[b]Seralaea Conjures the Storms & Commands Down the Rain![/b] [i]~ The Epic Story ~[/i] In the [b]Dimension SenZ[/b], his home-world and that too of his mysterious assistant [b]Seralaea the White Rabbit[/b], times of late have been exceptionally dry. A weeks-long drought has parched that normally idyllic, green realm... its flora now brown and begging for the precious life-water. Grasses and crops resemble dried hay and lifeless straw. In rare view the mysterious man and Master himself, [b]C. SenZontova[/b], finally acts on the dire situation. In silent desperation, he authorizes their most esteemed female denizen and second in command, Seralaea Rabbit, to perform the [b]"Rain Ritual"[/b], also sometimes affectionately called the "Rain Song". It is a legendary ritual, a spectacle very rare to witness, especially when performed by a master. Their atmosphere has somewhat a will and power of its own. It can respond to the Rain Ritual only under specific circumstances, and in a way can respond as it pleases to the “worthiness” of the performer. Over many years, countless have attempted to perform it both insincerely and sincerely, with little to no result. Thus, it must be performed absolutely without flaw, and sparingly. Such a ritual requires intense concentration, effort and passion at every single step. Nigh a single move nor word can be performed incorrectly. Even the slightest mistake would require the ritual song and dance to be completely restarted from the beginning. This, compounded with the great length of the act, makes it nearly impossible to memorize and pull off for a non-master. Seralaea is one of very few privileged beings to know the entire song and dance to conjure the rain, among only a small handful of individuals in their entire realm who have ever truly mastered it, and one of even fewer active practicers. It's a very protected seance, for obvious reasons. Magical in many ways. SenZ himself knows the ritual in full (among many other esoteric and mystical things) having taught it personally to Sera after many practice sessions despite that he strongly prefers not to perform it anymore, himself being so overly busy and reclusive these days. Considering that the song and dance is also quite feminine in its nature and technique, this too adds to his reluctance to perform it himself. But now, it was needed desperately. [b]The time had come.[/b] Outside on the brown parched "Grand Lawns" of the classical brick and stone mansion known well as [b]Haus SenZ[/b], Sera stretches her body, clears her singing voice, stands tall and prepares to perform the ritual before the many onlookers who’d heard via spreading sources. Today would be THE long-awaited [b]Day of Storms[/b] — a red letter day — and this is only Sera’s third time ever attempting it, her previous two attempts having been several years ago while still learning with support from SenZ. Sera selects a large open space on the lawn with plenty of room to move around, away from the many statues, sculptures, art and (dry) flora. All eyes, including that of SenZ, were on Seralaea. Confident and intelligent as she is (and sometimes even a bit sassy) even she felt nervous now, and her heartrate was already climbing. This was her moment. The crowd was instructed to keep back, stand still, and be totally silent for the act. “Let her concentrate folks!” the groundskeepers relayed multiple times, as instructed by SenZ. You could almost hear a needle drop once everyone settled down, with both young and old onlookers alike watching on eagerly. Up on the balcony under partial shade from the relentless sun, SenZ looked at his mechanical timepiece and pushed the “set” pin. High noon. From the distance, he nodded her to begin, and watched with great focus. Sera couldn’t quite discern his exact facial expression from that far, but acknowledged his official go-ahead. Under the blazing sunlight with bare feet planted on the soft brown grass, Sera lifts her right foot and begins the first move and verse, arms and legs gracefully in flair. Her curvaceous, white-furred body twists and twirls as she carries out each memorized act, singing the beautiful yet cryptic aria built upon words and meanings that even she did not fully comprehend. A tongue like Latin yet different, unknown even to her high intellect. Her form was breathtaking. As she danced and sung masterfully without misstep, she had a few of the onlookers more than interested, some even slightly [i]aroused[/i] at her underboob and even a few glimpses of what her (very) short skirt failed to obscure in swings of motion. In her defense, it was very hot that day, and she required garments that would allow utmost freedom of movement for the dance. Wardrobe discomfort could not be tolerated for such a complex performance! With word and interest now spreading further, ever a larger crowd of denizens continues amassing to witness the great spectacle of the Rain Song performed by the lovely and highly-revered Seralaea Rabbit. The hour advancing well into the act, and noticing her growing tired, the thirsty crowds which had gathered in front of the opulent mansion begin to cheer Sera on. Attempts at silencing the crowd were made to no avail. Under the sun and with increasing fanfare, they begin to sing after her and cheer in unison, somehow bolstering the effect. Noticing this while trying even harder to concentrate, she felt a sudden surge of confidence by her supporters, and picked up speed and intensity!! Many including SenZ himself became increasingly nervous that all this cheering and support, while genuine and heartfelt, could distract her and botch a move or verse, spoiling the entire ritual. The risk was huge. SenZ and the keepers of the manor tried again to silence the crowd without making too much of a distracting scene, but it was of no use. The singing and chanting from the massive crowd could not be tamed, now audible from miles away. Sera was on-the-spot and the direct center of attention perhaps more than ever before in her entire life — not only attention from all the crowds and SenZ, but now the atmosphere itself! And she was now approaching the end and most complex segments of the performance. By this point, the ritual had been going on a long time, and Sera was starting to feel very weary. Still exerting each move and word with grace, and with crowds chanting and moving side-to-side in dance, just then thunderclouds begin to seed and twirl above and in all directions, radiating out from dizzying altitudes thousands of feet above the lawns of the mansion! Within minutes, a massive grey dome of cloud cover spans to the yellow-orange horizon, almost as far as the eye could see. It was starting to work! The denizens’ faces turn to awe as they see the atmosphere respond. It's a very rare spectacle to witness. And when performed by such a lovely female, it only makes it that much more glorious. Perhaps the atmosphere was responding positively to Sera's beauty and the support she felt, in a way. Starting light gray, the skies above hastily dim to a dark steel gray. A circular vortex slowly forms directly high above Sera. The Sun of their dimension becomes obscured by the cloud cover. Soft thunder now whispers. Everyone is now fully enchanted by the dance and some were become speechless as they look up in awe at the atmosphere's building response. The effect grows and grows. Piling up astoundingly and unnaturally fast, the cloud-seeding in the atmosphere was now in full swing by the ritual. Heavy thunderclouds tower up into the heavens like floating mountains of cotton, tens of thousands of feet into the sky. A growing humidity is felt even at the surface. Sounds of strong thunder now transmit across the lands, reverberating like echoes. [b]The ultimate act of the exhaustingly long performance arrives — this is that critical moment for Sera to deliver the final song verse with her best, most heavenly voice! This instant will “lock in” and amplify the atmosphere’s acceptance, and approaches in a matter of only seconds now.[/b] Everyone is fixated on Sera and the sky all at once, eyes shifting rapidly between her and the skies as the make-or-break stage arrives. It’s a nail-biting moment! Seeing the crowds old and young alike so dependent on this moment for their livelihood, particularly the young ones and with little room to lose focus, Sera fleetingly reflects on how much was riding on her success at this moment. The crops and flora were on the edge of life. If she failed, she would not have the energy or the concentration to restart for days, and there was no guarantee she’d achieve it then either. She’d never forgive herself, and while she knew SenZ would always still rely on her, she worried his disappointment might not only be in her, but in himself too. Realizing all of this, a final intense spark of emotion and energy suddenly clicked in her mind, body, and soul. [b]“I cannot fail, I will NOT fail! RAIN, I COMMAND THEE DOWN!!!”[/b] flashed silently across her mind as she powerfully shifted into that very last, ultimate move. [b]With peak surge of passion and power she delivers an extended cry of the final cryptic word at the very top of her voice, reaches open-handed as high as her arm muscles could stretch, quickly clenching a fist and pulls down abruptly, as if grabbing all the rain in the heavens high above and yanking it down to the planet with almost goddess-like authority — a Herculean pull! “NOW!!!!!”[/b] [i][b]*Ka-CrAaAcK ....... BOOM!!!*[/b][/i] In near-perfect unison with her final sung word and move of hand, a vertical bolt of blue lightning launches down from the clouds and strikes somewhere on the nearby horizon! Sera had nailed it. One of the most, if not perhaps THE most, passionately delivered iterations ever performed of the ritual. The cheering-on from the crowd had boosted her vigor in those final acts. Sera nearly passed out, brought to her knees on the brown grass in exhaustion, pausing and panting to catch her breath. The ritual took a great physical and mental toll on her, requiring just about all the energy and concentration she could possibly muster! Powering through that final verse proved one of the hardest tests she ever pulled off. There is a slight pause with untold anticipation... [i]In that final pivotal moment, Sera thought perhaps that she briefly felt some form of pullback or resistance from the skies above, as if making her fight for the privilege of rain? She wondered.[/i] Still kneeling and catching her breath, she looks up with a slight smile, knowing that she did it. For a moment, she felt tears beginning to form in her eyes, yet tears of joy. The skies now fully dark following the lightning strike, with the cloud dome spread farther than eyes could see, thunder grows more frequent and at long last rain drops begin to reach the ground, blessing the browned grasses of the manor. Increasing in intensity, a heavy rain sets in. Before long, it became a downpour! And it carried on, and on, and on.... with thunder abounding. [b]SUCCESS!!![/b] With euphoria, many of the denizens run out into the lawns and begin to dance elatedly in the rainwater, some surrounding and hugging Sera (who is usually to be approached with respect, but lenience was given today). No one minded if their clothes got wet! SenZ is incredibly relieved. Trying to maintain his stoic countenance, he silently reaches out from the stone grand balcony high above, feeling the rain drops pelt his shirt-cuffs in increasing intensity. Even the smell of the rain is delightful. He nods with a slight smile at Sera and begins applauding her — a [i]very[/i] rare gesture from him — perhaps with an internal surprise at just how gloriously she nailed it. Regaining some of her energy, Sera looks up and winks back at him from a distance, fully knowing she had bolstered his favoritism yet again, and with her own internal sense of relief that the long dry spell had finally ended. Looking around to take it all in with the crowds dancing in the rain, she embraces it soaking her face, white fur and garments. It was a cause for grand celebration, meaning many “rain parties” would undoubtedly be had this afternoon and well into the evening! Her orange-tinted lenses fogged up from the humidity and unable to see past the rain beads, she pushes them up revealing her ultramarine-blue eyes. With white fur and revealing garments completely soaked, those bun-bun nipples became quite hard and prominent under the wet fabric, but that's OK — it was well worth it! The denizens were now too distracted in rejoice, and with sheets of heavy rain obscuring vision, not too many were still fixated on her revealing features at this moment :) A great hope washed over their world. The plants and crops of Solanaceae for which Sera was loosely named after, and a great favorite of the realm among many other species, would have their thirst quenched at last. All flora and crops would finally recover. Hopefully it would be a long time before the Rain Ritual would need to be performed again, if ever! [i]~ A short story by SenZontova[/i]