LBT roleplay in the style of the original movie!

[Sovereign]

The sudden change in the fastrunner’s tone caught Rinen off guard, the threehorn not expecting him or his companion to agree to his proposition at all. At first, he was even disappointed by it as he had partially wished that he should never again to meet those two for as long as he lived. His face turned into a frown but as he saw the look in Aquarius’ eyes, he realized that he had no real reason to complain. With any luck, he wouldn’t have to face the world again at least yet. And even better, those child killers would probably stay a good distance away from him. And if the bright-colored male was right, the search for green food wouldn’t have to be a long one and then, he’d get rid of those bastards forever. He took a brief sigh before raising his gaze at the other boy.

“That sounds good enough to me, if you stay far enough ahead of me, that is. Hopefully we’ll find some better lands soon as I doubt either us agrees to this willingly.” The threehorn said extremely dryly, seeing that the omnivores shared at least this sentiment with him. He then turned at Aquarius and let his eyebrows fall a bit as he spoke to the swimmer.

“Well, it seems they were at least somewhat willing to listen to reason. I’m ready to go if you are.” He said as he prepared mentally for what was to come. He wouldn’t forget the fastrunners’ antics or their reference to him as a “thing” easily and inside, the threehorn knew it wasn’t a given he could restrain himself in the days to come. But for his own and for Aquarius’ sake, Rinen hoped those two wouldn’t test his nerves anytime soon.

[The Lone Dragon]

Aquarius couldn't have been more glad at the moment that everyone was willing to co-operate, they had all been fighting for to long and after Aquarius's initial run in with Rinen he was not in the mood for more battles. He gave a smile but as he took his foot step forward he almost fell, he gave a grimace as he looked at all the wounds he still had. Though he hated to admit it, he was hardly in a condition to walk at the moment with his legs bruised and scratched and his more serious wounds in his abdomen. However the thing that terrified Aquarius the most was the fact that some of his wounds was starting to show signs of infection.

Without some kind of treatment Aquarius would have a very hard time just staying alive. Most kinds his age didn't even know what the signs of an infection were but thanks to his two scars Aquarius not only knew the signs but had felt them to and he was not keen on reliving the pain but without his mother and father to treat him he didn't know what to do. "Well I can't walk well, I could ride Buko again?" He thought to himself. Normally he'd not want to show that he was a puny little Swimmer but this was an exception. Aquarius would not get far on his two feet and he knew it.


Once again Aquarius swallowed his reply. "Can I ride on one of you!?" he called out. "I can barely walk!" His question was for everyone but he was hoping that one of the Fast Runners would let him ride on their backs not out of spite for Rinen but simply cause they were much faster then Rinen and would have a better chance of escaping danger should it arise while Rinen was dare Aquarius think it "A bit to chubby to run fast" However if he was rejected by Buko and Wyoh he would make do riding on Rinen's back. 

[rhombus]

Buko sighed inwardly as he looked between the swimmer and the threehorn, hoping beyond hope that leaving the threehorn off to himself in the back of their little makeshift herd would not lead to a repeat of today's drama. And as the swimmer seemed to be a moderating influence...

"Perhaps, um, we can take turns carrying you?  That way no one gets a sore back."  He glanced back and forth at the still miffed Wyoh and the (from his point of view anyway) always antagonistic threehorn, "...but I don't mind doing it!" He added just in case.

He then leaned down to let the swimmer up, deciding to keep any misgivings to himself. I'm giving back rides to food and making truces to angry, boneheaded threehorns.  Dad, I bet you are watching this from somewhere and laughing.  Or calling me an idiot.  Probably both.

[Ducky123]

Lizzie had long since ceased to cry when the Night Circle had reached its highest position on the night sky but as expected she had not been able to find any rest nor had her crying and thinking improved her mood any. The only thing that made her feel a little less terrible than usual was the fact that she was no longer alone.

"It's my time to sleep now huh?"

Slowly, she trotted back to where the flyer was sleeping. She didn't even have to wake her up since the flyer jolted up from her slumber the moment she had arrived at their designated sleeping spot for the night, barren and unprotected as it was.

"It's been quiet... good night," was all Lizzie managed to say in a downcast voice before she curled herself up as best as possible on the hard ground while the flyer reached for a perch high up on the nearby, dead tree, hoping that sleep would overcome her sooner than later. Since she hadn't been sleeping at all the night before, and since she'd been walking a long distance, it was a lot easier than usual that night... Soon, only the slow rhythm of her chest rising and falling and the quiet sound of her breath escaping from her nostrils indicated that Lizzie was alive. She had fallen asleep.

[Finally continuing. Also 7000th post lol]

[jorrdy12]

Samara looked up to the sky, sleep was far from her mind right now as she pondered the last few days. Everything changed and not for the better. Who would remember her if she became weak and got eaten by a sharptooth, no one except for the longneck peacefully sleeping below her. She was not made for this, she realized, not made for the horrors of this world that was driven by primordial instincts. Why should she try, sure, if this mysterious place that she and the longneck were looking for actually existed, what then? What would become of her? She saw no future for herself besides the nightmare that they were in now.

The nearby creaking of dead trees brought her out of her depressive thoughts and adrenaline coursed through her body, her live-or-die instincts were still very much active, despite not wanting to continue. There was no sound except for the creaking of nearby dead trees and the soft, almost non-hearable sounds of the longneck sleeping below her.

It would not be bad, she realized, if this was the last thing I see, to experience. But she had made a promise, one that she wanted to keep, she was growing tired though, not of her lack of sleep, but of life. Yes, she thought while leaning back against the tree and growing a sad smile, this would not be so bad at all.

[Ducky123]

Drowsily, Lizzie opened her eyes. The first rays of the Bright Circle were tickling her nose, the cold of the night fast on the retreat to make way for the unbearable heat of the day. Lizzie couldn't say that she'd slept enough nor that she felt like she'd rested at all but she was used to this insomniac feeling. Frankly, this had been one of the better nights; at least she did get to sleep at night and not during the day when the heat made most attempts to sleep futile ones.

Reluctantly, she stretched her stiff extremities and got to her feet. She would have to get moving while the temperature was still nice. Lizzie was about to get moving when she remembered that her journey was no longer a solitary one. Above her on the dead tree, the longneck spotted her flyer comrade, looking in the opposite direction, apparently fixated on a point far beyond her field of vision. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat to get the flyer's attention.

"Uhm, I am awake. Sh-should we get going?"

[Sovereign]

A look of slight suspicion formed on the threehorn’s face as he heard the fastrunner’s words but in the end, he wasn’t too badly taken back by them. The omnivore could well carry Aquarius for a while as that would give the threehorn finally some time alone, something he knew he needed desperately. And later on, he’d likely earn another chance to find common understanding with the swimmer. The expression on his round face relaxed a bit as he looked at the fastrunner and spoke in a cold but not outright hostile voice.

“Fine. We’ll take turns, fastrunner. But now, let’s get on the move. The sooner we find any place better than this, the sooner I’ll finally get rid of you for good.” The threehorn said, gesturing for the omnivore to start walking. He soon headed after the halftooth, giving a brief snort in the process. This meeting had been one big disaster from the beginning and he would regret meeting the omnivores for the rest of this long march. But for now, he had avoided being left all alone out here, a fact that even after everything created a flicker of warmth deep within the boy. Maybe there was hope for him to survive in this world after all.

[rhombus]

Several days later:

Well, crap.

If Buko were to be honest he had no idea what to expect exactly with his latest turn at the vanguard of the group.  They had traveled for several days against the harsh scenery of the barrens around them, often tasting dust liberated from the desolate surroundings by the harsh winds that seemed to take no notice of their sufferings.  The small stream, however, provided them with water and, with difficulty enough food for their needs.  The limited greenery by the welcome water source was more than enough for the swimmer, but only enough to keep the threehorn at an acceptable level of grumbling.  The few fish that could be found, on the other hand, was only enough to keep the hunger pains away from Buko and Wyoh.  In any case though it was enough.  All four of them were alive which, considering what they had been facing, was saying a lot.

But staring into the depths of a massive chasm was not something that Buko thought that they would ever face.  The fact that the small stream now emptied via a tall waterfall into the darkness was only confirmed by his ears.  Their only source of food, water, and hope ended here. 

Or did it?

Buko followed the massive crack in the Earth with curious eyes as he stared to the west.  There was something not quite right here.  If the water in the stream was now entering this massive chasm then he should smell moisture from an unseen lake down below.  But that was not what he was smelling.  No, rather it was what he heard that interested him: the water down below was still flowing.

He scurried to his right and then to his left to determine the direction.  As the sound disappeared when he moved right and grew stronger when he moved left, he had only one clear conclusion - the water was flowing to the west so the crevice was deeper in that direction.  But if they moved east...

He sighed at the realization of what this meant.

The unhappy duty of informing them of their situation now fell upon him, as did the sad fact that they had only two choices.  They could either go east and follow the crevice in the hope that it finally ended as the declining depth indicated, risking starvation if he was wrong, or they could go back the way that they came with all of the risks that entailed.

It was then that he heard the familiar clicking of Wyoh's footsteps.  He held up a hand to let her know not to sprint forward lest the cusp of the crevice be too unstable.

"The water down there is flowing west, which means the crevice is deeper that way.  You think we should head east to see if this crap ends at some point?" he turned around to see her face to face, "The other option is to go back and hope nothing has been following us."

[jorrdy12]

The sound of the Longneck's voice below her snapped Samara out of her thoughts and she rapidly looked around just to see that the sun was already rising. Luckily nothing happened while she was not paying attention to her surroundings, which was a first. She never could really remove the tension that her body has had since the night her parents were-

Samara shook her head, now was not the time pondering on things long gone. She had a task to do, she had promised so she could not break that now. Looking down to the longneck below her she noticed that the longneck was looking at her and that the longneck was quite tired. She knew that the longneck asked if she was ready to continue with their journey but the thoughts during last night came back to her. Would there be anything out there? Would she live long enough for her to see it, or would she be crushed with despair when they realized that there was nothing out there anymore. The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to find out.

Shifting her focus back to the longneck below her, she prepared a reply, but hesitated, why does she continue, what is keeping her here and not somewhere in a ditch where she would meet the same lonely end? She shook her head.

"Yeah, let's go."

[Ducky123]

Aside from short breaks, Lizzie and the flyer continued to trekk on, always making sure that the distant ocean remained in sight. The terrain didn't change at all and the Bright Circle was as unrelentless as always. When it finally descended after a long, exhausting day, they still hadn't found anything to eat or drink - and yet again there weren't any secured places to stay the night. Remembering how things had been going the previous day, Lizzie felt a little apprehensive about suggesting to call it a day in open terrain yet again but what other choice did she have?

"At least there are a few rocks here and there, we should just sleep on them and hope they will hide us from curious eyes..."

It was a gamble but, considering the rather low likelihood of being discovered by a sharptooth, it was a gamble she was willing to take. Lizzie hadn't slept properly in several days; it was taking its heavy toll on her. The girl knew that on this night she would fall asleep as soon as her eyes closed and she could tell that the flyer wouldn't be up to a night watch so she didn't even suggest taking turns when she called the clumsy flyer to return to the ground. They hadn't exchanged any more words than absolutely necessary throughout the day and it was no different now. Lizzie curled herself up in a little depression on the hard rock and so did the flyer. Soon, they were both asleep...

[jorrdy12]

Samara's sleep was not peaceful, not even close to it. Screams filled the air, wet noises sounded around her and fluid splattered around her. The surroundings were dark yet tinted with a scarlet-red. Samara's vision blurred after she heard the familiar screams around her, she fell on her knees and sobbed, trying to curl into herself. The screams began to get louder and she realized that her own screams were mixed into them. The predatorial roars echoed loudly around her while she began to panic, her survival instincts were going into overdrive as they tried to escape from the ensuing torment.

Samara was shaking and twitching uncontrollably from fear, she felt an unimaginable pain start to form in her chest as her heart just could not process the amount of fear she was experiencing. She suddenly felt the pain burst before everything began to feel numb and the darkness was slowly getting replaced by a blinding white. Samara felt something warm cover her, reminiscent of how her parents used to cover her when she was scared before she was engulfed by the empty whiteness.

She lurched forward and emptied her stomach to the ground next to her, her heart was beating mildly and she could feel the adrenaline course through her veins, eyes rapidly darting around the clearing they were in. The peaceful feeling she just experienced was gone and she was craving for it again. When was the last time she felt so at peace, so happy? Her arms gave out under her and she fell in the pile full of bile she had made. She didn't want to continue like this anymore, in a constant fear of safety, of home. They were getting nowhere after all, they had been traveling for days, maybe even a couple of weeks and they were not getting any closer to this fabled 'safe haven' the longneck spoke of.

Speaking of the longneck, Samara looked to her side to see that the longneck was still sleeping, not particularly happy nor peaceful but having a better dream than she had despite laying on an uncomfortable surface. She shook her head, this was it, she was going to end it tonight, she didn't want to continue anymore. She had seen whatever the world wanted her to experience, it was time to rest eternally now.

She thought about how she wanted to end it, maybe with a sharpened stick if there were any not yet fully burnt. Starting to search around for any sticks she froze when she heard a noise behind her, slowly turning around she saw that the longneck was wide awake, and looking at her with a concerned expression.

[Ducky123]

Lizzie awoke from her rather event- and dreamless slumber when screams and the distinct sound of body fluids hitting the ground not far from where she was resting rang through the cold night air.

"The flyer again? Did she have another bad sleeps tory?" Lizzie was too tired to bother looking, remaining as she was. However, perhaps by some random sensation, Lizzie soon decided to turn around just in case the little flyer needed help. A rather poor and disgusting view greeted her.

"Yes, she did throw up and she must have fallen right in... Poor flyer..." It was the pity, however slight it was given the indifference which so often haunted her, which ultimately made her move.

"Hey flyer, are you alright?" It was a honestly stupid question but Lizzie wasn't gifted at communication, not anymore. Just what was troubling her?

[DarkWolf91]

The past days of awkward trudging through the wasteland had done little to raise Wyoh's spirits. If there was one thing she could be glad of, it was that the conflict in the group seemed to have reached a low point. This was, however, merely the product of shared misery; after the daily march and struggle for food, there was no energy left to fight one another. Each day had dawned alike, hot and cloudless, the stream of time blending together in a haze of misery. She did her best to ignore the blistering wear of the bone-dry earth against her feet as they chased down mile after mile.

But then, the monotony broke. Buko lifted his hand in warning, and she slowed to a stop as she came up alongside him. Blinking down into the chasm that had opened out before them, it took her a moment to organize her thoughts well enough to respond to his question. Head east, or turn around? It was hardly a choice. She shrugged. "Let's go east." Though there was the certainty of food behind them, it was a feeble supply that would not last them long. They were probably dead either way, but heading into the unknown meant that maybe, just maybe, she would get to eat something other than a fish before she died. She had developed a distaste for the slimy, bony things, and the tiny dent they put in her hunger was hardly worth the trouble of catching them.

[jorrdy12]

"Hey flyer, are you alright?"

Samara quickly turned around to see the Longneck walk towards her with a concerned expression on her face. Samara's heart was beating quickly due to the scare the longneck gave her. Annoyance rose up from within her, why was this longneck wasting her time, she wanted to find a stick with which she could end it fast and the longneck was just holding her up.

"Yeah, I'm alright, just had a bad dream."

This was a lie, Samara knew that, she was not alright, even now she could slowly feel the urge to end herself grow bigger and bigger. There was no changing her mind now.

[Ducky123]

"Yeah, I'm alright, just had a bad dream."

Lizzie tilted her head, observing the flyer intently as she listened to her words. Words that didn't convince her in the slightest. Lizzie had had enough sleep stories to tell that it took more than a common nightmare for someone to throw up from the terror. The flyer's troubles were obvious to her and although she couldn't really care for the flyer on an emotional level, she could still relate.

"You don't have to pretend, you know?" the longneck spoke with a heavy sigh as she looked down on the poor flyer covered in her own vomit. There wasn't even anything around to clean herself. "We might be strangers to each other, only travelling together for convenience and mutual protection, but we are stuck in the same rotten log. You can talk to me if something's on your mind, you know? I will probably understand... for each day I'm struggling too. Bad feelings... they are like... like a neverending abyss dragging you down, and down... and down..." Did the flyer have her own abyss of terrible feelings and memories which she'd rather just forget? Lizzie could tell that it was something like that and a quick glance at the flyer revealed that her words had reached her...

[Sovereign]

The threehorn panted severely as he struggled to move forward, his entire body crying out for some, any nourishment as the little bits of green food he and his companions had barely even put a dent on his crying hunger which seemed to be growing worse by the minute. He listened to his own belly roaring like a sharptooth but he had thus far tried to fight against complaining about what he knew was inevitable. He was the largest dinosaur among the small group and it was only natural he would suffer the worst about the lack of food.

He knew Aquarius, who was riding him this time, was also hungry but his situation seemed to be less acute than the threehorn’s, a fact Rinen was at least somewhat relieved about. On the other hand, the threehorn had tried to keep the fastrunners out of his mind during this long trek and he had managed to stay relatively calm during the few occasions he had been forced to speak with them. However, he looked at the omnivores tiredly as they stopped still a few longneck lengths before him. He snorted slightly before he spoke to Aquarius.

“Hmph. I wonder what’s up with them this time. Hopefully they’re not wasting precious time for nothing.” He said before he concentrated his attention to try to hear what the two were talking about. He still believed they were up to no good but he still wanted to know if they were speaking of anything of worth. Rinen could only hear the word “east” of the female’s brief answer and he could already tell they were speaking about where to go next. He sighed again deeply, trying not to cause another scene with the halfteeth with his next words.

“Hey, you two! Even if you go ahead of us two, you still don’t have the right to choose directions for all of us! Now, what’s the matter?” He asked, determined to make sure the omnivores wouldn’t decide something he would be forced to pay for in the future.

[rhombus]

Buko could only click his beak in annoyance at the sudden interruption.  Of all the times to be interrupted by horns-for-brains...  He did not speak, however, as much as he merely gestured at the somewhat hidden chasm that lay ahead of them.

"The water is flowing that way, which means the hole is deeper that way.  So we can either go to where it is shallower and hope to get around this... or we can go back the way we came."

As Buko said this he looked towards the swimmer's small physique on the threehorn and felt a pang of concern.  Wherever they all decided to go they had better find food soon.

[The Lone Dragon]

Aquarius perked up at hearing what Buko said and he could see the crack clearly enough. He was hungry but that was not as high on his list of priority's as his more pressing concern. His only wound left. Over the days Aquarius managed to recover from his minor injuries but the stab in his abdomen had taken longer to heal and was currently going through the early stages of infection. Aquarius remembered what his mother had told him about infection.

"Aquarius, infection can be a killer greater then most, if you have hurt yourself badly then it means you can be infected and become sick. You can always tell if a wound is infected by the unnatural colour and bad smell, if that ever happens to you then you must tell me straight away to I can stop you getting to sick"

The wound was covered by a leaf bandage which was in need of changing but there was nothing to replace it with and Aquarius knew nothing of healing herbs, nor were there any around anyway. He had kept the knowledge about his infection to himself though, he didn't trust his companions fully, he couldn't be sure if he would just be discarded as a hindrance if they found out so he kept his mouth shut.

Aquarius jumped off Rinen's back and walked to the edge of the crack and looked down and dropped a nearby stone, he lost sight of the stone very quickly within the dark crack but after a surprisingly long wait he heard the splash of the pebble in the water. Aquarius backed away quickly with a grimace, he was always skittish around hieghts. Looking at the other options; the directions of east and west, he didn't feel reassured. The land was reletively flat and dry with a few hills sprouted out every now and again there was a dead tree nearby with lots of overhanging vines tangling up it's trunk, hanging from it's branches and snaking along the ground but it had no green food on it.

Aquarius sighed and looked across the chasm and cursing these blasted obstacles angrily. He'd probably go with whatever the Fast Runners decided but as he looked out across the crack and into the distance he saw or mabye imagined which he really hoped was not the case but was there the biggenings of a desolate forest on the horizon? Aquarius eyes widened, he had found his hope and goal! A forest meant food, water, shelter and possible salvation from his infection. They had to get there!

Aquarius looked at the debating Fast Runners, they were thinking of going around the crack and go east but there was no knowing where they would be by then nor did they know when the crack would end if it did indeed end. "No, we go across!" shouted Aquarius to the surprise of all his companions. To him, it was the only option. For him, it was do or die. 

[rhombus]

Buko blinked with befuddlement at the swimmer's exclamation.  "Across?  Not even Wyoh could jump over this if she had a running start."

He did not notice what the swimmer had seen: the desolate tree with numerous long vines.

[The Lone Dragon]

Aquarius blinked at Buko's reply. "Jump, really? None of us can jump that!"

Aquarius walked behind the group in the direction of the tree and pointed at it. "We can use those vines to swing across. If we tie the vines around Rinen and swing him across then the rest of us can get across" said Aquarius, he sounded eager to try out his idea. "Besides, I think I see a forest over the crack, going over is quicker then going around"