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Thunder did not normally bother the wild dog, but that particular crack, being so close, made him wince and cower. His ears were more sensative than the average hound, and there was only so much he could do to block out sound. He was normally more apt than this, but it was simply too close this time.

He stayed low to the ground, that is until he smelled the smoke too. This was not going to be easy. Like the lion, Kifu rolled around on the muddy ground, trying to get as much of a protective layer as he could. Then he followed his nose, trying to find the little flames as best he could. The dog definitely knew when he found one, even though the dirt coating it was hot. He stuck to the small area, padding around to try and find as many baby flames as he could. Those with eyes were going to have to tackle the bigger ones.

"Vappu...what a lovely name," Hila said with his trademark grin. He nodded his head in confirmation to his name and licked his lips slightly. "A little loss of wind can't stop me, my dear. Just watch!"

With that he bounded back to the dance, giving it all that he had a the music began to build. And then nature decided to join in. With a huge crash a bolt of lightning and a thunder clap shook the whole dance floor, making the cheetah jump in surprise. Just a few moments later and the call of fire reached his ears. He darted over to the small blaze, flinging up the mud that made up the dance floor to put it out.

Ester was quick to grasp the gravity of the situation, and her healer instincts flared to life swiftly as she saw not just her mate, but others using paws and tails to swat at the fire. She grabbed her medic sack and looped it over her shoulders before sinking her teeth into one of the larger water gourds. She wobbled as quickly as she could manage towards the fire and dropped the gourd. Whether someone picked it up to use, or it fell over itself to try and add to the water and mud being used to put out the flickering flames, she didn't wait to see.

"T-t-toss water on it f-first, then stomp!" she cried above the thunder. Hopefully this tactic would help prevent severely burned paws and fur. "Or use m-m-mud!" she called again before turning to bound back to the gathered water gourds. The more she could provide for them to use, the better. Meanwhile she kept her eyes peeled for anyone seriously burned or, heavens forbid, struck by lightning. The ferocious lightning was still flashing overhead, though the rain was lessening, for the moment. That couldn't be good for the fire!

((Everyone is cleared for rolling again, so be sure to keep it up! You can roll every two hours, so long as someone else has posted since you last did. Every post counts as a raffle ticket for one of the prizes for the game (as well as the participation raffle for the cheetah!), so keep those dice rolling!))

Hila looked over at Ester as she began bringing water around. Funny, he though, since it was still pouring. Shouldn't fire not be able to exist in a downpour like this? He found another small fire and continued to fling mud on it as suggested. He wouldn't want to burn his precious little paws. He'd been to the medic once tonight, and that wasn't going to happen again if he had anything to say about it.

"I think it's almost gone," he called out, not seeing many more flickering flames or smoke in the area. Phew...crisis nearly averted!

They had done it! With a lot of help from the pouring rain the brave dancers had managed to stomp out the flames. The only remains of the fire was a large charred area that steamed a little when the rain hit it. The sickening scent of ozone and smoke still hung heavy in the air and the ground was warm under their paws. It was a weird sensation, especially since it now seemed to rain sideways. They'd talk about this Midsummer Dance for a long time to come...

The clouds were still thick and dark overhead, but it was apparent that the sun must be up since it was a lot less dark now. The clouds were still dancing up there, creating dark swirls and chaotic patterns. It would have been fascinating to watch if it hadn't been for all the rain pouring down. Look up for too long and you might even drown... Eh... Maybe not, but that's a lot of rain.

Heimdall pushed his wet mane out of his face and looked around at the muddy, wet and sooty creatures that had helped him put out the fire. No one seemed to be hurt, but he'd let Ester be the judge of that. His paws stung a little, and he must smell like smoke and fire. He was impressed by those who had helped him. Heimdall had just wanted to protect his home, but the dancers had rallied to help him without hesitation. For most of them this wasn't even their home! And fire was a scary thing indeed. He touched the burnt skeleton of a bush, wondering how lightning set fires. It was beyond his comprehension, but apparently this patch of grass and bushes had been so dry and dead not even the rain could keep it from catching fire... He shook his head and decided to get back to the task at hand.

"Thank you," he called, "Follow me everyone. Ester, Paean, could you make sure no one falls behind!"

His task tonight was to judge the dance, and that was what he intended to do, but they needed to find some shelter and make sure no one was hurt first. He led everyone down from the meadow, down the slope of the mountain and under the cover of trees. Heimdall had heard stories about lightning striking high trees so he chose lower trees as shelter for them.

"Please go see Esteryti if you're hurt in any way," he said when he was satisfied everyone would be slightly more comfortable. "I'll have a winner to announce to you soon!"

exclaim Medic! This roll is optional, and just something to do while you wait for the winners to be announced! Roll 1-10

1-2: Your paws are a bit scorched and it hurts to walk.
3-4: Um... Your fur. Parts seem to be missing
5-7: Minor burns, you decide where.
8-9: Well, you kind of stink, and your fur is all messed up from the mud and grime, but that's it.
10: Oh, yeah! The fire couldn't touch this! cool

Hila let out a little sigh of relief as the last of the fire was tossed out. Places still smoldered, but he was sure the mud and the rain would take care of it. He turned his attention to the lead lion and did as he asked, following him to a safer place. Phew...this had been an exciting night! And now that he had stopped dancing and the adrenaline was leaving his body, he could tell how exhausted he was. Perhaps he could find Vappu and see where she slept...he wouldn't mind having a sleeping buddy for the evening.

As he walked he noticed that his tail was a bit singed at the tip. While he had been throwing mud he must have swung his tail a little too close to some flames. Thankfully it just stung a bit and the fur was blackened, but he knew it would heal in time.

Nia had been so caught up in preventing the flames from spreading, that she hardly took the time to notice whether she had been injured in the process. Until of course, the larger male began to speak once more. Excited with her own abilities, she attempted to jump up and cheer!

Because such a feat deserved an amazing cheer ... did it not?

But her feet screamed in agony, and she began to immediately regret her decision to do so. Looking down at her feet, she could she the charred flesh, and the tiny blisters beginning to form.

A trip the the nurses was definitely in order.

Auri had been relieved that he hadn't been forced to get into the whole ordeal of getting in the mud. Auri disliked getting muddy at all costs. Sure, his sister loved to torment him from time to time with covering him in it when she could. Still, he was quite a vain lion though noone at this event would even be able to know it just yet. He often felt that mud was a vile disgrace to his beautiful gold fur. He personally saw his fur as just as valuable as gold itself.

Still, when others also came over to help tame the fire, he sighed with relief and was glad to rejoin the festivities. He then wondered if he'd best go see this medic. He thought it couldn't hurt. He then nodded to himself feeling that it was best to be sure his beast of amazing fur wasn't too damaged. Would anyone at home have thought him of all lions would have done something so heroic at the expense of his looks? They might think he was telling fish stories.

So, he headed over to the tent unaware so far that he had some minor burns on the hinds of his back legs. Probably from where he had been so quick to try and stomp the fire out.