#elsewhere

"This the challenge?"

Concrete Lullaby calls out "I am Concrete Lullaby! My tribe is the gnawer of bones and the reaching moon hangs over me! Born four footed was I! I am of a pack tested and true! And with an ally who was also tested! Onn behalf of my pack, my pack leader , and our caern, I announce us! Our deeds are many! Slayer of spiral dancers! Battler of banes, finder of a decenntly sized McRib when they make them so small these days! Open the way so we may take up the challenge!" pure.. her voice is pure

Helpfully, after their Galliard gets all that out, the ragabash nods "Why yes. Yes it is"

Her mouth tugs to the side in a cockeyed smile. Lupe knows the look - anticipating the challenge.

"Well well well..." One of the vines of the bridge rises up and on it, an old man's head chuckling... it doesn't look as gross asi sounds, the head is not impalled onn the edge of the plant as natural part of it. "A wyldling? Whatis a dream doing in the waking umbra?"

"Helping us" Little Mother Nips the heel says with authority, though she did shoot a smile back "You said we could bring aid if we wanted. You did no say it had to be another garou"

Dagmar lifts her chin.

"So, wyldling, these Shifters have bound you and yoked you for their purposes" the head says

Brow.

"No."

"Are you sure? " It chuckles "Would you be here othewise?"

"Don't let it get in your head, Dagmar" Lupe frowns at it "it's tricky"

"I came here freely."

"But your friend wouldn't have invited you otherwise if hse didn't need your help" The head says

"That's what Friends DO, Spirit. And you know it. they help each other" Lupe snorts "Your lies can fool even us I knnow, but only if we let them"

She shrugs. "They didn't bind, or compel. They asked. I am not here by force."

"No, they manipulated, they pretended friendship alongg with tthe one who did like you... they need you, once they are done, you'll never see the umbra again" It whispers

"Well, yeah, probably not. Like you said, wyldlings don't come to the Umbra very often."

"And this is okay with you? to be used, discarded?" It whispes "They don't like you really" She can't tell if it's lyin or not, at least nnot with the boon

"In Sour Wind's defense, he doesn't like anyone" Don says 'helpfully'

"We DO like her" Lulu snorts at the creature "You just know she'll win" And she believes both!

"How do you know anything about them? Anyways - we need to cross, yeah?" A glance at Lupe.

"Yes," Lupe says tthe turns to the spirit "You tried to sow doubt with my friend. I will remember that, Spirit" eyes narrowing

"Oh finne.. cross, annnd inn so doing.. be tested"

Dag nods, chin determined.

And they cross, each one seeming to vanish... until Dagmar is alone

"Are you ready?" the voice sounds like a chorus. Other heads, each blooming from a different vine, all speak in harmony

"As I'll ever be, I guess."

"Time means what i want it to mean here.... but, for our purposes, it will be as it passes on the other side, as you know time" suddenly before her she sees a strip of ground with hurdles, like in the olympics! Then a tube JUST big enough for a troll to crawl through, then a wall tall enough she's going to have to work to climb it, annd the wall ends up connected by a thin board to run across or she'll fall into a pool, and yes a swing rope to get from the second wall to the flag at the end!

It's an obstacle course, one with lots and LOTS of Silver!

The hurdle tops are Silver! the tube has silver inlays. The wall has silver edges! The ROPE ? Silver woven in!

"Before you gloat at how silver doesn't hurt your kind, you have to do all this in 3 minutes or less once it starts!"

Grunt.

"So it's like a game show."

"Probably should have brought Connor." She unbuckles her armor, shedding the extra weight and bulk.

"More like boot camp.. in that if you fail, I boot you annd your pack loses" A grin.. several grins

Another quiet grunt. The heads are rewarded with troll stoicism.

"Ready... "It says "get set.." Allowing her time to position herself for the first part, the race and hurdles

She drops to a starting position - she might not compete on the hurdles, but she HAS trained on them for track.

"GO!" The voices call out like a shot!

And she pushes off! left-right-left-KICK! There's a rhythm to it!

So there is, and after the first hurdle, the rhythm really settles in, and up she goes over the other... were May and Lupe here, they'd cheer her on, even louder as she makes it past the final hurdle, damn, there's the tube.. wiggle time. Hell, Connor probably WOULD love this part

wiggle wiggle wiggle... and THIS is why she took off the armor...

A wise choice! And she pops through. She might be having fun! heart pumping, getting to be an athlete again

WALL!

She swears this mammoth wall is GROWING taller as she climbs it, but she keeps going, pulling, grippig, there are places to grab if you have the sense, and if you have the muscle you can make it work! She has that in spades

Stoic grunt! Up and over!

At the top of the wall, she finds the thin LONG Board used as a brigde. Here is where she might have to slow down

Or race realy realy fast and accurate

At first she takes it slow... the board creaks and wobbles... but as she finds her footing, she gains confidence, and picks up to an actual run a the last stretch JUMPING to the rope to begin the swing across1