Welcome to Gaia! ::

Unlike Shehk and Sammy (who to be fair, were undead and therefore had extremely poor body head and circulation,) Nuk barely even noticed the shift in temperature as he stepped into the room, looking around with mild interest but otherwise completely unbothered even by goosebumps, despite the lack of a shirt. In fact, he seemed more bothered by the sounds of the dogs barking in the background than the chill in the air, wrinkling his nose at it. Not that he could understand it... he barely understood it when he was in canid form, being that he wasn't REALLY a dog of any kind. Which went for when he was a crow, bear, etc -- he understood enough to get by, enough the instincts of the animal would give him, but the rest required practice and dedication to actual learning, something... well, something anyone who knew Nuk would know was unlikely. Stepping into the room, the skinwalker folded his arms loosely across his chest, looking around for the source of the barking. There didn't SEEM to be anyone around... but then again, looks could be deceiving.

The monster had just lifted his nose to give the air a sniff (not that he'd be able to smell anything in 'human' form either) when the voice boomed over the loudspeaker, the harsh sound making Nuk wince a little in mild irritation.

"Dog races?"

Looking around at their party, he quirked an eyebrow, finally settling on Shehk, who was the most 'dog' of them. He almost lost his train of thought right there too -- she seemed quite unhappy, visibly curled up around herself to preserve warmth. It was only then that he truly realized the temperature difference, enough that he caught on that the others might be uncomfortable. The pricolici in particular he knew would be... like Sammy, he certainly hadn't forgotten Christmastown either. She had spent most of her time on his back, cuddled up to him for warmth, and he was almost surprised she hadn't already attached herself to him like a leach... but that had been a different time. A different him. His amber eyes flickered a bit with a flash of uneasiness, regret crossing his expression for half a moment before returning to normal, eyes swiveling around the room again. The PA system had come back on, and he growled low in the back of his throat at what it had said, clearly joining the ranks of 'I do not like this.'

"Better watch your jackin mouth," he muttered to the PA voice, not really caring about whether it could hear him or not. Then, to the others: "No one's gonna get wet, why should we do what the jackin voice says anyway? Lets just walk across."

Flicking his eyes around at the group again, the skinwalker made a face like 'duh,' as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Nevermind that he had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be as easy as that... he was feeling particularly defiant.

"--Beat the s**t outta you? Yeah, that sounds about right!" Nuk replied, growling a little louder. If he had any sleeves, he would have rolled them up.

Not that there was anything to really beat the s**t out of.

Of all the things Toby had been expecting in their next endeavor, dog racing was definitely not among them. In fact, to be perfectly honest, the dear little unicorn hadn't been expecting much of anything as she made her way through the dark portal between spaces, far too concerned with her own predicament to think properly on anything else. She was blind, aching, and with each step forward, increasingly disoriented-- a fact that was not aided by too many sudden voices and sensations bombarding on the other side. Was that cracking, over-loud voice ringing out over a PA system? Why was it suddenly so freezing cold? ... And was it really necessary to have such peculiar fanfare playing in the background?

It was very nearly impossible to keep her concerns hidden, but oh, how she tried, attempting to 'survey' the new space despite her complete inability to perceive it. She'd be blind for a short while yet, that much she knew... but maybe, just maybe, the tense spell would end sooner if she willed it to?

False thinking, it was, but so very wishful.

... But anyway, the mysterious "announcer" was booming about new challengers-- the first of whom was referred to in feminine contexts and therefore had to be Shehk, right? And what was Sammy saying? If the floor looked 'cheap' and breakable, did that mean it was ice? Oh, Jack, she had to be careful in her steps, though Iris didn't seem to be terribly nervous as far as she could tell. In fact, when the 'more canine in them than me' comment came up, he seemed to give the harness a very meaningful shake. That had to be a cue for her.

When the announcer chimed in a second time with 'stud' commentary, she had to assume it was the skinwalker boy, Nukpana, which was of course confirmed instantaneously when he quipped something appropriately snarky in turn. How many contestants would there be, total?

"... Does this mean you're up too, Iris?" she asked her closest companion very quietly. The answer was perfectly clear when he leaned his shoulder against her thigh and let out-- of all the unusual things-- a short... quiet-almost-barking sound.

TIME TO BRING THEIR A-GAME, APPARENTLY???

Or was it their X game?

It was difficult to say exactly how long they had been there. "They" being two statues made out of copper, standing on raised pedestals set between two doors. The statues had the bodies of dogs and the heads of lions; they were Fu Dogs. Each one wore a different collar decorated with skulls; one had a collar that was red, the other a sky blue.

Each Fu Dog had one paw raised, resting on a sphere. Or is it a skull? It is difficult to tell. They move, their paws tightening around their treasures as you approach.

"Well met," they greet in unison. "Your trials are almost over, Students of Amityville. What you have gone through is a sample, a mere taste of what is expected of some on a daily basis. But you are not here for that."

They fall silent, looking down and studying each student carefully. The one with the light blue collar speaks first. "Your last trial awaits you. It will not be easy."

"You will get to choose," the red collared one says, "This is a choice for each of you to make."

"Not as a group."

"Not together."

"But individually," the two say in unison gravely. "You may only go through one door. Once you have made your choice and gone through it, you cannot back out."

"The doors are locked for now," the one with the red collar says. "They will unlock when the time is right."

"For now, consider your options," the sky blue collared one says. "You may change your mind before entering, but once you go through a door you cannot return."

The statues fall silent as they exchange a glance with each other. "To determine which door you pick, please tell us...

• Liberator.
  
  
  
• Enslaved.
  
  

"Oh bite me!" Shehk spit back at Sammy, baring her teeth irritatedly, clearly not in a good mood to be joked at, the comment punctuated with a pathetic whine. Unlike Nuk, however, she didn't really have the body heat required to just pave the way right across the ice to the other side. She looked to the doors on the other side of the room with a sort of pathetic expression. Unlike Sammy, she didn't immediately answer them with her own opinion on which of her two choices she'd prefer.

I already am enslaved by a weak body and heart that hurts me. she thought quietly to herself, shivering some more before she finally moved, her body crunching with a sort of odd noise as her body slowly realigned itself. Painfully slowly as it was further hindered by the cold of the room that had permeated into the Pricolici's body. Shehk made a noise that sounded like she was in pain, her canid body finally hitting the ground, plopped onto its side and whining pathetically.

If spoken to, Shehk wouln't be able to answer. The lack of FEAR in the air gave her on significant limit on her ability to speak as a wolf.

With more effort, she finally pried herself off of the chilled floor, whimpering and taking a few lame steps onto the ice...

Sammy watched as Shehk shifted, and indeed watching this time was far more painful to watch then any other time she had seen Shehk shift. She seemed to do it slowly, each bone popping and cracking into its new place a lot louder then they normally did. "Oh Shehk..." she mumbled as she watched her best friend fall over onto her side. She didn't need to speak to Sammy, the undead ghoul was soon crouching beside her offering a gentle pat on the head till she was up and ready to walk.

Slowly Shehk made her way out and Sammy could only watch with a frown as Shehk timidly moved across the ice, suddenly Iris came trotting along after her skidding to a horrible stop right in the back of Shehk's legs. "Oh Jack noooo." She groaned watching the two collide, "This isn't going to end well..."

That most definitely was not a good sound.

Toby couldn't help a visible wince at the sound of the crash, all too aware of what had just happened despite her inability to pay real witness. Shehk had clearly just taken a (very cold) dive against her will, and Iris seemed so distressed by it that he was whining and snuffling audibly-- having only been saved from a plunge himself by the stopping force of a pricolici's leg. He hadn't meant to do that at all! This wasn't good!

... And it all felt just a bit too unnerving with the 'crowd' still in fits of raucous cheers.

Still, Iris stayed glued to his spot for a moment, anxious and uncertain, and Toby didn't feel right bringing herself to 'encourage' him out of it just yet, since that... felt like it was dismissing poor Shehk's woe.

But hey! Maybe this was the last spill they'd have?

(Still overly wishful thinking, there.)