Kai was busy that afternoon cleaning up the camp site and preparing for the transfer in living area. The trek wasn’t long to get to the hideout however it was annoying to do a round-about trip on the land instead of directly across the water. Kai would have to do multiple trips across the body of water if she wanted to execute that plan. Plus, she did not know how deep the water was at the lowest point, so she decided to not chance it. She would have to jump in soon enough to forage for plants, fish, or other river critters soon enough. She also considered heading down stream to find a passable low bank to cross however the time and effort it took to do so outweighed the simple route of going the original path she took.

So, she spent her time gathering and stuffing the pack with what she pulled out previously, playing Tetris with the multitude of random essentials.

The plants were stuffed in a waterproof reusable synthetic bag made of ballistic nylon, which was most often used in windbreaker jackets or other travel paraphernalia. She chose to use materials like this in most of her luggage for easy cleaning, lightweight fabric and durability.

The pack and vegetable matter were loaded onto the newly formed wagon and she decided to trolly it to the hideout, leaving the fire temporarily unattended. She made sure to dig out the outer ring to prevent sparks or other debris to initiate an awful outcome.

Kai let Mao sit on the wagon amongst the bags and other items as she started to leave, testing out the durability and glide of the quality wheels. They seemed superb as the rocks and other debris along the ground did not seem as obstacles, leaving behind decently sized trail of wheel marks against the soft soil.

Getting to the hideout did not take long and the weight of the gear did not hinder Kai in the slightest. It was easier for her to convert the sled then to drag it. She was surprised as she did not feel as fatigued as she was earlier. Kai believed the transition between spaces would be an enormous effort since she was previously hauling all this stuff beforehand, however, she now knew that she made the right decision when talking to Cass about methods of transportation beforehand.

Kai got to the hideout and wheeled the wagon to the entrance, transplanting the belongings around the inner corner of the cave. This ensured that nothing would get into it and she could actively participate in her activities in the open without having to worry, not that it mattered since she did not come across anything in this area yet.

Kai then quickly freed the wagon from its weighty baggage and proceeded to push it back out of the entrance in order to walk back out and decide on which direction to go. She needed to bring back the fire, which would require a mix of green lush debris and dried old material. She also needed to get bamboo lumber to build her bed. She decided on the fire issue first as that seemed more urgent with her limited timeframe.

She made a point of going back to camp and collecting material along the way, hacking any inedible green material, dried leaves or moss, and small sticks with her medium utility knife. Mao, obviously, felt that his presence was necessary as a mentor and assisted in the search for debris, following behind and consistently making sure the growing collection stayed on the wagon.

By the time they got back to camp, they amassed a generous quantity of materials to choose from, picking the best leaves and debris. Kai made sure to braid and weave the long sphagnum moss and bendable young stems together to create a thin rope-type tie. She then assembled the fresh leaves on the outside and dry material on the inside, creating a type of earthy cigar only a tree would love. She sourced out a nearby old bamboo stalk and hacked away at it to create a type of cup, knowing that it would be used to hold the completed smoking cigar.

She made six more of these cups and loose cigar forms for later. The main and bigger nature’s cigar was chosen to be used on the spot, unraveled and lying flat like an assembled sushi roll on a green bamboo mat made of leaves. She used two twigs as chopsticks, grabbing a few chunky embers and placed a few nuggets along the center of the one end of the cigar. Tying it together, it became a masterpiece of a survivalist’s glory, smoldering and holding in the embers safely. She needed more for later when she decided to travel, and this was the best chance to create a bunch in the meantime. She also had the emergency lighter but she needed to conserve it as much as possible and the flint-steel method was difficult for her to do given the tough physicality of striking the tools to produce sparks.

Now, armed with the fire smoldering in the nature cigar that was insulated by the bamboo cup, Kai decided to head back to camp briefly to put the fire-cup in the hideout for safekeeping. She probably had a realistic timeframe of an hour given the slow rate of deterioration of the fire-saving object. Every moment before nightfall counted and she needed to start picking up the pace before being able to cook another meal or establish a comfortable sleeping apparatus.

Kai then kicked dirt onto the fire pit, knowing that it needed to be extinguished appropriately before leaving this camp. She really would hate to have to deal with a fire in these neck of the woods, and soon accomplished her goal, watching the smoke become more pronounced and lack of flames. She then headed to the hideout.

She briskly walked back, stopping for a few minutes every now and then to load up old brambles and debris to build or burn, including various sizes of bamboo stems amidst the debris. Her mantra at that moment was to clean and move, clearing the way while establishing an abundance of materials worthy of attention. This fruitful earthy cleanse was necessary, as metaphorically speaking, ‘killing two birds with one stone’. Kai was full of vigor and her mental attitude was nourished by a personal willpower and dedication to surpass and thrive in this type of new world environment through personal experience.

Kai amassed a large quantity of random materials once she got back to the hideout. She immediately headed inside and put the unused nature cigars into the far corner of the cave for later use. She then clicked her teeth in disapproval in the state of the place and the literal crap that littered the floor. She wanted a broom of some sort to sweep the floor however right now her appetite was actively invading her thoughts intermittently. This caused her to decide what was more important: cook a fresh meal or rely on emergency rations.

She knew that emergency meant emergency however she was short on time. What she did figure out was that her packaged MRE linguine pasta would suffice for tonights dinner as a base and add more to contribute to the overall meal. The fire would be a necessary device in completing this goal however time was literally ticking away as she knew that the sun would eventually set and she would be left with using her flashlight to cook. Prepping was key and cooking in the dark with a flashlight would not be an issue.

Kai decided to get a fire working and try to get one thing done at a time to actively be fruitful in this situation. She fished out the handy multi-tool spade that was in the pack and cleared off the bamboo wood on the wagon, pushing it off to one side, rolling the hollow logs onto the ground. She then set out to dig up a few manageable rocks to create the perimeter of the fire and used Mao’s assistance to locate a few that were of appropriate size.

She completed this step swiftly and soon came back with a lot of various sized rocks to build the foundation of the fire pit. She chose a location not too far away from the entrance to the hideout, a manageable couple steps away in a slightly cleared out area off the path. She placed the rocks strategically, thinking about where the pots would sit and the size that would require efficient air flow and height. She also paid attention to the sturdy assembly of the rocks, so that if a heavy water laden pot sat in it, it would not topple over.

Satisfied with her work, using up all the rocks, she briefly dug in the middle to create a pit shape and headed back to the hideout to pick through her earlier collection of fire debris. She also put the foldable spade away and fished out a pot instead. This would require some time to boil so she needed to start on that right away if she were to get this prepped earlier then normal. Her thoughts wavered every now and then, thinking about the various vegetation that would accompany this meal.

She headed back to the fire with the smoldering nature cigar and the various sizes of burnable debris that was picked out, along with the pot sitting proudly on the wagon. She set the campfire up appropriately, teepee style, and began the attempt to use the glowing ember from the nature cigar to light her new fire. She unwound the tightly bunched leaves and opened it up to the air, placing soft material and easily burnable small twigs and debris against the tiny little glowing coal. It lit immediately. She had to simply place it into the hearth of her teepee and did so quickly and efficiently. It started to burn. She did not need to do much afterwards, and let it burn for a few minutes under her supervision before grabbing the pot and headed towards the riverside with the wagon.

Kai briskly filled the pot with water and placed it on her wagon. The full contents sloshing on the sides as she pulled the wagon back to the new base camp while weaving between the trees. She easily found the fire in full force and added a few heavier logs from the previous tree that was split with Kapt’n’s assistance. This all benefited Kai and she realized she did this process quite efficiently. Now she could devote her time to do other crafts and tasks.

She needed a lot of leaves or branches to create her makeshift broom and needed a decent sized bamboo handle to clean out the hideout. She pictured in her mind different forms of brooms and got to sourcing and collecting the material immediately.

From the stack of old thin bamboo logs to fresh green ones, she needed to experiment efficiently to create the best one out of all her prototypes.

With her experimentation and progress, this would take some time, so she had to sacrifice something else due to the time constraints. The bed idea was initially chalked up to be a pipe dream to be completed that evening and so she made a goal to get that done the next day, after breakfast.

For now, she amassed a large collection of similar shaped items and a variety of materials.

For now, she will start her versions of experimentation around the campfire, keeping an eye on its rate of burning.

This will get interesting, she thought to herself as she started to crack her knuckles after gazing at the materials at hand so far.