//------------------------------// // Falling Star // Story: The Joke is on Me // by StandardIssue //------------------------------// I have never felt such pain before. It felt as if all my flesh was being burnt off.Maybe because I was on fire, I don’t know how, but I had to stop this fire. Not knowing what to do, I began looking around, only seeing red hot flames. I was no longer standing, but I was somehow still moving, but where, I knew not. I was moved left and right, up and down, my very core felt as if it was being shifted by some unknown force. I saw nothing but the flames molting my skin and red all around me like some sick tunnel to hell. Sticking out my hand, I saw bones for my fingers and only charring flesh around my arms. Screaming as I clawed at my face for anything at all, not knowing what or how to fix this, I lost my sense of place and time. I lost sense of my place in time. I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was pain and fire. I eventually saw the end of my hell tunnel. My bones started to break and fracture, crumbling to dust. I couldn’t scream anymore, for I had no lungs to scream with. The end of the tunnel was not black or red, but a mixture of bright lights, similar a rainbow. I saw as the light went over my crumbling fingers, and then all my senses exploded into overdrive. All I could see now was the rainbow, feeling nothing and everything. I then heard a huge rush of sound blur everything out and…         A humanoid with a vulpine appearance and fire red fur sat down with a sigh on a beach to a lake. After a long day of fishing, he was finally done tying his boat down to shore. He looks up at the night sky and lays down. As he studies the stars, his friend, of similar appearance works on making a fire to cook their catch of the day. The first one sighs.         “I wonder what it’s like out there.” He states after some time of silence. The one working on the fire cursed at his luck, only having wet wood to work with. He snapped his fingers, and with a spark, the fire started to life. He gave a satisfied grunt and reached over for his knife and a fish.         “What was that, Jouir?”         The first one rolled over to look at his friend, resting his head. “Huh?” The one who started the fire started to gut the fish and put the meat on a stick, tossing the rest into a wooden basket. “You said something.” Jouir blinked for a second, then nodded. “Oh, I said I wonder what is out there. Don’t you ever wonder, Widdler?”  Widdler chuckled as he started to cook the fish on the end of his stick over the fire. “Out where, Jouir?” “Beyond the trees. Outside of Hidden Ash territory.”  Widdler simply sighed as he put the knife down and propped the cooking fish up so they wouldn’t require him holding them still. He then got up and walked close to the waters of the lake. “Quit it, you know it’s forbidden past those trees.” “You act like I don’t know this.” “Don’t go out there. You know what the elders say, ‘Only trouble awaits, and the destruction of our species.’” Jouir just sighs. “Come on. I need some help with the fish. We are falling behind.” Widdler walked back over to the fire as Jouir stared back at the stars. “I wish I could get a chance to go out there and explore.” “You will, if you pass the warriors training in a few years.” “If I don’t get stuck with gathering and fishing.” As Jouir studied the stars, he looked at the moon. ‘Goddess, could you please give me a chance to go out there. Even if it is just for a second.’   “Jouir. The Fish.” “Yes, uncle.” Jouir stood up and started to make his way to the fire. He took one last look out over the waters and to the woods across it. His gaze was then drawn to a brightly shining star. He stopped to look at it. It seemed to be getting brighter and bigger by the second. “Widdler, look.” He pointed to the star. “Why do you think that is happening?” Widdler looked up from his fire with annoyed grunt. Then he saw where his nephew was pointing. “What in the Lunar hell is that?” “Is it not a star?” Widdler shook his head. “I’ve not seen a star like that before, only when they fell…” The star gave a sharp curve down, and behind it trailed flames longer than any Widdler has seen in his life. “Jouir! Run!” Jouir couldn’t understand why he had to run. Widdler reached out and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Jouir!” Jouir didn’t budge however. He was transfixed on the falling star. Only when it got closer, did her realise it was headed right at them. Awe quickly turned to fear. He turned to run, tripping over the firepit in the process. Widdler reached down to pick him up, then saw how close the star was. The falling star was lighting up the whole area. He only had a few seconds left before it would touch down. He did the only thing he could. He jumped down to cover his nephew with his body. The star touched down in the water, turning the lake into a wave of steam. The steam scorched the surrounding area, badly burning Widdler. Widdler roared out in pain, but the blast easily drowned him out. It then ended as the steam wave was done. If Widdler hadn’t been covered him, Jouir would have died. Widdler coughed as a few embers left his lungs. “Goddess, I’m getting old.” He looked at his nephew. “Are you okay?” Jouir coughed under his uncle. “Yes…” Widdler smiled. “Good…” He then closed his eyes and sighed. He rolled to the side and flinched. He looked at his burns and sighed. Jouir got up and looked at the surrounding area. It was all burned by the steam. A good mile radius at least. Steam was still rising in multiple areas. Jouir crept towards the edge of the crater, where the lake used to be. He peered over the edge while his uncle called out. “What do you see…?” Jouir looked in the crater to see something small and red at the bottom. “I see something red!” Widdler nodded and coughed. “I am going to get a closer look!” Widdler mumbled something, but it wasn’t heard by Jouir. He started to descend into the crater. As he neared the object, he started to see it more clearly. He saw arms, legs and a tail. “It’s a person!” Jouir ran the person, and noticed what the were. It was one of his kind with soft features. “A girl!” Jouir reached out to touch her, not surprisingly, she was burning. He had to take her and Widdler in for medical attention. He reached down and lifted her up, trying not to think about the fact she was naked. He had a hard time carrying her up the crater, being  as scrawny as he was. “Uncle! It was a girl!” He saw his uncle and started heading towards him. Why wasn’t he talking? Jouir set her down on the ground and ran over to his uncle. “Uncle, did you hear me?” As he got to him, his uncle's eyes were closed. “Uncle…?” Jouir started to tear up. “No...No no no no.” He started to shake his shoulders. “Wake up. Uncle, wake up!” He gave his life for him. “Uncle!!!” I felt hot and sick. I was sweating and I was being carried. I tried to open my eyes, but was too weak to keep them open for long. Everything I heard was muffled and distorted. It was as if my brain had everything on distort and echoe. I opened my eyes to see a fox like face looking off somewhere. I closed my eyes and opened them again, finding myself on the ground all of a sudden and looking at stars in the night sky. My head rolled to the side and I seen something hunched down in the distance. I was then assaulted by what sounded like a distorted wail that echoed in my head. It hurt a lot. I closed my eyes again, tears forming. ‘Oh please, god. Make it stop.’ The pain was growing. It hurt to breathe. My body felt like molten lead.    I closed my eyes again. Everything was moving back and forth, as if I was floating in a stormy ocean within my own head. Opening my eyes again, I was being carried again. I saw the tops of trees and heads of more fox creatures.. Every motion I saw had a blur to it, and it was making me sick. I heard nothing but shouting and yelling. “....She….*words ran together*....Wake up….fire….” I opened my eyes up to being carried by a single fox. He was not moving, only talking in a language I couldn’t understand. He looked upset. I closed my eyes again. What is going on? Where was I? I opened my eyes again and things were in better focus. My view cleared only by a margin, but I was able to make things out more easily. I was in some sort of hut. My hearing was almost back to normal, now that I can actually hear the sounds of talking and shuffling around. I tried to sit up, but grunt in pain as my body refused to move. A wet rag was placed on my head,It was refreshing, and cool against my skin, though didn't help as much as I would have liked. A soothing voice, like silk, then spoke to me. “Shhhh. Lay back down. You shouldn’t move. I am surprised you’re still alive.” She chuckled a second, which made my head throb. “Oh, listen to me ramble. Rest up.” She went about wetting rags and putting them on me. I just laid back and looked at the ceiling. It was made of straw and wood. The next time I opened my eyes, everything was crystal clear. My hearing was at least, from what I could tell at the moment. The first things that came to me where the sounds. It sounded like a fishing town. How would I know what one sounds like? The movies. But, I was confused. Something was missing. Voices and talking, things moving around and all. Yet, something was odd about this place, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I slowly opened an eye, at first being blinded by the light, but getting used to it in time. I saw the ceiling again, this time, the straw stood out to me. “Where am I…?”  I attempted to lift my arms, and to my surprise, they weren’t bound down to keep me in place. They felt… lighter than usual. Like, several pounds lighter. That was definitely weird. Bringing them up to my line of sight, I blinked in surprise. My arms were black upt to my elbows, then red the rest of the way. They were also furry, like completely covered. Small too. This was not my arm. These are not my arms. I quickly sat up and the sudden rush gave me a headache and made me dizzy, but I chose to ignore it. My legs were the same. Red furred with black tips, and somehow smaller. I looked over to a third thing by my legs. Were those tails?! They moved back and forth, and I somehow knew that I was controlling them. I had three tails! “What is going on?!” I cringed and my ears went flat. My ears were changed as well. My voice was oddly enough too high and soft for my liking. “No…” I looked around for a mirror. I found one and I ran to it, my chest bouncing during the process. Not thinking about it. I knocked over some small tables and chairs, stubbing my toes in the process. When I got to the mirror, I froze. I looked like one of them. The fox things. I had shoulder length red hair, purple eyes, and was shorter and smaller than my old self. I was definitely not a guy anymore.... My legs went shaky, my head went dizzy. I don’t remember hitting the ground.