In the wake of such a dramatic turnaround, not only Harvey was demonstrating a massive upsurge in energy. So too did his partner display a similar change in behavior. Whereas previously he'd been content to lounge about and warmly encourage the rabbit on, the latest events had succeeded in jerking Richter unsteadily to his feet. The sight of his buddy shooting clear through the tunnel infused him with overwhelming excitement demanding to be expelled. Instinctively squaring up for a fight, arms started winding up while frantic hops tossed him side to side. The absolute deluge of confetti upon the forum dared to impede speech as colorful dots coated his snout. He swiped lips with the back of a paw, spat, and spluttered past whatever remained clinging to them.

"How about that! You see what I mean?" Words collided at such a rapid pace that his hollering bordered on unintelligibility, consonants and vowels merging into a twangy mush of high emotions. "Keep your jumping up, and you'll be at the end before anyone can say, 'finish line.' Won't that be nice? We can both have a good meal soon!"

Speaking of jumps, another was drawing closer with each bound Harvey took. It promised a far from pleasant soaking if he fell short of its challenging length. At the very last second before slamming into the obstacle, he crouched low to prepare for the final lunge. Back legs ground deep imprints into the sand, and then the Lesser soared, the almost brush of belly fur against the hurdle's top indicative of how close he'd been to bashing it down. Sacrificing so much height for distance, once the initial challenge had passed, the rest was smooth sailing—or rather skimming. Although forever on the edge of plummeting into the drink, no watery filth stained his pelt. Furthermore, he landed a couple hops past the end of the hazard, instantly rushing onward at breakneck speed.

Richter swung some wild celebratory punches. "Way to show you're the hoppiest fella out there!"

A bit of a close call, but the rabbit hangs on with 6 points!

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

Oh buddy look, you're the star of the show! Anala tried desperately to avoid laughing at the display herself and instead turn the narrative to cheer the rat on. The poor thing already didn't want to compete!

Just a little more, okay?! Anala was competitive. It was not hard to tell if anyone bothered to spend more than a minute with her. If something could be made into a game, a fight, or a contest, she was in on it. This was no exception. We're almost to the end!

It was no use. The rat's spirit was shattered, and she could tell even without the link. It hit the hurdle and stopped, staring into the seemingly endless (from its perspective) stretch of water ahead. Others passed, leaping the hurdle with varying degrees of difficulty, and the rat resigned itself to swimming. Well, at least it was still moving...

It's alright, you just get across however you need to. Anala sighed, trying to comfort both herself and the rat. She couldn't really blame it.

OOC Notes: 2 points

Mocha

'Cause I'm having a good time

Mocha knew that Nemean had thought these events out well. Everything had been set up in advance, presumably tested, and set up with a variety of magic effects and cameras. And yet, here he was with a legless lizard and another hurdle to jump. There was no fish-flopping here. Nori needed to fly. Mocha only hoped that Nori could think up some kind of solution that he couldn't.

Unfortunately, there came no miracle. Nori did not sprout wings, nor did he manage to hitch on a fellow competitor to be lifted across the puddle (though he did try). He hopped and he flopped, hitting the hurdle and flipping over it like a pancake slipping out of the pan, landing with an impressive slash for his size in the murky water below.

Could it swim? Float? Something? Would the rules be broken if an imp had to pull it from the- oh! Mocha's panic subsided as it surfaced, speeding over to the edge of the puddle to continue its journey. Not without a string of complaints about the cold and the wet and the jumping, of course. I'm sorry Nori, really, but you did so good! Another series of complains. Well, you tried really hard!

3 points

Oliver followed along, pacing along the sides where the Greaters could keep track of the course. Next up: the tunnel. He tried to encourage the moth to fly in, and--to his surprise, it did so. It seemed to understand, fluttering somewhat haphazardly through, as moths tended to do.

It was a tense moment: Oliver feared, really feared, that in the dark of the confined space something else might accidentally crush the little creature.

Nothing did, though, and after a moment it fluttered out the other side, seemingly oblivious to the danger it had been in.

double posting for missing a round

Score: 2

Oliver's little moth pressed on gamely. When it came to the "long jump," things were easy enough physically: it was a space the moth could just... fly over. Harder was the explanation, mind-to-mind, to push such a simple brain toward a task like that.

At first it didn't understand; it started to wander off toward a distant spotlight, and it took all Oliver's willpower to wrangle it mentally back. It was all positive: no anger, no frustration. Only encouragement, a sort of mental cheering it on.

It eventually made it over the hurdle, flying in its erratic, slow fashion over the obstacle and forward.

Score: 3

POCKET LESSERS!

Part I: Obstacle Course!

The images on the big screens shifted wildly, showing the Lessers clearing the obstacles neatly, or flying over them, or in a couple cases, landing smack-dab in the water and having to swim out. Nori and the little rat both got good, brutal close-ups with a deafening laugh track plastered over them; when Anala's rat hauled itself out the other side, sopping wet, it zoomed in even more.

The fun was over, though, after a few moments, and the picture on the screen swept outward, forward, to show the finish line in the distance: a literal white line painted in the dirt, and two sparkling golden poles on either end, with a bright pink ribbon loosely tied between them.

"FINAL STRETCH, GO GO GO! THE FINISH LINE AWAAAAITS! Who will win?! Who will fall SO FAR BEHIND that they get laughed at FOREVER?! Let's find OUUUUT!"

---

Obstacle Course - Round 5 - FINAL ROUND!

Players should roll Other (or, if their character is Other-path, physical combat--to keep roll thresholds fair) to bypass the fifth and final 'obstacle': the final stretch, a last flat race!

Keep track of your Lesser's score: 1 point for a Barely, 2 for a Success, and 3 for a Crit. The highest end scores will be the fastest placements, with prizes for First, Second and Third!

A Failed roll can be attributed to the Lesser misunderstanding, moving too slowly, or becoming distracted by all the light and sound, etc.

This thread is closed to new entrants. If anyone had already joined but failed to post in time, they may double-post to catch up. Characters who have not posted in the last 2 rounds are no longer being tagged. The next post will take place on July 18th, so please post by the end of the 17th!

Note: these rolls cannot be used for character progression.

@Oliver @Mocha @Anala @Richter @Sair @Edeltraud @Yume @Knightly (Yvan)

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

They had fallen behind, far enough that Anala would even consider finishing the race a win. She did not dare to look at any other lesser, especially behind her familiar, in case there was no lesser to be found there. It was almost over. They just needed a strong finish.

You hear that? The finish line! Straight ahead! One last burst of speed, and you got it! Almost there! She kept feeding a running string of encouragements through the mental link, hoping at least for a strong finish. The rat was just ready to be done with it all, she knew, but they were so close. It just had to keep moving a little longer, and a little faster... Please?

The answer was 'no', clear as day. The rat simply walked off the course to clean its soaking pelt, done with the game. It just wanted to go home.

OOC Notes: 2 points

Sair

Sair's pride had been pouring through the mental line between him and Trill for some time now, praising and encouraging their every move. She had been doing great, keeping up with the front of the pack near Richter's rabbit. They were giving each other quite the run for the title, pardon the pun.

This is it! That white line? You need to pass that before anyone else, and you win! He could sense Trill's fatigued muscles through the line, how it was getting harder to move forward, but she pushed on still. One more sprint!

Trill practically shoved the closest lesser aside as she shot forth, a blur of colour as she fought against aching muscles in favour of winning. Sair, normally at least mostly composed (or at least he tried to come across that way) cheered, a scream that strained his throat. She was doing it! They had it! She just had to keep ahead of the others.

"Speaking." Thinking. Doing.
OOC: 8 points

We don't know how to accept we're just a product of a chance /
And less like gods but more like plants

Mocha

'Cause I'm having a good time

In a similar boat to Anala, Nori was just eager to be done with this event. He was tired, as all the lessers were at this point. And he was wet, and visibly behind in the race. At least he was doing better than the rat, to compare.

You're almost done! Mocha tried to spur him back to life, to push him through the last stretch. You'll get a nice, uninterrupted rest after you cross that line, I promise! Even his mental voice seemed to chirp in tone.

Nori was just too tired, too sore and too cold. He could not will his muscles to drag him along any faster than he was slithering. He at least stayed on the track, aiming for the finish line, but there was no way he was pulling ahead of anyone else. I'm proud of you! Mocha commended him for continuing, despite the lack of speed. At least he was still trying!

3 Points

She lets out an exhausted sigh, "Well this is embarassing." She can't even wrangle one little rat.Please go little guy... I'll get you a snack after this.

It does not go. It instead meanders off to grab a fallen peanut and nibble on it.

first of double post for late last turn
points 0