As Maria makes her way onto the test track, she can hear the raw bark of a V-twin being pushed to its limits. Realising the engine is getting closer, she stops abruptly at the edge of the track to let it pass before venturing out herself. Moments later, her decision is vindicated as two blurs flash past, one purple, one green.

With the coast clear, Maria joins the track and fully opens the throttle. The rear tyre grips immediately. Inertia causes the front to lift, throwing Maria off the bike as it flips backwards and comes to a rest a few feet away, stalling as it slides to a halt. Well, that was dignified. Maria picks herself up and recovers the bike. A few moments later, she's riding at pace, and within five laps, she's developed a feel for how the bike behaves. As her confidence builds, she pushes harder. And after another five laps, she's lapping less than five seconds slower than the two blurs.

On her eleventh lap however, she pushes too hard and overcooks her entry to the hairpin. The rear tyre loses grip and slides wide. Maria loses her balance, landing on her side. She and the bike slide off the track and onto the run-off. The bike hits the barrier first, Maria colliding a few seconds later a few feet away.

Moments later, as they arrive at the turn, the purple and green blurs slow right down and turn to help the dazed lynx. "Are you OK?" the green blur asks as the purple blur checks for a pulse.

"Ow," Maria groans, stiffly shifting into a seated position. A few moments later, the blurs resolve themselves into a familiar dragon-girl and an unfamiliar two-tone green wildcat astride a scarlet V-twin almost identical to Maria's.

"Anything broken?" the dragon asks Maria.

Maria checks her limbs all still bend in the correct directions. "No, just a bit bruised and sore." She then realises who the dragon is. "Oh, hi Sash! Who's your friend?"

"Carol the Wildcat!" Carol answers before Sash has a chance. "You were pretty handy on that thing before you crashed," she adds with a cheeky grin.

"First time on something that powerful," Maria admits, blushing slightly. "Don't really know what happened… I guess I lost the rear?"

"You musta been goin' pretty hot into the turn to lose the rear on one of these bad boys," Carol theorises. "If you're gonna go in that hot, you gotta trail-brake, or it'll snap on ya."

"Trail-brake?" Maria asks, confused.

"Jus' tap the rear brake as you feel the back slide out," Carol explains. "Jus' enough to keep the grip though. Brake too much, and you'll lock up instead, and it'll slam you into the tarmac so hard you'll break something."

"Carol, if you carry on like that, you'll scare her off bikes completely," Sash admonishes kindly.

"It's OK," Maria assures them both. "I've faced scarier things."

"Like what?" Carol asks.

"…I'd rather not say," Maria answers quietly.

"Then we won't pry any further," Sash assures. "Isn't that right, Carol?"

Carol shrugs nonchalantly. "Sure."

Relieved, Maria gets up and retrieves her bike. She mounts and tries to start it, but it refuses to co-operate. "Oh poo, I think I broke it."

"Let's have a look," Carol volunteers, shutting off her own bike and dismounting. Maria dismounts as Carol crouches by the damaged bike to inspect it. In less than a minute, Carol makes a few little adjustments and repairs, then mounts the bike, starting it on the first attempt. "There we go! Purring like… well, like me!" she grins as she dismounts and returns to her own bike.

"Thanks!" Maria grins in reply. "Hey, do you mind helping me learn how to get the best out of this thing?"

"I'd love to," Carol answers, "but we're in the middle of-"

"We can race again later," Sash interrupts. "Plus, I still feel like I owe Maria a favour after hurting her so badly in that tournament."

"I wasn't that badly hurt," Maria assures. "Just a dislocated shoulder, and that was fine a few days later. And you did visit me and apologise, and I did forgive you."

"I know," Sash smiles. "Still, I see no reason to stand in the way of someone getting help when they asked for it. Plus, I have to admit I'm curious if you can be faster than Carol."

"Thanks," Maria smiles. "Hang on," she adds a moment later, "I just realised: you don't have a bike!"

Sash blushes a little. "Yeah… I can run fast. And I mean really fast."

"Cool!" Maria chirps. "How fast can you go? Can you run faster than sound? How do you not get tired really quickly?"

Sash laughs kindly. "No-one can run faster than sound, it's impossible. But I can keep up with most types of vehicles, at least for a while. As for not getting tired quickly, I'm afraid I can't explain why."

"Aw," Maria sighs in disappointment. "You're still really cool though. Pity the meanie can't see that…"

"Ah yes, Hanna Skarlett," Sash sighs in return. "She's quite… opinionated, that's for sure. Ah well, if she chooses to hate me, then that's her issue," she shrugs.

"It doesn't bother you?" Maria asks.

"Nah," Sash replies. "I'm too busy having fun to worry about it."

"Shall we get started?" Carol asks Maria, restarting her bike and revving the engine.

"Sure!" Maria chirps, revving her bike in response.