[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/E5HMKt3.png[/img][/centre] They had not been able to make the firefruit, and [i]she[/i] was angry. One of them, who everyone thought looked very much like a red flower and so had braided a number of these flowers into his red hair, looked behind them at where she was regally on a great yellow flower with two others fluttering to either side of her while fanning furiously. She squacked, Redflower winced, and a piece of plant matter thwacked him on the head. He yelped and a sudden spark shot out of his head and onto the dry twigs and leaves before him. The other two who were trying to make the firefruit gasped in shock and began to screech and scream, and one of them pulled at Redflowers hair, ruining his beautiful headdress, in an attempt to work out how he had made that spark. The Queen, for her part, had not seen the spark, but she had sensed a sudden upsurge and was staring at Redflower like he had eaten a whole firefruit without showing her. She rose, tall and beautiful and utterly resplendent, her once-naked form now covered in a leafy dress her loyal subjects had made and gifted her, and she spread her great multi-colored wings and seemed to float serenely towards Redflower. She paused above him and stared at him gravely, and he looked sheepish and sorry for having disappointed her. But then her grave stare softened and she bent down and patted him gently on the head, her eyes bleeding with forgiveness and understanding, and her serene smile causing Redflower euphoric joy. He chirruped with determination, a promise to find out how that spark had come out of his head. Her eyes hardened and her smile froze, and her lips parted to reveal wickedly sharp teeth. Redflower trembled. He knew what would come of him if he failed. She rose and looked at the others disdainfully, then squacked briskly and clapped her hands. They all rushed around each other and got to thwacking one another in attempts to replicate what had happened with Redflower. The Queen, satisfied with their instant obedience, returned to her flowery throne and watched them. As she did so, it began to rain, and everyone paused and looked up at the thick canopy far above. Little rain would reach them as the canopy drank it all up and drained it down, but the sound - first gentle, then persistent, then incessant, then thunderous - caused them all to pause. The Queen rose and took a few graceful strides upward. She looked at the others, who were staring at her adoringly. She gestured for Redflower and a blue-haired feighd, called Bluebell because she looked like bluebells, to follow her to inspect the rain. Then she snapped at the others to continue in their attempts to generate sparks and create the firefruit once more. The Queen, Redflower, and Bluebell rose swiftly upwards and made their way through the canopy until nothing stood between them and the heavens. But the heavens were obscured by thick black clouds that roiled and grew angrily, spitting raindrops the size of a feighd and bigger. One smacked Bluebell directly and sent her reeling downwards, and the Queen and Redflower quickly retreated beneath the canopy after seeing this. Unsatisfied with this turn of events, the Queen stared upwards at the canopy and slowly a gleam lit up her eyes. She gestured for Redflower and Bluebell to gather up the two biggest leaves from the trees that they could find. The two dashed off, and eventually came back with two great leaves, and all three of them ascended once more. This time they all took refuge beneath the two leaves as the Queen surveyed the mighty rain. The rain drops smashed against the leaves, and though they bent slightly they held. Lightning flashed across the skies and the clouds rumbled and then exploded with thunder. The Queen was quiet through this, though Redflower and Bluebell trembled at the sight of lightning and sound of thunder. Then lightning flashed again, closer now, and thunder rumbled. The two little ones shook and trembled, but their Queen had eyes only for the powerful light that lit up the heavens before thunder came. She gestured for the two to follow her, and they dashed across the canopy. The two subjects did not know where their queen was leading them, but she seemed to be heading somewhere with purpose. When at last she stopped, they found themselves floating above a strange tree. There were black clouds emerging from it. The Queen dashed down swiftly and her two subjects dashed after her, and they now could see that the tree had somehow cracked right down the middle. Far below they found embers, but no firefruit. The Queen gathered up some of the embers with twigs and settled them down. She added dry leaves and watched as the embers ate at them and grew, and then she added twigs until the firefruit was tremendous and large. Redflower and Bluebull chirruped and cheered, but their Queen silenced them with a glance and she picked up a very large twig and dipped its tip into the firefruit, whereupon the twig caught fire. Her subjects did likewise and they dashed off to find the others. That night, while rain smashed the rainforest's canopy and lightning lit the night and thunder growled and clapped, the feighd danced around their glorious Queen and around the great firefruit she had brought them. They chirruped and sang more beautifully than any bird, and one feighd with brown tree-like skin brought a hollow twig to his lips and blew in it to make a strange but oddly nice sound. The feighd danced and sang, and many others grabbed just such twigs and blew into them to make the celebratory victorious hooting sound. They would never let the firefruit go out again, and they would feed from its delicious magic forever! [hider=Summary]The feighd are attempting to make fire. They are not doing well. Annoyed, their queen throws some plant matter at one feighd called Redflower, and a spark comes right out of his head. This surprises everyone and they proceed to thwack one another in their attempts to replicate that. It does not seem to work and the Queen leads two feighd up to see the rain. There they make makeshift leaf umbrellas and follow the lightning to come to a tree that has been struck by it. The Queen gathrs some embers from it and manages to start a fire. They use this to light a fire near the others, and they dance around and sing and play rudimentary flutes.[/hider]