Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn couldn't have asked for a better morning. The air was cool and the birds of spring were singing their little hearts out. She padded across the river rocks toward the rapids which raced and gurgled through the greening forest. Every so often she saw a flash of silver, a sign of the salmon swiming upstream. It was a perfect day for a little racing festival and tournament. With the help of her companions she laid out a spread of freshly caught salmon and eggs for breakfast. Once it was set up she let out a call for the racers to join her.

——

When everyone had assembled Jynn leapt up on a larger boulder to speak out. "Thank you everyone for coming! For those that may not know my name is Jynn. I don't have any fancy pack affiliates, just a loner looking for some fun and friendly folks to celebrate this wonderful spring day. Feel free to partake of the breakfast spread.  An hour after we'll begin the races. Please be mindful of the rapids as well as potential predators like bears." No doubt the smell of the breakfast was already wafting through the forest.

"The first round pairs are as follows:

Ricin vs Bailan
Paradise vs Nami
Marchosias vs Morax
Sybil vs Sayuri
Torben vs Audra
Lucette vs Ciannait


We'll race up the west side of the river. Tahmores," she gestured to her Ethiopian Wolf companion, "Will start off the races here. My jaguar Saevor is waiting at the north end of our trail to mark the winners. Let me know if you have any questions before we begin. Otherwise dig in!"

ooc: You can talk between yourselves about who will start your race and what you want to do for default times. I would like to keep things moving and ask that defeault time be a week or less but I understand the summer is busy. Please post the thread in the Monument Rapids with [Race] or [Salmon Run] or something along those lines in the title. Thanks!

Ricin had heard of a race that was going to take place in the nearby rapids and he had eagerly waited for the day that the festival would start. It doesn’t hurt that, as his long legs pull the boy toward where the area where they are to gather, the smell of a wonderful breakfast hits his nostrils. Yes, he had eaten before leaving the nearby Elysium lands but he is young and will never pass up free food. Ah, but first, the young blue wolf moved to where the organizer of this event is and he dips his head in greeting, saying, “Hello. My name is Ricin and I am with the Elysium pack. Thanks for doing this!” As other racers begin to appear, the boy polite excuses himself to find a seat in on the grass.

---

Once the racers are all assembled and Ricin is certain that he is going to drown in his own drool, Jynn leaps atop a boulder and speaks to the gathered crowd. Crimson eyes turn up to watch her, his tail lightly thumping the ground as he listens. The pairings are announced, the route laid and the floor opened the for questions and, finally, Ricin is released to eat. Hungry eyes widen as he moves to gather food from the fragrant fest piling salmon and eggs in front of himself and greedily digs into the wonderful food.


"Ricin Dauner"

Unbreakable Survivor

There had been rumors of a racing festival and Ciannait hadn’t missed a beat. The golden maned youth had sent a call out to her pack informing them she would be leaving for a time. Dual-toned limbs then carried Cian away from Ashen lands. Though she had heard from passers by where the festival would be, she didn’t know the exact location. It was probably midnight when she had decided to leave, to give her time to travel the distance and still have the energy and stamina to race.

Ciannait had traveled quite a ways, moving north, and then east. The terrain hadn’t changed much in greenery, the land being just a fertile as the south, yet, the land was more craggy. Turquoise lenses glanced at the mountain range rising from the east and headed northbound. The craggy land here was probably due to the mountains. It only made sense. Warmth of the morning sun dissipated the chill of the night. Cian paused momentarily to allow it to soak in before moving on.

Early morning had come and gone, the sun raising past the horizon. The birds were chirping their sing-song tunes. She had no idea where to go from here, so when a call rose through the morning air, Ciannait lips curled thankfully as her head swiveled towards the source. The young she-wolf turned towards the call, slender figure moving at a swifter lope. Sounds of a river, rapids crashing against rock as the ice melt began to flow once more reached her mist dusted auds. Were they to race along a river? The sun-touched youth pondered the idea.

Once the Adhil had finally reached the festival she looked around taking everything in. A woman was standing at the head where many salmon and their eggs rested. The girl’s stomach rumbled, and she blinked before her seemingly iridescent tail shifted sheepishly. Attention shifted from the meal, and she noticed the — she had to do a double take — blue male. Never once had she seen a blue wolf before. Blue eyes, sure, but blue fur? Never. It was surprising to say the least.

- - -

Once everyone had made it to the designated meet up area, Ciannait glance over the rest who had arrived before, wondering who her racing partner would be. Paws shifted eagerly, heart racing as she waited. The woman who, Ciannait guessed, was the one who set up this whole festival began to speak, introducing herself as Jynn. She was not part of a pack, which Cian found interesting. She had been a loner not long ago herself. Though she had been forced to live that life. This woman had probably chosen the life Ciannait had been force into, and left behind willingly. It was interesting that someone would choose to live such a hard life. Though Jynn had her companions the yearling supposed. She wouldn’t judge the violet eyed woman, it wasn’t her business how Jynn lived her life. It was just interesting to know that someone would choose the life of a loner. She was quite jovial as she spoke, which caused Ciannait to smile. ”Thank you for the invitation, and setting up this event.” Cian spoke once Jynn had finished her explanation. ”My name is Ciannait,” she introduced herself before adding ”I look forward to the races,” then the girl hungrily shifted to towards the waiting meal.

The striped youth then began to partake of the meal Jynn had set up, probably with the help of her companions. She was very grateful for the breakfast and only took what she needed before moving aside for the others to eat as well. She took note of the stallion that had joined them for this festival. Ciannait had seen how fast a horse could run. She had watched a herd from a safe distance once before, and it amazed her how they all ran in a group towards their next field. She knew this stallion would be a challenge to beat and wished whoever would race him luck.

After everyone had eaten, the pairs matched beforehand, and Ciannait took in the one she had been paired with. A youth just like herself. Only she was quite small. However, Ciannait knew not to underestimate a small stature. The earthen yearling nodded at grinned at the other girl, motioning for her to follow, ”Are you ready?” Cian asked politely, excitement growing once more within her chest.

OOC || —
”Speaking”
Thinking

Lucette had been excited at the idea of a competition. When she heard about the races her first thought was how much of a heart attack her father might have if he knew she was participating. But she was older now, stronger, and more than capable of handling herself! She’d even managed to beat Bae-Syl in their “fight”, not that it was really a fight… but she still won! If only because he let her so she wouldn’t throw a tantrum. So after giving warning to Bae-Syl that she was off to have some fun she went to join the others that were going to be racing that day.

Others were gathered and Lucette looked around at them curiously. Wolves of shape and sizes and even… a horse? Was that really fair to race against a horse? She didn’t know, but she was paying more mind to their host. The woman introduced herself as Jynn, a packless wolf just looking for some fun. That was something the girl could get behind. She smiled; it’d be nice to be in some good company.

“Thank you for the invitation. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a day with folks without carrying about dumb things like pack alliances.” They were all creatures of the earth after all.

She turned her attention to the salmon after that. For a small creature, she could really pack food away - a trait she’d inherited from her larger mother. She wasn’t worried about winning or losing. Sure it was more fun to win, but right now she just wanted to enjoy herself. Then she could tell Bae all about the races when she got back later.

Once she had eaten her fill she sat back to wait for everyone else to finish. A stranger approached her, one she could only assume was to be her racing partner, Ciannait. Lucy grinned and gave a nod. “Of course! Why don’t we spread out a little bit? Give us some room to start away from the other races. Come on!” Without waiting for an answer Lucette hopped to her paws and started moving.

[[Ooc:: Gonna have us a separate thread up by the title of “Work it harder, make it better, do it faster…” in the Monument Rapids up in just a moment. I technically already wrote it, but be on the lookout~]]

The girl heeded the call at a brisk trot, the scent of salmon and eggs wafting her way. She would not, under any circumstance, let herself drool, regardless of how delicious the smell in her nose was. Spring had settled in here, compared to the constant frigidity of the north. While it wasn't her favourite month, too loud and colourful for her tastes, she appreciated the bird song and the luscious green of the foilage. Monochrome could certainly get boring after a while. She was not the first there, and her brows lifted when she caught sight of a familiar face. First things first however, introductions would be crucial. She approached long-limbed hostess. "I am Sybil, of the Menagerie. This may be the first you have heard of us, but the wind will soon carry our name far, so I assure you it will not be the last." Never the wrong time for a bit of advertisement. They were not officially a separate entity yet, but their time was approaching fast. A little omission of truth wouldn't hurt. The other half of her pair had not arrived yet apparently, so she moved to take a seat next to her friend, giving the boy a soft smile. "Ricin. How has spring been treating you?" ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

And not far behind the spirit girl, Marchosias arrived to the gathering. Unlike Sybil however, she had no qualms about expressing her hunger. In fact, she'd passing up interacting with the other participants entirely, in favour of digging into the feast. These wolves didn't deserve her attention, and she would not oblige them. She pulled a sizeable salmon from the array, and took it with her as she moved away from the group. She preferred to eat alone.

There were other reasons to her lack of introduction, given recent events she didn't know if attaching the name of Aerie was something she was comfortable with. She didn't plan on leaving, but the meeting had certainly left a bad taste in her mouth that she knew would resurface at the mere mention of the pack's name. Good thing this was a race, what better opportunity would she get to try to run from her problems? Lord knows she needed a win anyways.

The rainbow man would of been happy to just let luce run off on her own, but the self appointed body guard wasn't just about to let her have all the fun without him.

Her energy as she left that morning was overflowing. He shook his head as he continued to follow after her his pace slower. The scabs on his leg had him kind of grumpy, they were itchy. Not to mention he had lost his little spar to the pixie. Talk about a big blow to his self esteem. The man who usually couldn't stop smiling was stone faced at the moment as he made his way into the area.

Hus eyes settled upon the area ghosting over everything slowly. He wasn't here to participate so much as observe and if need be bounce Luce out of any situation she landed herself in.

His eyes scanned the area and he sat as he saw her form. Only after a few moments did he take any notice. She was leading another away from the area. His ears pinned and eyes narrowed on the other she lead away. The feeling rising up in him he couldn't name but he watched silently.

He was ready, should something go wrong and this other touch the little pixie, to spring forward. His hackles were stiffening as he sat there watching silently. The salmon and others here were of little interest in him. His eyes followed the duo walking away from the main gathering.

He was paired with Audra for the race, but first... A feast. Torben set down under what shade he could find, housing his massive frame and shooting anyone who approached him a friendly enough smile. He decided to take some of the food for himself and sit on the outskirts of the festival grounds. Sybil was a face he knew, only knowing her as the Pale Girl... But outside of Audra, he knew no others. Torben licked at his paws, a casual representative of Valhalla. He didn't know the names of many other packs and that was just fine with him. He always tended to keep to himself anyway. He had, in passing, shot the organizer a friendly grin. Uttered some words in passing, a 'thank you' really... But he had yet to meet Jynn properly. It was fine, there was plenty of time. ooc; torben is alone, and welcomes any chatting! SPEECH HERE

The food is amazing and Ricin begins devouring the huge spread he has pulled in front of him. Manners mean nothing as he eats and he is so distracted by the fest that the blue boy misses the arrival of his pale friend. Luckily, Sybil comes to sit next to him and, as he turns his ruby gaze to find her pale form next to him, mouth full of food, his eyes light up with pure joy. Quickly shallowing down the contents of his mouth, the boy ecstatically says, “Sybil!” He hesitates a moment as the desire to throw his long legs around her smaller form and hug his friend takes over. However, he doesn’t know if she would enjoy the contact, so he instead opts to lean down and aim to give her a light, friendly head bump if she wants it.

Straightening back up, Ricin offers her a sheepish grin and a shy duck of his pale blue head as he realizes that it is spring and he had not been out to check on her. Cheeks burn with shame but, before he begins to explain, he uses one of his white dipped paws to push the two largest salmon that he had grabbed toward her, signaling for the pale girl to join him in eating. A timid smile is on his lips as he says, “Here, join me. We will need all the energy we can get for the races!” He takes a moment to look her over, making that she is no worse for wear when he suddenly remembers her question.

Eyes darting down to his paws, Ricin clears his throat and says, “Spring has been going well. Uh… sorry I didn’t get back out to check on you, I was given some new responsibilities in my pack.” Lifting his gaze to meet hers, a spark of pride shines in his ruby depths and he puffs out his chest slightly before adding, “I’m a teacher now!” A couple heartbeats pass and his chest deflates as he releases the breath he had been holding in the form of a soft chuckle. Reaching down to snatch up some eggs, the boy softly asks, “What about you? Has life been treating you well?” He chews his food slowly, the manners he had thrown out the window in the beginning now back with a vengeance.


"Ricin Dauner"

_________________________________________________________________ At times, one might wonder why Audra was late. Having been invited to the Salmon Run Race by Jynn, she had been excited! Why not show up on time? In all honesty, she was getting distracted. Any time a plant that she thought she didn't recognize popped up between the trees, she had to investigate it. Was that poor form on her part? Possibly, but she would show up either way. With the smell of breakfast wafting through the forest and the murmur of voices growing louder, Audra smiled as she entered the group. Other than Torben and Jynn, there weren't many she knew here. Moving to sit beside Torben right as Jynn was making her announcement, the petite fae smiled up at the albino dire. This would surely make for a fun event! _________________________________________________________________ A  U  D  R  A