All the better; all the worse . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Yeah, I suppose you'd like that," he replied, not realizing that his comment was very much directed at the wrong racer.

Even so, it wasn't lost on him that Akizetsumei was nervous; he simply had the cause completely wrong. He glanced back Toushikyo, feeling like he should say something to reassure his younger sister, but as that clearly wasn't going to happen he decided to speak up. "Don't worry about the race; just have fun," he advised, giving her a reassuring smile.

Taking a position on the side of the track, he raised one arm straight into the air. "Ready...set..." Keeping it extended, he quickly swung the arm in front of him until it was straight down at his side. "Go!"

[Nayt]

"Hey, this place needs some eye candy sometimes," Sarah replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Akizetsumei, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as casual as Sarah. Eld said something that . . . well, made her think he was talking to her, and she felt a sudden and unexplainable light-headed feeling, followed by a chill up her spine and a tightening of her stomach. She seemed to relax a bit when Eld spoke reassuringly to her, though, but she still didn't know who he was talking to before . . .

"Y-yeah," Akizets smiled nervously, "I will."

Her brother wasn't one to ever give much moral support. He never sought it nor provided it; he got along just fine without the slightest degree of moral support, and failed to understand why others found it so necessary--others like his sister, who could really be annoying about that at times.

Once Eld started their count-down, Sarah leaned forward just a bit. She looked rather serious, intense almost; it was clear that she was going to take it easy on Akizets, but she could only turn down her intensity so much. When it came to a horse race, there was always at least a small degree of sincerity in her demeanor. Akizetsumei leaned forward, too, but mostly by taking from Sarah's example. She felt old tension die down as it almost came time to go, as Eld just prepared to shout go, which was so quickly replaced by a new kind of tension.

The moment Eld shouted for them to go, Sarah kicked the sides of her horse and the old stallion took off like a poorly fueled locomotive. It was impressive, however, that he could still go that fast. He was the oldest horse on the ranch, and he could still carry a pretty good pace--and his initial acceleration was still nothing to sneeze at. Akizetsumei was ultimately left behind in the dust, as she didn't start off right as Eld shouted. Instead, she briefly forgot what she was supposed to do and when she was supposed to do it. It took her a second of momentary panic before she jabbed Stewart with her blunt spurs. The horse immediately started off in a rush, almost as if he knew why he was here and what he was supposed to do.

Akizets let out a yelp, and Toushikyo was almost worried about her. However, it seemed she was actually able to hold on and balance herself, regardless of Stewart's strong initial acceleration and steady velocity--something that almost actually compared with Sarah's horse right out of the gate.

[Zach Kaiser]

"And they're off," Eld declared as he reclaimed his seat. While not exactly thrilling from a who-will-win perspective, it was still pretty interesting to watch. After a rocky start Akizetsumei seemed to be getting comfortable with the horse, and she wasn't terribly worried about going fast either.

For her part, Sarah expertly controlled a horse that was old and stubborn and made it seem years younger. She may have handicapped herself by picking him, but she still had a clear advantage. She'd been caring for every horse here all her life, and therefore knew exactly what each was capable of and how to get the most out of it.

"She's pretty fearless, huh?" He wasn't sure if Toushikyo would bother replying, granted, but he usually made it a point to try and talk to him anyway.

[Nayt]

"Reckless," Toushikyo corrected.

Emily actually started to watch the race once Akizetsumei started off. Indeed, Akizets had a slow start, but after the first few seconds that didn't seem to matter much. Akizets seemed a quick and fearless beginner--enough to actually try to go faster. Either she didn't care if she was uncomfortable with the speed of her horse or she simply wasn't uncomfortable with it to begin with, but Stewart started to run faster. The girl on his back leaned forward and held tightly onto the reigns. Stewart reached a speed which most beginners should have panicked at, but she seemed mostly calm. Determined, actually. None but Sarah, upon looking behind her at the horse gaining on her position, could actually see how determined Akizetsumei actually was.

It wasn't to win, however. Between this and her footrace with Sarah, she hadn't thought much at all of competing. The girl simply liked to move fast.

"Huh. This actually could be a race," Emily observed.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Huh, maybe." While he knew how to ride, Eld didn't know terribly much about horses in general. (Though his mother was actually a trained veterinarian as well as a doctor, he'd never been much interested in caring for animals.) He also didn't know much about more than a few horses at the Vaerbond ranch specifically, and while he was familiar with Stewart the one Sarah picked wasn't terribly well known to him.

"Can Sarah's horse go faster?" he asked Em, who he figured might know. He couldn't tell if Sarah was struggling to keep a lead or if she was holding back so she didn't leave Akizetsumei completely behind.

[Nayt]

Sarah looked behind her again. This time, Akizetsumei was barely ten feet behind her. Sarah, for the first time during the race, sneered. She looked forward and leaned. She jabbed her spurs into her horse's sides a little harsher. The old stallion caught another burst of speed; he darted forward, much faster than Stewart's current stride. He leaned into a turn as they reached the front left corner of the property. Akizets was again left behind at a large margin, but she managed to coerce Stewart into picking up a burst of speed, himself. It seemed Stewart was faster than Fesci, but Fesci's momentary bursts of acceleration were much more powerful . . .

"Sort of," Emily replied.

She thought for a moment. She kind of knew the horses here pretty well. Sarah had been raising them since as far back as Emily could remember, and having lived here, she'd become well acquainted with them--especially the older stallions, like Fesci and Stewart.

"Fesci's not a race horse anymore, though . . ." Emily began. She'd come up with a new hypothesis for this race. She was clearly interested, now. "He's just an old work-horse. If Sarah keeps making him go like that, she'll wear him down to a trot . . ."

[Zach Kaiser]

"Wait, so..." He trailed off, watching the race continue. Akizetsumei was actually keeping pace with Sarah fairly well, but every time she got close Sarah put on a burst of speed and pulled further ahead of her. Even keeping up with her was quite an accomplishment for a rookie.

"...You're saying Sarah might not win?" Eld finished at last. If what Em said was true, then it was possible Fesci might run out of steam before the race was done. He supposed Sarah was mostly banking on Akizetsumei being too nervous to go fast enough to beat her; but as she wasn't intimidated at all anymore, Sarah might lose simply for riding horse that wasn't meant for racing anymore.

On one hand, there was no question that Sarah was the better rider ultimately, but on the other he wondered if her pride could take it if she lost to someone who'd just gotten on a horse for the first time.

[Nayt]

"Yeah . . ." Emily replied. She was kind of excited about that. If Akizets beat Sarah at this, then there was a fair chance Sarah would have to calm herself down to save herself the embarrassments of further defeats.

Maya, on the other hand, was a bit nervous that Akizets would win. She didn't have the same hopes as Em. She'd known Sarah for long enough to understand how she thought and how she worked. If she lost this, she was going to briefly lose her mind. Maya knew and understood this as a fact. Maya's worst fear was that Sarah might go so far as to challenge Akizetsumei to a fist-fight.

The left side of the property was as close to the tree-line as the Vaerbond ranch could get. The track ran so close to the trees by the end of it that it might as well have been a forest path. It was actually the toughest side of the track to complete. Sarah was perfectly fine. Akizets, not so much. She was gaining on Sarah by the half-way point, but even she had to slow down. This side of the path was rather nerve wracking. Sarah spurred Fesci into another burst of speed, but it was slower and shorter than last time, and Akizetsumei nearly caught up with Sarah again by the time the reached the turn onto the north side of the track.

But then . . . something happened. To any and all of them, it was unclear what exactly started it-- what exactly spurred Stewart to stop his pace mid-run, jab his front hooves into the earth, and kick with his back hooves. His momentum stopped all at once, lurching Akizetsumei forward, who was caught by surprise entirely. She hit her face off the back of Stewart's neck, stunning her and loosening her grip on Stewart's reigns. Stewart released a loud neigh, mixed somewhere betwixt horror and disapproval, as he bucked backward.

Toushikyo was already standing. He'd thrown himself out of his chair before any of the others--before Emily and Maya, who were slow to stand, slow to realize what was happen, and even before Eld. He said nothing at all, merely broke into a run--perhaps the fastest any one of them might have seen the teen run in their lives.

"W-whoa!" Akizetsumei cried; she tried in vain to calm the frightened stallion, after which she attempted to take hold of the reigns again, but it was too late. As she felt herself slipping, she let out a tiny, "Eeek!"

Akizetsumei hit the ground with a hard thud, first on her leg and then her arm. She let out a louder cry, followed by a fragile whimper. Sarah heard it all too late. She took once glance behind her to discover what happened, reared back on Fesci's reigns, and turned him around with barely a break in her momentum. Stewart passed her by on the way to the fallen girl. It seemed he was attempting to get as far from the tree line as he possibly could.

[Zach Kaiser]

It took Eld a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. Stewart was an incredibly docile and well-behaved horse, and Sarah was an expert handler no matter who the horse. He hadn't expected anything to actually happen that would require him.

But something had (or so he could only assume, though he hoped Akizetsumei was alright), and when he recovered from the shock he was running for the young girl, a few paces behind her brother. "Maya, Em, go get my parents!" he shouted over his shoulder, figuring they should be informed just in case.

[Nayt]

Emily and Maya were the last to stand and the last to move. Neither of them expected it. Maya covered her mouth with her hands, attempting to and failing to suppress a gasp. Emily moved as if she were going to run with Eld and Toushikyo, but Eld shouted for her first. She twitched. Instinct demanded that she act the same as Eld and Tou, but she looked once to Maya, who looked to her with the same concern. Emily nodded. She turned from Maya and started around the house, Maya running awkwardly behind her.

Sarah reached Akizets before anyone else. She called Fesci to stop and dismounted as quickly as she could. She reached Akizets and knelt by her side. The girl was more of a mess than she expected. She'd curled up painfully and was holding her knees to her chest, though only with one hand. The arm she was laying upon was almost entirely limp, and one of her legs was barely moving at all. She was somewhere between a soft whimper and an all out bawl. Sarah put her hand behind Akizetsumei's head and lifted her somewhat.

"H-hey, hey! A-are you okay?!" Sarah whispered closely.

Toushikyo arrived shortly thereafter. He did all but push Sarah away. He knelt by Akizets quickly, regarded Sarah with disdain, but devoted most of his attention to his sister, nonetheless.

"Are you okay?" he unknowingly repeated Sarah.

Akizets instead had her eyes shut as tightly as she could. It was clear that she was trying her best not to cry, but she could only tense two of her limbs; every time she tried to tense the other two, she felt the urge to cry grow as pain continued to seer through them.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld arrived shortly after Toushikyo, and while he understood Sarah's concern there wasn't a whole lot she could do at the moment. "You should probably calm down Stewart, and put away the horses," he suggested softly. He couldn't blame her if she wanted to stay, but she'd probably feel better if she was doing something rather than just watching.

He knelt next to Toushikyo, examining. He didn't want to take Toushikyo's place, so he tried his best check her injuries from where he was. Her leg and arm were definitely hurt, possibly broken, but he didn't notice any significant bleeding, nor did it seem like she hit her head, though he'd have to calm her down enough to be sure.

But first was getting her weight off her injured arm and leg. "Can you help me move her onto her back?" It wasn't exactly difficult, but he wanted to do it as carefully as possible, and two could do it easier than one.

[Nayt]

"Y-yeah," Sarah trailed off. She hesitated before leaving. More than likely, she wished to help in a more direct way, much like Emily before her, but she ultimately stood and mounted Fesci again. Stewart was nearly to the barn again, and she honestly expected that he'd return without much assistance, but she started off for him, anyways.

Toushikyo glanced to his side once Eld was knelt next to him. For all intellectual issues he'd had with Eld in the past, Eld was no doubt the most medically learned of them all--and with Akizetsumei hurt, he wasn't at all going to doubt Eld's medical knowledge. He nodded, moved to the other side of his sister, and helped move her onto her back. Akizetsumei rebelled, if only mildly, by letting out a loud cry, followed by the beginnings of a sob. She leaned her head back against the ground as hard as she possibly could.

There would be no doubt for someone like Eld that Akizets had broken both her left arm and left leg. Neither was moving at her will, and even the slightest pressure on them caused her a horrible pain. Akizets let out a loud whimper and tensed up.

When Akizets let out another cry, Toushikyo felt himself suddenly helpless. He wanted to hold his sister's hand, but she was already holding onto her shoulder.

"Akizets," he whispered; his voice was monotonous, but the very fact he was showing concern was enough. "You're going to be okay."

"N-nhhhhh," she whimpered, "I-it huuuuurts . . ."

[Zach Kaiser]

"I know, but it'll be okay," Eld reassured her. "Em went to get my parents, they'll be here any minute." While he couldn't do much to diminish the pain of the break, at least now that she was on her back the pressure on her broken limbs would be less--so long as she didn't thrash about and cause more pain to herself, it should get better, if only slightly.

Turning his head to Toushikyo, he said, "Her arm and leg are definitely broken, but I don't think her life's in danger. I'm going to check for a concussion."

He leaned over so that he was in her field of vision. "I know it hurts, but I need you to something for me, Akizetsumei. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?" Extending a trio of digits, he held his hand a few feet from her face so that she could see clearly.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei whined. She wasn't taking this well at all. Breaks were horribly painful, but she was crying as if her life was on the line. This was something Toushikyo understood much better than Eld. His sister was fragile. She not only easily breakable, but she took wounds and pain harshly, to boot.

Toushikyo nodded to Eld. He understood that his sister's life was not in dangers. This was not a frequent experience, but it wasn't rare, either. Ever time she was hurt, she took it hard--and likewise, she was always hurt pretty badly, too. He had a theory that the girl was simply brittle by nature, which was in its own right rather annoying. Unless it really was a major injury like this, he wasn't too fond of being driven to a sense of urgency over something as small as a stubbed toe or a broken fingernail.

The girl opened her eyes. She was breathing quickly and doing all she could to stop crying, but ultimately failed to do so. Still, she focused on Eld.

"Th-three," she whimpered.

Toushikyo looked beside him to Eld, then behind he and Eld both. He didn't see Eld's parents just yet. When he looked back to his sister, he felt tempted to act again.

"How soon is soon?" he whispered indignantly. He was obviously worried about his sister, enough to be outwardly irate with any time it took to get her help.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Any time...huh?" Eld was distracted as he looked around as well and saw a horse approaching rapidly. Which was odd, as Sarah should have had them all put away by now.

As it got closer, however, it was clear it had a rider--no, two riders, and was moving towards them with a purpose. "Is that...? No way." It soon became clear that the riders were none other than Eld's parents, Urikuse and Rebbecca Tsukimono. While he knew that they knew how to ride horses (most people in Hillcrest learned at some point, even if only for recreation), he wasn't sure he'd ever actually seen them on horseback.

But there they were. "Here they come," he said quietly, turning back to Akizetsumei. Though it was just as much to reassure her brother as her. "You're going to be fine, okay?"

When the arrived they quickly got off the horse and handed the reigns over to Eld to hold, and he caught them up on the situation while they examined her. They could do more for her than Eld, but they still had to wait for a minute, as being on the horse meant someone else had to carry the larger supplies like a stretcher. Though the person bringing them was much more physically able than either of them were, so it wouldn't be long...