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Post by Kitten King on Sept 24, 2012 0:24:32 GMT -5
"I.." Mika hesitated. "I know the general direction, but the problem is going to be finding a place for us to slip inside unnoticed, and finding a place where the trail is also not so steep that we'll be out in the open too long just to climb it." She squinted at the sky, keeping an eye out for any wings once more. She couldn't see anything now, but she could never be positive when another unwanted visitor might come swooping downwards. She looked back at Shayla. "It'll be the difficult part from here on out. We've got one shot at this. We better make it count."
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Post by Silver on Sept 28, 2012 23:51:07 GMT -5
Shayla nodded as Mika spoke, trying to internalize the meaning of her words. One shot... She had known that all along. If they were caught or turned away once, they wouldn't get a second chance. Assuming they were even allowed to leave, security would be put on red alert.
Not to mention the fact that it would be a diplomatic nightmare for the humans. The thought hadn't previously crossed her mind, but their actions could be the breaking point to all out war. How could she possibly convince them that she hadn't been sent by the Mithras League? They had to be careful. So much depended on it.
"I'm ready." She wasn't sure if that was a lie or not, but for both of their sakes she hoped that it wasn't.
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Post by Kitten King on Sept 29, 2012 0:56:49 GMT -5
Things really did get harder from there out. Not only did they have to keep a sharper eye out for guards, but the ground get steeper, the rock got hotter, and the wind got stronger. The entire endeavor became more and more difficult, and the sun went down quickly among the peaks. They spent that night shoved against a cliff side, dark tarp strung overhead as a shelter and awakening before the sun was fully up. They had scraped joints and backaches, but put it out of their minds. There was no choice.
The dust clouds kicked up around them, and Mika coughed in the heat as she reached for another hand hold on the small cliff side, grunting on her way up. She'd left Shayla at the bottom, along with her pack. Xan flew beside her, coil of rope wrapped around his shoulders and eyes watching for any way he could help her. Once they reached the top, they'd get a good repelling system set up, making it easier for an inexperienced climber like Shayla to get to the top.
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Post by Silver on Oct 3, 2012 18:32:27 GMT -5
Shayla lifted her right hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun as she looked up the steep cliff. There was no way they were climbing that, right? Wrong, apparently. Before she knew what was happening, Mika was scaling the treacherous slope. So they were going to have to climb it. This was something she had honestly not been prepared for. There must have been another way... How did the dragons get past- oh right; wings. At times like these, she wished more than anything that she could fly.
Halcy sat on his haunches and whistled softly under his breath. It wasn’t a particularly tall cliff, but it was definitely unforgiving. The slope was incredibly severe. Without a rope, even one wrong move would mean death.
Shayla waited at bottom anxiously, wincing as she watched the other girl make the slow and dangerous climb. She didn’t have any support right now. If she fell, it would be over. After several more precarious moments, she finally seemed to make it to the top. She knew she should feel relieved, but to be honest she was almost more nervous now. This meant that soon, she would have to make the ascent as well.
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Post by Kitten King on Oct 9, 2012 18:55:45 GMT -5
With another strong huff, Mika pulled herself over the top of the cliff. She took a moment to catch her breath before getting to her feet and peering carefully over the edge. It wasn't too bad a climb, but she knew it would be difficult for Shayla. She should probably have the girl leave her pack at the bottom, and then she could pull the packs up with a pulley-type system. Easier said than done, but it would probably lower the chances of her falling at all, so...
"Okay, I've almost got things set up here!" She called down after a moment, crouching at the edge to set in one more piton at the top. God, these things made climbing so much easier... it was a shame Xan didn't have thumbs. Sending him up to set this would be amazing. She knotted the final tie, and gave the rope an experimental tug... both lines were working correctly. "Back up, I'm coming down!" She turned and, hoping she really had gotten this all right this time, started to repel down.
Well, she wasn't dead yet. So far, so good...
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Post by Silver on Jan 26, 2013 20:49:01 GMT -5
Shayla held her breath as Mika propelled herself back down the cliff. She knew that this was much safer than the Dryad's earlier ascent, but it did nothing to ease her nerves. Even connected to a rope, there were a thousand and one things that could go wrong. She replayed them over and over in her mind. What if the rope broke? What if a boulder was somehow knocked loose?
Halcy seemed to sense her distress, as he unsheathed his claws and gave her a quick flick across the back of the neck. She hissed in pain and reached back to cover the area, shooing him off of her shoulder in anger. Well, he hadn't drawn blood... but that had hurt.
"Pull it together." He seethed into her ear, walking closer to the base of the cliff where Mika would soon be landing. This was it, and the sick feeling in her stomach spread as she realized there really was no getting out of this. It truly was the only way.
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Post by Kitten King on Feb 18, 2013 15:49:40 GMT -5
It was only a few seconds longer, and Mika's feet hit the ground with a dusty thud. So far, so good, she thought, untying the line from herself and letting the rope coil on the ground. She looked up, giving it another firm tug.
"Still looking good up there?" She called up to Xan, who was perched at the top and peering over.
"Holding fast!" He yowled in response, and Mika let out a satisfied sigh. She certainly hoped she'd gotten good at this after all this time.
"Okay, untie and throw down the other side! Be sure it keep it on the belay, and don't untie the middle!" He knew the drill, but it never hurt to remind him. She started pulling her side of the rope back up from the ground, coiling it in her hands as she waited.
"..this would be easier with thumbs!" She rolled her eyes at that - he'd done it before, he could do it again. Sure enough, after a few more moments the other side of the rope came tumbling down the side. She gave it a nice tug as it reached her, checking that the system was working. It all looked okay...
"Okay, the easiest way to do this is going to be to send you up first, without your pack. It's easier with less weight." She looked over, making sure Shayla was paying attention. She looked nervous, and Mika didn't blame her - but it wouldn't be as hard as she was thinking. "You'll have it a little easier. I'll be on this side of the rope, making sure you don't fall." Her belay equipment had been expensive as all hell, but it was well worth it. She couldn't even imagine helping Shayla do something like this without it.
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Post by Silver on Jun 24, 2013 0:22:43 GMT -5
Scared would be an understatement. Shayla was terrified. She hated heights, that was no secret. On the "things I would never do in a million years" list, climbing the side of a massive cliff with only a flimsy rope to support her was definitely up there. But hey, desperate times called for desperate measures.
Halcy watched intently as she ascended the cliffs from his positing next to Mika. The Dryad seemed skilled enough, but he was still a bit nervous for the human. He was mainly hoping she didn't have a panic attack mid-climb. That would be a disaster to take care of.
Shayla looked down at Mika for reassurance, but froze when she saw just how high above the ground she was. The felt panic begin to settle deep in her belly as she completely stopped her ascent.
She flailed helplessly for a few moments, trying desperately to look away from the miniature figures of Halcy and Mika below her. She was almost to the top... She just had to go a few more feet.
Without any warning at all, the rope in her hands began to shake. She felt her panic begin to increase even more, but frantically told herself that it was probably just Mika doing something with the rope. As the shaking got even more violent though, she knew that something was wrong. A crashing noise from above her confirmed the worst of her fears.
A massive boulder rolled over the ledge, and she instinctively curled into herself and leaned as close to the cliff face as she possibly could. It seemed to be just barely enough, if the whip of wind as it sailed past her was any indication. The giant rock continued to plummet to the ground, and after a moment she heard a loud thud where it landed.
"Mika!" She cried in alarm, her fear of heights completely forgotten as she looked down to make sure that her new friend hadn't been squashed like an insect.
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Post by Kitten King on Jun 24, 2013 1:13:28 GMT -5
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit! Mika knew something bad was coming when she began to feel the rumble beneath her feet. She'd known they'd have to be quick - the volcanic shifts made the cliffs around here unpredictable at best. Unfortunately, their timing just didn't pan out. At the top of the cliff, she heard Xan screech, and there was a flash of black through the rising dust as he took flight.
With swift feet and strong arms, she kept her grip on the line, just in case Shayla should lose hers, and pressed herself as close to the face of the cliff as she could manage. She gritted her teeth as the rocks thundered down, shards flying as the massive chunk of earth powered through. The ground rumbled angrily as it landed mere feet from her, and she felt her heart almost stop. She barely had time to breath again before, with a final crack, the pieces went tumbling down the slope, disappearing into narrow beginnings of a ravine.
"Shay!" The dust around them was still thick, and Mika coughed, turning her face into her shoulder to try and get some air. "Sh-Shayla, are you okay?" There was still slight slack to her line, and that was a very good sign. Belatedly, Mika realized there was wetness on her legs that hadn't been there before. She quickly dipped a hand down, and the fingers came back red. She muttered a curse. Had she gotten hurt and didn't feel it yet? The adrenaline was going wild... she wouldn't doubt it at that point.
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Post by Silver on Jun 25, 2013 18:26:09 GMT -5
Shayla felt her fear melt away as it was replaced with pure shock. She knew this method of entry was dangerous, but that was way too close for comfort. At least it seemed that Mika was alright. She scanned for Halcy, but from such a height it was difficult to see such a small creature; even the Dryad was barely visible.
“Halcy!” She called, scanning the ground for any trace of the feline. A splotch of red not too far from Mika made her heart drop. She was sure that hadn't been there before. Poor Halcy. They had managed to go such a long time without this happening too. For some reason, the cat seemed to just attract pain.
She looked up to the ledge, then back down at her companions. She wasn't sure where to go from here. Mika was probably going to freak out as soon as she realized what had actually happened, but Shayla was way too high up to explain to her that everything was okay.
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Post by Kitten King on Feb 5, 2014 23:54:28 GMT -5
The canyon winds were constant, even in a place like this, so it didn't take long for the dust to clear. Mika squinted around as most of it dissipated, before quickly focusing back on her leg. She felt it again, but there didn't seem to be anything there. So, where had the blood come.. from... Her stomach sank as she followed the trail back to what had been Shayla's cat. Oh no. Oh no, oh shit. The sight made her sick for a number of reasons, so she forced herself to look away, gritting her teeth. No, more important things to worry about right now. Shayla hadn't responded when she'd called before, which meant that the wind was making it about as hard to communicate as she'd guessed it would.
"Xan!" She knew he'd hear her - it was more than simple words between the two of them. The sound hadn't even finished leaving her mouth before he was swooping down, lighting on her shoulder with a swiftness that would put a hawk to shame. "I need you to help me with Shayla, okay?" He nodded, eyes wide as they flicked between her and the... mess, behind them. "I know, put it out of your mind for now. We'll.. we'll tell her after. For now, we have to focus on getting her up. Can you do that?" He nodded again, taking off from her shoulder to hover next to Shayla. He meowed loudly, hopefully getting her attention.
"Okay!" he meowed again, wings beating hard to keep aloft. "Shayla, we need to move up, and we need to move up quickly! Remember, you'll be fine even if you lose your grip - Mika's got you, okay?" He flapped stronger, moving a few more feet up. "Follow me, okay? I'll keep you safe!" Honestly, he wasn't sure what either of them would do if something like that happened again. They just had to hope it wouldn't...
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