The storm was over, but what it left behind was a mess.
When Ren and Kael made their way back to the White Tiger Clan's land, the once-beautiful cliffs looked like a mudslide had hit them. The caves, normally just a little damp, were now dripping everywhere.
Ren stepped into Kael's "Alpha Cave" and her boot made a gross squelching noise.
A puddle of brown sludge had collected in the middle of the hay bed. A frog sat on Kael's pillow, looking quite happy.
"That's it," Ren declared, dropping her clay pot with a thud. "I'm done. I am not sleeping in a swamp. I am not rooming with amphibians."
Kael walked in, shaking water off his hair. He looked at the puddle, then shrugged. "It will dry. In two or three days."
"Two or three days?" Ren's left eye twitched. "Kael, in two or three days, I will have grown moss on my lungs."
She marched out of the cave, stood on the ledge, and looked at the flat clearing below the cliffs. It was muddy, yes, but it was flat.
[System Notification: Blueprint 'Log Cabin' (Level 1) Ready. Materials Required: Timber (x50), Stone (x20), Binding Agent (Cement x1).]
Ren grinned. She looked like someone about to bring modern life to the Stone Age.
"Kael!" she shouted, pointing a finger at the forest. "Get your boys. We are going to work."
Ten minutes later, Kael and three of his most confused lieutenants, including the scarred warrior Roke, stood in the clearing.
"We are building... a wooden cave?" Roke asked, scratching his head. "Why? The stone caves are strong. Wood rots. Wood burns."
"It's called a House," Ren corrected, unrolling a large piece of bark where she had sketched the layout with charcoal. "And it won't rot because we're raising the foundation off the ground. And it won't burn because I said so."
She pointed to a cluster of massive ironwood trees.
"Kael. I need those trees. De-branched. Stripped. And cut into 10-foot lengths."
Kael crossed his arms. "That is hard work. Why should we do this for you?"
Ren pulled the salt crystal out of her pocket. She licked it showily. Then she pulled out a strip of dried jerky she had made earlier.
"Because," Ren said, "if you build this house, I will cook a feast tonight. Glazed Pork Ribs."
The ears of all four tigers perked up simultaneously.
"Ribs?" Roke asked, drooling slightly. "With the sticky sauce?"
"With the sticky sauce," Ren promised. "But only if I get my wood."
CRACK.
Kael had already shifted into his massive Tiger form and was sprinting toward the treeline. He hit the first tree with the force of a wrecking ball. The tree didn't stand a chance.
"Show off," Ren muttered, but she was smiling.
The construction site became a spectacle.
The rest of the tribe came to watch. To them, it seemed crazy. The Alpha was knocking down trees and dragging huge trunks to the clearing, while the small, hairless woman barked out orders like a general.
"No! Not there!" Ren yelled, waving her frying pan. "Stack them! Interlocking joints! Like Lincoln Logs, you oversized fluff-balls!"
Kael, back in human form, wiped sweat from his forehead. His muscles shone in the sunlight. He lifted logs that weighed hundreds of pounds as if they were nothing.
"It is just a box," Kael grumbled, slamming a log into place. "A wooden box."
"It's structure!" Ren argued.
She opened her inventory and pulled out the [Bag of Portland Cement]. To the beasts, it looked like a sack of gray dust.
"Now for the magic," Ren whispered.
She mixed the cement with water and sand from the riverbank in her rental clay pot. It turned into a thick, gray sludge.
"Mortar," she announced.
She began to apply it between the stones of the foundation.
Vara, watching from the cliffs, scoffed loudly. "Look! She is playing with mud! The first wind will blow that nest down!"
Ren ignored her. She laid the floor beams.
By sunset, the frame of the cabin was finished. It wasn't a mansion; it was just a simple 20x20 room with a sloped roof. But in the Beast World, it was impressive. It had straight walls, a window frame, and a doorway. Ren stood back, hands on her hips, wiping soot from her nose.
"Behold," she declared. "Civilization."
Kael walked up behind her. He was covered in sawdust and sweat, his chest heaving. He looked at the structure.
"It... has no front," he critiqued. "It is open."
"That's where the door goes, genius. We need hinges first."
Kael stepped inside the frame. He stomped on the wooden floorboards. They didn't squeak. They were solid. He looked up at the roof beams.
"It is... dry," Kael admitted. The ground inside was elevated, away from the mud. "And the wind is blocked."
He looked at Ren with a newfound respect. She hadn't just cooked; she had altered the environment.
"You have the brain of a Builder," Kael said, which was a high compliment. "But it is small. Only one room."
"It's a studio apartment," Ren said. "It's chic."
"One room," Kael repeated, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face. "That means... only one bed."
Ren froze. "Wait. I can build a partition. I can build a bunk bed!"
"No," Kael growled, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. He was filthy, smelling of wood and musk, but Ren didn't pull away. "You promised ribs. And you promised a home. This is our home now."
"Our home?" Ren squeaked.
"Mine and yours." Kael bit her shoulder gently. "The damp cave is for the frogs. This... House... is for the Alpha and his Mate."
[System Notification: Kingdom Building Started.][Structure Complete: Log Cabin (Tier 1).][Tribe Influence: +50. The Tiger Clan thinks you are a Sorceress of Wood.]
Roke and the other workers crowded around, touching the smooth wood walls with awe.
"Ren," Roke asked shyly. "If we bring more wood... can you build us a box too?"
Ren looked at the massive, scarred warrior looking at her with puppy eyes.
She sighed. "Fine. But you owe me fifty pounds of fresh meat. And you have to wipe your feet before you enter."
"Wipe feet?" Roke looked confused. "On what?"
"I'll invent the doormat tomorrow," Ren waved him off. "Now, who wants ribs?"
That night, the smell of glazed ribs filled the new cabin.
Ren had no furniture yet, so they sat on the wooden floor. But the roof (thatched with giant leaves for now) kept the evening dew off them.
Kael ate voraciously, gnawing the meat off the bone. The sticky glaze—made from honey, soy sauce (system reward), and spices—coated his lips.
"Good?" Ren asked, eating a much smaller portion.
"Better than good," Kael grunted. "It makes me want to fight something."
He finished the last rib, tossed the bone out the window (Ren made a mental note to install screens), and turned to her.
"The house is built," Kael stated. "The belly is full."
He crawled toward her on the wooden floor. The firelight flickered in his golden eyes.
"Now," he whispered, looming over her. "It is time to christen the floorboards."
Ren held up her frying pan. "Kael. I am tired. I built a house today."
"I carried the trees!" Kael argued, pulling the pan out of her hand and tossing it aside. "I have energy. The pork gave me power."
He pinned her to the floor. The wood was hard against her back, but his body was warm.
"One kiss," Kael bargained, hovering inches from her lips. "Just to test the structural integrity of the house."
Ren rolled her eyes, but she didn't push him away. She reached up, weaving her fingers into his messy white hair.
"Just one," she whispered. "And keep your claws sheathed."
Kael didn't need to be told twice. He crashed his lips onto hers.
It wasn't a gentle, human kiss. It was wild, hungry, and demanding. He tasted like honey and smoke. Ren gave in, her body ignoring her better judgment again.
Outside, the crickets chirped. Inside, the first house in the Beast World was getting a very thorough "structural test."
[System Notification: Bond Level 25%. Warning: Wolf Clan Scouts detected near the perimeter. The Ribs smelled too good.]