank you, and after eating her offering she laid down on the fur Jessica had spread for her.

When Jessica was done washing all the utensils and arranging everything, she noticed the cubs, who were lying with their bellies up, which were swollen up because of their overeating. Jessica smiled and then looked at the guys who were passed out still sleeping. She looked at Levi's slight red face and then at the two guys lying over each other; since they were fully covered, it was hard for her to see their faces, but from the silence, it was clear they were sleeping except for some of the groaning sounds they made while doing slight movements under the covers.

Jessica took the cubs one by one and placed them on her bed inside the room. She sat down while placing them beside her, but the cute cubs were more eager to explore the whole room than to sleep, so they started roaming in it, sniffing everywhere, pulling the folded and stacked fur hides, and trying to scratch the shining beads that were embedded in the wall. Jessica took out three stones from the wall and gave them to them, with which they started to play by rolling it.

Jessica kept on looking at them play with a smile on her face because, even though she wasn't feeling like sleeping at all, when she suddenly thought of a way to spend her time and went to Levi's room, she opened the wooden trunk and took out the needle and thread along with his black shed that was inside it and went to her room. She was in dire need of undergarments, so she decided to sew them herself because she realised that Levi's shed fabric was the best material she could use to make them. So she started cutting the fabric by using her pendant scale, which made the cuts very clean, and that too without using any strength.

She used the most basic style for the bra, which was using strings to tie it like a bikini top because she didn't have any hooks, and underwear like usual. She was so engrossed in cutting and sewing that she made more than five pairs and even tried them on to find they were very practical, which brought a smile of satisfaction to her face because it was like a very big accomplishment for herself because she did something she hadn't done in her life.

After folding her creations and putting them beside her clothes, she laid down on her fluffy bed when the youngest cub, who was smaller than the other two, came and climbed upon Jessica's stomach wanting to play with her. Jessica picked him up and paced him near her neck and started petting him slowly, and surprisingly, it stopped moving. Looking at the youngest one, both elder cubs came running toward her side and climbed upon her, trying to occupy a spot for themselves.

One of them took another side of the neck, while the last one was lying on her stomach, moving up and down as she breathed. Jessica patted all of them, and they were soon all asleep, including Jessica.

The next morning, Jessica woke up as she felt herself getting suffocated, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that one of the cubs was sitting on her face, covering her nose. She carefully picked it up and noticed that other cubs were playing by climbing on her and sliding down.

She sat up, making the cubs fall on the bed as she stretched her arms; she looked at the cubs, who were once again trying to climb upon her, and instantly grabbed them all together, saying, "You little mischievous devils are sure in the mood to play as soon as I wake up, right?" "Right?" she said as she stood up and walked out of the room with the cubs in her arms, saying, "Now let's go, momma Jessica will feed my cutiepies."

Jessica came outside the room and saw the gloomy atmosphere of the hall because the three guys were sitting at different corners with a black cloud on their heads, which made Jessica confused. She then noticed Cerra, who came toward her side and nudged against her leg as if asking for her cubs back, Jessica placed the cubs down with a slight disappointment and saw them jumping and moving around their mother in excitement, and soon they followed her out as she went into the woods.

Then Jessica diverted her attention to the guys who were spreading gloom and asked, "What happened to all of you?" with some concern but received no response

"At least respond to me, or else how am I supposed to know what's wrong with you guys?" she said as she walked and picked some limes and citrus fruits from the shelf, sat down, and began squeezing them in a bowl, then she took the water in different bowls.

She took the tray and approached Ell, who was sitting closest to her, but his face was turned away from her, as if he was trying to hide his face, so Jessica gently tapped him on the shoulder, "Eleanor, at least look at me. I know you guys might be suffering from headaches, but it's fine, that's normal, so drink some water, alright?"

Listening to her words, Ell did turn around and look at her with red eyes, telling her that he had cried. Jessica slowly rubbed his head to console him and offered him the water, which he took, and then, on her request, he also drank some of the sour juice.

Jessica took the tray to the other guys too and fed them the temporary solution to the headache because water helps in rehydration, and the vitamin C will help them get rid of the dizziness. She herself preferred having tea or coffee whenever she got a hangover, but she didn't have those with her, so she tried the basic remedy