Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake.

Pogo yawned, trying to keep the tiredness in him to the bare minimum. Here he was, shaking a tree for who knows how long, waiting for something to fall. Bel had said that 'fruit' normally grew on trees where she came from, and Pogo had figured the same would be for the Wild Lands. But no matter how hard he shook, no fruit fell from the tree. Whatever fruit was, it needed to get down here fast so Pogo could kill it. He was starving.

10 nights had passed since Pogo, Bel, and Gori were banished, and while the Wild Lands were full of murderous beasts, the trio had something going for them. The fact that they had thumbs, for one, and they had more than one brain cell(Well, Bel did. Pogo and Gori still had to share). Life, for now, was good for the group, and hunting together had brought them closer. Gori was still the same as usual and Pogo figured he would never change. But the bond between Bel and Pogo only continued to grow.

Bel had shown Pogo wonders of life he could have never dreamed of, such as 'fire' instead of having to rely on sunlight all the time. The simple cave boy wished she had told him fire hurt, and the small burn on his hand still lingered. Pogo also taught Bel a few tricks himself. She had never hunted before so it was up to Pogo to teach her. The stone club she had taken had served her well for the past kills. Her sense of smell wasn't as heightened as the boys, so she had to rely on other tactics. Mostly just hiding then jumping out. She had labeled the action 'stealthing', whatever that meant.

Bel's voice calling for him thankfully provided an excuse for Pogo to stop shaking the tree. She was dragging along a mammoth calf with some difficulty, getting the jump on it when it got separated from its mother. Tugging by the trunk, she wondered if it wasn't too much trouble for Pogo to help. She barely finished with the questioning noise before Pogo lifted the other end.

Thanking him, she nodded to the cave they had taken residence in, taking the kill back. Pogo asked a question of his own; where was Gori? He had gone with Bel to hunt and he hadn't seen him all day.

Bel made a noise that sounded similar to a snoring puppy, shaking her head. She shrugged, stating that he had stopped to smell the ground and then bolted away, yelling about something. She wasn't familiar with Gorinese like Pogo was, so she had no clue what the primate was after. Pogo shrugged back, saying it could be multiple things. Food, something shiny, a mammoth, food, a neat-looking branch, food, and food were just some things that got Gori riled up.

Giggling, Bel glanced back at Pogo and asked what he was doing before she came over. Embarrassed, he relayed that he was taking her advice on the fruit she had told him about, and how it came from trees. He admitted he had shaken the tree for quite some time, but to get the fruit she had spoken about he might have stayed there longer.

Bel froze, the calves trunk swinging wildly at the stop. She fully turned to look at Pogo, wondering if he was really that…

She rolled her eyes. It was Pogo. Of course he was really that. She shook her head, using her hair to hide her small smile. She was trying desperately not to laugh, and Pogo was still trying to figure out why she stopped. She politely let him know that there was most likely no fruit here. The conditions weren't right, after all. Back where fruit usually grew was her homeland…

Bel suddenly gained a distant look on her face, beginning to move again. Pogo wondered aloud what was wrong, as she was moving far faster than before. She continued to stay silent, merely stopping at the cave's mouth. Her grip on the kill hardened, as she shook her head. Even someone like Pogo knew when not to mention something, so he merely followed Bel in and placed the kill on the floor.

The two sat, the fireplace dead and smoldered. Pogo had gathered wood to fuel the fire long ago. The first time Bel had shown him how to start a fire was…disastrous, to say the least. For now and possibly for life, Pogo was on wood collecting duty and Bel would start the fire.

The cavegirl glanced at Pogo, looking away as he glanced back at her. She had wanted to tell Bel about herself for days, but she didn't feel like she could approach him. Pogo had even helped her, housed her when it caused him to get exiled. And she couldn't just talk to him about her past? But every time she wanted to, sitting by the fireplace with him, just the two of them after Gori had fallen asleep, she couldn't. She just muttered a good night, turning away to watch Pogo's shadow still sit by the flickering fire as she fell to sleep.

Pogo himself had similar thoughts. He had risked his survival just to hang around someone he just met, all because he was the first girl he had seen in ages. Doubts clouded his mind. What if he had not accompanied her? What if he had thrown her out the moment he saw her? He shook his head, clearing those stupid thoughts. Even if he had the choice, he would have done it a dozen more times. He wanted to tell Bel how he felt about her. How strong she was, how she was smarter than his entire tribe combined. How she was as beautiful as the rising sun against the blanket of stars. But he couldn't. He was still too much of a coward, after all these years still to tell her simple words.

Sitting alone together, eyes locked as far away as possible, was the perfect time for Gori to come in, laughing uproarious. The first thing to come in was his smug face, and the next was the massive body of a Moa, trailing its head in the dirt behind. Bel looked down at her own kill and glared at Gori, feeling as if the gorilla was upstaging her. Gori slammed the meat down near the fireplace, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

Pogo glanced outside the cave, seeing the setting sun. It was about time to start the fire, and he admitted he was getting a little hungry. With a mockingly defeated sigh, Bel grabbed a stick and a handful of dry leaves, crouching by the fireplace to get started. Gori suddenly shook Pogo's shoulder, making Pogo look at him. He pointed at Bel, then Pogo, then scratched his head. Pogo shook his head, letting Goti know that nothing was going on, and that he had it all under control.

Gori recognized his false smile when he was lying. He shook his head. Humans were such idiots.


The stripped bones of the moa and mammoth calf were discarded far away from the cave. The group didn't want any beast to come and feast on the bones near them.

Gori erupted an enormous burp, which wafted over to Pogo. Taking the final bite of the Moa leg, Pogo released his own burp, causing Gori to yell as the smell was too much for him to bear.

The two looked expectantly at Bel, who blushed deeply. Something like that was too much…for them.

Laughing haughtily, Bel unleashed disastrously heinous belch, the likes of which corroded Pogo and Gori's noses. A moment passed, worrying Bel that she had killed them with her deadly scent before the two exploded into laughter, Bel following in earnest. Pogo couldn't be more delighted. Here he was with his best friend and the most amazing girl he had met, chowing down on a delicious meal. The Elder had said all who went into the Wild Lands never came out, and Pogo wondered if he was lying.

The sudden memory of the Elder made Pogo's meat rot in his mouth. He gulped slowly, forcing down the meat as his mind traveled back, though he desperately tried to stop it. Long did he want to squash that memory from his mind, but it just continued to come back, no matter how much he wanted.

Bel laughed along with Gori's antics, wiping a tear from her eye before she looked over to Pogo. Her smile faded away as she saw Pogo's downtrodden face as if he was anywhere but here. She immediately reached over, resting a hand on his knee and asking if he was alright.

Pogo looked up at her. Bel's pleading eyes, lips pulled tightly, and the way her hand grasped his knees delicately bit with a firmness made Pogo realize. The more he continued to keep this to himself, the more it would eat him up.

With a slow sigh, he released that no, he wasn't alright. He was thinking about something that happened long ago. Something he wanted to forget. But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

Sitting on her knees, Bel moved her hand to his shoulder, biting her tongue. Now would be the time to let him know, to finally get it off her chest. But no, Pogo needed this time more than her. Giving him a comforting squeeze, Bel let him know it was okay to talk if he wanted to.

Pogo threaded his hands and looked at Gori. he was glancing at him, knowing what he was about to say. Firmly, Gori gave a nod, and Pogo relayed what had happened.

Many winters ago, Pogo's tribe had a name. The Coo tribe was prosperous, and all worked together to rule the Hunting Grounds. Then, one day, a great beast roamed into the Hunting Grounds when Pogo was just a little boy and Gori was still a baby. The beast was so fearsome, with razor-sharp teeth, legs the size of trees, tiny arms, and breath as hot and humid as the sun, that nobody could grant it a name. During that time, Pogo had a family. A mother and a father. His mother was the most important person to him, and he strived to be just like his father. But, the Elder…he said the beast needed to be appeased.

Pogo figured that Bel noticed there were no women in his tribe. That was because they were the first to go. The men were the ones to go hunt and bring back kills while the females stayed behind. His mother was the last to go. His mother, ripped away to be the meal for a creature. It filled him with grief and sadness he never knew. Pretty soon, all of the women were fed to the beast, and all that was left were the rest of the men. They planned a full attack on the beast while it slumbered, right in the middle of their grounds.

Pogo's breath hitched as he relayed that he snuck out to help in the attack, but froze at the sight of the beast. It had awoken and was in the middle of snatching Pogo's father in his jaws while the clan peppered him with rocks. Pogo witnessed the light leave his eyes, his body passing between the beast's teeth, as its eyes…eyes that would haunt Pogo focused on him. If not for the Elder slamming a sharpened bone right between its eyes, Pogo would be dead. The beast was finally killed, and its bones lay in the Hunting Grounds as a trophy for all to see. Guilty of the lives lost by his decree, the Elder forbid the tribe from speaking of its past name, going nameless and putting to rest what had happened. Most forgot. But Pogo never did. Sometimes, he thought that it should have been him that had gotten eaten. After all, he was a coward that constantly made mistakes. It should have been him. It always should have been him.

Pogo sniffled, reaching a hand to his face. His eyes were leaking. They hadn't done that in a while.

Before Pogo could utter another harming thought on himself, Bel enwrapped him in a hug, laying her head on his shoulder. She muttered that he shouldn't talk about himself like that. He never deserved to get eaten, he was the nicest person Bel had ever known. In fact, it should be HER that had gotten eaten by that beast.

Wiping his cheeks, Pogo looked up at her, asking why she would say that? She was never there when his tribe had that beast problem, so why would she say that about herself?

Bel inhaled a shaky breath. Pogo had unleashed his heart to her, talking like she wanted to talk to him so badly. Now was her chance. Now it was time to get all she wanted off her chest.

Still hugging Pogo, not that he was complaining, Bel explained how she was captured by the Ku tribe...but just why they did it still eluded her...


A vast village by the ocean stood brightly against the high sun. Bel smiled up at the light, holding a hand to her eyes to shield them before she kneeled by the sand. She cradled about a dozen seashells in her other arm, gathering more. She had just about enough to expand her wardrobe. As she had gotten older, her chest had only continued to grow bigger, far too big for her past bikini tops. Strange, but she was always happy to gather more for a new set.

A call from behind her made her whip around, Lelu standing behind smirking. Just like Bel and most of the women in the See Tribe, Lelu had wavy purple hair like sea foam, though hers was cut short by her own volition. She knew where to find Bel, she always did. Down by the beach, where the tide brought in the new and fresh shells. It wasn't a hobby at this point, it was a routine.

Lelu told Bel that once again, she had lost track of time and that it was time for dinner. Bel glanced down at her seashells, deeming she had enough as she nodded to Lelu, following her home. Bel eaves delightfully to all the other members of the tribe, Lelu rolling her eyes. Bel was always the most popular in the village, and Lelu asked how she did it? Bel shrugged, she would be the last person to know. I mean, she was nice, pretty, smart, makes a damn good fish fillet-

Lelu hastily said that Bel could stop with a groan, Bel giggling to herself. Lelu reached over, plucking a shell from Bel's assortment as she turned it over. It wouldn't be good for a bikini…but…

She reached up and adjusted it on Bel's head, admiring her handiwork. Now, it was a stylish hat. Bel reached up to tap her new apparel, squealing in happiness. How had she not thought of that first?

Lelu chose not to answer that. She didn't want to tell her she thought Bel had some roots tangled up there.

Coming up to Bel's hut, Bel climbed up the ladder first, looking down at Lelu and asking what was for dinner. She replied the same thing every time; fish, fish, crabs, fish, fish, sometimes the carcass of an Ichthyosaur, and fish. Plus some coconuts and apples for dessert. Bel soothed her rumbling stomach. All those were her favorite.

Bel bolted straight into her home, shouting out that she was ready to eat. She was starving, she had a loooong day. First, she woke up, then had to go to the beach to gather shells. Then, she had to stop to take a break, then-

Bel's father poked his head from the fire he was turning fish on, his dirty beard breaking into a smile. Boy, sounds like Bel had a full day on her hands.

Oh, he didn't know the HALF of it.

Lelu rubbed her temples, swallowing a sigh. Ocean's wave, she could be a handful. She could act as dumb as a rock then as smart as a century-old tree whose secrets remained hidden.

Tugging her away before she went off about her day was still full of strife, the two crouched by a stream that ran through their hut and filtered out into the ocean. Perfect for cleaning their hands before digging into a delicious meal.

Lelu dipped her hands in first followed by Bel, her humming a tune nonchalantly. Lelu listened through one ear and out the other. Bel was amazing at singing, but when you had to hear it every night it started to become tedious.

Soft soothing notes drifted around the room from Bel, and Lelu yawned and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. She straightened up, however, when Bel laid a hand on her shoulder. Lelu asked Bel what was the matter, as she had that smile on her face, one that everyone knew before Bel asked them something insanely inane.

Bel asked Lelu to remember, when all those years ago when Lelu's family was washed out to sea after that storm, how their house was destroyed, and Lelu came to live with Bel and her parents?

Lelu quirked an eyebrow and asked why Bel would make her remember the most traumatic memory of her life. Bel, being Bel, shrugged. She sighed that she was just thinking about it, and how it was terrible…she was glad Lelu came to stay with them, and she was a nice sister.

Lelu glanced at Bel, the girl seemingly forgetting she even asked that question as she delightfully went back to washing her hands. Lelu couldn't help but smile, offering a rare thank you.

Bel would have smiled back, splashed Lelu with the water, and have an amazing dinner with her family. How it went every night, if not for the conch shell horning blowing throughout the tribe. That was the danger horn. The horn used for floods, beast attacks…

And for invasions.

Bel hastily grabbed Lelu, tugging her into the main hut room, where Bel's mother had finally returned. She looked just like her daughter, just a little older with fading hair. And she was so old for her time…almost 40 next winter.

Her parents didn't even need to tell her, Bel knew exactly where to go; under the animal skin rug would go beneath their house, the perfect hiding spot. Bel, Lelu, and Bel's mom would hunker down in there while Bel's dad and the rest of the men went to go check what was out.

It was a tight fit, two teens and a full adult squeezing into a space that was as big as a stump, but it was enough for Bel's father to throw the rug back over them, promising he'd be back. Bel put on a brave face. This was fine. It was probably just a false alarm, and not a disaster. And an invasion was out of the question, there had never even been an invasion before. It was all going to be fine.

Lelu knew Bel was trying not to be scared, it was easy to see. She should know by now she didn't need to look brave or fearless. Yet she still was.

Muffled shouts came from outside, one from Bel's father and the other from someone they had never heard of before. Bel strained her ears to hear better. Her father was shouting, yelling that they needed to get away from their village, they had nothing to offer and nothing to give. The other voice didn't reply back, and Bel wondered if they had gone away before her father exclaimed in surprise.

Bel's mother muffled a gasp with her hands, fearful if she made a sound they would get found out. Bel had other plans in mind. Before anybody could stop her, she threw away the rug, clambered out of the hole, and stepped outside to help her father.

She would have to help a lot more people. Dozens of other cavemen with ragged red hair and blue loincloths wielded vines, and various members of her tribe were tied up, the mysterious tribesmen carrying them away the same way they came. Bel's father was in such a predicament, having two cavemen drag him away as he continued to struggle.

Bel felt a fury in her she had never known. These men, strangers, invaded her home, kidnapped her people, and now were attempting to take away her father? She would not let this happen. She leaped at them, tackling one to the ground with pristine hands turning deadly as they pounded at the tribesman's face. The other attempted to wrangle her off, but Bel quickly grabbed him by his large nose and brought her knee to his unmentionables.

The caveman beneath her was shivering in fright, pleading with her to let him go and he wouldn't bother them. She huffed a snort. If he would leave her alone, then why not leave her tribe alone? Why were they here in the first place anyway?

Before he could answer, Lelu's scream broke the dim from Bel's ears. Her hasty move caused their position to get found out, and her mother and Lelu were being tied up just like her father. If she acted fast she could-

She never got the chance before she was grabbed by another tribesman and forced to the ground. Throwing him off was easy, but not when two took his place. More piled on, and her strength faltered, and she couldn't fight back no matter how hard she kicked or tried.

The vines wrapped around her as water began to leak out her eyes. How could she be so stupid? All she had to do was not be so hot-bloodied, and maybe this wouldn't have happened.

She was yanked to her feet, and someone was standing before her, and she could tell he commanded respect. Blue hair with a wild beard, a throne placed on his head, and bones wrapped around him like trophies. The leader. Not commanding respect like an elder. More like a Chieftain.

The Chieftain's eyes gazed down on her like a sabertooth at a child, and Bel felt uncomfortable just being near him. He looked away from her, muttering to a tribesman that she was to be saved. She yelled out what that meant, why they were doing this, and where were they taking them. The Chieftain looked back, nodded once, and a fist was brought down on Bel's head, and she was greeted with cold darkness.


After that, Bel explained, she found herself in their cave with all the other members of her tribe. She recalled that every night, for forty nights they would take someone from the tribe and drag them away. They never came back, and she never heard what happened. Her whole tribe dwindled, the See Tribe dying right before her eyes. Her father was taken, then her mother, then…Lelu…

She released her bottom lip from her teeth prison as Pogo wiped her cheek suddenly. Her face had been leaking again. Pogo embraced her in a hug, mumbling that he was sorry for what happened, but it wasn't her fault. She was just trying to help.

Both their faces leaking, holding each other like they were their lifeline, Bel and Pogo muffled their various encouragements to each other in their shoulders, Gori watching with mild bewilderment. Humans were so very weird.

Pogo pulled back, wiping away the water as he asked if Bel was feeling better. She sniffed, laughing a little bit. She did feel better, and that was weird to her. Usually, after her face leaked she felt like a mammoth turd. Pogo said that after a cry, he felt better than ever. There was nothing like having a good cry to let out the sadness.

Bel giggled again, asking if Pogo cried a lot for him to realize that. Ehhhhh…more than normal?

Bel fully laughed aloud, Pogo catching the contagion and joining in, holding onto each other for support at the joke(Pogo didn't want to explain that it was in fact not a joke).

The teeth-rotting laughter would have continued if not for Gori interrupting by, what else, by being Gori.

A sick noise reverberated from Gori, and Pogo and Bel's moment was ruined by the thick stench that emitted. Someone as smart as a caveman didn't need to be smart to know what Gori just did. Pogo held his hand to his nose, about to shout at Gori for ruining the air before he squinted. The poot was so foul, so heinous, that it had coalesced into a visual cloud. Of course. That made perfect sense.

The two were too stunned to even say anything, as the cloud drifted away from Gori, near the fireplace…into a gigantic stink bomb explosion of stench. It was as if a mammoth herd all took their dumps right in this very cave, the fire being extinguished from the explosion, and soot covering everybody's bodies. Did they mention it smelled horrible?

The gorilla chuckled as if his bodily functions exceeding maximum levels of horribleness were funny, the smug smile on his face not amusing Bel. It would take hours to clean herself.

Pogo was not amused. He shouted a war cry, bolting on all fours like an animal toward Gori, who ran away screaming. Bel shook her head, laughing under her breath. She finally got to talk with Pogo, tell him what she always wanted to say, and Pogo talked about himself. She had grown closer to him, what she really wanted, and saw a side of him she hadn't seen. He thought he was a coward, but Bel knew who he was. Bel thought she was a failure, but Pogo knew who she truly was. And even after all that he had been through, he was still the same old Pogo.

And she couldn't help but love him.

That sudden new feeling hit her like a lightning strike, and before she got a chance to wonder why her heart was beating fast and her face heating up, Pogo had tackled Gori and unleashed a true beating on Gori, the likes of which neither of them had seen. Gori was laid out on the ground by the time Pogo was done with him, stretching his arms after the workout.

Bel was still having trouble facing her current predicament of what this feeling was, and Pogo had no idea why she was looking so flustered. But she looked so adorable that Pogo couldn't help but laugh. There was a lot he didn't know about Bel, or women at all for that matter. But in the short time he had with Bel, he learned so much about her. How she hated when her hair was messed up, how she always liked to eat the ribs of the kill, and that she cleaned her head shall every night. The first time Pogo laid eyes on her, he wanted to learn so much about her, and now he knew nearly everything about her. She was just so amazing.

And he couldn't help but love her.

Shocked by these new feelings, Pogo continued to laugh trying to bury these startling discoveries. Before long, Bel joined in on the laughter too, wanting to push back whatever had made her knees weak. The two laughed and laughed for what seemed like hours seemingly at nothing while Gori still slept unconscious, none the wiser.

After a while, the laughter died down, Pogo and Bel laying down on the floor looking up at the ceiling, the dying chuckles leaving their breaths. Pogo twiddled his thumbs, his breath catching in his throat as he wondered…soooooo, she sings?

Bel hid her face growing red for seemingly no reason, answering back that yes, she could sing. And not to toot a mammoth's trunk, but she was pretty good. Oh, why did she say that, now she looked full of herself-

Pogo coughed into his hand as his toes curled. Maybe…she could sing for him? N-Not for any weird reason, ju-just cause and-

Bel sputtered that it was okay, she hadn't done it in a while and it would be just fine she could do it! She cleared her throat as Pogo sat in anticipation before Bel broke out into a soothing melody, her melodic tone nearly putting Pogo right to sleep. It sounded amazing, and Pogo breathed out that she sounded beautiful without realizing it. Bel didn't stop singing, but she once again felt her heart beat as fast as thunderclaps and her legs turn to jelly. Pogo felt like he wanted to die after saying that out loud.

Pogo sat there for a while, listening to Bel sing her heart just for him and him alone. No Gori to get in the way, the Ku Tribe isn't trying to get her...it was just Bel and Pogo. And Bel sang for her solo audience until she faded off and her voice was replaced by soft snoring. Pogo smiled to himself, uttering a goodnight to Bel as he too closed his eyes. He couldn't be happier than he was right now. Nothing could change his smile. Absolutely nothing.