Story

A few weeks ago, a small group traveled to the Antarctic to compete in a race across the glaciers. Five teams of sled dogs were also sent to help them on the icy rifts and glaciers. While out one night messing around, the leader of their of the small group had tragically fallen through a thin sheet of ice and into a glacier, leaving the four teens to make their own way back. Unknowing to them is that a storm is fast approaching and with the server snow storm tragedy could be around the corner at any moment. In the snow lies many dangers from thin ice above glaciers and predators from polar bears to killer wales and sea lions. What was meant to be a harmless holiday is now a nightmare, a race against life to get back to the safety of the station before the storm takes their lives.

Rules

1. TOS applies
2. No cybering
3. No killing off other sled dogs unless given permission
4. PM me profiles
5. Title the PM "Race For Life" so I know you read the rules
6. What I say goes
7. No auto hitting if in a fight with another dog or an NPC
8. This is a semi-real life role-play. No mythical dogs or creature attacks.
9. PM me if you plan to leave for a long period of time
10. Don't post and then leave
11. Have fun

Application Form

Humans (Only 4. 2 girls, 2 guys)

Username:
Name:
Age: (between 15-19)
Gender:
Personality:
Appearance:
Biography:

Dogs (4 to a team. 2 lead, 2 back up)

Username:
Call Name:
Age: (Dog years)
Gender:
Personality:
Rank:
Appearance: (Preferred Picture)
Team: (1, 2, 3 or 4) (Makes it easier lol)

Sled Teams And Dogs

Team 1

Human:

Username: Sun
Name: Elsie Kasper
Age: 16, almost 17
Gender: female
Personality: Elsie is a outwardly friendly person, and tries hard to get on and help others. Despite this she is a loner, and likes to have her own time. This is proving hard latley because of her situation. She has a good sence of humor and loves having a job to do.
Appearance: Not particulay tall at 5'5, her uneven body proportions favour her, and long legs make her appear taller. She is neither over or underweight. Longish red-brown hair sits atop her head in choppy layer.
Biography: Elsie is an English college student leading a considerably normal life. Studying biology she has always wanted to go on a holiday excursion like this, in order to study the ecosystems in the Antarctic.

Dogs:

Username: Kai Wolfhart
Call Name: Duke
Age: 3
Gender: Male
Personality: Duke act like royalty, which earned him the name Duke. He tends to be more relaxed but when it comes to working he pulls his weight and always tries to do his best.
Rank: Lead
Appearance: Duke
(Duke is part husky part wolf)
Team: 1

Username: Sun
Call Name: Kunema
Age: 2
Gender: female
Personality: Always egar to work, she lacks confidence and experience sometimes. She bonds very quickly with other dogs and humans she works with, but has an exception bond with Elsie, her owner.
Rank: Lead
Appearance:
Team: 1

Team 2

Human:

Username: StormRose
Name: Kassandra Divine
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Personality: Kassie is a little sunspot, but sadly, she's very easly scared. She has a tendency to panic easily. She's rather senstiive both to herself and others, but she really doesn't handle stress well. Likes to sing to pass the time.
Appearance: Ordinary brown hair, long, and sparkling blue eyes. She's rather short, 5'2, and only 100 pounds if lucky. She has a tendency to forget to eat food...
Biography: Kassie has had a happy life, pretty much, but because she wanted to see the world, and she liked being cold, she came here. Her parents weren't happy about it, and now she thinks she shoud have listened to them.


Dogs:

Username: StormRose
Call Name: Dust
Age: 4
Gender: Female
Personality: A gentle leader, she's one who lets people make mistakes as long as they aren't lethal. that way they learn. But still, she can be harsh when needed. But more often she's a gentle soul who just carefully guides rahter than barking out (literally) orders
Rank: Lead
Appearance: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/Cambri...0husky%201.jpg
Team: 2

Team 3

Username: Kai Wolfhart
Name: Zeke
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Personality: He tends to take charge of situations and likes to be a leader but if told to he would back off but it tends to result in him being a little distant. He's also bi-polar.
Appearance: Zeke
Biography: Zeke didn't have a very sheltered life when he was younger. In fact, his parents didn't want to have anything to do with him since they thought he was just a complete waste of time. He came out here to prove that he had some worth and so that he could at least try to get his parents to be some what proud of him.

Dogs:

Username: Apple Sauce
Call Name: Yue
Age: 8
Gender: Female
Personality: She's a very maternal dog, viewing her team as pups, including Kai. Being older, she is protective of the younger dogs and does her best to break up any fights that spur.
Rank:Lead
Appearance: Yue
Team: 3

Team 4

Human:

Dogs:

Snow flared out behind them in a high arc, as a sled raced across the frozen desert, that which was Antarctica.
The jostling sounds of harnesess rang out as they went, and condensation from the heaving and sturdy dogs upfront, rose in tha air then dissapeared within seconds. Now and again one would bark and another respond. generaly though, there was little spare oxygen to go to communication. they had been on the trail for 3 hours now. Most of the time their journeys were shorter. Food though was running low, and a sence of ergencie had arrisen in them all.
None of them really knew where it was that they were in a hurry to get to.

Elise keept a close eye on Kunema. She was young, and Elsie was only just begining to lear of her dogs limits. As it happend, Kunema seemed quite comfortable, and not to tired. She was getting stronger. Elsie was unaware of a small smile grow on her face. the prevaling wind and cold ment she could feel little of her face.
She looked up, into the distance. The back end of sled 3 could be made out. She felt marginally sorry for the dogs driving it. (name) had been so determind to get nowhere quickly.

Dispite how it might seem to a human, paws devoid of feeling were not part of the job. At least not for her anyway. Kunema took in a deep beath between strides. Making extra effort to keep in time with Duke. Trying to break her habbit of looking every few minutes over to him to make sure. One of the older dogs of sled 2 had told her she would learn to sence her companions movements, not just her fellow lead dog, but all four.
Attempting to put this to practice, she had incesantly observed the snow since they had set out. She was doing well, she thought.

Duke kept his focus on the team ahead, he knew that if they continued up the pace like they were, it wouldn't be to long before the dogs grew tired and they'd have to stop but in a place like this there didn't seem like anywhere for someone to take shelter from the bitter days and nights here in the Antarctic. For the first time his eyes left that of the rear of the third team as he glanced around the endless acres of the snowy abyss. He was beginning to grow tired but he felt as a lead dog he couldn't show such weaknesses as getting tired. A small sigh seemed to escape Duke's maw as he continued on the trail, they had to be coming to a stop soon, they'd been at it for three hours and this was possibly their longest journey yet.

Now here's some good news.
Elsie watched as they began rapidly to approach sled 3. They had stopped.
She slackened the harness off quite alot, and the dogs imediatly knew the order.

Kunema was only too glad. She dropped right down, suddenly realising how exhausted she was. The dogs trotted along infront of the sled as it's own momentum carried it forward still. They drew level with seld three before they stopped. She sat, tounge lolling out, sweat making her copper fur almost black. She look over her shoulder at her two companions. They could say nothing through catching their breath.

As she desperatly began to repay her oxygen debt's, she took the chance to look about them. They had stopped near a ravine, with massive built up snow walls. They could well have been snow covered hills, but it was more than likley the troup would set up camp near here. That had been their trend so far.

It is best to stay out of the wind...
Elsie stared over at the hills, eying the shovel on the floor of the sled. They would dig into the hill again, and make a scoop there, if conditions allowed.
She had a good feeling they would.
By now the other two teams had arrived. Nobody said anything. It would be pretty futile to try, seeing as the wind stole away words before they could be herd. [/i]

Duke just flopped down on his side, the snow cushioning his fall. He snorted gently, blowing up some of the freshly lain snowflakes. He lay there for a moment, his breathing heavy though it wasn't unusual since the others were all breathing heavily. He took one last deep breath before letting it out in a sigh as he closed his eyes before heaving himself up so he was lying upright. He licking his paws for a moment trying to get some warmth back into them but all it done was numb his tongue a little. Hopefully this would be their stop for the night where they could rest, get warmed up and be fed. After his rest he got back to all fours before stretching slightly glancing to Kunema. No doubt she was just as tired as the rest but one thing did worry him was that she was the youngest lead dogs he had worked with, he doubted the choice but he had no say in it but if he was to be entirely honest, she was probably also the youngest to learn so fast.

Glancing back to Elsie, Duke barked to her eager to get a move on and set up camp. The sooner they did the better it would have been for all of them, besides he had a funny feeling there would be a storm upon them soon and come that time it would be almost impossible to carry on and not have some injuries.

"Okay boy okay. Were going now."
Elsie's voice was quiet, and thick with sympathy. Or perhaps it was guilt. She would have to talk to (name of seld 3's person) later and make them see sence. They couldn't go on racing like this, but at the same time they had to stick together. He/she had appointed themselves leader of the troup, but Elsie got to hear alot of talk between the others. They weren't happy either.

Kunema watched Elsie swing from the sled and take off the harness of the two dogs behind her and Duke. She was strange that girl.
Kunema's farther had said the humans who came to own them, were often uncaring of their dogs feelings, wanting them to show no weakness, to have bodies of steel, and that they would use the whip exsessivly to iron weakness out.
He had also told her that Elsie had not given him this feeling, when she had come, that crisp spring day to view his puppies.

Kunema stood to step out of the harness. Elsie fluffed her fur affectionatly. "Good girl. You'll be a great one when your older...if you'r not runined now." She looked into her owners eyes, staring through her own brown and blue ones. The girl couldn't keep the eye contact, and moved over to unharness Duke.
She ruffled him too. "Good lad. We'll not be doing that again don't you worry."
Kunema got the feeling she ment it. She stepped over the strappings and joined the other two dogs nearby.

When Duke was free, Elsie stood in place of the dogs, picked up the harnesses and began to pull the sled herself. She followed off in the direction everyone else was already going. It wasn't heavy really, seeing as they all travled so light.

Duke watched Elsie for moment before glancing to the other dogs. This was probably going to be a long night but one night he wouldn't really mind since he got to rest. He tagged along by Elsie's side for a moment before trotting off ahead, sticking his snout in the snow as if tracking something. He bound ahead before stopping and glancing back before bounding off once more.

Zeke watched Elsie go ahead before walking to check on his own dogs. They were very tired and worn out, he had probably been to caught up on his high horse that he had forgotten to worry much about his own team of dogs. He petted each of them before walking to the back of the sled before getting the dogs to move on as he walked beside them, petting their heads every now and then. As soon as they go into the cavern they could search for a safe place to dig into before they could all relax for the night.

A wave of snow swept over Kunema. She shook off and trotted on lifting her legs high, as the snow often made her. Only the thought of rest filled her mind now.

Elsie gave a final heave on the sled before letting the harness fall to the floor. She straightend up and looked at the hole in the rock face, snow clinging to it like fur. Sled 2 and 4 were already inside, getting a start on hollowing it out. They used their only shovels.
One of them looked behind her. "Come on Els, dig?" She stopped while waiting for a reply. Quickly she nodded and ducked back out to fetch her shovel. Zeke was just getting there. She smiled faintly before going back inside.

Kunema was joining a few of the other dogs now huddled in one corner. Being the youngest of all the dogs ment she was a the bottom of the pile respectivly, and she always felt the need to ask about everything.
"Could i lye here with you?" She asked, in a soft voice, tilting her head slightly.

Zeke unharnessed his dogs as they trotted off to be with the other dogs. Without having to be told or asked to hurry up he pushed his sled a little closer to the rest before grabbing his shovel and going to help them out. One other thing people would have hated about him was the fact he never really spoke to anyone unless it was major important, the only ones he did speak to were his dogs but his reason was because they didn't speak back, they just listened. Even if he knew himself it was because they meant more to him than he put forward but he had his 'excuses' for what he did.

Duke watched the humans dig before glancing to Kunema. Though there were pack rules applying while off duty, Kunema had to also remember the rules of being a team, the lead always comes first, they are the main dogs which...well...lead. Pushing himself up Duke trotted over to Kunema and the other dogs. "You know you shouldn't be asking to lie with them." He stated surveying the others. "What use is a young pup with potential as lead dog if they have to ask for everything?" He asked before nudging her slightly towards the group with a faint smile before trotting off to his small patch on his own. Being a more 'experienced' lead puller, it wasn't really know for him to comment on something like that, especially about a one as young as her but how could he not, she had already learned half of what he knew now and she was younger, though with everything to learn she may have been his age when she knew everything.

Kunema looked at Duke as he spoke. She smiled a doggy half smile. He was somewhat right she knew, there was just something about herself that made her ask about everything. She would hate to intrude on anyone. it was true to say she had no real enemies within the group of dogs, but still...

"Hmmm." She glanced back over the others, most of whom were sleeping now. To where he nudged her was where she made her bed, turned a few times, then curled up, watching him go to his own space.

With all four of them digging the youngsters were making good progress. It was notably warmer inside the cavern, but still cold enough to make one keep their thermals on. A rumble from her bowls made her think of food.

Duke lay with his head on his paws as he watched the humans digging at the snow. "I could dig that faster." He muttered to himself as he snorted up a mini snow storm of freshly lain snow. He stretched out his paws in front of him for a moment before closing his eyes and sighing deeply. Though Duke seemed to be a fairly social dog when pulling the sled, when it came to sleeping he always lay on his own but that was for one reason only. Unlike the other pure bred pulling dogs, he was just a 'half wit' as others would have called him since being only half pulling dog, he was supposed to only know half of what true sled dogs would do.

Zeke glanced to Elsie for a moment before going back to digging though he soon stopped again. "Why don't you go get some food and maybe you could feed the dogs too." He half asked yet half told her. That was maybe one of his unlikeable traits, his ability to not ask proper questions without sounding like he was telling someone what to do. "Besides, I think we should all stop for a break, three hours of sledding and then straight into digging without a break is enough to make anyone hungry." He added.

Elsie stopped and looked at Zeke. "Sounds like a plan to me."
She turned away resting her shovel against the wall.
"Anyone think it's dinner time?" She asked calling to the other two still digging.
walking over to her sled she rumaged in a plastic cool box. She eyed the food in there. She was lucky in a way that she needed little food to keep her going. She guessed her almost perpetual cooldness made up for it.
She chose canned prunes and what would be a frozen smoothie. 'mmm, luxary'

She then scooped out some of the dog's food. This understandably, went down alot more than the human food, seeing as the dogs were the pulling power.
Kunema herd the word dinner. Her ears pricked up, but she didn't expect anything, so lay quite still. SOme of the otehrs around her stood up.

Zeke done the same though he grimaced a thought of having to eat those things again. This was the one thing he didn't think of before he signed up for this stupid trip but when hunger for the better he would eat anything to be honest. He whistled for his dogs as they came trotting over, always staying in their little group as they always done, some would say that he's arrogance had rubbed off on them.

Duke lifted his hefty body from the snowy white floor before walking over to Elsie and sitting down. He glanced back slightly Kunema, noting that she hadn't yet moved from her spot. Duke was a little glad but also a little puzzled. Dinner was the one time where there was nothing but chaos between the dogs and when most arguments broke out between the teams. This was no doubt going to be worse due to the time they had spent running which would have them all more hungry than normal.

Elsie smiled weakly as Duke came up to her. She saw Kunema standing up, and padding over to her, and the other two dogs having a tiff in their rush to get up.

She took out some seal meat from the box. It was some days old, but anything would keep in this cold. She offered a fair bit to Duke, and another held out to kunema as she had just arrived. "Don't eat it all at once." She said softly.

Kunema wasted no time. She gentley yet swiftly took the offered meat. She gave a skip sideways and jumped past Duke as another of the dogs tried to tackle her. Meat firly in her mouth she trotted to the other side of the cavern, as far as she could, before eating.

Duke took his meat as he trotted off to eat his, snarling at the other dogs that neared him, searching for scraps of meat that had been left of messily thrown around. He took his time with his, chewing through the slightly rubbery meat. He glanced around to the other dogs for a moment before pulling off another bit of meat and chewing it.

Zeke fed his dogs before sitting down in the small cove and opening his canned prunes. He wrinkled his nose at the sight of it. They always reminded him of old people, mainly because that was what they ate at old peoples homes or maybe it was their wrinkly skin. He chuckled lightly at his thought before taking one of the prunes and sticking it in his mouth. He plugged his nose before chewing it and then quickly swallowed before sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Stupid prunes." He muttered under his breath.

Kunema, although fairly passive, tended to adopt a rather more feirce persona around meal times. Two other dogs had tried to approach her meal, and had recieved a bite for it.
Her meat now gone she sat and observed the remainder of the feeding frienze.

"Not a fan of canned prunes i take it?"
Elsie, with her own prunes in hand glanced down at Zeke. She wore a rather amused face at his disgust in the fruits.

Zeke glanced to Elsie for a moment and shook his head. "No, not particularly." He muttered reluctantly swallowing another of the prunes. "I didn't mind coming out here, but canned prunes and well...mush, weren't exactly planned out foods." He sighed. He ate one last one before sealing the tin and putting it away. "Don't know how people could stand that stuff." He added quietly.

Duke had finished his meat and had seemed to disappear from the safety of the cavern. He had made his way silently outside away from everyone else, his head raised slightly as he looked to the skies as if waiting for something to descend from them. He didn't move a muscle as he continued to peer up, his fur ruffling slightly in the bitter breezes.

"Hehe. I thought not. Heck you don't know a good thing when you see one."
Elsie had found a new love in canned prunes, since her journying out here. Having never tried them before, she had long ago established that once she got home, they would become part of her regular meal rotary.
"Mind if i join you?"

Food always had them same effect on Kunema. She would develop a raging thirst, to be quenched as soon as possible. Water usually proved itself hard to find, Luck though, was on her side. Somebody had already put some snow in a dish.
That was how they created their water now. First they had used parafin burners, but they were too valuable, so the teens had turned to this tactic.
She padded over to the bowl and licked out some of the chilled water.
From the corner of her eye she noticed Duke watching the sky outside.
He seems rather intrested. I wonder what's up there? [/i]

Zeke just glanced to her for a moment. He was a little surprised that she had asked to join him for a bit. "Sure I guess it wouldn't do any harm." He shrugged slightly as he grabbed his shovel for a moment before glancing over to Duke then to Elsie. "Isn't that one of your dogs?" He asked motioning to the ever still half breed.

Duke's ears twitched ever so slightly as he continued to watch the sky. He had a bad feeling and if his senses were correct there would be a high risk of them being stuck here for a while. He opened his maw for a moment before a yawn escaped.

"Thanks." She flopped to the floor. As her attention was bought to Duke, she fixed him with a long stare.
"Yeah, it is. Duke, He's a good one."
She looked back at her prunes. "Do you think we'll get out of here?" She asked vaugly.

Kunema was not experienced in understanding the words of nature. Perhaps now would be a good time to practice.
She padded over to the mouth of the cavern and stood near Duke. Feeling the chill in her coat, the snow in the contors of her paws.
She stayed silent for a while, whilst looking around herself. "What can you feel?" She asked quietly.

Zeke just shrugged in reply. "Not sure, we have a few days sledding ahead of us and then after that we have to spend a further month out at the base." He sighed faintly. "So to be honest I don't think it's going to be anytime soon." He added, jabbing the shovel into the ice trying to chisel out a smaller cove within the one they had already made.

Duke glanced to Kunema with a faint smile. "It's nothing. I hope." He answered, his faint smile turning of that to a more awkward one. "I think we should make sure everything is inside though." He added getting to his feet. "I think we might be in for a very cold night." He muttered as he trotted off over to the sled, grasping harnesses in his muzzle.

"Hmmm." Elsie pondered on this thought for a short while. Wondering if perhaps anyone was looking for them.
She felt a sudden chill, and pulled her coat closer to her.

"Oh...A cold night." She looked up, ears twitching as she compared the sky with a normal days. She couldn't see much of a difference. Only it was slightly darker. The snow around her feet had built up in the time she had stood there. Now that was unusual. She moved out of it, and headed back inside, picking up a trailing piece of the harness in her mouth as she went.

Zeke pulled his collar up slightly before glancing to the dogs. "You have some strange dogs." He muttered watching Duke and Kunema pull in the sled further into the cave. He dug out some more of his little cove before calling his dogs over who were happy to go and sleep in the warmer part of the cave.

Duke pulled the sled further into the cave with the help of Kunema before moving onto another sled. He seemed to be in a slight rush to get everything away from the cavern entrance.

"Hmm. Strange perhaps, but their good creatures."
She watched as they pulled at the seld. She picked herself up of the icy floor, and walked over to the sleds. She pulled one of them into the cavern, ruffling Dukes head as she walked past him.

Kunema felt a chill in her paws, and stopped to lick at one of them.

Kassie shivered a little as she slipped inside to the little cavern that had been dug. She'd helped with that, yes, but she hadn't been as much help as she'd liked. When they talked of the canned prunes, Kassie smiled as she stuck one into her mouth. "I-I'm Greek, so I eat almost anything..."

She watched as Elsie's dogs began pulling stuff in. "As odd as it seems...I mean... given our situation..." She wasn't making any sense. Finally she put the can down and started helping. She spoke to the dogs quietly. "Here, let me help."

Kassie was an odd one. In truth, she almost preferred the company of animals to other humans... she couldn't afford to be too pick about this. she needed humans as well as the animals now. when she noticed Elsie was doing the same- helping the dogs- she smiled a little. She moved onto the next sled as soon as possible, Dust coming up and pulling at it with her.

As Duke had, Dust understood there was definitely something going on. And with inexperienced sledders... Truly, she'd been uneasy since their guide's accident. The female understood the sledder she was working with to be nervous and unconfident. That being the case, the real one in charge of Sled Two was Dust. Watching Kunema, she chuckled a bit. "It isn't an easy life..."