by Taki Drake
Turning to Jack, standing by her side, Dascha asked, <
<
Dascha turned her attention back to the Siberian and the catog. She watched as the ten familiars in the first heat stood in a rough line in front of the two. The catog lifted up one huge impressively-clawed paw. Dascha could see the spinning threads that emerged from the bottom of the animal’s paw. A slightly different colored one extended out and touched each of the waiting familiars first on the medallion and then on their head. Turning to face directly toward the testing field, the catog raised its paw even higher and let out a banshee yell.
The power of the initial spell had fooled Dascha into thinking that the second one would not be difficult for her to watch. Unfortunately, she was wrong. An explosion of multicolored threads came out of the catog’s paw and blanketed the field. The entire area was awash with brightly colored and intertwined threads. Dascha was blinded by the mage sight, letting out a yelp of pain.
<
She could feel the brush of his wings against her head but her streaming eyes had forced her to close them. The pain of the light burst still echoed through her head. Her vision was impaired for just a few seconds.
Raising her head up, she swabbed her face with one of her paws. <
Licking her paw, Dascha swiped it across her eyes once more. The saliva seemed to help and she could manage to open her eyes a little bit. Trey and Jack were looking at her in concern but she shook her head, and told them, <
She straightened up and looked back at the starting line only to see the catog watching her intently. His gaze startled her, and she crouched down in response. Holding her eyes for just a split second more, the huge creature turned his attention to where the first candidate was ready to run the course.
While she had been dealing with her visual over-flash, the panel of judges had assembled on the rock outcropping. The tiger was there, as was George the Raven. They were joined by the sleepy looking buzzard that had talked to them earlier. The three of them were engaged in the heated discussion about something, but appeared to resolve it. Straightening up, they turned to stare toward the course. Once again, the tiger stretched up and boomed his message to everyone’s mind, <
The first familiar to run the course was an otter. Slightly larger than the ones that Dascha was familiar with, he looked strong and capable. She saw him take a deep breath and then he was off running across the ground and up to the first obstacle. His skills at climbing trees and descending from the steep hills were impressive. He seemed to be going very fast and Dascha was discouraged, thinking that she would not do as well.
Kevin leaned over toward Dascha and said softly, <
There were barks and hisses, caws and yelps of encouragement from the spectators as they watched the otter moving forward. There were only six total obstacles in this course and he had managed to get through two of them easily. Dascha thought he would fine because the next one was a waterway.
The otter slipped into the stream and slid down the stream heading for the bottom. It was obvious that he was at home in the water because his efficient travel and pleased smile spoke of his comfort. Slipping out of the bottom of the stream and heading along the mandated red route to the next obstacle, the otter came to a stumbling halt.
In a split second, a horrendous thorny thicket had grown up. It totally covered the marked route that was required to successfully complete the course toward the next obstacle. Vicious-looking thorns and dripping vines formed a nasty barrier. The otter was stymied. He had to follow the route or he would fail. But the route was impassable. Running back and forth the otter attempted to find a way through but could not seem to locate one.
Hesitantly, the otter reached out to attempt to push one of the vines away. The vine reacted as if it were alive, snapping and biting at his paw. The familiar yanked his front paw back with a cry of pain. There must’ve been something that was causing a burn because the otter quickly ran back to the pond at the end of the stream. He plunged his paw into the water, sighing in relief when the water seemed to neutralize the pain.
It was if Dascha could see a lightbulb coming on in the otter’s head. Glancing around wildly, the otter spied an elephant leaf plant on the edge of the woods. He ran over there and broke off two leaves. Quickly, he fashioned them into a rough bucket carefully scooping water up into it and trotting back to the attacking plants. Bracing himself with his tail, the otter flung the water on top of the bushes.
There was a hissing sound and immediate movement. All of the splashed thorns and the vines pulled back away from the water, as if the moisture was burning the plant. Quickly the otter ran back to the water and refilled his temporary bucket. Trotting even more quickly back to the pathway, he flung the next bucket load farther in. The vines that were hit by the water also retracted immediately. Spying a small area that he could scoot through, the otter took off in a flat out run and made it through the required passageway before the vine started to retake possession.
Now limping, the otter came up to his fifth obstacle. In this case, the obstacle was one that required steady feet and the ability to ignore heights. A series of stepping rocks formed a high arch over a series of ravines. The top of the curve was narrow, no more than 6 inches wide. It towered more than 40 feet above the ground and appeared to sway dangerously in the mild breeze. The red guideline of required pathway led up to the top of the arch.
The otter stopped and gazed up at the high path. It was obvious that this was not something that he really wanted to do. But moving carefully and determinedly, he began climbing the archway. It was obvious to the watchers that the arch was not stable. Small stones slipped and slithered down, the entire structure swayed in the breeze.
Dascha could see puffs of breath coming out of the otter’s mouth as he panted in stress and fear. But he kept going. Every step was something he tested, each step a little closer to the top. Finally, he reached the summit of the archway and began to descend.
TT startled Dascha when she said, <
Dascha soft comment disagreed, <>
The two felines leaned against each other for comfort as they watched breathlessly. The suspense was killing them.
The otter had made it about a third of the way down the back of the arch when it happened. The small stones that were slipping out of the archway accelerated into a larger fall. Six feet of it disappeared directly in front of the otter and the stones under his feet started to fall away from him. There was no hesitant movement or pause. The otter made a massive flying leap across the widening gap and caught himself on the remaining archway. Clawing his way further down, the spectators watched in horror as more of the stone tumbled loose from beneath his feet.
Making a dive for the ground, the embattled candidate slammed his body into the top of the rock outcropping that anchored one side of the arch. Sounds of sympathy rippled through the spectators as the dull thud of his body slamming into rock was heard all the way across the field.
For a long moment, the otter just laid there. Many of the spectators had risen to their feet as if to go to his rescue but were held back by the stern faces of the judges. Finally, the outer dragged himself to his feet, trembling and moving gingerly.
Climbing down from the rock pile, the otter seemed to gain strength and recover his equilibrium. By the time he got to the bottom he was moving with
at least a shadow of his previous speed and surety. There was only one obstacle left.
The final obstacle consisted of a series of arboreal climbs and jumps. From the red guideline that showed expected pathways, the candidates would need to climb up a major tree trunk, climb out onto a limb, and jump across to the limb of another tree. From that location they would have to make a series of jumps and precarious transfers to traverse another tree transfer. The final portion of the obstacle had a red guideline that went directly down a stretched rope. The end of the rope was anchored at the finish line for the course.
Many of the spectators were looking at this in awe. It looks complicated, and it looked difficult.
Dascha was watching the otter as he examined this last obstacle. She saw his hesitancy and knew that he was exhausted. She didn’t know how he was going to do this and she almost couldn’t bear to watch. However, knowing that she was going to have to do the same thing when it was her turn, she gritted her teeth and watched as the otter started his climb.
Even years later, Dascha was not able to remember that the exact details of what the otter did. Successfully climbing up the first tree, he managed to inch his way over to the end of the branch and gather himself for the leap. Flinging his body through the air, the normally water-bound mammal sank too far to catch the branch that would’ve been the easiest. Instead, he crashed down three more branches, slamming his body with each one before he could grab hold. Panting in pain, he then started the laborious climb back up to the point where he could rejoin the mandated guideline.
Many of the spectators were whimpering or whining. Dascha could tell that the number of people running this course had just been highly reduced. She could hear muttering about a lack of willingness to endanger their lives on something so artificial. She did not know how she would feel when it was her turn, but at this point, she was just watching.
The otter succeeded in climbing back up the tree. He now was at the next point of transfer. It was another big gap one that required him to run along the branch and jump, flinging safety to the winds and praying he would land in the other tree.
Dascha heard TT muttering in a soft voice, <
Dascha didn’t say a word. She just watched.
The otter started his run. When he jumped there was a huge intake of breath from the spectators and there was no other sound. When the otter managed to span the gap and grab hold of the branch, spontaneous cheers broke out.
The otter was too focused to hear the crowd. Dascha knew that in his place, she would be so focused on what she had to do to finish that she would not have heard anything at all either.
Slipping and sliding, the otter managed to make his next transfer. He laid flat on the limb all of his paws clutching the bark and gasping air frantically, trying to catch his breath.
There was only one last piece to do on this obstacle. The long rope that had to be traveled down. The otter faced the obstacle and started going down the rope, forepaws and hind paws grabbing hold of the tight line, sliding down inch by inch, going slower and slower. He was trembling in all four limbs but still was holding on. He came to the bottom of the rope where it had been marked with the guideline and moved past that point. As soon as his entire body was clear of that he simply let go. He fell to the ground about 2 feet away from the finish line. Rolling over, he crawled across the finish line before lying in success and complete exhaustion.
The spectators roared in celebration. Wings were flapped, the roar of large cats could be heard and the various avian calls. They all celebrated when one of them succeeded.
Jack looked over at Dascha and said, <
<<<>>>
The otters run was the most successful of the first heat. Although the others tried to reproduce his success, none of the other nine managed to complete the course. One of the others, a powerful looking wolf, managed to quickly complete the first three obstacles.
However, the fourth obstacle proved his undoing. Instead of the thorny and corrosive hedge, the fourth obstacle became a whirling fiery dust storm. To Dascha’s eyes, it looked like someone had trapped a sandstorm inside a wall. The wolf attempted to push his way through and was slammed out with such force that the spectators could hear the audible snap of one of his legs. Murmurs of sympathy and empathy filled the trial arena, but no one interfered.
Bravely, the wolf made another attempt to push through. Once again, the wind blew him out and another leg cracked. There was no way he could walk well enough to continue. Whining in defeat, he laid down on the course and waited to be removed.
At a signal from one of the judges, two of the larger owls flew down to the wolf, picked him up carefully, and flew away. The spectators watched in silence, some of them in concern, others in fear.
<
Dascha nodded her head in agreement. She suspected that she wouldn’t be the only one reevaluating her choice of ranking. On the other hand, after watching the first heat she knew that if someone had achieved a rank that it was backed by a high threshold of ability.
Chapter 14 – Adapting on the Fly
It’d been an exhausting morning. Candidate after candidate had attempted the adaptability challenge. This trial was very difficult to complete and there only a few that had managed to complete it. The first four heats were done and it was time for the fifth, which was the last heat of candidates for this trial.
Dascha and Trey were the only two in their group that had decided to accept the challenge of this round. The luck of the draw had put both of them in the last heat.
Dascha had watched carefully as the other candidates had attempted the course. She made mental notes of what worked and what didn’t work, trying to focus her observations and thoughts.
As much as she attempted to stay calm, her nerves had tightened as the day had progressed. Trey had gotten quieter, his cheerful chatter stifled. Dascha had no idea what was going through his mind but she could see that his body was trembling in tension. She didn’t feel much better.
She and Trey had examined the course when it was their turn. During the progress of the trials some of the obstacles had been reconfigured. While the first portion of the course was the same, the arch of stone had been transformed after the third heat. There had not been enough of it left to provide any possibility of candidates successfully completing that portion, so the judges had gone into consultation and decided to replace that part of the trial.
Instead of the open-air environment, a warren of tunnels had appeared through the rocky hill. Trey was disappointed, since he had looked at the arch and realize that his wings would help him manage that obstacle with ease. The underground challenge was a totally different issue for the bird. Although the candidates were allowed to examine the course, that did not include actually traveling the obstacle pathway. So, none of them have had seen what was underground and inside the tunnels. This worried both Dascha and Trey tremendously.
The time for inspection was up and they had to go back to the starting line. Dascha’s stomach was doing flip-flops and her muscles twitched with tension. She noticed Trey’s flight was a little less smooth than it normally was. His graceful control of his wings was somehow different. Obviously, both of them were suffering from nerves. Dascha just hoped that they could both settle down when they started.
<<<>>>
Standing in front of the catog and waiting for the spell to be cast was a crystalline moment of tension and excitement. Dascha felt like she was standing on the edge of a knife where one side was elation and the other was despair.
<
<> responded Dascha.
They were out of time. The spell of the catog
stretch out from his paw to touch Dascha’s medallion and then her head. She saw it coming at her and it seemed like she was looking down at 2 with a big light coming at her. In this case, it was a blue projectile and she felt it hit her chest and swarm up to touch her on the crown of her head.
Part of her attention was making notes on the type of spell and how it felt. The other, more basic portion of her mind was gibbering in terror and trying to hide. That part she ignored.
<> she said, more to herself than to anyone else. To her surprise, all three of the judges turned toward her and nodded their heads. If cats could blush, Dascha would have been dying of embarrassment. However, she was a cat. She drew herself up straighter and brought forward into her mind the attitude of “I meant to do that” and proceeded to check her grooming.
A wordless wave of amusement splashed over her. Being unsure of who she had entertained, she simply pretended the whole thing had not happened.
Trey was the seventh one in the heat. None of the others had managed to get past the second obstacle whether it was the effect of watching so many others fail, the lateness in the morning, or lower abilities, the fifth heat was completing fewer of the main obstacles than any other heat.
Trey was at the starting line, perched on a horizontal bar that had been provided for the avian contestants. When the tiger told him he could start, Dascha could see Trey taking several deep breaths. Once he was ready, he began.
The firebird took off like a speeding rocket. If he had any uncertainty, it was no longer apparent. Her cheerful and bubbly friend had been transformed into a focused competitor. His wings gave him a natural advantage on the first several obstacles. Zooming up the sides of the trees and descending the jumbled rock hill was no significant challenge for a bird with wings. His rapid completion of the first two obstacles put him far ahead of anyone else’s time, but the next one was going to be interesting.
Dascha focused on sending encouraging energy and thoughts toward Trey. Firebirds were not fond of water and having to take a water slide through rough rocks was not friendly to a creature with light and breakable bones. She was curious on what he was going to do.