Ok. I forgot to put in my little talk on the first chapter so now you're gonna have to suffer through the elongated version. First of all I don't own anything at all in this story, Mercedes Lackey and the various co-authors who wrote these books with her own it all. So sad for me. Unfortunately, while I normally would have claimed to own Llyraen Seaeyes, I can no longer do that. She made it quite clear that she was her own character, and I hereby disavow any connections I had with her- I have a feeling she's gonna get 'happy' over some macho macho elf dude. Hmmmm, I wonder who. (Being sarcastic incase you couldn't tell.) Just F.Y.I. and all, Llyraen started out as an entity in my head, however, now she takes over my body whenever I write about this. There is a catch, as there is with all things- she can only come out when I listen to Backstreet Boys (yuck!) or rock (not so bad, I almost like some of it.) Anyway.
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, I think Mercedes Lackey is an awesome writer, and more people should write fanfics about her stuff. In an answer to Wave Walker's question, I believe this does take place after Chrome Circle, I was a bit unsure on that point, but that does make the most sense. If it's all right with everyone, and Llyraen doesn't mind I might be able to get her to write about before she showed up at Fairgrove, like when she was in Oregon and stuff. I just finished Bedlam's Bard and I'm currently reading Summoned to Tourney, so Llyraen might acquire some mysterious musical talents. Sorry people, I'm hopeless with the superhero who can do everything bit, but, you know how it is. That's all (quite extensive anyway) So I'll shut up and get on with the story.



Chapter 2
The big race

Getting out of the shower, Llyraen grabbed a towel and dried herself briskly. Today was the day- today she would see if all her extra training had been enough. She vividly remembered the last time she had raced Tannim and scowled in momentary irritation. She did NOT like losing. Kenning some clothes, she pulled her hair, which was turning from the gold of summer to the flame red of autumn, back in a ponytail and viewed herself in a mirror. The form fitting leather would be easy to move in, and she just might need that if it got to hot. Llyraen grinned in anticipation, even if she lost again, (and she didn't intend to) this would be fun, lots of fun. Popping some bread in the toaster, she considered her position. She was pretty sure Keighvin would keep her around as long as she needed to stay, but she had decided against getting a real house when she could just ken a trailer and make it bigger on the inside than the outside with another of her many un-elf-like abilities, most of which were good for nothing but getting her into trouble. Grabbing the toast as it popped up, she headed out the door and danced over to her elvensteed, Aodhfin, who was in the form of a red Porsche 911 Turbo. Since Aodhfin knew where Fairgrove was, Llyraen just sat back to enjoy the ride.

Contrary to what Keighvin had expected her to be, anxious and irritable, Llyraen was positively gleeful as she streaked down the 'private drag strip' at the gates of Fairgrove. As she approached the main complex, Keighvin could hear the music pouring out the open window of the porsche, music, he suspected, that Tannim or Alinor would listen to. The music stopped at the same time as the car, elvensteed he suspected, and Llyraen jumped out, grinning like a maniac.

"Hello Keighvin!" She greeted him brightly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation, she had long since decided that she might as well enjoy the race and the adrenalin rush it brought on, being cantankerous wouldn't change the outcome favorably. Unfortunately, Keighvin interpreted her enthusiasm differently.

"Alright Seaeyes, which card do you have up you're sleeve this time?"

Frowning, Llyraen considered the concept that having a reputation was not always a good thing. "I told you I wouldn't cheat, and I won't. That should be enough."

Mow it was Keighvin's turn to frown. "I trust you're word, I'm just wondering what you might know about this situation, you HAVE got a certain reputation, you know."

Llyraen sighed dramatically. "Sometimes reputations get in the way," She complained morosely, "I cheat at cards, not racing, if I couldn't beat someone honestly with just my skills then I would deserve to lose. And besides, if I cheated at this no one would ever trust me again-" She was interrupted as Keighvin snickered, "Really Keighvin, no matter what you say, you trust me, and frankly, I don't want to lose that."

"Then why are you grinning like a psycho killer who just blew up the insane asylum?" Keighvin demanded, arching an eyebrow at her in imitation of one of her slightly annoying habits.

Llyraen shrugged and smirked, " You've been watching Mystery Men again, haven't you? Anyway, I decided that if I was going to lose the damn race anyway, being dismal about it wouldn't change anything to a more favorable conclusion."

"Remembering last time eh? You still don't seem very confident, and that's a helluva lot more important than most people think." He grimaced, referring to her constant mentioning of 'If I lose again'.

"Most people. I'm just peachy inside, Keighvin, absolutely peachy. My brain controls my mouth, not my heart."

"Most of the time." Keighvin smirked again.

"Alright, most of the time, like now, I think."

"Well, I hate to encourage you to hang around here, but still, Good Luck lass."

"Thanks Keighvin, you know how much this means to me." Llyraen was still grinning, but something in her eyes told Keighvin that she wasn't totally sarcastic, and he knew that she hated to lose at all, especially to the same person twice.


Speeding around the corner and down the straightaway, Llyraen was pulling nearer to Tannim, slowly. As they completed the fourth lap and started the fifth and final one, she hugged the inside of the track. Normally, even the Victor couldn't make that turn at the speed she was going, but Llyraen could do nearly anything with a car if she practiced enough, and she most certainly had. As they headed down the final stretch, Tannim began closing the gap between him and the edge of the track, effectively forcing her to forcing her behind him. 'No you don't laddie!' Llyraen thought, scowling viciously, and dropped back suddenly, then swerved outward and into the next lane. She had lost ground, but all was not lost... Pressing her foot to the gas, Llyraen shot forward, already at the last meter marker and drew up even with Tannim, holding her position as they roared across the line. Suddenly, all the exterior noise she had been tuning out burst in on Llyraen as she slowed down and rolled to a stop next to 'her' team of mechanics. The whole 'population' of Fairgrove had turned out for the event, and it seemed that every one of them was making as much noise as possible. 'Hell that was fun!' She thought, savoring the lingering effects of the race. Even if she hadn't quite won, it had been a helluva lot closer than the last time, and it felt good to be back behind the racing wheel.

Keighvin approached her where she leaned against the wall, looking comically solemn. "It was terribly close. Less than a centimeter even-"

"What happened? C'mon Keighvin, stop being cruel!"

"Well," He drawled slowly, grinning at her as she foamed at the mouth, "You won! It was some of the best driving I've ever seen!"

Llyraen allowed herself to beam smugly. "Does that mean I get the job?"

"I suppose." Keighvin sighed dramatically. "I did say you could if you won."

"Hey Keighvin?" Llyraen began hesitantly.

"Yes lass?"

"Did you really think I could do it? Be completely serious."

"As a matter of fact I did. You do well in pressure situations, and like you said, I know how much this means to you. You never could just give up after losing once, and those are a couple of reasons I think you'll do well here. I also wanted to see if all your extra practice with those getaway vehicles we've been hearing about would help."

Llyraen winked. "You have NO idea Keighvin, absolutely none."

He chuckled slyly. "I'm not sure I want to."

They turned as Tannim jogged over to them, "Hey Llyraen!" His face was nearly hidden by his enormous smile. " Nice driving."

Llyraen threw a comradely arm around his shoulder. " You too Greeneyes. By the way, Conal showed me his hair. Ever considered going into the styling business?" Tannim winced. When he was tired his aim tended to become a little erratic, on a previous occasion he had given Conal a reverse mohawk while trying to hit some Unseliegh attackers in a completely different direction. "Anyway, I've gotta disappear-" She poked Tannim suddenly, retracting her arm, "Hey, who's the fox lady?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's Shar."

Keighvin smirked. "She and Tannim are 'Involved'."

Llyraen raised an eyebrow and introduced herself to Shar. "Hey! I'm Llyraen Seaeyes. Nice to meet you." At Shar's odd expression she winced. "What HAS this idiot been telling you? Just because I cheat at cards, I like flying fighter jets and bagpipes, that doesn't make me a bad person, I just like a little adventure! Anyway, as I was saying, I've gotta go, I've got a track meet to run in." At their blank looks, she explained impatiently. "You know, running, with your feet. The 'hundred meter. Jeeze."

And off she went, flurries of Chaos in her wake. "Why would you do something like running for fun?" Tannim demanded, wondering why she had known to call him Greeneyes, and how she had known Shar was a Kitsune when there was nothing fox like about her.

"Well, she does like Fighter Jets and Bagpipes too... And she also cheats at cards for fun..." Keighvin began, a smile spreading across his face. "You just can't tell with her." They all watched as she roared off towards the gates. "You just can't tell."