It all came crashing down

Days after finding goats with Tethys, the Little Slave was busy in her storeroom. She had started to build an elaborate stacked system of ladders and boards between the shelves and the floor until it reached the highest point of the cavern room. Branches were lashed with rope in crude steps throughout the shelves. Stacks of bound leather and furs offered different landing points for quick access back to the ground. A few select stalagmites were used as balancing points with crudely lashed rafts of fresh branches between them.

Ignita's little possum was braiding another rope as Ignita gathered the last of her supplies. She probably should have cleared this project with someone, but the sooner this was done the better the outcome for their winter stores, and frankly the less bureaucracy the better. According to her.

Once she told Basilisk what she had done and how it would help their stores last longer, including keeping fresh berries and apples available until springtime, she was sure he would give her the goggles back.

The project was also keeping her from focusing on how her body was making her feel. Her skin felt too tight, her fur felt too hot, her paws felt clammy at weird times, and she couldn't stop thinking of what would happen to Spider if they became close friends, or Wylan. She wondered if she'd ever see Zoey again.

She kissed her little golden possum, Idalia, on the head and gave her a berry for her good work and for being just the cutest thing ever. Idalia blinked her little black eyes at Ignita and tickled the girl with her long whiskers. The little slave was reminded that Basilisk gave her the possum. He had certainly been a lot more lenient since he brought her to the Col.

"A'right Ida, let me know when it's dinner time, I'm hoping to work until then." A little nod from her companion told her she understood. She hadn't quite figured out how to fully communicate with Idalia yet as Basilisk could do with his companions. But she was sure they would figure it out.

Ignita climbed her way up to the top of her precarious structure with an iron chisel and mallet she absconded from the forge. She was using them for their intended purpose, right? When she was done she'd put them right back, no harm done.

She settled into place at a corner where she thought she could hear some wind. She set to work for a few minutes and then noticed her paws felt all clammy again and her fur felt too tight this time. UGh, can it just not right now? She kept going for another few minutes getting increasingly frustrated with her paws holding the chisel. This was harder than she thought it would be! She was also feeling a little unsteady in her seat. She glanced down at a nice soft landing pad not too far away, good, right, she was glad she remembered that. With a nod, she leaned in to continue chiseling the rock wall of the cave.

She heard a soft creak before disaster struck. She dropped the hammer, and the creak turned into a moan as the precarious ladders and steps up to the ceiling started to shift. She held her breath for a moment and glanced at Idalia.

The little brushtail possum had her tiny black eyes glued to Ignita's.

The wolf shifted to see if she could leap to the landing pad.
No dice, she shifted and the whole thing came crashing down. With a sharp yip the rafts and branches and ropes came undone, taking her with them. Causing a cacophonous crash reverberating through the lower caves.

She was falling.
Suddenly she saw stars as she was falling.

A gust of dust rushed through the cavern and blew the makeshift door open, a small golden possum making a beeline for The Warlord across the Col.  

"Ignita"