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Post by Picasso on Jun 12, 2013 10:53:57 GMT
The Lexis Legacy So, we haven't yet got a second loner character to play in The Lexis Legacy, but the suspense is killing me! So therefore, we are going ahead without a loner. If someone signs up now, we could quickly put them into the mix, if not it will just be Virgil for the loner group in this challenge.
And what is the challenge?
All five characters have been situated at a certain area in the caves. Clegane and Valkyrie are stood together, waiting for the wolf's howl to sound. Similarly, Kaylee and Marlee also wait at another area of the cave. Virgil stands alone, fighting for the loners of Hexasol.
A five of them are trying to get to the centre of the cave. Here, three bones are waiting for them. The bone of Baron, the founder of The Tempest Pack, waits for Clegane and Valkyrie. Beside it, the bone of Florence, founder of The Iris Pride, is for Kaylee and Marlee. Finally, the bone Abigail, founder of fallen The Lexis Tribe is waiting for Virgil.
The aim is for one of the members of the pack to pick up their designated bone and find their way back out of the cave. A wolf waits in the centre of the maze, ready to howl to mark the beginning of the challenge. He will then howl when a pack member has reached the centre and picked up the bone. Finally, he will howl when a member successfully exits the cave with their bone.
Only one of each pack member needs to make it out, so if your characters accidentally split up, it doesn't matter that much!
After each member's post, I (or Tachi if I'm busy) will post the consequences of their character's actions. This will be entirely random, depending on what direction your character takes on the map. To prevent bias, Tachi and I have created a map with possible directions to go.
Please try to keep to a posting order unless told otherwise. A character is only allowed to make one choice per post (so for example, they choose to either go left or right). This could mean your posts are going to be a bit shorter than usual, so don't fret!
Finally, have fun. This is gonna be a fun little challenge 8D
All five characters have the option of either going left or going right. What way are you going to choose?
Are you ready?
A wolf howls in the distance, marking the beginning of the challenge.
Mactíre Hunter Mika Pluton Leader Smiff Neytiri <-- due to confusion, I'm just pointing out this isn't the posting order, just tags. A posting order will be developed whenever everyone posts
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2013 11:52:23 GMT
Valkyrie had never visited the skeleton caves before. They were situated beyond the city, up high. It certainly would have been advantageous to her and Tempest, had she explored them before.
The she-wolf stood beside Clegane, muscles tensed and ears pricked as they waited for the signal, a howl. She was excited in spite of herself - besides, this challenge was nothing bout fighting, because every group was aiming to get a different object. Unless. . . Unless someone decided to prevent one of the other groups from getting at their target.
Staring at the cave mouth, she wondered how quickly her eyes would adjust to the light. In this, the felines would have the advantage. In that split second, a horrible idea entered her mind as she thought of the snow leopard Virgil, staring at her with barely disguised hatred burning in his eyes.
After the first meeting, she'd managed to glean some information about her opponents, but right now, what she'd heard of Virgil came to mind. An ex-Iris feline. What if he teamed up with the Iris felines - Marlee and Kaylee - and tried to finish her and Clegane off in the dark depths of the cave?
Shaking her head as if to clear it of such a ridiculous notion, the young canine tried to clear her mind of everything but their task. Find the bones of Baron, and get out of the cave ahead of everyone else.
It sounded so simple.
A moment later, she heard it - the howl. It sent adrenaline Glancing briefly at Clegane, she barked, "Let's go!" and plunged into the darkness.
The downhill slope was quite steep, but the tunnel was wide enough for Valkyrie to trot along without having to crouch or crawl, so it wasn't that claustrophobic. All the same, she felt almost trapped, vulnerable; however, she kept going, trusting that the Hound was behind her, and that her eyes would soon adjust to the light.
Soon enough, she could see as clearly as one would be able to, down here; it was like walking on a cloudy night at new moon, and she had to be careful not to bump into anything. Coming to a place where the passage split, one tunnel running off to the right, and the other to the left, she paused. There wasn't enough time to wait for Clegane, to discuss which way they would go; she would just have to choose for both of them.
Well, here goes nothing. . . Looking from one to the other, the female licked suddenly dry lips nervously and chose at random. "Clegane, I'm going to the left!" Her howl echoed eerily around the cavity as she took off, trotting along the tunnel. It was the only way she could no for sure that he'd pick up where she'd gone, because down here, everything smelled of damp and rock and dust and darkness.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 12, 2013 12:01:42 GMT
Valkyrie goes left down the dark cave. Little does she know, she's just entered a spider's nest, full of poisonous spiders.
As she walks through, a spider dangles down from its web and bites the she-wolf on her neck. The poison will quickly spread around her body, causing hallucinations, lethargy and confusion.
Nevertheless, she will continue. Crossing over an underground river, she comes across another fork in the path. Left or right?
ooc; Hunter, if you have decided Clegane sticks with Valk, then it's your turn to choose left or right. If you've decided Clegane has taken the opposite turning, then it'll be Mac to choose again. But yay, spiders!
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Post by Hunter on Jun 12, 2013 14:43:03 GMT
”Speech.”
They were waiting for the wolf’s howl, the signal for the test to begin. There was no way of knowing what would be hiding within the cave, all they had to focus on was getting in there, fetch the bone like a pet-dog, and then retrieve it to the sunlight. But despite how easy it sounded, Clegane new the caves beneath the surface was a maze covered in darkness. Nothing would be easy, especially not if they should bump into their opponents.
He clawed at the ground, waiting for the signal. Valkyrie stood beside him, just as eager to get started as himself. The time seemed to go utterly slow, but then he heard it – a long howl from the wolf inside the cave. His big paws ate up the ground as he darted into the darkness, just behind his she-wolf partner. For a moment he ran blinded as the sunlight disappeared around their bodies, but then adjusted to the dim light; only to reveal rough stone walls, all covered in moisture and spiderwebs.
He could smell Valkyrie’s nervousness, but couldn’t quite point out why he didn’t feel the same way. Wasn’t it normal to be frightened by the unknown? Their feline opponents, or worse, could be hiding anywhere. They could be wounded by a foe or some vile creature, perhaps fall down a hole if they weren’t watching where they were going? But he couldn’t feel it, the nervousness, the fright. Only the determination of getting Baron’s bone and getting out of here. Perhaps he was getting too old to be scared of the unknown. To the Hound, death wasn’t a surprise.
He came to where the tunnel parted in two just as Valkyrie ran left. ”I’ll take the right, little bird,” he shouted as he continued with a leap down the opposite tunnel. Both of them were big dogs, they would do just fine on their own. And when split up, their chances of getting first into the middle of the cave was bigger. His senses were alert, focused on where he was going and what was around him, what was around the next corner. And at the same time, he hoped. Hoped that a wolf’s howl wouldn’t echo through the tunnels before either him or Valkyrie got first.
”Now let’s get that bone,” he rasped.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 12, 2013 14:49:01 GMT
Clegane veers to the right, in the opposite direction to Valkyrie. There, he comes across a snake pit, full of hissing, angry snakes.
Clegane must try and get around them without being bitten. Some are venomous, whilst others could just give him a nasty bite. As he tries to dodge the snakes, one snake managed to sink its teeth into his leg before he shakes it off.
Phew! It's not venomous - but Clegane's leg really hurts now and he'll be walking with a slight limp.
Eventually, Clegane comes to a large, deep, underground lake, that he'll need to cross.
He has the option of going straight ahead, or right.
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Post by Mika on Jun 12, 2013 15:01:43 GMT
It looked like the young snow leopard was alone in this but, he wasn't going to let that scare him off. He had to win at least one part of Lexis territory for his subordinates. He was also hoping that less territory for the packs would mean less members of Tempest and Iris to deal with.
Virgil sat on his haunches with his tail wrapped around his paws as he waited for the howl. He thought of what he could do on his own. Obviously he couldn't fight two dogs or felines by himself. For now, he would try to mostly rely on his speed to get the right bone and get out as quickly as possible. Maybe he could get a lot of respect after this, if he did manage to get to the center, get a bone and leave without too much trouble.
There was no doubt in his mind that he would run into trouble though. Other that what may be inside the caves, he wouldn't bee too surprised if some of the other packs tried to kill him if he ran into both at the same time.
Virgil silently waited, digging his claws in the dirt until he finally heard the howl everyone was waiting for. He quickly moved inside and looked around. He would have to be fast if he wanted to be the first to get the bone he was supposed to get but, he would need to be cautious too, of the possible dangers that lurked inside and of the other packs.
Virgil looked around once more before choosing the path straight ahead.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 12, 2013 15:06:28 GMT
Virgil takes the path ahead. He cmes across a huge chasm in the cave. The gap appears to be wide enough to jump, but the rock easily crumbles. Virgil could lose his grip and fall into the chasm below.
Nevertheless, precious time is being wasted deliberating. Virgil jumps across...
And managed to get to the other side! It was a close one, but he scrambled up the edge, breathless and a little shaken.
Walking forward, he comes across a fork in the path.
Left, straight ahead, or right?
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Post by kevlar on Jun 14, 2013 2:43:12 GMT
Felicity was absolutely enthralled with the idea of The Lexis Legacy. How many times did you get to fight others for land to claim as your own? Felicity had only traveled to Hexasol recently and had been wandering amongst the outer lands, wondering if she would ever find someone to rule over or even someone to just spend time with, as unpleasant as dogs seemed to be proving themselves recently.
But that didn't matter. She'd been paired with a snow leopard, a creature she had never seen before. She'd spent the first couple of minutes of their first meeting and the next few seconds with a dismissive sassy comment. She'd regretted this, if only because she now had to make buddy buddy with him to try to win this competition with him. The hackles on her rear stood straight up as she imagined land being land to just exist for any to live on. It was independence at its finest.
She tilted her muzzle down, her brown eyes squeezed closed as she waited for the wolf howl that would send her into a mad sprint. "Best of luck." She grunted to him, just quiet enough so he was the only one who could hear her. When the wolf's howl sounded from deep inside the cave, Felicity was dashing forward, slinging dirt in her wake as her long nails dug and scratched at the ground.
She was barreling out of control, to be honest. Her body was going much faster than it should have been to be running through the dark. As the sun fell away from her back and she was plunged into darkness, she was also plunged into a tunnel surrounded by black. She slowed down some but then picked it up when she realized there weren't any rocks in her way.
She almost collided with a wall but her eyes were finally adjusted to the quickly moving dark background. Felicity came to a skidding stop, turning her head back and forth in the darkness and giving a loud bark in either direction. She pondered a minute longer and then dove to her right, her paws treading lightly as she waited for the consequences of her hasty decision.
As always.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 14, 2013 8:33:48 GMT
Felicity takes the right turnins and descends into the dark tunnel. The ground is getting increasingly wetter as the canine realises she is walking through an underground lake. There is a river branching to the right, but it is against the current. Could she swim it? It may lead her closer to the centre of the cave.
Ahead of her appeared drier, and possibly a safer way to go. A fish nibbles on her toes as she tries to make a decision, but it isn't strong enough to leave any lasting damage.
Straight ahead or against the current of the river?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2013 19:17:19 GMT
"Speech"
The breeze danced through Marlee's soft fur as she sat patiently outside the caves, golden eyes looking forward at the gaping mouth of the challenge. She was curious as to where the others were, but kept silent. She closed her eyes, ears forward, and thought to herself for a moment. She had been in the caves once before, with her father. She remembered the lesson well, and opened her eyes, her fierce determination shining in their amber depths. It wasn't long before the wolf's distant howl reached her ears and the lynx stood, glancing at Kaylee. "May luck be on our side. Go carefully, friend." Marlee said, her words making it obvious she'd rather be on her own for this challenge. She walked forward and allowed the darkness of the caves to swallow her. The air was cold, and the female fluffed up her pelt in an attempt to hold some heat to keep her warm.
It wasn't long however, before she came to a fork in the path. She sat before the different paths, ears forward and her nose in the air as she sniffed. She couldn't quite remember what dangers the caves sheltered, and she didn't want to get too injured that she couldn't complete the mission. An ear flicked backward briefly, then forward again. The feline sighed softly and stood, looking between the paths again before going left. She swerved into the wall, her body rubbing her scent along the path so, if she found the bone, she would hopefully be able to find her way back out of the caves. Her heart raced as she proceeded, stepping lightly, muscles tense.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 15, 2013 10:12:00 GMT
Marlee takes the left fork in the path. She reaches a crudely made bridge to cross over a fast-flowing river. The wood has all but rotten away, and it creaks uneasily. As she places her weight on the bridge, it groans and shudders. However, Marlee successfully crosses, but she has damaged the bridge severely. If Kaylee were to follow her, there would be a even greater chance for the bridge to collapse.
She continued along the path, that winds around. She can see another fork in the road ahead, however another bridge blocks her path. There is no hope in going back, so Marlee must cross the rickety bridge. However, as soon as she places her full weight on the wood, it gives way, plunging the lynx into the fast-flowing river.
The water is relentless and strong, the current dragging the lynx under. She can barely catch a breath as the river carries her downstream. Eventually the water begins to calm and she plunges down a short waterfall. A jagged rock catches her side, piercing her skin. It isn't a deep cut, but it is bleeding a lot, and rather painful.
Looking at her surroundings, Marlee sees she is now in a lake. The same lake Clegane is contemplating crossing.
You have the same options as Clegane: straight ahead or right.
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Post by Hunter on Jun 15, 2013 13:35:50 GMT
”Speech.”
Running down the tunnel to the right, Clegane soon came to a snakepit. His muzzle twisted in disdain as he shortly considered what to do. But there was no safe way around, and there was only one way he wanted to go – forward. Turning back would only be a waste of time. Dark eyes carefully scanning the snakepit, the big Beauceron slowly went forward trying not to make any hasty movements to provoke the already wary snakes. He kept his paws close to the ground, barely lifting them from the ground as he went forward to prevent himself from stepping on one of them – a move which certainly would get him bitten. Smooth scales caressed his legs as he passed through, but the hisses told him that their stroking bodies were more of a test than of passion. They tried him out, looking for the right moment to strike, spit or strangle. He didn’t recognize many of the reptile breeds in the almost complete darkness, but a flicker of predatory eyes and testing tongues was enough for him to know that what he was doing was dangerous. Some of them could be poisonous, and with a precise bite kill him before he got out of the cave again.
The hissing echoes from the snakes slowly died out as he crossed their pit, leaving the scaly creatures behind. Fewer were slithering around his legs now, and a moment of relief made him unwary. Not really able to see where he was going, Clegane lifted a paw too high which resulted in stepping on one of the snakes when putting it down again. The sharp hiss felt like a snap to his ears, but the snake was faster than him, striking him with small but razor sharp fangs before he could react. He growled fiercely in pain and jumped forward despite himself, his instincts suddenly kicking in, telling him to get away from the danger. The leap could have been a dangerous move if he’d been in the middle of the snakepit, but being in the outer of it, his move only resulted in getting him far enough away from the smooth animals. He grunted as pain shot through his left hind leg, remembering him of the bite he’d received. Had the snake been poisonous? He couldn’t know for now. If he’d been unlucky, he would soon find out. He’d seen other animals hallucinating, cramp or weaken in other ways after being bitten from a snake. Had he been poisoned, he would find out soon enough, most likely sharing the same fate as those victims he’d witnessed. Not sure how to feel about it, Clegane chose to move on. There was nothing else he could do. If he started whimpering about his possible fate, he’d just end up rotting down here, and he’d no intentions of such a thing. He’d die on the surface, thank you very much, and yes, that was a thing he chose he could decide.
Minutes passed as he continued as fast as he could. He limped on his left hind leg, thereby preventing him from running very fast. Actually, his trot looked more like leaps as he forced his body forward, but the pain only concentrated around the bite, making him aware of the fact he’d been lucky. The snake hadn’t been poisonous. A well-known sound made him forget about the bite for a moment. It was the sound of water. Could it be? He increased his pace despite the angry reminder in his leg, and truth to his senses, an underground lake soon stretched before him. There was very little light down here in the caves, but where the water was it seemed like everything became slightly lit up, the moving surface reflecting on the walls, making light and shadow dance around him like twisted figures. It was beautiful – in its own, scary way. But what to do?
He could try to cross it. The stream didn’t seem or sound to be strong, but who knew what could lure down there in the water? He had already received a bite from a snake and wouldn’t want one from a rat or something worse who could’ve chosen to use the water as a pool. He licked his wound a few times as he thought, the pain dulling a little as he cleaned it with his tongue. No, he had to go right. Moving in the direction, he heard something falling down in the water. He growled, and the sound only became deeper as he saw what it was – a lynx, one of those Iris bastards. He could easily smell her, and fresh blood too. Much of it. She was wounded. Was this an opportunity to distract her from getting into the cave? Or should he continue? Both of them were wounded, the lynx clearly more than himself. He was also bigger than her, and could perhaps pin her down and tear up her throat. While wounded, she couldn’t use her speed to get away from his bone-crushing jaws. But she was out in the water, and he wouldn’t go out there to kill her. He would continue, but not without a warning.
”You’re lucky Irish scum,” he said, his words deep and slow, making sure every single word would imprint on her dim mind as he looked out at her. ”For once I’ve other things in mind than tearing your head off your shoulders. But mind you; follow me, or attempt to get your precious bone before me or my packmate… and I will kill you.” His voice was deep, rasping. But the compact cave seemed to make his voice boom even more, slightly echoing his words even as he turned to go, choosing right.
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Post by Picasso on Jun 15, 2013 20:05:04 GMT
Oh dear, it doesn't appear Clegane is having much luck with the animals in this cave. He appears to have now entered a very dangerous scorpion pit, whose sting could create a severe amount of pain for him. Unfortunately, the scorpions already appear to be rattled, and are not amused by Clegane's presence.
One manages to sting Clegane's hind leg, causing a lot of pain to the canine. However, it will not be fatal, and will only cause a lot of pain and swelling.
A second sting to his front paw just worsens the situation, causing a lot of limping from Clegane.
He finally exits the scorpion pit. He has the choice to either go to left or right. Neither look particularly appealing to Clegane.
Just a note, Hunter, it was Mactíre's turn to post, but I'll let you off (;
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Post by Pluton Leader Smiff on Jun 16, 2013 3:31:41 GMT
"Speech"
Kaylee sat beside her comrade, waiting impatiently for the sound of the wolf's howl. She was shaking, causing the bones she wore balanced on her shoulders to rattle and creak. But the tremors going through her body were not from fear. No, the caracal-bobcat hybrid hardly feared anything anymore - not with how she had grown up, with Jayden as a father and Evani as a mother. She was nothing short of elated to be crawling through these dark caves. However, T=the thought of her parents made her momentarily freeze and tense, her lip curling up in disdain. Would they be proud of her now, so nobly fighting for her Gang? Probably not. They probably didn't even remember she was here, living among them.
A bitter knot in her stomach seemed to weigh her down in that instant. More than anything, she resented her conception. It wasn't even necessarily because of how she and her siblings had been born - she knew the grody details of that. After all, Jayden hadn't spared them any ounce of remorse or love. 'She was asking for it,' or 'that slut wasn't thinking about what little shits you'd turn to be.' Hell, it wasn't even her poor excuse for parents - though she hated their guts. It was the path God had chosen for her. To be the reapers pet. That was her purpose - her passion - and while it normally excited her, for a brief instant, she felt the weight of it all come crashing down on her.
She was a killer. A killer. A killer.
The howl broke her train of thoughts, and at once, all the thoughts that proved that somewhere, Kaylee was still just a normal cat with a sense of morality left her. The psychotic young feline hybrid shot forward along with her companion, Marlee, and didn't even spare her a second glance before taking off down the right path. Friends. Pah! Kaylee didn't have any friends - her only friend was death, and death she would bring among these foolish competitors that thought they could beat her.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2013 5:12:56 GMT
The cave was dark and silent as she entered it, and Valkyrie slowed slightly so that she didn't bump into anything. Almost immediately, she felt something small and furry brush against her paw; her nerves already stretched almost to their limit, she jumped, startled, only to feel another, slightly larger furred-thing on her neck, a sudden, piercing pain spreading over it. Shaking herself wildly, she trotted as fast as she dared from the cave that was home to the spiders, panic filling her mind. Normally unbothered by the arachnids, she wondered if the spider's bite was poison - if she was going to die down here, all because of a fight over land Tempest didn't need anyway.
Shaking herself again s if to rid her head of such pessimistic thoughts, she continued on her way, though she noticed she was feeling tired already, which was strange - she'd only been down here for about ten minutes. Normally she was capable of moving at this speed for several hours if need be before feeling fatigued at all. The she-wolf soon reached an underground river, with water that smelled like stone and dust. There was a path over it, which she decided to take, moving carefully across so as not to fall into the dark depths below, her bitten shoulder still throbbing painfully.
As she neared another fork in the path, she thought she spotted someone standing there, in the middle of the two paths - a huge jaguar with a ghostly body and dark, bottomless holes for eyes. "What do you want? What business have you here?" Its voice boomed around the cavern, but when Valkyrie moved a cautious step closer, opening her mouth to defend herself, it disappeared. Scenting the air, she smelled nothing knew; definitely no sign of the strange feline. It must have been a figment of her imagination, she realised with a slight shudder. Steeling herself, she peered from one tunnel to the other, before picking the right one and trotting cautiously down it, eyes wide, nostrils flared, and ears pricked.
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