[B] Burn Factor [BB + Dust-Choked]

[thyPOPE]

There was a lot on Dust-Choked's mind - how did you know if a doe was pregnant? - but the scent and smoke of flame was unmistakable. He wasn't much of a firefighter, but he knew the basics - and if the fire was catching even in the swamp, it might be dire. It was time to run - or was it?

The fire wasn't as big as he might have thought - it looked like it was just getting going, which, if he'd been thinking straight, would've been silly considering the recent weather - but you - was that an owlcat? "Coming!" he yelled, though owlcats couldn't really understand him. He kicked mud up as he made a run for it - there was a broad leaf there, and he could use it to scoop mud onto that poor kitty. Right?

Minsuil

 

[Minsuil]

Burning Bush was napping.

Or, rather, she had been napping before a loud and unweildly buck started fumbling about the place. The fumbling she could live with. Outside of Westfen, not all kin moved like hunters. But then, the damned buck looked straight at her. And he started running towards her and kicked up a great deal of mud. She managed to dodge any offended dirt that came flying towards her but that didn't seem to stop the buck at all.

She let out a very loud and very unhappy hiss. It was the only warning the buck would get before she set his stupid tail alight.
 

[thyPOPE]

Unfortunately, the hissing didn't really seem to deter Dust-Choked. Cats hissed, right? Especially if they were upset. Which - cats would be upset if they were on fire. This owlcat was definitely on fire.

Ergo, more mud. "I'm trying to help you!" he said desperately.

Minsuil

 

[Minsuil]

Despite her best attempts to get the stupid buck to stop, Burning Bush still ended up covered in mud. She shifted back into her kimeti form and smacked the offender with her tail. She did not dull the temperature one bit. A small burn was more than what he deserved for stomping all over her.  

[thyPOPE]

First there was a burning cat, and then there was a burning doe. Dust-Choked screamed. Was he dreaming?

...no. No, he was certainly not dreaming. He was on fire. Fortunately, unlike this doe, he had a survival instinct, and plunged his foreleg - which she'd caught with her tail - into the nearest mud immediately. "Hey!" he yelped. "Pardon me for trying to help out!" Wait. "How did you do that?" he asked incredulously. And why wasn't she already dying? That was...that was a lot more fire than had been present on the owlcat. Which honestly already looked like it should be dying in flame.

Was she something like a salamander?

minsuil

 

[Minsuil]

Ever since she'd ascended, Burning Bush had seen a whole gamut of reactions to her form. But this, surely, took the prize for the dumbest one yet.

"Shut your gaping mouth before a something flies in."

Part of her wanted to ignore his quesiton. It was too dumb for her to acknowledge. But on the other hand, if she didn't he'd spend the entire night gaping. And being an annoyance. She let her flames flare out, contemplated murder, and then sighed.

"Is this the first time you've met a Mare?"  

[thyPOPE]

It took him a few seconds to respond, mostly because, well.

Still in shock here.

"By the Motherfather," he said. "I mean - I just didn't think they were real. That you were real."

You heard stories, you know, and sometimes - he'd heard some names, through gossip, but there were a lot of strange-looking kin out there. What was the difference between a very tall kin with glowing eyes and a Mare or Stag?

...well, apparently Mares could survive literally being on fire.

Minsuil