Festival: Race the Storm

Under normal circumstances, people simply wouldn't choose to run a race on a day such as this. The skies are a murky gray with low-hanging clouds and a static feel to the air that suggests a coming storm. In the distance, lightning flashes and thunder rumbles, the time between light and sound growing closer as final preparations for the race are completed.

"Riders, to the starting lines." A rather old gentlemen speaks, sounding as if he were almost bored. He stands, holding a magical microphone, underneath an umbrella. Apparently, they couldn't get anyone else to act as master of ceremonies for the race.

A steady rain trickles down, soaking riders and spectators alike. Surprisingly there are a fair number of those spectators, though, each with umbrellas or ponchos which offer only some minimal protection against the rain and wind. These must be the die-hard fans, willing to come out even for the more challenging races.

Riders are instructed to take their places, the thunder rolling in the distance, even as the count down to the start of the race begins.

Shiruba is the Storm Ranger! She is undaunted by looming clouds and ominous thunder!

Her Peko, a bit less so willing. But it's nothing a fistful of leafage won't take care of to coax it to the starting line. "That's a good bird." She lets it have the rest of the snack and climbs onto the bird's back, just in time for the call to line up at the ready mark. "Whew, just in time."

    Merek takes the peko he often keeps with him, to mount it up while he begins to settle in at the main starting area. He then pulls back his hair into a spiky ponytail while he nods a bit to people, "Alright," he then adjusts the gloves upon the hands as well.

Yeowang is wearing a thick cloak against the weather, sitting on a sleek peko damp with the rain. She's managed to find a good saddle, and she's hunched forward in anticipation as it moves to the starting line.

Another day, another race. Hopefully this time things go a little more smoothly for Prophylaxis, the Doctor of Tolbana. He's hoping they do, at least! This time he's not being propped up by a strict regimen of caffiene and other stimulants, so that's a plus. Another: he's already well acquainted with his ride!

"Okay Konpeko," Prophylaxis whispers to his doe-eyed bird, "We'll do better this time. Just put your effort into it, okay...?"

*Kwahrk!* Goes Konpeko.

...

They're doomed.

    Rizadoman had heard there was a storm race, he had not expected it to invovle riding a Peko. This wasn't something he did often due to well he was a giant lizard man, and felt bad for the Peko due to weight. However here he is , riding on a peko , the poor thing as he eases the poor thing up to the stating point. " By our ancestors, my feathered friend, we shall be victorious." His peko steps forward and then back getting ansy to run as they wait for the go sign.

Syx has never done one of these before, but hey a competition is a competition. So he's of course going to show up to have one of those!

He very carefully brings his peko up to the starting line, and leans down next to the bird, "Okay so, here's the deal. You don't like me, and I actually kind of like you a little bit because you're a cute birb, but we need to do what we can to win, okay?"

    Miyako pulls her poncho tighter around her as she looks out over the field. "So, Ko-chan," she muses. "What do you think?" She's not much of a rider, with peko or any other beast, to be honest. "Want to race, or just sit and watch?"

    Mizuki has swapped back to the pirate armor again. Its stats are lower than her ninja armor, but it has the water-resistant trait, especially on the cloak. Wet fur is no fun except when you're actually swimming. And Mizuki expects there will be a lot of rain soon.

    The armor set is a mix of fantasy and history; Most immediately eyecatching are the black hat with a feather plume that seems to be somewhere between a cavalier hat and a tricorner hat, and the blue cloak. Under the cloak is a realistic buff coat with a red sash around the waist. Two shoulder belts cross over her chest, with pouches for holding things and sheathed daggers. A pair of black trousers complete the outfit. Lastly, boots hidden in were form complete the set bonus.

    She's riding, as usual, a peko bred to be easier-to-handle -- maybe it's even the same one as in a previous race, at this point! The catgirl ninja^H^H^H^H^Hpirate waves to the crowd, even holding up her hat with a fluorish as the rain doesn't seem to have started up.

    She smiles and waves to her fellow contenders, too. Shiruba, Merek, Prophy, she's competed with them before! "Hey guys!" And there's also Rizadoman who she's seen before on the battlefield, and Yeowang who she hasn't. "Decided to race, huh? It's a pretty neat mini-game!" She scratches her chin in thought, though. "'Our ancestors'? Wait, are birds even descended from dinosaurs in this world...? They could have been, like, invented in an ancient magical experiment to create flying animals, or just created by some god..."

Kotono tightens her poncho as well, before shaking her head as she sips her drink. "Nah, I'm just content to watch." She smiles at Miyako. "Besides, it's more fun with a friend."

The wind picks up just as the last of the riders takes their place at the starting gate. It throws rain up into the faces of the riders and their mounts. Peko feet get weighed down by mud and debris, caked from the wet field. There is an almost electric feeling that surges through the air, excitement combined with the danger of the impending storm.

Then, as if he were saying it as an after-thought, the announcer says, "Oh, you can go." There is a moment of hesitation. Riders unsure if that is an official start to the race or what? Then, he clears his throat, "I said GO!"

Everyone seems to get the message at that point, racers surging forward and pekos squawking as they slide in the mud. It is a bit of a mess as dirt goes flying, splattering in all directions. Birds and riders get caked in kicked up mud, while others struggle to get footing on the slick gorund.

The first surge forward in the race, seems given to those who can both read their environment, and control their animal in order to not slide around in the muck.

-- Challenge: Animal Handling

Yeowang gets settled into position at the start, pats her Peko on the side, gets herself centered mentally. Time to see how she stacks up against others in direct competition. She leans forward against the driving rain, and peers at the starter? Was that the start? Then the other riders take off, and she gesses that yes, it was the start, so she'll urge her own peko off the mark as well, though the first thing it does is slip in the mud, and it takes some work to get it back to moving forward.

Miho needed a break she needed to get out out of the Smithy so here she was, she even had her goggles on for this. She was mounted on her Peko for the race she never took the bird into combat but was eager for this she'll pet it and then give it a yip and off the Samander and her post dinosaur go. The pair take off like a shot as Miho laughs.

"This is going to be fun!"

    Rizadoman hears the word go and quickly snaps the reins three times before roaring energetically. The peko isn't really happy with this, but the roar well it triggers some fight or flight in the Peko as it bucks and tries to run as fast as it can in the direction it is facing. However there is some zig zag and lack of control of Rizadoman's part, " No No , stay straight, stay straight. " Only by luck he doesn't plow into another racer. "Calm down feathery one, don't give up."

The wind whipping the racetrack certainly makes even just hearing the (vaguely lethargic) announcer start things off almost impossible. Still, once things get going, they get going very, very quickly. "These conditions are /awful/," Prophylaxis says with a grimace, "Careful, Konpeko. I don't want you literally breaking a leg out there!"

*Kwahrk!* Goes the bird! And this time, at least, Konpeko's relatively lackadaisical nature seems to be to her advantage! The bird trots confidently over the slippery terrain, taking even nearly catastrophic slides in stride! With a flutter of her wings and a spring in her step, she carries Prophylaxis steadily onwards!

She might, in fact, be enjoying this little run through the rain. What a strange Peko, Konpeko is.

"Yah!" Syx kicks his heels into the side of the Peko as the race starts. CLearly his bird isn't exactly happy with him, though, because it bucks for a moment and then starts running, "Why can't we have horses?!" He calls out to nobody in particular. He'd rather have a horse. And a cowboy hat! That would be way cooler. It's clear he's not super focused on the race.

    Mizuki pulls her hat down as the rain abruptly blows at such a steep angle into her face. But... soon it becomes clear that it is time to GO, and she needs to see the track ahead so she'll just have to deal with some rain in her face. At least it's not as bad as it would be without the hat, which somehow doesn't blow away because it is EQUIPPED. And the first challenge is... mud? "Augh!" Mizuki cries out in annoyance as mud is kicked up onto her and her peko... then realizes that, at least aside from her feet, it's on her armor and not so much on her fur, which is less terrible. Especially armor that's meant to get wet. "Let's go, friend!" She spies a path through, and the well-trained bird picks up on her intent, powersliding through the mud to solider ground!

    Someone shouts about horses. "Why would you want a HORSE in the mud?! You think hooves are gonna work any better here?!"

At the somewhat lackluster 'Go' Shiruba lightly spurs her Peko's sides with her heels, and it takes off. They get a good start, but that muddy ground ahead is a bit worriesome. However adapting to the environment is something Shiruba excels at, so let's just hope she can carry some of that over to her ride. "Left!" She guides, veering around one of the less fortunate racers that couldn't keep their bird on their feet. "Right! Left!" Zigzagging around the muck being kicked up by other racers to avoid getting hit. The peko is listening rather well.

"Yamato doesn't have many horses outside nasty monster ones!" she shouts to Syx in passing him.

"Go.. go... Stop!" Shiruba gives a tug back at the peko breaks it's pace... And ends up sliding across some of the slick ground in a semi-controlled skid instead of loosing feet from under himself. Kinda like that weird drifting in the opposite direction you want to turn.

    Merek begins riding along, although it doesn't look like he makes a lot of progress generally navigating the mud along with the peko.

Once out of the initial starting area, the ground seems to be less churned up by peko feet and the passage of spectators. It means it's slightly easier to get proper footing through the wet grass.

However, the rain seems to grow heavier the closer they get to the edge of dark storm-clouds. It pelts down, meaning that both rider and mount are faced with the challenge of dealing with not only the weight of the water, but the cold that it brings with it. This is no warm summer rain, but has an icy chill to it.

The winds kick the rain to the point that it is nearly blowing them sideways, meaning that it takes a firm hand to keep the pekos on task. However, riders who happen to be particularly skilled water magic may be able to avoid some of the worst parts of this hazard all together.

Surging water around them, creating bubble-like protective spheres, or otherwise using blocks of ice to protect themselves from the rain, magic-wielding riders have a clear advantage here.

-- Challenge: Water

    Miyako settles into one of the spectator seats, settling next to Kotono, and pulls the hood of her poncho down to just above her eyes as she tries to get a good view of the race.

    "Yeah," she says finally, "I think you were right, Ko-chan, this is going to be... well." She cups her hand and it almost immediately overflows with water.

Why did Kotono waste money on a drink? There's plenty of water coming down!

Then again, who wants to drink rain water.

"Yeah, I forgot about the weather today." She shakes her head. "Can't stop the racers though."

"Good, good... now giddy up!" Shiruba gives her peko a nudge at the end of the slide to hiphop onto firmer grassy land and get back into a sprint. They're off the mud, but now it's getting windier and rainier, the combination blasting away upon the race.

"Just keep going!" Shiruba raises her voice a bit to be heard over the bombardment. Then lowers it again to utter under her breath as she makes an arcane gesture with the hand she's not holding onto the peko's reigns with.... And like that, the rain starts to curve and flow around the pair instead of hammering down on them thanks to Shiruba's own weather themed magic.

Once she's past the initial starting zone, things go a bit more smoothly for Yeowang, and she guides the peko along, making up a bit of lost time as she rejoins the field, hunched over and urging her peko on. The wind sweeps by her face, blowing back the hood of her raincloak, though she can't fix it now. The rain is chillier than she'd expect for the season, though she's not quite sure what to expect from the climate. She senses and avoids the worst of the waterlogged terrain, at least, pulling into a respectable position. Or at least a less embarassing one.

    Merek begins to assist with the peko and nods a bit, though even while he tries to avoid it, he's focused upon keeping his peko safe and gets a little bit distracted about it all.

It's raining sideways! This is quite frankly absurd weather to be riding any manner of horsebird through at high speeds!! Prophylaxis has some experience with it, though. He /was/ just a few days ago dealing with air elementals at the heart of an even more intense storm, after all. But now...

Well.
It's cold. It's really damn cold. This is the exact kind of weather you'd expect in the middle of a winter storm-- merciless, frigid, and soaking you to the bone. But it gives Prophylaxis an opportunity, too.

The magus lifts his staff into the air. Ice accumulates around the head of his weapon before lancing upward into the sky. Suddenly, pillars of solid ice slam into the ground alongside him, protecting both Peko and rider from the worst of the storm. "Keep going, Konpeko," Prophylaxis cheers, "I've got us both covered!"

    Finally it appears Rizadoman has his Peko back under full control just in time as the dark clouds begin to pour heavily on them. Then the heavy wind and even though he has scales , RIzadoman can eel it chilling him to the bone. Quickly he acts, dropping the reins for a moment as he begins to call upon his ancestors. " To our ancestors, the Nagas and Pekos of time long past. Grant us the blessing of those who rode in such storms, imbue upon us the blessing of the storm riders." Whether the lizardman's prayer is heard or it is just water manipulation the worse of the storm at the moment seems to be parting before them allowing them to avoid most the problem. Grabbing the reins Rizadoman leans forward, "Onward my friend, to victory."

The rain is coming down all over, Syx can't really keep focus on what's going on, "Fuck how is anyone even able to do this?!" He yells at nature, as he shakes his fist at his lack of progress, "Come on you bird! Lets go!" He never should have just borrowed somebody's bird for this race. He spurs it hartder and it decides to turn sideways in response.

    Grass! Mizuki leans forward as she urges her peko to speed up. "Now's your chance! Go!"

    Icy water blowing near-sideways is a problem though. Mizuki has gear to partially mitigate it, but the peko doesn't! She holds up a hand and begins casting: "Chill frost, protect me from my foe's strikes as you protect my heart. Condensation Disc!"

    The spell is more like a shield-shaped forcefield with mist VFX than an physical disc of ice, but it does the job, blocking some of the rain and freezing it on contact, little bits of hail rolling down the side of the shield. Mizuki has no idea how long the spell will last under this kind of assault. Is it more or less draining than weapon strikes? Does it matter that it's near-freezing water? In a good way, or is freezing the water warming up the disc? She really doesn't know! "Hurry!" she urges the bird beneath her!

Miho does not care if she wins or not but she's going to put into the race pretty hard as she sees the otehr races seem to be having a good time? shge does too heck she'll en up laughing she's able to keep her bird under control and dive on though the winds and rain. She just keeps going as she ends up very wet but she pushes on thought and her bird is geting some greens tonight.

The darker clouds above seem to close in around the riders, the light dropping to the point that it almost looks as if night has fallen. Layers of dark clouds move atop one another, shifting with the heavy winds that drive them across the landscape.

In the end, between the sheeting rain and the dark that has fallen over them, it becomes more and more difficult to see the markers that outline the path of the race. Those who are keen of eye might be able to pick them out, flickering lantern points in the darkness.

Others may have to depend on seeing the tailfeathers of the rider in front of them, hoping that they know the right way. However, it's all too easy to miss a marker and end up completely off the track and lost within the dark, swirling vortex of the storm.

Best to stick with those who seem to know where they are going.

-- Challenge: Searching

    Miyako hmms softly. "There's a thought," she muses as she chats with Kotono while they watch. "Covered mugs. Something to work on, I suppose." She shrugs and leans closer to her friend. "Hmmm.... is that Mizuki in the lead?" She squints as she peers through the rain.

Squinting as well, Kotono struggles to look as well. "It's hard to say, but it could be." She shrugs a little. "I'm personally not so sure about these races though. I'm not sure how it works really."

Ugh! This is the problem with riding through stormy weather. Even with his path outlined by the fallen icicles, Prophylaxis is still forced to grit his teeth and squint through the driving rain to make out where he's actually supposed to be going. It's hard for him to even realize that he's currently close to the head of the pack!! But then, that's how these things go. Riding through a storm was never meant to be easy.

...

He probably should have packed some goggles for this one. Just relying on his hat to keep the rain out of his eyes is /not/ cutting it, and Konpeko just seems content to run in any direction she pleases...!!

Shiruba does glance up for a moment. Those clouds are getting really thick and dark. Even for this event, that's starting to look like a really strange storm. The wolfgirl lowers her gaze back to the track ahead, squinting at the descending darkness. She care barely making out the boundries and the lanterns in the distance... But her ears perk up, hearing the winds and rain patter against the track makers. For a skilled outrider that is all it takes though. She can guide her peko based on those sounds and calculating the direction she saw those faint lights shimmering ahead.

She slows her peko just enough to give her the time to react in cautiousness, but it's still a strong stride to keep her at the front of the pack.

Yeowang is trying like hell to make up lost time, but as the darkness falls, her peko balks and will not go forward at more than a tentative walk. She'd go faster dragging it, at this point, but it's a /peko/ race, not a dragging race, and she's pretty sure she read that it's not allowed. So, the peko has slowed almost to a stop, taptapping the ground ahead before it commits to putting its weight on it and taking another step. If this continues, she'll be finishing sometime next week.

    Rizadoman and his peko had braved the storm however he pulls on the reins for a moment to slow and look around, "My feather friend I think we got lost." Taking a moment he swivels his head and then another before he closes his eyes. THey were lost but , he was a proud lizard man, one from a great line of Naga warriors. Then a wiff of something on the wind, another Peko from up ahead. " This way trust me. " Pushing his Peko again he begins to follow the scene of another. It means he wasn't winning, but he wasn't lost now.

    The sky goes from full of clouds and pouring rain to... still full of clouds and pouring rain. At least it's not blowing sideways in icy wind anymore.

    There... doesn't seem to be a challenge for this section? The path isn't straight, but some corners here and there, and rain reducing visibility, aren't exactly a challenge given everything else that's been thrown at them. She's driven a car in worse conditions!

    Ah well, Mizuki can relax and take the opportunity to try and build up her lead, cutting the corners as sharply as her peco can!

    As she catches up to and/or passes some of the people in front of her who seem to have trouble staying on the track, she asks, "What's wrong, are you blind or something?"

    And then she realizes.

    "Woooo! Go nightvision!" she cheers as she urges her peco onward!

    Merek tries to navigate although he doesn't manage to do a lot. All the same, the man will eventually make that track and begin along while he waves.

Ah hell, darkness. Well at least nobody can see Syx screwing off and not winning the race at this point, "Who designed this?!" He yells. He's never actually done these festival races before, but he figures that at least participating should get his fans nice and riled up. He's usually out there getting his fame by attacking the bosses on the tower, but this is a good way to broaden his appeal.

Or at least it would be if he weren't stumbling around in the dark.

Well, another lap another challenge and this time it's pretty interesting she'll have to do this in the sheeting rain but she' had accepted she was going to get wet. She is attempting to keep on target but with this rain, she's going to have a hard time this.

"I want to know who made this I'm not sure if I'm going to thank them for a challenge or yell at them." She ends up losing her way for a bit though in the pouring rain...

After a time of running in near darkness, the sky is split with huge arcs of lightning. It briefly allows the way forward to be visible between blasts of electrical energy. However, once the storm of electricity has begun, it seems to only grow worse the further along the race course they travel.

One bolt splits a nearby tree, sending it right onto the path the pekos are traveling, forcing some to jump over and others to weave around. There are lightning rods that some intelligent person had set up along the course, but it seems as if these only provide a minimum level of protection.

In order to traverse through this section of the race, it may just require utilizing some of their own air magic to divert this storm's electrical energy away from the racers.

-- Challenge: Air

Once the lightning splits the sky and sheds a bit of light on the situation, Yeowang and her peko start moving again. Not a great pace, but at this point, 'no longer losing ground' is probably as much as she can hope for. The peko, clears the fallen tree without hurting itself, a small miracle given its past performance, and she uses a bit of the power she has inside her, concentration and insight, to avoid the lightning as she resumes the race.

Being near the head of the pack Shiruba is one of the first to see the flash of lightning and hear the cracking of wood being split. To the point by the time the tree is falling she's already spurring her peko up in speed. Not to outrun the falling tree, that'd be reckless. But they need speed for momentum, because this is going to take one heck of a leap. That's what lets the peko clear the collapsed tree with little difficulty though. He lands on the other side with barely breaking his stride.

But Shiruba is a nice girl, and taking a lead doesn't keep her from trying to help other racers be safe. She takes out several of her own enchanted arrow shafts, and throws them to the sides like small javelins. Once stuck in the ground the storm magic charged in them will help draw away the lightning charges, and channel it to the other lightning rods, increasing their numbers in keeping the heavier lightning strikes away from the main stretch of the track.

Someone clearly came planning and prepared for having to ride through an actual storm.

    "Woo! Gooo werefang senses!"

                                   LIGHTNING!                                  

    "Aah! My eyes! And ears!"

    Okay, Mizuki, this is some kind of lightning field and that's going to call for AIR MAGIC. How experienced are you at STOPPING AND REDIRECTING LIGHTNING?

    What's that? Not at all? You're only good at making lightning? Well that's a problem!

    Unlesssss...

    Mizuki is grinning like she ate a canary when she has the idea. Instead of forming a shield around her and her peco, she forms a shield somewhere off to the side. It makes a pocket of charged air more likely to attract lightning. "Ahahahaha! Yes! YES! I'm a genius!" She does it again and again, simultaneously placing lightning-attracting hazards for the racers behind her while drawing lightning away from herself!

    Merek begins maneuvering along while he uses the magic to gently begin to adjust that lightning from the storm, the hands weaving the spell while he takes a moment to take a place in the track. It looks like he is doing better.

Things just are not going os well for Miho but she's in good spirits. She didn't expect to win this but she was darn well going to finish the course, she had that much price at the very least. She levcle her tail hangs on and keeps moving tyhough she will use some of her powers to try to divert the winds. It does not go well she's got almost no magical skill and it's showing painfully here!

You know what is really good at dealing with lightning strikes? Extremely tall spires of ice!! That is exactly what it is that Prophylaxis creates alongside his charging Peko. Great lances of frost spear out of the ground and rise high into the air. Electricity crackles across each one before they *BURST* with a flash of lightning, sending shards of ice falling to the ground...!

But where one spire falls, another rises. Prophylaxis casts again and again, conjuring further frost towers to protect his advance as the race surges onwards...!

He's still in the running, by his reckoning. The next leg of the race will determine where the chips fall, but the Doctor of Tolbana is not about to go down without a fight!

    Miyako hmms. "Yeah, that's definitely Mizuki. And, uhm...." She shakes her head. "Good grief. That lightning looks awfully close." She tries to make out the other riders, but at this distance, through the rain, it's hard to even tell what color the peko are.

    "Hmm," she muses. "I hear there's a spa in town we could hit later. Hot baths, massages...."

"Sounds like a good idea," Kotono replies to Miyako. "That sounds like a nice thing after time in the rain. And I am feeling a bit tense. Usually a good stretching routine helps me work out the kinks, but a massage would be nice too."

    Rizadoman and his Peko were still believing themselves to be in this race, whether that was true or not who is to say. However as the ionization in the air picks up and the sky begins to flash and bolts of lightning seem to be coming down. All Rizadoman can do is manage the basic of weather spells to shift the lightning away from him and his feathered friend. While he can manage the lightning not directly hitting the bird, the poor seems absolutely spooked and not exactly managing well under current situations.

Syx is rapidly falling behind as the wind whips around them, "Come on, please?!" He asks the peko as he tries to spur the bird on again, "I should have just gotten off and ran the rest of the way!" He thinks he could actually outrun this bird at the rate things are going. He can at least still see some of the other racers, though he's nowhere close to catching up.

The racers begin to round a bend in the course, still being pelted with wind and rain. The worst of the lightning seems to fall behind them, likely following the path of the storm away from the finish line. However, that doesn't mean that they've escaped danger yet.

That chill to the air seems to grow that much more fierce, causing the breath of both peko and rider to hang in front of them like mist. Some areas of the track seem to form into icy patches, causing less sure-footed birds to slip.

The real danger, though, starts small. Tiny shards of ice begin to strike the faces of the riders. Then, it shifts from shards, into small pieces of hail. From those small pieces, it becomes large chunks of ice raining down from the sky onto them.

It is time to defend themselves and their mounts, should they want to be able to complete the race without taking major injuries to themselves and their peko.

-- Challenge: Shield

Seriously, actual /ice/ falling from the sky!? Wasn't it just the beach festival like a couple of weeks ago? How much is the weather shifting that they're getting a hailstorm in the middle of a race all of a sudden!? Not that he's unaware of the role that certain atmospheric instabilities play in the generation of large hail particles, but /still./

Prophylaxis is displeased by this development.

And so he goes to counteract it the best way he knows...! He is, after all, a wizard of some stripe. It would be embarassing if he couldn't conjure a barrier to protect himself and his mount from harm!

A wall of shining force materializes around the magus and his peko. Shards of ice pound against the translucent barrier, but fail utterly to penetrate it! Prophylaxis grits his teeth and grips the reins. "Come on Konpeko, push through! As fast as you can carry us, the finish line is just a little bit further!!"

    Rizadoman feels the ice and watches his bird start to flinch and get rather disgruntled at the shards. "I got you birdy. Again our ancestors will see us through. " Raises his hand up and channeling magic ahead of him he begins to project a barrier infront of himself trying to deflect all the ice from them as possible. " A little further we are almost there." Rizadoman could only imagine how tired his mount was, he wasn't running and he was tired himself.

Yeowang had, for a moment, imagined that she had finally shaken off the level of incompetence she's been feeling in this strange online game that has become her life, and actually gotten a handle on how things are. She had, for a while, sort of kept pace with the pack. But then, they start to pull away. Or, rather, she fails to keep up the pace when she's unable to block a hailstone that concusses her peko, and she's finally passed by the previous last place runners to cement her solidly in the last place position.

    Merek lifts up what looks like a shield along everyone in the party, and takes a moment to look along to the people, while he finds a place to park the mount, and nods.

Shiruba was ready for stormy weather. She did not entirely expect to see freezing rain or hail along with the winds and lightning, but she did come prepared for various possibilities just out of being very familiar with how abrupt and unpredictable hazardous weather can be. Her tail frizzles up some with anticipation as she grips the reins in one hand and leans forward a bit to not break up their aerodynamics. "We're almost there boy, just keep running," she coaxes.

The other hand she raises up over their heads, at a forward angle. "Permafrost Embrace!" Instead of encasing herself she focuses the spell outward, forming a dome above and ahead of her and her mount. It chips and cracks easily with the hits it takes, but that is every little bit less that isn't hitting her peko and slowing them down!

    Mizuki is ahead after lightning shenanigans! She glances behind her just enough to see how closely Prophy and Shiruba are right on her tail, then focuses on maintaining her lead! "Come ooooon..." she urges the peko. They just have to not mess up!

    Tiny ice shards. That's okay, Mizuki has a hat. And fur! Then it becomes hail. Then it becomes chunks of ice. "Ow! What the hey?! Stupid fantasy weather! Chill frost, protect me from my foe's strikes as you protect my heart. Condensation Disc!" She holds it over her and her Peko's head! "Run, Poppy! Just a little longer, we've almost won!"

Now at least Syx can defend himself. That's probably the only thing he's good at when it comes to this race. He releases his grip from the peko's reins and brings his hands up, creating a ball of flames around the sides and above him. It makes his peko is a burning meteor shooting through the back of the pack

Well Miho is soaked and she's lovign it the race is pretty damn thrilling when all things are said and done.

"Hang in there girl we're almost there! We can do this!"

She'll take Finishing the race even if she can't win it but he's looking pretty happy.

"Oh it's not that bad! I lived places with wose weather Mizuki!"

Despite the continued assault from the storm, the racers eventually make it to the final stretch, leading into the finish line. At least... most of them do. There are a few less pekos and riders than what started the race, but that seems quite normal for more challenging races such as this one.

In the end, it is the leaders who seem to hold out, nearly coming to the finish line at the exact same time. It isn't quite a photo finish, but it is close enough that a few people seem confused at first as to which pair crossed the finish line first.

"Oh, is it over already?" The old man mumbles to himself, pushing his water-spotted glasses up along his nose. "So who the heck won?" He doesn't seem to realize that he is transmitting. "Who?" He leans in towards a younger man who is cupping his hands to try to be heard.

"The winner is Shiruba and... what did you say the bird's name was?" He pauses, "Tradewind?" He waves off the younger man. "In second, we have Prophylaxis and Konpeko." Then, after another pause, he continues, "And in third, we have Mizuki and Poppy."

Though the announcer seems as if he's had enough of the storm and his job as an announcer, many members of the crowd do seem more than happy to cheer on the riders.

There it is, the finish line is in sight! Shiruba isn't even thinking about the rest of the race right now, she's focused on getting across the end. In the end, it's a really close race, and it takes a moment for the announcement of who actually won.

Wolven ears perk up as she's hopping off the peko, and Shiruba turns around to hug him around the neck. "You did it Tradewind! We won!" Yes, that is his name. Is anyone really surprised she'd give her main mode of transport a name like that? It does certainly fit.

Victory!.. but celebrating doesn't stop her from giving a scrutinizing eye to her prize once it's presented to her, either. It's a Cait Sith knack, regardless of what species they're modeled after.

    Shiruba and Prophy pull ahead at the last second! Ah well, it could be worse, at least she didn't get cheap shotted by a blue shell from whoever was in last place. Plus, she still gets third place! She waves to the crowd with a smile, then rides over to shake Shiruba's hand. "Congratulations!" And then she's awarded... a moist feather, which remains inscrutable to appraisal. "Um... thanks..." she tucks it away in her inventory.

    Now, where were those hot baths someone mentioned...?

    Merek waits for that race to finish, then he nods a bit while congratulating Shiruba. "You did it!" He smiles, glad someone else won and getting to see all the people relaxing. The man then begins to find a place to stand, while he notices there are a lot of people wounded. With that in mind, he begins lifting up a hand to assist people in healing. "I call upon the Wave that heals, might you bring peace to the people. For all on their journey. Might the stars shine upon all," he then begins to create a field of magic, "Healing Force Field!"

    Rizadoman lets out a sigh of release as his Peko crosses the finish line, seeing the three others infront of him. "Alas it appears we were not the winner today. " As he slips off his mount he leads the exhausted thing over to some water and greens for it to eat. " You did good today. Your ancestors would be proud of you." Giving the bird a pat on the head and looks around as he applaudes those still coming in.

Yeowang completes the race sometime later. The sun has gone down and the moon has come up. And long ago someone left with the cup. But she's going the distance, even if she and her unfortunate peko are getting battered by hail at the end. She'll lead the beast to Merek, if he's still around, so it can get healed, though she'll decline it, herself. Or, rather, she seems fine, if a bit dissheveled from the wind and hail and whatnot.

There are plenty of individuals who finished the race with varying levels of damage. Some seem to have barely made it across the finish line, while others may only have minor scratches from the heavy hail. Regardless of their current health, the area around the finish line is filled with a faint warm glow of light which seems to hang in the air, fighting off the gloom momentarily. This seems to be the effect of Merek's magic.

Those surrounded by it feel a warmth within them and a status effect that says: "Healing Field". The effect seems to be a slightly higher than normal natural regeneration, which is certainly helpful for both riders and their mounts.

    "Hrm," Miyako muses. "He did say Shiruba, right?" She considers "I could've sworn that was Mizuki." She shrugs. "Looks like I'm out some coin." She takes some from her inventory, passing it to Kotono.

Accepting the coin, Kotono shrugs a little. "Well, it happens." She smiles. "Come on, a nice hot bath and massage will help things feel better. Then we could get something to eat and drink."

"Tch, just barely short of first...!" Prophylaxis sighs as the official results become clear. Well, it is what it is. "Still, a significant improvement since the last time." He leans over and gently pat-pats at his windswept mount's flank. "Well done, Konpeko. You'll get many treats later, promise."

He inclines his head toward the victor, too. "Good job, miss Shiruba. That was a race well run. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time...!"

But for now, he could do with a good toweling off, or--

Oh. He's just casting a fireball into the air and keeping the globe of ROILING HEAT going with continuous fire spells. That... is probably a temporary solution at best, but it helps warm the body in the short term until he can go and dry himself.

"You did great too!" Shiruba calls back to Prophylaxis with a wave. "Everyone did, considering that was pretty nonstandard racing conditions."

Well it seems like Syx managed to at least not come in last! He rushes past the finish line in second to last, but still manages to cross which still has to count for something! He does pull in to the post-finish area, and dismounts the peko, "Well, thanks bird." He gives it a pat on the head, and lets the trainer take it. Now it's time to go mingle with his fans.