He question for his attitude change was reasonable, after all, he was a worried mom before. His little snark seemed to tick of Cervayhn, which is something that was a bit fulfilling... gosh he was spending to much time around Keyke wasn't he? "Ha," he sighs and looks back down at the track. "She is Keyke," he pauses contemplating on what to say before he just lets it out, "Who is a bit of a broad question in her stance. You see, she is her, and that itself defines her chaos." He watches the race reach it's near end, "Knowing her, winning once is enough, this time it's only for fun." His smirk spreads to a slightly sinister smile. "But never the less, her ability to surprise even me still stands." He waves his hand, gesturing to the battle below them.

---

   The spirit laying in Ulm's face reminded me of how Taki wished to win, but by a quick maneuver I had won. That determination was something I crushed once, but this time it's someone who shares my love of chaos and basic traps. In essence of that, I made the quick decision to do something that I did before in my previous race. I turn and place myself riding backwards on the horse.¹ The smile that had been shared with me only amplified my need for chaos. I reached to the foliage around me and directed it to the riders behind.² The mounts gaining sudden harmful tiny cuts and the riders unable to see the intense pain from such tiny cuts on their hands made most caught in the cause and collateral to fall off their rides and plummet to the ground. I released a giggle before switching the the battle of the remaining few carriages and the last two riders.

---

1. Cat's Grace

2. Petal Storm

Cervayhn leans back once as he takes in Nit's cryptic words. Despite the sylvan elf's evasiveness, he was able to secure a name. That was more than enough for him to do some investigating after this race.

"I suppose I'm in no position to talk, I have a tendency to underestimate Ulmiyda as well, as you have seen."

The stands around them had all but cleared out at this point as many spectators had already left to check on the condition of their favorite racers. A sudden tower of smoke in the distance signified the racers position. A sigh escapes Cervayhn's lips as he slowly rises to his feet.

"Looks like we are nearing the conclusion of this race, looks like I need to prepare another lecture."

---

Ulmiyda's eyes grow wide as Keyke turns backwards, unleashing a storm of petals onto the unfortunate riders behind them. She turns to face the remaining racers who have a lead on them.

She contemplates how to eliminate the horseback riders, considering she can't exactly explode them. The only viable solution would be to trigger a detonation of the few remaining carriages within a short time span. Unfortunately, the drivers had given up on their underhand tactics, so a bit of intervention would be needed to set off her sabotage.

Her fingers glow as some of the flames dotting the track join the race. The flames quickly reach two of the carriages, one on each side of the track, climbing up their back wheels and creeping through their backdoors. Both vehicles explode simultaneously, but the young girl's attention isn't focused on them, instead focusing on the embers soaring through the air. She subtly maneuvers the flames, sending them down through the third carriage's window.

Another explosion rocks the last remaining carriage causing its rear axle to shatter. The vehicle screeches to a halt as its cargo spills out behind it, forming a pile leading up to its now diagonally angled roof. The horse riders pull back their reins as the carriage's explosion had scattered enough litter to sufficiently block off the rest of the track.

Ulmiyda's eyes widen as she sees her opportunity to secure her victory. Her fingers begin to glow once again as the solitary fires begin to coalesce, forming in a trail of fire behind her steed. Feeling the growing heat behind its back legs, the donkey runs as fast as it possibly can, fearing the possible incineration behind it. She maneuvers the mule towards the diagonal roof, envisioning it as a ramp small enough to only fit her and Keyke's stead.

Time seems to slow as the mule runs atop the roof and leaps over the remaining carnage, leaving a literal trailing blaze of glory in its wake.

   At the sight of smoke, a snort busted through Nit as he mumbled, "Where there is smoke, there is fire. I thought that was my thing." He raises up from the seats with ease, looking over at the older elf with a smile, "Lets go great our little ladies, and by the way.." He pauses as he was walking away and looks over, "She likes to be asked questions directly rather than researched and check, much easier on both ends in her opinion." His smile still remaining the same, he walks down to the track, ready to shift the earth to either enhance the flames or dissipate them. Which ever Keyke wishes, he will give.

---

   The path way was clear and bright, in terms of the fire that is. My laughter was clear as day as we jumped over the fire and landed clear as day to the finishing line crowds. While my donkey may have been scared, I was able to pulse through my magic for calmness. What was ultra hilarious to me was Ulm's donkey. More specifically, what it was saying, "Holy sh*t, what are you thinking!?!? Way are you casing so much fire! It's gonna carry!" The adrenaline laughter from leaving the chaos turned to laughter over just listening to what was happening with the donkey. They quickly realized I could understand what was being said before they started asking me, "Please end this quickly! I beg of you! No more fire!" I cleared my throat, my laughter itching to spread as I spoke, "Go for the win, you made the chaos happen, I'm just here for the ride at this point." I spread my smile I gesture to the finish line, trying to keep my laughter at her donkey cussing me out for pushing it forward more.

Great, this kid is a pyromancer as well. Why is there never anyone obsessed with ice or water? Cervayhn thinks to himself as he catches Nit's mumbles.

The pair proceed towards the exit when the young sylvan elf suddenly stops in his tracks, turning to face his elder. The kid's statement catches him by surprise, albeit, not for long. A smirk forms on his lips as he stares his junior in the eyes. "Let me give you a bit of advice, kid. People are a lot more complex than what they are willing to tell you. Their identity is not created through their thoughts and ideals alone. Asking you these questions about Keyke is just as valuable as her directly. While your description may be different than hers, it doesn't make it any less true."
He places a hand on the young elf's shoulder as he passes by. "Come on, we'd best get moving before they run off on another deranged adventure.”

---

The mule lands on the other side of the wreckage with an impressive grace, its knees bending slightly to absorb the impact of the stunt's landing. Ulmiyda’s head lunges forward, giving her a considerable amount of whiplash as she barely maintains her position atop her gallant steed. Just as she regains her composure, she hears a clop of behind her which causes her to freeze in place. That was the last of her sabotage, if there was still some manner of competition, she would need to intervene more directly; something that would no doubt blow her cover and excuse she could give to Cervayhn. Her mind races for a moment, debating whether this simple race was worth the reprimanding she would no doubt receive, before she shakes off her hesitation. She wipes around instantly, her free hand folding its bottom to fingers as the remainder point toward the remaining threat to her glory; only to swiftly cancel her oncoming spell.

She watches as Keyke laughs uncontrollably, unsure how to interpret her new friend’s reaction. Was this a laughter of joy? Or was she mocking the young girl’s efforts, viewing them a meager obstacle in the face of her efforts. As she processes how to react, Keyke suddenly looks in her direction. Her words only serve to confuse the young girl more; after all this chaos her final boss was just conceding to her?

“No I want a fair race from here on out, we are equal foot- AHHHHH”

Before Ulmiyda can finish her proposal, her donkey takes off, dashing towards the finish line like its life depended on it. The young girl can only cling to the beast as it leads her to her unwitting victory.

She barely registers the ribbon snapping as she passes the finish line, falling to ground as the mule finally stops its charge. A loud bell begins to ring as the ribbon gives, signaling the winner of the race. Ulmiyda quickly rises to her feet as the sound rings out.

"I WON, I REALLY WON!" she yells out excitedly.
The young girl looks around for her cheering crowd, only to be confused by the absence of any race staff. All available hands were helping the crashed racers, leaving the two girls alone at the race's conclusion.

"Uhhhh… Where do I get my trophy?"

   Walking calmly through the chaos, Nit and Cerva finally arrive at the lower fields to see everyone available trying to clean the mess created by the two girls. With a huff of amusement, the certainty from before quickly vanished when seeing me. As my donkey did not flee like the Ulmiyda's, my outfit was less tossed around, and it still had mainly a clean look, though the ashes would be a bit harder to get out of my dress. Sadly, that slight shift in my looks made Nit enter full mother-henning mode. With a rush forward through the crowd, he arrives here and starts to grab me, checking my hair, doll, face, arms, etc, for a full list of anything different, like ashes, cuts, rips, etc.

   As I am quite used to his mothering, I smile while he checks me and responds to Ulmyida, glancing behind us and to a small basket lying on the ground, discarded in a rush. "I think the person holding it left to help the competition." I pull my right arm out of Nit's hold and point to the chaos, "Some people aren't very used to chaos, even in these races." I turn a bit, giving Nit back to my right arm as I point to the basket using my left. "I think it's the shiny thing in that basket." I completely ignore the mutterings, "There is a small cut on your pinky, oh been the sash has ash, why did you not jump above the horse and land back on it?"

   At Cerva, I glance at Nit and back at him, using my free arm to wave with a tight smile, "Was Nit good company?"

As Ulmiyda hops off her mount with a mixture of excitement and confusion, the donkey quickly flees, trying its best to get as far away from the chaos as possible. Unconcerned with the beast's panic, the young girl walks over to Keyke just as Cervayhn and Nit arrive. Her excitement overtakes her confusion as she grabs onto Cervayhn shirt, staring up at him with an overjoyed expression.

"Cervayhn! I did it. I won!" She shouts up to him, despite their close proximity. The older dark elf looks down at her with an unamused expression as he replies. "Yeah and the rest of the racers are scrambling to pick up the pieces. Somehow I doubt you're innocent in all of this."

The young girl's face contorts in annoyance at his response, ready to combat his doubts with all of the possible deniability she can muster. "What are you talking about? I didn't cast one spell and you had my satchel. Those carriages blew up on their own."
"And the flames racing alongside you?" He retorts. "That was just the wind pushing it. You weren't there, it was very windy on the race track."

Her retainer sighs as he concedes his side of the argument, realizing he doesn't have leverage to hold the girl accountable. He is about to escort the girl back to their transport when Keyke points out the awaiting trophy, sending Ulmiyda into a scramble as she runs to the prize at greater speed than her mount ever displayed. Cervayhn sighs once again before Keyke suddenly queries him. He looks down at her with a curious expression, still wondering what her role was in all of this. "I see a lot of myself in him, perhaps too much. If he keeps stressing out over the smallest thing, he’ll find himself aging just as fast as a human would.” He smirks as he glances towards Nit. "But that very well may be his intention."
Ulmiyda swiftly returns carrying a trophy half her size, a huge smile adorning her face as she excitedly shoves her prize up towards her reluctant retainer. “Look how shiny it is! It matches Dad’s trophies doesn’t it?” A smile finally breaks its way onto Cervayhn’s face as he sees how accomplished his young master feels. “Very much so, he will be proud. Unfortunately we don’t have time to linger here, you’d best say your goodbyes to your new friend so we can get moving.”

A look of surprise overcomes Ulmiyda’s excitement as she remembers the chaos being sorted a short distance away. The two of them were never stuck around long after one of her ‘incidents’. No doubt the race organizers would be starting their investigation soon and she didn’t feel like talking to any snooty professionals. She turns to face Keyke as her big smile reforms. “It was very fun racing with you, I hope we can meet again and talk magic some more!” She gives her new friend, her babysitter, and her doll a wave each before turning around and taking Cervayhn’s free hand. The older dark elf gives Nit and Keyke a small wave of his own despite his hands being occupied by the trophy and his master, before departing.

As the two depart, the sounds of the young girl's absurd requests can be heard for quite some distance. “I want a wagon of my own, one of those fancy ones, OH and also with flames painted on the sides! It needs to be fast too!”
Her retainer simply sighs once more as he leads his young master to their next bizarre escapade.

---

Letter sent to the Frostcroft Residence shortly afterwards:

    Well Shiva you can be proud of your daughter, she won a race all on her own. I have my suspicions that she didn't exactly play fair, although I can't pin her down on anything. I'm sending her trophy with this message, it would mean a lot to her if you displayed it alongside your fencing awards. Be sure to check your sources for a good laugh, quite a few uppity nobles got their comeuppance for daring to race against her, so rumors will no doubt be flying. We also met someone from Dragon's Cradle who might have some importance, I'll do some investigating and will keep you posted.

       -Subzero

   After she rushed over to get the trophy, the analysis of Nit was interesting and partially eye-opening. I looked up after he spoke of how he was trying to age up, raising my eyebrow at the many implications this could mean. Nit kept his head face looking to Cervayhn, refusing to look at the pressing stare of me lightly picking at him. I give a little bow to Cervayhn before looking up at him, "Thanks for that note," my eyes glance back up to Nit, "I'll have to," my words being cut off by Ulm returning with the prominent trophy and pestering Cervayhn. While this was happening, I glared at Nit, who was currently trying to keep his gaze away from looking at me, though the light sweat on his face was saying a lot more than what would normally be told on his face.

   I hear Cervayhn telling Ulm to say goodbyes, breaking my stern glare. My eyes widened at her goodbye, mainly to waving at my doll without me asking her to. I give her a giggle, releasing the tension hanging around the two of us. "I enjoyed it a lot as well; I hope to play with you again soon!" I let a bright smile form, easing my tight emotions about what I haven't seen with Nit. We each waved back, including my doll, as they walked away. I glance behind us at the chaos. I glance back to Nit and tilt my head.

   No words needed to be spoken; we both turned and walked away, walking amongst the crowd that was checking on the riders. I look at the stands and see the main onlooker, the gossip queen. She gave a smile and nodded her head, knowing the many underlining reasons for my second place. I nod back to her before turning away with Nit in tow. Traveling to our next predicament to solve.