CHAPTER 2 - Specialness
By: Winter’s Ink

Catnap and Dogday made their way down the road to Bubby Bubbaphant’s house. Catnap took the well trodden path at a relaxed pace while Dogday zoomed back and forth. The circles he ran  around Catnap were dizzying and kicked up dirt and grass in his wake. 

“Come on! You’re so slow! There’s chocolate chip cookies waiting to be made!” Dogday bounced and shouted, waving his hands.

“It’s fine,” Catnap shrugged, “It’s a couple of cookies. How long could it take? We’re going to get the recipe, bake the cookies, and we’re done. Then we have the whole rest of the day together.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to be slow!” Dogday got behind Catnap and pushed him forward, faster down the path.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get going!” Catnap laughed and skipped down the path with Dogday as his engine.

Together they made the trek around the bend and up the hill. They were both huffing and puffing by the time they crested the top and found the front door of their elephant friend’s abode. 

Bubby Bubbaphant’s home is the tallest of all the critters. The white walls rose high into the sky. Strange and colorful gizmos stuck out of walls and off of roofs. They whirled and waved and whooped and whizzed. The big double doors opened up into a wide laboratory room. At the center of the room sat Bubby with a notebook in his hand. He was so fixated on the experiment unfolding in front of him that he didn’t even look up when Catnap and Dogday entered. 

“Heya, Bub. What cha doing?” Asked Catnap.

“Hey there Catnap. Hi Dogday.” Bubby said, eyes trained on whatever it was on the table before him. “I’m sorry I can’t welcome you properly today. I am doing a very important experiment.”

On the table was a metal frame holding up a funnel. The funnel was open at the bottom but was gummed up with a mass of darkness that filled the funnel completely. Only a small dollop of the darkness had formed at the opening in the bottom of the funnel.

“This looks… exciting?” Dogday tilted his head, “What is it supposed to do?”

“I am watching it move.” Bubby Bubbaphant said in a chipper tone.

The experiment did not move.

“Yeah...” Dogday did not seem nearly as excited about this experiment as Bubby Bubbaphant was.

“Say, we were wondering if you had a book on cookies?” Catnap asked, “We are going to bake some for the critters.”

“Right,” Dogday nodded and wagged his tail, finding his excitement again. “And you’re going to get one too so please help us, Bubby Bubbaphant!”

“I have books on everything in the library. I’m afraid I can’t help you more than that. I can’t take my eyes off this experiment. It could move at any moment!” Bubby Bubbaphant pointed toward a doorway.

“Thanks, Bubster.” Catnap clicked his tongue and shot finger guns at the elephant in the room.

Dogday pat Bubby Bubbaphant on the back, “You’re a special one, Bubby.” Dogday smiled and followed Catnap to the library.

The library was a big circular room with shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. Books of every size and color were packed into every available space in the massive tower. A long ladder leaned up against one of the shelves. It was on wheels and followed a single track around the whole library. 

“Wow. I’ve never been in this room before.” Dogday gawked as he looked up toward the heights of the shelves.

“And you’ll never be again if you drool on one of the books.” Catnap lifted Dogday’s jaw. 

Dogday shook his head. The sun shaped pendant on his chest jingled. “There are at least a... a thousand books in here! How are we supposed to know which one is the cookie book?”

“Bubby has a system. Aardvark, Aardwolf, Aarti.” He pointed out to the first few books on the shelf, “It’s in alphabetical order. We just have to find the C’s. Help me look.”

“Right. C’s...” Dogday’s face fell and he looked at the floor, defeated, “C comes after... Ocean?”

Catnap rolled his eyes. “Cookie starts with C. It comes after B, for boy.” Catnap poked Dogday in the chest and gave him a crooked little smile. 

Dogday returned a weary attempt but rubbed his arm, still unsure what to do.

“Look. C looks like this.” Catnap pointed to the moon pendant on his own chest. “Can you find the books that starts with this shape?”

Dogday immediately perked up and his tail fluttered back and forth. “Oh that one?! I can find that one no problem!” 

He bounded down the rows of books at an incredible speed. He did an entire lap of the library and ended not too far away from where they started. Dogday barked and called his friend over. He found the C’s.

Catnap pushed the wheely ladder to where Dogday bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. One of the wheels on the ladder squeaked and sputtered as it trundled down the track..

“Are you sure you don’t have any retriever in you?” Catnap teased. 

Catnap climbed up the ladder, reading the titles as he went. Part way up the ladder Catnap found what he was looking for and plucked the book titled ‘Cookie’ from the shelf.

“I found it!” He called.

Catnap made his way down the ladder with the book cradled like a baby in one arm.

“C isn’t only for cookie, is it?” Dogday said.

“No. C is for lots of things.”

“But C is for something special, too. Something really, really special!”

“What are you getting at Dogda-“ 

The ladder wobbled on the squeaky wheel and Catnap’s footing slipped. He lost his balance and instead of reaching for the ladder he clutched tighter to the Cookie book. He tumbled backward off the ladder.

His fall was broken by Dogday’s arms. “Catnap! C is for Catnap!” 

When Catnap opened his eyes he was held closely to Dogday’s chest. Catnap’s cheeks went red. Dogday was so strong and saved him from the fall. Weren’t cat’s always supposed to land on their feet. What has him so distracted today?

Dogday licked Catnap’s nose.

“Bleh! What was that?” Catnap smacked Dogday lightly with the book. Dogday let him down and Catnap had to hide his face by pretending to straighten out his fur.

“Hehe! Sorry!” Dogday giggled.

Catnap smoothed his fur and composed himself. “Whatever. Let’s look at the recipe. It’s what we came here for.”

Catnap opened up the book and read the cookie recipe out loud, “Chocolate Chips- we already got those from Picky- Flour, Eggs, Butter, Sugar, Vanilla, and Salt.” 

Catnap hummed skeptically. “This is a big list. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to get all of these.”

“What? You’re giving up already?” Dogday tisked, “After all the hard work we did? Think of all the forest critters we would be letting down if we stopped now!”

“Okay, okay. I have salt. But what about the rest of the ingredients?” Catnap said.

“Everyone can be a part of the cookies! Craftycorn can get us flour. Kickenchicken definitely has eggs. And Bobbybearhug has butter, and HoppyHopscotch has sugar! And, the best for last, I have vanilla!” Dogday spread his arms to the sky like he was expecting applause.

“Do you really think it’s do-able?” Catnap asked seriously, “Do you really think we could get ingredients from each of the critters in the forest?”

Dogday smiled at him. “Together we can do anything, Catnap. It’ll make it even more special that everyone played a part in making these cookies. In fact,” Dogday held up the moon pendant on Catnap’s chest, “I think we should shape each cookie in the shape of their pendant. Because everyone is special and helps in their own special ways.”

Catnap looked away. He felt the heat raise to his cheeks again. He bit his lip, fighting back the smile that rose out of his heart. Dogday was so enthusiastic about helping people. That’s what fueled Dogday’s smile. Catnap wanted to see more of that smile.

“Okay, Dogday.” Catnap spoke softly, “I believe in you, let’s do it.”

“Add it to the plan!” 

THE PLAN
One Chocolate Chip Cookie for each Critter in The Forest, 
In the Shape of their Pendant.

-Dogday & Catnap