That evening, all the cats were gathered around the fire pit near the cookhouse. Now that everyone had finished eating, Jax thought it was time to talk to the entire group.
“Can I have your attention for a few minutes?” Jax asked going to stand facing the group.
“I just want everyone to know… well basically what the heck we’re doing here.”
“From the information left by then Ancients, we’re convinced that the return of the plague in our legends is in the near future. How near? We don’t know for sure, but near enough that we have to start preparing for it now.”
“The good thing is that we’ve already been working towards that without knowing exactly why.”
“We now know why. We need to protect and disseminate the Violet flowers and determine exactly how to use them in making a cure for the plague.”
“From what we’ve found so far, it seems that we’ve been drawn together because of our strengths and skills. It happened in the past and though they found the cure, it was too late to save many of the cats in the territory.”
“The bad news for us is that we haven’t found a record of the cure they developed.”
“Believe me, we’re working on that. I’m sure you’ve all heard about Benji’s little adventure. That was part of the search.”
“You’ll be happy to hear that because of him, we were able to find the History Tree which clarified our mission.”
“I imagine you’re wondering, ‘What do we do now.'”
“You keep doing just what you’ve been doing.” Jax said looking around at the cats.
“We need a strong functioning village as our main base. That means cabins, hunting, cooking, teaching the young ones and everything that any other village does. But also, building and living in our village allows us to combine our skills and knowledge, and in many cases forming strong lasting bonds.”
That last brought many grins and chuckles from the group.
“We all have skills and preferences, so if you think of something you should be doing or if you want to switch jobs, let us know. By ‘us’ I suppose I mean myself, Piper, Isis or Cisco, or sort it out on your own if it doesn’t disrupt anything.”
“And that’s as long winded as I ever want to be.” Jax grinned and walked back to sit with Piper again.
“I’m impressed,” Piper said as Jax sat next to her, “You sound like you’re running for office.”
“Not intentionally,” he replied. “but there has to be a certain amount of organization to make sure everything, and for that matter, everyone is taken care of.”
“I completely agree,” Piper said, “but lead with a light touch to get best results from each individual.”
“That’s why I’ll always want you by my side.” Jax said giving her a hug. “You’re always willing to tell me when I’m about to do something stupid.”
“That does keep me pretty busy.” she replied with a grin.
“Have you talked to Chantel about her plans for her team?” she asked, gesturing toward where Chantel and Benji were sitting close together.
“Better let her enjoy what she’s found with Benji,” Jax replied smiling at Piper, “That sort of thing doesn’t happen very often.”
“Normally, I’d agree,” Piper replied, “but here in the Magic valley cats seem to be pairing up quite frequently.”
“That’s true. I wonder if that’s because of some sort of influence here in the valley, or perhaps because the cats being drawn here are all, shall we say, of good heart and thus more likely to be compatible?”
“Or maybe,” Piper replied looking fondly at the cats gathered around the fire. “building a new village, the physical and mental challenges, and the greater purpose, just heightens the emotions in general.”
“Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s a good thing.”