[PRP] I. Am. Speed.

[Lutz]

Stands Back Up - Vidar in this place - placed his clawed hands on his hips as he gazed out over the water where others were racing. Some where going all-out against a huge group, others were just trying to finish the race in a decent amount of time, and a few seemed to be having head-to-head races. That was what he wanted. He wanted some fierce, head to head competition!

Shaking his impressive mane of hair back over his shoulders, Vidar glanced around. His tail swished back and forth behind him, the blue tuft getting a bit sandy in the process. Surely someone here would want to race, right? That was the whole point of coming!

"Anyone up for some one on one racing?" he asked. There were plenty of others gathered on the sands, watching and cheering on those they knew that were already in the water or prepping themselves for the trial ahead. Vidar hoped someone would step out and meet his challenge. He could just go in with everyone else but it was more fun to do it this way. At least, he thought so.

[Baneful]

"Ah'll race ye." Came the gruff, surly voice of a man with his arms crossed. He was muscular and toned but with pale, freckled skin that had burned a little red in the pleasant sun. Across his body were numerous tattoos and scars and gleaming scales the colour of a tiger, split between normal and white stripes where the colour of his hair seemed to split.

"Ahm no particulurly fast or anythin' but ah'm sure ah kin put in an awrite show."

Slipping into a more comfortable form, he shifted into a strange feline-looking dragon form, which certainly wasn't as long and elegant as many of the others seemed to be.

It was covered from head to toe with thick armoured scales.

He shook his many wings to try and loosen up a little. "Even if ah uhm rusty."

[Lutz]

Thankfully Vidar didn't have to wait long for someone to step up to the challenge. He gave the other guy a grin and a nod. Vidar wasn't built for speed even if he liked to think he was, but stamina was definitely one of his strong suits. It seemed the other guy would probably be in the same boat, his muscles and stockier nature mimicking Vidar's own.

"We'll wash that rust right offa ya," he said with a laugh as the other man took a more draconic form. Vidar shifted as well, his legs and arms turning into those of a four legged creature. The fins of his ears were hidden by the rippling blue mane that started around his head and ran down his chest, encircling his neck. It ran down his spine before disappearing about mid-back, his tail thickening a bit but still holding those more feline qualities. Fur covered his body rather than scales and his muzzle was catlike rather than reptilian. He bore no wings but his proud horns curved from his skull and through his mane, hearkening back to his Totoma form.

"What's your name, stranger?" he asked as he shook himself down after the transformation, claws digging into the sand. "You can call me Vidar."

[Baneful]

Rep gave a very toothy grin at Vidar. "Rep," he said, chuckling as he adjusted his various new frills and spines, as though sidling into a new skin. "Just Rep." Seemingly contented with things, he nodded in affirmation as though reassuring himself that it was just fine having claws as long as daggers

He did take a moment to admire his competitor, hoping he was subtle about it. There wasn't really much point in attending these competitions if you didn't use the opportunity to get a bit of eye candy along the way, especially when everyone's forms were so grand and varied. Life tended to be quite solitary the rest of the year. You made do.

He did break away to look down at the water. The first part of the race would take them through the reefs, and if he was honest, he was looking forward to it. There was something about the water that called viscerally to Rep, even if he wasn't best designed for it. Even if his body wasn't serpentine, even if it didn't have flippers or fins to aid his movement, he felt like his very heart was tied to it. His life was a litany of contradictions that coexisted; it only made sense that he was a contradiction in this, too.

"This race is definitely a bit of a fuckin marathon." he said, rolling his shoulders and shifting his weight, stretching a little in warm up, leaning into his forelegs like a cat. "If I get a stitch in the middle, I wouldn't be surprised."

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Ye ready, mate?"

[Lutz]

"Rep," Vidar echoed with a grin as he watched the other stretch and limber up a bit. "Nice to meet'cha. Hope you like eatin' bubbles." A little trash talking was always welcome from the brown and blue Lunarian. Vidar was a good sport before, during, and after a competition but where was the fun in being cordial through it all? A bit of back and forth got the blood pumping in his opinion!

He strode forward to where the waves slid up the damp sand, his weight making him sink down into it. Others from this place were certainly built far more streamline and far less muscled, but it took all types. Lunarians like he and Rep could carry their weight within their community in many ways, from being heavy-hitting warriors to builders and everything in between.

"On three," he said, lowering his form down like a feline, ready to pounce into the water before them. His eyes narrowed as he focused and began a slow countdown.

"One...two...three!"

Leaping forward into the shallow water, Vidar was off like a shot. Although he wasn't the fastest Lunarian out there his powerful muscles got him off the starting line without a problem. The water slowed him down just a bit until he got deep enough where he could swim, and at that point he zoomed off. The rings that had been set up marked the way through the reef, avoiding the places where electric eels liked to call home. Some places were a bit shallow, the reef reaching up under him and threatening to scrape his legs if he wasn't careful, but Vidar moved through the water like he was born to be there.

[Baneful]

Rep was a strong swimmer, but no one had ever said he was a particularly fast one. It turned out wings were a horrible burden when you were in water, and feathered wings even moreso. As soon as he leapt into the water he had to navigate a whole lot of finding a way to swim that was even moderately efficient. Somehow this went completely awry and he ended up upside down, flapping his many wings against the heavy and restrictive water ineffectually, his feathers waterlogged to hell.

It took him a bit to strike out and find his way, as well as to fold away his wings against his back as tightly as he could, where they could do the least damage.

By the time he'd figured out a decent way to swim in this form, he'd fallen behind, and the reef itself, shallow in places was also not friendly to a form as large as his, leading to a lot of splintered coral and awkward slithering across ridges and water too shallow to support his weight. The eels did not like him destroying their habitats either and showed him as much with various shocks.

All in all it was not the most dignified start.

"Oh for fuck's sake." he grunted in irritation.

[Lutz]

Breaking free of the reef, Vidar found himself in open water which allowed him to really stretch his muscles. He reduced his speed now that he was a good distance ahead of Rep, comfortable with his lead. He turned to glance over his shoulder from time to time but it seemed the larger Lunarian had really gotten tripped up with the shallow water and the eels.

Focusing on the next section of the race course, Vidar began to adjust the direction he was swimming in to avoid the ever-growing whirlpools that posed as the next obstacle. The smaller ones he managed, but the larger ones towards the end began to suck him into their swirling, powerful vortexes. He fought against the current but his burst of speed at the start had really sapped his stamina and swimming steadily against the sucking currents was taking what little bit of it was left.

"C'mon," he growled to himself, gritting his teeth as he felt himself slowly stopping in the water. He was swimming as hard as he could...yet he started to go backwards. All his might couldn't keep him from being sucked into the last whirlpool and after a few moments he gave up. He was brought closer and closer to the center of the circling water, floating at the mercy of the currents. He was truly stuck in it and he knew the only way out was to let it bring him to the middle. He conserved his energy for that moment and when he finally reached the middle, he kicked back into high gear.

The whirlpool spun him in tight circles and pulled him downwards. If anyone had been watching, Vidar would have looked like an inverted ballerina, legs outstretched as he whipped around in tight circles. He was definitely getting motion sick but he knew he had to pull through if he wanted to stay in this race. When he felt the grip the whirlpool had on him decrease the slightest amount he began to swim hard downward, away from the sucking pull of the swirling water. He broke free from the trap at last, swimming along the bottom of the sea a good distance to get away from the second phase of the race. If he happened to be drifting to the left a bit due to how dizzy he was, he didn't let on that he noticed.

17 + 3

[Baneful]

Deeper water was better for Rep, and though this area wasn't as deep as he'd like, it was still a damn sight better than the cramped and stressful reef. He'd started to come into a stride of sorts, using his long, sinuous tail to help propel him through the water, keeping his silhouette as streamlined as he could possibly manage. It turned out he had a lot of drag in the water, something that didn't exactly surprise him but was a little irritating in the circumstances.

He was starting to get into a rhythm when he noticed the swirling waters and frowned deeply to himself. Oh, great. This would be an adventure.

Vidar was no doubt miles ahead at this point; he thought, not overly upset at the situation, mostly just set to a grim resignation to his fate. This race ultimately wasn't about winning for Rep; very little ever really was. What mattered to him was going the entire pace, completing the course, and staying at something, even if it was difficult. He was nothing if not completely stubborn.

He took the long way around one of the whirlpools, but it appeared to be a somewhat prudent decision as he finally caught sight of his opponent caught in firm combat with one of the more brutal whirlpools. Rep was fortunate that he only found himself dragged and harangued by the outer edges of the whirlpools, but that didn't make traversing this area any less exhausting.

But he kept going regardless.

1+13

[Lutz]

Vidar swam slowly to try to get his heart rate down, knowing that he was just coming to the mid section of the race. He had a ways to go and he didn't want to burn out too quickly, especially with how long he'd been struggling in that damn whirlpool. A glance over his shoulder again showed that Rep had closed some of the distance between them and he cursed quietly under his breath. He was still in the lead, he could do this!

Focusing forward again, Vidar was just in time to bump into a lion fish that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. A spine jabbed him in the nose and he had to shake his head to rid himself of the offending fish. The pain was immediate.

"Agh!" He lifted a paw to swipe at the burning spot, trying to swim at the same time. It slowed him down severely, especially as he tried to avoid the rest of the lion fish that swam by unhurriedly. He looked up and down but he was truly in the thick of the school now and the fastest way to escape would be to just be cautious and swim through. With his nose burning still, he slowed his pace a bit more and picked his way carefully through the mess of fish.

Emerging from the other side, Vidar sighed some bubbles of relief. Hopefully his pace had been quick enough to keep Rep behind him.

17 + 3 + 8

[Baneful]

Rep's favourite fish were lionfish, and as they emerged onto a whole field of them, he was more excited than afraid of them. Their spines weren't too much of a problem with his scales, but even where they managed to penetrate with a lucky jab under a scute, it didn't bother him too much.

It was less exhausting than the whirlpool, and as Rep went, he almost forgot he was in a race at all, much more relaxed than he had been and circling around the clusters of fish, even batting one or two with the large spined tip of his tail.

When he was relaxed, he always did better, and this was no different, traversing the field with cheer and pace he didn't even notice he possessed.

Lionfish were cute.

1+13 + 18

[Lutz]

Vidar was surprised when Rep did emerge from the fields of lionfish ahead of him, but it was a delighted one. A race wasn't any fun if one competitor crushed the other! Now they were fairly close together, Rep having closed that huge gap that Vidar had started with. All right!

Following close behind the other, Vidar dove down to the dark trench that marked the next task of their race. It was dark inside but that didn't deter him at all. Yes, he bumped into a few walls along the way, but his whiskers helped keep him going at a decent clip. Thankfully he didn't smash into Rep at all, either! He could see light at the end of the tunnel and put on a little extra speed, pulling up from the sea floor as he emerged. Phew!

17 + 3 + 8 + 10

[Baneful]

The deep, dark part of the course was the part that Rep had been most looking forward to, delving down into the chasm and the darkness. He almost forgot what he was doing down there in the depths. Diving from cliffs into deep water was one of Rep's favourite pasttimes, and something of the deep darkness here reminded him of that, the moment of blissful freedom where you couldn't tell up from down and the water was all there was.

As he traversed the darkness, he found himself feeling oddly alone, as if he was missing someone important, something important he'd forgotten.

But he couldn't tell what that might be.

He meandered a little, as was expected in such abyssal darkness, but he was not afraid. He could only hope his companion made it back out, as he wasn't entirely sure he himself would.

1+13 + 18 + 11 = 43

[Lutz]

The last bit of the race was basically an open sprint, but with one last obstacle in the way: sharks.

Vidar quite liked the creatures and admired their ability to hunt, but he also knew their power in the water. True, Vidar in this form was very adept to the underwater life, but sharks had been here long before Lunarians and would be here long after they were gone. They were the perfect image of a predator, one that time had left untouched despite Vidar not knowing that.

As he swam he gave them their space and slowed when they got close. His mind was on finishing the race but respecting the sharks at the same time as this was their home. A few swam beside him, watching him, as he continued to the end of the race. Finally he glanced around, trying to spot Rep. Had he gotten to the finish line before him? Was he behind him now? Or had they crossed at the same time?

17 + 3 + 8 + 10 + 11 = 49

[Baneful]

The last stretch of the race was fraught with sharks. Rep didn't mind sharks too much if he was honest. They were kind of dumb and cute, always looking with their mouths and biting things they probably should not. These ones were notoriously sensitive to emotions, and this far into a race Rep wasn't able to conceal his determination and exhaustion. It had been a long race, through a long stretch of aquatic landscape, and he was getting worn out.

When a scarred-up shark swam alongside him towards the finish line, it was what he needed to find that last burst of strength.

1+13 + 18 + 11 + 16 = 59

[Lutz]

By the time Vidar dragged himself out of the water it was clear Rep had beaten him. Not by too much, but it wasn't a neck-and-neck finish. The fuzzy feline-like dragon shook himself, his fur fluffing out thanks to the salt water clinging to each hair. He was exhausted but it was a good sort of feeling, one that was well earned and would have him sleeping like a foal tonight. He'd done his best and that was all he could ask of himself.

"Well done!" he said with a tired laugh as he approached the victor. "I thought I got enough of a jump on you at the start to keep the lead, but it seems a slow and steady pace truly does win the race." He grinned at his opponent, not at all bothered that he'd lost. Tough competition only encouraged those that didn't win to grow and learn from their failures. Vidar took each one with him in life to look back on and use to his advantage later down the road. This race would serve to remind him that although a strong start was promising, it didn't guarantee a win.

"Want to go grab a bite to eat now that we've exhausted ourselves?" he asked.