60th Ymiden 717
The pair had travelled far, laying together, bound and unconscious on the back of a cart. Bags had also been cast over their heads in case they were to wake up during the transportation to where the trial would be taking place. The human, Alistair, had attempted the trial before and failed. Whether this gave him an advantage or not was uncertain. Sure, he knew what to expect, but he also knew the consequences of failure. Would fear cripple his performance? It didn't matter. Being short on men and resources, it was decided that the pair may perform this trial together, again, that may be an advantage or a disadvantage in any given situation.
The two had been told that the trial would begin from the trill that they both woke up. They would have to avoid capture and injury to the best of their ability until the trial was announced over.
The first thing that the Lothar felt as he stirred was a distinct cold moistness on his face... bristles too. Was he taking a cold bath? No, he didn't believe so. Fridgar would move a little, turning his face from the moistness, rolling slightly in his half sleep. A bit later, he opened his eyes warily, beholding the wet grass of a fresh morning. Fridgar groaned, rolling onto his back. A sudden ungodly coldness wracked him, surging through his spine and declaring something wrong. Of course, he was naked. All that he wore was his fur loincloth.
Somehow, assimilation had stopped working almost entirely, he couldn't take on a set of clothes anymore, so adorned himself with bare necessities. The Lotharen didn't seem to mind his choice in fashion, though it did earn him the occasional strange look. As such, his back was bare and very cold against the ground. Fridgar squirmed, sitting up in a hurry. He found that his hands were stuck behind his back. Giving a light pull suggested that he was bound by rope. Fridgar sighed with relief, glad that he wasn't in chains. A full-on pull would snap the fibres of the rope one by one, spanning the most part of a bit before separating entirely.
The loud snap declared that he was free, though he hadn't the sense to pay attention to it. His shoulders would roll, limbering up a little before looking to his right to behold the laying body of Alistair, he was also bound with a bag over his head.
Briefly, Fridgar thought about what the fuck was going on before realising, this was a trial. Instantly, his demeanour grew more inverse, looking about the treeline of the woods they had woke up in. No sign of any movement passed his unobservant eyes, good. "Alistair!" Fridgar whispered harshly, a futile attempt to awaken his beloved. Fridgar shook his head, massaging his wrists of the rope burn before settling down to untie Alistair's ropes. For some reason, Alistair had a bag over his head. Why hadn't Fridgar woke up with one of those? A quick glance behind him revealed a similar fashioned bag, he passed it off as slipping from his head while he slept. Soon enough, the rope fell apart, releasing his beloved, his bag followed soon after. His cautious eyes darted along the tree line some more, ever watching and ever fearful for the trial ahead.
"Alistair!" Fridgar whispered some more, trying his best to rouse his mate. When nothing happened, Fridgar would shake his head, discontented with the results before snaking his arms under the Venora and lifting him from the damp grass. Remaining as vigilant as possible, Fridgar started to run, keeping close to the brush. In truth, he had no Idea what he was doing. Every time he found himself faced with the predicament of staying in the wild for the night, he assumed the form of an animal that suited his needs. He'd resolved to refrain from using his totems, but had brought them along assimilated anyway. He could still manage to assimilate three items, but not as many as before. He'd taken the king crocodile totem, the redbear totem and the Fridgar totem, but they were a last resort.
"Alistair, please wake up. I need you..." he whispered into the unconscious ear of his beloved.

