[Folk] Forest Kindling

Folk had always had an interest in fire but kept putting off their safety training for quite a while. With permission from various other isos, they often came around their fires to start practicing their shadow puppets, a passion they only really shared with Noble at the time. Many afternoons have been spent with them building frames of leaf and branch followed by angling towards the sun just right, all to show him a simple show they came up with over the past few weeks.

Recently, upon noticing several fellow isomaras in a state of unrest, Folk looked around to see if there was anyone they could possibly ask for information. Surprisingly, Darwin was here for a delivery but was looking a bit miffed whilst speaking to a fellow villager. After a brief chat, Darwin took off to his next delivery quite swiftly.

Folk waltzed up to the other isomara, a very colorful gal sporting bright purple and a rainbow hairstyle.

"Excuse me miss, may I asked what you were chatting with Darwin about? He was looking rather upset, which isn't very like him," Folk asked, coming to a stop at her side. The purple isomara turned a bit surprised to see anyone behind her.

"Oh hello," she greeted. "Yes I was just telling Darwin about an incident involving that troublemaker. Have you not heard the news?"

Honestly? Folk can't say they have. Despite being fairly friendly, similarly to Noble they're a bit of a recluse, spending most of their time away from others in favor of self fulfilling work or alone time. Being an artist aids itself well to their personality, leaving them to create during most of their waking hours rather than out playing or conversing with their neighbors.

"Well, there's been a troublesome isomara afoot. He's been ruining people's tools and fires, among other things. Recently, my neighbor ran into him, and his large tail threw sand over the fire they were cooking boar bites over. Thankfully the food still came out well, he brought some over to me to share," she shared.

Folk was surprised to hear this. Fire is still fairly new, but ever since it's discovery no one has caused a fuss quite like this before. Even Noble, who is incredibly old fashioned, wouldn't dare to cause these kinds of problems for others.

"How peculiar. Miss, who is your neighbor? And also, if I may ask what is your name?" asked Folk.

"Oh I apologize, my name is Gum!" She stated, perking right up. She was quite tall Folk noticed, not unusually so but certainly pushing the upper natural limit.

"Thank you Gum, I'd just like to ask around for more details. Hopefully I can catch up to Darwin and ask him how to help out," Folk replied.

"Oh good luck, a lot of us have only caught glimpses. I'm not sure if the individual is violent, so be careful persuing them," Gum replied.

Waving goodbye, Folk set off to speak to Gum's neighbor. The conversation with the neighbor proved to be quite fruitful, ending with them giving Folk a copy of the crude drawing rendition Darwin apparently passed out a few days ago. The troublemaker was honestly quite pretty, judging by the rendition, though Folk couldn't tell where his tail started or ended. No matter, they'll have to catch up to Darwin and have a chat about how they can help out.  In the mean time, they decided to head home.

While at home the next day, Folk spent a fair amount of time debating what could possibly be done. They didn't own any tools, and didn't have any interest in new inventions, neither the knowledge to go about trying to create them. Noble, who they were spending their day with, decided to give a suggestion they wouldnt have expected from him.

"Fire seems to be a common denominator with this individual. Perhaps, try asking about that?" Noble stated bluntly, his usual gruff and grumble in his voice. He lay behind them, large body bordering around Folk's much smaller one. Shocked, Folk simply stared at him a moment before he lifted his heavy neck to look down at them.

"I'm not saying make this a common occurence, not without proper training," he started. "But fire was something I know you've always held interest in for your puppeting. Try asking, they might let you with the situation at hand," and he lay back down, as if nothing had changed. Folk decided they'd try to get ahold of Darwin before they try. Darwin isn't any form of authority over this in particular, but he may guide them towards who they could ask.

Locating Darwin was simply a matter of running into him. Being as busy as he is with deliveries, attempting to follow Darwin is a futile pursuit. Waiting for Darwin on the other hand, that's more likely to happen between deliviries. In the coming days, Darwin of course came back through to make his usual deliveries. Folk spotted him as he was looking for a home nearby, and managed to ask a burning question: if they could practice fire to help lure this isomara from hiding. Though it took some time to ponder, he stated it should be fine so long as it was cleared with anyone nearby. Most of the village was aware of the recent problem, so gaining everyone's permission didn't take too much convincing. Folk would have to thank everyone later when things have calmed down.

After consulting a more experienced isomara for aid, Folk was left in a secluded spot with a pile of kindling slowly increasing in size. Dry leaves, old sticks, and a hole of dirt to keep it contained. When Folk pointed out concerns of the grass surrounding, the experienced isomara stated that the grass is harder to burn when it isn't dried out. Worries soothed, Folk was left to tend to the fire, waiting for the local unwanted guest to arrive.

Taken by the beauty of the flame, Folk didn't realize that something, or someone, was beginning to speed towards them from the air.

Submitted By Jharicot for Coax the Sabotuer
Submitted: 1 day and 15 hours ago ・ Last Updated: 1 day and 14 hours ago