Back in the room we were preparing for the trip to the great burning field. The main attraction of this event was how the fire changed colors from blue going through the spectrum until it turns white at night. Its in a natural crater form by a meteorite creating mountain range that is used to look over at it. The area is uniquely dry and oily so the fire burns all year round .even in a bitter winter. All these things came together making it quiet the unique site to behold for a group of friends.

The guys back at the Artificer workshop were nice enough to make a few things for me. What they created was a huge refrigerator , the installed a bathroom, a shower , and even went as far as to fill my closet with cloth and equipment .Making a effort i wound up personally thanking them when i got back.

The bookbag that i was currently stuffing my necessities into was sturdy and all black it seemed very practical. Done and done everything we needed was packed.

"Okay im ready "i said strapping the bag to myself.

It was slightly heavy but nothing to much to handle .Adjusting the backpack strap i checked to make sure i had everything one more time.

"So you ready?"

"yeah" i said walking out the door.

Jumping through the opening we made it to the great outdoors. We were headed down south, going into a mountainous area .Up there its a lot colder so there was a bigger chance that we would get snow, hopefully we wouldn't encounter trouble and it would be a smooth trip. Life never goes as planned so i prepared for some trouble.

"You sure you know where you're going "Gwen asked walking beside me

"i've been there a few times in the summer with my clan back in the day, so im familiar with the path"

"we should be hundreds of miles away from your old clan though"

I don't think i could forget the way to the great burning field in my view it was an amazing site, somethings you just remember

"we're actually closer to it now then back at my clan if I've been surveying the area correctly"

From the planetary base i think we should be 100km or so away from the mountain entrance, 50km later we should be at the crater .It didn't take long before we were at the forest starting, i had to remind myself that this was a a vacation to allow myself to relax.

"how close are we?" Ezra asked me

So soon? i thought questions like that were reserved for at least being a few hours in.

"well were about 150- 200km from the field "

"that's it? we could reach that today if we wanted too"

"true but why not take it slow there's no real rush, you have to learn to loosen up. "

Chirp Chirp

Walking through the forest we saw a a lot of the wild life mostly just greenbirds and critters ,with a few snakes but every now and then the occasional canine.

"ahhh nothing like the wind on my face and sounds of birds" i said while putting my hands on my head. Buck gave a neighing sound in agreeance ,but i could tell girls weren't sold on it.

"Its.. ok i just want to see the oil field" Gwen interjected

"Great burning field" I corrected "it looks great's too "

after 20km of walking it was starting to get dark

"Hey its pretty late do you want to set up camp? Gwen said

Ever since I've started training overtime I've noticed that i just didn't get worn out as easily, this whole trip i haven't broken a sweat.

"haha no I'm fine thanks, if anything i was going to ask if you guys wanted to continue our hike through the night"

Looking over at buck i made sure to get a good idea of his condition. He seemed fine and just as energetic as ever .I could attribute that to him being a wild animal, the moment that he starts to wane is when we'll settle down.

"sure thing" Gwen said

We walked for about 20km more and buck started to give in to exhaustion. I was satisfied with the progress made , the trail so far had been uneventful but that was what we needed on a journey like this. Finding a small clearing just big enough to accommodate our group I began laying the tent .Me and Gwen was busy clearing out the surroundings, while Ezra was busy setting up the fire. Bucks masterful role was arguably the most important as he sat there chewing on grass. Within a few minutes of us all cooperating everything was set into place .We all gathered around the camp fire.

I was sitting on a log alone while the girls shared a dozing Buck as their own self warming couch

"That wasn't so bad was it, you saw some new things" i started the conversation off

"No actually it was quite pleasant, aside from all the leaf crunching the path was very calm"

I was surprised to here Ezra be the first one to show her support of the trip, but i was glad to hear it.

"yeah that's the intention, who knows maybe you'll become a nature lover"

"Doubt it, but this wasn't that bad" She replied

" how much longer till we reach the mountains" Gwen asked

"1 and a half days if we stroll, by tomorrow if we rush"

" mhh closer then i thought, so far my view of this has been overall neutral... just wish something would attack us"

You can take the person out of the fight but can take the fight out of the person. I seriously started to wonder if the only thing she thought about was beating something to a pulp.

"most animals tend to avoid large groups of people unless their insanely hungry," i let her know

"well that sucks" she said as she kicked back

I'm glad at least the animals in the area had some sense to avoid conflict with us, it was for their own safety at this point.

Ezra seemed content to lay with Buck apparently she was mesmerized by his heartbeat .Gwen was pestering me through out the night to battle, in which i finally gave in and we did a few hours of combat. Afterword's i forced myself to sleep because this is when things got a little tricky.

Waking up mostly everyone was up but Buck... not that they could sleep anyway.

Once again we began our group tourism through the forest

"over here is the yeamatis flower they have a symbiotic relationship with scavenger bees and over here are some scavenger bees... don't get to close they have a nasty bite"

I was busy explaining our environment as we were leisurely making our way to the mountains. rinse and repeat yesterdays experience and before we knew it it was night time again.

"you really know about a lot about the surrounding area"

"yeah before i became a soon to be intergalactic VIP , i spent practically all my time in the forest. This knowledge was necessary to stop myself from eating the wrong things or being eaten myself"

"sounds rough" said Ezra

"all things in life have there ups and downs, this was the same"

"You know... i think I've come to a realization" Gwen said mysteriously

" oh and that is?" i asked , it was not often Gwen came to a introspection

"uhh ill tell you when we reached the field"

"lame" i shouted but that was just all the more reason i wanted to go now

Buck got up and started slamming his feet on the ground towards the darkness. Normally i would take it as playful behavior but i could tell just by his energy that it was something more serious.

"what's wrong Buck "i called

Suddenly we heard something rustle the bushes catching our attention

Gwen was the first to stand up "fight time?" she said with a expression like she's been waiting on this.

A large brown furry carnivore made its way out of the bushes with snarling teeth. It looked like dire bear in the prime of its life, it was either attracted by the scent of food cooking or Bucks scent. Either way i felt bad for what was about to happen to it.

"FIGHT TIME" this time Gwen said in a more pronounced manner, making the bear focus on her

I guess she didn't get that tired of violence for her to act like this. The bear did what was supposed to be an intimidating roar that only seemed to work on Buck , on his would be attacker it had the opposite effect

"ugh so noisy get rid of it will you" Ezra said

"with pleasure" she said as she started to wrestle with the 900 pound predator for dominance

i just said a prayer in my for the bears newly acquired damaged pride, maybe it would serve as a lesson .In less then a few minutes Gwen already was making it say uncle in bear language.

sucking her teeth she said "dude why be so big if your going to be so soft" along with a dozen or so insults

I'm glad he couldn't understand her talking smack, it was his one and only saving grace. Once Gwen let go of his death hold, he initiated plan haul ass and got out of here .Walking up to Gwen and giving her a Nussle Buck looked like he had seen a god .I guess power was respected in all species. The little bout had inspired her to beg me for more fighting. This was suppose to be a battle free trip but it couldn't be helped .We walked a few feet away from the main group leaving Ezra in charge of Bucks safety and had at it. In reality it was just me getting beat a bunch, but ehh nothing out of the norm .With that being done this i decided it was time to count some sheep and go to sleep.

The morning was bright and beautiful as always but this time i was given a surprise. Snow

looking up i could see the snowflakes falling from the clouded sky.It gave me extra drive to reach the burning field. On the mountain i predicted that it was already blanketed with snow while it just started to reach the bottom area. I honest couldn't wait to see to such a contrast of a everlasting fire field surrounded by pure white snow untouched by anyone. I might even ask one of the girls to take a picture , which was probably useless since they were always recording anyway but this one would be special.

"Ahh the snows feels great , this is a sign were getting close" i exclaimed

They simply nodded their heads eager to continue our path once again.

4Hours of walking later we reached the base of the mountain .The mountain in view was a huge Dome mountain with a crater in the center, from the sides it didn't seem like that but that was only because of our point of view. There was a clear cut path that circled the geological phenomena getting higher and higher until we were at the top. Baby steps we would get there eventually.

"so is this the right mountain, where is the fire?"

"Its in the center, trust me we'll get there."

"Lets rush this time around... i don't want to came on the side of a mountain it would be too dangerous for buck, plus i want to reach the top before the sunset"

That was reasonable, so i couldn't argue

"Alright" was all i said

The four of us began moving up the mountain at a faster pace then originally planed .we were going to pick Buck up , but the elk seemed perfectly comfortable navigating the steep terrain of the mountain pass. It made sense in nature most spearhead elk were know to be mountain lovers so i didn't give it much thought. I had to admit the dude was fast , sometimes it was hard to remember he was a newborn.

After a few boulders, and some mountain lions we made it to the top without too much issue. The air was colder and thinner adding a slight layer of fog to the overall surroundings .The top was absolutely jam packed with snow under every footstep. All this served to make the scenery look more mystical.

"Were here!" i didn't shout because that could trigger a avalanche

"mhh looks ok now where's the field"

so impatient but that was understandable, it was the main event after all

"follow me"

Taking the lead i walked a few steps inwards tracing the path i would take if i was with my clan. Two minutes later

"Stop... Look down"

Looking down was a meadow of fire for as far as the eye could see. It was just beginning to become sunset so we arrive at the perfect time.

"Oh wow its gigantic" Ezra

"Yea its like looking at grass but in fire form"

I was glad they seemed to like it so far, even buck seemed to appreciate the pretty lights

"The best part is just about to start"

"you really weren't kidding" Gwen replied back.

Gwen walked directly over the cliff sitting right on edge with her foot dangling over the sides .The only thing separating her from falling thousands of feet into a fiery grave was he metallic hiney. Motioning us to sit by her she presented herself as if wasn't fearful of falling in the slightest. She really was adventurous, i would usually watch at a safe distance. Taking my seat of doom right between her and Ezra ,i could feel the left over heat permeated from the wonder below. From this angle i got a clear view of everything.

This was one of those moments were the silence was loud, everything was stunning. the sky had a pinkish orange hue to it and the sun looked like it was setting directly above us .While the flames had changes from light blue to light yellow. Funny part is some of the fire was slower to react to the changes in light lagging behind. Resulting in a mix of blue ,yellow and some white. That in combined with the snow and fog made the seen just so ... so

"enchanting ,that's the word you were looking for" She said smugly while leaning into me.

I loved her sometimes arrogant but playful attitude she just didn't understand

"Remember what i said earlier" Gwen was feeling talkative

"About something you understood?" i asked

"Yes"

"what was it?"

I could tell she had been thinking about this for a while , lets see what she had to say

"... this world is breathtaking... and i think it needs to be protected"

Woah full hippie mode Gwen? Lets see her reasoning

"oh yeah why do you say that"

At this time nighttime had fully set in so below and in front of us was a sea of white dancing flames and a speckled star filled sky stood above us.

"When we started this journey i only went because you wanted to. The first day ill be honest i didn't like it there was no action and it felt like a waste of valuable time. It was only till the second day did i realize that you wanted us to become more acquainted with our surrounding's and through that lenses my appreciation of the little things started to grow. Things like the grass, small insects, the bear, the mountain. Everything in the world is interconnected from the biggest to the smallest creating a living thing in and of itself. We are part of this world and every world for that matter, and its a part of us"

"That ... was incredibly intelligent" I mentioned accompanied with a few heartfelt kisses

"what about me " i heard Ezra cry out so i made sure to show her plenty of affection as well .Bucks face managed to find his way next to my face, was he expecting some kisses too? Well if he asks for them i gave him a few smooches on the forehead.

Before i forget

"Hey can you take a picture? i want to have a physical copy for my room"

"How sentimental, done" Ezra said

"i took one too just incase you want another angle"

Something about tonight was special, i couldn't put my finger on it but i didn't need to. When our shenanigans were over we all peacefully watched the blazing lake of fire together.