While pulling the heavy plane debris back to his camp, Duk was already there waiting for him.
"What are you doing?" Duk asked.
"You’re awake; good timing," he said, blooming a smile after seeing Duk. "Can you may be cut this thing with your claw?"
Duk moved his head slightly to the right, as his body was blocking the plane debris from Duk’s vision.
"Let me see." Duk approached the plane debris and scanned it. "Uhm… I don’t know, but if I remember, the green fruit that you called coconut can bend this; if so, I think I can cut it."
"Really!" He said, excited about all the things he could make with it. "Can you try?"
Duk raised his right paw, and with a jerk, five retractable claws extended from within. The claws were coated in green and had a similar appearance to a jade, making them look sturdy. Each of the claws was at least four inches long, and all of them gleamed with sharpness. Nobody would expect a cute bear to have something deadly inside its chubby paws.
He didn’t manage to observe this properly yesterday, as he was too busy inside his head, anxious about all the things he needed to do. But witnessing it made him more amazed at Duk’s biological structure. What more secret did Duk keep inside him?
Seeing Duk was about to slice the plane debris, he stopped him, worried he might cut it too small.
"Wait! Just test it first. Cut a small portion of it and see if it works."
"Okay."
His eyes widened when he saw Duk slicing the metal debris with ease, as if that thing were made of butter. How sharp were Duk’s claws? Was there even a thing that it couldn’t cut? This made him regret Duk’s decision to not use it for attacking things, as it would make defending their safety much easier. He could only sigh, as he had no right to tell Duk what to do. He was already helping him a lot; how could he ask for something he clearly expressed he didn’t want to do?
"You did it! You’re amazing!" He complimented.
Duk squirmed while giggling; it seemed he was happy about the compliment. Well, he too was happy.
Crouching beside the plane debris, he picked up the small portion Duk cut. Tapping it with his finger, a faint metallic sound came from it when his fingernail hit the small debris. The metal body was indeed easy to bend, but it was far tougher than the outer shell of the coconut. Thus, the clean cut gave him more solid proof of how sharp Duk’s claws were.
When he was done examining the small piece of debris, he turned his attention back to the bigger one. Grabbing a stone from the ground, he used it to draw a diamond shape on the surface of the thickest part of the plane debris. The sound of rock scraping the metal made his whole body shiver, signaling him to stop. However, he endured the painful sound and finished what he started.
"Duk, can you cut this shape?" He asked Duk while pointing at what he drew.
"Of course, I can!" Duk said while sticking his chest out.
He stepped back from the debris, giving Duk enough space to do his thing. With another swift move, Duk sliced the diamond shape with precision. After that, he looked at him with anticipation, like a child waiting to be praised for doing a good job.
He couldn’t help but smile, as the warm feeling inside him was too comforting for him to hold back. His feelings were so strong that he even wanted to hug him, but he didn’t know if they were at that level of relationship yet. Thus, he prompted a more subtle approach. He wanted to pat his head—like he always did when his child did a great job—but he stopped midway, as the plant on top of Duk’s head was on the way.
Asking for permission to touch it wasn’t an appropriate time for that, while touching it without permission didn’t feel right to him. Therefore, he compromised again and caressed his face like what his mother always did to him—gentle and loving. Even though he already touched Duk multiple times, he still couldn’t get used to the texture of his skin, as he felt like he was touching a balloon—soft and smooth.
"You’re a blessing. I wish I could introduce you to my daughter; I’m sure you’ll be a great example for her," he said with a soothing voice.
Duk didn’t squirm as he did earlier; instead, he stared at him with shock and confusion. Then he jumped at him, hugging him tightly.
This surprised him at first, but feeling the warm embrace of Duk, he instinctively hugged him back. The moment was so pure that he could even feel the tears forming in his eyes. He was already an emotional guy, and his current situation and all the pent-up emotions inside him didn’t help him hold back his tears.
With the first drop of his tears, he hugged Duk more tightly, as he was the only source of comfort he had on the island. Duk seemed to feel his emotion as he also tightened his hug. He didn’t know how the situation led to their current state, but he wouldn't mind, as he needed some of this right now.
After a while, the two of them separated from each other.
"Thank you; I needed that," he sincerely said.
"Me too."
After saying that, the two of them stopped talking, making the atmosphere around them a bit awkward. When it seemed the awkwardness would worsen, Duk said the first words.
"By the way, what are you going to do with this thing?" Duk asked as he picked up the diamond-shaped metal.
This woke him up from the strong feeling inside him, compelling him to recall his initial goal.
"Ah, I plan to make a spear out of them."
"Spear? What is it?" Duk asked with confusion.
"It’s a weapon; we need something to defend ourselves when we go inside the forest, after all," he explained.
"I don’t really like hurting other beings, but if it’s for defending, I’m all in," Duk energetically said while handing him the metal.
When he received the diamond-shaped debris, he examined it like last time, testing its toughness and bendiness. Although its bendy attribute lessened, he wasn’t satisfied with it. If he tried to pierce the strong hide of the panther with the current metal, he wasn’t sure if it could penetrate it or not. And having a doubt was already a bad sign. He wanted to make sure his weapon worked; after all, their lives were on the line.
But how could he make the metal tougher and stiffer? He lingered for a moment while staring at the plane debris. If one wasn’t enough, what about two? Even paper could become very tough if there were a stack of them!
"Duk, can you cut another exact copy of this one?!" He requested, excited about the discovery.
"Okay!" Duk raised his paw.
Duk sliced another diamond-shaped piece of metal, then picked it up and gave it to him. It was amazing how Duk could copy the same size and shape of the metal he held without an example. Was all the Spirit just like him?
The moment he received the copy, he placed the two diamond metals on top of each other and tried to bend them with greater force. He could still bend the two metals using all his strength, but he was already satisfied with them and more confident of the spear he could make out of them.
Now all he needed to do was make a weapon. Although he had no experience making one, he wasn’t scared, unlike the first time he arrived on the island. With enough time and experimentation, he could make a spear with no doubt.
"Is that enough? I can make you more if you need it," Duk asked.
"No, thank you; this is enough for now," he said while smiling at the little bear. "I will try to make a weapon now, so if it’s alright with you, can you accompany the monkey for the time being? And if both of you get hungry, you can open a coconut."
"Okay! You can count on me!" Duk excitedly ran to the monkey.
With all of that done, he must now begin his new project—creating a spear!
But first things first, he got to collect all the things he needed to make a spear: a long stick, rope, the spearhead—which he already had—and maybe his knife.
Luckily, he had some leftover long sticks he collected for his shelter and extra rope, which he created from the clothes. He already had all the necessary materials he needed—being prepared was sure good!
Sitting just a few steps away from his shelter, he focused all his attention on the things he had. First, he grabbed the long stick. It was a little curvy and long for his liking, but he could alter it to suit him better. The thing he had a problem with was how he could combine the spearhead and the stick. The first idea he had was to simply tie them together, but when he did, it was ugly and didn’t look reliable. Thus, he instantly scraped it back to its original form.
His second attempt was more bizarre, as he separated the two diamond metals, placing them on the same end but putting the stick between them. He also scrapped the idea, as it was more stupid than his previous design. Although it looked better than the previous one, the intention behind the two diamond metals became useless.
Making a primitive weapon was harder than he thought, as his experience of making a shelter didn’t help him. But he didn’t give up and restarted his focus. It took him a few more attempts before stopping and placing the materials on the ground. He didn’t know what should he do, as the lack of experience hindered him.
Placing the metals together and tying them to the stick wasn’t good, and separating them was even worse. What should he do then? Glancing at his knife, he examined its design. The sharp metal was placed between the holders. Wait… that could be it!
Grabbing the stick, he used the pocket knife to cut the slightly triangular end of the stick, making it flat like a stamp. After that, he split the stick in the middle just enough to place the two metals inside. When that was done, he placed the two diamond metals between the cut in the middle of the stick and tied them using the makeshift rope.
His eyes widened… His creation… His new creation… It was indeed a spear! He made a spear! The spearhead was stable, the stick was shortened like he wanted to, and the rope was tightly holding them together! He made a real and reliable spear!
He stood up and looked at the monkey and Duk with excitement.
"Look! I made a spear!" He said while raising the spear and dancing like an Igorot.
He wasn’t satisfied with that, and he even made a sound that only Igorots made when they were happy or about anything. If he was circling a fire while dancing, most people would probably mistake him for a tribesman!
Duk and the monkey looked at him with confused eyes, but he didn’t care; a joyous thing should be celebrated! Even though the monkey and Duk didn’t understand what he was doing, the two of them joined him; perhaps they wanted to know if it was fun. Duk danced like him, but a very cute version of him; even the monkey copied them and made its own sound.
The three celebrate in joy—maybe only him, as the two didn’t truly understand what was happening—but still, it was a happy day.
