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Hey guys! The prompt might be a weee bit late today. I'm juggling finals/preparing for SO to visit. However, my shortcomings are your opportunity! You'll have about 45 extra minutes give or take to add your entry if you haven't already :>

[Reserving for Eleanor- body = 10.
+3 for previous round's success.

Round One = 17; success
Round Two = 25; success

-Pretend like you don't notice before hauling a** up the next high thing you pass. (body) (Dif: 14)

Roll = 29; ridiculous, epic success. xD]

With her Hulk-like strength, Eleanor pulled down a cliff on top of the scary beast in the process of climbing up to safety. With each grasp on the rocky cliff-face, the large barn own pried free various rocks and other debris which tumbled down behind her, towards whatever dark creature was lurking behind her.

[srsly. How else do I handle such a ridiculous roll? xD]

Name: Jukka
Option: Three
Roll: 17 + 7 = 24 (Success!)

-Success-Failure-Success-

Well, this was rather unfortunate!

The otter had been overrun by the bushy-tailed little vermin! Beaten, to boot! All he had tried to do was to help them. He could have taken a more violent approach and busted some heads together, but his bleeding, little heart had to get in the way. He knew he should have tried something different! He cursed himself inwardly and it seemed that with each shift the squirrels made, his head conked against the pathway's tough floor.

"Tch, yowww, take et easy with a bloke, wou'd ya, ya tree-jumpers? Y'gonna knock all my senses out, what the way yer goin' an' all!"

"Arr, shut your yap, fishmonger." A sharp prod from one of the spears got Jukka to obey rather sharpishly and he bit his tongue as he fought the urge to continue to argue with the little terrors. Before the temptation became to great, however, they were outside and at their destination. He was dropped on the stone slab with a thud and quickly sat up. It was the perfect time to bolt! Oh, wait, not it wasn't. There was a wolf. Surely, she was going to eat him, and he was very much afraid. His paws trembled slightly as he tried to push himself away from her, though he only put a hair's breath between them.

"Welcome to Harrogate, I see my little pets have treated you well. My, and they've brought me such a delicious treat today- ah, tell me. What is your name, so that I might ponder it as I chew your bones."

Ooooh, this was a mighty fine pickle and he didn't quite see how he'd get out of it, but he had to try. He couldn't see himself just giving up. That was far too easy and sounded a bit too painful for his liking. So he did the only thing he could think of. He began to babble, without a single plan in mind. As he spoke, however, one came together quickly, and he prepared himself to spring.

"Oi, ain't you a nice, fine lookin' specimen, aw' nice and big, what with such a thick coat. Sure are a real wolf. Y-you c'n call me Jukka an' I take et yer the mighty Ferrah what I been hearin' them squirrels jabberin' on about. Well, one what's so mighty as yerself, you oughta like the hunt, eh? Ain't no sport for someone what's so fine as yourself t'just eat some on' waterdog like me as is. What say y'give me t'fine honor of bein' 'unted by ya?" He had to struggle, to force the words out, and when he was anxious, his accent became thicker. However, she seemed to take the bait, buttered by his praises.

"You have a keen eye, otter. The taste of your flesh shall be all the more sweeter. I grant you this honor. You have to the count of ten. One... Two..."

He didn't wait to hear any more. The long-bodied creature dropped to all fours and high-tailed it away from her as fast as he possibly could.

Aegnor Stonepaw

Round One: Failure
Round Two: Success

You notice a acorn nut filled with oils in the corner... hmmm, fire.
BONUS: Free/Take the creature with you.

Mind: 4
Roll: 2
Total: 6

Difficulty: 14 + 2 = 16

[FAILURE]

---

Oi! Blasted tree-beasts were mad! That was the only explanation for this insanity. Squirrels kidnapping wildcats, dragging them off who-knows-where, dancing around fires like little heathens, with creatures tied up in the middle of their mad circles...

He'd gone mad, that was the only explanation for any of this. Well, or they had. He'd go with that one, since Aegnor liked to believe he was still sane, and that as soon as he got out of this madhouse, the world would start to make sense again.

As of yet, the mad beasts hadn't noticed him, and the wildcat pondered trying to sneak around out of sight to make his exit. However...the wild tom still held some grudges against the rats that dared drag him into this madness. Of course, he justified this with the logic that if they saw him, they'd just come after him again anyway, so it made sense that a sort of distraction, maybe taking the form of injury to the rotten beasts, might keep them busy long enough for him to slip away...

His eyes glittered with malice, lighting upon the hollow acorn full of oils nearby. Fire fuel, yes...and lots of it. More than would be needed to start a fire, obviously, so it was probably a storage of sorts, so they wouldn't have to retrieve more any more often than necessary. Reaching over stealthily, he clutched the acorn full of oil in his paws, taking slow, deliberate steps towards the circle of dancing beasts and the fire. He reared back, preparing to throw the oil over the lot of them...then halted.

His eyes had locked now on the creature in the center of the ring. Was that...an otter? Well, he'd certainly not be comfortable with all those flames about. The wheels in his head turning, Aegnor pondered the likelihood of whether he could get the otter out of the way before drenching the rest of the crowd in oil and flames.

Awww...he was going to rescue the poor beast; how sweet! Well, it was nothing so altruistic as all that. Aegnor was a clever cat, always looking for his next advantage. A grateful rescuee could make for a good minion, should he need it. And all else fails, the beast could be disposable. Afterall, the wildcat would have lost nothing he didn't have before this mess started.

Aegnor paused, tucking the acorn of oil under his arm, and crouching on the toes of his footpaws. Ready...ready...GO! He dashed headlong into the whirling circle of dancers, and he braced his shoulders to knock a couple of them aside as he ran. "Move it, ya' nut-munching, bark-brained, rats!" Claws extended, the wildcat made a couple quick slashes at the bound creature as he passed, ignoring how the prisoner cringed, imagining his incoming fate...

"You gonna' get up, or lay there, otter? Either's fine by me, but I'm leavin' and things are looking to get a little hot around here," the wildcat quipped, pausing only to take a swipe at an incoming squirrel, his tail lashing about behind him.

Wide-eyed, the otter scrambled upright to follow the crazed wildcat. "Y-y-yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I--"

"Escape now, ramble later," Aegnor shot back, immediately turning to burst back through the circle once more. The otter was close behind and as soon as the pair was outside the ring, the wildcat whirled and splashed the contents of the acorn over the mob. Flickering flames licked at the oil, then raced over the crowd as fluidly as water.

Burning water.

Chaos erupted anew as some of the squirrels were instantly swallowed by flames. Of course, some were left untouched and those turned to race after the escaping duo while their comrades rolled around on the ground, desperate to put the flames out. Aegnor cursed under his breath, glancing over his shoulder at their pursuers while pounding his paws against the earth as quickly as possible.

"I'll...I'll never be able to repay you, kind sir!" the otter panted, racing along aside the wildcat.

"Eh, I'll claim that debt later, kid. Let's get out of here first," Aegnor muttered distractedly, more concerned with looking for an exit right now. The tunnels twisted and turned, so much that one could scarcely tell if they were going up, down, left, or right at any given moment. They were making no noticeable headway towards the surface, and the squirrels were closing in fast behind them.

Weighing his options, Aegnor's eyes traveled towards the young otter running at his side. "Hey, kid....you really wanna' repay me, eh?"

"Oh, yes sir! Anything!" came the eager reply.

"Good, 'cause it seems 'later' comes sooner than ever these days." As the squirrels rounded the corner, coming into sight, Aegnor grabbed the otter by the scruff of his neck and flung him unceremoniously into the mob of squirrels. That oughta' distract them for a moment while he made his escape.

He turned and dashed headlong down the tunnel...into a second group of angry squirrels. The creatures took him by surprise, swarming over his limbs and taking him hostage, with a few spare kicks and swipes for good measure. Struggling gamely, as the beasts dragged him bodily out of the tunnel and towards a riverbank, Aegnor had to admit that while outnumbered at the moment and unable to break free of the mob's hold....at least he was outside again.

[[Nolan - Round One Failure, Round Two Success

Mind = 8, KILL IT WITH FIRE + Mousie Dif:16. Success!]]

The sight that awaited him beyond the woven door was the absolute last thing that Nolan had expect. Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration. He really wasn't surprised to see more squirrels, but to see several squirrels cavorting about a fire and cooking--what was that, a mouse?--a mouse alive was on the more bizarre end of his imagination. The young hare immediately stepped back a pace to watch the proceedings through a crack in the doorway, taking the time to take stock of the situation instead of barging in without a plan.

Here was a dilemma. Not concerning the mousie, no; Nolan really could have cared less about the unfortunate little mouse. Had he been any more sure of his escape, he would have snuck about and left the little mouse to burn up and distract the squirrels for him for a bit longer. But without his staff, the squirrels would only catch up with him once they bored with the mouse and noticed that he was missing (Not that he was actually leaving the staff, he assured himself). He couldn't outrun them like this. Now, if he caused some havoc, maybe took out several more squirrels, that would keep them occupied for considerably longer. And if he happened to help out the mouse in the mean time, well, a mouse was probably a better crutch than the stick that he was presently using.

Alternatively, he could turn around and explore down the other direction, but it was probably better to continue away from the squirrels that he had already beaten down, rather than returning to the scene of the crime.

From behind the door, he watched for a short time, eyes searching the room for an effective means of clearing out the squirrels--or smiting as many as possible, he addiction suggested. Nolan was inclined to agree. He watched, silently, as one squirrel broke off from the group about the fire and started towards the door, only to veer off as he neared and instead paused near a shelf where several acorn shells rested, each full of some unknown liquid. Using a smaller shell fragment, the squirrel, cackling, spooned out a bit of one of the liquids and hurried back towards the fire. He flung the liquid into the fire, and it blazed up towards the ceiling, sending the squirrels into a frenzy once more. Some kind of oil, then...

It wasn't much of a plan, really. In fact, it was incredibly risky; if something went wrong, he was dead. There was no outrunning this lot if they turned on him. But by blood and fire, he wanted to watch them burn.

Maintaining as much stealth as possible given that he had to clunk along with a stupid cell bar crutch, Nolan slipped into the room and towards the acorns full of oil. Retrieving one shell and a shell fragment spoon of his own, he crept towards the squirrels and settled himself in a little nook, a shadowy corner largely hidden by a sizable rock. Whenever a squirrel spun past, Nolan would scoop up a spoon full of oil and flick it out at the beast. The droplets and splashes weren't enough to really arose suspicion, especially swept up in their festivities as the squirrels were, but the clinging oil was not quick to leave the fur as other liquids might have. The result was that within a very short time, all of the squirrels glistened with a thin sheen of oil, and Nolan's acorn bowl was empty.

Timing his movements carefully, the hare abandoned his hiding spot and crept back towards the shelf for another pot. This time, however, he was not so lucky. As he neared the shelf, a shout went up, and he glanced back in time to see several heads turn his direction. Nolan threw himself forward at the shelf, abandoning his crutch in the process, and managed to brace himself against the shelf and remain standing. Scooping up one of the acorns, he hurled it across the room towards the fire, scattering oil every which way as it flew.

The fire roared and surged upward as the flying oil reached it, racing up along the airborne droplets before they could fall. Hare, mouse, and squirrels alike went up in flames as the blazing liquid fell and ignited whatever it came into contact with; the difference was that the hare and mouse had considerably less to keep it going, while the squirrels weren't going to be put out so easily. Squirrels, fur aflame, screamed and ran about as Nolan dropped to the floor and rolled to extinguish his singed fur. He snatched up his crutch, struggled to his foot, and hobbled past several flailing squirrels on his way across the room, which was blazing merrily by this point and rapidly filling with smoke. The smoke and general chaos set him off track; he found himself near the screaming mouse, who he had utterly forgotten about in the madness of the spreading fire.

Oh right, his living crutch. Right.

Nolan hurried to the mouse's side, with quick work, managed to severe the ropes that were already largely separated by fire. The mouse, still screaming (he was on fire, after all), fell to the ground and made to leap up, but Nolan shoved him back to the ground and physically rolled him about until the flames died down. "Y-y-you saved me," the mouse exclaimed, eyes wide and teary--whether from his ordeal or the smoke, it was hard to say. He had a few minor burns, certainly, but the blaze had largely taken his fur alone. "Your lucky day, mousie," Nolan offered by way of a greeting, and left the mouse to climb to his feet alone. "But there's a trade off, y' see. C'mon, you get t' be my crutch."

The mouse was quick enough to agree, more than grateful for his freedom even if Nolan had set him on fire in the process, and the hare draped his arm about his new companion's shoulders, but kept a hold of the cell bar with his opposite hand in case he should need it again. Together, they hobbled off and out of the chamber in the opposite direction from the screaming squirrels, the opposite direction from the door through which Nolan had arrived. They hadn't gone far before a light opened up ahead, accompanied by the sound of running water. Both beasts instinctively quickened their paces in response to the stimuli, and both gave excited cheers as their world opened up to a riverbank. Free.

Spot is going to duck and weave out of here like mad! [ 8 + 3 (bonus from last round) + 11 = 22 ] SUCCESS!


The screams of several squirrels pierced Spot's ears. "Oh no, oh no, oh no..." he thought, "this isn't how it's supposed to go!" All of his little companions had been swept away by a large, black paw. Russ, Sal, the squirrel with the bandanna, they were all just gone. Every last one that he had convinced to have a life of freedom had just met their demise. He hated to see life wasted like that. They weren't innocent souls by any stretch of the imagination, but Spot felt horrible for leading them into slaughter. This was completely his fault.

Still though, there was an upside to this. Grim as though the thought was, the squirrels' deaths had bought him some time. Ferrah would be dealing with them, and that would give him time to make a break for it. It was the selfish thing to do. He knew that, even thought it meant certain death for him, that he really should go back and save whoever he could. Spot couldn't bring himself to do it though. When it came down to it, he was still just a coward running from his problems. He was a useless windbag; all talk with nothing to back it up.

And so he told himself that his running was really the right thing, that doing anything else would mean those squirrels' deaths were in vein. It was partly true, but mostly Spot was just creating a way to cope with his cowardice.

Ignoring the horrible sounds of death, he made a break for the door, and was greeted with fresh air and sunlight. And rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. How did he ever end up here? Spot shook off the thought. Worrying about that right now wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Spot began running. He ran and ran, but but something felt off. There was an ominous feeling around him. Had Ferrah started to chase him? This whole ordeal was getting worse and worse by the minute.

His large claws tearing into the ground, Spot was darting and weaving like a pro. Badgers were not build for speed and grace, and he was no exception. He would have been better tunneling to the other side of the earth than he would have been sprinting. But he must have hit some sort of second wind. Lady Luck was shining on him again blessing him with speed he never thought he had. He would need her continued luck if he was going to get out of this alive.

Up ahead, he saw a large stack of rocks. Jackpot! The incline was steep, and not something just anyone could run up. Spot would be able to do it though, as his powerful claws dug into the stone as he climbed his way to the top. Once there, he noticed that the other side of the rocks were overlooking a large ravine. s**t. It was a dead end -- possibly even literally.

Spot looked back the way he came, panting and out of breath from this whole ordeal. There greeting him was only who he could assume to be Ferrah. Large eyes and a scowling maw stared back at him, and Spot almost jumped out of his skin. No wonder the squirrels had obeyed her every whim! She was downright scary!

With really no place else to go, Spot sat down and began to roll a cigar for himself. There was nothing to do now but play a waiting game to see if Ferrah would give up and go away, or if she would climb her way up to him. Either way, he could really go for a smoke right now.