LYRA

I lunged to grab him, but that huge, agile body had already jumped back.

"Drakkar, that scared me," I checked him over—his skin was red, but there were no burns.

"Lyra, is this okay?" he asked, staring at the four molds cooking slowly.

"We need to wait until tomorrow… I think it's working," I answered with a sigh. Honestly, I hoped this primitive smelting would work.

The next day, we’d be walking through the dangerous jungle to reach that distant pack.

The worst part? Drakkar and I had nothing to trade. But if these weapons worked, hunting along the way would be a piece of cake.

We barely slept a few hours, and at dawn, we ran back to the cave to see if the smelting had worked.

*****

"Oh no!" I sighed, disappointed, as I pulled out the first mold.

Once again, Drakkar used that log as a makeshift shovel.

"One side cracked, I carved it too thin," he frowned, blaming himself because the Gaia had leaked through a gap.

"It's okay to fail. If we can make even one, it