Life Isn't That Simple (Sam)

[Anchoa]

A small ‘ah’ left Anchoa’s lips. So Sam hadn’t escaped on his own then. It was sad, though, the Sam still referred to the man who had bought his life as ‘the master’. Anchoa would have called the man all sorts of things (and most of them not for polite ears), but not ‘the master’. But oh well. Sam seemed to be doing well for himself now.

A grin crossed his lips at Sam’s comment of a windrunner being faster. “Oh, that’s what they say. Personally, I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it for myself.” He glanced back at Skylight who was contentedly chewing a stray grass patch that had grown along the edges of the street. “No offense to you, of course, Horse,” he said to the windrunner that accompanied Sam.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"It's common knowledge," Sam said with mock arrogance. Horse snorted at Anchoa, too, to show what he thought of the man's bias toward a Cyphrus strider. He was only too happy to put slavery talk away and never revisit it.

Then he got an idea. It might not have been a good idea, but it was an idea. He looked at Horse, then speculatively at Anchoa and Skylight.

"We could... maybe race..."

[Anchoa]

The Drykas man just laughed and shook his head at Sam’s mockery. It grew heartier when Horse snorted at him. Well, these two weren’t bad, by far. A sparkle of mirth remained in his eyes as his laughter faded away.

“Race? Here? I’m not sure if the knights would appreciate that.” Though it would be nice to feel the wind in his hair again and to feel Skylight powering along under him. “But sure, why not? Two silver Mizas says my strider is faster.” Skylight nickered excitedly, holding his tail as high as he could.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"The knights would have to catch us first," he said, his voice barely controlling his sudden excitement. "Done."

With that word and a subtle, nigh invisible signal to his mount, Horse wheeled and erupted into movement. Horse was less fragile than most windrunners, but he had the same ability to run for long periods of time. In the city streets, he and Sam as a team managed to wend their way through foot and other traffic with a deftness born of simpatico, and Sam didn't even bother to look behind him to see if Anchoa was keeping up or even racing.

It didn't matter in that moment. All he wanted was to run, though he would have to slow down through the gates or else there might be hell to pay when he tried to return to the city.

[Anchoa]

Skylight had come up beside Anchoa again, perking his ears in curiousity. The Drykas was taken off guard as Horse suddenly wheeled and took off. “By the love of...” he cursed, gripping onto Skylight’s Yvas to swing himself up onto the strider’s back. Even before he touched the stallion’s back, Skylight took off, galloping after the windrunner and Sam.

A few times, the two nearly ran into people, but Skylight was able to dodge or leap to the side in time to keep from dramatically harming anyone. Horse was definitely faster in the straights, but Skylight was faster in the corners. Anchoa was barely keeping up, pressing himself as flat as he could to Skylight without actually leaning over the equine.

“Come on, Skylight. We’ll show them!” he laughed in Pavi, eager to keep up with them. After all, he didn’t want to lose two silver mizas without a fight.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

When the neared the gates, they were about neck and neck. He knew the strider couldn't double or triple his speed outside the Sea of Grass, and it was a general rule that windrunners were faster than anything but a strider on the Sea. Looking ahead, he saw that luck was with them, for the gates were experiencing a lull in traffic and even the guards on duty were sitting down inside for the time being.

That meant...

The clatter of hooves and the rush of wind past them made it impossible to give whispered commands, so he just maintained his racing posture and urged Horse on. The beast was enjoying himself anyway, and hardly needed the urging. He ran and ran the familiar street that led out and away from Syliras.

"First one through the gate!"

[Ataraxia]

Anchoa XP Animal Husbandry + 1, Riding + 1 Lore All cities are not the same Sama'el XP Philosophy + 1, Riding + 3, Rhetoric +2, Acting +1 Lore Tattooing; not just drawing | Remorse for the loss of a Strider | Playing dangerous games within Syliras Comments But... but... but the race! What happened in the end!? Oh, I feel so robbed.