Addie easily remembered the steps for making a fire. The sequence was etched into her memory: dig a small hole, place stones around it for containment, and collect tinder for starting the fire. Her father had taught her these steps, and fire-making had become a well-practiced skill during their outdoor camping trips. Though the task of collecting and carrying the big pieces of firewood usually fell to her dad, Addie entrusted that task to Squishy this time. He could still see better in this darkness, anyway.
Long practiced at fire-making, Addie finished her preparation long before Squishy returned, which seemed a bit off. She felt a small stab of worry pierce through her chest after Squishy still didn’t return within a few minutes. What if another Aurwolf had found him? But, they were still near the stream, so that didn’t quite make sense.
Addie anxiously called for her companion, “Squishy? Are you almost done?” Addie shouted into the woods.
After a few seconds of silence, Addie’s panic accelerated. Intrusive thoughts of losing her only companion in this forest conjured up fears of loneliness and vulnerability. Squishy acted as Addie’s friend but also as a protector. Potentially being in the forest without him filled Addie with dread.
Through the panic, a thought surfaced, Wait! I can still feel him through our bond. At that, relief flooded through her, and her earlier panic turned into a subdued giggle. He’s not in danger.
If she could feel him through their bond, Addie thought there should be a way to talk with him. It’s not like he speaks to me using words. Addie focused back on the moments Squishy had communicated with her. She remembered how it felt to be contacted by her companion through the bond. She knew what receiving a message felt like, so maybe she could reverse it to send a message herself.
Addie focused on that feeling of receiving, then pushed that feeling outward toward their bond. Sure enough, Addie knew instinctively that Squishy had felt her prod. However, in her haste to figure out how to communicate through their linked souls, Addie sent Squishy more of a figurative poke than true language.
In response, Addie heard Squishy’s disembodied voice, “I am not far.”
Hearing something talk without being nearby seemed sort of creepy to Addie, but she brushed it off since she knew it was just her Squishy, “Just having some minor inconveniences.” Though he attempted to conceal it, Addie could still tell that Squishy felt a bit frustrated over something.
To show that she heard him, Addie sent a feeling of acknowledgment through their bond and resolved to sit down and wait. No longer active, the shivering came back to Addie, as the night wind collided with her wet clothes.
Soon, the rustling in the bushes heralded Squishy's return. Strangely, she also heard intermittent sounds of dragging.
When Squishy breached the other side of the bushes and came out into the clearing, he struggled with the task he’d taken on. His mouth gripped the tip of a sizable log, leaving meandering furrows in the ground as he dragged it along. He huffed and puffed, trying to get what was essentially part of a medium-sized tree over to the campsite. Though he tried to look distinguished, Addie thought he looked like a dog trying to drag around an oversized toy.
“Fret not! I have... almost... arrived,” he got out, in between grunts and bursts of movement. Addie watched with growing hilarity as her sworn protector budged the tree slowly forward in stops and starts, struggling too much to move it continuously. Stop, grunt, go, but eventually, he made it to Addie’s side. He dropped the log with a thud, panting for breath.
“I have completed the task given unto me by my lady.” He said with clear satisfaction and pride in his voice.
After watching her usually composed companion exert himself to move that crazy log in fits and starts, Addie couldn’t take it anymore and burst out laughing to the point of tears.
“What did you do? Cut down an entire tree and haul it over here?” Addie wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked right at her companion.
“Well, that is what you asked of me, was it not?” Squishy responded earnestly.
“No, you silly cat! Just getting some fallen branches would have been plenty. I don’t even know what to do with this huge log! We’d have to cut it to fit in the firepit I made.” Addie gestured toward the small stone-ringed pit.
Pausing to examine the pit, Squishy seemed to realize that the log was far longer than the space available. “Ah, yes. Perhaps there was a bit of miscommunication.” Somehow, Squishy managed to sound unfazed by the situation.
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Addie took the time to instruct her decidedly-not-a-cat companion on proper firewood collection. Though Addie realized, Squishy never would have been the best fit for the task, due to his lack of hands. He could move a surprising amount of stuff around with just his mouth, but carrying multiple objects at once was simply impossible for the small creature.
When she thought about his lack of opposable thumbs, it actually made some sense why Squishy thought to bring back such a huge piece of wood. From her human perspective, firewood would be gathered in a pile of multiple branches. But for Squishy, who could carry only one object at a time in his mouth, it made sense to fetch a single large piece.
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After some self and dual examination, Squishy told Addie that he felt certain his language abilities were somehow transferred over to him while his mind expanded during their bond. Though the ability to speak transferred over, Addie’s memories most certainly did not transfer to Squishy.
Practically, this meant he only had the context of a forest fire to think of when Addie said she wanted to build a fire. He had never seen man-made fire before, only the wild uncontrolled kind during his previous life in the forest. His lack of context when combined with his lack of hands, led to the single big tree predicament.
Regardless, now that Squishy knew the proper size to grab, and with Addie actively helping, a sizeable pile began to grow next to the pit. It was hard work to accomplish at night, especially since Addie still hadn’t been able to properly dry off from her time in the river. The cold of night and her damp clothes were really starting to get to her. The worst part was her wet hair, all clumped together and dripping down her back.
“I think that’s enough.” Addie declared, surveying the accumulation of their hard work. “Let’s make fire!” She really wanted to get warm.
Addie took on the role of teacher as she built a teepee structure with the firewood branches. “This is how it’s done, Squishy. Look here, see how I lean all the branches against each other at the top? That’s so that the pile doesn’t all fall down,” Addie instructed, “Once that is set up, we get to the fun part! But also, the hard part. Usually, my dad would do this, but he’s shown me how enough times that I think I can do it.” Squishy sat and watched attentively but did not interrupt his impromptu tutor.
Looking over to make sure he was paying attention, Addie then took off her left boot and plopped onto the ground, “Since there isn’t any string or rope around here, my dad always used to say shoelaces would work as a substitute.” After unthreading her shoelace, Addie grabbed the curved stick she picked out specially for this. It was about half the length of her forearm and curved like a bow. She attached each end of her shoelace to either side of the stick, completing the bow. She had to re-adjust the knots a few times to make sure the line was taut. Then, she grabbed another stick, straight this time, and held it against the middle of the line. She twisted the straight stick and wound the shoelace around it once, then firmly planted it in the ground to prevent unraveling.
Placing her tinder pile beside her, she grabbed another piece of wood, this time slightly rotting, but perfect for the task because it was mostly flat. She retrieved her makeshift bow-drill and set the straight stick against the flat board. She picked up the flat stone she left sitting nearby and placed it at the top end of the straight stick. Now, she stuck the straight stick firmly in place perpendicular to the board. She angled the bowed stick parallel to the ground.
Addie held the straight stick in place with a rock at the top using her right hand, and she used her left hand to push and pull the bow, causing the straight stick to twirl in place, generating friction against the board. What she didn’t expect, was the spray of water hitting her face from her shoelace’s rapid movement.
“Bleh,” She spat. Then, with her head slightly turned to avoid further disgusting shoelace water, she continued to push and pull on the bow-drill.
Doing this herself seemed ridiculously more difficult than when Addie watched her dad do the same action. He could move the bow so fast that the stick would twirl incredibly fast, creating smoke on the flat board within just half a minute. Addie did not have as much luck. She kept losing her grip on the flat stone, or jabbing her hand and wrist against the straight stick when she lost leverage. Another frequent problem was the stick losing its place against the board, either from spinning away from the center into the dirt, or slipping around on the board as she yanked the bow. It didn’t help that everything was slightly wet.
After a concentrated effort lasting at least ten minutes, Addie finally saw a tiny ember forming on the board. Invigorated by the progress, her efforts renewed, back and forth she tugged on the bow, the stick twirling faster than ever.
“Quick, Squishy, pass me the tinder!” Addie prodded excitedly. Squishy stretched out his feline form, back arching, then plodded over to the tinder pile on Addie’s right and gently scooped it up into his mouth. He dropped it down directly in front of Addie. She stopped using her left hand to move the bow, and grabbed the tinder pile, placing it directly onto the coal she just made. She patiently began to blow, feeding the fire with her lungs. Not wanting all her hard work to go to waste, she carefully cupped her hands around the tinder pile, trying to keep the wind off it.
Continuously, she blew gently into her burgeoning fire, the smoke spreading and growing as it began eating away at the tinder. Finally, it ignited. Addie suppressed a whoop of joy, instead, she walked over to the firepit and put the tinder down underneath the teepee of firewood.
“Over here, Squishy! Help me blow on it. If the tinder doesn’t spread to the logs, we’ll have to start all over!” Addie hurried Squishy over in her urgency to not mess it up.
The two of them alternated blowing on the firepit, giving the fire an unending supply of oxygen until, finally, fire.
Without holding back, Addie whooped in celebration, no longer able to hold back. She had even managed to avoid most of the smoke, though her eyes were mildly watering.
“We did it, Squishy!,” Addie said to her companion with a big grin on her face. Then, she walked over and picked Squishy up underneath his front legs, causing his hind legs to dangle. Then, she squished him tight into her chest and nuzzled the side of her face into his head.
“Yes, a very exciting moment indeed. Although I admit, you must release me, you are wet. Squishy said patiently.
Addie put her partner back on the ground and did a little spin in place before turning back to Squishy. “I’m so glad!” Addie scrunched up her face and sniffled, “We’re going to be ok.” She realized aloud.
Squishy made his now familiar chortle and communicated through the bond, “Yes, we will, my lady.”
Finally, Addie plopped right down next to the fire. Then, she looked up at the sky. The clear night sky showed off the most naturally occurring beauty. The galaxy. Addie admired it as she relished the warmth of the fire. She was glad their campsite had a sparse canopy so she could see the stars.
Next, Addie took off her boots and socks. She laid her boots about a foot away from the fire, and placed her socks on top of a stone near the fire. That should help dry them out. She didn’t want to take off her dress. Even though it was wet, it was still better than lying on the dirt completely naked. Instead, she lay down next to the fire and looked back up at the twinkling sky. The warmth of the fire pleasantly licked the side of her that faced it. Unfortunately, she knew her hair was going to be disgusting after this.
Regardless, she drifted off to sleep. Squishy would watch over her; for now, she was safe.