Welcome to Gaia! ::

She was in the zone, trying to catch what little breath had made its way into her body after a good couple deep inhales and some water. Upon running out of a little water she did grab a voice popped into her ears and she nearly leaped out of her pelt. Her head spun about and she stared, nearly nose to nose with a lion whom had approached with a kind look on his face and some more water. It took her a moment, but she did find her voice to reply.

"I'm alright." She shared a smile with him and did not hesitate to take the offer of water. The dust had nearly gotten the best of her, but she held herself together. When alone she was fine, but now in the company of what she assumed was a pride member, she ought to get herself together. "Thank you." She said, finishing with the water he had offered, it truly was cool and had a crystal complexion of that from a running stream. She felt absolutely refreshed.

"Dancing is certainly fun, but I think I'm with you, three left paws. Perhaps the best way to describe it! And hey, the water-guy is just as valuable, if not more so." She praised him happily. If it weren't for his water she wouldn't be as relieved as she was now. "I may give this one more go, will you be here all night?" She asked this, his company was plenty welcome and she wouldn't be dancing far. How could she pass up the possibility of finding a friend among many strange faces?

Hila grinned as the pretty cheetah shared a few moves with him, but he understood the hesitation in her joining in completely. If she had a bad time last dance then it would make sense for her to sit back and enjoy the show. Maybe he'd stick around for a while after the dance was over to get to know her a bit better.

He gave her a wink before dancing back just a bit so the lioness could talk to her that he had cut off by mistake. He bobbed his head towards the two females before twirling away, setting his mind back to the dance. Perhaps he should grab some water...the dust hadn't affected him, but he had been going for quite some time. He made his way slowly to Ester and the gourds of water, smiling at the female as he approached. His paws slowed to a little shuffle as he bobbed his head, motioning to the water.

"Evening, my dear. I assume these are for the taking?"

Auri had seen others coming and going. Some succumbing to the clouds of dust. However, as someone who was used to extensive dancing, he continued on though he saw many going to refresh themselves at the sidelines. With lesser lions out on the dance floor, he decided to start adding more style to his moves.

Dauer turned at the approach and voice, her head tipping upward as she a recognized the height and shape of a male lion. She trailed her note off so she could speak to the kind soul. "Oh thank you," she replied heartfeltly. "It is getting so dusty, and that's rough on a throat." She bent to take a few slurps, then tipped her head up to smile up at him again. "But please, what should I do when it is empty?" She flicked her eyes around at the milling, dancing crowd. "I wouldn't be able to find where I heard the female calling out about water unless she called again and again." She glanced down at the puppies. They were another reason that taking the gourd back might be problematic. She didn't want to leave them. "Perhaps I'll just leave it with me until the dance is done?" she asserted. She wanted to keep singing for now, so she gave the male lion another smile, then turned back to listen again to the music.

She soon added her voice to the beat and melody, her throat vibrating almost mournfully for a moment before soaring joyfully once more. She lost herself in the music, finding a release in it that she'd never known before. All her sadness could come out, but her bursting joys as well. The world balanced out into one rolling plain of unending music. She floated upon it as a wind dances across the grassy savannah... but a voice near her snapped her eyes open, just now realizing she'd closed them in her ecstasy. Was... was she being addressed? She blinked, her voice faltering as she glanced about the shifting shapes and colors. Noone stepped forward to claim ownership of the called compliment, so she uncertainly kept singing instead of replying. How mortifying if she'd answered something addressed to someone else!

His keen legs continued forth, starting a little jig or two. Whatever it was, it was not really the normal Yagoda that he had always known. Never had he felt like much of a fool, but these were all strangers around him. No one would know him, right?

Chuckling a bit, the pinks of his pelt slowly warped into dusty brown, but he did not care. That was, until his vision decreased, and stumbled onto the ground, barely aware of what was going on. All he knew was that he needed to get out of the crowd, and take some time off his paws until things got better, maybe he should also clean up his pelt on the way too..

Uh oh... Yagoda is looking a bit wobbly. He better take it easy for a while.

The shortest night of the year was flying by as the dancers danced and the performers made music for them. Some of the Kaskazi members were moving among the dancers, taking everyone's name. The time for announcing a winner was drawing closer and Heimdall would need to know the name of the winner eventually. The stars moved overhead, and the night was still dark. In fact... Was it getting darker? If one cared to look up half the sky was pitch black, while the other half was filled with stars.

And then a faint whispering sound could be heard, at least by those with keen hearing. It added a strange dimension to the sound of the music. Soon the source of the noise revealed itself as the first fat drops of rain hit the dancers and the audience. Rain! Finally some rain! The lands were dry after a long period of drought.


exclaim Dancing in the rain You need to roll more than 45 to pass this round. You can choose your roll this time too, but if you failed the last one you'll need to pick the second option.

Call for Medic Esteryti if you run into trouble! She can help you stay in shape for the next round. Untended injuries will give you a bigger disadvantage in the next round! However, if you're lucky Ester might be able to patch you up leaving you without a disadvantage for next roll.

arrow All in! Roll 1-100
arrow Taking it slow. Roll 25-75

1-45: Owwie! Dance related injury of your choice.
46-65: You're certainly feeling tired at this point, but the rain is refreshing.
66-90: I'm siiiiiinging in the rain. Err... dancing.
91-100: Awesome moves! Those have to give bonus points from the Dance Master...

Hila bobbed his head in thanks before drinking from one of the gourds, glad for the little break. Cheetahs didn't have the best stamina in the world, after all, so even just a tiny little water break was really a rest for his whole body. He took his time, lapping up two gourds full before licking his nose and chin free of water droplets.

"Much appreciated, my dear," he said with a little wink before weaving his way back among the dancing animals. He found the rhythm of the music once again and started to move with the rest of the creatures. It seemed that water break had been exactly what he needed. Renewed with energy, Hila closed his eyes and let the music take him. He wasn't gifted in the area of song and dance, but he did know how to do what made him feel good. And right now, dancing did just that.

His movements were more fluid than before, and his blue-purple color in the odd lighting gave him the illusion of rippling water passing around the other felines and canines. His paws never faltered and his confidence was high as he glided across the wet ground, welcoming the rain like it was his brother. He tilted his head back and laughed as he was splashed in the face.

"Doing a rain dance, it seems," he said with a wide grin as he continued to move.