[META ORP] To New Horizons - FINALE page 22

[thyPOPE]

That had hurt. He huffed and turned back a bit. More stones? Were they important? It was pretty hard to see, with all the grass in the way. He scuffed his hoof against the floor before a very familiar voice rang out. Never Misses! And she'd picked up Grumble somewhen. So she'd come along after all. "Awww, you do care," he teased. He made his way to the base of the stone that she and the acha were on to grin at them. "Come on, at least now we know we can't do anything to it." He shook his mane out.

He was surprised to find that the grey doe - Little Lady? - had followed him over. She'd had a bit more self-preservation, and not decided to charge straight at it, though. "You should try," he added in echo of the acha lady, nodding in Little Lady's direction. He was still more than a little winded. That reminded him, though..."Say - what did you say was on that stone?"

He tried to peer around Never Misses' and One Angry Shot's hooves for a better view.

Amorpheous

Soldier of Song

Yushika

 

[Amorpheous]

Never Misses traced a little part of the etching with a hoof, careful not to unbalance the doe next to her. She couldn't tilt her head too much without unseating Grumble, but she managed well enough--the etching wasn't an obscure symbol like those on the Obelisk; it was a drawing. She snorted softly at First to Strike before saying, louder, "Yes, do make someone else do the hard work for you. If you spent more time running through tall grass, you might not be so winded with just a short sprint."

"Appropriately enough, it seems we're standing on an etching of a running cheetah." She stepped off, as a gently as she could to prevent any undue jostling of Grumble, landing with nary a sound with the cushioning of the grass. "Take a look for yourself if you'd like."

"I'm Never Misses," she said amiably to the three-legged Acha on top of the stone. She reserved most of her snark for First to Strike and there was no need to risk upsetting a stranger who might not take well to her barbs. "This stone-brained buck is First to Strike."

Soldier of Song

thyPOPE

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"The last obelisk had stones, too. And that's how we woke it up," Half Truth murmured as she watched the party explore. "Even though this one's... different... I bet the stones have something to do with it. It's in Kiokote lands, and they... Hm. They like running. Rose, you wanna try running between a couple of the stones? Something tells me we're not going to get out of here without waking this thing up, so we should probably try. I know this sounds crazy, but I don't think it wants us to leave, for better or for worse." She trotted between the northernmost stone and the southernmost stone, struggling a bit in the thick grass.

Moonstone Dazzle

 

[Amorpheous]

Scaramouche Fandango

She trotted between the northernmost stone and the southernmost stone, struggling a bit in the thick grass.

Trotting between the stones seems to have no effect; if there is an invisible line to be crossed, or perhaps one hidden in the grass, Half Truth has not crossed it.  

[Soldier of Song]

While she hadn't intended to mingle too much with other kin, at least more than was necessary, Fury decided she liked Never Misses. She wore that bear well, and her relentless jabs at First to Strike felt like half-affection, something she herself had mastered with Fool. Anyway, she could respect the buck's enthusiasm for running headfirst into things.

"One Angry Shot," she returned the introduction with a curt nod, before clambering off the stone also. The figure of another doe running between stones caught her eye, and she watched for a moment, before turning back to her new companions. "That might be worth a shot." It did seem like the stones were emphasizing action, speed, and it would be a lie if Fury said she wasn't becoming impatient.

Amorpheous

thyPOPE

 

[thyPOPE]

"Hey," said First to Strike. "Gotta be in top shape before I come to everyone's rescue." He winked obnoxiously, and made a strange face at Grumble, on her head. The little bear gave a rumbly bellow: an affectionate enough sound, if you were familiar with him. "I hit my head," he said, as though that was something to be proud of.

When Never Misses was safely on the ground again he bumped his head against hers, and grinned at the acha doe. "Nice to meet you. Wanna give it a try? Never Misses can do the bearsitting." Normally he tried to bring Grumble on his adventures, but the little bear was so short that he'd only been getting lost in the tall grasses. Honestly, though - he narrowed his eyes at the doe trying to make a run through the grass. "See anything?" he called, raising his voice. He doubted she'd get very far very quickly, with the grass growing so thickly in her way. That stuff didn't grow nearly so tall out in the rest of the plains - but maybe these days kiokote were more wary of stuff like this, and so no one had visited in a while. How would he know? He hadn't been back to the plains in quite a few season-cycles, and he wasn't sure he could spot anyone who had never left the plains to ask.

It'd be easy if there was a sign, or something. Still, it was worth a shot - "Have any of you been here recently?" he asked the group at large. There weren't a lot of kiokote here other than himself and Never Misses - he'd seen a green-streaked one with a fierce gaze, but what with how everyone was spread out he couldn't quite be sure.

Soldier of Song

Scaramouche Fandango

Amorpheous

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

She heard a voice that sounded like it was directed towards her, so Half Truth rose on her hind legs to see where it was coming from. The speaker- shouter, really- was a kiokote, black-backed and strong. "Nothing of note!" she hollered back. "How do you swim in this sea of grass? It's impossible to run through this. You'd think that it'd be more trampled down... but this site looks like it's been abandoned for a while. She hopped up onto the southernmost stone, not expecting much to happen- but it was worth it for a better vantage point. She looked out into the plains to see if there was anything else nearby.

thyPOPE

 

[thyPOPE]

Scaramouche Fandango

She hopped up onto the southernmost stone, not expecting much to happen- but it was worth it for a better vantage point. She looked out into the plains to see if there was anything else nearby.

Funnily enough, the thick grass helps Half Truth climb more securely. She scales the southernmost stone easily enough, but even at the top, she sees nothing especially new. It's easier to see some of the other round stones from here, but she'd already been aware they were there. The grass here is ordinary grass, although it seems to be growing much taller than elsewhere on the plains.  

[Soldier of Song]

Indeed; couldn't hurt considering no one else had much of a clue. Action would be better than just standing around bantering, or in Never Misses' case, bearsitting. Double-checking the carving on the stone she'd just been standing on, Fury looked up when another voice answered First to Strike's question. The doe had had the same idea, climbing onto the stone like that, when an idea came to Fury.

Despite her conspicuous disadvantage, Fury was quick, leaving the two kiokote behind as she ran towards Half Truth. With the grass still snagging, it wasn't the easiest run, but she made it before the doe could hop off. "Stay there," Fury commanded, hardly giving her a glance as she instead inspected the carving under her hooves more closely. This cheetah was facing a different way than the one she'd been on, but it looked like a lot like the one she'd spotted to the north of her perch, where another kiokote was now standing.

Once again, Fury turned tail without a word and sprinted as well as she could across the plains. "There might be a pattern," she grunted to the kiokote pair as she passed them again, hoping they'd start to see what she was getting at -- even if she wasn't entirely sure what it was yet. But sure enough, finally making it to the stone at the north, she saw the cheetah in mid-stride, legs tucked under it and tail curled. Facing the same way as the carving Half Truth was standing on, it seemed to follow the natural progression, too. That was what Fury was beginning to suspect.

Hefting herself onto the north stone, Fury peered over the grasses to see if she could make out any other stones, and more importantly, their carvings. She did not yet acknowledge Evolve, figuring she'd speak up herself if she wanted to participate.

Scaramouche Fandango

Amorpheous

thyPOPE

 

[thyPOPE]

Soldier of Song

Hefting herself onto the north stone, Fury peered over the grasses to see if she could make out any other stones, and more importantly, their carvings.

It does indeed take Fury a long time to run such a distance - it's not really much of a run. The grass is tall and very thick, and makes it difficult to see the tops of the round, flat-topped stones without effort.

Funnily enough, the thick grass helps Fury climb more securely. She scales the northernmost stone easily enough, but even at the top, she sees nothing especially new. She can just barely see another stone to the southeast, a great distance away, but can't quite make out what's on top - both due to distance, and the thick tangle of grass. If she was expecting any of the carvings she could see to change, she'd have been wrong.  

[Ruriska]

She was still at the northern stone, pacing around it through the thick grass and letting the information that were gathering slowly work itself into a picture. If they were going to get the stones to react (if they ever got them to react), it was going to be a very specific process. Evolve loved a good challenge.

Evolve watched the three-legged Acha approach and climb on top of the stone, quietly impressed by her fierce appearance (a warrior, without a doubt). There seemed to be something ticking behind that strong gaze but nothing interesting happened and Evolve figured it was her turn to try something.

"Move over," she told the Acha, climbing up and lifting a hoof. She doubted force would be the answer (as demonstrated by the hardheaded Kiokote) but it was worth a shot. It was important to rule out all possibilities. Evolve brought her hoof down and struck the stone.

Soldier of Song

 

[thyPOPE]

Ruriska

Evolve brought her hoof down and struck the stone.

With Fury already atop the stone, Evolve fits, but it's a squeeze. Certainly no kin could join them unless they were very small. The strike is loud, but it seems the stone holds sturdy. It does not move, and there is no sign of the glow that characterized the obelisk in the swamp.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Half Truth saw what the others were getting at. She'd been there for the first obelisk, but this was different. Waking these stones was going to be difficult. This wasn't the swamp anymore; this was the plains. These stones slept where the kiokote roamed, so it made sense they'd be different. "Hang on, I want to try something." She suspected that the stones might require actual running- not just the slow-going caused by the grass- and if that was true, they'd need to make some headway with the grass first. She slowly heads towards the two eastern stones and paces between them, trying to trample a path.  

[thyPOPE]

Scaramouche Fandango

She suspected that the stones might require actual running- not just the slow-going caused by the grass- and if that was true, they'd need to make some headway with the grass first. She slowly heads towards the two eastern stones and paces between them, trying to trample a path.

Pushing the grass down by trampling it doesn't really reveal any new insights, until Half Truth goes over her new path a little too hard with her hoof and some of the grass breaks. When she's able to shove that bit of grass to the side, she realizes that there's an unmarked rock in the ground, about the size of a kimeti's shoulder scale.

The obelisk begins to glow, very faintly.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Half Truth stopped and stared down at the stone as a thought begins to crystalize in her head. Perhaps... hm. She called out to the others. "Hey! There's a stone down here. I touched it and it- look, the obelisk changed. I bet there's more of them." Her wasp, Rhetorical Question, circled in as Half Truth waved her down. The big green insect lazily buzzed over the stone, marking its place. Half Truth then attempted to trample a longer path, this time between the southern of the two eastern stones and the southern western stone, going slowly and stomping heavily. Now that she knew the one rock was there, she had something to actually look for.