Open from December 2nd to December 5th at 11:59pm EST!
As the day of the first event dawns, participating students are gathered together around midday by an eclectic mix of Christmas elves and Halloween gnomes, then herded into the shiny new stadium and directed up a large ramp at one of its ends.
The Interholiday Liaison awaits you at the end of the ramp. She is standing tall—or as tall as she can, being an elf—in front of a red velvet curtain, her pointy face lit with a grin.
"This promises to be a most momentous occasion," she begins, her voice somehow reaching even the students at the back of the pack. You think she might be mic'd, but when she speaks next you realize that until now she had been speaking at her natural volume. The whole stadium can hear her with her microphone on, and they respond with the kind of raucous cheers that only Halloween can produce.
"The Amityville House Cup has begun!" The curtain behind her opens, giving you your first look at what you face.
Spanning the entirety of the stadium floor is a noticeably complex but still very jolly obstacle course. It all looks a little disappointing in its innocence (at least to the spectators who won't be running the thing), but similarly to how a book should not be judged by its cover, a Christmas agility course should not be judged by its apparent lack of debilitating hazards.
For you there is only a moment to contemplate what you've gotten yourself into before the bells ring and you are urged forward. The Obstacle Course has begun.
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 8:28 am
The obstacle course has five sections that must be completed before it is considered done. FEARs, flight, and levitation are on lockdown, as are natural forms longer than ten feet in any one direction. If you have a question as to how your character's natural abilities might affect the course or whether they should also probably be considered on lockdown, ask it in the Q&A!
To start, roll 1d6 for each section. You may roll your dice separately or may put all five rolls in one post, whatever you like. Record the corresponding number of points you earned from each of your rolls.
An example:
Ricardo the Y2 Monster's RPer decides to roll all of his dice in one post. They roll 2, 6, 4, 4, 1. Ricardo's preliminary scores are as follows:
Check your stats. Distribute your speed stat across your point total anywhere you'd like to boost your character through the challenge. How you choose to reflect these changes in RP is up to you!
Another example:
Ricardo is a fast monster with an 8 in speed. His RPer chooses to put most of those points into Section Five since he did so poorly there, and the remainder in Section One. His new scores are as follows:
Instead of having Ricardo fail horribly at the end of the race, his RPer chooses to let him emerge tired but victorious, tripping a troublesome reindeer as he crosses the finish line.
Now it is time to decide if you want to use your luck stat for this challenge! You are only allowed to use it once, so if you choose to do so here, you cannot use it for the rest of the event. If you do choose to use it, add it to your section totals just as you did your speed stat.
Last example:
Even though speed is Ricardo's best stat, his RPer wants him to be so fast he leaves skid marks on the course. They decide to pad Section Five with luck!
Did you remember to use your speed stat? Y Did you use your luck stat for this challenge? Y
Be sure to RP your rolls! You may choose to run the course solo, interact with others while your character is dodging obstacles, or even make a few posts without rolling in order to RP with other players along the way. Don't be discouraged if you quote a player for interaction and they are unable to answer! The obstacle course is a hectic place.
This thread will be locked on December 5th at 11:59pm EST so that points may be tallied without anyone making edits while we do so. If your post was not edited to include your form prior to that, your character's attempt will not be counted. Following the conclusion of the entire event, threads will be unlocked so that RP may be added/edited if you so desire.
TiH Student Council
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TiH Student Council
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 8:29 am
Section One
You begin at the top of a snowy hill that covers the stands on one side of the stadium. You and your fellow competitors have been outfitted with skis on all of your feet, and as soon as the merry Christmas bells announce the start of the race, a giant icicle sweeps in from behind and unceremoniously pushes everyone down the slope. Lively snowmen toss pieces of themselves at you as you whiz past, and elves of every shape and color activate their secret ornament/garland bola traps whenever you are close. In addition to the obstacles, there are also the slalom gates. At regular intervals, pairs of poles have been set up that you are expected to navigate between.
Just try to do your best.
Rolling Results
You trip up early, tumbling all the way down the hill and missing every slalom gate. 0 points You manage to fumble your way through a couple of gates, but the snowballs and elf attacks really do a number on your progress. 2 points You're a good skier sometimes! Sometimes.4 points What was that? You were doing pretty well until someone clipped you while they were skiing past. Rude. 6 points You very nearly complete a perfect run! If would have been perfect if it hadn't been for that vindictive jerk, Buddy the Snowman. 8 points Great job! You zoom past the competition while also hitting every gate effortlessly! 10 points
Section Two
At the base of the hill another oversized icicle brings the speeding crowd to a stop, some competitors more jarringly than others. The flat, sedate area that follows is covered with a twisting maze of snow-covered branch hurdles that appear to have grown out of the ground. If you get the chance to really look at them, however, you realize that they couldn't possibly be natural. This portion of the stadium floor is made up of nothing more nurturing than a block of ice.
Rolling Results
Slippery. You fall down. A lot. :( 0 points You can't quite figure out where you're meant to go in the maze of hurdles. Plus, the floor is really slippery. You remain near the back of the pack the whole way. 2 points You're several hurdles in when a classmate's tail or wing whaps you off course, hindering your progress! 4 points You jump the hurdles better than most but worse than many. Still, it's a decent effort! 6 points One might think you are a natural hurdle hopper... if it wasn't for those tryhards up ahead. 8 points Who knew you were so good at sprinting on ice and leaping nimbly over precarious obstacles? The crowd is truly impressed! 10 points
Section Three
With your feet still slippery from the ice and snow, you are now presented with the balance beam. There is nothing stopping you from succeeding here except for an eight foot tall pair of swinging stockings, each aiming to knock you off into the heaps of puffy snow below. They are a shocking shade of red after all of the previous white and pale blue.
Rolling Results
STOCKING'D! 0 points Your forward progress is more reminiscent of a caterpillar inching its way along a branch than a student conquering a balance beam, but at least you made it across! 2 points If you've discovered one thing about yourself during all of this, it's that you have the arm strength to pull yourself back up onto a balance beam after almost plummeting to your shameful defeat. 4 points Although this is definitely more difficult than you thought it would be, you're doing a decent job! Take your time! 6 points Trying to pass another student on a balance beam? Probably not. At the mercy of the slowness of the student in front of you, you finish slightly slower than you might have liked. Still, it's an excellent showing! 8 points You're so steady that you could probably do some cartwheels or something and still not fall off! It won't win you any extra points, but why not? 10 points
Section Four
Next up, the wreath run!
Stacks of fragrant fir wreaths blanket the ground here, each one about knee-high to a grown adult. Smaller students may find themselves struggling to pass. The good news is, you're almost at the end!
Rolling Results
There's a lot of tripping and flailing in your general vicinity. You're pretty sure the wreaths are somehow eventually lowered to counter your clumsiness. 0 points Slow and steady... is still slow. 2 points You get slightly off track and lose some time to the wreaths. Luckily, the exit is plainly obvious, so you just have to adjust your path! 4 points Were you not being so careful, you might have finished things a little quicker. You also might have faceplanted. As it is you're doing pretty good! 6 points You speed through the wreath run with only a few moments of hesitation! Great job! 8 points You are the WREATH MASTER! 10 points
Section Five
Thick pines line the last stretch of the course, their limbs bowed low to the ground to create a dim, cramped space beneath. If you try to climb over them to get past, the trees pull at your feet and pelt you with pinecones. The only way through is to crawl.
Rolling Results
You try to walk on top of the lowered branches anyway, in spite of the instructions you were given. It's a mistake. 0 points It's dark and slightly muddy under the branches. The combination slows you to a near standstill. 2 points Your hair/wings/tail/whatever gets caught on the branches as you crawl. Tough break, but at least you're not the slowest! 4 points You're doing okay! It's a little tough after everything you've been through today, but not any worse than you expected. 6 points You're pretty good at this whole crawling thing! Bravo! 8 points You crawl like someone's chasing you! Go go go! 10 points
The Finish Line
It was a struggle (or maybe it wasn't!) but you have finally reached the end of the obstacle course! At the finish line you are greeted by a teeming mass of Christmas citizens who have come to watch you compete. You are also given a candy cane and a participation medal!
Congratulations!
If you want to RP anything lengthy at the finish line you can do so in this thread or in the obstacle course stands!
[b]Did you remember to use your speed stat?[/b] [b]Did you use your luck stat for this challenge?[/b] (Remember, you can only use it in one of the four challenges!)[/quote]
[b]Did you remember to use your speed stat?[/b] [b]Did you use your luck stat for this challenge?[/b] (Remember, you can only use it in one of the four challenges!)[/quote]
[b]Did you remember to use your speed stat?[/b] [b]Did you use your luck stat for this challenge?[/b] (Remember, you can only use it in one of the four challenges!)[/quote]
[b]Did you remember to use your speed stat?[/b] [b]Did you use your luck stat for this challenge?[/b] (Remember, you can only use it in one of the four challenges!)[/quote]
[b]Did you remember to use your speed stat?[/b] [b]Did you use your luck stat for this challenge?[/b] (Remember, you can only use it in one of the four challenges!)[/quote]
Brute had no idea that school was actually this impressively awesome, and was becoming quite jealous that his twin brother had been made to go, while he himself had been forced to stay at home (until he had run away, of course). Why would they not want their superior child to go to such an amazing place, where so far all he had been asked to do was fight, eat things, and now, compete? He had gotten the (obviously false) impression that school was a place for learning things and expanding the mind. So far, the only thing Brute had needed to expand was his stomach, while chowing down on strange but also delicious blob-like monsters in and underground cave.
Ushered into the arena with everyone else, Brute held his arms close to himself, like usual, and had his helm pulled on and in place over his head, also like usual. As he waited for the event to begin, his tail lashed behind him, and his feet stomped impatiently in the snow.
"I am Brute." He muttered, lowly, and then took a deep breath, "I am Brute." he muttered again, taking another deep breath, barely listening to anything going on around him, his attention all for the course that was laid out before him in all of it's glory. When the ski's where brought over to be put on his feet, he growled and gnashed his teeth, but eventually allowed it, though the odd looking planks felt awkward, and made it nearly impossible for him to continue stomping.
"I.." He began, again, when suddenly, bells began to ring, and it was time to begin.
Letting out a loud, shrieking, small dinosaur like sound, Brute tried to set off, swinging his tail in the snow behind him in an attempt to move, but it wasn't until the icicle came and swept across, pushing them all forward, that he began to glide down the hill with a delighted snarl, narrowed eyes, and a large smile.
Zooming down the hill, Brute used his tail to help him navigate from side to side. He was doing quite well for himself, avoiding the thrown objects, going through the poles, and thought he might have a near perfect run.
But then a chunk of ice thwacked him hard in the skull helm, setting the headgear askew just as he plummeted nearer to the bottom. "AGGGHHHHHH!" He growled, reaching up to claw at his helm to attempt to put it to rights as he wobbled away on his skis, coming to a jarring stop only once he reached the bottom, his knees knocking painfully against another large icicle.
Giving his head a rough shake, he managed to set his helm to rights again, and with a boisterous cheer of "I AM BRUTE!!" He set off again, this time heading towards the ice-y hurdle maze.
He probably should have taken his ski's off before getting there.
It was an absolute disaster. Every move he made, it seemed like he would fall. Eventually, tired of not being able to stay on his two, ski clad feet, Brute realized that other creeple had taken their skis off and did the same, only to stand up and find that he still could not make purchase, and fell again. Not sure what else to do, the monster began to crawl along the ice, huffing out angrily, but still determined to see this through. When he made it to the end, he was shivering, cold from crawling along the ice.
"I-I-I...A-Am...B-B-Bru-Brute." He chattered, as he stood up, shaking himself off while making his way towards the balance beam next, hopping up without much thought and stalking forward, his balance impeccable, as always.
Except he only made it about two steps before a stocking came and sideswiped him off of the beam. With a howl of anger, he landed in the fluffy snow, and was forced to trudge through it with a glare, in an attempt to make it to the next part of the course, which only set him further behind a crowd that was pulling further and further ahead.
He eyed the wreaths on the ground with growing trepidation. Gone was his initial eagerness and desire to do extremely well. In it's place was a boil who was actually behaving with caution, as he came up to the edge of this particular area, bent down, and growled at the wreath at his feet as if to say don't you dare try anything funny with me.
Satisfied that the object would not move, throw itself around or attempt to trip him up in some other dastardly way, the wyvern began to move forward, attempting to leap from wreath to wreath, his claws slicing through snow. He was like a leaping gazelle, graceful as he arced through the air beautifully.
Only to land on his face. Again. And again. Annnnd again.
By the time he got to the end he was spluttering, shaking his head, swiping at his helmet with his hands in an attempt to knock out the snow. He was shivering, and wholly unimpressed with this entire ordeal. What kind of test of strength was this, anyways? A dishonest one, certainly. Completely rigged. An evil trick of some kind!
"I am Brute." He muttered under his breath, darkly, as he trudged onward towards the final portion of the obstacle course.
The last area was lined with pine trees and boughs. Brute didn't even attempt to climb over them. With a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat, he lowered himself into the snow and began to crawl, tail lashing behind him in anger, getting caught in at least half of the branches that he attempted to duck under, which only made him angrier, which only made his tail lash more.
By the time he got to the end of the course, he was quite irate indeed. Not even the offering of a candy cane, which he promptly shoved into his mouth and crunched down on, swallowing after only a few bites, could placate him.
The participation medal was only given a pacing glance before he lifted it up and began to gnaw on it as well, chewing it up around the edges, teeth scraping along the metal, denting it here and there.
"I AM BRUTE!" He finally screeched at the ridiculous little elf people, before departing in a huff to find his brother, whom he was sure probably died somewhere out in that hellacious obstacle course.
Here he was again. The Amityville House cup. Of course, it was quite a bit different this time, with these annoying elves running around, calling the shots, and with snow on the ground and a chill in the air as well. Not that the cold really bothered Mathias, who was a fairly hairy individual. Of course, in true winter fashion, his normal, silvery-grey hair and fur had all turned white, but that didn't make it any less advantageous in the snow and slightly more frigid than usual weather.
The wolpertinger was, as always, taking the event quite seriously. While waiting for his ski's to be brought to him to be put on, he was stretching out his muscles, knowing that if he were to excel in any of the events throughout the next few days, this would be it, the one that required speed and agility. Truly, this would be his time to shine! Especially now that he was older, stronger, and better trained than he had been the last time.
With ski's strapped on, Mathias moved to the top of the hill, and awaited the signal for the course to begin. The bells ran, the icicle swept them all off, and the wolpertinger was soon speeding along down the hill, his wings pressed flat to his back as he built up momentum and speed.
THWACK!
Targeted almost immediately by the snowmen, Mathias soon found himself struggling all the way down the incline. Somehow, while being pelted from all angles, and while cursing under his breath, the small monster boil managed to get through a few of the poles, but not many, and the entire way down the hill turned into an epic struggle just to stay on his two feet. Eventually, he made it to the bottom, where another large icicle served as a way to catch himself in order to stop, and pull off his skis.
Darting over the icicle, he ran through the snow, trying to make up lost ground by getting to the next section of the course as quickly as possible. The next part actually looked quite easy, for a combination monster such as himself who was mainly made up of rabbit, especially when it was a maze which provided hurdles for jumping over. Quickly making his way onto the path of ice, the wolpertinger started out doing quite well for himself. He was gliding along quite smoothly and jumping each hurdle like a pro. He thought that he might even be able to ace this section of the course, and was feeling quite proud of himself, when another nearby monster whacked him with a thick, spiky tail, which sent him hurtling into the ice, instead of hurdling over top of it.
"DUMKOFF!" He shouted in the direction of the inconsiderate monster, who had just continued on as if nothing had occurred. Grumbling to himself, Mathias got back up, and continued on, but realized he had, once again, lost considerable ground on the competition.
Knowing he had to do better in order to catch up, but also knowing he had to be careful in order not to just end up getting himself sent further and further behind, Mathias entered the next part of the obstacle course carefully, hopping up onto the balance beam and moving along it slowly, so as not to be sent sprawling off into the snow on either side. His wariness paid off, in the long run, as he did not end up actually falling, but his pace seemed agonizingly slow (at least to him) and he still felt that he was behind. Much too far behind for someone who should have been doing so much better than this.
It was do or die time. He needed to finish strong!
Or so that's what he thought. The next part of the obstacle course was nearly impossible for someone as small as the wolpertinger, who's height put him at a severe disadvantage when it came to the wreaths. Had his wings been able to lend him any amount of flight, even if just to hover in air as he jumped, he might have been okay, but as it was, he could not make it from wreath to wreath, a fact that became increasingly more frustrating, and all of his hopes of finishing the course in record time became completely dashed as he could see, much further ahead, many of the other students finishing in front of him.
Swallowing back a painful lump in his throat, the wolpertinger pressed on, but only to fall into the snow, again and again, as if to drive home the point that he was just not good enough.
The final portion of the obstacle course was a joke, much like him. Between his seemingly ever growing antlers, and the wings on his back, he continuously became entangled in the tree boughs over head as he tried to crawl beneath them. Much like the time Holly had found him struggling the in woods, though the ghoul was not there to help him now. Eventually, he was able to struggle his way through, and he finished by jogging, exhausted from the effort it had taken him to untangle himself so many times, to the finish line.
His reward? A candy cane and a participation medal. He barely felt like he deserved either, as he quietly made his way out of the arena proper, and towards the stands that overlooked everything, feeling a desperate need to find a place to sit down and perhaps mope for a little while.
As a certain Dormouse would approach the starting line, one would notice she seemed... More rotund then usual... However, it would quickly become apparent it wasn't that she'd eaten a few tea cakes too many, it simply was she wore many layers over the over sized team sweatshirt and sweatpants. A red and yellow knitted hat graced her head as well as a pare of red and yellow sneakers. Red and yellow wasn't usually her color preference, but she wanted to stay warm and in theme.
As she waited for the bells to be rung, she tried to stay as focused as her sleepy mind would allow. She'd already been out in the snow far more then the year previously, and her biology was changing in favor of ridding herself of this cold weakness. After taking a few breaths and blowing out a frosty cloud, Camilla checks her skis to make sure they were on properly. She'd never skied before, but how hard could it be? She was about to find out!
There was little warning before the bells rang, but when they did she was off! She quickly found that skiing wasn't the easiest thing, but it wasn't the hardest either. By the time she reached the bottom and hit the stopping bar, she was smiling over how well she did for her first ever ski run! She'd only missed a few poles!
Quickly, she unstraps the skis and dashes into the ice maze! Unfortunately... While Camilla was fast, ice was not good for speed... It wasn't long before she was slip sliding everywhere! Hey, she was a young Dormouse Monster... She'd never had much experience with ice on this scale... Things only got worse as the chaos got her all turned around and before long she was at the back of the pack...
Luckily, things would soon get better! The Balance beam challenge had her grinning as she approached. Excitedly her tail begins to wag as she takes a few seconds to knock some of the snow out of the treads of her sneakers before stepping onto the beam. Duck, dodge, jump, stay balanced, and- she was through! The Dormouse ghoul was naturally agile and had great balance and dodging abilities! Her Martial Arts training was helping as well.
The next course however... Had her frowning... The knee height wreaths quickly became a problem for the ghoul who had so very many layers on... Jumping and ducking was one thing, but lifting her legs up with so many layers of pants on was... Hard... It was several face fulls of snow later before she finally got through... And she could wear they somehow lowered the wreaths... On the bright side, least when she fell she got up fast! She made it through the course with surprising speed!
While she may have done badly on the previous course, the finally course was where she was going to shine! As Camilla approached the branch tunnel one could see her grinning from ear to ear! She was a mouse! Crawling through small tight spaces came easily to her! Plus, she wasn't worried about getting all muddy or dirty.
It only took her two shakes of a Dormouse's tail to get through the branch tunnel, and as she crawls out and crosses the finish line, she begins jumping up and down excitedly while cheering! " Yay, yay!" she cheers as Christmas citizens come and cheer with her! Finally, she was handed a candy cane and a medal which she quickly slips over her head before unwrapping the candy cane with the same quickness!
Camilla had to admit; she was very proud of herself for getting through a course made of ice and snow! A year previous and chances are she would have fallen asleep halfway through. Now that she was done with the course, she needed to go back to her dorm, change, get her clothes washing, and change into something else before heading back to her Booth. Poor Shiki was probably a panicking nervous wreck... The thought made her Dormouse ghoul frown and quicken her pace.
Alright, this obstacle course seemed harmless enough. But Sidron knew enough to know that looks were always deceiving. Especially when he suddenly found himself strapped awkwardly to a pair of skis. And before he knew it he was being pushed down the top of the hill with snow and festive boas being flung at him. He had never skied before and almost biffed it towards the bottom of the hill but somehow managed to stay on his feet.
The second part was no quite as easy either. Ice was everywhere and there were awkward branches sprouting here and there. But they were to push on. Even with the slippery ice Sid found it relatively easy to maneuver. His clawed toes gave him a slight advantage in gripping the ice while his agility and speed helped him over the branches. Although they were still quite tricky and more than once he could almost feel his hair or his tail get snagged by an errant twig sticking out. Sudden jerks to his body were unwelcome.
The balance beam almost meant certain dissipation for the dragon though. His feet were still kind of wet from the ice and more than once he had slipped. The ability to not use his wings made it very difficult to keep himself from falling. It was hard to resist the urge to just unfurl his large wings and fly across to the other side, but he resisted it as much as he could. Of course, they did flare out just a big whenever he would wiggle back and forth from trying to regain his balance. Falling a few times, the dragon managed to catch himself before he entirely fell. But at least he had the upper body strength to pull himself back up on the beam and finish crossing.
The wreathes would be a breeze. Remembering to keep his knees high and step with purpose this could not have been a more easier section. Though he did find it quite sad for some of the smaller students who were obviously have a hard time with it. Short legs would have made it difficult. Sidron praised the fact that he was rather tall and that his legs were pretty long. The dragon having to resist the urge to reach over and pull a smaller student out of a wreath mess they had gotten themselves into. He blazed through the wreaths. A WREATH MASTER!!
The last leg of the course was the most difficult. Aside from the balance beam. His wings and tail kept getting caught as he crawled through. And his large size wasn't helping any either. Sidron had to carefully pick his way through. Bulky size and snaggy branches. It was very uncomfortable. Even when being careful he somehow managed to snag his hair, his tail, his wings or a piece of his outfit. Whoever thought up this obstable course most certaily didn't have larger students in mind when they came up with this part of it.
But eventually he made it to the finish line. He wasn't tired though. It was honestly really a refreshing run. The boil bent over, placing his hands on his knees while taking a few gulps of air. While not tired he was still kind of out of breath from the course. Part of him wanted to do it again. But they were only allowed once so he would have to take his obstacle course need out somewhere else. Perhaps he'd look into one of the most physical classes after this whole thing was done. That thunder road one looked promising.
Alexnder wasn't really sure, looking out over the obstacle course, why he had decided to enter in this little competition. Surely, the undead dorm could defend their reigning championship title without his help, and only with his support. Longingly, he gazed at the stands that surrounded them, at the seats that he could have sat in, relaxing, chilling, just watching without having to put in any of the actual work himself. Yes, that was where he really belonged. That was his true calling. Just a spectator. Always, just a spectator.
But no, here he was instead, with what few other undead were crazy enough to sign up for what was sure to be some insane level of hell few had ever experienced before. His sister, he noted, was one of them, and the sight of her actually did bring his lips up in a wide grin. It had been a long time, too long, really, since he had seen her or gotten to spend any quality time with her. He'd been gone for so long.
Of course, that was something that he could consider later. Right now, he was supposed to be focusing on what was right in front of him: The Obstacle Course. His worst nightmare. This was wear he was going to rest in pieces.
Alexander, with a welling sense of dread, strapped on the ski's that were handed to him, and prepared himself for a long and horrible descent. The bells sounded, the icicle swept him down before he was even ready (though he never would have been) and he let out a loud "OW!" of protest when the first ice ball struck him, followed by several others in rapid succession, as if the snowmen were singling him out for some reason.
The zomboil barely even tried to keep on his feet. He actually felt as if he stood a better chance just rolling and tumbling down the hill, and so, he fell, and just let gravity do all the work for him, his stitches pulling, his body parts nearly coming undone as he fell. Once hitting the bottom, face down in the snow, of course, he slowly straightened himself up, and took the time, all the jacking time in the world, to get everything tightened back up and in place, before pushing himself unsteadily to his feet and moving on towards the next phase of his own, personal hell.
Oh great. A maze. With an ice floor. And hurdles. Wasn't this just grand? With a sigh, Alexander set off, moving at a snails pace to the first hurdle, and simply stepping over it. One of the advantages to his height, he supposed, as he moved on, doing this again, and again. Really, he supposed, this wasn't so bad. It could have been worse, of course. Like, he could have gotten a wing in the face (which he did), and that could make him fall on his bony behind (which it seriously actually did), on the icy ground.
Sigh.
Slowly getting back to his feet again, Alex pressed onward, simply not caring enough to even step over the hurdles any more as he knocked each one over, purposefully, with his hand, so that he could just walk over them without having to walk quite so high. Yes, that was definitely much better.
Next, he came to the balance beam. Alexander studied it briefly before climbing on board. Ahead of him, the stockings swung, and he knew that he had to actually move if he didn't want to be smacked off and sent flying into the snow. Steeling himself, and taking a look behind and in front of himself to make sure that a certain weremantis wasn't watching (because he knew he'd just be judged for it later), the zomboil began to run forward, timing his steps just right so that he managed to dart through the stockings as they swung. He reached the other side without a hitch, and jumped down, completely exhausted.
He made a mental note not to exert himself again for the rest of the course.
And exert himself he did not. Upon reaching the wreaths, he very slowly made his way through them. He did not get knocked over this time, at least, which was a plus, and he didn't trip up over anything. He just moved, ever so slowly, through this area, determined to not put in any more effort than what was absolutely necessary, or to end up taking another face wash in the snow. No thanks. He really thought that he could do without washing of any kind, if that was all the same to everyone. Finally, he made it to the end.
There, the very last section of the course loomed ahead of him, pine trees that, to him, seemed to stretch of for miles and miles and miles into the distance. Unhappily, and with shoulders sagging, Alexander made his way towards them, sunk to his hands in knee's in the snow, and began to inch his way along, slowly. Ever. So. Slowly. Really, about half way through, he stopped moving entirely and wondered if he might just stay there and rest for an hour or so. But no, he kept on, if only because he knew he had an entire dorm to try not to let down at this point. Dragging himself through, he emerged from the other side, victorious (to himself, at least).
At that point, it was just a shamble towards the finish line, and Alexander could shamble with the best of them. Smiling happily for having finished at all, the zomboil crossed over and immediately began to search for Yin, who he was sure had likely been done for ages by then.
Of course, he realized that the other boil was probably freezing and near hibernation mode at that point, and likely wouldn't have bothered staying in the arena once he had finished the course, which meant that Alex was going to have to expend more effort just to leave the stadium, and find him.
His smile faded around the edges somewhat, though the candy cane and medal that he was given certainly made him feel better for participating.
Student Name: Petro Points Total: 38 Section One: 8 Section Two: 6 +2 (spd) Section Three: 6 Section Four: 6 +2 (spd) Section Five: 2 +6 (spd)
Did you remember to use your speed stat? Yes Did you use your luck stat for this challenge? No
The monster horse was wary about the snow not because of what he was wearing (he'd come to accept that there were necessary evils in his life such as pants and shoes) but because it brought back all sorts of memories. Christmas Town had been an old, old thought he'd long believed buried but snow always brought it back up.
The icicle pushed them all from the starting line, and Petro grit his teeth at the descent down the hill. Skis were as foreign to the monster boil as shoes but he managed to balance himself well enough, navigating through the obstacles and traps with surprising skill for someone who's only done this for the first time in their life.
He was getting so close to the end of the first leg when from out of nowhere, Buddy the Snowman popped up, forcing Tro to swerve out of the way. And things went downhill from there.
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He struggled out of the skis and quickly followed the crowd, arriving at a flat area with... what the jack were those things? Hurdles? Petro rubbed at his chin, studying height and length and distance. Long legs certainly gave him the needed spring to vault across easily, but he still wasn't quite the best he would have liked to be.
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The ski downhill and jumping had taken out of him more than he liked, which was why he decided to take his time in crossing. Haste makes waste, something he had to learn the hard way (and repeatedly) during his time at the academy. He didn't let the pressure of the race get to him or force him to speed up for speed's sake.
Balance was the point and purpose and balance was what he strove for. Also to catch his breath because it was the midpoint.
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When he got to the wreath run, Petro had to stare for a bit to take in what he was supposed to be looking at. And at what he was expected to do at this point in the race.
Smells nice, he grinned to himself before steeling his nerves and speeding right along, knowing that he was getting close to the end.
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Petro was preparing himself for a final mad sprint but had to come to a skidding halt when he saw the last stretch of the course. Jack damn it, finding out he had to crawl ruined his momentum, which was why, as well as he did in his crawl he wasn't exactly pleased with his final performance.
'T'll do, he mentally grumbled as he got up and brushed snow and dirt off.
