Jax and Benji set the box down in front of the storehouse.
“Delivery,” Jax called out.
“We didn’t order anything,” a voice called back from inside the building. “You’ll have to take it back.”
Kikki stepped out, smiling. “What have you found now?”
“Oh no, you’re right, ma’am,” Jax said. “We must have got the wrong address. We’ll take it and be on our way.”
Benji said, “I’ve got news for you two. I’m not carrying that thing any farther.”
“Well, okay then,” Kikki laughed. “Bring it inside.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Very kind of you, ma’am,” Jax said, picking up his end of the box.
“Okay, funny guy,” Kikki said. “Let’s find room for this thing.”
“What did you do with Tam?” Benji asked as they set the box by the back wall. “I thought he’d be here trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“I think you’ve got that turned around,” Kikki said. “Anyway, he’s still working with Shaun and Suki, making roofing panels.”
“You two should go down to the cookhouse,” she added. “They’re really making progress on it.”
“We’ll do that,” Jax said. “And you’d better make some room for everything we’re bringing down from the Ice Cave.”
“How much room are we talking about?”
“Five more boxes like this, and at least that much more room for a hundred large clay jars,” Benji said.
“Good grief,” she said. “If you guys keep finding stuff to bring home, we’re going to need a bigger building.”
“Speaking of building,” Jax said, “have you and Tam got your cabin built yet?”
“Not yet,” she replied. “New cabins are on hold until we get the cookhouse rebuilt. And then we all decided that Taniki and Kyron need a place to live separate from the cookhouse.”
“Yeah, I can see why they wouldn’t want to move back into the place that nearly burned down around them.”
“We need to find the build crew to help with hauling this stuff,” Benji said. “Do you know where they’re working?”
“I’d start at the cookhouse,” Kikki replied. “I’m sure at least some of them are working there.”
“Sounds good,” Benji said, as the three walked back outside. “We’ll be back with another load in a day or two.”
“Oh, and one last thing,” Kikki said with a grin. “You’ll get better service here if you bring treats.”
“We’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Jax laughed.
“Juni and Breezy have been busy,” Jax said. “The cookhouse looks like it’s almost ready for business again.”
“Hi guys,” Juni called out. “What do you think?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Benji said. “It’s so… white.”
“Well, that is the idea of whitewash,” Breezy said. “But that’s just on the inside. We added a light brown tint to the whitewash we used to coat the outside. We thought it looked better that way.”
“It looks great,” Jax said. “I see you’ve got Zelli and Rafe working on the roof.”
“How’s it going, Rafe?” Jax asked. “Are they keeping you busy?”
“Absolutely,” Rafe replied. “There’s always something new to work on around here. It’s great.”
“Glad you like it here,” Jax said, checking out what he and Zelli were working on. “How is it, working with those new roofing panels?”
“Ask Zelli,” Rafe said. “She’s doing the skilled work, I’m just handing the panels up to her.”
“These are great,” Zelli said from where she was working on the roof. “We built the roof framework, sized just for the dimensions of these panels. We tie the upper edge of the panel to a cross frame and halfway down where there’s another frame member. We do the whole row, then move up and add another overlapping row.”
“Each panel is big enough to make it go pretty fast,” Rafe said, as he held up another panel for Zelli. “The only hold up is how fast Suki and the twins can turn out the panels.”
“Before we start retrofitting the roofs on all the other buildings,” Zelli said, “I think we’re going to have to outsource the panel making to someone in the Hungry tribe or maybe the Golden Oaks tribe.”
“That’s a good idea anyway,” Jax said. “Thatched roofs have always been a fire hazard, so any tribe that wants to use our fireproof panels, they should be able to. If they want to make it into a business to trade with the other tribes, then good for them. At least we’ll have a source for when we need them.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that the Moonglow plants grow everywhere,” Zelli said.
“Yeah, that stuff grows like weeds,” Jax said. “It’s beautiful when it blooms under the full moon though.”
“So, where is the build crew working these days?” Benji said. “We’re going to need them for the next few days.”
“They’re working east of the village,” Zelli said. “Just head that way, and you’ll hear them. They’re a noisy bunch.”
“You guys should have this cabin building down pat,” Jax said, as they walked up to the build site.
“That’s no lie,” Baxter said, from where he was helping Vitto lift a log into place. “Maybe we should start our own construction company.”
“Oh, I think you’ve got enough work here to keep you busy for the foreseeable future,” Jax laughed.
“The way people keep showing up and deciding to stay, I’d say you’re right,” Baxter replied.
“So, who’s cabin is this?” Jax asked. “The next drawing winner?”
“No,” Vitto said. “After the fire, we all decided that Taniki and Kyron needed a new place to live. They chose this site, right next to Del’s and my place. It’s close enough to the cookhouse for Taniki to still take care of the cooking, but far enough away to give them their own space.”
“I suppose this cabin will have a fireproof roof too,” Jax said.
“Yeah, there was no question about that,” Vitto said with a grin.
“Well, unfortunately, we’re going to have to borrow the build team for a couple of days,” Jax said. “We found a whole bunch of stuff at the Ice Cave that we want to bring down to the village.”
“And Stony, we need you to come up with a way for us to carry a hundred large clay jars, hopefully without breaking them.”
“A hundred jars, no breaking, got it,” Stony grinned. “Just give me a few minutes.”
“No hurry,” Jax grinned. “By morning will be fine.”
Early the next morning, six cats left the village. Each pair gripped twin poles that supported a light wooden box. The pairs were Stony and Star, Baxter and Nixie, and Jax and Benji.
“Suki and Shaun are going to be pissed,” Star said, walking behind Stony, “when they find out you stole the boxes they were going to use for their next batch of carts.”
“Not to worry,” Stony replied, “we’ll give them back when we’re done.”
“What are you calling these contraptions anyway?” Star asked.
“Well, we could call them wheel-less carts,” Stony replied. “Or boxes on sticks.”
“How about, ‘Safe Containment and Transport System’?” Star said after a moment’s thought. “‘SCATS’ for short.”
“I like it,” Stony grinned. “Let’s go with that.”
Having left the village at first light, and because of their ranger fitness training, the cats carrying the SCATs made it all the way to the Ice Cave meadow before sundown.
“I didn’t expect you until tomorrow,” Isis said, standing to greet them. “And what have you brought with you?”
“This is what Stony put together to haul the jars in,” Jax said, “Star says they’re called ‘SCATS,’ which is short for ‘Safe Containment and Transport System.’”
Cisco almost choked on the piece of fish he was eating. “Hey, warn a guy when you’re going to say something like that.”
“Second choice was ‘boxes on sticks,’” Jax replied, “but ‘BOS’ just sounds dumb.”
“Well, when you explain it like that,” Cisco said, “it makes perfect sense.”
“Enough talk,” Baxter said, reaching into his pack, “let’s eat before I gnaw my own arm off.”
“Somebody throw him some food, and back away until the danger’s past,” Benji said, from where he stood munching on a trail cookie.
“Still traveling with those cookies I made for you?” Chantel laughed, giving him a big hug.
“It always reminds me of when we first met,” Benji grinned, pulling her close. “And I do love cookies.”
After dinner, they decided it was time for the newcomers to see the Ice Cave.
“There’s no reason for all of us to be in there,” Isis said, “I think Piper, our ‘Safety Officer,’ should take the newbies in to have a look around.”
While the others relaxed around the fire, Star, Stony, Nixie, and Baxter followed Piper into the entrance of the cave system.
“Those are what you’ll be taking down to the village in the morning,” Piper said, pointing to the boxes in the entrance chamber.
“And those are the jars of flower seeds that will be ready to go in a couple of days,” she said, as they walked through the second chamber. “At least, we’re pretty sure it’s violet flower seeds.”
“That’s a lot of seeds,” Baxter said. “What are we going to do with all those?”
“Darned if I know,” she replied. “But apparently, Isis has some ideas. I’ll leave it up to her.”
“Anyone notice it’s a little chilly in here?” Nixie asked, rubbing her arms.
“A few people have mentioned it,” Piper grinned. “Wait till you see the next chamber.”
“Well, at least it’s not chilly in here,” Stony said, holding his shiner so he could see his own breath. “It’s just downright cold.”
“Okay, guys,” Piper said, shining her light around, “go ahead and look around. Try not to fall in the pool in the center of the cavern. The cave where everything was stored is over there behind that door. Use a dim shiner to check out the message on the back of the door.”
“Oh, and if the cavern starts to collapse… run!”
After a bit of looking around, Nixie stood gazing at the storage cave and the door. Star stood with Stony, watching Nixie.
“Do you see what I see?” Star asked him.
“If you mean that shimmering glow around her,” Stony replied, “it’s pretty hard to miss.”
“It is for us anyway,” Star replied, holding his arm. “Did you know she has visions of the past?”
“No, I didn’t. What’s that about?”
“In the Drawings Cave, Nixie started seeing visions of the actual events that the drawing portrayed.”
“When she stopped in front of the door just now, her aura flared and then settled into the glow you see now. I think she must be seeing something from the past. Leave her be, we’ll ask her about it later.”
“What’s with Nixie?” Baxter said, walking back to stand next to Piper. “And Star and Stony are acting kind of funny too.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Piper said, looking at the other cats. “I think Nixie must have frozen solid, and Star and Stony are discussing hauling her outside to thaw out. Either that, or I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Baxter grinned. “clueless as usual.”
“Oh, wait,” Piper said indignantly. “Let me introduce you to this nice freezing pool we have here.”
“Uh, no,” Baxter said, backing away. “I think I’ll just head back outside.”