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The poor lighting made the distance appear shorter than it actually was, so Haruko's jump came up short. For a moment it looked like she'd be able to catch onto the edge of the ledge, and she stretched her paws out hopefully. But she only ended up banging them against the wall benieth the ledge as she began to fall. Her paws briefly scraped against the wall as she fell before she pulled them back. When she hit the water her paws stung from the scratches they'd just accumulated, but she ignored the annoying pain and started swimming to the shore near where she'd made the jump. Thiugh she did pause and stand in the water to allow it to wash the wounds and numb them slightly before returning to the ledge. She lined herself up carefully and tried the jump again.

Once she felt a little better, she picked up the glowing object again before walking down the ledge to the next place where she was to jump. She again tried to measure the distance carefully before jumping. As she began the leap, however, pain shot through her shoulder, causing her to stumble. Since her other legs pushed off successfully, she ended up flying forward a few feet before dropping into the water. She had to swim frantically to avoid crashing into the stone pillar, then made her way towards the shore. She again stopped to rest in the river, a bit longer this time, to let the cold water numb her shoulder. When the pain had eased a bit she walked out of the river, shook herself dry, and climbed back up to the ledge to retry the jump.

The pain in Haruko's shoulder was only a dull ache as she sailed across the gap during the first jump. She quickly moved down the ledge and sprang across the canyon for the second jump. But as she landed the second time, she jarred her shoulder, sending a shooting pain through it. Since she couldn't go back into the river to ease the pain, she was forced to lay down once more and let it abate on its own.

Sheer stubborness finally won out, and she was able to ignore the pain long enough to complete the final two jumps, although she stumbled as she completed the last landing. She stopped to check that her injuries weren't any worse before searching for the openeing to the penultimate obstacle. She lifted her glowing object high as she scanned the canyon wall, finally spotting the tunnel opening. She scooped away the dirt concealing it with her paws, digging her way into the tunnel.

Haruko found the first ledge after only a moment's search, then was able to hop on it with little difficulty. From there she paused and spent a couple moments carefully looking around to find the rest of the ledges, making sure that she found the easiest route between them. She didn't want to miss yet another jump or take another fall. She took each jump slowly and carefully, and was rewarded for her patience by climbing out of the pit without a single misstep or fall. Seeing the finish line ahead of her, she wearily jogged toward it, limping slightly. She collapsed just on the other side of it, and Kailind rushed over, visibly nervous and worried.

Haruko stood up long enough to be led to one side, then lay back down on the cool grass in the shade of a tree. At Kailind's queries, Haruko assured her rider that she was mostly fine; that her shoulder was the only thing bothering her, and all she really needed was rest. She relaxed and watched the next Lunar line up at the starting line and recieve their Rescue Kit. She grinned proudly to herself; despite everything, she still managed to avoid using the kit! With that happy though, she allowed herself to doze and watch the rest of the race.

(Finished in 22 rolls.)