Carefully holding the rock--it was kind of big, but she could carry it!--she began to scurry back towards the Spire, panting as her short legs worked. She could do this!

Wait, no, she really couldn't.

Over-sized paws stumbled over themselves, and she overturned, slamming muzzle first into the ground. The kitten whined, sitting up and beginning to mew pitifully, chipped tooth throbbing where the rock had knocked into it, breaking it off half-way.

-Adderstrike forfeits-

The Fossa grumbled as he ran, muffled curses echoing through his skull. What was he doing? His claws dug into the ground, and he propelled himself forward--until his claw caught a stone, and he somersaulted forward, tumbling head over tail until he crashed into pile of rocks with a loud CRASH!!

"Speech."Her little break done, Kallista was ready to try again. There was no way she would win, which was annoying, but she was still going to finish this damn course.

Standing on legs that seemed stronger than before, though still a little shaky, she quickly ran over to the boulder before tapping it with the stone. It took her a few tries, and she nearly completely ran into it, but she finally managed it. Taking a few deep breaths, as she was very tired, she prepared to finish this course.

There were others racing towards the finish line and Rift realized that they were going to trample right through the bed of flowers. For a moment he was conflicted. Should he forget about them and finish the race? Or stay behind and make sure nobody destroyed this stretch of nature in their haste?

He made up his mind quite easily. He turned and sat himself down, making himself an obstacle so that the other participants would have to run around him.

Refusing to be hindered by any more obstacles, Huckleberry shot forward and full sprint, eyes on the last leg of the race. He didn't even notice Rift standing guard and skirted around him, finally passing the end of the race.

Even though he knew that there was no way he'd won or even placed, Huckleberry felt a swell of pride. A large goofy grin split his face and he searched around for Shiny, wherever she was. When the catsquirrel jumped out of the crowd and onto his back he turned around, sides heaving a bit from the exertion. "I did it Shiny I finished!"

The catsquirrel nuzzled the back of his neck. I'm proud of you Huckle-friend. We should watch the rest now. He nodded and drifted towards the edge of the crowd so he could watch as the last participants crossed the finish line.

Palefur found herself struggling to get to the end of the race. She hissed low in her throat when she realized exactly how bad it was and how poorly she had performed. Not that it really mattered, anyways, it was a silly game but still...she hadn't done very well.

She showed none of this on her face, though, and instead padded over to where Jaysong was and took a seat near her, forcing a small smile onto her face. "You ran really well," she gasped through her short breath.

"Speech."With the last stretch of the course before her, Kallista was prepared to finish it.

Her hind legs bunched under her and she shot off, tiredness seemingly forgotten as she thought of the ending of this course. Of Todd there, watching her. Cheering for her. She hardly noticed Rift, skirting around him before continuing. She dodged around the crater, briefly wondering what it was doing there.

And then, finally, she got to the finish line. Almost as soon as she crossed it, she flopped to the ground, heaving. Her lungs ached and she felt so exhausted. But she was done. And sure, she hadn't won. She hadn't really been expecting to. But just the thought of having done something like this was enough. And Todd being there to watch her? Nothing could be better.

The Fossa moaned, shaking his head as he attempted to gather his wits about him. Caves, that had hurt. His eye closed, and he stretched out, feeling his... well, his everything, ache. The stones he had crashed into dug into his flesh, and he twisted, trying to find a position where they didn't press harshly against his spine. An attempt was made to get to his feet, but the rocks shifted beneath him, sending him crashing back down in a heap.

Despite her best efforts to stay quiet, Jayberry couldn't help a pained moan. Her eyes watered, and she wheezed, feeling something in her chest give, and rattle. Oh, oh Caves that hurt.

Was this how she was going to die? Not with a snarl and a roar, in battle, but with a whimper, flung by some invisible opponent? Before she could even see her beloved Brother finish his race?

The world spun around her, and for a moment she could smell Blueberry, father. As though he had come to give her comfort as he had when she had been hurt by the bird. But the feeling lasted only for a moment, a soft feeling stroking over her fur, and it was gone.

She blinked her eyes open - when had they been closed? - and stared blankly at the white wolf in front of her, taking a moment to understand what she had said. "Awake, unfortunately." she wheezed, tasting blood in too great an amount to be just from biting her tongue. Yup, something inside her was definitely broken. Or severed - was that possible? She was a fan of shattering and crunching, personally, so she wasn't too sure. And she wasn't that big of a fool, so she offered her name, "Jay, 'm Jay."

@Kera

Rift watched as the others ran around the flowerbed and breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them were past now so he stood again and sprinted across the finish line, at last. He was one of the last but he found that he didn't really mind. He had had fun running and wasn't that the point of this after all?