literature

Xotiathon Round 1 - Culture Shock - P6

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For several minutes, she lay there, gasping for breath. Trembling with fear and pain, she opened her eyes to find that she was now perched precariously on the edge of a slightly damp path.

I… I made it?

Floala sat up, wincing with pain. Thankfully, everything around her was calm and quiet. 

“I… actually made it?” Floala whispered.

She felt a surge of triumph. She was alive! She was alive and another step closer to the finish line!

Her gleaks quivering with happiness, she looked around to see how much race was left to run.

Her features fell.

“No… no, it can’t… I can’t...” she gasped, feeling all of her hard-fought positivity and strength leave her.

She was sat right at the three way junction, staring at the waves where the underwater path had once been.

She’d gone the wrong way down the tunnel and now she was back where she had started.

Floala slumped back onto the ground, curling herself into a tight ball, trying desperately hard not to cry.

Idiot, idiot, idiot. Of course you couldn’t have done something right for once. You never had a chance of winning this thing to begin with.

Floala felt all her energy seep away, her sodden fur coat pain and exhaustion making her shiver. She had tried - she really had - but it wasn't enough. She was useless. Clearly incapable of everything.

Floala heard the sound of another person crossing the finish line and sighed, glancing up.

Four places left. Of course there’s only four place left!

Floala shook her head. There was no chance she could make it now. No, she’d just have to admit failure and return home, cursed with the knowledge that she was an embarrassment and completely worthless in every way.

She surveyed the arena numbly, following each of the winding paths to the finish line as best she could. The paths ahead of her were a tangled mess, weaving in and around themselves some distance above the water. No, there was no chance. While, in pure distance terms, it wasn’t far to the race’s end point, none of the routes led there directly. No matter which one she followed, the distance she’d need to cover was just too far.

Unless you were to go straight forward.

Floala blinked. The small voice that perked up in the back of her head hit her like a lightning bolt.

Floala sat up, her mind filled with images of glibbys leaping effortlessly through the trees. She gasped.

Glibbys can climb.

Invigorated by a tiny shred of hope, she found her brain kicking into action. Picking herself up, she tried to trace a way forward. In theory, it was possible, though risky and exceedingly difficult.

But was she brave enough to do it?

She took a deep breath, feeling a surge of anticipatory adrenaline flood her body. If she did this, she would be risking serious injury and, if she failed, utter mortification. However, she was astonished to find she didn’t care. All she wanted was not to feel like she was completely useless for once, no matter what it took.

Ignoring her aching muscles, she leapt forward with all her might. Swinging her tailpaws in front of her, she managed to grab hold of the side of a pillar holding up one of the raised paths.

She looked around herself, astonished by what she had achieved.

So far so good.

Filled with determination, she made a move to climb up on to the path above. This, it seemed, was easier said than done. Muscles she didn’t know she had screamed with pain, her sodden fur making the surface she clung to damp and slippery. With little knowledge of the mechanics of climbing, she nearly fell off several times and found herself sliding downwards countless others. However, despite her lack of coordination and practice, she managed to claw her way upwards and inelegantly pull herself on to the walkway, earning cheer from the audience.

After she caught her breath, she struggled on to her feet. She was immediately stuck with dizziness. The arena pool was sickeningly far below her now and the concept of falling made her feel sick. On the upside, she now had a perfect view of the arena for the first time and she could see exactly which direction she needed to go in to reach the finish line.

Aware that time was rapidly running out, Floala considered her next move. Thankfully, another path ran parallel to the one she stood on, giving her a clear way forward. Unfortunately, this path was a good leap away and even higher up than the one she stood on.

Feeling a wave of trepidation, Floala hopped backwards so she could take a running jump. Then, ignoring her instincts to keep her feet firmly planted on the floor, she sped forward. To her delight, she not only passed across the precipice with ease, she also managed to jump with enough height to land utop the path.

“Wow, that was impressive.”

A measured voice broke into Floala’s thoughts. She turned to find a huge dark red quadrapedal creature looking at her from a path a little way away.

The young glibby felt a surge of adrenaline, her gleaks and nose twitching with amusement.

“Of course it was!” Floala said smugly, “I’m the Trh of Xanta!”

And with that, Floala took off down the path to her next jumping point, which was far easier than the last one. Yet again, her strong legs helped her cross the gap with ease.

Her confidence growing, Floala traversed the mess of paths, climbing upwards and dropping down onto lower paths, with increasing speed. Although her heart pounded with fear, her happiness, and the audience’s cheers, grew with every leap.

I can do something. I can actually do something!

Soon, the finish line was just a couple of hops away. Cheered on by the audience, she dashed forward, determined to give the audience a good show. However, just as she reached the end of platform, she slipped, sending her head hurtling into the pillar. Stunned by the blow, she belly-flopped onto the pool below, the spectators gasping in horror.

“OW OW OW OWWWWWWW!” Floala shrieked, surfacing from her impromptu dive. Convinced she was going to drown, she thrashed around in the water, sending spray in all directions. Then, her feet hit the sloped ground and she froze. Standing up, her gleaks drooped in mortification when she realised the water only reached her shoulders and she was stood just a few steps from the finish line.

“I just couldn’t end on a high now, could I?” she mumbled grumpily, her feeling of elation dampened by her feeling of humiliation.  

Her head thumping, her muscles sore and her lungs partially full of water, Floala dragged herself out of the water and limped over the finish line.

As she passed through the gate, she found herself transported to a small room, lined with sofas and tables of various refreshments.

“Congratulations, Floala vi Trh!” Slica shouted, greeting her with a wide smile, “You were the 13th competitor to cross the finish line!”

“I was?” Floala said weakly, barely able to process the judge’s words through her crippling tiredness and pain.

Slica nodded, “You were! Well done! You have qualified for the next stage of Xotiathon.”

Floala nodded numbly, unsure exactly how to feel about this state of affairs.

“Please feel free to take advantage of the food and drink behind me,” Slica said, turning to indicate the table, “Medical aid is also available if you n-”

“Can… can I just go back to my room?” Floala croaked weakly.

Slica nodded, giving the young glibby a smile.

“Of course, whatever you need. You go and recover, we’ll be in touch with details about the next round shortly. Congratulations again!”

Floala gave a tiny nod and turned and sloped off. Consumed by exhaustion, she limped slowly through the corridor and up to her room. Opening the door the barest amount to let herself in, she crawled under her duvet and collapsed onto her bed.

Stupid sports competition. She thought to herself as she fell into an exhausted sleep.
<- back - Done!

Miracles happened. But only after breakdown number 3!

This concludes my round :) Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a comment if you did, I always love feedback!

Gallus owned by :iconevelyn-cross:
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kiwipeach's avatar
Goodness me! Floala has some really bad luck going for her even if self-inflicted XDc

This was such a nice read! I especially enjoyed the breakfast table scene, it gave such a sense of urgency to everything going on