New Feelings (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

Thoka lay awake staring at the moon. Something bothered her, but she was not quite sure what it was.

It was normal for her was to think excessively. Her mind spun like top, and though it ricocheted off the surfaces of a multitude of topics, it never seemed to stop. She had so many ideas and so little time. Despite the thinking, she never failed to sleep, but tonight was different.

After some time lying silent, she realized. [It must be Kpleeb. His kindness is surprising. He was clearly very genuinely concerned.]

She turned her head to look at the gap between the caves, and her eyes swept the room slowly. Her mind wandered when she saw the food outcropping.

[So much to learn. I need to dissect and analyze.]

Thoka sighed and looked back at the moon. She sat up and looked at the gap between caves again.

[Focus, Thoka. Focus. Kpleeb has come a long way in the last handful of days. He was clearly altered just as I was. — But he is such a caveman. Can’t he just brush his hair and maybe throw some water on his face now and then?] — She sighed. [This is so petty, Thoka.]

[He is strong and really seems to work well with mechanical devices. He already understands almost more than I do in that regard. — He is more than a little hairy. Even his feet! Can’t he just take a little extra time to clean up? — Who cares? Who cares about his grooming habits? His looks don’t matter. He is a caring and sensitive caveman. He is capable, and does not try to impress or lie to gain your favor.]

Thoka laid back down and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to sleep.

[Envision complete darkne– but you could groom him yourself, and maybe he would like it and learn. ENVISION COMPLETE DARKNES– some cavemen just need to be trained a little.]

“This is pointless. We need to get out of here,” Thoka said to herself. “Who cares what he looks like? Just shut up!” She growled quietly, and close her eyes again to envision the darkness that would help her sleep.

In the morning Thoka woke up and yawned as she ran her finger through the little waterfall noisemaker that tinkled near her outcropping. It was early even though she was exhausted and had slept longer than usual.

[Kpleeb is not up yet. Now is a good time to learn.]

Thoka relieved herself, drank, and did her stretching exercises as she did every morning. When she was done, she found her mind to be clear. Stretching always cleared her mind, and she had learned to harness that focus for her work. She began by taking apart her food outcropping.

The stone that it was made of was the same as the rest of the stone that lined every surface of the cave. It was organic in shape and there were no separate parts or pieces that she could find. Her first cut was horizontally into the wall under the bowl. The water that drained away trickled into her cut and down the side of the cave. The hole she requested in the bottom of the hollow bowl had no bearing on the tube that carried the water through the stone and downward. When the hole was closed, the tube remained intact.

Seeing this, she cut stone away from the tube that continued downward until her cut intersected the grey stone. There, the tube stopped, and the grey stone was solid.

[Interesting.] “Cave,” she said, “close the drain and give me water.”

It complied and she took a handful of water and poured it on the grey stone at the bottom of the hole in the floor. When the water splashed into the hole, the grey stone opened up a perfectly round hole that would easily fit her arm.

She laid on her stomach and shouted into the hole. Her voice echoed eerily for a moment. She reached down and put her hand inside. The hole did not close. The hole was dark and the seemed to continue indefinitely into the floor.

“Enlarge this hole,” she said tapping the inside of the hole.

Nothing happened. It was no surprise to Thoka. The grey stone seemed to be designed as the substructure that contained all else. It opened only for specific reasons. [And maybe in specific places?]

She stood and started removing stone from the bottom of the defecation pit instead. As the stone moved out of the way, the green goo that was contained inside slowly spilled out of its pit and spread out across the grey stone. She wrinkled her nose at the strong, astringent scent that accompanied the green goo.

Thoka made a cup out of stone and then scooped green goo into it and set the cup on the table. Using a stone spatula, she pushed the green go out of the way and looked at the grey stone underneath. There was no hole. She gathered a handful of water and poured it into the puddle of goo. The floor opened in an identical sized hole, and the water drained away with some of the goo following slowly. This time the hole closed on its own.

[Interesting. Maybe it knows to keep the goo in but needs to eliminate water.]

Thoka picked up her cup with the goo in it, made it into a ball by building the walls upward to meet at the top, and placed it on the shelf. She then made a larger bowl and scooped a bunch of goo into it and put it on the table.

“Hey, Thoka, can I come in?”

Thoka turned and saw Kpleeb waving through the hole they had agreed on. It was there to pass sound, but too high to see through. “Yes, come in,” she called out.

He told the wall to open, and then came in smiling. “What’s that?” He sniffed. “Oh. I have never seen that outside of the hole.” He poked the goo with his finger.

“No!” said Thoka brusquely, but it was too late.

Kpleeb grimaced and waved his finger around wildly. “Ouch, that hurts. A lot!”

“Well stop waving around like a tundra hare. Let me see it.”

Kpleeb out his hand, palm up, into Thoka’s waiting hands. She ran the tip of the finger gently against the wall.

“Oh, ouch!” Kpleeb cried.

Thoka ignored him and splashed some water on his finger. It had an angry, red blister where the green goo had touched it, but it looked clean. When she sniffed it there was no scent. “That was not smart, Kpleeb. You know the goo dissolves feces. Your finger is made of the same basic stuff.”

Kpleeb looked sufficiently embarrassed, and shrugged. “I was not thinking about it.”

Thoka smiled at him and patted his hairy shoulder. “It’s easy to get excited about new things, but you have to be careful. This cave,” she said gesturing, “this whole place, the food, the walls, the gods… everything is new and potentially dangerous. Wash it off, and just wait a few days for it to heal.”

“Thanks, Thoka,” Kpleeb said with a smile. “You are the best.”

Thoka shrugged. “Of course I am. Now, go back and work on something. I am still busy.”

“What is all this anyway?”

“It is just the cave, you know? I have to determine where this power comes from. Is the stone a creature that obeys our commands? Is it magic? I want to know if I can use these new discoveries for us. I do have some ideas already, but I need to know.”

Kpleeb nodded at Thoka. “I believe it because you are the smartest person I know.”

“Thank you, Kpleeb,” Thoka said. She grinned at him. “You always say the nicest things.”

“Well, it is true. You are pretty too.” Kpleeb looked at his feet momentarily and then back at her with a smile.

Thoka stood there for a moment silently trying to find a response. She was silent for just a few seconds too long, and the moment became awkward.

“Urh, sorry. I did not mean to offend you.” Kpleeb shuffled a little and turned to walk away.

“Wait, it’s fine. I- I just don’t know what to say. Thank you.” Thoka smiled broadly and hoped that it would ease Kpleeb’s feelings.

He walked to the gap in the cave and turned to look back at her. “I’ll be over here working on a device.” He waved awkwardly and turned away.

Thoka turned to continue her own work. She felt a flush in her cheeks that she had not experienced for a long, long time. [He certainly is a nice caveman.]