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 Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:08 pm
 Kyn Name: Haruko Bonded Name: Mewrose Event Rider Name: Kailind It was the day of the big Obstacle Race, and Kailind was excited and nervous by turns. Haruko, on the other hand, was more interested in watching the forest around them as they walked down the road to give much thought to the upcoming event. She was still fairly young, after all, and hadn't been off Kailind's land much. Her rider was glad to let her curiosity distract her, as long as she didn't waste her energy by chasing things. They were walking at an easy pace, not hurrying much to conserve energy. They eventually reached the obstacle course and saw that several other Lunars and their riders had already gathered. Since the kyns were racing one at a time, Kailind let a couple go before Haruko so she could help prepare her kyn. She first pulled a canteen of water and small bowl out of her backpack and gave Haruko a drink of water so she'd be hydrated. Then she pulled out a simple map of the course showed it to Haruko, briefly explaining each obstacle and giving her a tip or two on how she could solve each. She also let Haruko see what she could see of the course from the starting line, to get her better aquainted with it. Then there wasn't much left to do but wait for their turn. Kailind figeted, nervous once more. She hoped her kyn would be alright on her own, since she had decided not to ride Haruko in the race. While she knew that she would be able to help the inexperienced Lunar if she rode her, she figured that her extra weight would pose too much of a difficulty, especially for a young kyn who was just barely full-grown. She glanced at Haruko and saw tht she was now observing the other kyns, her curiosity still evident. At least she wasn't nervous, though Kailind hoped she had prepared well enough. Kailind turned her attention back to the course and tried to distract herself by watching the Lunar who was running the course just before Haruko.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
7
Total: 7 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:32 pm
The preceding Lunar dashed across the finish line, then moved off to the side to rest. This was it. Kailind scratched Haruko between the ears and said simply "Good luck" before allowing her kyn to step up to the starting line. A judge briefly reviewed the rules with her, then she stood at attention, muscles tensed to run. On his mark, she leapt forward, dashing down the path to the first obstacle.
It was good to run, since Haruko's rider hadn't let her run on the way to save her energy. She enjoyed the feel of the wind rushing through her fur as her paws skimmed the ground. Soon the first obstacle came up, a pit. This ought to be simple, just jump it. Eyeing the opening in the ground, she tried to time her jump and bounded into the air near the edge.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:45 pm
Haruko's almost carefree headlong charge threw her timing off somewhat, and she lept a bit too close to the edge, causing her paws to sink downward a bit as the lip of the pit started to crumble. Feeling her footing slip, she tried to kick her back legs extra hard to compensate. With the extra effort she managed to just get across the pit, although she tumbled ungracefully as she landed, throwing up a puff of dirt. She picked herself up, shaking her head to clear the dust out of her nose and eyes, then started running forward again. This time, however, she ran a little slower, figuring it would be better to be cautious that to take another time-threatening tumble.
She approached the rope bridge and slowed down to a walk as she looked it over. Walking across a wet, thin rope would be difficult; she didn't have a cat's balance, after all. But she did have her battle claws, which might even the playing field somewhat. She stepped onto the rope, making sure to sink her claws securely into the rope before stepping forward.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:57 pm
Haruko took the first few steps slowly, making sure to plant her claws firmly. She had no trouble with those, so she began to feel more confident and picked up her pace. But as she moved more swiftly, she took less care with the placement of her feet. Just one step where she forgot to sink in her claws properly was all it took; her foot skidded across the slick surface and off the rope. Her other three legs crouched and her tail flailed as she tried to regain her balance, but the rope had been jarred by her misstep and had started swaying. A unfortunately timed gust of wind increased the sideways movement, and she could feel her body tilting to one side. Desperately she bit down on the rope as she attempted to keep from falling off, hoping that it would give her enough stability to regain her balance.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:11 pm
Haruko's powerful jaws had saved her, keeping her on the rope long enough for her to get her errant paw back under her. She was extra careful to dig her claws in that time. She waited a moment for the swaying to slow, then released her mouth's grip on the rope. The young Lunar resumed her forward travel, though this time she remained crouched and continued moving slow enough to be sure she placed her claws carefully. She finally reached the other side and wasted no time in racing forward to the next obstacle: the river cross.
She had only swam a couple times before, since Kailind had not heard about the specific obstacles in the race until recently, though she'd immediately insisted that Haruko go down to the river near their cave to practice. But that was a small, fairly slow-moving stream, not even quite big enough to call a river. Kailind had worried that the brief practice wouldn't be enough.
Seeing the river ahead of her, Haruko noted that it was shallow enough to walk across most of the time. Even her unpracticed dog-paddle should carry her across the small area of deeper water. She sped up for a quick dash to power a running jump into the river, then started splashing forward.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
7
Total: 7 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:23 pm
Again Haruko's zealous running had proved to be her undoing; the leap had landed her squarely into the deepest part of the water. Unable to find solid footing undernieth her, she was quickly swept down the river. The current spun her around and she traveled downstream, and by the time she reached the net she hit it tail-first. The pressure of the rushing water quickly turned her until her side was pressed against the net, which ended up turning her so that she was facing the original shore. Figuring it would be too hard to fight the river to turn around, she pulled herself along the net until she reached the riverbank. The now-soggy Lunar walked upriver a bit to put some distance between herself and the net, then turned to face the river once more. This time she jumped into the water without running, so she would be sure to have solid ground under her paws she she landed.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:52 am
Haruko hit the ground running and splashed forward energetically. Just before she got to the deepest part of the river, she jumped against the bottom of the river in an attempt to gain a little momentum. The swift current again pulled her downriver, but after a few moments of frantic doggy-paddling, she was able to feel ground under her paws again. She scrabbled along the riverbed for a moment before getting solid footing, and then was easily able to climb out of the river. She had to stop and shake the water out of her fur so that it wouldn't weigh her down, but then started racing toward the Lantern Dig.
Spotting the sample of the substance, Haruko stopped to sniff it carefully, fixing the scent in her mind. She walked over to the area where the object was buried, sniffing along the ground that had been churned up by several preceding Lunars as she tried to find the scent.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:56 am
Her total lack of tracking experience hindered her here; she had only instinct and a brief verbal description of what to do. And she kept getting dirt in her nose. She lifted her head and snorted to blow the dirt out of her nostrils, then bent down and continued skimming her nose over the ground, trying to catch the scent of the substance she was seraching for.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:02 am
Haruko's nose kept having trouble sorting out the various smells on the ground, and the scents of many Lunars wasn't helping any. She tried to sort out the various scents in her mind so she could figure out which ones to ignore. That one was a Lunar, this one was a small animal of some sort, this one was a human (she figured that was the human who was burying the object and considered following it, but then realized the scent was everywhere and abandoned that idea), there was another Lunar...then she realized she'd completely forgotten the scent of the object she was trying to find. Sheepishly she trotted back to the sample and carefully sniffed it again, trying to ingrain it more deeply in her mind. Then she returned to the designated area and resumed her search.
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:07 am
Haruko was having absolutely no luck finding the object. She simply could not find that scent anywhere. In frustration she started digging randomly. After scooping out a few shallow holes she stopped herself and took a deep breath. Digging random holes would do no good; there was too much area to cover. She returned her nose to the ground and tried to go over it methodically, to avoid checking areas she's already been before.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
10
Total: 10 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:09 am
(forgot to roll, so I'm rolling for the above post)
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:14 am
Going over the whole area inch by inch was taking a long time, and she hadn't caught a single whiff of the scent yet. She paused for a moment and tried to shake the dirt off her fur, which had clung to the water in her fur and made her feel rather grimy. The Rescue Bag she had tied around her neck banged against her side, and she looked at it. Should she try to use it? This was taking a very long time. After a moment's consideration she bent down and continued sniffing. At this point she doubted she would set any records for speed, and she'd rather keep her pride by completing the race unaided.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:17 am
After searching for a while longer with no luck, she paused again and looked around. Where was the human who was supposed to have buried the object? She wanted to ask if it'd even been buried, since she hadn't had any luck at all finding it. Then she sighed. Maybe her inability to find it was simply due to her lack of tracking ability. She went back to the sample once more and gave it another good sniff, just to be sure, then went back to searching.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:21 am
Haruko was strting to get really annoyed now. Where was that stupid object? A low growl began to rise in the back of her throat before she stopped it. Growling at the dirt wouldn't help her find the object any faster. She pressed her nose to the ground again, then got dirt in her nose yet again and had to blow it out. Once more she returned her nose to the ground and tried desperately to find the scent.
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mewrose rolled 1 10-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:27 am
After scouring nearly every inch of the area, she finally caught the scent at the farthest side of the designated area. She wasted no time in excavating it, eagerly scooping away the dirt that concealed it. She finally caught sight of it and picked it up in her mouth, ignoring the dirt that was till all over it. She didn't want to waste any more time by spitting the mud out of her mouth now; she needed to finish the race! She immediately ran over to the nearby Stone Hop. She sized up the distance between herself and the first pillar before carefully leaping toward it.
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