Anisa's nap didn't last as long as she would have liked, for indeed there was a brief surge of customers to attend to after the parade. The Tavern emptied out quickly as evening approached, however, as its patronage left to find good spots for watching the fireworks – usually a rooftop or other open area.

The Snowshoes were given a different option: Spring Meadow invited them to watch from the old Collegia Esoterica campus itself, from where the fireworks would be launched. While Quinn and Bessy stayed behind with the baby, and Tyson had other plans, the rest of the family – including Abram and Beatrice – decided to tag along.

Benches and folding chairs had been set out around the area where the Fire and Chaos rituals were already well under way, and the surrounding lawns had been covered by blankets and towels for people to lay back on as well.

Beatrice and Abram opted for seats on a bench, with little Petal sitting in her grandmother's lap. Ranit took Coal to one of the blankets, happy to spend a bit of free time with his son, and Spring Meadow pointed to another blanket where Aaron was waving at them from.

Anisa lies back on the blanket as she waits for the show to start. The doe rubs at one of her ears, still damp from the quick scrubbing she gave her noggin. "This is the best place to watch from; we'll get to see it all from here!"

"Wow, this should be great!" Benjamin exclaims, as he plops himself down next to Anisa. Royce and Meadow drag another blanket closer, and sit on that one, so that they're between Benjamin and Ranit, more or less.

The white doe nods to her little brother. "Let's just hope Hotfoot keeps his cool, so to speak." She grins playfully, taking out her brush and starting in on her ears. "But seriously, after what he did at the carnival earlier, I bet he'll be great."

The closest ritual circle is being tended to by Xander and the mage he referred to earlier as Kelsey. It's an odd sight, given the normally sedate practice of magic that most people expect. The Lapi – and, well, Poodle, apparently, but with an odd fur-styling – dance and hop and gesture around the bonfire at the center of the circle, essentially clad in only their underwear.

Apprentices carrying sacks or buckets of components stay in place, however, chanting and adding things to the fire at certain points.

Anisa laughs at the sight of Xander, and looks wordlessly to Meadow, waggling her eyebrows with a grin.

"I don't think they're usually this … energetic," Meadow explains, while Royce can't keep his eyes off of the canine Fire Mage. "They just need to work up a lot of energy for big displays; that's why there are two of them."

Next to Anisa, Aaron sighs. "Hotfoot is going to go through a gallon of Cold Shower over the course of this thing," he laments. "At today's prices, that'd be nearly enough to hire a third Fire Mage to help them."

"Why bother using it when he's doing this?" the white Lapi asks. "Seems like he'd do better without it."

"Do they ever … you know … explode?" Benjamin asks Meadow. "The mages, I mean."

Anisa smirks at her baby brother. "No, but they make others explode from time to time."

"No-ooo," the Earth Mage Lapi says. "At least, not when they have so many Chaos Mages around to help. But you aren't likely to see many Fire Mages with long hair or fur. They tend to get singed a lot."

Anisa watches the two mages do their thing, then lays completely down on the blanket with her paws behind her head. "Hopefully that won't be part of the show. It's actually pretty out tonight, even without the fireworks."

There are two other big ritual circles surrounded by their own mages and apprentices, spaced a few dozen paces from each other for safety. All at once, a fireball erupts from each circle! They spiral around each other as they rise, then explode into swarms of multi-colored fire-creens that spread out across the Procession, eventually dying out when they reach the distant edges of Rephidim's pressure envelope.

The white doe smiles wide as she watches the show, laughing as she draws herself up on her elbows. "Wow! Hope there's more where that came from!"

This is enough to distract Royce from the mages, and he too lays back to enjoy the show, along with Meadow and Aaron as well. Benjamin nearly jumps to his feet at the sound of the explosion, though, and further down the line Coal can be heard clapping his little paws together in excitement.

Apprentices run around, feeding new powders and items into the magic bonfires, while Xander and Kelsey alter their dance to something more … slithery. Soon, a giant serpent of flame rises from their circle, sprouting wings and limbs as it climbs higher. From the other two bonfires erupt a group of flaming armored Vartans and Rakhtor-mounted Knights who do battle with the dragon.

"A dragon!" Aaron yelps, and actually grabs Anisa's hand with his left one. "I've never seen this one before!"

Anisa focuses one ear on her nephew with a grin, only to be quickly startled as Aaron grabs her paw. Her ears shoot up in alarm, and quickly turn to crimson as she looks to the buck. "Don't worry there, kit, I don't think it'll come to get you." She pats the buck's paw with her free one, stifling any amused giggles that try to escape.

The fiery battle is short but frantic, as one of the mounted Knights finally beheads the dragon. The figures all explode into sprays of sparks then, amidst the cheers of the onlookers.

Aaron retrieves his paw and looks embarrassed. "Sorry… a bit worked up is all. I didn't think they'd be using actual elementals for the show."

"It's traditional to try to outdo the last year's show," Meadow giggles.

Anisa's grin turns into a smile as her gaze lingers on the buck a bit longer, but then quickly turns back to the show with a bit of embarrassment. "Oh, uh … elementals? They're using those?"

"Probably," Spring Meadow admits. "Fire isn't like Illusion, and for complicated figures like that, elements are best."

"Aren't those dangerous?" asks Anisa. "I heard that you had to keep a close eye on them, or they could run amok."

Meadow nods, and says, "Well, yeah, they're sort of like golems or spirits, but that's why they've got multiple mages controlling them. I doubt Xander could handle a big elemental like that by himself, but Kelsey has lots of experience."

"She nearly burned down my shop once," Aaron grumbles. "She was pretty mad, but still kept control."

After the big battle of the elementals, the mages send up a traditional fire-flower display, making it seem that it's raining roses across the city.

Anisa frowns, and scoots back a few inches just in case (even though it would be of little use should something go wrong.) The doe's expression changes as the roses descend, her face lighting up. "That's beautiful," she says softly, "almost like the real thing."

"They're just taking it easy now," Meadow says, watching the flowers. "I think that means they're about to work up to something really big."

Sitting up, the snowy doe crosses her legs as she gazes upwards, resting her hands in her lap. "Something big? Like what?"

Another familiar spectacle launches from one of the circles; a replica of the Procession itself, done in glowing red embers that slowly change color as the curtain of light descends and goes out.

"Maybe another elemental?" Aaron suggests. "Did Xander say anything to you about it, Meadow? It looks like just one of the circles is doing stuff now, so the other two must be preparing for the finale."

"I was too busy with the floats to ask him about it," Meadow admits.

Even as the last display starts to fade, something can be seen forming in the air above the remaining two circles; a shape being created out of sparks and embers flowing from the two bonfires.

Anisa cants her ears forward in curiosity, interested in what is to come. She points to the newly forming shape. "This looks like it's it!"

Being a spectator at ground-zero has its perks. Nobody watching from the city is likely to see the shape growing out of the flames. As it fills out, it becomes recognizable as a replica of the Ark, modeled after the statue in Freedom Park. Once it's been filled out, the huge flaming shape begins to rise up, amidst various "oo"s and "ah"s from the spectators.

Apprentices form a veritable bucket-brigade now to keep the bonfires fed, tossing in wood and chemicals in a steady stream. High over the city now, the Ark begins to turn and stand up on its "tail."

Jaw dropped open in amazement, Anisa watches the ship rise with nose wiggling. "Wow! It looks like you could almost ride it!" The doe brings her knees to chest level, hugging them with her arms as her eyes are locked on the apparition.

Once in position, the flaming shape belches even more flame from underneath, rising at an incredible rate! The spewed flame begins to break up into different shapes; Rhians, Humans, Lapis, Khattas, Eeees, Vartans and just about every other known sapient race are characterized as the Ark rockets its way towards the Procession.

The white doe's mouth forms an "O" shape, and makes an appropriate sound. Leaning close to Aaron, she points upwards. "Look," she whispers, "that one looks like a Lapi!"

Eventually, the creation of fire and magic rises too high to remain cohesive, and simply fades out while its flaming "offspring" rain down and spread out. Even those flame out before they can reach the ground though, of course.

Aaron puts an arm around Anisa and stares up in awe as well. "It's everyone! It's the Ark seeding the world! They'll never top this!"

Anisa smiles, leaning back into the arm as she watches the various shapes fall lightly downwards. "No, I doubt they will."

The last of the fiery shapes die out, leaving only the light of the procession now. Out of fuel, the ritual bonfires are reduced to a few glowing coals, but even now the cheers and hoots from the city can be heard.

Realizing what he's doing, Aaron lets go of Anisa and clears his throat. "Well … I think that's it for the show tonight. I'd better run ahead home and get the party ready. You're all welcome to come, of course!" he says to the nearby Lapis.

Anisa nearly falls flat on her back, catching herself on her paws before she does so. Blinking in confusion, her ears turn a deep shade of crimson. "Oh … oh yeah, the party." She grins sheepishly. "I guess we'd better get ready." The grin slowly starts to fade as she gets to her feet, replaced by a small frown.