Arriving back from the cave, Isis went to check on Suki and little Dash.
“How are you feeling today, little one?” she asked, looking down at the energetic kitten. Dash had been busy exploring the room, but had finally settled for chasing his own tail in a patch of sunshine.
Suki said with a smile, “He’s doing much better.”
Kikki nodded in agreement.
Cisco and Piper went to find the other cats in the village. They found Jax and Baxter along with the twins working on Isis’s cabin.
“How’s it going?” Cisco asked, approaching the group of cats.
Baxter looked up from his work. “We’re just about done here,” he said.
“Are you guys ready to break for lunch?” Piper asked, hoping they’d say yes.
“I’d rather keep at it,” Baxter said, getting agreement from the other cats. “We’re almost done. It won’t take that long.”
Well, unless I want to become one of the Hungry tribe,” Piper said, trying to act faint, “I’m going to have to go find something to tide me over.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Baxter said, acting sympathetic. “Do you need help getting back to your shelter?”
“Ha, if I had you with me,” Piper retorted, turning to leave, “any food I did find would be gone before I had a chance at it.”
“Well, I guess she told you,” Cisco laughed. “Do you mind if I lend a hand finishing the cabin?”
Later, as they were putting their tools away, Cisco said, “Why don’t I go get Isis and Suki to check out their new cabin.”
He found all the girls in Isis’s shelter, talking and watching little Dash find all sorts of things to play with.
“We finished the cabin. Do you want to come and take a look?” he asked.
“You guys go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on the little one,” Piper said, smiling down at the kitten, who was still chasing his tail.
“Wow, this is really a nice-sized cabin,” Isis said, looking around the big main room.
“The two sleeping rooms over there,” Baxter said, pointing, “and over there is a room for your workshop. There’s an area for cooking in there too.”
“All this room is great,” Isis said, “especially since all of us girls will be staying here, at least for a while. Suki and I can take one sleeping room, and Kikki and Piper can take the other.”
“Of course, we guys are fine living in the shelters,” Cisco said, “being as we’re such rough and tough cats.”
Shaun extended his hand to Tam. “Hello, my name is Tough, you must be Rough.”
Tam shook his hand. “Good to meet you, Tough. I’m sure glad we get to stay in the shelters instead of this nice, cozy cabin.”
When the laughter died down, Jax said to the twins, “You know, don’t you, those names are probably going to stick with you.”
“I’m going to fix an extra nice lunch,” Isis said with misty eyes, “just to show you how much I appreciate all the hard work you guys put into this cabin.”
As Isis was setting out food for everyone, Piper stood in the doorway of the shelter, holding Dash in her arms. She called out, “Don’t forget us, little Dash needs to eat too, you know.”
Jax called back, “Hey Piper, come on out. Bring the kitten with you. I’ll hold him while you eat.”
“You and your kittens,” Piper said with a grin. “Save me a seat, I’ll be right out.”
She walked over and sat down, handing the kitten to Jax, who immediately started giving him little tickles, making him giggle.
“Go easy, Jax,” cautioned Isis, “he’s still getting his strength back.”
“Oh, sorry,” Jax said, giving the kitten a gentle hug. “He’s looking pretty good though.”
“Yes, he is,” Isis replied. “We’ll probably be taking him back home in the morning.”
“I can help you with that,” Willow said as she walked into the clearing.
“Well, hello, Mom,” a surprised Jax exclaimed. “I thought I left you back at the Hungry tribe.”
“There were a few things I wanted to talk to Isis about,” Willow replied.
“Can I fix you a plate, Willow?” Isis asked.
“Oh, I never pass up a meal when someone else is doing the cooking,” Willow said with a grin.
Once everyone was situated with a full plate, all conversation stopped as they dug in. Jax shared his food with little Dash.
When everyone had eaten their fill (that is, except for Baxter, who went after seconds), attention turned to Piper. Addressing the whole group, she said, “With all the excitement with little Dash and figuring out how to light the cave, Jax and I didn’t get a chance to tell you what else we found.”
“When Jax and I were up on the cliff at the cave,” Piper continued, “we spotted a clearing hidden deep in the forest.”
“When we finally found the clearing, we could see that it had once been a small village.”
“Near the center, we found the foundation of what must have been a very large building.”
“We searched around where the building once stood and found some very interesting artifacts.”
Jax was still holding Dash, so Piper got up and retrieved their packs. She dug into her pack and brought out the artifacts she had found.
“This is the first one I found,” she said, handing the oval-shaped amulet to Isis.
“Oh my,” Isis sighed. “This is so beautiful.”
“Willow, take a look at this.” Isis said.
“This is breathtaking,” Willow said, holding it up to the light, then handing it back to Isis.
“I found some too, but one in particular is my favorite,” Jax added.
“Piper, would you get them out of my pack? They’re wrapped in a cloth,” Jax said.
Piper dug around in his pack until she found them. She carefully laid them out for the others to see. She picked up the one with the shield.
“I’ll bet this was your favorite,” Piper said.
“Sometimes it’s spooky how well you know me,” Jax said, shaking his head.
“Well, you did mention it when you found it at the village,” Piper said with a laugh.
“Okay then, it’s spooky how well you listen to me,” Jax laughed.
Isis was looking closely at the oval she was holding.
“I’ve seen this flower symbol before,” she stated.
“Really, where was that?” Star asked.
“It appeared in several places on the wall of the cave we were in this morning,” Isis said.
“I noticed that this symbol matched the ones in the cave,” Piper said, “but I didn’t want to mention it and have to explain the whole story about finding the village. We were running out of time, as it was.”
“And then I forgot about it until just now,” she added with a sheepish look.
Piper pulled out the rest of the artifacts that she had in her pack and spread them out next to the ones Jax had found.
“Isis, do you recognize any of these other symbols?” Star asked.
“Nothing really jumps out at me,” Isis said. “But there were an incredible amount of drawings on the cave walls.”
“How about you, Piper?” she asked.
“Nope, I only recognize the flower symbol,” Piper replied.
Cisco said, “I was too dazzled by the bright colors to pick out anything specific.”
“So, what do you think, Willow?” Isis asked.
“When I first held the one with the flower and looked at it in the sunlight, it seemed to spark some sort of long-forgotten memory,” Willow said.
“It was more of a strong feeling than a clear memory,” she continued. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Yes, you’re right!” Isis exclaimed. “I felt it too.”
Jax said, “Now that you mention it, I did feel something like that when I first looked at the oval with the shield. None of the others gave me that feeling, though.”
Star said, “To tell you the truth, my inner senses have been kind of overloaded since I first set foot in this valley. I’m not sure I could sort out one particular feeling from any one of the ovals.”
Isis looked around at the group and asked, “Have any of you besides Willow and Jax had a reaction to the artifacts?”
Kikki and Tam were picking up the ovals one by one and holding them to the light. Then Suki, Baxter, and Shaun took their turns. They all looked at one another and shook their heads.
Shaun turned and said, “Sorry, Isis, none of the rest of us felt anything like you did.”
“That’s interesting,” Isis said. “Okay, answer me this… who in the group are related to or come from a long line of healers?”
After careful thought, only Isis, Willow, and Jax raised a hand.
“Perhaps an ancestral memory?” Isis posed. “It would be interesting to see if other healers have a reaction.”
“And you say you think there’s more of these artifacts to be found?” Isis asked Piper.
“I’m sure of it,” Piper replied. “I think we’ve barely scratched the surface.”
“You know,” Isis said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t find ovals or badges or amulets or whatever they are, that link us all to this place and each other.”
“Alright,” Star said, “Let’s try another one of my weird experiments.”
“One at a time, I’d like you to pick up each oval in turn. Then the next of you do the same.”
“Tam, why don’t you go first?”
Star watched closely as he went through the ovals. When he was done, she made a mark in the dirt under a ‘T’ for Tam. Shaun went next, followed by Kikki, and then all the rest. When they were done, Star sat back and smiled.
“You probably guessed that I was watching your auras as you picked up each badge,” she said.
“You all reacted to one oval or another, with some of you reacting to more than one, though one was stronger than the other.”
“So, I suppose you’d like to know the results?” Star asked.
“Well, it was no surprise that Isis and Willow glowed brightly while holding the oval with the large flower.”
“Jax lit up with the Shield badge.”
“Piper also lit up with the Shield badge, but more strongly to the badge with the mountains, trees, and streams.”
“Jax also reacted to that one, but not as strongly as Piper,” Star said, looking down at the marks she’d made in the dirt.
“For Shaun, it was also the Shield badge.”
“Both Kikki and Tam brightened holding the oval that appears to have an image of twin scrolls.”
“Baxter, you lit up for the badge showing a flame and a hammer.”
“Cisco, the badge with an ax and a knife lit you up,” Star continued.
“For myself, the oval with the large stylized eye got my aura going.”
“And last of all, Suki, your aura was almost vibrating when you picked up the oval with the eye. It seems you and I have something in common.”
“Personally, I think we should each keep the oval or badge that seemed to belong to us.”
“I agree,” Isis said. “Let’s do that.”
“And now I think it’s time for a serious discussion,” Isis said.
“I’ve been giving this some thought, and here are some of my ideas.” She continued, “I think we can all agree that we have discovered some very unusual things in this valley.”
“I, for one, have the distinct feeling that these discoveries add up to something important.”
“And along that line of thought, I think it’s possible that myself and all of you, including the Hungry tribe, were somehow brought here for a reason.”
Isis looked around and saw that everyone in the group was nodding in agreement.
Piper spoke up. “I hadn’t considered the Hungry tribe, but I think you may be right.”
“Why do you think we’re here?” Jax asked.
“Well,” Isis replied, “here is where I’m really stretching the facts to make the story, and you must consider that my point of view is that of a healer.” She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I think it’s related to the legend of the plague and the cure made from the violet flowers.”
“Though we’ve barely scratched the surface,” Isis said, “there are several important questions to consider. First of all, according to the legend, the plague returns around every two hundred years.”
“The question is… how long has it been since the last plague?” Isis asked.
“That’s a good point,” Baxter replied. “Unless it’s been in the last hundred years or so, there won’t be anyone who was alive then.”
“Which is precisely the problem,” Isis said, her eyes scanning the group. “I’m hoping we find answers, or at least clues to that, as well as how to recreate the violet flower cure in the cave drawings.”
“Hold on a minute,” Star said. “You mentioned them before, what are these cave drawings?”
“Ah yes,” Isis laughed. “I guess we forgot to tell you all about what we found in the cave that Piper and Jax discovered.”
Isis went on to describe the cave and the nearly invisible drawings on the walls, which lit up vividly under the blue light. She described some of the drawings and symbols she saw on the wall.
“To understand what the drawings mean could take quite some time,” Isis said. “Spending hours at a time in the cave, with others grinding minerals to generate the blue light, is going to be an ordeal.”
Star raised her hand to get Isis’s attention. “I might have a possible solution,” she said. “It would still require some blue light generation, but only long enough for me to make a copy of the drawings.”
“Then we could all study the drawings in a more comfortable location,” she added.
“I like that idea,” Piper said. “Grinding to make the blue light gets old real fast. I’m for anything that will cut down on that.”
“I’m with Piper on that one,” Cisco added.
“That’s an excellent idea, Star, but how do you propose to do the copying?” Isis asked.
Star answered, “I guess you didn’t know that I come from a family of artists. I always travel with my art supplies.”
“Well, if we run out of those two minerals for making blue light,” Cisco said, “our work in the cave will ‘grind’ to a halt.”
That brought a groan from everyone.
“What are those two minerals anyway?” He asked Isis.
“The dark gray mineral is called Lustralite,” Isis answered, “and the sparkly white one is Stellarite.”
“I don’t exactly know where to find them,” Isis continued. “I got them from a friend of mine who is a healer with the Sunny Meadows tribe. Her name is Cassandra, I think we’ll have to pay her a visit.”
At that point, Willow spoke up. “It looks like you have a good place to start, and I’m sure you have a lot more to talk about, but I need to get Dash back to his family before it gets too late.”
“I’m not sure you can get the little guy away from Jax,” Piper laughed.
“I think you’re right,” Willow said with a smile. “Come on, Jax, you can carry him for me.”
“Sure, whenever you’re ready,” Jax replied.
Kikki said, “Hold on a minute while I grab his blanket.” She went inside and returned, handing the blanket to Willow. Then she turned to say goodbye to the kitten, giving him a kiss on the head.
“Don’t worry,” Willow said, “I’ll keep a close watch on him to make sure he’s okay.”
“Thanks for that great meal, Isis,” Willow added. “Be sure and keep me up to date on what you guys are planning.”
Jax said to Piper, “I’ll head back as soon as I deliver little Dash safe and sound.”
With a final wave goodbye, Jax and Willow headed down the valley to take little Dash home.