Facing those anxious eyes, Rowan was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
He reached out to take the stone bowl emanating a bitter smell and drank it all in one breath.
After drinking, he shoved the stone bowl back into Owen's hands and lay down again to rest.
Owen carefully covered him with the animal skin, watched silently for a while, then turned and left.
Sunset fell; Rowan lifted the animal skin soaked with sweat, his face still flushed from sleep.
Sweating all over, his body felt relieved, some strength having returned; the fever had probably subsided.
He had a feeling that overcoming this, he would quickly recover.
Rowan rubbed his starving belly, smelled a fragrant aroma, and walked out.
He saw Owen with a cold face, hands ceaselessly adding firewood under the steaming pot, adjusting the fire to reheat dinner.
He had never seen an Alpha prepare a meal so meticulously. In Rowan's impression, Alphas like them usually ate perfunctorily to finish a meal; drinking a bit of nutrient solution was enough to fill the stomach. Only those with an Omegina mate at home would get to eat a decent meal after returning from battle.
Rowan paused slightly, then walked over slowly, sitting down unceremoniously to wait for food.
Owen didn't show emotion, glanced at Rowan, and saw his complexion had improved; although there was still the frailty of a sick person, his spirit was much better.
The heart hanging in suspense finally relaxed; it took so much effort to keep him alive—Omeginas were indeed fragile and weak.
Owen cleared away the firewood heating the pot, unafraid of the heat, directly used his hands to tear off a large thigh of the Golden Phoenix Bird for Rowan, and thoughtfully shredded the meat into small pieces, placing them in a stone bowl to give to him.
Rowan was a bit unnatural, receiving it with both hands, smelling the fragrant meat, his appetite surging.
He hesitated no longer and started eating; the Golden Phoenix Bird meat was stewed tender, melting in the mouth. Rowan's eyes lit up for a moment, then he buried his head in eating.
Owen saw Rowan eating faster and didn't disturb him; being able to eat was good, no need to worry about not being able to keep him alive anymore.
He casually peeled the cotton fruit he had picked and gave it to Rowan, who was about to finish the meat.
Rowan didn't think much, put down the stone bowl, took it, and ate.
One bite down, he felt his taste buds explode; the fruit had a delicate, soft texture, leaving a sweet aftertaste.
A bit like the bread he had eaten at state banquets before; eating a few bites made him feel full.
This was the first time Rowan ate such a magical fruit; if he brought this fruit back to the Empire for breeding, using it as dry rations on the march wouldn't be bad.
Rowan pointed at the cotton fruit and asked: "What is the name of this fruit, where is it, is there a lot?"
Owen didn't understand, but seeing Rowan ask him with a serious face, he hurriedly piled all the remaining cotton fruits in front of him, thinking he must like eating them very much.
He clumsily taught Rowan to pronounce the name of the cotton fruit; seeing him repeat it a few times and memorize it, he threw him an admiring look.
Hearing Owen teach him pronunciation, Rowan didn't ask more; with the language barrier now, he couldn't rush.
Finishing the cotton fruit in his hand, he told Owen to put away the pile of cotton fruits in front of him, to save for eating gradually.
After Rowan finished eating, Owen ate all the remaining food and cleaned up.
At this time, it was already dark; in the cave, only the fire provided light.
Owen intended to support Rowan back to the stone bed to rest, but Rowan didn't let him hold him. He stood up by himself, walked back slowly, Owen watching carefully from behind.
Seeing Rowan lying properly on the stone bed, he slowly took the extra animal skin and spread it on the ground. He didn't dare to lie together with Rowan anymore, nor did he transform back to beast form, just sleeping on the floor like that.
Rowan saw this and didn't refuse much; at this moment, he really needed to rest to get well.
A dreamless night; Rowan hadn't slept so well in a long time. Not unexpectedly, when he woke up, Owen was nowhere to be seen.
Rowan rarely sat still to reflect on himself, not understanding why his vigilance had decreased so much. It seemed that before the gland awakened, his constitution would also be affected.
Not long after, Owen returned from hunting. He carried chunks of meat tied securely and put them into the pot to cook.
This time Rowan couldn't tell what meat it was; it was processed extremely cleanly. Now he fully acknowledged Owen's cooking skills; it would surely be delicious too.
He slowly stood up, approached intending to help. Owen raised his hand to stop him, telling Rowan to sit and wait to eat.
Rowan didn't insist, silently watching him busy himself.
Previously he had never been in the kitchen, not proficient in this aspect, so not causing more trouble for Owen was good enough.
Wait until his leg wound healed completely, he would take turns hunting.
Let Owen stay in the cave in charge of cooking, no need to work hard like now, Rowan calculated silently in his heart.
After breakfast, Rowan wanted to go out of the cave for a walk.
Owen realized his intention, immediately blocked him, and chased him back to bed.
Rowan intended to argue a few sentences, but considering for a while, he decided to recover fully before exploring this strange world.
Unexpectedly, this rest lasted a whole week.
During that time, Rowan expressed his desire to go out several times but was firmly blocked by Owen.
Now the leg wound had almost completely healed; the thought of wanting to go out and run around couldn't be suppressed anymore.
Today, taking advantage of Owen going out to find lunch, Rowan sneaked out.
Breathing the fresh scent of grass and trees outside again, his whole person felt refreshed.
Rowan walked towards Swan Lake where Owen had taken him; his superhuman memory played a huge role at this moment.
On the way, Rowan walked cautiously, occasionally observing the surroundings. Apart from a few long-tailed rabbits darting past at extreme speed, he rarely saw other animals.
No wonder every time Owen went hunting, it took quite some time.
This also gave him a great opportunity to go out for some fresh air.
One thing Rowan couldn't understand was that there were no ferocious beasts here; why did Owen vehemently refuse and use every means to stop him when he wanted to go out?
Previously, he thought outside was unsafe, perhaps encountering fierce beasts like the two giant birds he met when he first transmigrated, fearing that with his leg wound, he had no ability to defend himself.
Therefore, Rowan didn't insist on going out.
Something abnormal must have a hidden reason; being careful and on guard was better.
Rowan always believed in his intuition regarding dangers. This was a sensing ability he had honed after years of fighting the Insect Race, even though his current body was no longer the battle-hardened body of the past.
Thinking of this, Rowan felt extremely dissatisfied and resistant to this frail body; he must eat more when he got home.
The daily training plan from before could be put on the schedule.
Flying and walking on two legs indeed had a huge difference. From the cave to Swan Lake in the Lost Forest, for Owen, it was just a few flaps of wings in a moment.
Yet Rowan walked over ten kilometers and was only halfway there.
Physical strength was consumed too quickly; Rowan found a tree to rest. Estimating a rest of two hours, Rowan stood up and continued walking.
Finally seeing the glistening lake surface, Rowan walked quickly towards it, scooping up the fresh cool water with both hands to drink gulps.
A few mischievous drops of water slid down his throat into the beast-skin skirt and disappeared; Rowan casually pulled the collar, his whole body starting to itch; he hadn't bathed for several days.