Raiju's Grand Adventures: No Better Place than the Cloud's End Celebration

Prompt #2 - Cloud’s End Celebration

In early spring, furious storms batter the desert with floods and curtains of lightning. While these storms are considered a blessing for the fresh water they bring, they are also a time of hardship and danger. After the storms clear, the people gather for the cloud’s end celebration, during which many bring food from a wide array of different cultures and many dances are hosted in squares across the cities. There is also a famous competition to find the most beautiful piece of fulgurite made from glassed sand where lightning struck. Show your character during the cloud’s end celebration. Your piece must include your character and a celebration in a desert city. You can depict feasting, dancing, the fulgurite competition, or other celebratory activities.

 

      It had been a couple weeks since Raiju was thrown into the weird desert world but he was finally getting used to electric devices and having running water. Whenever he’d leave the house, Grimoire would do all the talking as Raiju was still trying to understand the different customs of this world. At first he was nervous about Grimoire and a part of him didn’t trust the strange fox but as they spend more time together in the small house, the more he’s getting used to him and even started to develop odd feelings for the kitsune.

      Raiju slowly woke up and yawned while stretching. “Good morning Grimoire.” There was a silence the felt oddly heavy. “Grimoire?” Raiju finally opened his eyes to discover he was in the room alone. It was the first time he had woken up alone since normally the fox would sleep cuddled up to him, something he quickly got used to and enjoyed to his surprise, so if he woke up early, he’d wake up Raiju by accident. Raiju got out of the bed and started to search the house in search of the fox but found he was alone in the house as well. Today was the last day of the Cloud’s End Celebration and Grimoire was excited to go see it so Raiju was curious to where he could have run off to.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Grimoire walked inside and was startled by Raiju standing in the living room. “Oh! I figured you’d still be in bed.”

      “Where were you? You don’t normally disappear.” Raiju had his head tilted and concern was painted all over his face.

      “I had to run and grab a few things to get ready for the next couple of days.” Grimoire answered as he opened his little bag and started to unload things into the refrigerator. “You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you just to go shopping.”

      Raiju looked down at his paws as he started to fiddle with them. “Oh, ok.” His head suddenly shot up when he noticed it was darker outside. “Wait, what time is it?”

      “Mid afternoon. You slept in quite late which I knew you would after our training yesterday. I wouldn’t go outside if I were you, not yet at least. Don’t want another muddy wolf dragging mud everywhere.” Grimoire turned his head slightly to Raiju with a snarky grin on his snout.

      “That’s not fair! It happened one time and it’s only because I was lost!” Raiju said in an attempt to defend himself.

      “Oh I’m sure the only reason you were covered in mud was because you were lost. Not because you couldn’t stay on your paws or the fact you were scared by thunder.” Grimoire had closed the fridge door and walked over to Raiju before he could answer and poked Raiju’s nose lightly before walking into the bedroom. “It’s cute when you know I’m right.”

      “He- hey! I did not get scared by the thunder! The ground gave out and I slipped!” If it wasn’t for his fur, Raiju’s face would be bright red as he tried to act tough.

      “So I guess that yelp I heard was also the thunder?” Grimoire replied while putting a robe with a torri gate and cherry blossoms all over it.

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Raiju sunk into himself while trying to act oblivious to the fact that his yelp wasn’t covered up by the thunder.

      “Mhm, sure you don’t.” Grimoire smiled as he could tell the wolf was more than embarrassed. “Are you ready to go to the celebration?”

      “Yeah let me put on my cloak. So what did you say we were going to do?”

      “Well, there should be plenty of interesting food there for us to try and music and dancing, which I know you don’t particularly like doing so we can skip that, but there’s also the fulgurite competition as well.” Grimoire opened the front door after making sure he remembered to make sure he only had one tail to fit in better.

      Raiju walked up to him slightly messing with his cloak to make sure it was on correctly. “The food sounds good to me.”

      Grimoire chuckled. “I knew you’d like that part.”

      The two of them walked a short distance, basically following the sounds of laughter, children playing, and music to find where the celebration was being held. Once they got there, they could see a large group of people all gathered around an even larger table covered in various foods and Raiju slowed down. He wasn’t very fond of large groups of people.

      Grimoire slowed down with Raiju and put a paw on Raiju’s shoulder. “It’s ok, we’ll just go in, grab some food then find a nice place to enjoy things from a distance.”

      Raiju tried to smile but could only muster a sheepish grin before they continued towards the table. They got in line to get some food and made some small talk with some of the others in line. Well, Grimoire did most of the talking as Raiju struggled to avoid closing off from anxiety. Once they got their food, they both found a nice quiet area where they could still watch the festivities and stay dry as it started raining quite heavily. There were a lot of people dancing to a lot of strange music from many different cultures; many of the dancers had a few drinks in their system but that only added to everyone’s enjoyment. There was a sound of cheering as the competition came to an end and someone was given the award for having the most beautiful fulgurite and thunder boomed over head. As the night went on, less and less children were seen running around, playing in the mud.

      They both knew it was getting late as the festival grounds grew more and more quiet. Raiju fiddled with his paws. There were butterflies in his stomach as he sat next to Grimoire. He didn’t know how to process the feelings he was feeling but he was willing to take a chance that he knew he wasn’t ready for.

      “Hey, uh Grimoire. Can, can I ask you something?” Raiju’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest.

      Grimoire just smiled. “You can ask me anything.” His voice was soft and soothing.

      “Have, have you ever had feelings, you couldn’t explain?” Raiju could feel himself starting to shake as he tried to control his voice so that it wasn’t also shaky.

      “I have. Quite recently actually.” He put his paw on Raiju’s lap and turned his head slightly towards Raiju. He could tell Raiju was starting to get more flustered and was blushing a deep red under his fur. “I think I can guess your next question. Would you like to know the answer?” Raiju slowly turned his head towards Grimoire curious and terrified to what he was going to say. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it over the music and he couldn’t stop his paws from shaking. Before he could react further, Grimoire leaned in and kissed Raiju. Raiju felt his heart skip several beats as he tried to process what was happening. He had hoped Grimoire would say yes but he wasn’t expecting such a yes. Raiju returned the kiss and after they stopped, Grimoire spoke again. “I’d love to be your partner.” As he spoke, he moved his paw to Raiju’s paw and took it in his embrace. The two sat there for a while, holding each others paws; a huge smile on both of their faces.