Kaelen didn't stay at Cassian's house for too long; he hurriedly hugged the freshly made stone mill and returned to his home. He really wanted to test if it could grind heat-shocked quartz. Although the cave was very well-ventilated, quartz dust could damage the lungs, so Kaelen decided to test it on the grass outside the cave entrance.
He first brought out a basin of water and a wooden dipper, followed by a wooden basin that perfectly fit the stone mill, and finally the bundle of quartz shattered using the heat-shock method. Shattering quartz using this method wasn't too difficult; one only needed to bury the quartz in red-hot charcoal, roast it for as long as possible, then use wooden tongs to pull it out and immediately throw it into a basin of cold water. Doing this would make the quartz more brittle, easily crushed with a stone pestle.
Tying an animal-skin cloth over his nose as a temporary mask, Kaelen began feeding a small pinch of quartz into the mill, then simultaneously poured water and pulled the rotating crank. Grinding stone was much harder than grinding seeds; Kaelen had to use a lot of strength. By the time all the quartz had been ground into a slushy mud, Kaelen's arms were completely exhausted, unable to even lift themselves.
"Um... do you... do you need me to help with anything?"
A soft, somewhat timid voice sounded behind Kaelen. Kaelen turned his head and saw that the newcomer was a sub-beast with a petite physique and ash-grey hair. On both sides of the top of the sub-beast's head, a few bird feathers spread out in a fan shape, the same color as the hair.
This was an Avian tribe sub-beast; specifically what kind of bird, Kaelen didn't know. He had only seen the other party once when he was a child, and didn't even know his name.
Seeing Kaelen staring at him without saying anything, Walter nervously dug his toenails into the ground, his hands twisting the hem of his animal-skin skirt. He opened his mouth again, his voice carrying a slight tremble as if he were about to cry:
"I... I am Walter of the Sparrow tribe, I... I have something I need your help with." Saying that, he hurriedly unfastened the animal-skin bundle hanging at his waist: "These are bird feathers I've collected, they have very beautiful colors. I will use them to trade with you."
Kaelen finally snapped out of it; he waved his hands, signaling Walter not to be too nervous. However, Walter misunderstood, thinking Kaelen didn't want to associate with him, and despondently slumped his shoulders as tears fell profusely.
Oh dear, why was he crying now? Did this Avian tribe sub-beast not understand what he was saying?
Kaelen hurriedly braced himself on the grass to stand up, nearly falling to his knees due to his numb legs. Fortunately, even though Walter was crying, Walter was still paying attention to Kaelen; seeing Kaelen about to fall, Walter dashed over in a flash to catch him.
Truly worthy of being an Avian tribe sub-beast, he was really fast.
Kaelen didn't want to cause any more misunderstandings, so he gestured for Walter to help him carry the wooden basin to the front of the cave entrance. After Kaelen waved his hands several times, Walter finally understood what Kaelen meant, hurriedly wiping away tears and carrying the heavy basin to the designated spot.
Kaelen splashed a bit more water to wash the stone mill, then lifted it out and set it aside. He scraped all the quartz powder onto a flat wooden tray and placed it on the roof of his bathroom to dry. Walter also helped him clean up the items on the grass.
Kaelen washed his hands, then mixed a cup of berry syrup water for Walter. Walter seemed to really like this drink but was too shy to show it clearly, only daring to take a small sip.
Kaelen knew this sub-beast didn't know much sign language, so he tried to gesture very slowly so Walter could understand.
Walter watched Kaelen's hands and gradually grasped the pattern. He hurriedly placed his animal-skin bag on the table and opened it. Inside the bag were brightly colored feathers of various bird species, bundled into separate types. The Avian tribe had a custom of collecting feathers from various birds in nature, then sewing them into a cloak to wear when mating. Normally, a sub-beast would begin collecting bird feathers at eight years old, and by the time they found a partner, they would have accumulated enough feathers to sew a wedding cloak.
Walter said: "I don't have anything valuable, only these. I know Cael and Elian became beautiful because you helped them; I also want to ask you to teach me how to become beautiful."
He took a sip of the berry juice and said sadly: "Our Avian tribe usually looks at feather color when choosing a mate. Everyone in my tribe has multicolored plumage, but since I was born, I've only had ash-grey feathers."
For a species that valued appearances, a dull grey feather color like Walter's was indeed considered ugly. He knew his own limits; he knew that mating with a beastman of his own tribe was impossible, which was why he set his sights on beastmen of other tribes.
Kaelen pushed the pile of bird feathers aside and gestured for Walter to raise his head. He looked Walter over once, then brushed Walter's hair aside to clearly see his face.
Contrary to his timid personality, Walter's face and eyes carried a sharp edge, resembling a bird of prey more than a harmless sparrow. Perhaps one of his two fathers was a bird of prey.
Kaelen rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment. He suddenly remembered an ancient design in a history book from his country in his previous life—the attire of noblewomen during the Dong Son - Van Lang era. He immediately took out bark paper and a charcoal pencil to draw a sketch. An elaborate outfit, rich in a strong style yet not losing its softness, gradually appeared on the paper.
Walter watched the movement of Kaelen's hand, continuously letting out sounds of "ooh" and "wow" full of admiration. In just a moment, the ancient Vietnamese attire took shape, including hair ornaments, a short jacket woven from bird feathers, earrings, bracelets, necklaces... Every single detail was sketched meticulously; anyone with sewing skills would know how to make it immediately upon seeing it.
He put down the pencil, set the drawing aside, and took Walter's hand to head to the bathroom. Earlier, when touching this sub-beast's hair, he felt as if his hand had been dipped into a layer of animal fat and then poked into damp soil—it was very uncomfortable.
Walter obediently bowed his head to let Kaelen help wash his hair. As layers of earth-yellow bubbles washed down to his feet, Walter's expression practically turned to stone. Normally, he was always very neat and frequently went to the stream to bathe and wash his hair; he just hadn't expected that the cleanliness he was always proud of would now act like a resounding slap right to his face.
Kaelen saw Walter's neck and ears turn red; knowing Walter was feeling embarrassed, Kaelen couldn't help but reveal a genuine smile. He didn't know if rolling around with Sane had improved his interpersonal luck, but although he still didn't have many friends, there were many young people in the tribe willing to interact with him. This made a glimmer of hope spark in Kaelen's heart.
If things continued like this, in the future, would the people in the tribe gradually accept him?
It wasn't until the bubbles on Walter's head no longer changed color that Kaelen helped him dry his hair. Although his neck was bent to the point of aching, Walter didn't have a single bit of complaint; he only delightedly lifted his wet strands of hair to his nose, inhaling the faint fragrance on them. After washing his hair, washing his face, and using wooden tweezers to pluck a few stray eyebrow hairs, Walter's demeanor became much brighter.
[These things, can you make them yourself?]
Kaelen pointed at the drawing and asked Walter. Walter nodded vigorously, his eyes hungrily staring at the image on Kaelen's bark paper. Their Avian tribe was the best at weaving and sewing; these things would absolutely not pose a difficulty for Walter.
Kaelen smiled with satisfaction, pushed the bird feathers back to Walter, and pulled out another set of drawings from his stack of bark paper. This set of drawings wasn't clothing or jewelry designs; it had twelve pages hole-punched and threaded with animal-skin cord to make a book. The first five pages detailed instructions on how to craft a drop spindle and a minimalist mini loom.
The next five pages were instructions on how to extract fibers from tree bark. Kaelen had even drawn each type of plant that could yield fibers and used the most basic pictographic symbols to describe the characteristics of each type.
The final two pages were on how to weave fibers into fabric. The reason there were only two pages was that Kaelen only knew that much; he truly couldn't dig up the detailed methods. In his era during his previous life, this type of manual loom had been replaced by industrial machinery; he had only seen it through collectible photoglasses.
Originally, he had planned to study it slowly, but today, after meeting this Avian tribe sub-beast, he suddenly remembered that there was a tribe within their clan that was exceptionally skilled at making clothing. The large Avian tribes had all sacrificed themselves in the battle nineteen years ago; currently, only small Avian tribes remained in the clan. But as luck would have it, although the combat strength of the small Avian tribes was practically zero, their dexterity and meticulousness truly ranked first on this continent.
If he took his time to research it, it would take a very long time. It would be better to let this group of the Avian tribe try to tinker and research the work of weaving fabric. Even though it was just one individual, Kaelen did not hesitate to make the request.
[First, sew the clothes for yourself. As for this, this is the request I want you to fulfill. This thing is a part of the divine oracle that the Beast God entrusted to the Priest. If you and your clan can successfully make it, then you will be the meritorious heroes of our tribe.]
Kaelen deliberately said it this way so Walter would think this was a task bestowed upon the tribe by the Beast God through the High Priest. That way, Walter's level of reverence would increase multifold, and he might even pull the entire Avian tribe in together.
Sure enough, when Walter heard this was a divine oracle, his hands holding the instruction book trembled much more, and his expression became extremely solemn. As for why the God's divine oracle was in Kaelen's hands, Walter had already come up with his own reasoning. Kaelen was so smart and so knowledgeable; if the High Priest didn't entrust it to him, who else would he entrust it to?
"Can... can I really? It's too precious, I'm afraid I won't do it well..."
[You are very skilled.] Kaelen raised his hand, pointing to a decorative cord hanging at Walter's waist: [I bet you made this yourself, right? It's very exquisite. If you bring it to the spring fair, it could be traded for even more salt than rabbit fur.]
Walter was stunned and unfastened the decorative cord shaped like a sparrow spreading its wings to fly, which was hanging at his waist. This was something he had tinkered with in his free time, twisting dried grass fibers into small threads to weave it. He truly couldn't believe this little toy was so valuable.
Kaelen didn't explain much, only signaling: [Just take your time studying this, and you will definitely realize how valuable your talent is.]