Taking the Initiative [Dark]

[Dark]

Minh slumped down, careful not to jar her cargo, and stared up at the wall in furrowed concentration, "Weeeeelll, we could always hang out until you're feeling a bit better and can fly us out. Of course, that'll take awhile and we'll probably run out of water long before you're able to play Mary Poppins."

She had fairly decent eyesight, being a feline, and she narrowed her vision in on the gapping crevice. Vines and weeds and other various debris hung over the lip, though not far enough down to do be of any sort of help. Maybe, though, just maybe, there was enough grassy weeds up there for her to do something.

She cast out her othersense, probing the edge of green and feeling it give a twitch in response.

"So, I might have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work for all of us."

[Nathalia]

For reaching an amazing 202 posts, you each receive the January 202 prize!

Silver Die: This small, triangular die has four sides, they are not numbered but each have a symbol: a hand, a needle, a flame, and a coin. It tingles slightly in the palm and is quite obviously magical. PM me to let me know when you are ready to roll the die, it will be rolled randomly against a real die of the same form. After being rolled once the die will disappear forever.

Each side will do something different: one will affect the next breeding (random or not), one will grant a small power, and two will grant mutations one of which will probably be well received...and one very strange.

Enjoy and tell me when you're ready to roll <3

Keep up the great RP guys, I'm impressed

~Nathalia

[Bee]

Mnem had no idea about the Poppins creature of which Minh spoke--and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, really, whether it was a beast from popular entertainment (which she didn't pay much attention to, for lack of time or otherwise) or older lore--but she was as sure as Minh was that it would take some time before Mnem felt up to flying. Because at the moment she felt like doing little more, physically, than lying down and not getting up again for perhaps a year. They would be dead by then.

She was, however, very keen to know what Minh had in mind that might get them to freedom. Especially if it required little expenditure of strength on her own part.

"Well," she said, tiredly, "don't just stand there and taunt me with an idea of escape: what do you have in mind?"

[Dark]

Hysteria tended to make Minh act a little more melodramatic than she might have usually, and she gestured grandly, "Behold, fair lady and stately--" she looked at Monty, who gave a tiny bander-shrug, "--thing, with not but sheer power of will I shall conjure up a feat that is so amazing, not only will it astound, but also--it shall carry us to safety."

She concentrated, scrunching up her nose as she tried to latch onto the essence of green. It was farther away than she'd ever tried, but after a few tense moments of persuasion, it started to dance for her. It seeped over the edge, almost looking like it was growing, and in a way it was, blades weaving in and around each other. The farther down the wall it traveled, the easier it was to pull more blades down along the pathway she'd created.

When she was finished, a thick rope of green was swinging in front of her nose.

Monty was not impressed, and chittered something that sounded suspiciously like: That's your grand idea? She can't climb, you moron. And neither can I, for that matter.

"Ah, but wait! There's more," a little bit more concentration and the end of the rope split into a multitude of strands, weaving a larger pattern until she'd created a nice little net, "Genius, I tell you. Genius."

[Bee]

Mnem stared blankly at her friend as she gave her odd performance, and when the green grass rope swung in front of her, something near it caught her eye. It was a long, thick, uniform swell, and Mnem reached toward it curiously. She poked at it with her good hand, scraping at it a bit, and it swung free, throwing dirt. Long, sturdy, the ending segment coiling on the ground and looking for all the world like just another rock.

How very odd. Someone must have come this way, though how recently, she could not say. Perhaps the two brats they were supposed to collect? She could only hope. Perhaps this was what Monty's keen nose had sensed. Or there were more bandits, or something equally awful, and Monty had merely been drawn by the smell of a potential kill.

She turned to Minh, toying with her new discovery. "Look, Minh," she said lazily. "Rope."

[Dark]

Minh felt a vein in her forehead swell uncomfortably, while her eyelid began to twitch incessantly. Pulling from that far had left her a bit disoriented, and it turned out that the effort hadn't even been strictly necessary. It was more than a bit irritating.

She muttered, bitterly, "Mine has a net.

"And why didn't you discover that earlier, eh? Would have been handy, don't you think?"

She settled herself down on the loose folds of her net petulantly, focusing to raise it off the ground just a bit and form the apparatus into more of a rigid basket so she didn't go rolling about

"Now tell me this is easier than trying to climb a rope with a broken wrist. Seriously, woman. Do not be afraid to admit genius when you see it."

Monty jumped in, and immediately began to gnaw. Minh used a little push of power to slap h/er with a length of grass.

[Bee]

She didn't exactly know how functional and safe a net made out of grass was going to be, but if Minh could make it strong enough to stop her from getting arrowed to death, then Mnem supposed she had it in her to make one strong enough to lift the lot of them out of this depressing expanse of cave.

She seemed exceedingly proud of having produced it, anyway, and while raining on others' parades was something of a personal hobby for Mnem, it really wouldn't get them anywhere in this instance. Especially considering that she really couldn't climb the other rope, anyway, and she had no desire to be left to rot.

Gingerly, she climbed into the net, and held onto Minh.

"Work your magic," she muttered, and hoped rather fervently that the grass apparatus did not decide to break and send them down the path to a broken neck.

[Dark]

Mnem didn't look all together too trusting of their current situation, but Minh was tired enough not to quibble. Much. She was a little too preoccupied with keeping their grassy lift from disintegrating and sending them plummeting towards another rather messy death.

She winced as she felt the tension in the rope give just more, and set the slack slithering up to reinforce the weakened areas. One strange aspect of her ability was that she was strangely aware of each and every strand of grass she had taken to woven her masterpiece, all bundled together in one single collective, and she sensed as each blade tore and splintered under the strain.

The grass seemed more than happy to transport her, but groaned in protest at the additional cargo, and Minh caught two occasions where the floor underneath Mnem and Monty had started to soften, as if the grass was trying to rid itself of an unnecessary burden.

Her head throbbed as she held it all together, "Almost there."

[Kiki]

Bee and Dark receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[Bee]

As they finally made it to the exit, the grass, seeming to want to be rid of them once and for all, gave one mightly heave and threw them onto the ground. Mnem had a moment of panic and twisted herself to land on her back rather than on her arms, and she scrambled hurriedly to her feet, thankful to be out of that wretched cave.

They were back in the woods. At a higher elevation, if the thinner air were anything to go by. She hadn't been aware that they were walking up when they were in the cave, but then, she hadn't been aware of much of anything.

Monty ran around excitedly, probably happy to be back in the fresh air. But then s/he was pointing, clawing furiously at the ground, chittering madly. Did s/he still have the scent she had picked up earlier?

"You had better not lead us into another damn cave."