[Feint]

Qaan clawed at the wet surface of the rock in front of her, screaming and shrieking in panic. After a minute or so of failed attempts to grab ahold of something or even turn herself around, she gave in and began to laugh. It started as a few nervous snorts and snickers between shrieks, but then escalated into giggles and whoops of joy around nervous squeaks, and finally full-out laughter. She lay on her belly, forelegs stretched uselessly before her, chin bouncing off bumps in the stone slide, and laughing insanely as she shot down the dark tunnel. If she could, she would have cried with hilarity. She wanted to call out to Hexle, but she was laughing far too hard. "H-heh-hex*oof*-le!" she managed to shout, her voice unusually high and distorted from laughing. At the sound of her own voice, she burst into a fit of giggles that refused to let her so much as take a breath.

((ooc -- should I continue and complicate the tunnel, or have it end my next post/your next post/very soon?))

[Pyris]

Hexle, the Concept Draculi
Only the moral have guilt.
Posts:27
Level: 6
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

His ears met a very butchered version of what seemed to be his name, but  he wasn't entirely sure.  He definitely heard hysterical laughter bounding through the walls of the rocky tunnel.  Feeling himself go a bit too fast, he dug his claws into the surface, to little avail.  He didn't think he even slowed down any.  A particularly sharp rock snagged him in the side making him cry out a little without realizing it.  He didn't think there was any bleeding, but it was impossible to be certain in the abyssal darkness of the slide.  

"Yeah?" he eventually returned to his companion ahead.

((I'm running out of tunnel material, myself, but I can keep it going if you've got some plans.  Qaan's ahead of Hexle, so it's up to you.   ))

[Feint]

"Guh!" Qaan responded. Her chin was bouncing off the rock floor so much she couldn't give him an actual word answer. 'Guh' was the best she could manage. Embarrassed, she tried to press off the slick stone and raised herself onto her feet, but had no luck and only winded herself falling against the hard floor. Tired and no longer nearly as cheerful, Qaan twisted her head around in all directions to find something to latch on to before she passed out shooting off a cliff, or something else equally dangerous. Nothing. It was all going by too fast. She managed to flip herself around so that she faced forward and pushed her chin off the floor. Panting, she stared into the darkness ahead to find some clue as to where they were headed. Suddenly, she gasped. "LEFT! LEFTLEFTLEF*oof*" she bellowed as she slid neatly into the right-hand path and smacked into a large mold-covered rock, and then flipped over the top of it. On the other side, she nearly died with terror. Before her lay a path with strange designs that could only be compared to a roller coaster, complete with loops. She was now speeding toward an intricate natural obstacle course/theme park made of rock, on her back. She screamed when she neared the first jump.

((ooc -- okay. excuse the bad movie references. xD))

[Pyris]

Hexle, the Concept Draculi
Only the moral have guilt.
Posts:28
Level: 6
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It was faint, but he could see it; a small glimmer further down, and once he really noticed it, Hexle heard the vague shrieking of Qaan.  He couldn't really make out her words, but he supposed something was amiss and prepared for a change of pace.  On his stomach, he was straining to see the path ahead, his eyes widening as the dim circle only got a small bit larger before his feet had no footing.  Instinctively, he clawed at the tunnel floors again, only to tear something, giving him some very distinctive pain.  He was sure he'd be feeling it with every step he took.

Coming to terms with the fact that he was flipping through the air, his eyes widened as he spied his ongoing direction.  He opened his mouth to yell, only to realize he had little time for reaction, his paws hitting the ground and nearly crumbling beneath him as he slid along a slick surface he couldn't identify.  In just the nick of time, as a rather large rock blocked his path, he pawed at the ground for enough footing to slip around it, failing miserably and hitting it from the side.  Wincing at the renewed pain throbbing from the very same spot he'd hit before, Hexle growled beneath his breath and vowed to never follow a strange Kuhna anywhere again.

((*chuckle*  It's fine.))

[Feint]

((ooc--muse died. I just had a breeze of thought, so I'm going to run with it, sorry if it's bad.))

Qaan stopped screaming and tried to focus. If she went through the gap in the rock path in front of her, it was all over for a certain hydrokuhna. She hit a slight bump and used the sudden momentum to heave herself onto her stomach and point her rear at the roller coaster, to catch the edge if she dropped. Qaan then raised her paws and dug her claws into the rock with all of her might, grinding her teeth to ease the pain. Gently she began to slow down, but she wasn't sure if it was enough to save herself. Please, please please she pleaded mentally, hissing air softly through her gritted teeth.

[Pyris]

After a bit of trying not to struggle and finding it wasn't working out for him, Hexle tried a new approach, attempting to gain enough leverage to try and jump up the slope.  Frowning, he found he only slowed down this way, as well as wore himself out.

A small light glimmered fairly far down the tunnel.  It wasn't a full circle, or even close to a circle, so he supposed either Qaan was down there blocking some light, or he might not fit down there.  His limbs tired quickly, and he settled for balancing himself as best as possible and digging into the rocky dirt with as must strength as he could muster.  He only hoped the hydrokuhna was alright.

((I was headed that way, too.  lol  But that's alright.  If it happens, the only thing to do is step away and come back later.))

[Feint]

Qaan released a thin stream of air from between her teeth as she felt herself slow down to a gentle stop. A shudder ripped through her body and she gasped in terror as her hind legs dropped suddenly beneath her, having reached the edge of the jump, and she dangled by her cramped front paws helplessly. She swallowed to recover from her shock and tugged at one firmly rooted paw, aiming to pull herself up onto the ledge. She just barely had an elbow up when she glanced up and noticed a small, white-eyed nog staring emotionlessly back at her.

You've gone too far from our grasp, Qaan.

You must die.

A tingly sensation spread from her toes on up, followed by a numbness that she knew would severely weaken her. She pressed her hind legs to the rock and heaved herself onto the ledge with all of her might, crushing Urchin spitefully in the process. Shakily she tried to stand, but her fear and exhaustion was too great. The tinglyness and numbness had gone, but she felt as if it were still there, slowly suffocating her from the feet up. Qaan dragged herself away from the slide and collapsed, waiting for Hexle.

[Pyris]

Claws rooted into the tunnel, Hexle slowed to a near stop by the time he spotted Qaan.  Using his back paws to end his movement completely, he precariously inched his way around to get a good look at her.  "Are you okay?"  Obviously, she didn't seem all that good; but he wasn't expecting her to say she was all happy and cheerful.  After all, he felt like he'd been hit by a Battleheart in a rowdy mood.

Shifting his weight to better support himself caused a shot of pain to run through him, but he was alive, so he could bear with it, he supposed.

[Feint]

Qaan felt a surge of unnecessary rage bubble up in her chest, and she slammed her paw into the ground with all of her might. That damn nog tried to kill me... KILL me! she seethed, and flexed her paw. Her strength was returning already--that was good. She staggered to her feet and nodded at Hexle. Yeah, she was fine. She eyed the rock theme park apprehensively, then realized with a start that she shouldn't be seeing it at all. Theoretically, it should be pitch black down there. Qaan shakily tried to edge up to the crevice, but her pitching movements worried her and she crawled up to it on her belly. A blueish glow identical to the one she had chased down here was glowing at the bottom of the cave, but there was no obvious way to reach it without potentially killing herself. She waved at Hexle to indicate she wanted him to come and see and nodded at the glow. "How do we...?" she started, staring up at him.

[Pyris]

Inching over to the edge of the slope was more of a daunting task than Hexle would have ever liked to admit.  The brilliant glow stung at his eyes, the pupils shrinking and adjusting to the new setting.  He was asking the same questions she was in his head, but he'd have to figure something out.

Blinking, he looked down at her for a moment, brow furrowed.  "Can't you fly?" he asked simply.  He'd thought all hydrokuhnas could fly.  Maybe Qaan had just never learned how to?  Eyeing the crevices closely, he searched for a way to get down himself.  He spotted one, fairly far off and down to the side.  He doubted he could actually make it over, though.  It was pretty far... Not to mention, if he jumped, he might break something.

[Feint]

Qaan shook her head, embarrassed. She had never really learned to fly, but this stranger didn't need to know that. She thought for a minute; she was creative, what could she think of to excuse her insecurities? "My wings are heavy, you see, so while I can fly, I can't fly very far, nor very long. Any attempt to fly down that tunnel--" she nodded down at the glowing tube "--would be fatal." She turned to stare up at him again, aware that her strength had all but returned. She stretched and eased herself onto her feet without faltering, eyes fixed on the lights below. She could see the same ledge Hexle was looking at, though she wasn't aware he had noticed it. My wings could probably take us both there, she realized. If only I knew how to use them! My kind's most famous attribute is all but useless to me! She scowled and raised her eyes level, scanning all the rock that she could make out to see where and how she could get down the tunnel. Her gold eyes rested apprehensively on the rock theme park...

"No," she blurted, not meaning to speak aloud. Her face flushed and she took a step or two backwards. "I'm sorry," she apologized, flustered, "I just don't--no. No. Nevermind. I didn't say anything. ...Sorry." Her eyes flicked back to the roller coaster ride and she traced it down to the depths of the tunnel, trying desperately to reassure herself that there were other ways to reach the bottom of the tunnel, she just hadn't found them yet.

[Pyris]

Sighing, Hexle attempted a lean forward to see if there was some plausible way to get down there without flight.  His eyes widened when he almost lost his balance, at which point, he decided leaning out was possibly a bad idea.  He glanced over at Qaan, who was very obviously stressed out, and although her wings really didn't look all that heavy compared to other hydrokuhnas, whatever her reason for not flying was her business and it was not his job to pry into that.

"Don't worry about it," he said as though they weren't just sitting between a deadly fall and a tunnel they couldn't climb up to return.  "We'll find something else, then."  The ridges below were too small for him to jump and land on, but since the very thought trying to climb down with them anyway freaked him out, he thought it would be best not to try it.  There had to be a way out... unless of course absolutely nobody had ever been down here.  Akail wander through here all the time, didn't they?

"Do Akail fly?" he wondered aloud.

[Feint]

Qaan's mind and posture relaxed and fell into a state of calm as a very petrified Urchin appeared at her feet. The hydrokuhna gave a heavy sigh and shook her head with an air of nonchalance. "No, they don't fly. They go down there," she said, and tossed her head at the theme park of rock. The paths did shoot down the tunnel at a reasonably safe angle, and would get them to where they wanted to be, but in the most thrilling way possible. Qaan tilted her head up and took a deep breath, then strode over to the nearest pathway and leapt across the cliff to land safely on its slope. Without even half a pause, she was hurtled downwards, eyes closed tightly, into the glowing tunnel.

((ooc -- sorry--I had a LOT of holiday stuff to do. ))

[Pyris]

 ((Hexle's face-  O.Ou))

Frowning, he tried to think of a better way, but found he could not.  Last time he'd made a leap after Qaan, he'd ended up getting scratched up pretty badly.  His side was still throbbing, but he was pretty sure dirt and stuff had already stopped most of the bleeding.  With a lofty inhale, he made for the same path, hoping to be not too far behind.  He'd try to make some fun of it.  Sure.

Just as the hydokuhna had, the moment his feet met the slope, off he went, nearly rolling after her as he lost his balance.  He chose to crouch, his rear paws planted firmly on the ground as he practically flew down the pathway.  There was a strange sense of floating about it, the way the air whooshing around him nearly lifted him off the ground.

((I'm going to be kinda flaky for this week, so I guess it's even?  lol))

[33]

[Feint]

((ooc-- Hey, fear's an emotion, that nog'll eat it right up. xD Oh, I'm going to be away until after the first, just thought you should know.))

Qaan gasped audibly as the slide abruptly ended, throwing her face first into the hard, wet ground. She groaned and grasped her bleeding nose with both paws, eyes tightly shut, curled in a ball on her side. She *bated in pain until the throbbing passed, then slowly rose to her feet. She tried to sniff, but her nose was clogged. She wiped it clean with the back of a paw, which seemed to help a little. "Hexle?" she called out in a nasally voice, and glanced down at her bloody paw. Ouch. "Hexle, I think I broke my--Oh. Oh dear. What is that?" Trembling, the hydrokuhna crouched down and quietly snuck behind a nearby boulder, hardly daring to breathe.

((ooc-- *bate (also bait)
intr.v. bat·ed also bait·ed, bat·ing also bait·ing, bates also baits
-->To flap the wings wildly or frantically.

I'm letting/making you write what happens next. >:3 Hahaha.))