Firestorm Event

It's nice. Midori hasn't really had any friends to keep him company for a while. Well, maybe except for the frogs in his wetland home, but otherwise, Midori hasn't really had the company of so many other Esk, and especially all gathered in one place.

He feels especially comfortable and content with his friends surrounding him, laying on this backs (except for Cue, who has a giant tree growing out of her back), flowers stuck and braided into his fur with his eyes shut, and the sun warming his body. Midori doesn't want to move, and he wants this moment to last forever. He knows that when all of this is finished, everyone would go back and head off their separate ways. And Midori really just wants everyone to stay together, laughing and joking as they poke fun at each other. He hadn't thought much for company when he was all alone, but now, he feels like he can't live without it. Now his thoughts are getting depressing, and with a sigh, Midori blinks open his eyes, pushing the thought to the back of his mind.

Its like his sigh brings everyone back to the present, snapping them all back to life, and all at once, all of his friends seem to blink open their eyes too, some half narrowed to avoid the bright sunshine from burning their eyes off. Violet, who is right beside him, lets out a dramatic scream, laying one of her tiny paws on his tiny chest as she yells. "Oh, the horror, the sun! Oh, the horror, my eyes!" Elwynn scoffs at her display, but Midori can tell that she trying to fight off a chuckle. He rolls off his back and onto his stomach, getting his legs underneath him and pushing himself off the flattened grass around him, stretching out his limbs. He finds when he's finished, everyone else is already standing up, shaking out their fur and their drowsiness. Everyone is silent after that, looking at each other, waiting for someone to speak up and offer a new activity, or at something so that they aren't all just standing there in a circle, like a group of fools. Midori squirms under the uncomfortable silence that follows, and avoids Rosette's knowing gaze when it passes over him. He wants to speak up, he really does, but he's afraid that his activity will be rejected. Its better to just go along with whatever someone else wants to do.

The truth is that every since they've come to the wildflower fields, Midori has wanted to go and talk to Vetru. When Cue had first stumbled into his home, Midori had been frightened. Cue was a huge and imposing figure, towering above him. But, she was kind, and had told him about the great plains event, organized by a Wanderer. She had told him stories of this great Esk, someone who could bring destruction, or create life, like the fires and lightening they brought with them. And Midori had been awed. Awed by this raw power, and the love and kindness of their heart. So he had left and joined Cue in her travels.

Soon the pair was joined by others, and Violet, Elwynn, Loki, Lope, and Rosette all took turns telling the Little Volcano and him the stories they had heard about Vetru. Midori was enraptured, and though he was always shy and silent, he expressed his excitement in other ways.

So when they had finally made it to the plains, Midori could ignore the beautiful flowers and the tall tickling grass, in favor of focusing all his attention on the grey furred figure standing in the middle of it all. And when their speech had ended, Midori wanted to run forward and greet them, like many others were doing, barely able to contain his excitement, his body shaking with anticipation. But then everyone had wandered off, and Midori was left alone with the little Volcano, who looked just as confused as he was with the disappearances of their friends. With a sigh, Midori had enlisted it upon himself to round everyone up, fighting off the urge to just go and talk to Vetru by himself.

So now here they were, back tot he present, with him shaking ever so slightly as he tries to summon up enough courage to speak his mind. The Little Volcano offers him a sympathetic gaze from where they are standing beside him, brilliant orange eyes searching. That gives Midori a little bit more courage, and he's grateful for the press of warm fur against his side.

He takes a deep breath, and finally whispers out something unintelligible. But its drowned out by an angelic voice. The melody carries with the wind, high and delicate, then dropping low and sinister. Every head snaps to the direction of the singer, and without a word, everyone drifts toward it.  And there! Standing on Vetru's back was an Esk by the like of which Midori had never seen before.

Their fur was tussled in the breeze, but it almost seemed to be floating around the Esk like wings. They had a long cascading tail, trailing down Vetru's flank and just skimming the tops of the tall prairie grass. The Esk also had bright, funny shaped plants growing from their back. Their eyes were closed, too absorbed in their singing to pay anything else mind. And the song was incredible, and not even the presence of Vetru could distract Midori from it. Not only had it attracted Midori's little group, but all the Esk around them, everyone's eyes solely focused on that angelic sound. From behind Midori came another voice. This one soft and soothing. Midori turned his head back to look, and was surprised when he noticed that the melody was coming from Rosette. He watch, enraptured, as Rosette picked up her pace, singing faster as she jogged, eyes closing as she sang in harmony with the other Esk, who had cracked open one eye to investigate the cause of another melody joining theirs. The eye closed, and the Esk swayed as Rosette's own song wrapped around theirs. A duet.

Midori got shivers as the both of them alternated between a haunting song to a clamng one, sometimes their rhythm getting faster, sometimes slowing to a crawl. When he song finished, they were met with silence. And then, as if lightning had struck, the Esks around them gave great cheers and applause, stamping feet and hooves alike greeting the two panting singers, slightly flushed as they received their praise. Only when everyone had calmed down or drifted away did the Esk on top of Vetru slowly float down. "Well...That was better then I expected it to go." Their eyes crinkled into a smile, and they gave Rosette a fond gaze as she returned it with a nod. Violet came bursting forward from the tall grass, starling everyone as she yelled. "OH MY GOODNESS!! THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL! IT WAS SO NICE THAT I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO CRY!!" She squealed and tackled the other Esk to the ground. Elwynn was upon her in an instant, grumbling and scolding as she lugging Violet off of the poor squashed Esk as the others let out a chuckle. Lope nudged a pouting Violet onto his long neck to keep her out of trouble, and Violet continued to pout perched on her spot clinging to lope's long neck. Loki took over the praise in her stead.

"Seriously, both you and Rosette sang such a haunting song. Mind we ask what your name is?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. Picking themselves off of the ground, the other Esk laughed. "My name is Song, ironic right?" A rumbling laugh followed that statement, a laugh almost like the sound of thunder, deep and low, strumming with power. Finally, everyone seemed to notice the other that was standing right beside them. the Wanderer, Vetru. Up close, Midori finally realized that what he once thought was a green main was actually grass, creating a dramatic height effect Their fur seemed to ripple as they laughed, dappled with soft spots of creamy gray, their tail, long and flowing swishing back and forth, flattening the prairie grass around them in the shape of a semi circle. And Vetru's eyes and horn. Their eyes were the most alluring sky blue, piercing and clear, their horn crackling with blue light and energy as it stood porund at the center of their head. '

And it was pitiful, really, because instead of introducing himself to his sort-of idol, he panicked, and having not composed and prepared himself beforehand for Vetru's greatness, sprinted as fast as he could to dart behind Cue's large figure.He peeked out from behind Cue's haunch, the Esk in question gazing at him with worry. Midori trembled as he felt the gaze of every Esk in the group fix on him, including Vetru's, and without another thought retracted his head. I mean, if he couldn't seem Vetru, Vetru couldn't see him. Right? Midori knew it was childish, but he retained the thought anyway. He all but screamed as a furry head appeared on his left. Vetru flinched and shrank back, straightening himself, eyes clouded with worry. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" They asked, voice soft and comforting, then taking on a teasing tone, they added, "I guess I am a little scary, aren't I? What with my amazing horn and beautiful fur. I'm super imposing." They shook their mane, letting out a chuckle. When he realized that Midori wasn't laughing with them, their playful gaze dampened. "Ah, seriously though, I''m sorry. I messed up everyone ele's good time." At that, Midori shook his head so hard he feared it might fall off. "N-No! T-that's not it! I-I-I'm j-just s-super nervous a-around new Esks, a-and panicked is a-all, espically around a-amazing Esks like y-you! Y-You didn't do anything e-except be a-awesome!" Midori manged to stammer out body trembling from the effort. Vetru's gaze warmed at the sentence. "Ah, that's good to hear! But really, I'm not that amazing. I cause a lot of the fires that kill the land, you know...." They trailed off, gaze clouding over, thinking back to old hurtful memories. "B-but the fires help revive the l-land right? T-they help new p-plants to thrive!" Midori exclaimed. He had no idea that Vetru had sel-esteem issues, but he guessed it was something they could bond over How depressing. The wanderer nodded in solemn agreement.  "Yes, I guess your right. Now, how about we go join your friends instead of hiding behind them, hmm?" Midori blushed, and finally slinked out from behind Cue, with Vetru at his side. He was secretly dying that the grey Wanderer was right next to him, having a mental breakdown as someone so important was choosing to spend a little bit of time with him. He was so lucky. When he finally emerged, he was met with a cheer, Violet immedietly tackling him into a tight hug. "Oh Midori, you have to work on your self confidence! Your a wonder to be around!" She cried, and this time, Elwynn did not drag her off of him. Midori nodded, and enjoyed Violet's warm, but also very tight hug.

When she finally released him, Vetru piped up. "Now, i all expect you have questions for me?" And with that he was met with an overwhelming amount of yelling as Toki and Lope took it upon themselves to ask about every single type of flower in the field, the Little Volcano mumbling something about their elemental power, Violet asking if she could take a ride on Vetru's back, and Midori added his own two cents by asking for stories of Vetru's adventures, though his voice was significantly quieter then everyone. The Wanderer looked overwhelmed, and when he turned to Cue, Rosette, Song and Elwynn for help, they all shrugged, looking rather amused. Vetru sighed, started rattling off the names of flowers that were growing in the field.

~~~

"....And that's the end of it." Midori sighed in content as Vetru finished his story. "That was r-really good! T-thank you so much!" He whispered, giving Vetru an adoring look. The Wanderer chuckled, and slowly pushed himself up from where he was sitting. He stretched, and then shook his mane. "Well, I think that's it for me. I'm going to go for a little run now. I've talked to a lot of Esks. Feel free to mingle and make some more friends!" He offered and apologetic look, and then he was off, a grey blur across the endless sea of green.

Midori tracked him with his eyes as they ran, until he couldn't see them any longer. He let out another content sigh, and Cue laughed at the star-gazed look his eyes. He was so happy right now that nothing could ruin the moment.

But then there was screams, and the smell of ash and smoke. And as Midori turned around, he was eyes were met with a wall of blazing fire and ashy black soot.