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Post by Meds on Feb 14, 2017 16:26:32 GMT -5
Manaaki, Kanga;
Manaaki felt the pull against his hamstrings as Epsilon forced himself forward more. He stretched as far as he could, but the log underneath was beginning to suck free of the mud holding it; after all, there were two rather massive wolves pulling on it. When Epsilon snarled at Kanga to stay still, Manaaki's ears pinned against his head. What was happening? Was his idiot brother still trying to climb? His heart was painful against his ribs as the rain showered them all.
Kanga watched as the ice snaked towards him. His tail was muddy, but not because he had it between his legs. Kanga was not the type of wolf to shrink in the face of danger—he would not die cowering like a pup. Instead his dark eyes were alight with something fierce, and his jaws were wide in a snarl of concentration and determination. It was close enough to grab by then, but something inside of him told him to wait. If he got hold of the ice at the wrong time, it would shatter and all would be lost. His eyes flicked to Epsilon's face. It looked like a serious effort, and Kanga's brow furrowed. Would he be able to hold? Why did the powers drain energy from their masters? He shook his head to clear it, refocusing on the ice. It was as if the rain quieted, the water below him stopped rushing, and he could no longer hear the laboured breathing of Epsilon high above him. Everything hushed and slowed down. The only sound in the world to Kanga was the slight click click click the ice made as it climbed down towards him and thickened. He watched it, so close and yet so far.
Suddenly then, it all became clear. He saw very obviously that it was time. There was no more doubt about whether the ice would hold or not—suddenly, he knew it was time to climb. Confirming his thoughts, Epsilon's ragged voice echoed down at him. It was time. Shifting his weight delicately from the front to the back, he began to get ready to lift his front paws and hope against all things that his claws would find the ice. Kanga could already feel the change in stability with all of his weight on his haunches. Then, he simultaneously lifted his paws and shoved with all his considerable might into his hind legs. He moved up for a moment, then his feet slipped down the cursed path faster than before, but before he slipped, his front paws reached something colder and harder than the endless mud, and his claws latched on.
Wasting no time, Kanga kicked furiously, dragging his claws through the mud as he doggedly worked to get himself on the ice. Ice in itself wasn't the roughest, most traction-inspiring ground, but at least it wasn't sliding down into the bowl. Finally, White Wolves be praised, his hind legs bunched and reached the ice as well. He was purposly not thinking about how tired his muscles were. Instead, he now worked cautiously and slowly. One step at a time, claws first, and in that way he began making his way up Epsilon's track. Aside from one slip that almost sent him all the way back down, he made surprisingly good time. In under a minute, he was within leaping distance of even ground. He could fully see Epsilon then, and even Manaaki, raging in the worst possible way. He was quiet. His eyes were burning and his jaw was set with the effort of holding Epsilon, but he stared at Kanga as if looking into his soul. That look was enough to make Kanga want to turn around and jump back down the hill.
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Post by Fierfly on Feb 14, 2017 18:17:33 GMT -5
Epsilon:
It was a very long minute. He saw Kanga tentatively raise a paw to lunge onto the path and closed his eyes and grit his teeth. His shoulders were straining against the pull of gravity in the slippery mud and veins and muscles stood out on his paws as he fought for a hold. Behind him, Manaaki shifted his weight and drove one of his claws deeper into Epsilon's skin, for a moment the gray wolf wavered and Kanga slipped and the trail cracked. Clenching his jaws he threw every ounce of energy he had left until forcing the path hold. "Hold! Dangit, hold!" he commanded the crystalline substance to obey his will. He needed it to hold, he needed it to keep up until Kanga got up. He'd gotten this far, he could keep it up for another few seconds.
Finally the russet male came within a leap of those waiting for him and hesitated. He could feel Manaaki's paws tense when his brother came into clear view and Kanga's steps faltered. Just come up already Kanga! He wanted to yell, he needed to do something. His muscles were finally giving and a fuzzy white mist was impeding his vision as he looked to see what was causing the delay. "Jump!" he ordered. He heard the leap and finally let go of heavy trail of frozen water and fell limp on the edge of solid ground. Out of instinct he bellied backward a safe distance away from the faltering edge and lay in the mud and gravel and moss limp as a ragdoll. He blinked once or twice to clear his vision, but mostly he just needed to breathe. The green and blue shoulders heaved with exhaustion as he fought to get his breath back. He'd never used his ice to reach that far that thick before, and after racing it had taken more out of him than he'd expected. His muscles were tired and limp after the tremendous exertion and his mind was exhausted, a headache was probably going to come of this, it had taken more concentration than he was used to, he really needed to get up to speed on his power.
He cracked his sapphire blue eyes to watch Manaaki lecture Kanga and Kanga try to defend himself, his breath rushing in and out in a swift, unwavering pattern, desperate inhale, rushed exhale to move on to the next intake of breath. He needed to breathe, he needed to sleep, he needed to stop thinking, he needed something, or maybe he needed nothing. He kept panting and fighting the heaviness of his eyelids as he watched the two brothers bicker and counter each other.
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Post by Meds on Feb 15, 2017 12:09:09 GMT -5
Manaaki, Kanga;
"Jump!"
Kanga obeyed. Digging his back claws into the slippery ice, he launched off, paws outstretched. He almost landed on top of Epsilon, but twisted in the air at the last minute. He landed on his side, but rolled away from the edge and came to rest. Manaaki suddenly then became aware of just how cold the undersides of his paws and claws were. They were deep into Epsilon's thigh then, and once the adrenaline had warn off he became aware of his feet. He felt the pull of weight leave as Epsilon let go of the ice path, and then heaved backwards with all his might. Epsilon had pushed himself away from the edge, but Manaaki pulled him a good body's-length backward in one tug. Once Epsilon was safe Manaaki immedietly cracked his claws off the frozen wolf and examined them. The undersides were totally coated in ice, and the callosed skin on the pads of his feet were white from cold. He stamped them a few times, trying to ignore the stinging needle-pain as the blood refused to go back in.
Kanga got up shakily from his spot in the mud, his muscles finally accepting that they were spent. His shoulders, though they still bulked out from his body, now shook with exhaustion. Epsilon was all but passed out by then. Kanga was about to thank him, when a tank slammed into him. Manaaki's eyes were flashing, and his teeth found Kanga's scruff and ripped into it. Kanga snarled and batted him back with mud-free claws. He gave an uncharacteristic yip as his older brother disciplined him. Manaaki twisted his bulk and bit the underside of Kanga's neck before he could dodge it, and his back legs kicked into Kanga's thighs, claws raking the fur and skin. The ground shook when the big brothers slammed into it. Manaaki then leaped off and started circling his brother, snarling.
"What, no lecture?" Kanga asked, heaving his own frame off the ground and locking eyes with his brother. The pain where Manaaki had bit him was easily ignorable, though he could feel the blood. Manaaki showed his teeth insted of answering. "How stupid are you, Kanga?" The older twin licked his teeth, and then stopped circling. Kanga halted as well, and for a moment it was silent and still, with Epsilon's ragged breathing beside. It was almost more frightening, watching the masive specimens that had just been tearing at each come to a stand still and merely stare. But then all of the ice between them melted and Manaaki's face split into something between relief and horror. They crashed into each other without another word, all shoulder this time, and rubbed their necks against each other. Neither was crying, but Manaaki's eyes were hollow and drained.
After their moment, they faced Epsilon. He was but a shadow of the strong wolf that had just saved Kanga's life. Again, without a word between them, Kanga bent to the ground and wrestled his snout under the big wolf's frame. Manaaki went to the other side and pushed him the other way. Holding his breath until he was out of the mud, Kanga wrestled and heaved until Epsilon was draped across his back, his head resting on Kanga's un-bloodied shoulder. He was heavy, unbelievably heavy, but Kanga was unbelievably strong, even while being tired. As a trio, they started making their slow way back to where the trees started and the mud calmed down.
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Post by Fierfly on Feb 15, 2017 18:07:47 GMT -5
Epsilon:
He must have passed out there for a minute because one minute he was trying to dredge up the energy to protest Manaaki's huge snarling jaw ripping at his brothers scruff and the next he could feel a spine and shoulder moving underneath him and negotiating the muddy, treacherous hillside. Manaaki walked beside him (or rather the wolf that was carrying him, which he could only assume was Kanga because few other creatures would have been strong enough to carry the massive mountain wolf,) to watch and keep Epsilon's limp form from sliding off of his ride. But with one of the last things he'd seen being the bowl (or rather being unable to see it which might have been worse) and after having nearly slid into it himself, the last thing Epsilon wanted was to feel only air under his claws. So once he was conscious enough to register his surroundings of steep, dangerous mud and that he had no control over it he jumped. It wasn't really a proper jump because his paws had nothing to push off of, but his body jerked and he squirmed off and out of Kanga's generous piggy-back until he was on his own four paws. In retrospect that may not have been the smartest thing he could have done because his legs were still trembling and refusing to work with the precision and power that he was used to, but he managed the last few steps into the cover of trees.
Once under some semblance of shelter from the rain Epsilon shook himself over in the signature canine style, freeing his white underside of some of the mud that he'd ground into his belly and chest fur when he'd thrown himself down on the hilltop and shedding some of the water from his surface coat. Once he'd cleared himself he fell limp again, but this time he was able to keep his eyes open and his breathing more controlled. Still limp with relief and exhaustion he mentally probed himself over. His claws ached and he was sure that another second and they would have come clean out of his paw sockets, his legs felt strained and his haunches burned and maybe even bled a little after Manaaki's firm hold on him had been loosened, but the punctures wouldn't show with his thick shag of a pelt and they wouldn't really hurt until he got moving again with the adrenaline rush over. His skull wasn't throbbing too bad yet and hopefully if he kept still enough the headache could be avoided entirely, or at least greatly reduced if he was lucky. He wasn't badly hurt, just tired, but this did it: it was time to get into shape with this gift of his, he was going to have to start practicing more consistently or he was going to die one of these days from over-exerting his reach.
He watched the brothers for a minute again, trying to decide what to say, if he could still talk that was. He was too tired to make a joke to crack the tension and he had no interest in making jokes with the little brain-power he had because he usually wasn't funny even when his mind was completely functional. He didn't feel like lecturing Kanga either because Manaaki had already given him a brutal physical buffet for his stupidity, and he wasn't about to object to Manaaki's chosen course of disciplining the rebel because - quite frankly - Kanga deserved some kind of comeuppance. So with nothing to say and maybe nothing needing to be said, Epsilon just relaxed, letting the aches and pains in his shoulders and fore-paws and haunches protest and groan all they wanted, the strain and worry was over, and that was all he currently cared about.
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Post by Meds on Feb 15, 2017 18:44:02 GMT -5
Manaaki, Kanga;
Kanga thought Epsilon had slipped off for a moment, and was about to bend to keep him on his back, when he realized the big wolf had jumped on purpose. It made sense. He hated being carried, by anyone save Manaaki, and that had only needed to happen once. He had carried Manaaki a number of times though, believe it or not—but the more graceful twin would never admit it. The rain had started to die down then, and even the mud had started to calm. It seemed as if the rain had only begun to make Kanga look like a fool. Well, he certainly felt a fool. Manaaki padded as silently as possible through all the muck, keeping his eyes steady on Epsilon. He didn't know how these powers worked, but the big wolf was clearly tired and in pain, and the big twins would be there if he should actually fall.
Once in the cover of the trees and Epsilon was safe on the ground, the boys set to drying themselves off. Kanga was still coated in mud and would need a good bathing, and even Manaaki had his share of grime as well. He was tired, and he bet his younger brother was even more so. Dangerous situations tended to take it out of them. Go figure. Epsilon seemed at ease for the time being, and it looked like he needed to rest. Kanga felt bad enough without keeping him awake. He was safe here—there would be nobody else about; especially not with the storm having so recently passed. He gave Manaaki a look, and his brother nodded. Together, and quietly as they could, they left back through the trees the way they had come.
"We'll catch you later, Epsilon," Kanga called over his shoulder. Manaaki grinned darkly at his brother as they departed.
"Curse," He whispered, trotting ahead and losing his younger brother. Kanga growled, fighting a smile, and took up the chase.
-Exit Manaaki, Kanga-
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Post by Fierfly on Feb 15, 2017 19:21:00 GMT -5
Epsilon:
The twins also entered into the tree-cover with him and took a few minutes working the heavier clumps of mud out of their iridescent fur. Nothing could be done about the lighter grime that clung so persistently and dulled the effect until water was reached and they could take a proper plunge, but that was okay. Epsilon could feel the dirt under his heavy coat too and he could not possibly care less. Forget that he needed to be on his way to talk with Alphess Blaise about his disciplining (although that issue would have to be addressed sometime soon), he could clean up later, he just wanted to sleep. Fatigue again overtook the gray-slashed-blue eyelids and they slipped closed to hide the vibrant blue orbs beneath. One last gusty sigh escaped the aqua-themed wolf and he felt his consciousness slipping again as he escaped into the restful state of sleep. He was faintly aware of his two companions leaving and Kanga calling out that they'd see him later. That was the last thing he registered before he dropped off.
-About an hour later-
The lids opened slowly and with great effort. He wasn't much of a day sleeper, but after a scrape like that he felt justified, and his aching body had enjoyed the respite so thoroughly that it hated to be woken and be stirred back into action, but the day went on and he needed to catch up with it. With a grunt he got to his paws and found his strength returned, his muscles were slightly sore, but he could live with that, the tension from the strain would pass in a day or two. Now he really ought to head back to Sapling Grove and to everything he'd needed to take a break from. Zamir was probably frantic and Alphess Blaise was no doubt growing impatient for his return to receive a lecture. He sprang back into action and settled for a steady lope back to Secluded Sunrise. On the way he plunged into a relatively clear forest stream to get rid of the dingy gray and brown that had been left alone too long and soaked until the snowy white came back bright and clear, he shook himself dry once more and broke out into a brisk run back for Sapling Grove. He'd needed an escape and he'd gotten it, revived and refreshed from the worries and responsibilities that had been weighing so heavily on his mind, he felt prepared to face them again.
-Exit Epsilon-
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