Persie hums, and smiles. Honestly, it was an easy enough task. Though not as fun in her opinion. She followed him, putting her bow back and sighing. “Fine, I suppose. You’re the plan guy, after all~” She answered in a sickly sweet tone, though her smile assured him that she was not teasing him at all. She trusted the plan. It was an easy enough plan after all. As they walked towards the track, she followed along, the vines slowly popping up behind her.



The two strode off, a pep in her step as she watched him. “You know, you’re cute when you’re being all grumpy and threatening.” She says with a smirk. “Not to mention bossy.” They were at a good enough distance now. “It’ll burn slow enough to where we should get to at least the second lap before it explodes. That good enough?”



With that, she turned to grab the first mule she could, as a steed for the race. Though she seemed a little defeated about it, because she didn’t want to hurt the poor thing. Persie got in line for the race, feeding the creature apples and such and glancing over in the distance at the shed, her target, as they waited. It wasn’t long until the race actually started. There she was, on her steed, trudging along carefully. Of course, she had to make it seem like she wanted to win, so she kept a steady pace.



Eventually, the race started getting to the point it needed to get to. It was the second lap, and at this point she had kept a middle pace. Now she had to focus as she waited for the explosion.

Vail sighs as Persie’s relentless teasing continues even as they discuss their plan. “I’m only bossy when it comes to making money. I’ve only ever learned by example after all.” He looks back as he hears the woman’s voice shift to a more serious tone. “The second lap should be fine, that gives the crowd ample time to get comfortable. The tension of a race hinges on the audience being invested after all. That just means there will be fewer wandering eyes when we do slip away.”

The two of them return the donkey pen, finding multiple saddles and animals still waiting for riders. Vail places a saddle atop the sturdiest beast he can find and climbs on with a light grunt, The steed offers little resistance to him, as if the creature was just as accepting of the coming humiliation as he is.

“Well let’s go give them their show.”

The pair take their place at the starting line, flanked on both sides by vehicles and stallions, no doubt looking quite out of place to the audience. With the wave of a flag the racers were off, with the exception of Vail who stayed still momentarily in the dust cloud until the unmistakable twang of a bowstring reached his ears through the cacophony of noise. He strikes the donkey’s reins as the dust starts to clear but finds little hope of catching the rapidly escaping pack.

The thinly stifled laughter of the crowd creeps in as the sound of rushing wheels and hooves starts to lower in volume. The nobles seem to be rather amused by the humiliation the commonfolk need to endure just for a shot at victory. Vail doesn’t let the laughter get under his skin however, a clown show is still a show after all; better they stay distracted for what comes next.

“Get your laughs while you can. Let’s see how jolly you are after we’re done. I’ll be laughing my way to the nearest pawn broker." The ash lander snidely mutters to himself.

Vail's eyes lock onto Persie, seeing the woman putting far more effort than he was. Good, better that she doesn’t draw any attention before the explosion goes off. Her demeanor was a stark contrast to the teasing, carefree act she had previously put on. It seems his eye for talent hasn’t waned yet, as his assumptions about the woman were quickly proving to be true.

Vail grabs hold of his donkey’s reins, giving the rope one last snap to help motivate the creature. Despite his efforts, the mule is quickly lapped by the other racers, their own laughter masking the distant boom of the shed as Persie’s setup succeeds. The ash lander leads the tired steed to the fence, coming to a stop as he chooses to retire from the race. He gives the donkey a gentle pet as he moves to jump the fence. “Good effort buddy, but now it’s time for me to get to work.”