Having never seen a dragon race in my life I decided to stand alongside Quiksilva and watch. As the Penn Stables crew worked on getting the right gear magged to Beau I stood back and watched in silence for a few minutes but curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over.
"Sorry to interrupt but what gear's that?" I asked pointing to a set of white gear attached to Beau's back and sides. The moment I said that Parmon turned around with a grin apparently happy that I asked.
"Well that's white aero gear. It allows the rider and dragon to glide for short or extended distances and..." Parmon explained and after a few seconds I wished I'd never asked as he kept talking. And talking and talking. When I completely zoned out he blinked at the blank look I was giving him and he frowned. "Um hello?" He said and I suddenly shook my head.
"Umm...sorry. I must have zoned out there for a moment. Must be because I hit my head." I answered and he sighed accepting my apology. Trying not to laugh at us Kitt walked over and asked how I was feeling. "Well my head aches, no surprise there, other than that I'm pretty good. Actually I'm really interested in this dragon race. I can't wait to see who's competeing."
"Artha and I are. Plus...Moordryd, Pyrrah, Khatah and Wulph." Kitt answered as I watched several dragons walk past with their riders and I grinned really enjoying myself. "But I'm going to win." Kitt added with a grin and I grinned back.
"Huh not if I beat you to the finish line first." Artha piped up and I giggled as he tried to act tough until Beau's tail knocked his feet out from under him and I cracked up laughing alongisde the rest of his crew. Even Artha laughed about it eventaully. As Kitt and Artha joined the other races I could hear Artha and Moordryd exchanging insults and I rolled my eyes at the pair of them. When Parmon and Lance moved a short distnace away I followed them and as I watched Parmon pulled out a set of what I discovered were binoculars. As we waited for the race to start Quiksilva nudged me and I looked at him for a moment.
"What's up, 'silva?" I asked and he snorted moving his head towards the race. "Wait you want to race? Now?" I asked and when he nodded his head I blinked before I heard a laugh. When I turned around I saw Cain grinning at me and as I stared at him he handed me a saddle. "Oh boy." I muttered as I took it from him and a short time later I was sitting utop Quiksliva as we waited for the race to start.
"Rayne what are you doing? I thought you couldn't race." Artha asked and I sighed looking down at Quiksilva with a frown on my face but he just snorted and ignored me.
"Ask Quiksilva he's the one who wanted to enter. I just hope I stay in the saddle." I replied as Lance and Parmon laughed and I glared at them. Parmon saw the look I was giving him and was instantly quiet pretending to focus on the race though Lance just kept laughing and I finally rolled my eyes. "And not land on my head this time." I added as I looked straight ahead trying not to shake from a growing fear I began to feel.
"Just take a deep breath. You'll be fine though you might want to stay behind the pack just in case it gets a bit...rough." Khatah suddenly spoke and as I looked up I saw him grin at me for a moment.
"Okay I'll try that...Khatah was it?" I asked and he gave me a nod. "Thanks. So just keep to the back and we'll be..."I started to say before the race started and I tightened my grip on the handles of my saddle as Quiksilva shot forward ahead of all the other dragons. "Fine!" I yelled before I managed to get my balance and as Quikislva raced ahead I gritted my teeth as I focused on staying on his back.
Though I soon found it was easier said than done when Moordryd pulled out a staff and suddenly Decepshun magged him at Artha who just managed to block the blow. "I thought this was a race not a street fight." I muttered though I was interested to see who'd win and I turned my head slightly in the saddle before I looked down. "That might have been a mistake." I gulped as I realized how fast Quiksilva was running and I turned back around looking ahead as my dragon kept moving.
Soon I saw a turn coming up and as I looked just behind me I saw Kitt press a switch on her saddle and instantly a piece of blue gear appeared on either side of Wyldfir and as I watched in amazement her dragon easily made the turn. And that's exactly when I realized that we had to make the same turn and I had no idea how. By rushing into this race I forgot all about magging gear onto Quikislva and that was a huge mistake. Thinking Quiksilva would slow down I kept a firm grip on the saddle but he just sped up and in seconds he shot forward making the turn and as I sighed relieved we hadn't crashed I grinned as he rushed past Wyldfir and both dragon and rider stared as my dragon just kept running.
"Whoa slow down boy before we run right off the track." I told him but for some reason Quiksilva didn't listen and I groaned before I leaned forward and dangling over his head I glared at him. "Why won't you listen to me?" I whined and he snorted before he nudged me and I quickly climbed back ino the saddle, afraid I'd fall on my head again. Thankfully he started to slow down and I let out a breath thinking he was finally listening until I saw what was coming up, a ledge and I gulped before Quiksilva dug his claws in. It didn't seem to help and as we skidded towards the ledge I let out a cry of fear and closed my eyes waiting for us to fall. Then Quiksilva slowed down and when the ground stayed beneath us I risked a peek only to find that we'd only just stopped right at the very edge. Moving closer to the track Quiksilva looked over for a moment before he shook his head looking a bit upset then he turned his head and looked straight at me. "Hey don't give me that look. I wasn't the one who wanted to race without any gear." I told him and he turned his head before he started to slowly make his way back to the start of the racetrack just as the other racers overtook us. Seeing how depressed he looked I sighed and leaned over to give him a gently pat on the snout and he brightened. "How about next time we practice a bit first? And make sure to mag some gear too?" I offered and Quiksilva made a deep rumbling noise from his throat before he licked me and I laughed.