The great +anima race

Edit: I just realized 20 miles isn't very far, and I want it to be a four to five day long race where people actually have to stop to find food and sleep, so I'm taking away the specific length because I don't know how far such a race actually would be)

Description: (I based this off of the race that happened in the manga, but also made some changes)

There is a large competition coming up that it a huge event for those it concerns. The great +anima race. It spans a very long terrain, crossing tall mountains, deep lakes, windy prairies, and dark forests. There will be challenges and puzzles set for those who try to beat the race. Every two miles there will be a guide post, with a certain number of tags attached to a string. The tags have a number according to the post they hang from. Each post after the last will have one less tag, so each time all participants pass a guide post, one will be left without a tag (however, that doesn't mean they are out of the race, it just means they have to get even farther ahead if they want a tag). Each tag rewards you a certain amount of money at the end of the race and the one with the most is named champion. Any means are allowed outside of stealing the tags ahead of time. After all, it's just adds to the realistic feel of the great +anima race.


Rules:

-roleplay like regular but you're allowed to control random villains a bit to add some interest to the roleplay (like making it so a bad +anima hires some thugs to ambush other +anima that come by a certain spot in the race)

-when you get to a post, wait for most of the rpers to get their character to the post, then use http://www.random.org/dice/ to roll two die, the lowest person doesn't get the tag and we all continue the rp. Please be honest with these and don't cheat.

The terrain:

The race takes four or five days to complete with 10 guide posts placed at equal distances from each other. the first hurdle is a deep but narrow valley with a river (deep enough to swim through) at the bottom, with two bumpy paths along the edges of the river. There are plenty of bushes and trees to the outer sides of the paths, and though they have fruit, there isnt much because the ground is rocky and not very fertile instead there live ravenous cougers, and similarly starved carnivores. The bushes continue up the sides of the valley and house some nasty and large meat eating birds, a formidable hurdle for flyers. The easiest way here is for swimming +anima, as the river is too shallow and the climate to cool for dangerous sea creatures. At the end of the this valley is the first post.

the next section is rocky foothills with almost no vegetation. Here there is not much to eat because only mice and rats live here. There are numerous but tiny pools of freshwater that +anima are advised to bottle for the upcoming leg. the easiest way is flying, as you can't swim and there are many hills that make it tiring to travel on foot. the second post lies on a high hill just before a mountain.

After a short climb up the mountain there is a tunnel that goes all the way through to the other side. It is a shortcut of sorts, because the tunnel is a quicker route then going around the mountain, however it is pitch black and there is no water, and the creatures that live there are accustomed to the dark, and skilled at ambush hunting. This would be best for +anima that have some kind of means to sense what is around them in blackness (very sensitive eyes, echolocation,ext..) the third guide post is at the bottom of the mountain, just under the tunnel.

the fourth and fith posts are in a long grass prairie. Here there are plenty of wildlife, decent amount of ponds connected by rivers (so swimming +anima can get by with a small amount of walking, and the most dangerous predators are snakes. However, this area is home to some of the fastest winds, making it very hazardous to even attempt flying. The best travel method is by land here.

the next leg spans through a huge lake, full of large sea monsters. Land travelers have no choice but to go the long way around, and only flying +anima with very good endurance can make the whole trip without falling and drowning. This part is quicker but much more dangerous for swimmers because of huge lake monsters, quick but very challenging for flyers because they must fly the whole way without falling into the lake and drowning, and easy but slow for land travellers. The sixth post lies just past the end of the lake.

to get to the seventh post, it is necessary to cross the marsh. It is too shallow and mud filled for swimming, and hard to walk through. There are crocodiles and alligators to watch out for. The advantage here is to flyers.

for the journey from the seventh to the eighth post, there is a hilly landscape, fairly standard, disadvantage to flyers because there are several rivers to travel through and the hills are not steep, but the weather patterns here are strange, seemingly always in a thunderstorm

In order to reach the ninth you must travel to the deepest part of a large forest. The predators here are oversized. The advantage is to flyers and climbers that can travel through the highest treetops to avoid most dangers. The disadvantage is to swimmers for there isn't enough water to travel by. the ninth guide post is in the middle of this forest, the tenth is at the end of it.

the finish line lies at the end of a calm river. Here, the ground is flat and the air is free, so basically there is no advantage and it is an all out race to the end. The first one to pass the finish line is not necessarily the winner (for that you need the most tags) but if there more than one person to have the most tags, then the first to cross this line is the champion.

((sorry for such a long post, but I needed to explain how the race goes. The rp starts in the town that hosts the start, so people can meet and gather supplies for the race))

((Wow. How creative. You get an A+! Anyways, onto the RPing))

Maela was hopping from one foot to another, all the while rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck. Then she bent down to touch her toes, a feat she hadn't been able to do for a good long time now, but sheer nervousness and the need to have something to do enabled her to achieve it. Very impressive.

Once again she took two steps to her right, bringing along her small satchel containing dried mussel meat and a flask of water, even though all the other +anima around her had their own, and probably would not even like her food of choice. She fervently read the flyer for the race, and took a quick look around the room before returning to her original spot and repeating the whole process over again.

To say that Maela was nervous would be an understatement. She had heard about the race like this: whilst swimming casually, slowly making rounds around a small pond, a flyer was wind-tumbled over to her, and landed facedown. Curious, she had picked it up, and read the bleeding paper. Intrigued by the mention of money, she had traveled the mile to the town and signed up.

Up to this point, she had seen no one she knew. And for some reason, that made her more worried than the unknown dangers that lay ahead.

((thanks, I thought it might get too complicated, but it could be good depending if more people join))

The great race was truly great. +anima from all over came to this town to either participate or cheer on the others. Kaaya thought she might have a chance, after all, she had very good endurance. he problem was her speed. In fact, she could only fly as fast as the normal person can run, and she was worried about keeping up. At least she didn't need to worry about provisions too much. All she had was a couple dozen roses and two loaves of brown bread. She decided to browse the vendor stand and see what she needed. Kaaya purchased a compass and a rain proof small pack to put her things in. After all, the race usually lasts 4 days. It was quite a long race and if she even got one tag, there was good money waiting for her at the end of the race. She didn't know much about the ground she had to cover, but it was sure to be difficult. the financially depleted girl gazed hungrily at a desirable pair of gloves with a matching hat on a stand. She smiled to herself, as she walked past the clothing items. Once she got a few of those tags and exchanged them for cash she would be able to buy them, and live warmly in the chilly breeze. Kaaya made her way to the area where the starting line was, and sat down on one of the last free benches, as a crowd of people had already gathered to participate in the race.

Myô cracked his neck and flexed his claws. Then he remembered that he wasn't in the savannahs anymore, he was running a race, and pulled back in his +anima. How he had gotten here was a mystery. All he knew was that some dumb idiots had left a few cans of beer in his pack's territory. Bored, Myô drunk them and accidentally wandered off and ended up sober facedown on a flyer for the race.

He had stood up, and carefully removed the flyer that was still stuck to his face. At that moment, a rather fat man had approached him and started pompously trying to get him to join the race. Baring his teeth at him only made the man more excited. Myô joined to get him to leave more than anything.

Crunching on his toothpick, Myô moved over to the finish line and stood beside a weak-looking female with red hair. He brought no provisions of any kind, planning to rely on his own strength to get him to the end, food or no food.

The shy young +anima glanced up as a shadow came over her view of the ground. A grumpy looking boy was standing beside her. She gulped, the temptation to run coursed through her briefly, until she forced it down. He was probably another racer, and if they were going to compete she mine as well swallow down her baby-like behavior. "s-so are you going in the race too?" As that question passed her lips she felt a small spurt of confidence. "My name's Kaaya, I'm a butterfly +anima" She said, trying to act casual. This was challenging, as it wasn't every day she actually went around introducing herself. If I'm going to do this race, I can at least talk to people...

Myô looked down at the redhead below him who was staring at him scaredly. ((is that even a word? XD)) He stared at her with his eyelids covering half his eyeball, in the classic "I don't care" look. As she stuttered along, Myô sighed inwardly. He wanted to go home. Now. Fat creepy salesguy or not, he didn't think he could stand it if everyone acted like this around him. Which they did on a regular basis in the savannahs anyways, but whatever.

As a greeting, Myô jerked his chin slightly upwards, then brought it back down again. Choosing not to answer the race question - 'cause why else he be there? - he opened his mouth and said shortly, "Myô. I'm, a lion."

His fierce gaze travled away from the shivering butterfly, and they tore through the other opponents. A tall guy with beads in his hair and an eyepatch. Another next to him, with black hair and way too much energy. A jittery shorty with purple hair who was moving in a pattern. And many, many others. Vaguely he wondered if that oh-so-irritating orange-haired girl from the savannahs would be here, or the one who killed a whole other antelope. He hoped not. The first one managed to get on his last nerve way too often, and the other one had disappeared without a trace or a thank you.

Maela turned slightly, and she saw an extremely tall guy with sticky-outy hair on one side of his head. She didn't know who he was. But that didn't matter; what mattered was who he was standing next to.

Her heart jumped to her throat. Pushing through the crowds - "Excuse me, pardon me, so sorry. Gotta get through" - she finally found herself directly behind the pair.

"Kuh-kaaya?" Maela's voice cracked, and she blushed slightly.