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Paean didn't bother bringing any of the water gourds since rain was pouring down. As far as he was concerned anyone feeling thirsty could just open their mouths and tilt their heads up a little. He did gather the gourds together in a slightly less muddy place before following the group of wet and muddy celebrants. He soon caught up with the stragglers. The wild dog didn't look too hot. At first he thought that this was the dog that had rolled around in the flames, but when he got closer he realised that this was another one.

"Need any help," he asked his sister and the injured firefighters, "You can lean on me, or I might be able to carry the wild dog."

He looked around, but no one else was lagging behind so far. He'd happily try to carry the injured stragglers if that got them under the cover of trees any faster.



Vappu was not a fan of thunder, she hated lightning strikes and she was afraid of fire. So the dark happenings before dawn had left her cold, wet and shivering from fear. It was comforting that someone took charge and told everyone what to do. She followed Heimdall as if she was stuck to his tail. When they reached the tree line and slightly drier ground she managed to relax a little bit.

As she looked around she noticed Hila, and she sidled with him. He hadn't been afraid of the fire either, so she felt safe at his side.

"Oh, your tail," she said when she noticed the singed tip, "Does it hurt?"

Heimdall took some time to mingle with the group of refugees under the trees to make sure everyone was all right. When he was satisfied that everyone was as comfortable as possible he gathered the Kaskazi members that were to help him judge the dance for a short whispered conference. After some deliberation Heimdall returned and cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for joining us for this Midsummer Dance," he said, trying to speak in a high and clear voice that would be easy to hear for everyone, "There's not always this much firefighting involved... But I want to thank Kifu, Nia, Hila, Auri and Tadelesh for helping us with the fire."

He was supposed to judge dancing and not fire stomping, but it was hard not to give them bonus points for that. Perhaps he should talk to the Kaskazi King about it later, and see if he or one of the other regents could come up with a suitable reward for them.

His feet stung a little but his duty as Dance Master was more important than that. It was better that Ester focused on their injured guests instead of worrying about him so he hadn't said anything about his feet. Heimdall was relieved that the injuries Ester had tended to weren't very serious from the looks of it. He'd been truly frightened when one of the wild dogs had started rolling on the fire. Burned feet weren't pleasant, but if the fur on the dog's back had caught fire he could have died. Luckily nothing like that had happened.

"I won't keep you waiting much longer," he said and winked to his audience, "I'd like Hila, Kifu and Tadelesh to step forward. All in all, the three of you were the most impressive dancers tonight. Can I get a cheer for them!"

Heimdall paused to give the two wild dogs and the cheetah time to step forward for some deserved cheering.

"But there can only be one Dance Master," he boomed, pausing to add some drama, "This year Kifu is the Sikukuu Dance Master!



The lioness will need a JRP, but the puppy comes with a JRP (this one) since he joined with his mother.



We also have some RP-related rewards to hand out...




((Feel free to keep RPing in the thread if you want to, but posts after this one will not count for the raffle. We will roll for a winner in the next mule-post.))

1. Silverlutz
2. Draconis
3. Grace
4. Hoshi
5. Kallysto
6. Green
7. Pawsie
8. Silverlutz
9. Pawsie
10. Green
11. Grace
12. Kallysto
13. Draconis
14. Kovak
15. Green
16. Green
17. Silverlutz
18. Draconis
19. Grace
20. Kovak
21. Green
22. Green
23. Silverlutz
24. Draconis
25. Silverlutz
26. Draconis
27. Silverlutz
28. Pawsie
29. Pawsie
30. Silverlutz
31. Grace
32. Draconis
33. Silverlutz
34. Draconis
35. Silverlutz
36. Pawsie
37. Grace
38. Silverlutz

((This is why weekends are terrible - I miss all the good stuff! ANYWHO, I'd like to take the WD pup. I had much inner debate about it, but in the end, he's just too cute to pass up. *Nibbles on Lutz’ carrot*))
The slight bump of shoulder did not startle the wild dog; he had heard someone coming. It was a relief to know that the lion was coming specifically for him. Kifu let out a happy whimper when the lioness came to him. He cooed softly, as close to a purr as a dog could get, as he offered each paw in turn. The salve did wonders at soothing his burns, enough that the dog could walk when she requested. The scent of the concoction was strong; it smelled odd, but fresh and earthy. Since the lioness had a bowl of it, it was easy to follow.
They paused, and he could hear her tending to another. Which was fine to Kifu; he could not be the only one with burnt paws, or just aching paws in general. It had been a long night of dancing. If he were a betting dog, he’d say that some of the blisters were not strictly from the fire. And then they were off again. He wasn’t sure where until the fat raindrops stopped plopping down on his fur. Cover was a welcome retreat after a night exposed to the elements, no matter how open it still felt. He found a relatively try spot, circling it twice before settling in. He belly wasn’t burn, and the less pressure on his paws at this point the better.
His head snapped up at the sound of leader’s voice. Throughout the whole mess of rain and fire (how was that a thing that even happened?), the dog had forgotten that this celebration had started off as a contest. Not being able to see the other competitors, he had no clue where he stood comparatively. That being said, he was pretty shocked when he was asked to step forward. His paws still hurt, but not enough to miss this. He pushed himself to his feet and went to the sound of the voice, being careful to sniff to avoid bumping into anyone. He recognized the smell of the cheetah that had greeted him at the start of the dance, and figured he was probably in the right spot.
Then his name was announced, and that, well, that was definitely surprising. He threw his head from side to side, listening for anything to indicate this was some sort of mistake, but apparently it was just cheers and clapping. His face split open in a broad smile; he had done something right, other than sacrificing his paws for some firefighting. He tried to tone down his smile as he nodded in the vague direction of the runner-ups and stepped forward again. “I, uh, um, thank you?” He simply was not used to this much praise, and had no idea of how to accept the title.

((*Contemplates a name for the pup*))

((I'd love for him to stick around in the clan. Lots o' actives and whatnot. Plus, saves me time trying to find him somewhere to settle. Northern/Eastern European names, eh? Hrodulf, its from an old dialect of German, and basically means wolf. We can leave him as just a celebrant for now, since I don't have a personality in mind for him yet, if that's okay? Should I post this info somewhere more accessible?))