Shida whipped around just in time to see that...that thing burst from the ground. She stuttered forward, tripping on her own feet for a second, choking with shock as Kalama went flying towards it, trying to attack it! "Holy shit!" she yelled out, scrambling forward to stay out of range.

But then it was gone and she found herself breathing a little easier.

Okay, okay, this was okay. She just had to keep going. Keep forging her path, stick close to Ivory and follow the group. She didn't know if Kalama was okay, but she took second priority next to Ivory. As soon as she thought about her, though, she realized that she couldn't see her. For a second she thought it was because she was blending in too well to the snow, but then a second glance around gave up no sign of her sister. "Ivory?" she called out, still following the group, but lagging a bit as she tried to find her. "Ivory where are you?!"

Shida is staying with the group across the dunes.

Lyra clutched hard to Virgil's back, panting, eyes wide with terror. She hoped that she wasn't hurting the bison with the strength of her grip, but she didn't have the courage to get off her back. Besides, wasn't it better survival to stay together? To stay on the one that was built for this weather?

The cold was penetrating deep into her skin now. The snake scales weren't doing much to keep her very warm. She tried to cover it up by fluffing out her white fur and bringing her long tail to cover what skin was exposed on one side. It did a little bit to keep her from getting frostbite, but still, this really sucked.

Staying with Virgil out to the dunes

Oleander

Melt all your art and drink the paint

Oleander tried not to scream when that huge monstrosity suddenly appeared from beneath the snow - it was a close call, but she still panicked, galloping ahead with terror, ears pressed against her head. "W-Warrior...what is that?!"

She turned to him, or at least where she thought he was, but nobody was there. She froze. Wait...where did he go?! Wasn't he right in front of her? Fear pulsed through her when she realized that nobody was nearby. Her panicked gallop had taken her out into Hydra, lost, alone. The cold was horrible and she had little to no defense against it. She shivered as she picked a direction, trying to find her way back to her friend.

Oleander is staying with the group across the dunes. haha nvm

The cold was... unnatural. Dark, even; as if the light itself were growing muffled.

As if night were falling.

Bitter ice crystallized in feathers and fur, pricking at the skin. And those who had fallen behind, gotten turned around, who'd become desperately lost in the snowstorm-...

It did not bode well for them.

And every so often, a great, white shape swept up, the roar of crumbling earth the only warning before it crashed for a straggler, its hellish fang-toothed maw looming--before sweeping near-silently back into the snow.

Agate Two-Three-Six is now lost. If they cannot save themselves, there is no longer anyone close enough to aid them, and they will rapidly fall into a torpor, freeze, and die. Or perhaps the Ice Worm will find them before it gets that far, arcing down and consuming them in a gnashing of fangs.

Hargrave is not only lost, but now suffering from extreme frostbite: her ears, tail-tip, paws and nose have lost all blood-flow, and if she survives, are likely to have suffered permanent nerve damage, or possibly tissue loss.

Null, Imp, Ivory, Wynter, Hargrave, and Oleander are likewise lost, and must roll to attempt to save themselves, though Warrior, Fisher, Virgil, Shida, Palefur and Lyra can attempt to rescue one of these victims apiece by leading them back to the group, offering them warmth, or the like. Rolling a Critical Fail during a rescue attempt will result in the character gaining severe frostbite to their extremities--except for Fisher, who is doing very well at keeping himself warm, and will not suffer any consequences regardless of his roll. If a lost Gembound rolls a critical fail but is then rescued, they will be safe, but with severe frostbite, as well.

Desert Rose and Palefur should not post at all. They are moving safely ahead. Kalama may make any recovery or other attempts that she wishes.

Those who fail should wait until prompted by a GM to write any outright death-post, in case a rescue attempt is made. Agate is the exception, and if they fail to save themselves, will immediately perish and may be written as such.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five (Null) @Imp (Ivory, Warrior) @Agate Two-Three-Six (Wynter, Fisher) @Virgil (Vinea, Hargrave) @Shida (Palefur, Lyra, Oleander) @Kalama

“

the world is ice

···

Not even that weird thing was at her heels anymore. She was alone, utterly, and her heart fluttered with fear, head swivelling to find anybody else as she surged forward.

Cold was setting in. It- it hurt, and her teeth clattered on the key's metal. They were too far out of reach. Any time she seemed to get close to a shadow, it dissipated into formless snow, blinding her and deafening her with the roaring white noise of the blizzard.

Panic set in. She circled and circled and ran in any which way, searching for the others, looking to rejoin with the wolf, to meet with the group once more.

Imp froze, for a moment--not literally, at least not yet. All he could hear, at first, was the roaring of snow. Everything was bitterly cold, and his bat ears were failing him.

There was still magic, but he hesitated, crouched there shivering in the white; was it worth trying? If he failed, it might weaken him... delay him. If it failed, he might die. He wasn't very good at magic, and he knew it.

But his ears had picked up nothing.

The hybrid steeled himself, hunching down against the cold, half-buried in snow, and focused hard on his magicka. Where the fuck are you, you stupid bird, he thought to himself.

For a long moment he was silent, ears twitching this way and that, but it was his magic that reached out--and after a moment, blessedly, thankfully, the slow red gleam filtered in.

There were distant, dull shapes, lurking low down. Sandworms, he recognized, and grimaced. And back behind, turning his head, he could see the group--so to speak--scattered, many wandering astray. Fuck, is visibility that bad? he thought worriedly to himself. And then, snarkily triumphant: HA! Being blind was just PRACTICE for this! Fuck yeah I'm gonna WIN!

But back to Kalama--she, he could see. She was still alive, lying not far off, and he lifted in a swish of bat-wings (shivering against the wind's bite against his leathery skin) and quickly drifted to, vaguely, where he'd seen her. "Kalama!"

He settled in close--he hoped?--blind again now, as the magic wore off. "You dumb asshole, why'd you do... whatever you did?! I heard you yelling. Are you dead?"

The big beast turned--this way, then that--her ears flicking to and fro in a panic. The cold, despite her bulk, despite her fur, was settling in; and she did not like it.

Not one bit.

At length she huffed, loudly, and lowered her multi-horned head. A steaming snort exploded from her nostrils and she charged, picking a direction and attacking it at full speed. The snow plowed up and to either side, and she let out a short, bass bellow--realizing only too late that this, given the giant ice worm pursuing them in the falling darkness, was probably a bad idea.

She heard the rumble, and then felt it an instant later, and her green ghostlight eyes sprang wide. She threw herself, mid-charge, to the side--hoping to avoid the giant beast as it rushed for her: the noisy straggler.

He turned, as he led, keeping a constant watch on the group. He watched with his eyes, but that did little; the whole place was blinding, and what was worse, growing dark. But Warrior watched with his magic, too. Their red shines glowed dim in the blizzard. He could see them straggling--widely--as his magicka strengthened, and worry... no, fear, spiked in him.

"HERE!" he called, but he knew it would be lost to the roar of the storm, and the crash of the Ice Worm.

He hesitated. He didn't know how many he'd be able to save, but he didn't want to lose Oleander again. He picked out her shape--hesitant, confused, in the distance--and broke into a gallop, huffing and wide-eyed as he plowed snow aside. He drew nearer rapidly, calling out to her.

"OLEANDER! THIS WAY!" He drew close enough for her to hear--but was careful to watch the group, behind him. He'd lead her to safety... and then see if he could do anything for the others.

Perhaps, if he was luckily, they might somehow hear his voice.

Warrior is rescuing Oleander.

Kalama coughed. They'd survived. Even if that worm had tried to kill her. They were confused, in pain, and freezing, but they'd won. They heard voices, drifting further and further away from them. She'd heard her name, perhaphs others searching for her. But with the roaring wind it was hard to make out anything. She shivered as snow collected on her. She might've had trouble walking, but she wouldn't freeze out here. Not until she'd made it back to show her mean dad who told her not to beat up strangers how cool she was. The ordeal within the earth seemed to have taken even more of a toll on her than she'd thought. Kalama seemed too weak to use her magicka, and shivered as the cold soaked into her bones.

But Imp's voice came through. It sounded close. Her eyes rocketed open. She tried to sit up as best she could, but her legs throbbed in a considerable amount of pain at the mere thought. She'd sit up with her wings then.She may have been in unbearable agony, but she had a reputation to keep up.

She began to crawl to them, using her wings and her scaly tail to shuffle in their direction. She'd stored the word Imp had used, Asshole, in her mental collection of New and Bad words to use. Maybe it was like a title. She'd earned a new title, she thought. Kalama prepared her voice. "I'm right here Imp!" she yelled. "The Dumb Asshole of the caves! Why'd I what, defeat that massive worm in one on one combat? Defend my rival from a threat only I was powerful enough to face? I knew id never die. Did you see how it dove after I grabbed it--" She stopped herself. Imp couldn't see. Imp would never see how cool she looked. That was a bit disappointing. "Anyways, I made it fear! Snow worms fear me!"

Kalama attempted a laugh, but it came out as a wheeze. Her body was bruised to the point where laughing hurt. She turned her head back, to get a good look at her legs. They looked bad, to put it lightly. She attempted to move her legs, but just twitching them sent excruciating pain throughout her. "But," she continued. "I feel like walking with my arms, now. Just--just because."


think "speak"

Gatto was alone on the snow-covered sands. His rival had vanished out of sight as the darkness descended upon them, and those behind were no where to be seen. Not that they looked behind; only forward, step after step.

Exhaustion was one thing. The weight of the cold was another. They could feel the ice forming on their feathers, and even though they kept themselves low to the ground, the wind cut right through them. They had to keep moving.

Part of them kept whispering-- the darkest part-- to give in, and lay down, and rest, just for a moment. They fought that urge as long as they could help it.

Before long, the delusions of hypothermia was starting to kick in. They started to feel too warm, and their eyelids were so, so heavy. But they were a Champion, and they knew they could not rest until they reached the end. So onward, ever onward, the Agate trudged forward.