Hot summer heat was the prevailing weather in the uppermost parts of Nova Scotia, although the brisk summer winds were a great reprieve from the back breaking temperatures. There were many a night that Saul woke up, a summer thunder storm breaking over their heads. He worried constantly about the state of the roof over Apartment Eight. He'd managed to find some material to make it waterproof and all that he was waiting on was getting outside to put the slates back on. He'd managed to track down a rudimentary book on roofing although it was very damaged and almost unreadable. He'd spent the last few weeks since their first attempt at fixing the roof reading through the book, testing out a few ways in which he was going to put he slates up, and going round as many of the slated houses hat were uninhabited by any Ichikans, taking the little metal hooks that were used to hold the slates in place. It had taken him a long time to gather enough of them to cover the roof, although there were some of the original metal hooks tha had fallen down when the roof had caved in. Either way, the preparation was set and Saul had put aside this whole day to finishing the roof. The whole itself was boarded up inside and out with four flatboards, and then the outside flatboards were covered in the waterproof material he'd taken from the houses closest to them. It was just a matter of getting up there with all the materials he needed.


He rose before dawn once again, heading out to the East River to bathe. His run took him past the stables where he let the horses out of their stalls and into the paddocks around. Adonia surely wouldnt mind if he let them out- they were safe enough out here with hardly anyone knowing of their presence across the mountains. He ran onwards towards the Phoenix Forest, and then towards the Abbey. He knew Alae lived there and she'd pretty much stayed away from the rest of the pack since arriving. He would have liked to ave visited then, but the hour was very early and he'd already told himself that today was the day he would fix the roof properly. He knew that it was too much to ask Gideon to help- though he'd chosen the warrior path he was nowhere near comfortable in these kinds of places. It was a pleasent surprise that so many of his family had turned out to help the first time round, although there was really no way he could get much help for this last stretch. The roof was stable, but the hole was too small for more than one pair of hands. He would have to do all of this from the outside of the house, which was much more dangerous. He didnt want to put any of that on his family.


He didnt need to be tied to the roof as long as he was careful not to slip. It was stable enough for him to stand up and move around, although he didnt want to think about the drop to the ground. It was a dizzying height, there was no doubt about that. The piles of tiles collected from inside were not outside, as well as a pile of whole tiles he'd pulled from the roofs of neighboring houses to fill up the quota. The roof was going to be finished today whether it liked it or not. A strap of leather was tight around his waist, a multitude of pouches that jingled as he moved. He'd filled them with any and all nails he could find and although the result was a mixture of sizes and condition, there were enough to see him through the little expedition. A hammer hooked into the belt at his hip, rusting and old but it would work for what he had to do.


He lined the first tile up, slipping it under the tile that was aready held in place. With quick motions he tapped the nail in, securing it in place. He tested it with a wiggle before nodding softly to himself. There was still a lot to do, but the first bit had been done. The next few tiles were easy to get in and within a few short moments, his mind switched off to the monotonous task ahead of him. It was hard to say if he actually thought about anything at all aside from sliding the tiles partly underneath the last one in the row and hammering it into place. Small flecks of the slate cracked off occasionally, brushed off quickly by deft hands. He was getting very good at putting the tiles back up and making the roof waterproof. Of course, he didnt feel the day slipping by as he moved further and further down the roof.


He paused perhaps halfway through his building to survey his work. It wasn't to the standard of the rest of the roof and a few of the tiles were a little crooked, but it was beginning to look like an actual roof once more. There was still a lot of work to be done inside the apartment it had caved in on, but it was mostly clear of dirt and debris thanks to Eclipse, Wretch and Siku. The rooms were still intact, it just needed a little sorting out is all. His break over, the young male began again, taking his time to make sure that the second half was a little straighter than the first. It didnt occur to him that the light was fading as he hammered the last nail into place. He looked up, shocked to see that the whole day had slipped him by while he was out on the roof. His mouth was dry and his eyes were stinging, but Cerne Rise's roof was whole once more. With a grin, he climbed carefully down off the roof, looking back to to survey his work.