Diamonds in the Dark (ADHG)
Story by PapaDelta on SoFurry
A caveman gets kicked out of his tribe and is forced to go on a long journey to redeem himself. He ends up finding a cave, and within it the end of his journey.
~1500 words
>Grug hates this
>Grug hates being away from tribe, and having to forage for Grug’s own food like some kind of berry picker, and not having soft mammoth blanket to sleep on when the sun goes below the ground to rest
>Grug is respected member of mammoth hunter tribe!
>Or at least Grug used to be…
>During a night when water poured from the sky and light flashed across the plains Grug went outside his hut to pee
>Grug lit a torch to scare off any lurking predators, because Grug is smart and knows feral beasts hate fire
>Fire makes pain when it touches skin, and lights fur on fire causing much more pain to man eating animals!
>So Grug walks outside with torch, did Grug’s business, began to walk back to hut when-woosh!
>A great gust of wind picked the torch out of Grug’s hand and throw it onto roof of tribe leader
>To keep a long cave painting short the tribe leader became very angry with Grug, told Grug he must go out on long journey and bring something back to the tribe to make up for burning down tribe leader’s hut, or else Grug is not allowed back with his tribe
>So Grug makes a long journey across the plains
>Then the plains turn dark and lifeless, nothing but barren black rock as far as Grug could see
>Then lifeless rock turned to a green howling jungle!
>Grug made a long and dangerous journey through jungle, fighting off many feral beasts, cannibals, and strange scaly reptiles
>Eventually the howling jungle changed into a tall tree place
>The air grows chilly and the wind grows quiet in this new land
>A thick fog blankets the ground and tall, strange trees tipped with green needles touch the sky
>Grug walked under tall trees until his feet hurt and his body ached every single day, Grug wants to make tribe jealous with what he finds! He just needs to keep searching!
>Many moons pass until Grug finally finds what he needs to prove his worth to tribe
>Grug was walking under trees when he sees a big rock in the distance
>Grug drew closer until he sees something strange
>A big hole is in the rock, deep enough to where the sunlight dare not enter
>Grug walks to cave entrance and sees something colorful, something sparkling, something that Grug needs to take back to tribe!
>All along the cave walls are gems of blue, green, and red embedded into the rock, sparkling with what little sunlight hits them
>Grug walks closer and sees the gems grow bigger the further into the cave they went
>Grug pauses
>Walk deeper into cave and risk fighting a dire wolf, a pack of cannibals, or worse, a cave bear?
>Or hope that nothing bad happens and Grug can find a nice big pretty gem that he can take back to tribe and make them all jealous?
>Grug knows what must be done
>Grug lights torch and clutches spear in hand, either Grug walks out with a big pretty shiny rock or Grug’s not walking back out at all
>Grug walks deeper and deeper into cave, the gems in the wall growing larger and larger as Grug continues
>Grug chuckles to himself, maybe if Grug finds big enough shiny rock the tribe make him leader! Then he’ll make old tribe leader go on a dangerous journey!
>But Grug’s smile dies as he rounds a bend in the cave
>There, barely lit by Grug’s torch, is a pile of dark thick fur, slowly rising and falling as it breathes
>Grug walks stealthily as jaguar and holds torch out to identify the beast
>Stumpy muzzle, rounded ears, big body covered in thick fur coat
>Grug puts a hand to his chin
>It cave bear, got to be
>Grug looks down and-there!
>Laying next to the cave bear is a big shiny rock! The biggest Grug’s seen!
>Grug takes deep breath and walks towards the dumb bear
>Surely the bear is hibernating and won’t notice Grug take shiny rock, right?
>Grug is almost there, just a few more steps and Grug will-
>The dumb bear yawns and rolls over, almost covering the rock with it’s fur
>Grug curses bear gods, now he will have to move some of her fluff to reach the rock
>Grug holds breath and walks next to bear
>Grug holds one hand out, reaches into her fluff, and firmly grasps the rock
>With breath still held Grug then slowly pulls the rock free of her fur
>Grug looks at shiny rock in hand, this is it, Grug is set for life with mammoth hunter tribe
>Grug will get all the Gruggettas when he gets back, they’ll all be begging to polish his spear
>But why not admire the beauty of this strange rock now that he has it?
>Grug holds the rock out in front of him and brings his torch next to it
>The rock glows with bright unnatural light, and all around him Grug now sees points of blue, red, and green
>Grug is scared, Grug turns towards cave entrance but the points of light move with him!
>”Ah!” Grug yells, dropping the stone
>It hits the cave floor with a loud crack and Grug hears something move behind him
>Grug turns his head
>The cave bear is now standing on two feet, looking at him with angry, cold bear eyes
>Two feet?
>This not feral cave bear! This is cave bear anthro!
>Grug clutches his spear
>The bear steps closer with a hunched posture and opens it’s mouth
>”Oh? What’s this? A curious little monkey man trying to abscond with one of my geological treasures? Such a brave, if misguided attempt at self-enrichment.”
>Grug not understand what cave bear says, words too big, brain hurt, prefrontal cortex not yet fully formed!
>Grug dance around in war posture and make frightening sounds!
>”Ah! Ah! Ah! Go away bear woman! You no eat Grug! Ah! Ah! Ah!”
>Grug yells and dances! Pointing spear at cave bear woman!
>She chuckles
>”Heh, heh, heh. Nice try monkey man, but I know how poorly your eyes adjust to darkness. Too many cones, not enough rods.”
>The bear woman leans forward and blows a mighty breath towards Grug’s torch, it’s flame flickering out
>Grug stands still as he feels her hot breath wash over his body in the pitch black
>”Not so vicious now, now are you? A brave little two legged man thing thinking he can just trespass in my underground lair and make off with one of my possessions. Thankfully I can think of one way you can pay me back for your transgression.”
>Grug shrieks in terror as he feels two large paws grip his shoulders
>”Grug sorry! Grug was only playing prank! Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!”
**********************************************************
>Grug sees entrance of home in the distance
>Grug grunts and shifts the weight of the deer on his back
>As Grug gets close he sees beloved mama bear walk out of the dark entrance of the cave
>Mama bear has a cub and a baby swaddled in cloth, they’re held in a wrap that goes across her back keeping them close to her chest
>Grug looks at mama bear and smiles
>Grug not mind staying with mama bear
>Mammoth hunter tribe dumb anyway
>They don’t even have safe cave homes or shiny rocks!
>Mama bear walks near and lifts the deer off Grug’s back
>”A healthy catch Grug, this ought to feed us for quite some time. Though personally I’ve always been fonder of the local flora than the fauna. Speaking of which, did you get any sugary delicacies for me?”
>Grug gives an affirmative grunt and lifts basket filled with wild berries to mama bear
>She smiles and plucks one from the basket, tossing it into her mouth
>”Delightful, as always. Grug, I’ve been pondering something for a while.”
>”Hmmm?”
>”Civilized life as it stands is so scattered and remote, I thought I may die alone in that cave without having seen another creature blessed with bipedal locomotion and coherent speech. What do you think about a society where males and females are instead paired with each other through some assignment process to prevent such loneliness, and in the process raise the happiness of all civilized life that walks the earth? What do you think about that Grug?”
>Grug puts a hand to his chin and thinks about what mama bear said until brain starts to hurt
>”Grug like idea. A mama bear for every Grug and a Grug for every mama bear. It’s eqwa-equit-eqita-“
>”Equitable.” Mama bear says for Grug, his tongue tied in knots
>”Yes, that word.”
>”Good. Granted I never said anything about it only being composed of human males and female anthros but I like the way you think Grug.” Grug and Mama bear reach entrance of cave. “Now come inside Grug, it’s time to make dinner and feed our growing offspring.”
>Grug gives an affirmative grunt and enters with her, content with his new life