Firestorm Event

 Mama and the others had seen the great esk race off, hooves thundering like drums across the grass as the sun moved into early afternoon, throwing light and shadows bouncing in all directions around them.

    Andromeda watched Vetru go, wondering vaguely what it would feel like to go so fast, as if racing the wind itself. If they went any faster, their hooves would leave the ground.

    “i wonder where they’re off to in such a hurry.” rosette stood beside andromeda, watching the same scene with a kind of light curiosity.

    Mirrina hesitated, then said “um, does something smell off to you? Almost like…fire?” she looked over the fields, a shiver going through her at the sight of the rising smoke.

    Nagi clambered back up mama’s back, stretching to see and song climbed to the top of mama’s head, whose long neck was craned to see. Toki gathered violet and cara closer so they wouldnt be trampled as some fled, others scurrying around trying to help.

    “oh dears, we must help them!” the tufts on mama’s head twitched unhappily and she looked around at the growing mass of smoke rising above.

    Toki nodded and all of them followed mama as she hurried to help, leading bellowing herd beasts past uneven footing that might cause a painful, even fatal fall. Song, violet, cara and nagi, with rosette’s help, hurried through the lower grass, warning the mice and rabbits and voles, the snakes having already fled. Birds flew overhead in massive flocks, species mixed, none caring that they were perhaps flying with an enemy, all fleeing the fire crackling closer.

    Song had to climb down into a burrow and help untangle a small fox kit from a root that had collapse from a herd beast’s hoof above so its mother could carry it to safety, her other little ones running with surer feet through the grass, the sound of thunder above like an exclamation mark of urgency.

    Andromeda moved back as a badger lumbered by, grumbling and mirrina took a few steps back, remembering the nasty temper he had, glancing around for the rest of his kind in case they had snuck up behind.

    An esk the color of a cloudy morning popped up out of the water, a sodden bird on her head, her voice soft “its okay, you’ll dry off in no time in this heat and I’m sure your families not terrible far away.” the bird gave a sad cheep.

    “oh dear me.” mama went over and nuzzled the small bird fluffing its wet feathers “its okay little one, come with us, you too. I don’t like the thought of an esk on her own.”

    The esk joined their little group, introducing herself “I’m persephone. I haven’t seen a field fire this bad in ages. That lightning looks nasty.”

    Rosette nodded, all of them looking up at the cloud, like a many armed beast of the deepest reaches, black as the pit with eyes that sparked and glared.

    Persephone shivered “a fire like this can spread like, well, like a wildfire. Lets get the rest of the herd beasts out of here. The small ones had the sense to leave at the first whiff of smoke on the wind. I didn’t know leaving the bed and breakfast would be so exciting!”

    She trotted off, looking over her shoulder at them “well, come on.”

    They fell in around her and song transferred to her small back, nearly the size of her head, his dark blue complimenting the blue in her fur. They managed to held a small family of thick furred beasts, digging the little ones back hoof out of an old owl burrow and they raced off after the rest of the herd, falling into the safety of familiar numbers as the esk’s raced to help wherever they could.

    Andromeda plucked a noise from a thick mud puddle and set him back on solid ground, accepting his thanks and continuing on, helping mirrina lift a burrowing owl over a long gash in the ground.

    They darted this way and that, helping until the numbers dropped, most of the wildlife having fled into safety.

    The esk’s faced the bellowing fire together, looking on in solemn silence, remembering the tales of all those years ago, all the life lost, flora and fauna both.

    How had this happened?

    And what was with that cloud?

    It almost looked like a great beast set to trample them all beneath fiery hooves, an almost angry spark in its lightning eyes.

    What would become of them all?