The cave was cleaned inside and out. Everyone took out their clothes and quilts to be sprayed with pesticide and dried by the fire. Evelyn Ford also handed out mugwort balls, which were used to fumigate the cave for a week. Only then were all the fleas and lice finally, thoroughly eliminated.
The incident must have been quite traumatic for Zoe. She fell ill for several days afterward, and once she recovered, she refused to go near the chicken coop ever again.
The chickens in the coop were spared, but poor Lola wasn’t so lucky. A child over two years old is at that ’terrible twos’ age, and Zoe was a natural chatterbox who could spend an entire day talking to herself. Lola stayed with her for two days and was tormented to the breaking point by Zoe’s incessant nagging. By the time it returned to Evelyn Ford, half of its fur had fallen out.
"Alright, you can go back to the space and rest for a while."
Evelyn Ford remembered a mountain bunting she had rescued from freezing to death back when they were on the road. She released it from her space, letting it temporarily take Lola’s place to endure Zoe’s onslaught.
The mountain bunting had no idea what awaited it. Fresh out of the space, it was curious about everything in the cave. Evelyn Ford didn’t just hand it over, but first had Ronan Kendrick tame it before giving it to Zoe.
’I hope it can last a little longer.’
Ronan Kendrick had his doubts. After all, the little chatterbox had tormented Lola to the point of molting. This silly mountain bunting would probably only last two days.
Surprisingly, the mountain bunting proved to be quite resilient. After a week with Zoe, not only had it not molted, it had actually grown more spirited.
"Auntie, I love Dot! Dot is such a good singer."
All Evelyn Ford heard was a constant CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP. She hadn’t realized the mountain bunting was actually singing.
"You gave it a name?"
Zoe nodded. "It’s so fat and round, so I’m calling it Dot."
The mountain bunting seemed very happy and started chirping again.
Evelyn Ford finally understood why they got along so well. Turns out, this mountain bunting was a chatterbox too.
—
The wooden barrels were out of water, so everyone had to go outside to scrape ice off the tree leaves. There hadn’t been much wind in the mountains lately, but the temperature was still continuously dropping.
The path they had previously cleared was covered in a new layer of ice. Ethan Dawson was the first one out, and he slipped and fell before he could even get his footing.
"It’s too slippery! Everyone be careful. Hand me a pickaxe, I’ll clear a path up front."
The others followed behind with their buckets. Collecting ice was no easy task. The mountain trees were very tall, so they had to chop them down just to get to the ice on the branches.
There was a lot of shrubbery behind the cave. They could get ice from it, but it was full of leaves and bark, meaning the water would have to be filtered after it melted.
"Over here, there are some tracks and marks from a fall. Judging by the prints, they look like they’re from a large animal."
Evelyn Ford went over for a look. There were indeed quite a few hoofprints. The indentations were filled with dirt and ice, so they didn’t look like they were from today.
"Don’t stray too far from the group, just in case we run into an animal," Evelyn Ford warned.
"Evelyn, what kind of animal do you think it was?"
Evelyn Ford couldn’t be sure either, but she guessed it was a wild boar.
"It couldn’t have been a wolf, right?"
"Why would a wolf slip and fall?"
"Why not? The ground’s this slippery. Forget a wolf, even a rabbit would slip on this ice."
Officer Graham gestured for the two who were arguing to be quiet. "That’s enough. Let’s just get the ice and go back. It’s freezing out here. Are you trying to go into shock?"
Evelyn Ford glanced at the indentations again. ’Come to think of it, they do look a lot like wolf tracks,’ she thought.
To avoid running into wolves, Evelyn Ford urged everyone to hurry. Once each person had filled a bucket, they all headed back to the cave.
Wolves are pack animals. Whether it was a lone wolf or an entire pack, it was best to avoid them if at all possible. Otherwise, there would be trouble.
Back on Broken Cloud Mountain, Evelyn Ford had encountered a vengeful wolf pack, and Ronan Kendrick had single-handedly slaughtered every last one of them.
"The animals are out foraging, so things must be getting less dangerous." Compared to running into wild animals, everyone was more afraid of the unpredictable weather.
"But the fog in the mountains hasn’t lifted. As long as the sun doesn’t come out, I’ll feel like we’re still in danger."
After carrying the water back, Evelyn Ford returned to her cabin. While she was in the woods earlier, she had felt a familiar warm rush.
She went into her space to change her pants and put on a sanitary pad. Afterward, Evelyn Ford drank a cup of hot water and applied a Warm Baby to her abdomen.
When Ronan Kendrick came in, he smelled the scent of blood on Evelyn Ford. Although she was much stronger now and no longer suffered from cramps, Ronan still forbade her from doing any chores or touching cold water.
"Do you have ADHD or something?" Ronan Kendrick asked, exasperated to see her moving around.
Evelyn Ford flopped onto the bed dramatically. "You’re the one with ADHD. I just can’t stand being idle."
Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch had so much more energy now that they didn’t have to worry about their periods anymore. Evelyn Ford had considered taking the medication too, but the side effects were terrifying. Wyatt had later told her that after taking it, she felt like her intestines were being twisted into knots.
"Ronan, do you think those tracks outside were left by a wild boar, or a wolf?"
"A wolf," Ronan Kendrick stated simply.
"So the wolves are out foraging. Oh, right, I gave that black bear’s pelt to Mr. Graham. He, Mr. Vance, and Mr. Lowell each took a small piece, enough to make an article of clothing."
Ronan Kendrick didn’t object; it wasn’t as if he was short on clothes or shoes.
"Stop worrying about all that. Just focus on resting and taking it easy for the next few days."
"I feel perfectly fine, it doesn’t hurt at all. Besides, I’m just on my period. Anyone would think I was in postpartum confinement."
Evelyn Ford beckoned to Ronan Kendrick with a crooked finger. "Does this mean you’ll do whatever I say right now?"
Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
"Anything, as long as it doesn’t involve me wearing a wig, makeup, or a dress."
Evelyn Ford covered her face, snickering.
"I’m not going to make you do any of that. I just want you to dance for me."
Ronan Kendrick’s face was blank. "I’d rather jump off a building."
"Hahahaha...!" The moment Evelyn Ford burst out laughing, she felt a sudden gush, as if a floodgate had opened. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth in alarm.
"Behave yourself," Ronan Kendrick said, patting her on the head. He then went out, though she had no idea where he was going.
Before dinner that afternoon, Ronan Kendrick returned. He pulled open his greatcoat, and Evelyn Ford saw him take out two small, fluffy creatures from inside.
"I took a look around the mountains. They were nearly frozen to death when I found them, so I brought them back."
This was the first time Evelyn Ford had ever seen white wolves. They were beautiful, with pure white fur and not a single off-color hair. Their eyes were amber, but the pups were tiny, likely only a few days old.
"If the pack realizes they’re missing, will they come looking for them?"
Ronan Kendrick frowned. "I don’t think so. They were likely abandoned. Animals will abandon their weaker offspring."
The two wolf pups did indeed look sickly, and they were a pair of little whimperers, whining constantly in Ronan Kendrick’s arms.
"Looks like they think you’re their mother."
Evelyn Ford gloated as she watched the two pups nuzzling around in his arms, searching for milk.
"Ahem... Well, hurry up and get them some milk."