"Oh dear, look who has finally climbed back."
The mocking voice came from Kendra McCoy, the tribe's self-proclaimed beauty. She swayed over with exaggerated hip movements, a fake smile on her face.
"You don't really think you can drug Kane and make him want you, do you?" Kendra shouted at the crowd. "You're disgusting. An ugly, fat laughingstock."
The gathered orcs chuckled. Those disgusted looks felt like a real blow.
Alyvia stood motionless, expressionless. She found all this petty squabble utterly tiresome. It was a high school farce set in the Stone Age.
The crowd parted. Her five spouses stepped forward.
Fabian Crosby, the White Fox, came over first. He wore his usual fake, gentle smile. He offered her a piece of raw meat. "Eat," he said softly, his voice barely reaching her ears, "Don't starve. It would tarnish my reputation."
Alyvia took the meat without a word, her eyes warning him that she wasn't a fool.
Then came Davin and Jody. Jody exaggeratedly covered her nose with a clean animal hide, as if she were a walking plague.
Adrian, the bear, stepped forward. He didn't offer the meat. He simply threw it at her. The bloody, raw flesh slammed into the mud at her feet, splashing mud and water onto her calves.
"Eat up, you idiot!" he roared.
Laughter erupted from the crowd. This was the ultimate humiliation.
Finally, Kane stepped forward. He was clean, but a lingering anger still burned in his silver eyes. He looked at the flesh in the mud, then at her.
"From today onward," he announced, his voice so cold it could freeze the air, "I will no longer give her any food. She disgusts me."
The crowd gasped. A spouse refusing to provide food was tantamount to a death sentence.
Alivia looked at the flesh in the mud. It was covered in filth. Her brother, Anton, pushed through the crowd, his face red with anger.
"How dare you!" Anton shouted at Kane. "You swore an oath! You have disgraced the Sanford family!"
Kane smirked. "Ask your sister what she did."
Anton turned to Alivia, his eyes blazing. "Throw away that filthy piece of meat! The Sanfords don't accept charity!"
Alivia looked at her brother. Then at the meat. In the apocalypse, she had eaten rats and tree bark. Dignity was a luxury for the well-fed.
She bent down. Her thick, rough fingers pinched the mud-covered flesh. She picked it up and brushed off the loose dirt.
"Are you crazy?" Anton shouted. "Don't you have any shame?"
Alivia looked him straight in the eye. Her gaze was calm and utterly serious. "Food is food. The dead have no right to talk about shame."
A stunned silence fell over the square. Even Kane was slightly taken aback. This wasn't the tearful, desperate girl he knew.
Alivia didn't wait for a response. She turned her back to everyone and walked towards her dilapidated cave, her steps heavy and steady. Fabian watched her retreating figure, the fake smile vanishing from his face, replaced by a hint of curiosity.
