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 Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 12:01 am
SCENARIO FIVE - INTO THE RAVINE
Once everyone has recovered, the group continues on, leaving the plains behind and marching into a land of cracked earth and deep furrows, where ridges loom to create dark spaces. Your path is leading you downwards into what seems to be a ravine. This is where you find the lion pawprints, hundreds of them, going in impossible directions, twisting and turning, impossible to discern who or how many lions made them. But they continue on into the ravine, where the walls slowly rise above you, blocking the moonlight. You follow them into the dark ravine, still determined to find an answer to the mysteries. Then the path splits. Left, forwards and right. Pawprints lead in all directions. Which path will you take? Quote: A) Left B) Forward C) Right Please make your choice clear in bold at the top of your post and update your confidence points! You have 24 hours. Feel free to continue RPing after your selection.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 12:11 pm
CP: 15-1-5+0-2=7
Ananse was so parched by the end of their stay at this accursed water hole, that he felt an urge to literally jump into the water. But he refused. Just in case. Thusly, he watched the others' reactions.
He walked onward with the others, still dry and wanting the water that he had left behind. The path ahead became cracked by hard times of heat and monsoon. He found paw prints as the others did; they were strange prints that he tried to make sense of. Walls grew up and out from the tortured land. Then the path split into three and he looked around at the others. Which way should he go? Since there is nothing to suggest a correct or more well-traveled path, he rumbled, "Perhaps we should go in groups. For safety."
Ananse chooses B) Forward
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 12:49 pm
A: Left
cp: 11/15
Makali hissed, wishing she had been able to take a drink but judging from the other's reactions, it was probably better not too. At least, she aimed to tell herself that to not feel so bad. Still, pushing onward, she followed the way up to the ravine, eyeing the prints. "Mad. All of them." she hissed as she eyed all the pawprints and the directions they all went. What was wrong with all these lions before them? Had they really been that scared or was it simply all a ruse to trick newcomers? Well...Makali wasn't falling for that! At least....so she told herself. She glanced at the three possible choices before veering off left, lurching forward, one good eye and ears on alert.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 1:35 pm
Hiro chooses option A (Left.)
CP: 12/15
The water stings Hiro's face for a moment but for some strange reasons he also feels refreshed afterwards.
"Going as a group doesn't sound bad.." Hiro says as he sees two of the lions head off in different directions. Hiro follows the path the blue lion is headed towards. "I prefer to use my left paw...so I'll go left." Hiro says. A ravine huh? Easy to get stranded or surrounded, but with two lions going down this path so far, Hiro felt confident with his choice.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 6:07 pm
B) Forward
CP: 7/15The cool water tasted so good as it flowed over her tongue and down her throat. She drank and drank until she had her fill. After a moment, she began to feel ill. Her stomach churned with a loud groan and her head felt funny. Her body spasmed and she vomitted up most of the water she had drank, the taste of bile in her throat. She took a few steps back and sat down, trying to steady herself. After a few moments, she looked up. She noticed no one else was sick, as no one else had drank from the pool. "I should have known..." she said softly. She rubbed a paw across her mouth, hoping she had wiped away any lingering sick. She watched the others as they all collective started to move on. She had hoped to rest a little while but it seemed better they keep moving. She pushed herself up, took a second to steady herself and followed slowly behind. Her paw still hurt from tripping earlier, but the pain had mostly subsided now. The group had walked a long path into a ravine. On the ground, it appeared many lions had been here before with pawprints going in all directions. As they continued into the ravine, the light from the moon was fading causing eerie shadows to dance along the walls. The group had seemed to slow as the path they were on had branched into three directions. Chayse didn't really have time to consider which way to go as she had been the last to arrive. She'd heard the dark male lion mention staying as a group and she agreed and followed along behind him. "I'm coming with you," she called out to him. "I think staying together is the best plan."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 7:37 pm
Ananse watched the others go after he had made his choice. He did not blame them for splitting up. It was the best way for their group to reach the end. Or, rather, for at least some to make it there. Then the last lion followed up with him. She had hurt herself and he had seen her retching the water from the pool. She was not having a good night. She limped while she walked. "I don't suppose... would you care for a friendly shoulder to lean against? I can lean so that it looks like you're helping me." His smile was gentler than one he usually wore, no smirk, no sarcasm.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 8:32 pm
Chayse gave a sigh of relief at the lion's offer. "I would," she replied and stepped closer to him. "I've been a little clumsy tonight. I considered going home but Im afraid I'd just get super lost if I did. Thank you for helping me. You're very kind."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2025 8:38 pm
C) Right
CP-8/15
Kanuni could only watch as the one lion drank their fill. “Great,”she thought. Then the scent of the water became intoxicating. Turning her head, she looked at the clear, inviting water and licked her lips. The pull intensified and her mouth became dryer than she could ever remember. It looked so delicious. Taking one step forward, she stepped on some of the dry grass surrounding her with her injured paw. It smarted causing her to snap out of her reverie, The other lions were moving ahead, so she shook her head and moved to follow, though more slowly than she had intended. Her body almost fought against her and she moved away from the water. Her stomach grumbled in protest, but she continued moving away from the from the water.
Soon, she found herself in a ravine and then lion paw prints appeared. She saw the others head off to follow two other trails. Then turning toward the right, she followed that trail. “Hmph, I can take care of myself.” Kanuni mumbled privately to herself.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 12:07 am
SCENARIO 5 RESULTS: Quote: If you chose A: You follow the pawsteps through twisting passages, sometimes having to squeeze through tight spaces to continue. Everything echoes strangely here. But only a dead end awaits you at the end of your path. The pawsteps end and never turn back, and the walls certainly don’t seem climbable. Confused, you return to the crossroads to see if you can find the others. You lose 1 CP. Quote: If you chose B: You choose to go forward, thinking it to be the most logical choice. You and anyone else who chose this path, follow the pawprints deeper into the ravine, the path sloping downwards and the walls closing in so that only a thin sliver of sky is visible. Even your lion nightvision is struggling down here, so that when your paw hits empty air instead of ground, you nearly tumble forward. You manage to right yourself just in time and realize there’s a chasm before you. Your heart races. When you kick a loose rock in, there’s no sound for a very long time. Carefully you back up and return to the crossroads to see if you can find the others. You lose 3 CP. Quote: If you chose C: Your path is strange and undulating but at least less claustrophobic. As you continue, the walls become dotted with openings, some big and some small. One even looks strangely lion shaped. You almost consider trying to squeeze in there but change your mind pretty quickly. That’s not your hole. There are ridges above you and when you glance up, that’s when you see it. Something white, ethereal. The ghostly form of a lion, barely visible in the scant moonlight. It seemed to waver slightly and then disappears from view. It was just for a moment but you’ve all seen it, so it wasn’t just your mind playing tricks on you. Have you finally found your ghost? Deciding not to continue on without the others, you return to the crossroads to collect them. Luckily they’re all waiting there and are eager to follow you down the right path. No CP lost. belloblossom As the rest split up, Nyama decides to remain behind. He's the only one who hears the whispered voice in his ears, the echoes travelling from some unknown source, demanding 'leave here now!'. His confidence is shaken as the voice fades. Luckily his companions return from their own adventures. It's not so bad when you're not alone. You lose 5 CP. Please adjust your points accordingly! Stand by for next prompt!
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 12:14 am
SCENARIO SIX - THE RITUAL STONE
Reunited, the group follows the right hand path until they reach the same spot. This time no ghostly figure appears. Having been the one to travel this way before, Kanuni seems extremely confident but the rest may or may not be a little more dubious as to how real their story is. But there’s no other way to go and the pawprints are still leading onwards, so onwards you all travel. Until finally the ravine opens up into a wide enclosed space, the stony ravine walls are full of caves that in a better time you could have imagined a pride living. In the centre, there is a large rock that rises up from the earth like the marker of a grave. The red moon is directly above you, no clouds in sight. You can see that the rock is covered in scratches and marks made in some sort of red liquid. You realize that this is a ritual site, where lions would gather, mark the stone and roar. You’ve all heard of the tradition, it’s old, nobody does it anymore. In fact, nobody can even remember what it was meant to accomplish. But it feels eerie and strange and the wind is howling. It feels like you’re not supposed to be here. What do you do? Quote: A) Step forward in front of the stone and unleash a mighty roar, attempting to commune with whatever ghost inhabits this place. B) Approach the stone and use a claw to add a mark to the stone. C) Walk around the edge of the ravine and investigate one of the caves. Please make your choice clear in bold at the top of your post and update your confidence points! You have 24 hours. Feel free to continue RPing after your selection.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 7:44 am
CP: 4/15Chayse leaned against the lion as they made their way down the middle path. The further they went, the harder it became to see. The path seemed to slope downwards, making it harder to keep their footing. All of a sudden, the ground in front of them disappeared. Chayse let out a sharp "Eek!" and tried to scuttle backwards. She managed to get away from the edge of a chasm just in time. Breathing heavily, she tried to catch her breath. "I think...." she huffed, "we should.....turn around." (waiting for Melo's response before proceeding back to the others)
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 9:16 am
B) Approach the stone and use a claw to add a mark to the stone.
cp: 10/15
Makali sighed at the dead end before she turned and went back to join the rest of the group. She eyed them before they all agreed to continue right and came upon the ritual sight. She huffed a bit, surveying the scene and the others before she pawed gently at a rock near her, before scoring her claw down the middle to add to the others. She contemplated roaring too but shook her head, thinking better of it in this moment.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 1:39 pm
Hiro choose option B. (Approach the stone and use a claw to add a mark to the stone.)
CP 11/10
After a long trek, Hiro ends ups deep into the ravine with the rest of the lions. The scene set up in front of Hiro is eerie, and almost sacred. He thinks it's best to follow tradition, at least somewhat, as he doesn't want to disrespect any of the spirits that might be about. He walks up and adds a mark carefully to the stone. Should he roar too? He wouldn't be opposed to it, but something in it, tells him he doesn't want to go all the way through with the ritual.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 6:56 pm
(I have to go ahead and make my next post as I'm going to bed soon and won't be able to wait any longer. )
B) Approach the stone and use a claw to add a mark to the stone.
CP: 4/15
Chayse (and Ananse) make their way back to the others and then follow them down the right path. They all arrive at the large stone with many scratches and blood on it. After a moment, she realizes that it's a ritual stone. She'd heard tales of them, but never been to one. She felt that this place had held many stories and ceremonies. It felt sacred in a way. She thanked Ananse for his help and stepped towards the stone. She wanted to make her own mark here, to leave a record that she (and others) had been here. She noticed that others had decided to do the same.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 7:29 pm
A) Step forward in front of the stone and unleash a mighty roar, attempting to commune with whatever ghost inhabits this place.
CP-8/15
Moving on her own, Kanuni followed the path to the right. Looking around while moving along the path, she saw many openings, one that even looked like it had been dug out by a lion. Resolutely sticking to following the footsteps, she continued. Glancing upward, she saw a small white mist appear. She stopped and stared at the shape, then it seemed to take form, looking very much like a lion. A shiver passed down her spine as the image wavered, then disappeared.
Shaking her head and blinking, she looked up again, but the shape did not reappear. Quickly turning, Kunani headed back the way she came. When she arrived at the crossroads, she saw the others waiting there.
"Come quickly, I found something," she said gruffly.
They all followed her, and once she arrived at the spot where she saw the ghostly shape, she looked around to see if it would reappear.
"I saw a figure. It was a lion, but I couldn't make out any details. It was pure white and floated just a few feet above my head. Right here," she said as she pointed in the direction the shape appeared.
"We must be getting closer now. I think we have to keep going this way."
She began to move along the path further. She was ready for this to be done with and hoped that whatever this thing was, it was not going to cause harm.
Soon they came to a wide open space, big enough for a lion colony. In the center is a stone with many markings. She'd heard of stories of such stones as a cub, but they were just stories. No one performed such rituals anymore.
Suddenly, the wind whipped up and started howling around them. Some of the lions marked the stone with their claws. Kanuni was getting annoyed with whatever was playing with them, so she let out a fierce roar to match the wind, letting all her frustration out.
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