[ORP] The search (OPEN)

[Sikukuu Pride]

This RP takes place the day after the storm and the genet rescue operation. It's still raining, but it should hopefully be safer to move around. There will be no SoA-prizes this time around, but decent-sized RP posts in here can count as tickets in the participation raffle so with some luck you could end up with a pretty SoA for playing... And if we feel like it we might hand out some OOCarrots too.

The RP will run for 1-2 weeks depending on what happens and there might be dice rolls or situations where you need to make a choice to decide what happens next. It will run a little bit like the now famous firekin meta RPs. smile

There are not many rules... Anyone can join, rogue or pride member. You can jump in even if you haven't participated in the other meta RPs and games, and if you don't own a suitable SoA you may play a non lined animal like a lizard. If you're interested in winning a Sikukku member you can check out the RP contest here.



The group that had looked for shelter down in the forest after the dance had fared well, all things considered. Heimdall had figured that it would be easier for a large group to find shelter among the trees than to try to fit everyone in the dens higher up on the mountain side. Some had braved the rain and wind to go back to their home-dens, but he'd remained with the guests and pride members in the forest. He'd helped Ester set up a make-shift medic station to be able to take care of any storm related casualties. It was morning again, and while the rain continued Heimdall hoped that the worst of it all was over.

It was time to try to find out how the rest of his pride had fared... He was a bit worried, but didn't let it show. His best bet might be to try to find the rulers of the pride. They'd know how to handle the tired and in some cases injured party goers that had been forced to take refuge here.

"Anyone up for a walk," he asked cheerfully, "I'm going to go find the Kaskazi King, the lion in charge of the summer season."

The members of Sikukku knew who he was, of course, but Heimdall wanted to make sure their guests knew what was up too.  

[Rennekae]

Nishati blinked her eyes open as the sound of a lion's voice tickled her ear fur. She let loose an enormous yawn that showcased her many sharp fangs and large pink tongue before groggily sorting through what was happening.

Nisha remembered the terrible storm that had interrupted the previous night's party. After making sure that each of the lost genet babies was safe with the mother, she had stumbled off to the nearest shelter - a make-shift den of sorts occupied by a fair-sized group of pride members and visitors. The lion speaking was a blue male named Heimdall; Nisha had seen him around the pride and knew little more about him. It took a moment for her to register what he actually said, and when she did, her first thought was to just curl back up and pretend she hadn't even woken. She was still quite sore and tired from drudging through the storm.

Still, she knew that the pride still needed help. Besides, if she laid in one spot all day, her muscles would probably cramp and seize.. or, at least believing that made it easier for her get up.
After a brief - but amazing - stretch, she padded over to Heimdall. "Lead the way," she smiled.

 

[Annchen]

Tired? Yes. Sore? Oh, yes. Paean had expected to work during the Midsummer Festival, but normally the work would have been to help the entertainers run their games, and to make sure there were food and fun for everyone. Yesterday during the worst of the storm he'd helped with whatever he could around Esteryti's makeshift Medic station. He had no talent whatsoever for first aid and healing, but he was perfectly able to fetch supplies and carry things as long as someone pointed him in the right direction.

"I''ll join you," he said, "With a bit of luck I might find some more of Ester's gourds on the way."

He had little hope that they were still in a pile up by the dancing ground where he'd left them. He knew empty gourds could float so he could probably find at least some of them again even if the storm and rain had scattered the colourful containers.

"Will you be okay here, sis?" he asked, turning to Esteryti. He'd managed to catch a few hours of sleep this morning and wasn't sure how things were going with her patients.  

[Annchen]

Heimdall waited to give those interested a chance to gather around him. He nodded silently as both Nishati and Paean stepped up. A couple of others joined the little group too, and he smiled at his little party of volunteers. He knew some of them from around the pride, while a couple were their rogue party guests.

"Sure," Heimdall said when the brown lion mentioned looking for the lost gourds, "We can keep an eye out for gourds too."

He didn't expect Esteryti to leave her post, and he was glad that he wouldn't have to talk her out of joining them. But his mate was a sensible lioness, and while there were no emergencies at the moment she still had minor wounds to tend to. After all the trouble of setting out a temporary medic station she wouldn't just abandon it.

"Don't worry Paean," he said, "There are others that can help Ester here, and if we should happen to find more people in need of a medic you can always escort them back here."

And with that he shook some rain water out of his mane and headed uphill through the forest.

((We'll just assume that the group is a little bigger IC. That way people can jump in later if they want to and just pretend that their character traveled silently with the group from here.))

After a short walk the forest is starting to thin out and the path is divided in two. It's time to make a choice. Sikukuu members will be familiar with these two paths and where they lead, while rogues or newly joined members can only see whats in front of them.

arrow Right or left?

- The path to the right should lead the shortest way to the dens, but it's steeper and there will be some light climbing involved. A rogue would notice that this path is steeper and rockier. A bit of water trickles between the rocks.

- The path to the left serpentines up the mountainside, and it too ends up along the mountain ridge where the royal den is located. A rogue would notice that this path is smooth and more muddy than the other.

Rennekae

 

[Rennekae]

Nishati nodded silently at intervals throughout the conversation, listening intently but not really inputting much. She was extremely tired and, really, didn't have anything pertinent or interesting to add.

She padded after Heimdall when the navy lion started off, wincing the first few times she set down her paws. They were very sore and prickled painfully, although they numbed slightly and she got used to the feeling the more she walked. Nisha was striding almost level with Heimdall, half-listening to any mumbling between the party members; suddenly, she noticed she had pulled ahead.

They had reached a fork in the road, a place she knew well, and she had continued along the righthand path without even realizing. She stopped and looked back over her shoulder curiously. In her mind, this was the shortest and quickest path, and therefor the most logical. She titled her head slightly as she looked at Heimdall, leaving the decision up to him.

 

[Annchen]

Paen was walking along at the rear of the group, so he just went along with the rest when they came to the fork in the path. If he'd been walking alone he would probably have picked the path that required less effort to climb, but he didn't question the group's decision. The brown lion tended to be a bit lazy, but he went along without complaining. Following and letting others make decisions was easy, much easier than fighting to get his way every time.

He tried walking on the larger rocks on the path to avoid the trickling water, but soon realized that he'd get wet either way. It was still raining after all... Perhaps it would be less of a challenge to try to walk between the wet and slippery rocks? It would be embarrassing to have to hobble back to Ester with a twisted ankle.  

[Annchen]

Heimdall nodded when Nishati seemed to want confirmation of the choice of path. He didn’t particularly mind what way they took to get there, and since there were no complaints from the rest of the group he assumed they didn't care either. The rockier parts of the path were slippery, but he dug his claws in and continued on.

After walking and climbing for a while without any major incidents you can clearly hear flowing water ahead. Last time anyone walked this path there weren't any streams flowing anywhere near it, so the storm seems to have moved more than trees... The path is almost completely washed away up ahead. One of the small streams flowing from the lake higher up in the mountain must have changed its course and filled it up with fast moving water during the rain and storm.

A very thin sliver of the original path leads upstream, but what’s left of the path is right next to the stream and looks like it might require a balancing act to get past the narrowest place. The other shore looks like it would be easier to walk along, but that would mean braving the rapidly flowing water.

exclaim Let's look around! Roll a dice 1-6. You'r characer will notice only what your roll says (unless one of the other characters hear/see something and points it out to you)
1 - Too close to the edge! The ground starts to crumble under your paws.
2 - There's a place downstream where several large rocks are half submerged in the water. Potential bridge perhaps?
3 - You think you heard something, but can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from.
4 - You see movement out of the corner of your eye. Is that someone on the other shore?
5 – You’re looking in the right direction at the right time, and you can see a mud-covered creature sitting on the other bank.

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Rennekae

SilverLutz

 

[Siire]

Pell had been with them for a while, just keeping a silent tongue. Ever since she saved one of the babies, it grew a bit, well, attached to her but she made sure it stayed with its mother while she was gone. She stopped at the back, thinking she heard something, but she hardly didn't know. Continuing on with them, she knew she heard the same sound again, but it was bouncing around everywhere to her and made her paw her ears in meaning that it was annoying her.

 

[Rennekae]

Nisha hung back for a heartbeat and allowed Heimdall to take the lead again. With her larger paws and natural climbing ability she found the trek to take little effort, so she tried to pay attention to other members of the group to see if they needed help.

The sound of running water disturbed her ear fur, warning the group of what they'd find long before they reached the top, but it was still a bit of a shock to see. Like the others, Nisha surveyed the area, taking in the damage and the two rather perilous looking options.
She started to swing her head toward Pell, who seemed more irritated than anyone else, but stopped suddenly and did a double take. At first glance the leopardess had thought there was a tree stump on the opposite bank, but she realized it was actually a living creature - one that was covered in mud and grime.

She padded over to Heimdall, so close that their pelts brushed, and leaned in until her muzzle was a hair's length from his ear before pointing out the stranger in an only just audible whisper. She wanted to alert him without setting the entire group on edge.

 

[Annchen]

Paean frowned when he saw the state of the path ahead. He looked down at the water, not at all interested in getting close enough to dip his toes. Swimming was something he actually enjoyed... In calm water on a hot summer day. When it was already raining and the water looked like this? Nope! Not a chance. He wondered if they'd just have to climb down and try the other path instead, but that didn't sound very pleasant either. Bleh... He should have stayed

A sound caught his ear, but it was hard to pinpoint the direction it had come from with the noise from the flowing water. Perhaps it had just been the water, but he thought it had sounded different.

"Did you guys hear anything?" he asked.  

[Sikukuu Pride]

1. Pell
2. Nishati
3. Paean

exclaim Oh look! Paean found one of Ester's gourds.  

[Annchen]

A whisper in his ear turned his musings from how they should proceed with most of the path in ruins. It took some time for Heimdall to see what Nisha had noticed on the other shore, but after a little while the cheetah moved again and he could see her. It wasn't obvious who it was, however. She was very muddy, and it was hard to see if she was hurt or not.

"Are you all right over there?" he called.

He wasn't sure if she was a member of the pride or a visitor, but there was something familiar about her.

exclaim Who is that? Roll a dice 1-6. Anyone in Vuli clan will get +1 added to their roll since they are more likely to recognize her despite the mud...

If you roll a 4 or higher you recognize Usiku Wingu as a member of the pride.
If you roll a 5 or higher you know her name and that she's a Crier in the Vuli clan.

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Rennekae

SilverLutz

DraconisSiirexus

 

[Rennekae]

Cautiously, Nisha padded closer to the river. She stopped when the ground started to feel less than sturdy and squinted her eyes, studying the figure across the water. The mud made it very hard to recognize a scent or pelt but she was positive it was a cheetah.

Suddenly their eyes locked and in that amber gaze she found the distinguishing trait she needed.
"Usiku! Usiku Wingu!," she called, recognizing the Vuli clan crier. Instantly Nisha was flooded with worry; how long had Usiku been out here by herself? Was she injured as well as dirty? "Usiku, it's me! Nishati! Are you alright?"

 

[SilverLutz]

Her coat was fairly earthy to begin with, but there was no denying Usiku Wingu was camouflaged better than she ever had been in her life. Not that she even noticed the mud covering her. She didn't notice anything other than what laid before her, filthy and half under a tree that had gotten caught in the flood and found high enough ground to come to rest on. Her usually bright eyes were dull with pain and sorrow, and it was only when someone called her name that she looked away from the motionless body before her.

She caught sight of the small search party on the other side of the river, and for a moment her heart fluttered with joy. She had no idea where she was, and getting back hadn't been a thought that had really concerned her. The moment passed, though, and sadness filled her once again. The leopard calling to her looked familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't place a name with the face.

"No," she said, barely above a whisper. Perhaps the animals on the other shore had seen her mouth move, but certainly hadn't heard her. She looked away from them, back to the small, lifeless ball of fur before her. No, she wasn't alright.