The Gorm groaned and twitched his ears as he followed after his excited friend up the hill. "How did I let him convince me of doing this?“ He asked himself, though he already knew the answer to that.
Kaz looked back over to Zane, grinning with excitement. "We still have some way to go, but there’s still some time before sunrise. We’re making good time!”
“Five in the morning is hardly a ‘good time’ for anything, on Swog, Techkanis 9 or on Union.” Zane said, letting out a tired-sounding huff as he looked up; it was the early morning hours, so the sky was still dark with a dark purple overcast.
Kaz let out a sheepish laugh, “W-well…the fresh air is nice! It’ll do us some good!”
“I don’t need fresh air, I need tools.” Zane remarked, rubbing his face. "I could be working on things.“
"You can’t stay cooped up in your workshop all the time!” Kaz said, pausing for a moment to let Zane catch up with him before they continued along the trail up the hill and started to walk into a grassy field.
“This is a nice change!” Kaz said, still smiling wide. "We don’t get to visit Union a lot, and this time we actually get to see the Dawn Fields! This’ll be so worth the trip!“
Zane huffed quietly, "Nothing at 5 am is worth it.”
As he was grumbling, the two didn’t notice the extra sound of shuffling grass moving towards them. A pair of white and purple ears were poking out from the tall grass with a quiet “Baaam-dum. Baaa-dum.” as they moved closer.
Zane started to yawn out a bit, but that was when a small figure hopped out of the grass right in front of him, actually reaching his head. "Hiya Zappybork!“
"GAH!” Zane yelped, stumbling backwards a bit, waving his arms to try and keep him on balance.
Kaz spun around in surprise, “Saturn!” He cried out, “You made it!”
“Of course I did, silly!” The bunny said, hopping up again. "I wouldn’t want to miss this with you guys!“
Zane grumbled louder again, "Uuugh…nice to see you too.” He said, rubbing his head. "Did you have to scare the wits out of me like that? I don’t need to start my day off with a jump-start like that!“
Saturn giggled, sticking her tongue out at him. "But it’s fun, Nyoomi~!”
The Gorm sighed, “Ask a silly question…”
The bunny smiled and giggled before she rushed over to Kaz. "We better hurry though, it’s getting close to sunrise! Don’t want to miss it when we’re this close!“
Kaz nodded and he turned back. "Come on Zane! We’re almost there!”
“Okay, okay…” Zane sighed, watching the two start off again ahead of him before he started to follow after them again.
The sky was starting to lighten up, the dark purple starting to grow into a lighter blue. The dark clouds were starting to spread out, allowing more light to start coming through.
The trio moved through the fields until they came to the top of the hill. "Here we are!“ Saturn said, smiling wide. "And just in time!”
Kaz smiled, looking over the field. "Oh wow!“ He said, "This is a lot wider than I thought!” He smiled, “Oh boy, this is gonna be amazing!”
Zane caught up with them, letting out a tired huff before he looked down. "Huh, doesn’t look like we’re alone here.“
Kaz looked down as well, noticing that some others had gathered as well. It wasn’t a huge group thankfully; a collection of Alliance races as well as some aliens. He was able to see a few recognizable faces as well. "Are they here for the dawn as well?”
“Of course!” Saturn smiled, “It’s not every day something like this happens! Some of us wanted to share that moment together!”
Kaz twitched his ears a little at that; the idea did make him feel a little anxious, but he smiled; the idea of so many being here with them to watch this was a nice feeling. “That…that’s really nice of them.”
Saturn giggled before she turned, “Hey look! The sun’s coming up!”
Over the horizon, the first fiery blazes of the sun started to appear. The clouds overhead were all but gone and the sky started to warm up, the dark purple and blue shifting to warmer tones of red and yellow. The sun started to climb up higher, shining it’s light down over the hill and spilling into the open field ahead of them.
It took a few moments, but soon the flowers started to bloom. A wave of color started to wash over the area, covering the dark grass with an explosion of red, yellow and orange blossoms, filling the field with the colors of the dawn.
Everyone was quiet for a moment before there were the murmurs of wonder and excitement, watching the field come to life.
Zane and Saturn stood next to Kaz as the Needlix looked on in amazement, tears filling his eyes as his smiled as brightly as the field. "This…is amazing!“
Saturn giggled as Zane stayed quiet for a moment before he nodded. "That sure is pretty.”
Time felt indifferent as everyone was caught in the moment, but soon the sun was high in the sky, warming up the area and drying up the last of the evening dew. The sky was a bright blue with only a few scattered clouds in the sky floating by.
Some of watchers on the hill started to pack up to leave, but just as many seemed intent on staying, including Kaz and Zane. They found a nice spot by the trees to sit down and relax, seeming intent to just camp out there for the whole day.
“Are you going to hang around too, Sat?” Kaz asked as he sat his backpack down.
The bunny nodded, “Sure! Came all the way out here, think it will be cool to make the most of it!” She walked over and sat down, taking off her own backpack. “I’m sure others will be coming by as well to check out the sight and pay us a visit.”
“O-oh, right.” Kaz let out his nervous laugh again before looking over to Zane. "See? Wasn’t that worth it?“
Zane yawned a little. "It was really a sight.” He admitted, “But…if we intend to stay out here for the rest of the day, then I may as well relax and rest.” He finally sat his own backpack down. “I think a nap is in order, and that rock looks like a good pillow.”
“Aw, Nyoomi’s all tuckered out.” Sat giggled.
Zane huffed, “Not all of us like getting up at crazy hours in the morning.” He said as he sat down, relaxing against the tree.
The rest of the day went by, the trio staying at their spot as others came by to visit the field as well as the others. Many familiar faces came by to greet them and enjoy the sight of the radiant field before them.
While Kaz was nervous with the number of people that came by, he still enjoyed it as they chatted and hung out, sometimes his attention going over to flower field as the wind blew through, causing ripples to make the flowers dance.
Eventually, the day worn down and dusk had come. The sun was slowly sinking into the other horizon and the area started to darken. The last rays of the sun sent streaks of color across the sky as stars started to appear, twinkling in the night sky.
Slowly, he field started to change with the sky, the brilliant colors slowly fading as the flowers closed up, and a wave of blue and purple started to wash over the field.
Zane and Kaz sat by the tree, watching the whole scene before them and watching as the stars soon filled the sky in a speckled display.
Now it was the Needlix’s turn to start yawning as he laid back, looking at the scene while his Gorm friend watched the starry skies.
Kaz twitched his ears and he looked over. “Huh? What was that?”
Zane laughed, “I said you were right. This was worth it.”
Kaz smiled wide and nodded. “Yeah!” He paused before he he spoke up again, “Thank you for coming along.”
He smiled, “Of course buddy.”
This story is dedicated to Ashley “Yark” Foster.
Thank you for being a great friend and an amazing inspiration. I will never forget you.