[@Thinslayer]

Hey there! No worries at all.

Everybody does it differently, but I would start with only [i]ever[/i] using your own characters perspective or a new one you see fit to introduce in response posts. (Eg. Maybe Eru's second in command sees the two rangers). In any post you can only work with the setting given to you, and here it's important to [i]never[/i] make assumptions. These are some of the core facts from my previous post:

- Lanik has a wounded Finnigan on his back

[quote]"Son of a bitch," Lanik cursed to himself, quickly pushing away the rubble and lifting Finnigan up over his shoulders.[/quote]

- the cliff breaking made a hell of a lot of noise

[quote]There was a loud crashing noise, surely enough to alarm anyone in the vicinity.[/quote]
[quote]They were in the worst possible position, and they had made enough noise.[/quote]

- and he's trying to get out of the area

[quote]These were critical seconds he needed to use to get his ranger back into the safety of the forest, where they surely stood a better chance of hiding than out here against these cold rock formations.[/quote]

These are undeniable facts. Things like how Lanik is handling the situation are completely up to me. What is up to YOU is how your characters (Eru and her merry band of elves I'm assuming) will take those three facts and respond (Mind you, if you can muster up any other kind of information from my post then go for it, those were just the three from the top of my head). Control of other peoples characters is completely prohibited, however, taking established facts and building a post around the information available is more than welcome.

I'll just shoot some examples:

FACT 1: [i]It wasn't but a few paces away a man garbed in ranger clothing stumbled, carrying another over his shoulders.[/i]

FACT 2: [i]There was a sound in the distance, discernible to any trained ear, a strange enough falling of rocks to warrant investigation.[/i]

FACT 3: [i]The stumbling figure moved at a slow pace and one could easily tell the burden on his shoulders weighed heavily on his ability to move quickly through the forest.[/i]

How I normally approach reply posts (unless it's integral to introduce a new character with a new perspective) is to establish particular facts from a persons previous posts and then just build around it. Why is my character feeling this way because of what he or she said? What in the current moment is on the characters mind? Are there any tidbits of information I could throw in to make the scene more believable? After establishing all that THEN I'll actually get to the part where I reply to the situation. And I [i]always[/i] leave it open-ended.

[quote]Yanduin and Bethdul dropped from their treetop perches and fired a burst of crossbow bolts at Lanik's back.[/quote]

There's nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's open ended, and well, it's exactly what it is. You didn't state whether or not they found its mark, you left that up to me. Could I turn around in my post and say [i]"With keen reflexes Lanik dropped Finnigan and spun around, grabbing the bolts mid-air and lobbed them back at the elves!"[/i]? Well I could, but I figure you trust me enough to play on the situation and let him take the hit. Remember, it's a collaboration, and I will [i]always[/i] play to your tendencies, but a persons character is forever their own and nobody can ever change that. So, TLDR.

- always control your own characters
- play off the information given to you by the previous poster
- don't be afraid to introduce new situations in order to direct the flow of the story

I'll briefly explain that last one, because well, I never told you somebody was going to fall off a cliff, but I did that so I could put my people in a position for your people to find them. That's what I mean about introducing new situations.

I hope this helps, and I feel like it was a good learning opportunity for the both of us.