Drakern Races

Keyne settled into the saddle of the rented drakern. Normally, faelidh would ride much smaller creatures, but Keyne was… rather bold. He definitely received a strange look from the individual who was renting the creatures out, but he wanted to challenge the mysterious stranger. His size would not stop him. 

“Hey, Keyne?” 

Keyne turned his head and saw his traveler partner, Lark, fly up to meet his gaze. “Um… are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’ll be fineeeee!” Keyne flashed a grin. “You worry about me too much.”

Lark frowned. “I mean… have you ever even ridden a drakern before? It’s… quite large… not really meant for one of us to ride…”

“Nope! But I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

“I… okay… please be careful… don’t get hurt, okay?” Lark pinched Keyne’s nose gently. “…for good luck.”

Keyne chuckled. “Thanks, Lark.” He could feel the drakern beginning to get impatient. “Alright, I think the race is gonna start soon, so I gotta get going. Big guy here is getting impatient as well.” He made his way to the starting line, waving goodbye to Lark.

The mysterious stranger was waiting at the starting line. They were masked with only their unicorn horn visible, but clearly they seemed somewhat amused at this tiny faelidh trying to challenge them. “…You’re either very brave… or maybe stupid.”

Keyne laughed. “Yeah, maybe both!”

The stranger snorted. They turned their attention to the announcer. 

“3… 2… 1… GO!”

Keyne gently kicked the back of his drakern’s neck to make it go, and before he knew it, it was out of his control. He tried to hold on for dear life, but he couldn’t hold on tight enough, and went flying. “AAAAAAAH!” He screamed, flailing his arms and tail.

Thankfully, Lark apparently foresaw this potential outcome. She had been staying airborne, and she swooped down and caught Keyne just in time. “Keyne…!”

Keyne looked absolutely ashamed. “I’m… I’m sorry, Lark…”

Lark gently set Keyne down on the ground. “I’m just glad you’re okay… you really should be more careful… I mean, riding a drakern? That thing is many many more times your size!” Lark shook her head. “You could have gotten badly hurt!”

Keyne hung his head in embarrassment. “…next time I’ll settle for the chicern, okay?”

“Yes… maybe the faelidh gauntlet is a much better idea.” Lark nodded. “For now, why don’t we watch the rest of the races together?”

Keyne smiled. “Sounds like a great idea.”