Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You have got to be joking." Rhiannon walked to the starting line, her presence summoned by the ickycom just like the other racers. Her spirits were hopeful when she signed up for the event, confident that it would just be like a gym race... Obviously, she hadn't been at Amityville for very long. There were plenty of things that had a small chance of killing you (again), a series of almost impossible challanges, and various unidentified substances that would take at least five showers to get rid of. It was the latter that she was not too thrilled about. The gun was fired and she ran without thinking, at least grateful for the fact that she would only wear this outfit once.

The first stretch was relatively easy, it had less to do with running and more like 'try-not-to-fall-flat-on-your-face'. She managed a very awkward, improvised form of sprint-skiing down the drop and around the hairpin turns, before being knocked to the ground by some bumbling student who fell and was currently rolling down the course. She jumped off the ground swiftly, not caring to dust herself off, and fueled by the burn of annoyance, ran right past the wall of fire and over the chasm, landing right in front of the climbing wall. She easily ran up its flat, smooth surface, until the slime decided to come pouring down on top of the participants.

'Ew, ew, ick, ew...' It took a lot of effort for Ri to ignore the sticky sludge that clinged to her shoes, but she made it up and over the wall with seemingly no problem. Recognizing the spiked obstacles as the ones on the track course for gym, she leapt over the hurdles with ease. But it wasn't until she got on the first big, floating, red ball that another student decided that she shouldn't be racing. They shoved her off the ball with a laugh, and with a surprised gasp and loud splash, the cold water swallowed her up, cleaning off a little grime from Ri's clothes. She got out of the water with an angry fire in her eyes, the feeling of revenge singing in her blood, giving her the strength to move on.

The spike pit was... strange. As she rounded the corner, she could swear she saw the thing spit out a student! The best thing to avoid it would be to jump over it, which Rhiannon was confident she could do, if not for the desperate student that held on to her for dear life. They both hit the warm, fleshy bottom of the pit and were promptly tossed into the air, the ghoul giving her an embarrassed smile as they came crashing down to the course. As if serving as a welcoming committee, a crowd of volatile Bombs ran right up to the disoriented witch with happy cries, but she knew better. Ri got up for the third time that day and bolted into the fourth section.

Water! Sweet, clean, beautiful water! She jumped into the pool enthusiastically, happy to be rid of the last of the slime and dirt. She swam fine, feeling clean once again and evading the obstacles, when she saw them: the three students who slowed her down. She snarled comments about "creeple these days" and "lousy students who don't know what the jack they're doing" with every breath as she raced furiously on, knocking students left and right, while others looked at her with a mixture of surprise and horror at her awesome display of swimming skill. Irritated, she scrambled out of the pool to be free of her attackers and headed to the final stretch...

Of ice. The chill froze her wet body instantly, making it impossible for her to keep her balance, or to go on without sliding a few times, which she did. Often. She was able to stand when she hit the oil slick, but when she tried to step onto it, she slid face-first down the oil, gaining a boost of speed, and diving right into the mud. She ended the race after a long period of slogging through the mud, not caring about anything but getting back to her dorm and the showers.

What in Jack's name did I get myself into this time?! Cailean looks down across the course, eyes wide in shocked dismay at the sprawling... Mess. Though after a moment he couldn't help but grin. Wait, it's just an obstacle course... Just like racing around the manor! He shot a sideways glance at the gnome in a helicopter. Kinda...

And then he was off like a shot, actually grinning slightly as he takes a few of the dangerously sharp curves a little too fast, having to skitter desperately for traction, once even dropping down to all fours to scramble at the ground to keep on track, though he manages to reach the wall of fire and vault over it thanks to a slight burst of speed, completely obliviously missing the fact his tail dips into it, lighting his fur on fire...

Thankfully the slime dripping from the wall puts the fire out in his slightly manic scramble up the wall, muttering quiet curses at whoever thought slime and a lack of handholds was a 'brilliant' idea, and letting out a loud feral growl of dismay at the sight that accompanies reaching the top of the wall, though he manages to get past the spike hurdles fairly easy. This is hardly different than vaulting over tree branches!
Though being knocked into the water, and dangerously close to completely off the course, by someone else quickly puts a damper on his joy, glaring at their quickly vanishing back as he paddles back to the start of the water and times his jumps much more carefully, and a bit more slowly.

He skitters to a stop at the 'spike pit', willing to eat the slight loss of time to watch another student try, and fail, to vault over it, backpedaling to get a better running start before racing forward and vaulting over it, yelping and clutching at his tail as he rolls safely to a stop on the other side, missing a bit more fur, but completely intact, aside from... What... MORE fire!?
"No, no, get away from meee~" He yelps and jumps to his feet as one of the fire-bomb-things inches over to him, racing away before it gets too close, blushing at his own slightly wounded pride, knowing his yelp was probably projected to everyone watching on the Mawnitors... His yelped curses at the crumbling pillars are slightly more dejected and quiet.

He dives into the water ahead after that mess without really thinking, just beyond glad it wasn't more fire, at least until some weird fish minipet bites him, making him paddle more frantically to cross the water, flailing when something catches on his foot, nearly dragging him under, but he manages to kick free of whatever it was, not looking back as he swims a bit faster and scrambles out of the water on the other side, shaking off determinedly. At least that washed all the slime off...

He skitters across the ice, his ears pinned back in an expression of irritated displeasure, even as he starts to get the hang of it, awkwardly skating across it, he nearly faceplants in the mess when it turns to oil, but manages to keep his footing after an undignified flailing scramble, huffing quietly as he just flat pounces into the mud, ears still pinned back as he trudges through it to scramble out of it on the other side of the finish line, a bit weakly trying to scrape and shake the mud off himself, but winding up just collapsing to catch his breath and look annoyed... Though he didn't think he did half bad, he still knew it was a truly awful mess... And he did not like it.




((I HOPE I did this right. ^.^;; This is my first time doing an event, let me know if I got it wrong somehow! sweatdrop ))

Mikey had never been much of a racer. But it was part of the competition he’d signed up for, and that was cool. It was all cool, man.

As such, his pace was a leisurely one, and while the other students surged ahead, he ambled through each task as though it were something pleasant to do.

The turns of the first section were tricky, but the fire stood no chance against a six-foot tall monster. He probably could have stepped over it, if he had wanted to.

The next wall should have been just as easy, but it was slippery, and crowded with other students, and those who slid downward bumped into him, impeding his progress. Thankfully the hurdles and giant red balls dealt with stragglers quickly, and Mikey was able to make it through to the next section.

Mikey waved at Steve in the next section and settled in for a friendly chat before heading through the rest of the third section with ease.

The fourth section truly tested the skill of his doggy paddling, which admittedly, wasn’t all that honed, and by the time he finally slogged out of the water, he had fallen way behind. He shook himself off with a grunt, and carried on anyway.

The final section suffered the same problem as the second, and there were students sliding everywhere like creature bumper cars. It was all he could do to stay on his own feet, and he finally made it to the finish line, covered in mud and absolutely soggy.

The ghoul supposed it made sense. Anybody who wasn't looking to race fair and square would have it coming, she thought, watching the aerial surveillance up above the track. It had been awhile since the last time Levi'd taken part in one of the school's large scale gauntlets and this would prove to be one of particular interest. From as far along as she could tell, this race was not only a test of her speed but would be one of her wits as well. Like the fiery course she'd gone through with Demi, this one had various obstacles of its own that she'd need to watch out for it she were to maintain her top speed. Don't undermined the tricks, ghoul.

As expected, but excitedly anticipated none the less, Levi caught sight of a well known set of horns which were attached to a very familiar demon boil. They both seemed to make the same expression when their eyes met and Levi's competitive blood instantaneously ran hotter than it had miliseconds before just by this shared glance. Oh, it was so very on like buttered pecan.

Well well, if it ain't ma'prized pupil. She said it almost reassuringly to herself, a reminder that West was capable of many things, but speed was her forte. The tatzelwurm considered making a joke aloud about his not taking to the sky like a rabid loon, but maybe she'd save the joking for later once they'd both made it successfully over the finish line- her before him, of course. Hands on her knees and performing leg stretches, Levi's eyes only peeled away from West's when it came time to get into position at the starting line. It was all one big challenge, but there was also now the microcosmic challenge between her and her mate; it was time to prove her excellence over him in the matters of speed.

When the race began, West took off. Staring in a somewhat profound amazement of his launch, the ghoul's heels scraped against the terrain where she followed suit. Baffled, Levi's mind and feet began working at high speed; this would not prove to be advantageous. When Levi got to the wall of fire, her instinct was to leap through it, but her mind was still using an abundance of her focus, trying to analyze the wrath demon's excellent start. Instead, the balls of her feet would hit the edge of the first fall, alarming the ghoul to the following drop. Snapping out of the thought process to catch onto the opposite side of the drop with her claws, Levi's tail snaked upward, anchoring her to the flat surface above and allowing her to gradually climb back up to the course with, hopefully, limited time lost. Dangit! Levi knew she'd have to make up for this.

At the second station, the tatzel made use of her tail to scale up the wall, passing a few of her peers in the process. The spiked hurdles would deal some cuts and bruises, but nothing she couldn't bear to take for the sake of gaining lost time. When she'd gotten to the red balls, the ghoul was practically at West's side. Her adrenaline was relentlessly burning through her very FEAR core right now; these balls could roll about all they liked, she was going to keep her pace.

Wet, but not slowing, Levi seemed to bypass the wrath demon in slow motion despite their current speeds. As her smirk once again arose, greeting him with excitement, the tatzel's chuckling may have been heard whizzing through the air they shared briefly. Onward was a plant the ghoul would recognize from a class she'd had with Professor Cadmus- Steve, was it? This plant was not to be taken lightly. The tendrils of green botanical being whipped along trying to grasp at Levi's limbs, which she attempted to counter using her tail as a shield.

Skittering into a slide at the sight of the bombs, Levi tapped just one of the minis with her toes and that was enough for alarm. Oh jackin' heck... Eyes wide, the white-haired ghoul scrapped her claws against the ground to launch herself further along the course, as far as she could get from the impending-

3,
2,
1...
BOOM!

Her ears popped up at the sound coming from behind her, but Levi would not take the chance of looking back. It was best to bounce across the following pillars as efficiently as possible and avoid her past misjudgment. Falling was not an option right now. She'd passed West and wanted to keep it that way.

This wasn't really Yaya's usual scene. It wasn't exactly that she was unfit, or lacked stamina, specially sense she was a dancer and a swimmer. It was just.. Running for the sake of running seemed incredibly redundant to her.

She stood at the crest of the hill with a thoughtful frown playing on full lips, dark fingers working to bundle the thick mass of ankle length hair between curved horns and hopefully out of harm's way.

As the start gun fired the ghoul took off at a careful jog, maneuvering the twists and turns with relative ease. Only when she reached the wall of fire did she speed up, and that was due to fear induced desire to get through this particular obstacle as quickly as demonly possible! Did it have to be fire? Why did it always have to be fire?

The climbing wall was almost a dead end. She jumped, grabbing for the edge, but multiple times the slime thwarted her attempts and sent her crashing back to the ground. It was on her 8th, or possibly 9th? Attempt that she finally managed to gain a finger hold, and she shimmied her way up and over before continuing on, leaping over the hurdles and crossing the giant red balls, slipping a few times, but managing not to fall off.

It was a shock when a giant pair of jaws snapped around her, and she gave a startled yelp before a large tongue pressed into her back as the great beast's mouth opened, and nudged her on her way. Apparently she'd made a friend.

She owned the next little stretch of the course. Water was her elemental, and she practically skimmed across the top with barely a ripple in her wake before sprinting off towards the finish line.

The ice was a shock, and she slipped a little before gaining her bearing and and carefully jogging across it. The sludge on the other hand wasn't half so easy to get through, and she struggled through it before finally clawing her way up and out and across the finish line. Still managing to walk away with a pretty good score.

And looking good while doing it.

Feeling heavy and slow, Reese stared down at the course with a solemn frown. She was going to get through this so as not to drag her house down but...it definitely wasn't going to be easy. And there was a decent chance she'd get her new gym clothes dirty, and she'd really liked those. Not to mention she didn't really have much in the clothes to begin with. Scratching her head, she wondered if she could get a spare set if this one got ruined, or maybe she could get some free clothes from one of the booths.

Feeling a bit less depressed at the idea of some of her belongings getting destroyed via school spirit, Reese took off down the course, managing a steady pace through the first section. She only stumbled a few times, and she wasn't really a fast runner...or even walker, anyway, and she even made it across the gap. The only downside was a bit of singing on her shirt sleeve.

The slime wall was another matter that left her everything a mess. The ghost managed fairly well through the second part, only knocking over and getting tangled in one hurdle, but most of this performance was fueled by sheer rage over her ruined clothes. Because seriously, jack this course. What kind of school gives a ghoul new clothes just to make ruin them like this? That's jacked up.

The anger spurred her on through the second section, the air growing heavier and heavier around her with every step until she finally reached the last part. All it took was a single step and the pillar went crashing down, taking her with it. Panic overwhelmed the ghoul as she fell and the proceeded to not die. Oh that's right, she couldn't die, could she? Being a ghost was the best.

Climbing up wasn't too bad, as both her heart and body felt much lighter, her anger fizzling at bemusement over her own existence. The swim through the fourth section was almost pleasant, especially that feeling of weightlessness that water lends itself so well to. She wasn't able to float often even though she was a ghost, and it almost always was accompanied by feelings of happiness and contentment. After the previous parts, this one was a practically a treat. Plus it helped clean her clothes up a bit!

Though apparently is wasn't to last, Reese realized with dismay as she saw the final stretch and made a pained face. Instantly, everything felt heavy and awful once again. It actually helped a bit at first, keeping her steady on ice and oil, but the instant she stepped into the mud, she sunk like anchor, practically drowning in muck. It was only sheer, angry determination that got her passed the finish line.

Once out of the mud, Reese promptly turned back to the course and flipped it off.

Ulmuka was definitely faster than he looked but not as fast as some of the smaller, thinner students. He didn't find himself stuck on any particular obstacle but had to work through each with equal difficulty. The wall of fire was intimidating, not a favorite of his by any means, and his wings aided him with avoiding the fall. The wall was easy with the wings as well until another student decided a bit of sabotage to be on the menu. He had a bit of his own trouble with the floating balls but after falling in, he simply waded out.

Muka must have been on Steve's good side, or the plant was distracted, because he sailed past. It was the bombs that gave him trouble (and everyone else's bombs). Though he liked water, Muka wasn't much of a swimmer. With an influx of other students he lagged a bit on this portion of the race.The last bit with the slippery surfaces was handled with a good level of flailing.. but at least he got through!