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Description

/ / / / /

The two little pansies huddled together, trying to regain their strength. They were proud of fixing the mysterious shrine, but using up all their energy doing so seemed to be taking its toll on their tiny spirits. The jungle itself seemed to be weighing down on them as if, having completed their task, they were no longer welcome. The humidity and rough terrain made them decide to teleport off the mountain rather than attempt the trip down on foot.

"I guess we can go home, now. Do you want to come with me and meet my friend? I want to tell her all about these jungle birds I saw. Did I tell you she really loves birds?" Tone exclaimed.

"Yes," Ren replied, shivering gently. "But is your home somewhere very cold?"

"N--no." Tone looked around, confused. "I-It's not this cold. We haven't even left yet, why is it suddenly this c-cold?"

Ren screeched and pointed at Tone's legs, which were quickly disappearing. "Wait! Take me with you!" Not wanting to be left behind, she pounced on her friend. They rolled haphazardly across the crinkly leaves of the undergrowth, both bodies now quickly fading from view. "Eep! Wait, look out!" Ren scrambled to stop them from rolling into danger, but it was too late. Before they could reach the edge of the overlook, they vanished completely.

In their place drifted a single snowflake.

/ / / / /

They reappeared in a clumsy heap, displacing a flurry of snow in their wake.

"I'm so sorry," Ren said sheepishly. She tried to brush some of the snow off Tone's head.

Tone let out a loud, giddy laugh. "That was fun!" She cried, leaping out of the deep snowdrift to prance about, apparently having been renewed with the change of scenery. "Oh my gosh, you were like 'ahh' and I was like 'whaa?'and we were like--" She mimed rolling downhill.

Ren relaxed. "Did you bring us here on purpose? Did I mess it up?" She sat on the snowbank and tried to groom down the fur on her head, which was an odd little mess from their adventure.

Tone patted her on the head, inadvertently messing her hair up even further. "No, no, don't worry." She said reassuringly. "You didn't mess anything up, I actually... have no idea where we are!" She finished with a wave of her tiny paws.

They both glanced around for the first time at the blindingly white landscape.

"Oh... oh... we aren't in the jungle anymore." Tone said in awe, looking out over the mountains. Their elevation seemed to have stayed the same, but this range was covered in a thick, shimmering blanket of snow. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, creating a jagged horizon that vanished into distant clouds. A fierce wind whipped up flurries of snow that danced across sheer ice cliffs and rattling, frosty pines. Here, too, trees clung to the mountainside with a kind of eternal valor. The evergreens endured the wind and snow but the weather's unforgiving mark was left on them regardless -- frozen tree needles were strewn everywhere, forming what could almost be described as a path along the upper ridge of the mountainside.

The blistering wind would have blown them right off the mountainside if they had corporeal forms, but as ghost-like as they were it simply cut through their spirits to give them a persistent, phantom chill. Ren gave a sympathetic shiver.

"Do you feel the tugging again?" She asked, pointing across the needle-strewn ridge to a nearby grove of trees. "I don't think we're done yet!" They both paused to identify the beckoning chime that was tugging at their spirits -- the strange feeling had come back just as strong as before. It felt the same as the summons in the jungle, but perhaps with a touch less urgency. This time, the call was lighter... almost hopeful.

"More adventure!" Tone squeaked and took off towards the trees. "Come on, Ren, let's go help out!" Ren cheered and ran after her. They bounced through the snow, sometimes scurrying along on top of it, light as a feather, and sometimes burying beneath.

They traveled through thin pine trees, a relatively short walk made difficult by the varying depths of snow. Occasionally one of the esk would be walking along an innocent looking snowbank when they would vanish under a soft, deep patch of snow. This happened most often to Ren, who seemed far too distracted by the incredible mountain vistas to pay much attention to her footing. She slipped under the snow once again and flailed about to get her friend's attention, a muffled "help!" coming from underfoot.

Tone giggled but came to her rescue immediately, pulling her out and onto harder packed snow. "Here you go, silly." Another esk might have chastised Ren for her inattentiveness, but Tone simply wanted them to have fun together, and would pull her out every time without an inkling of ill will.

As they neared the source of the summons the trees appeared to become increasingly damaged, almost as if something huge had gone crashing through them, leaving a trail of wrathful destruction in its wake. Ren tried to picture the animal (or, 000 forbid, esk) that could have caused all this damage, and stumbled closer to the other pansy.

"Do you think this could have just been the wind? It's so strong all the way up here!" She said, trying to make herself feel a bit better. Tone smiled with her eyes.

"I'm not sure! But I know everything will be okay!" She reassured her friend. "It feels like... we're almost there."

/ / / / /

Only a few steps later, they once again they found themselves standing in front of a little altar on the mountainside. They'd finally reached the second summon.

It stood, dignified, beneath the half-circle of pines. It was a bit larger than its sibling in the jungle, and was constructed of aged wood instead of grey stone. Deep cracks rippled across its surface, making it feel distinctly fragile. A single thread hung loosely from the center, being whipped back and forth in the harsh mountain wind. Nearby, a broken fragment of dark stone glittered in the snow, bold and eye-catching against the white terrain. It was very smooth, almost polished, and carved into a distinct four-pointed diamond shape with rounded edges. A hole was placed carefully near the top corner, but the stone was cracked, making it unable to hang like it was meant to. The whole grove seemed to be holding its breath -- the summoning urge faded when they reached out to touch the stone, and even the wind slowed to see what the two little esk would do.

"This is such a shiny rock... but it's a little broken. Should it be on that string?" Ren poked her toe through a perfect hole drilled into a corner of the obsidian. "It looks like it'll hang from here. Just like the other one we fixed. But like a diamond!"

Tone nodded eagerly. "Yes! You've got it! Way to go!"

Ren, emboldened, decided to try to take the lead on this new altar. "Okay, let's switch this time! You hold it just right, and I'll try to put it back together."

She thought back to their journey so far, and how much fun it was to adventure with a friend. How even when the journey was tough, she was able to keep going with a little bit of help here and there. She was just a little esk, but together they could do so much! Every little joke and laugh made her smile and gave her strength to keep going. She focused these positive feelings and directed them towards the altar.

"Fix! Fix! Fix!" She chanted, feeling the energy pour out of her. It was draining but exhilarating -- she could see it working immediately. The grove of trees pulsed and shed the last of the dying needles, emerging restored with fresh green branches. The rotten bark and discarded needles gently blew away in the wind, and a flock of birds passed by far overhead, calling cheerfully.

The two esk shared a high five. "We did it again! There's nothing we can't fix." Tone cheered.

A cool collab between me and the wonderful runeowl !
This time i drew

This is a guess at scoring so if it needs tweaked please let me know!
AP Breakdown
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+5 AP (Full Body)
+20 AP (Full/Scenic Background)
+10 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 1)
+10 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 1)
Base Score: 27 AP (Writing: 1352 words)
+5 AP (Event Bonus)
+5 AP (Wordcount Challenge Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 100

GP Breakdown
Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+2 GP (Full Body)
+6 GP (Full/Scenic Background)
Base Score: 13.5 GP (Writing: 1370 words)
+2 GP (Event Bonus
+2 GP (Wordcount Challenge Bonus)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 35.5

Description

/ / / / /

The two little pansies huddled together, trying to regain their strength. They were proud of fixing the mysterious shrine, but using up all their energy doing so seemed to be taking its toll on their tiny spirits. The jungle itself seemed to be weighing down on them as if, having completed their task, they were no longer welcome. The humidity and rough terrain made them decide to teleport off the mountain rather than attempt the trip down on foot.

"I guess we can go home, now. Do you want to come with me and meet my friend? I want to tell her all about these jungle birds I saw. Did I tell you she really loves birds?" Tone exclaimed.

"Yes," Ren replied, shivering gently. "But is your home somewhere very cold?"

"N--no." Tone looked around, confused. "I-It's not this cold. We haven't even left yet, why is it suddenly this c-cold?"

Ren screeched and pointed at Tone's legs, which were quickly disappearing. "Wait! Take me with you!" Not wanting to be left behind, she pounced on her friend. They rolled haphazardly across the crinkly leaves of the undergrowth, both bodies now quickly fading from view. "Eep! Wait, look out!" Ren scrambled to stop them from rolling into danger, but it was too late. Before they could reach the edge of the overlook, they vanished completely.

In their place drifted a single snowflake.

/ / / / /

They reappeared in a clumsy heap, displacing a flurry of snow in their wake.

"I'm so sorry," Ren said sheepishly. She tried to brush some of the snow off Tone's head.

Tone let out a loud, giddy laugh. "That was fun!" She cried, leaping out of the deep snowdrift to prance about, apparently having been renewed with the change of scenery. "Oh my gosh, you were like 'ahh' and I was like 'whaa?'and we were like--" She mimed rolling downhill.

Ren relaxed. "Did you bring us here on purpose? Did I mess it up?" She sat on the snowbank and tried to groom down the fur on her head, which was an odd little mess from their adventure.

Tone patted her on the head, inadvertently messing her hair up even further. "No, no, don't worry." She said reassuringly. "You didn't mess anything up, I actually... have no idea where we are!" She finished with a wave of her tiny paws.

They both glanced around for the first time at the blindingly white landscape.

"Oh... oh... we aren't in the jungle anymore." Tone said in awe, looking out over the mountains. Their elevation seemed to have stayed the same, but this range was covered in a thick, shimmering blanket of snow. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, creating a jagged horizon that vanished into distant clouds. A fierce wind whipped up flurries of snow that danced across sheer ice cliffs and rattling, frosty pines. Here, too, trees clung to the mountainside with a kind of eternal valor. The evergreens endured the wind and snow but the weather's unforgiving mark was left on them regardless -- frozen tree needles were strewn everywhere, forming what could almost be described as a path along the upper ridge of the mountainside.

The blistering wind would have blown them right off the mountainside if they had corporeal forms, but as ghost-like as they were it simply cut through their spirits to give them a persistent, phantom chill. Ren gave a sympathetic shiver.

"Do you feel the tugging again?" She asked, pointing across the needle-strewn ridge to a nearby grove of trees. "I don't think we're done yet!" They both paused to identify the beckoning chime that was tugging at their spirits -- the strange feeling had come back just as strong as before. It felt the same as the summons in the jungle, but perhaps with a touch less urgency. This time, the call was lighter... almost hopeful.

"More adventure!" Tone squeaked and took off towards the trees. "Come on, Ren, let's go help out!" Ren cheered and ran after her. They bounced through the snow, sometimes scurrying along on top of it, light as a feather, and sometimes burying beneath.

They traveled through thin pine trees, a relatively short walk made difficult by the varying depths of snow. Occasionally one of the esk would be walking along an innocent looking snowbank when they would vanish under a soft, deep patch of snow. This happened most often to Ren, who seemed far too distracted by the incredible mountain vistas to pay much attention to her footing. She slipped under the snow once again and flailed about to get her friend's attention, a muffled "help!" coming from underfoot.

Tone giggled but came to her rescue immediately, pulling her out and onto harder packed snow. "Here you go, silly." Another esk might have chastised Ren for her inattentiveness, but Tone simply wanted them to have fun together, and would pull her out every time without an inkling of ill will.

As they neared the source of the summons the trees appeared to become increasingly damaged, almost as if something huge had gone crashing through them, leaving a trail of wrathful destruction in its wake. Ren tried to picture the animal (or, 000 forbid, esk) that could have caused all this damage, and stumbled closer to the other pansy.

"Do you think this could have just been the wind? It's so strong all the way up here!" She said, trying to make herself feel a bit better. Tone smiled with her eyes.

"I'm not sure! But I know everything will be okay!" She reassured her friend. "It feels like... we're almost there."

/ / / / /

Only a few steps later, they once again they found themselves standing in front of a little altar on the mountainside. They'd finally reached the second summon.

It stood, dignified, beneath the half-circle of pines. It was a bit larger than its sibling in the jungle, and was constructed of aged wood instead of grey stone. Deep cracks rippled across its surface, making it feel distinctly fragile. A single thread hung loosely from the center, being whipped back and forth in the harsh mountain wind. Nearby, a broken fragment of dark stone glittered in the snow, bold and eye-catching against the white terrain. It was very smooth, almost polished, and carved into a distinct four-pointed diamond shape with rounded edges. A hole was placed carefully near the top corner, but the stone was cracked, making it unable to hang like it was meant to. The whole grove seemed to be holding its breath -- the summoning urge faded when they reached out to touch the stone, and even the wind slowed to see what the two little esk would do.

"This is such a shiny rock... but it's a little broken. Should it be on that string?" Ren poked her toe through a perfect hole drilled into a corner of the obsidian. "It looks like it'll hang from here. Just like the other one we fixed. But like a diamond!"

Tone nodded eagerly. "Yes! You've got it! Way to go!"

Ren, emboldened, decided to try to take the lead on this new altar. "Okay, let's switch this time! You hold it just right, and I'll try to put it back together."

She thought back to their journey so far, and how much fun it was to adventure with a friend. How even when the journey was tough, she was able to keep going with a little bit of help here and there. She was just a little esk, but together they could do so much! Every little joke and laugh made her smile and gave her strength to keep going. She focused these positive feelings and directed them towards the altar.

"Fix! Fix! Fix!" She chanted, feeling the energy pour out of her. It was draining but exhilarating -- she could see it working immediately. The grove of trees pulsed and shed the last of the dying needles, emerging restored with fresh green branches. The rotten bark and discarded needles gently blew away in the wind, and a flock of birds passed by far overhead, calling cheerfully.

The two esk shared a high five. "We did it again! There's nothing we can't fix." Tone cheered.

A cool collab between me and the wonderful runeowl !
This time i drew

This is a guess at scoring so if it needs tweaked please let me know!
AP Breakdown
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+5 AP (Full Body)
+20 AP (Full/Scenic Background)
+10 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 1)
+10 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 1)
Base Score: 27 AP (Writing: 1352 words)
+5 AP (Event Bonus)
+5 AP (Wordcount Challenge Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 100

GP Breakdown
Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+2 GP (Full Body)
+6 GP (Full/Scenic Background)
Base Score: 13.5 GP (Writing: 1370 words)
+2 GP (Event Bonus
+2 GP (Wordcount Challenge Bonus)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 35.5