LONGCLAW

-I close my eyes, ignore the smoke-

So he accepts!

The two are in tandem again, beating a steady tempo into the sands as they fly alongside each other. This time, though, they’re not in the battlegrounds and Longclaw certainly hasn’t agreed to put away his traits for the benefit of the older stallion. He dives ahead, plunges into the pace of their competition and smiles wickedly when, all of a sudden, he’s pushed himself closer to the bigger brute. It takes only one motion for him to jerk a blue-colored shoulder into his opponent, to slam the weight of his smaller frame against Diable in an attempt to knock him off balance before switching leads to jerk away again.

A pleasant nudge, of sorts, one he knows Diable can easily brush off - but he wants his peer to know, “There’ll be tricks ahead, so bring your A-game…”

Down the shoreline they plummet, Pegasi without wings yet they seem only a blur of color to any who might happen to glance at them passing. “You think you have a chance, old dog?! Longclaw shouts, eager to boast and following the prick with raucous, bellowing laugh. “Try this!” He yelps, turning to look ahead once more as a low wall of blue-white flame springs up from the sands.

It’s meters ahead; they have plenty of time to plan a jump and Longclaw has no intentions of purposefully hurting his newfound comrade, but there’s also no avoiding it if Diable wants to stay in the running. They’ll both have to leap and besides: where’s the fun in a normal race?

LONGCLAW

-I close my eyes, ignore the smoke-

With a crack, Longclaw’s forelegs jerk up to his chest and, trailing now behind the stream of Diable’s fiery tail, leaps to clear the low wall of fire. The stark reply his peer had given only serves to paste a permanent grin over Claw’s mouth; that old dog sure did have some tricks up his sleeve.

He pounds ahead. The strides he’s lost from manifesting the wall must be regained, Longclaw struggles to extend his gait to the fullest as they streak over the Tephran shoreline. On hooves he’ll never be able to beat the lankier stallion but to his surprise, the beach is beginning to curve away from them and ahead Claw can spot the worn opening to a common trail. “You bested me in this body, I’ll give you that Diable.” He shouts out, legs thrumming beneath him as he switches leads.

“But I wonder how deft those long legs are when they’re up against the wolf!” He yells, pushing off to lunge forward with a mighty burst of power. His body transforms, mid-leap, trading blue skin for silver fur, hooves for adept toes, and a soft nose for a mouth riddled with sharp teeth. When he lands, the newly-transformed animal twists aside to bound down the shadowy path. “Come if you dare!” The predator growls, slipping easily between root and branch.

Even if Diable chooses to end the race, to take his win and turn his focus to other things, Longclaw will simply continue until the scent of his companion fades away.