So Much Snow! (Open)

[Na'Leigh]

Blushing at her mistake Na'Leigh pushed it from her mind, she may not know the gender of their pursuer but unlike the others she knew how to escape it. Following the Inarta before her she hauled her dog after her, thanking the gods that the other hunter had been clever enough to distract the bear when it hadn't been as eager as she anticipated to follow their hastily made plans. Almost stumbling over the edge of the cliff she pulled up when the woman before her stopped. Yanking her backpack off she fumbled through the ropes and harnesses she had regretted totting around this morning and threw the harness at the Inarta standing over her, "put that on." She stated her hands fumbling with panic. The woman's friend would be returning soon and if they weren't ready they would all be trapped at the top of the cliff. She knew her age didn't give her the right to give this woman directions but thus far they had followed her. Setting a clip at the lip of the cliff she latched a rope to it. Glancing at the woman she quickly edited the dogs harness slipping herself into it hoping it would hold. "Remove any additional weight...I-I don't know if this rope will hold the four of us as it is..." She directed, revealing the weakness in her plan. Hearing the frustrated roar of the bear she bit her lip until it bled. Cutting holes in her backpack she slid it around the dog and hauled him onto her back legs trembling under the weight. Her arms were used to bearing him upward half of his weight against the rope, half against her. However, his full weight on her legs was overwhelming. Hands that were shaking and fumbling with fear steadied, transferring to her pounding heart. "When she comes out of the trees wave her towards us, grab her and hold her tightly...then we jump..." She finished, meeting the older Inartans gaze. Though she had done the maneuver often enough alone she had never put so much strain on the rope.

OOC: sorry for taking so long to reply...my grandmother passed away so I haven't been online. But I'm back and ready to write.

[Arandolya]

Arandolya The only limit is the Stars . . . Strides long and measured, quick but not fast enough to tire her too easily if this turned out to just be a run for survival, Arandolya made herself push the limits of endurance. She really was not made for endurance running, preferring short sprints or nice long walks. And especially not in snow! She managed to keep ahead of the girl though, and nimbly went to the edge of the cliff, stopping quickly in case the Yasi barged into her. Thankful the girl stopped so they both didn't go off the cliff, Arandolya turned to her, just in time to deftly catch a harness being thrown in her general direction. "Put that on," was all she said. I could've figured that much. No, I think I'll hold it for a bit. Smiling with a shake of her head, Arandolya donned the harness swiftly, and waited as the girl fumbled around in her panic. "Can I help?" Arandolya voiced quietly, though the girl was prepared, and was already giving her more orders. "Remove any additional weight...I-I don't know if this rope will hold the four of us as it is...When she comes out of the trees wave her towards us, grab her and hold her tightly...then we jump..." The Avora shrugged and nodded. "I have nothing on me. What am I going to remove, my clothes? In warmer weather it'd be easier to oblige," she said with the humorous, simple, and easy attitude Inarta had with manners of privacy and personal space. As she struggled with the dog, Arandolya raised an eyebrow. "Can I help with him somehow?" This girl seemed well versed in this stupidity acts, which led Arandolya to think she did it many times before. She often triggered enraged mothers to brutally chase her to their deaths over a cliff-face? Stupid. Good prey though. Well not like they'd eat the Dire Bear, but smaller prey that could actually be hauled back, this tactic couldn't be bad. Well other then the fact that it was leaving their future prey to die alone in the cold, since she would trigger a mother with children. Eh. Not to good tactic. For a young one though, it was intelligent, she had to at least give her that. Arandolya relaxed a tad, stretching out her arms and legs as her golden gaze waiting on the treeline. OOCOh my, I am so so sorry. Don't apologise, I'm glad you're back. I know how hard it is, my grandfather passed away a couple summers ago. God bless you, if you ever need to talk I'll listen.

[Cherie]

She paused for a second, next to a young sapling. Ragged breaths shook her tiny frame. There was no way for them to all survive. Again, she took up her race against the bear, heading for the vague direction of the cliff. Dodging tees and jumping logs. A century could have passed by the time Cherie saw the light of a tree-less area. Must be the cliff! She slowed so as not to run over it.

The disappointment almost forced her to her knees – She had led the bear into a large meadow. Taking a right, she headed for the faint sound of gushing water which resembled that which was at the cliff. In her exhaustion, she whispered her thanks to Priskil, as she burst through the trees and toward the cliff face. Her two companions were not to be seen. After a speedy survey of the area, however, Cherie saw the clip driven into the ground that held a weighted rope.

The Inarta shook her head, that wouldn’t save them from the bear. Despite its looks, the bear was not stupid. It wouldn’t charge over the cliff face as they expected. It would slow down when seeing that its prey had disappeared and then find the clip. It would then proceed to uproot the clip, or perhaps gnaw on the rope, until the three women and a dog made their rapid way to bottom of the cliff.

Pretending not to have noticed the clip in the ground she edged as close as she dared to the lip of the cliff and stood facing the forest, poised to spring aside at any moment. The bear needed to have its attentions diverted from the cliff so that it would not slow down. And what would distract it from the cliff if not fresh meat? It must think that I have already accepted defeat, she thought. The bear came crashing out of the trees and stormed blindly towards the frightened Inarta. She almost took a step back, but in time reminded herself of where she was.

OOCSooo sorry for the time this took me! I promise to be more timely from now on.

[Arandolya]

Arandolya The only limit is the Stars . . . Her honey gaze stayed trained on the fringes of the forest, hands gripping the rope tightly. She breathed out quietly, looking over at the younger child. Arandolya hoped this worked, but this Dire Bear was huge . . . and more intelligent than the animals they hunted. When Cherie appeared finally, a large gust of wind left Arandolya, a relief she didn't know she was holding. The Inarta smiled weakly, as though she was not being chased down by a huge mutant bear. As Cherie stepped towards the edge of the cliff, Arandolya rested a hand on her to also remind her where she stood. She prepared to take hold of Cherie the moment the bear was close enough to would not be able to stop, hand poised, heart pounding. The bear raged closer. The time was drawing near. "This better work," the Avora muttered darkly, eyes narrowed in concentration, aware timing was key. OOCSo sorry this is so short, I couldn't think of much Arandolya could do except kinda wait around. xD

[Cherie]

Though time seemed to slow down, her heart accelerated in its beating with every second. Closer, closer and closer. For the second time that day, Cherie counted the seconds before her leap.

“I’m sorry,” the sound burst from her mouth just as she felt the bear’s breath on her cheek. Then, she moved diagonally away from the cliff and away from the doomed path of her hunter. The blundering, oversized animal gave a great roar as it pawes at the air frantically with its front legs and tumbled over the lip of the cliff. Cherie exhaled and sprinted back to the shelter of the trees.

She couldn’t bear to hear the monster crash into the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff. She didn’t want to watch its fall from glory. How frightening the thought that she had caused the death on such a magnificent a creature.

The town wasn’t far from here and she knew that her two companions would be able to navigate their way back. Even if it was in the dark. They weren’t children.

She didn’t stop running until she saw her cottage. Then, she fell upon the snow and, with glazed eyes, looked up at the shining stars. Perhaps there was a new star there, for the soul of the dire bear. It was strange how disturbing she found the death of her adversary.
OOCI guess this is the end of the thread. I think Na'Leigh pulled out so I can't see this thread going anywhere after this. Is it alright if I submit it for grading? or did you want to do something else?

[Arandolya]

Submit away (:

[Sphinx]

Thread Award! Character: Arandolya Skills: Tracking +2 ; Hunting +2 ; Wilderness Survival +1 ; Running +2 Lore: Tracking - The Prints of a Rabbit ; Mistaking Someone for Endal ; Surprise! A Yasi and a Dire Bear Notes: Tracking for finding and following the rabbit trail, hunting for felling the rabbit and, well, hunting, and wilderness survival for keeping yourself warm and hydrated in the wilderness. Also, you ran a lot. Character: Cherie Skills: Hunting +2 ; Running +2 ; Stealth +1 Lore: The Kill No One Saw ; Mistaken for Endal ; Surprise! A Yasi and a Dire Bear ; Pity for the Animals Notes: Hunting for taking down the deer and rabbits, running for all that quick paced movement to escape the bear, stealth for taking the bear by surprise. Character: Na'Leigh Skills: Running +2 ; Leadership +2 ; Lore: Surprise! I've got a Dire Bear ; Directing (or Bossing Around) Avora Notes: Points for all the running you did, leadership for taking control of the situation Additional Comments: Wow! Wonderful thread, folks. I enjoyed the read. Kaya, I see that you are inactive and so I didn't grade you, but if you return I will gladly edit this post. Good work, guys, and if you have any questions, comments, or see discrepancies in my grading, don't be afraid to contact me. P.S Cherie, I witnessed it. It was awesome.