{ "submission_id": "3549156", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "37", "keyword_name": "cub", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "284734" }, { "keyword_id": "2819", "keyword_name": "peril", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "3160" }, { "keyword_id": "3068", "keyword_name": "race", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "527" }, { "keyword_id": "1707", "keyword_name": "roleplay", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2132" }, { "keyword_id": "948", "keyword_name": "story", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "14256" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "2", "create_datetime": "2025-02-14 15:37:47.574129+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "14 Feb 2025 16:37 CET", "last_file_update_datetime": "2025-02-14 01:37:54.385161+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "14 Feb 2025 02:37 CET", "username": "Flowerfall", "user_id": "1123874", "user_icon_file_name": "397748_Flowerfall_minerva-avi1-round.png", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/397/397748_Flowerfall_minerva-avi1-round.png", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/397/397748_Flowerfall_minerva-avi1-round.png", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/397/397748_Flowerfall_minerva-avi1-round.png", "file_name": "5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300", "files": [ { "file_id": "5435751", "file_name": "5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "mimetype": "image/png", "submission_id": "3549156", "user_id": "1123874", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": "300", "full_size_y": "300", "screen_size_x": "300", "screen_size_y": "300", "preview_size_x": "300", "preview_size_y": "300", "initial_file_md5": "4ee1fbc9243b12c8526d2d3d67b41d5a", "full_file_md5": "ef7faf7f97ce99cb820f201131b4c8c0", "large_file_md5": "ef7faf7f97ce99cb820f201131b4c8c0", "small_file_md5": "139a3cf064194f1f3712df02e4d408f8", "thumbnail_md5": "9a02d21fb11d446b057be8547be03b5e", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2025-02-14 01:37:54.385161+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "14 Feb 2025 02:37 CET", "thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5435/5435751_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300" } ], "pools": [ { "pool_id": "99124", "name": "Labyrinth of Twilight", "description": "The comment roleplay game 'Labyrinth of Twilight', currently ongoing! Warning for non-con, peril, and bad ends of various forms.", "count": "23", "submission_left_submission_id": "3544745", "submission_left_file_name": "5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03.png", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300", "submission_right_submission_id": "3551044", "submission_right_file_name": "5439435_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5439/5439435_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5439/5439435_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5439/5439435_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300" } ], "description": "After the brief interlude of letters and asking-for-it-swimwear... and traumatized Petal - the cubs were left alone again. It was only for a day or three, all of which could potentially have been spent having a pretty fun time! After all, camping! With a stream for splashing about in, and a decent spread of fantasy world toys and books, not to mention a suspiciously-difficult-to-empty sack of snacks. [i]And[/i] simple and mixed race though it might have been, even the campfire food was pretty good!\n\nThe problem, of course, was that it all came with the looming knowledge of impending doom for one of their number, and a perverse and sadistic audience that could be looking over any of their shoulders through an invisible camera at any moment.\n\nMaybe *Minerva felt that she had caused the cubs enough trauma for the time being, or more likely it had to do with whatever rules governed how and when she could appear. But, on the day most of the cubs would have been sitting uncomfortably in classrooms watching the interminable six hour countdown to the weekend…\n\n\"Everyone? It is time for the next challenge.\"\n\nThey probably all knew what was coming next, by now. *Minerva had the good manners not to do it [i]immediately[/i], giving the cubs time to stop what they were doing or mentally prepare themselves a tiny bit, but then…\n\n[i]Blip.[/i]\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n\nThis time they [i]all[/i] got moved! And the difference was [i]sharp.[/i]\n\nGone were the pretty, rolling plains and the blue skies and gentle breeze. All of a sudden the sun had hidden itself behind an almost unbroken grey sky, and the wind had picked up to a point that the lightest among the cubs might even have to lean a little to stay upright. Meanwhile their surroundings had turned all to rock, and there was no sign of the camp site, either.\n\nInstead of open grassland, the twelve cubs were hemmed in by cliffs. With the wind at their backs, only a glance would be needed to understand that this was a mountain valley, one that opened up into a craggy landscape roughly a kilometer distant. And behind them?\n\nWell [i]that[/i] was where the grassland had gone!\n\nEven with the weather having turned, the view ought to be pretty spectacular. The slope behind the party was almost vertical, and clearly impossible to navigate safely, but behind them and so, [i]so[/i] far below spread rolling green almost as far as the cubs could see, and way off in the distance a little shining band that might have been their stream.\n\n\"Welcome to your next challenge, everyone!\"\n\nThe [i]other[/i] *Minerva was back; the one that was still clearly, [i]actually[/i] *Minerva, but had apparently told she was going to be speaking for the benefit of the audience as much as the cubs. As such, while her face lacked quite the same, earnest energy that had been there at the beginning, or on all the occasions she had been showcased in public settings in the past… this was an entity who still knew how to (pretend to) be the enthusiastic presenter.\n\n\"This time, the rules are very, very simple - and there won't even be any beastkin waiting for one of you to try to make things easier!\"\n\nShe [i]had[/i] been standing at one side of the group, but now *Minerva ever so gently pushed off the rough stones beneath everyone's feet and seemed to drift backward, as if at least partially carried by the wind. So long as their eyes followed her, they'd soon notice a distinct groove carved clean across the valley floor, from one side to the other.\n\n\"This, is your starting line.\"\n\nAs if this needed to be illustrated, *Minerva bent low despite her hover, one finger just above one end of the line as she began to drift backwards.\n\n\"All you need to do is run [i]all[/i] the way from here to the end of the valley. You all know the rules by now: whoever gets there first, I am allowed to gift one Life Point. Whoever arrives last?\"\n\nFor a moment the presenter's mask was allowed to crack; the sadness there was very genuine, \"I will have to take a Life Point away.\"\n\nShe allowed that to hang for a moment, before the 'enthusiastic host' imperative reasserted itself - which had to be a little bit jarring as *Minerva snapped back into smiles and even the affectation of a mischievous aspect; something her stylistically vulpine features could actually carry off rather well whilst still looking quite sweet.\n\n\"Now, I understand that after our campfire story together, all of you may have some difficulty mustering up the enthusiasm necessary to participate in a race, so I have been instructed to add one more factor to help you engage with the experience.\"\n\n*Minerva snapped her fingers. It was a cliché gesture, but it ought underscore the moment terribly well all the same. A moment of silence… and then a low rumbling. Just as the valley behind them began to crumble away in the beginnings of a collapse that [i]had[/i] to be lethal to end up caught at the top of, some part of the performance imperative turned that mischievous smile all the brighter.\n\n\"Have fun everyone!\"\n\n[i]Blip[/i].\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n[color=#888a85][center][t]The Second Challenge[/t][/center][/color]\nPresumably it was a safe bet that none of the cubs felt the urge to see what would happen if they fell from the sort of height that could give so epic a view of the previous area.\n\nNonetheless, that was the first challenge: realizing just how much trouble they were in as *Minerva smiled at them, apparently [i]triggered a landslide[/i], and then proceeded to disappear. There was even a compulsion to fight against that made one want to [i]watch[/i], if only for a moment. The collapse was, after all, suspiciously smooth; one might almost call it [i]videogame[/i]-y, the way the rock just seemed to crumble, ragged but still in a clear line that seemed to eat up the ground behind them.\n\nFailing to do the smart thing was not limited to Pity and a couple of others, this time: almost half the group found themselves dithering before, likely at the encouragement of their fellows, they turned about and joined the 'race'. The initial lead therefore went to Jacob, Josephine, Skylar, Petal, Daniel, and Connie, but it did not take long for the talents of the other cubs to start to show themselves.\n\nAsh and her natural talent for the sprint saw her join the front of the pack despite the hesitation, as did Pity, with Sebastian and Cyber also managing to make up the difference even as patches of unsteady terrain threw moments of balance into the challenge… which ever so nearly did for Skylar as her footing failed her for a good several steps and put her dangerously near the rolling edge of what may as well have been the world.\n\nInsofar as this was a race, and not just a gaggle of cubs running for their lives, it quickly became evident that pace would play a not insignificant role in everyone's performance - as demonstrated by the increasingly steady performance on the parts of Daniel, Jacob, Petal, Josephine and Poly. It would quickly become clear who was having the most difficult time however: Trixie just did not have the speed of her fellow cubs, and was with Skylar at the back only due to the maned wolf girl's delay and near disastrous stumble. Attempts to shout encouragement and maybe even assist here and there might have happened, but no-one in the party could be fooling themselves into thinking there was any way to stop the progress of the cliff that was, in effect, [i]chasing them[/i].\n\nDid Connie [i]realize[/i] just how dire it all was? After all, watching their departed party member Cinnamon literally [i]expire on camera[/i] had apparently failed to drive home just how much trouble she was in. Nonetheless, the blissfully oblivious, provocatively-endowed little chee' tween was [i]right[/i] off at the front already, and well on her way to eating up the first third of the race.\n\nAs the group caught up on the midpoint, fatigue was clearly starting to set in for some, especially poor Trixie on whose heels the collapse was not quite nipping, but certainly seemed to be thinking about it. Josephine and Poly were not far ahead of her, and while a wrong decision could cost the lot of them more than just the race, their firm grip on pace at least allowed them to stay close enough to egg the poor little rich girl on!\n\nDaniel, Cyber, Sebastian, Petal and Jacob effectively formed the middle of the pack, with Pity not far ahead. But for the danger, Ash might almost look lonely, stuck out between Pity, and Connie with her almost absurd-looking lead.\n\nWith the last section of their 'track' coming up, the finishing order was beginning to take shape. Connie's last, mad dash for the end of the valley - which as it turned out had its own, carved groove to demarcate the end of the race - saw her finishing well ahead of her fellow cubs. Likely another safe bet that the ever-cheerful girl would take the opportunity to stand there waving and shouting encouragement and maybe, [i]finally[/i], get her fluffy head around the fact that the rest of the party might be in at least a [i]bit[/i] of peril?\n\nNot that there was anything she could do; not with things so close to a 'decision' and her friends blessedly closing the distance with her.\n\nAsh was next over the line, her similar talents to Connie having just swallowed the distance not long after the cheetah girl finished the race. After that? Pity. Apparently, despite not sharing Connie and Ash's particular talent for this sort of event, that general toned athleticism was enough to carry even a girl carrying her [i]gifts[/i] across the finish.\n\nNext to cross? Daniel, followed by Jacob, then Josephine and Petal close together. After that, Sebastian and Poly, who had paced themselves despite never gaining much ground on the others… and then, remarkably, [i]Trixie[/i], a last burst of effort having let her catch up to the cubs had been not far ahead of her the whole way.\n\nWhich only left Skylar and Cyber, both of whom just did not seem to be able to find a rhythm. It would have been funny, but for the kind of horror of the situation: Skylar's footing was never steady, and while the ground was not so catastrophically uneven as to utterly do anyone in, in combination with encroaching fatigue and a lack of overall speed?\n\nAnd poor Cyber! He [i]had[/i] the energy for a run like this, but despite being able to battle the fatigue he simply had not been able to work the limited speed he could muster to make use of it.\n\nAnd so, almost all the way to the end, while Trixie had slowly, agonizingly dragged herself into third-last, Cyber and Skylar had spent almost the whole run with the collapse at their backs. They made it across the line! Despite the collapse so very nearly getting Cyber… which meant that it had been Skylar who finished the race only very slightly ahead.\n\nBut they had all made it! Every last one of them survived the first genuinely dangerous-feeling challenge of the adventure! Perhaps even a genuine feeling of relief and achievement and there was *Minerva, too!\n\nThe collapse had halted, almost as suddenly as it had begun, and only just on the far side of the finish line. Still bizarrely straight, although a few last stones went noisily tumbling toward the new crevasse far below.\n\n\"Connie? Congratulations on winning the first, scoring challenge of the Labyrinth of Twilight.\"\n\nAfter all, while Skylar had won the last? Cinnamon had seen to it that the party had gotten an unexpected little tutorial.\n\n*Minerva had both Connie's paws cupped in hers, and when she withdrew her fingers? There was a soft little pink-white glow above Connie's palms. Just for a moment! But then it was gone, while a little display popped up to display a brief, white [b][i]+1[/i][/b] stylized to look faintly like numbers on a roller.\n\nAnd then *Minerva looked at Cyber. \"It was very close, but Cyber? You came in last place, just behind Skylar.\"\n\nThere was nothing to feel, at least. Connie might have felt a momentary warmth before the numeric display, but for Cyber the number merely appeared for him and everyone to see, a dark blue-gray just above and in front of his face that rolled by with a [b][i]-1[/i][/b].\n\n*Minerva had been allowed to abandon her cutesy enthusiastic presenter persona, for a blessing. Code allowed her to keep her composure, for a blessing, but the mood nonetheless could not have been more different to the beginning of the race.\n\n\"Everyone, take a little time to recover. Before I announce the effects of everyone's votes - I promise they will remain anonymous! - I need you all to make a decision for me.\"\n\nA gesture with her paw, and abruptly two more sets of grooves manifested in the ground, carving themselves into the stone with a brief blue light to show two designs:\n\nThe first, simple carving bore the appearance of a coil; a simple, messily curving line reminiscent of a snake or a dropped cable.\n\nThe second carving meanwhile depicted a square. One of the sides was recessed very slightly with a little of its two neighbors rising above, with a V shape rising from the opposite side of the square to touch the recessed side.\n\n[center]#H3549606 #H3549607[/center]\n\n\"These two symbols are clues as to what you may expect in the challenges ahead. Please consider which one you wish to face next as a party, while you rest, and then we will talk about your votes.\"\n\nWith that, *Minerva gave them all a polite little bow, and then vanished. Behind her, as if somehow the little fox-girl goddess had been obscuring it (maybe she had!)... was their camp.\n\nIt was exactly as they had left it, right down to medieval-fantasy toys and books that had been left idle. … As long as they had been left in the tents. Anything left on the ground [i]outside[/i] their tents was gone, presumably still laying in the grass back at their last camp site. Tent ropes and hooks were staked right into the stone ground, still looking just as they had been, and there were the enormous leather bags of [i]stuff[/i] from before, too.\n\nThere were only two differences:\n- In place of a fire pit, their campfire was a rather simpler one built from sticks and rocks, beneath that familiar hanging pot.\n- The stream was gone, replaced by a pool of still blessedly clear, cool water. Investigations would reveal that the 'excuse' for the water source's existence was the brief intrusion of below-ground water into the nippy mountain air above, fed and draining through small cracks and holes below the surface.\n\n[b][/b]\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n\n[b](Summary/Key points:[/b]\n- Cyber lost, Connie won.\n- *Minerva has left the cubs to mull over the clues and make a decision.\n- Votes for saving other cubs are closed as of yesterday!\n- This is first post of what I hope will be the finalized format going forward: a prompt on Friday depicting\n the challenge and the time after (wherein you can all mull over the next-time clues and the aftermath\n of the challenge) followed by a prompt on Sunday to cover the time until the next challenge as you\n agonize over who you'll vote for! [color=#babdb6]You know, after someone's been taken and you've had\n chance to see what happened to the last person and all that.[/color]\n- [icon]blessedwasthechild[/icon]Trixie I am so sorry, this means I kind of have to scupper your retroactive\n sleepover plan, even setting aside the risk it poses of further confusing the continuity in comments! I'll\n PM you some options.\n\n[u][t]Remaining Cubs[/t][/u]\n[icon]Polymorph[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8956124](Poly)[/url] [icon]blessedwasthechild[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8956767](Trixie)[/url] [icon]Smolfoks[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8957427](Skylar)[/url] [icon]PaydayWolf[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8958052](Connie)[/url] [icon]Cyberblade[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8958504](Cyber)[/url] \n[icon]MystBunny[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8959771](Daniel)[/url] [icon]SebastianTheRoo[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8960253](Sebastian)[/url] [icon]Mysterythree[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8960555](Ash)[/url] [icon]PetalLaFleur[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965166](Petal)[/url] [icon]PityPlowed[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965346](Pity)[/url] \n[icon]Mizzyam[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965608](Jake)[/url] [icon]FlutterBun[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965902](Fifi)[/url]\n\n[color=#888a85](This should be the arrangement going forward. The what-challenge-next vote is less critical than the saving vote given the limited information to choose from, but please [b]PM me your character's vote and/or tag me[/b] in any post you make where they express their decision to the group. Votes not cast in time will be assigned at random.)[/color]\n\n- Cub reactions and freeplay [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3549156#commentid_8986002]Here[/url]\n- Predator reactions and freeplay [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3549156#commentid_8986005]Here[/url]\n- Audience reactions [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3549156#commentid_8986006]Here[/url]\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b]\n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3544745]<--- to the previous prompt[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533932]to Labyrinth of Twilight Details/Index[/url] | to the next prompt --->[/center]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "After the brief interlude of letters and asking-for-it-swimwear... and traumatized Petal - the cubs were left alone again. It was only for a day or three, all of which could potentially have been spent having a pretty fun time! After all, camping! With a stream for splashing about in, and a decent spread of fantasy world toys and books, not to mention a suspiciously-difficult-to-empty sack of snacks. And simple and mixed race though it might have been, even the campfire food was pretty good!

The problem, of course, was that it all came with the looming knowledge of impending doom for one of their number, and a perverse and sadistic audience that could be looking over any of their shoulders through an invisible camera at any moment.

Maybe *Minerva felt that she had caused the cubs enough trauma for the time being, or more likely it had to do with whatever rules governed how and when she could appear. But, on the day most of the cubs would have been sitting uncomfortably in classrooms watching the interminable six hour countdown to the weekend…

"Everyone? It is time for the next challenge."

They probably all knew what was coming next, by now. *Minerva had the good manners not to do it immediately, giving the cubs time to stop what they were doing or mentally prepare themselves a tiny bit, but then…

Blip.
                                                                                                                                                    


This time they all got moved! And the difference was sharp.

Gone were the pretty, rolling plains and the blue skies and gentle breeze. All of a sudden the sun had hidden itself behind an almost unbroken grey sky, and the wind had picked up to a point that the lightest among the cubs might even have to lean a little to stay upright. Meanwhile their surroundings had turned all to rock, and there was no sign of the camp site, either.

Instead of open grassland, the twelve cubs were hemmed in by cliffs. With the wind at their backs, only a glance would be needed to understand that this was a mountain valley, one that opened up into a craggy landscape roughly a kilometer distant. And behind them?

Well that was where the grassland had gone!

Even with the weather having turned, the view ought to be pretty spectacular. The slope behind the party was almost vertical, and clearly impossible to navigate safely, but behind them and so, so far below spread rolling green almost as far as the cubs could see, and way off in the distance a little shining band that might have been their stream.

"Welcome to your next challenge, everyone!"

The other *Minerva was back; the one that was still clearly, actually *Minerva, but had apparently told she was going to be speaking for the benefit of the audience as much as the cubs. As such, while her face lacked quite the same, earnest energy that had been there at the beginning, or on all the occasions she had been showcased in public settings in the past… this was an entity who still knew how to (pretend to) be the enthusiastic presenter.

"This time, the rules are very, very simple - and there won't even be any beastkin waiting for one of you to try to make things easier!"

She had been standing at one side of the group, but now *Minerva ever so gently pushed off the rough stones beneath everyone's feet and seemed to drift backward, as if at least partially carried by the wind. So long as their eyes followed her, they'd soon notice a distinct groove carved clean across the valley floor, from one side to the other.

"This, is your starting line."

As if this needed to be illustrated, *Minerva bent low despite her hover, one finger just above one end of the line as she began to drift backwards.

"All you need to do is run all the way from here to the end of the valley. You all know the rules by now: whoever gets there first, I am allowed to gift one Life Point. Whoever arrives last?"

For a moment the presenter's mask was allowed to crack; the sadness there was very genuine, "I will have to take a Life Point away."

She allowed that to hang for a moment, before the 'enthusiastic host' imperative reasserted itself - which had to be a little bit jarring as *Minerva snapped back into smiles and even the affectation of a mischievous aspect; something her stylistically vulpine features could actually carry off rather well whilst still looking quite sweet.

"Now, I understand that after our campfire story together, all of you may have some difficulty mustering up the enthusiasm necessary to participate in a race, so I have been instructed to add one more factor to help you engage with the experience."

*Minerva snapped her fingers. It was a cliché gesture, but it ought underscore the moment terribly well all the same. A moment of silence… and then a low rumbling. Just as the valley behind them began to crumble away in the beginnings of a collapse that had to be lethal to end up caught at the top of, some part of the performance imperative turned that mischievous smile all the brighter.

"Have fun everyone!"

Blip.
                                                                                                                                                    

The Second Challenge

Presumably it was a safe bet that none of the cubs felt the urge to see what would happen if they fell from the sort of height that could give so epic a view of the previous area.

Nonetheless, that was the first challenge: realizing just how much trouble they were in as *Minerva smiled at them, apparently triggered a landslide, and then proceeded to disappear. There was even a compulsion to fight against that made one want to watch, if only for a moment. The collapse was, after all, suspiciously smooth; one might almost call it videogame-y, the way the rock just seemed to crumble, ragged but still in a clear line that seemed to eat up the ground behind them.

Failing to do the smart thing was not limited to Pity and a couple of others, this time: almost half the group found themselves dithering before, likely at the encouragement of their fellows, they turned about and joined the 'race'. The initial lead therefore went to Jacob, Josephine, Skylar, Petal, Daniel, and Connie, but it did not take long for the talents of the other cubs to start to show themselves.

Ash and her natural talent for the sprint saw her join the front of the pack despite the hesitation, as did Pity, with Sebastian and Cyber also managing to make up the difference even as patches of unsteady terrain threw moments of balance into the challenge… which ever so nearly did for Skylar as her footing failed her for a good several steps and put her dangerously near the rolling edge of what may as well have been the world.

Insofar as this was a race, and not just a gaggle of cubs running for their lives, it quickly became evident that pace would play a not insignificant role in everyone's performance - as demonstrated by the increasingly steady performance on the parts of Daniel, Jacob, Petal, Josephine and Poly. It would quickly become clear who was having the most difficult time however: Trixie just did not have the speed of her fellow cubs, and was with Skylar at the back only due to the maned wolf girl's delay and near disastrous stumble. Attempts to shout encouragement and maybe even assist here and there might have happened, but no-one in the party could be fooling themselves into thinking there was any way to stop the progress of the cliff that was, in effect, chasing them.

Did Connie realize just how dire it all was? After all, watching their departed party member Cinnamon literally expire on camera had apparently failed to drive home just how much trouble she was in. Nonetheless, the blissfully oblivious, provocatively-endowed little chee' tween was right off at the front already, and well on her way to eating up the first third of the race.

As the group caught up on the midpoint, fatigue was clearly starting to set in for some, especially poor Trixie on whose heels the collapse was not quite nipping, but certainly seemed to be thinking about it. Josephine and Poly were not far ahead of her, and while a wrong decision could cost the lot of them more than just the race, their firm grip on pace at least allowed them to stay close enough to egg the poor little rich girl on!

Daniel, Cyber, Sebastian, Petal and Jacob effectively formed the middle of the pack, with Pity not far ahead. But for the danger, Ash might almost look lonely, stuck out between Pity, and Connie with her almost absurd-looking lead.

With the last section of their 'track' coming up, the finishing order was beginning to take shape. Connie's last, mad dash for the end of the valley - which as it turned out had its own, carved groove to demarcate the end of the race - saw her finishing well ahead of her fellow cubs. Likely another safe bet that the ever-cheerful girl would take the opportunity to stand there waving and shouting encouragement and maybe, finally, get her fluffy head around the fact that the rest of the party might be in at least a bit of peril?

Not that there was anything she could do; not with things so close to a 'decision' and her friends blessedly closing the distance with her.

Ash was next over the line, her similar talents to Connie having just swallowed the distance not long after the cheetah girl finished the race. After that? Pity. Apparently, despite not sharing Connie and Ash's particular talent for this sort of event, that general toned athleticism was enough to carry even a girl carrying her gifts across the finish.

Next to cross? Daniel, followed by Jacob, then Josephine and Petal close together. After that, Sebastian and Poly, who had paced themselves despite never gaining much ground on the others… and then, remarkably, Trixie, a last burst of effort having let her catch up to the cubs had been not far ahead of her the whole way.

Which only left Skylar and Cyber, both of whom just did not seem to be able to find a rhythm. It would have been funny, but for the kind of horror of the situation: Skylar's footing was never steady, and while the ground was not so catastrophically uneven as to utterly do anyone in, in combination with encroaching fatigue and a lack of overall speed?

And poor Cyber! He had the energy for a run like this, but despite being able to battle the fatigue he simply had not been able to work the limited speed he could muster to make use of it.

And so, almost all the way to the end, while Trixie had slowly, agonizingly dragged herself into third-last, Cyber and Skylar had spent almost the whole run with the collapse at their backs. They made it across the line! Despite the collapse so very nearly getting Cyber… which meant that it had been Skylar who finished the race only very slightly ahead.

But they had all made it! Every last one of them survived the first genuinely dangerous-feeling challenge of the adventure! Perhaps even a genuine feeling of relief and achievement and there was *Minerva, too!

The collapse had halted, almost as suddenly as it had begun, and only just on the far side of the finish line. Still bizarrely straight, although a few last stones went noisily tumbling toward the new crevasse far below.

"Connie? Congratulations on winning the first, scoring challenge of the Labyrinth of Twilight."

After all, while Skylar had won the last? Cinnamon had seen to it that the party had gotten an unexpected little tutorial.

*Minerva had both Connie's paws cupped in hers, and when she withdrew her fingers? There was a soft little pink-white glow above Connie's palms. Just for a moment! But then it was gone, while a little display popped up to display a brief, white +1 stylized to look faintly like numbers on a roller.

And then *Minerva looked at Cyber. "It was very close, but Cyber? You came in last place, just behind Skylar."

There was nothing to feel, at least. Connie might have felt a momentary warmth before the numeric display, but for Cyber the number merely appeared for him and everyone to see, a dark blue-gray just above and in front of his face that rolled by with a -1.

*Minerva had been allowed to abandon her cutesy enthusiastic presenter persona, for a blessing. Code allowed her to keep her composure, for a blessing, but the mood nonetheless could not have been more different to the beginning of the race.

"Everyone, take a little time to recover. Before I announce the effects of everyone's votes - I promise they will remain anonymous! - I need you all to make a decision for me."

A gesture with her paw, and abruptly two more sets of grooves manifested in the ground, carving themselves into the stone with a brief blue light to show two designs:

The first, simple carving bore the appearance of a coil; a simple, messily curving line reminiscent of a snake or a dropped cable.

The second carving meanwhile depicted a square. One of the sides was recessed very slightly with a little of its two neighbors rising above, with a V shape rising from the opposite side of the square to touch the recessed side.

\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\tIcon 01 by Flowerfall\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\tIcon 02 by Flowerfall\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t


"These two symbols are clues as to what you may expect in the challenges ahead. Please consider which one you wish to face next as a party, while you rest, and then we will talk about your votes."

With that, *Minerva gave them all a polite little bow, and then vanished. Behind her, as if somehow the little fox-girl goddess had been obscuring it (maybe she had!)... was their camp.

It was exactly as they had left it, right down to medieval-fantasy toys and books that had been left idle. … As long as they had been left in the tents. Anything left on the ground outside their tents was gone, presumably still laying in the grass back at their last camp site. Tent ropes and hooks were staked right into the stone ground, still looking just as they had been, and there were the enormous leather bags of stuff from before, too.

There were only two differences:
- In place of a fire pit, their campfire was a rather simpler one built from sticks and rocks, beneath that familiar hanging pot.
- The stream was gone, replaced by a pool of still blessedly clear, cool water. Investigations would reveal that the 'excuse' for the water source's existence was the brief intrusion of below-ground water into the nippy mountain air above, fed and draining through small cracks and holes below the surface.

<Please roleplay responses by replying to the appropriate ‘Reactions’ comment below! Tag and/or PM me your character's decision with regard to the symbols. The next prompt will ideally be posted on Sunday, in 2 days' time.>
                                                                                                                                                    


(Summary/Key points:
- Cyber lost, Connie won.
- *Minerva has left the cubs to mull over the clues and make a decision.
- Votes for saving other cubs are closed as of yesterday!
- This is first post of what I hope will be the finalized format going forward: a prompt on Friday depicting
   the challenge and the time after (wherein you can all mull over the next-time clues and the aftermath
   of the challenge) followed by a prompt on Sunday to cover the time until the next challenge as you
   agonize over who you'll vote for! You know, after someone's been taken and you've had
   chance to see what happened to the last person and all that.
- \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
blessedwasthechild
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTrixie I am so sorry, this means I kind of have to scupper your retroactive
   sleepover plan, even setting aside the risk it poses of further confusing the continuity in comments! I'll
   PM you some options.

Remaining Cubs
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Polymorph
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Poly)   \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
blessedwasthechild
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Trixie)       \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Smolfoks
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Skylar) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PaydayWolf
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Connie) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Cyberblade
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Cyber)
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
MystBunny
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Daniel) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
SebastianTheRoo
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Sebastian) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Mysterythree
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Ash)  \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PetalLaFleur
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Petal)    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PityPlowed
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Pity)
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Mizzyam
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Jake)   \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
FlutterBun
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Fifi)

(This should be the arrangement going forward. The what-challenge-next vote is less critical than the saving vote given the limited information to choose from, but please PM me your character's vote and/or tag me in any post you make where they express their decision to the group. Votes not cast in time will be assigned at random.)

- Cub reactions and freeplay Here
- Predator reactions and freeplay Here
- Audience reactions Here
                                                                                                                                                      

<--- to the previous prompt         | to Labyrinth of Twilight Details/Index |         to the next prompt --->
", "writing": "", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Labyrinth of Twilight - Challenge 02 (Fourth Prompt)", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "image/png", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "1", "type_name": "Picture/Pinup", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "141", "views": "109" }