Opal Coldwind sat perched on top of a big flat boulder like it was her personal goblin throne, short legs kicking happily in the cool night air. The campfire behind her was mostly just glowing embers now, but she didn’t care one bit. Bamboo leaves russell in the wind. Her bright green hair was messy as usual, war paint still streaking her red cheeks in three bold slashes per side. She had her massive red shield leaning against the rock and her giant axe across her lap, because letting go of a good smashin’ stick just felt wrong.
Her big green-and-black eyes were glued to the sky, wide and sparkling.
Then it happened.
A bright silver-blue streak ripped across the stars like the sky had just sneezed glitter!
“WOOOOOAAAAAHHH!!” Opal gasped, leaning so far forward she nearly tumbled off the boulder. One hand shot out like she could catch the falling star herself. “Dat… that one was BLUE! Super blue! Best blue ever!”
Her floppy ears perked straight up. Inside her chaotic little goblin brain, thoughts were exploding like fireworks:
Shiny shiny shiny! That one was bluer than my favorite shiny coin! Bluer than Zesstria’s skin! Bet if it landed it would be warm and magic and perfect for my hoard pouch. I could put it next to the blue button and the blue ribbon and that one shiny rock I definitely didn’t steal from Voth’s old camp stuff.
She bounced once on her butt… thump… a happy little hop against the stone. Her free hand waved excitedly at the sky like she was greeting an old best friend.
“Oi! Sky!” she whisper-yelled, because Voth was snoring back at camp and she didn’t wanna wake him up… yet. “That was a good one! Do it again! Opal’s watching!”
Another smaller streak shot across the sky, leaving a trail of blue sparks.
Opal gasped so hard she almost choked. Both hands flew up in pure goblin delight and she clapped them together with a loud SMACK, nearly braining herself with her own axe handle in the process.
“HEEHEE… DID YOU SEE THAT?!” she squeaked to nobody, because the rest of the Prismguard Pact had learned the hard way not to get between Opal and her “star time.”
She leaned back on her hands, legs still swinging wildly. “Stars are throwing treasure at the world and nobody’s even running to catch it! Tall people are so weird. If I had a bigger axe I could climb the biggest mountain and wait for the next one. Or maybe yell real loud so the sky knows Opal’s here and should drop the shiny right in my hands!”
She grinned a huge fanged grin, sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
“Gonna tell the tribe about this when I go home someday. Gonna say the sky gave me a sign. Gonna say I’m the goblin who catches falling stars! They’ll have to let me keep all the best loot next raid. Or… maybe I don’t go back to raiding. Maybe I just keep following shiny lights with my pet and my new friends. That sounds better. Less stabby. More stars.”
Opal flopped onto her back on the boulder, staring up at the endless scatter of lights above. For once, the hyper little goblin barbarian was almost still, well, mostly still. Her legs kept kicking happily, and every few seconds she’d let out a tiny excited “Heehee!” when another streak flashed by.
“Best night ever,” she declared quietly to the stars, a big happy smile on her face. “Keep ‘em coming. Opal’s watching. And Opal wants the blue ones.”
Somewhere back at camp, Voth stirred in his sleep, instinctively reaching up like he was checking if she was still sitting on his chest. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “...goblin...”
Opal just giggled softly and kept staring at the sky, dreaming of all the impossible blue treasures it might drop just for her.