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[sanmononoke]

Clawthorne Tournament - Obstacle Course

Third Challenge: Who's Afraid of a Little Thousand Foot Drop?

San's time in the obstacle course was coming to a close. As she approached the last one, her stamina was waning. Still she kept running, distracted by the roar of a crowd the entire time. The yells and cheers had been blurring out a lot of the sound, especially after she was sure her ears were full of water from her first obstacle...

Lost in her thoughts San didn't notice, or hear the screams, as she ran right off a cliff. Her pace sent her body right into the first floating rock near the edge of the precipice. She clutched any hand hold for dear life as she dangled precariously above the drop, claws protruding into the rock.

She didn't dare to look down until she had firmly lifted herself onto the rock. It tilted under her weight and she yelped when she finally saw how deep the chasm was.

It had to be a thousand foot drop!!! (Obviously, it is not, Ms. Mononoke. It is simply an illusion. The real bottom is about five meters down and there is a net to catch any clumsy competitors so that they may return to the course unharmed! We were aiming for drama with this one. - Lilith Clawthorne)

The wolf didn't fear much, but she felt her heart racing and her breath come out ragged. San had to push it back down, stop it from taking over to save herself. She wasn't in real danger, she told herself more than the wolf that wanted to emerge. San blinked away her full moon mahogany eyes and clinched her hands enough to retract the claws that came out just in time.

She stood shakily on the rock, foot on either end to balance, and looked out at the rest of the foot stones. It was easy enough, she just had to gather the confidence to jump.

Taking one more breath she leaped from one to the next, clearing the chasm in mere minutes.

[sanmononoke]

Clawthorne Tournament - Obstacle Course

First Challenge: Icy Rapids

San was feeling confident, running down the track. One foot before the other, it felt like floating. The only thing that would make this better would be her bare pads across the rubbery path.

A chill caught her dead in her tracks. The hollow crackle of ice knocking into small bergs in the middle of a rushing river. San wasn't afraid of water, but when it moved this fast she knew it was dangerous. Still, the werewolf had ill placed gall to simply dive in.

Her muscles tensed with the cold and her body was flung into the nearest chunk of ice. She couldn't tread water that beat her down mercilessly. Her bones were slower to stiffen than most, her natural heat keeping her from freezing under the water. As she clawed her way from under the rapid, San pulled herself to the top of it and lifted herself out of the water for a moment.

Breath heaving, she planned a course of action. Shakily, she stood on the ice and attempted to jump to another passing by.

"Fu-dge!" She yelped (A magic censoring spell has been put on the arena. This will be broadcasted, I can't have you all blasting vulgarities to the audience. - Lilith) as her foot slid right off and she plummeted back into the icy depths.

San rolled with the riptides for what felt like hours as she struggled her way back to the surface. Every time she could catch a breath of air another wave of slush forced her back down spinning.

She gathered all the strength she had to fight the rapids. It took time and perseverance, but she made it to the other side. As she pulled her sore and soaked body from the water, steamed rose off it. The werewolf's body ran hot enough to heat her bones through once again. After a moment of gathering herself and flexing off the chill, San huffed and continued on the course, leaving the rushing river long behind her.

[sanmononoke]

San could smell a fairy from two blocks away. This one was slightly different than the Enchantra fairies, but a fairy all the same.

“Uh, you don’t really. It likes to play tricks on newcomers. Where’re you headed?”

@lordmilori-ofnowhere

Wait Just A Flitting Minute || OPEN

[sanmononoke]

It seemed like everyone but San struggled with what they were. The turned ones, at least. She supposed it was the change that made it hard to accept the new skin. Life had barely began for her when hers changed. She couldn't miss something she didn't remember.

She felt lucky.

"I think you'll do fine here. It's small enough that it isn't the end of the world if you mess up, but there's enough going on to not feel empty. It has a way of growing on you."

@scampcomehome

Another One || Santt

[sanmononoke]

San took the cupcake and the change, struggling a bit to put it back in her pocket without damaging her new precious good. She brought it up to her lips and took a chunk of mostly frosting off the top.

Swallowing the sugary paste, "So what are you selling these for again? Did you make them?"

@exsqueak-me

Bake Sale || OPEN

[sanmononoke]

She scrambled to count the coins from her pocket. Just about 4 pounds. Barely enough. But what was she saving it for??

“Alright! Can I have a chocolate please?” San thought it was great how she could eat chocolate now. Before, she was kind of worried that it could hurt her wolf… the wolves she was raised with warned her about human toxins.

@exsqueak-me

Bake Sale || OPEN

[sanmononoke]

San did want a cupcake, but she only had some change in her pocket...

"Uh... how much are they? And what flavor?"

Bake Sale || OPEN

[sanmononoke]

San did lack a filter, most people would agree. Pleasantries were pretty useless as a wolf and so she wasn't taught a lot until Lou and Belle tried to instill them in her. But with other wolves, she felt she could drop the act. She didn't have to pretend to be this kind and civil girl... she could just be herself. Once she figured they were trustworthy, at least.

And if Scott was staying at the Ivy Grove, that meant that Lou trusted him. So San did too.

"I don't think any kind and our kind mix well... but we can't change what we are, we can just not change other people. The fairies are pretty nice if you're respectful, though."

She was interested in his story, and she got the feeling that he wasn't telling all of it. That was okay. Lost people tended to find their way to Swynlake and maybe he would find himself here.

"Ah, a few years. The owner of the Ivy Grove? He is in my pack, our alpha took me in when I got here. They're pretty cool, though I only trusted them because they were like us. Back then, I was pretty lost too."

@scampcomehome

Another One || Santt

[sanmononoke]

San didn't know how much she could trust this new character. Whether he was more wolf or more human. He was hiding other wolves, she knew there were more. And she wanted to respect it but it also made her feel uneasy. Like the others could be a danger to her family.

Her family.

The pack she became a part of wasn't the only family San had. The white wolves in the Great Forest were her family first. And she still had no idea where their mother had gone. She could feel her influence everywhere though.

"I'm not from here either. The Great Forest was my home... I came here from there to find someone. You've been through Enchantra, have you seen any giant wolves? She's huge and white, not entirely mortal..."

@bad-moon--rising

Where, Wolf? || Sucky

[sanmononoke]

Scott. He seemed like a fresh blood from his too human response. A wolf that had been a wolf for any significant time would know that werewolves could take to the wilds and thrive. Scott was a city pooch.

"There's a castle out there, and the Enchantra Hollow, but I don't live there..." then she added, pointing at herself, "not a fairy."

She continued to walk down the pathway and expected him to do so as well. "So... why'd you come to Swynlake?"

San was genuinely curious. He clearly didn't have a wolf goddess protector of the forest mother, but being a newly turned wolf did make him interesting.

@scampcomehome

Another One || Santt

[sanmononoke]

San knew that Lou had his super secret werewolf bed and breakfast up and running. She tried to stay away from it for the most part, lest the werewolves staying there considered her a threat. That Raksha one had a kid, so San could understand the need to protect her space.

This other one though, he bounded through town and left his scent everywhere. Ever since San ran into Lucky, she'd noticed more wolf activity everywhere. Part of her was excited to meet others like her, but another thought about the people she held dear. The Acherons could protect themselves, sure, but that didn't mean San felt less guarded.

On the way back from a lunch at the Nook, San caught whiff of the wolf again. Though, she only saw a man. Tall and spindly like he hadn't quite stopped growing when he needed to and a mess of sandy hair. "Hey!"

San jogged to catch up to him on the road leading into town, "Hey, I'm San. I live in Enchantra."

She fully expected him to recognize her scent, it was all over the forest and especially near the castle.

@scampcomehome

Another One || Santt

[sanmononoke]

Another One || Santt

[sanmononoke]

San's mind raced. What did he mean, lots of wolves and none connected? How many wolves were in Swynlake that she didn't know about? Merida and Lou would have told her about any strays encroaching, wouldn't they? After what happened to her with the other one...

"Glad you can appreciate caution... I've only seen a few wolves outside of the pack, mostly just passing through. One attacked me a few years ago," San raised the back of her hand to show this werewolf her battle scars.

Her ring finger never grew that nail back once it was ripped from her paw. It was either the sacrificial ritual, or the fact that her claw was taken from the bed and most human finger nails didn't grow back if fully removed. San didn't spend to much time thinking about it, she only had one scar marring her skin before. The teeth raked along her back, flesh bubbled up over her shoulder. The scar that made her. She wore both as badges of honor.

"It's safe here... for the most part. There's a few out wolves and the town doesn't hunt them."

@bad-moon--rising

Where, Wolf? || Sucky

[sanmononoke]

San was no stranger to nudity. She was aware that humans tended to be a bit shy about the topic, but she went nearly two decades without owning clothes. The wolf girl had pelts for when she determined her human hide to be a better suit than her own fur. But other than those times... she preferred to let the wolf run. Even now.

She didn't acknowledge his body, just regarded his face. She was committing it to memory. In the case that the werewolf harmed anyone within the town, she'd know exactly who to hunt down first.

"You should've. There's an established pack here. You can't smell us everywhere?" San corrected his ignorance, just as aloofly as the rest of her greeting was.

The girl thought better of making an enemy so quickly, and retracted, "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. So you're new here? Are you... just a lone?"

@bad-moon--rising

Where, Wolf? || Sucky

[sanmononoke]

Nothing this wolf did explained his presence to San. He wasn't in her pack, she couldn't communicate in her mind like she could with Merida and Lou. Just wolf body language and human gestures mixed in.

San gave up. He didn't seem like a threat, and if he was, she could take him in her other skin. The white wolf hunkered down as her bones cracked and shifted into an upright position, her fur disappearing leaving her flesh vulnerable to the air. Steam rose from her back, the wolves ran hot but she still shivered from the new sensation.

"Who are you?"

It was only polite if he revealed himself as well after all.

@bad-moon--rising

Where, Wolf? || Sucky

[sanmononoke]

San wasn't super taken aback by the wolf's defensiveness. She would have been too. She just remembered her manners and noted that her reluctance was normal.

"Oh, it's not... I just am friends with Lou, the owner..." she trailed off. San wasn't sure if she should include that she was in his pack. Surely this woman knew the identities of Lou and San now that she was standing in sniffing distance. "I was just curious to meet you..."

@raksha-bhediya

Stop and Stare *O* [Open]

[sanmononoke]

"Dhaumya." San heard distantly as she too, stared back at the boy.

It felt like she was miles away for that moment. The boy reminded her of the girl across the street. Years ago, she pulled on her mother's arm begging to pet the dog. There was an unabashed curiosity in children that San respected.

She finally looked up to the mother. This time she was acknowledged, not just a traveler outside of the scope of anyone's thoughts. And the mother was a wolf too. The one in Lou's new cottage. San was curious to meet her, not unlike the child. "There is. I don't mind him... You, you're staying at Ivy Grove, aren't you?"

[the fit]

Stop and Stare *O* [Open]