Warrior stumbled and skidded down the ravine trails, nostrils flared as he sucked in great breaths. It was precarious, but he'd been here before. It wasn't that he knew where to place each hoof (he'd never really braved the plateaus alone), but he knew how the rock could crack, and not to step on the little overhangs, and the like.

As he reached the bottom, he summoned up his magicka. Blood was mixing with the grime to smear his hide an ugly red-brown. He shook himself, blinking, and lurched into a slower, but steady, pace: a swift trot that would neither leave his companions behind, nor allow him to lag back himself.

After a few moments, however, he found that he felt... drained.

Unusually so.

It was an exhaustion that bit at his gemstone, as if sparking through his magicka; it drained his muscles, until he was stumbling and limping. His gait gradually slowed to an unsteady, slow trot. More and more his head and tail flagged, hanging, until it looked like he might simply collapse altogether.

What have I done? he thought, blinking up past a strange haze to watch other Gembound vanish over the ridges ahead. Then he fell, a hard rock down on his knees, one that jarred him and split the skin to leave another wash of blood flowing in rivulets down the rock ahead. ...Oh no. Horror, fear, gripped him. He tried to stumble up, and fell again, and a moment later found that he was on his side, head spinning.

Had someone sabotaged him-? Even past his fog, though, he remembered trying to use his magicka, and the sudden bite at his gemstone. Had he... dispersed his energy, instead of recovering it-?

Even more horror washed through him, bone-deep and chilling, as he realized that the next stretch was the one he had nearly died in before. He remembered dying, even: sinking and choking, the world--already black--fading from his mind. Now he'd be behind the rest, trudging through it all over again, and exhausted...

That fear drove him back to his hooves, a sharp and shrill whinny voiced as he kicked back onto the trail, newly-wounded knees pitching him downward every few steps.

- IVORY-

Ivory glanced left and right.

Everyone else seemed much the same as she was: shaken, scratched up, but okay. "Nobody dead yet!" she tried to offer, cheerfully, then almost fell off the side of the mountain.

"Oop-!" She hauled herself back into line, snorted, and continued on. "Gets pretty gruesome, I think, sometimes." Not that she'd been here for every trial, but she'd heard stories on top of the shit she'd seen. "We're the good group, though. See those idiots way far out ahead-? Something happens... nobody can help them. They ain't gonna get 'first place' when they're dead." There was a grim confidence to this statement.

Her gaze then fell upon the small, almost frail-looking one--no, not frail, it just looks that way compared to a lot of the others here. That, and he was a little... stretched and twisty looking. Fiver. He'd taken a bit of a beating, what with those Eyehooks trying to murder him and all. "Hey," Ivory called over, shifting her heavy trotting plod to try and come up alongside him. "You wanna catch a lift?" She nodded to her own back, then paused, taking the rare step of calling on her magicka (she hardly touched the stuff). A fat banana appeared out of nowhere, thudding to the dirt, and she tore it in half, nudging half toward the smaller Gembound. "'s magic," she explained, past the near-inhalation of munching on her own. "Tastes good to just about anyone! Feels great, too." She forgot to mention the whole "and makes you sparkle for awhile" thing, but that seemed obvious, now, what with how she was glittering.

@Fiver

The claws and beaks seem to be behind him, from the sounds. He can hear the others ahead, leaving him behind. There's no chance for it, unless he hurries up to catch them.

"Wait!" he calls out, staggering after the others. The darkness is all encompassing, as he drops onto all fours in his best attempt to run after them.

He remembers the precarious nature of the cliffs just in time, narrowly avoiding careen off into the open air. It feels around carefully with its talons, climbing down after the main group. With luck he'll catch up.

One moment, Spinnaker thinks he's as good as gone. The next, his assailer is twisting away, letting up the attack. He takes his chance, darting back into the air, ignoring the scratches bleeding him dry.

With a tilt of his head, he sees his saviour, another feathered fellow, speeding along ahead. Can't be left behind, can we?

"I owe you one!" he squawks, even as he watches Corsair dissappear ahead of him.

"I'D DO IT AGAIN TOO! YOU STARTED THIS SO IT'S ON YOU!" Hymn shouted at Huntsman, continuing to go right back to his own music making and occasionally glaring at his enemy. He'd much rather just pull ahead for now to get away from them, rather than try attacking them again. Out of sight, out of mind- and attacking range.

The next part was a tough descent as well, so Hymn focused on making sure he didn't crash into anything. Huntsman wasn't worth his time anyway.

Hymn is moving ahead

@Huntsman
(vis)

They say slow and steady wins the race. And that holds true when said race is through a murderous deathtrap.

"How much longer," he bleats to himself, starting down the narrow paths. At least this side seems slightly wider than the ascent, as hooves click against the stone. Pale eyes watch for danger, but none seems to arrive.

Good.

Kaizer is holding position.

Wisperia was not one to wait for others, nor try to save them. She was here mainly just to watch, and investigate. She did not spend too much time deciding what to do. Her flexible limbs and sticky toes allowed her to quickly traverse the terrain without too much trouble. This was a much better environment than the earlier section. Especially the sand. She didn't want to linger too much on how she had almost died there. And she especially didn't want to think about how she had been saved by some other gembounds.

Moving forward.

Okay. Aran is safe. The cackling must have been a good enough distraction (or perhaps the other gembound) for him to get away. Regardless, Aran is grateful he won't have to struggle for now. He's ready to get out of here, get back in the normal caves, and maybe sleep for the next four years. But for now, he has to survive this - along with the rest of them.

It's clear he's not going to make his way back up to the gembound in the beginning, but he can try to leave these guys behind. Perhaps it will mean less danger if he is in the middle. The stragglers will get eaten, the ones at the start will get attacked. Honestly, Aran should feel bad. He does not. Something about it is terrifying, but the Barasingha doesn't think about that for now.

After all, in times like this, it is survival of the fittest.

Star did not hear Connie's words, eyes already focused on scanning ahead for any dangers. She felt bad about worrying him in such a way, especially because he was her bestest friend ever! She was starting to realize that her actions could have impacts on not only her own life, but others as well. The Kori Bustard raised a wing to shelter Connie from the burning hot sun as they continued.

She was scared of what could next. Even if there was potential to make new friends, she also knew that not all possible friends were, well, friendly. But most importantly, she had promised to protect Connie. She had to stay safe! That was the only way she could ensure her friend's safety as well.

Star maintained her happy attitude, a bounce in her every step as she proceeded. She would stay happy. Be the source of happiness despite all the dangers they had faced, and would potentially face in the next steps to come. She could not let Connie sense that she was worried in any way.

But it seemed like her strength was flagging in a way, and she did not make considerable progress.

@Conleth (vis)

An infuriated hiss slid from between his teeth. This insolent CHILD, acting as though he was some monster, some heartless, needless instigator. They ALL signed up for this, all agreed to the chance of death that this challenge would bring. All agreed to the competition.

He was hunting prey that had agreed to it, and they didn't have the decency or sense to realize it.

He would let Hymn pull forward, returning each glare with a look of cold-burning rage. The ravine began to narrow, making it harder to fly.

But the perfect time to strike.

He would swoop closer to Hymn, jaws snapping as he tried to shove Hymn into a tight spot and force him to land. But the movement was somewhat clumsy- Huntsman was trying his best to maneuver in the tight space, too.


@Hymn [VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE]