Flower Festival Dance

(The flu is literally the worst. I have been laid up for DAYS. Luckily I managed to finish this. I had wanted to make the entire thing stained glass, but alas, not enough time T^T)

Petals and Pixies

This was always her favorite time of year. The time of year where she could leave her windows open, letting the warm breeze drift through carrying the scent of nature's awakening. A thousand medleys of poppies, roses, daisies, daffodils, tulips, and who knew what else mixed together on the breeze and swept along the warmth of her home. Stori stretched slowly as she woke, greeted by that wonderful scent that seemed to immediately set her at ease. She knew nature hadn't prepared this medley for her, but she liked to think it was seeking her approval. What do you think? It asked her. How will the festival go?

The word 'festival' sent her heart racing the second it crossed her brain. In an instant she was a young girl again, holding tightly onto her mother's hands as they weaved throughout the crowded streets. Flower petals rained from the sky, and to a small little dragoness that couldn't see the baskets that were strung from the lights above that contained the metals, it certainly seemed like magic had woken their sleepy little village. There was magic in the world when nature woke, and today officially marked the reign of sunshine. 

She leapt up with the energy of the young girl fresh in her memory, and all but raced across her room. She picked a simple dress from her closet, one that would keep her cool and not draw too much attention. It was symbolic of her village to wear light colors, as they alluded to rebirth, and Stori didn't exactly mind it. She was already darkly colored and covered in fur, she would take anything to make sure she was comfortable and cool. Speaking of her fur.. her hair and tail would need some work. The length of the waves and curls were still tangled from her sleep, and it would take more than a quick brush through to get her resembling anything close to presentable.

Stori didn't end up leaving her home until much later than she intended, and when she did was nearly sprinting for the center of the village. Already she could smell food cooking, hear laughter and music, see the petals raining down from the sky. The smile on her face was second only to the beating of her heart, eyes sparkling with excitement and wonder. It wouldn't matter how many times she went to the Flower Festival, every time she would be new and young, just like the season. 

"Miss Stori!" She turned at the chimed chorus of little voices, and several figure knocked into her legs with e cited squeals.

"Lark, Meadow, Rori!" Three of her 'close friends', AKA the children who visited her at the libraries. Each of them was dressed in some small little thing, and each of them wore a crown of flowers connecting one fuzzy ear to the neck. Even little Rori, the oldest male of the bunch, had a crown linked between his horns. He didn't even seem to mind.

"Miss Stori we didn't think you were coming." It didn't take long for her hands to fall prey to smaller grips, not that she minded. A grin spread across her face as she followed the tugs, knowing that wherever they lead would no doubt be the most important part of her day.

"I'm sorry. I overslept! I stayed up all night trying to see the Pixies." That got a reaction, and frozen feet turned to wide eyes that looked at her with nothing but mystifying curiosity. 

"Pixies?" 

"Oh yes. Don't you see them?" She squinted and raised a hand to cover her eyes, looking at the sky. Just like when she was a child, strings of lights held dangling baskets, and each time the wind shifted the wicker petals would fall like rain. The children followed her eyes, each craning in turn to try and spot what she did. She gasped, and pointed to a falling rose petal caught by the wind.

"There's one!"

"Where?!" Three different voices chimed at once, and she smiled as she sat in front of the fountain that rested at the heart of their village. 

"Right there! They're carrying the petals. Pixies love flower petals. They take them home for their nests, to make sure they smell wonderful. Every year they visit us to take some flower petals. Legend has it, if you can find one and give them a petal, you'll have good luck all year. But only if they take it."

"What happens if they don't take it?" Surprisingly it was Rori who spoke up, a gruff bashfulness roughening his voice. 

"Well it's not the end of the world." She answered, laughing softly. "But so long as you are kind and polite, there is never a case of a petal being refused. If the pixie makes your petal wilt, however, it means your heart is cold and you'll have bad luck all year." The children's' eyes widened in fear and apprehension, a collective shudder spreading between them.

"Whoa." The tiny little exclamation came after a few moments, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you how to offer a pixie and petal and make sure you get your good luck. After all, the Queen of the Pixies herself taught me." Once more, amazement flashed bright behind the eyes of her little circle, and three voices clambered with questions. Her ears twitched and she gestured to the space in front of her, where the children instantly sat and starred at her. It was a position they'd been in many times in the library, when she read from the lore books she had created and collected. 

"Oh yes. It was quite a long time ago. I suppose I wasn't much larger than all of you." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "This happened the night before the Flower Festival was due. Except, everyone was quite sure there wasn't going to be a Flower Festival. Winter had dragged on for so long, and even as I lay in bed that night, I could see little flecks of snow floating down from the sky. 

"It was then I happened to see a strange patch of grass, completely untouched by any of the snow. It was bare except for one tiny flower, which still rested in its bulb. So I snuck out, thinking I could at the very least offer some warmth to that flower, and perhaps it would magically bloom by tomorrow like nature was supposed to. I brought a blanket and some sugar, knowing how much flowers adored it, but when I got there I saw something magical. 

"There was a teeny tiny little creature, floating above the flower. Everytime a snowflake came near, she would brush it away with her wings, which buzzed like an insect. She looked like a big puff ball with wings, but I could still see the eyes hidden inside. I'd never seen such a creature before! So I did what any smart dragoness would.. I introduced myself.

"Now above all else, Pixies prefer politeness. So when I so kindly introduced myself to this Pixie, she was quite impressed with me. She told me her name was Maeiva, and she was Queen of the Pixies. The problem was, the Pixies were all asleep because of the snow. This was her flower, and if the snow fell on it then she too would go to sleep. If that happened, she said, then Spring would never be able to come, because Spring always follows the pixies.

"As you might imagine, I was quite concerned. Spring is my favorite season, after all, and I had no intention of missing it. Especially not when the Flower Festival was tomorrow. So I told her that I would go around to each and every flower and wake them all up. I even showed her the blanket I'd brought for her flower. She was so astounded by this, but said that she would make sure Spring would come tomorrow, as long as I woke up her Pixie kingdom. 

"Now its not very easy to wake up an entire field of flowers in the middle of the night. I hadn't the faintest idea where I needed to start. I knew the snow would have to come off, and somehow I would have to warm them up as well. It was then I realized the perfect way to wake them all up." 

"What was it?" Came a soft whisper. At some point, three children had become five, had become ten, and now even older children and parents had gathered around to listen to the dragons who's name was her trade.

"It was dancing." Stori answered quietly, leaning forward. "Dancing would be what would wake up the Pixies. The meadow had just enough space for me to dance, and while I did I dragged my tail over the flowers. It melted the snow, sent it flying, and very soon the entire meadow was clean. I kept dancing, because even though I had removed the snow, the Pixies weren't yet awake. Over and over I danced on the grass, making sure I visited each flower and ask them to wake up. Eventually I started hearing.. something. It was the Pixies! As they slowly woke up, they had begun to get their instruments, and now they were playing with me. The ones that didn't play had begun to dance too, using their movements to wake up their neighbors. As they danced, little lights rose into the sky like little stars, and spread warmth across the field. 

"By the time the moon was high in the sky, the entire meadow had woken up, and the festival of the Pixies had begun.  I didn't even have to return to find the Pixie Queen. She'd heard the sound of music from far away, and had brought the rest of her kingdom with her. In an instant the meadow was filled with every Pixie in their Kingdom, all of them laughing and dancing... and the Pixie Queen kept her word. Each time a Pixie woke up, their flower bloomed, and each time those flowers bloomed, they nudged awake their neighbors. Yes, they actually nudged them! I saw daises dance in the wind when they woke up, saw petals of one flower landing on another so it opened, and one dandelion even lifted its roots to wake its neighbor!

"By the time the sun had risen, every flower in and around our village had been woken up to our music. The whole town was astounded. Last night it had been snowing, but now it was as if Spring had always been there. The Festival was on. 

"Before it began, however, the Queen of the Pixies pulled me aside. She was so grateful to me, she wanted to give me a secret: The secret of the pixies. 

"Pixies love politeness. A bow when meeting them is essential, as if a kind greeting. Pixies also love petals, and are very grateful to any gifts they receive. If a Pixie is offered a Petal, they will return the favor by giving good luck to whoever had the kindness to gift them. But one had to be polite when offering a Pixie a Petal. While a Pixie will never look down on a gift, rudeness will certain earn you no favors. As long as your heart truly cares for the Petal you've picked, and the Pixies will know, they will never refuse your gift." 

A gust of wind blew across the village, and the baskets filled with flowers shook violently overhead. Those gathered gasped when the wind caught and played with quite a few of the petals, carrying them in intricate and artistic patterns down the streets and into the sky. 

"I saw them." Came the soft, awed whisper of little Lark in front of her, and amazed eyes turned up to look at Stori with all the sincerity in the world. She smiled at her, and from behind them a band began to play. She stood up as it did, and slowly the villagers began to widen around her. Dancers took up space around the fountain, twirling to the melody.

"They want to dance." She answered, and laughed as the children jumped up eagerly. They may not have known the steps to the dance, but in the safety of the fountain's circle they were quick to make up their own steps, twirling and jumping for floating petals, quickly chattering about what petals they would offer to the Pixies. A few of them were even asking Lark where she had seen them, eager to join in the fun.

"Come on, Stori." Came a laughing voice from the dances, and she saw the kind baker who often gave her extra rolls. He and his family had joined while she told her story, and they'd always been kind to her. They all linked hands now, two of them extended to her to complete their chain. She laughed as she moved through the rows of people, skipping along to the melody and grasping their hands. Fingers linked, they began to move along with the rest of the villagers, spinning round and round while the wind circled them, spinning with Petals and Pixies.