gratitude

[the_very_best]

Bella flies away. She visits her parents, hits up the guild for matches and wins enough to pay her guild dues, and tools around random wilderness beating up on the wildlife.

She doesn't really expect to hear from Sherlock and Tony again.

Comments

[the_very_best]

Fireflower runs like she's got something to prove. She quite ignores Tony.

Meanwhile, Branch makes up some ground, when he's able to jump over a few tall rocks that the other two have to route around, but Bella falls far behind overall.

[toblameforit]

Well, okay then.

[bitofafiction]

As they reach the opposite side of the lake, Watson begins to pull ahead. He is better able to navigate the contours of the shoreline and turn sharply around obstacles without losing speed.

[the_very_best]

Fireflower runs like a madmon on the straightaway portions, and occasionally temporarily overtakes the Zebstrika, but ultimately she - or Tony, depending on how one counts these things - comes in second.

Branch lopes in some thirty seconds later.

[bitofafiction]

"Good show," says Sherlock, disembarking from Watson and hugging him around the neck.

"Zeb," says Watson, nodding.

[toblameforit]

Tony climbs off of Fireflower and sits down on the ground.

"Good game, everybody!"

[the_very_best]

"Raaaapidash," complains Fireflower, snorting at Watson.

"Nicely done," says Bella, sliding off Branch and returning him.

[bitofafiction]

"Zebstrika," says Watson, unconcernedly.

"Our mounts desire a rematch," says Sherlock.

[the_very_best]

"Do they now. I'd be up for another lap."

[bitofafiction]

"As would I."

[toblameforit]

"Count me out," says Tony.

[the_very_best]

"That's all right, I can ride Fireflower." Since Tony's already vacated her, Bella vaults up. "I bet you can do it, pretty one," she coos. "Yes you can."

[bitofafiction]

Sherlock remounts Watson and guides him to the starting line.

"Shall we, my dear fellow?"

"Striiika."

[the_very_best]

Fireflower's a bit more attentive to Bella than she was to Tony. And she's smarter than Branch. She trots up beside Watson at a click of Bella's tongue and shoots the Zebstrika a challenging look. "Dash."

[bitofafiction]

"Zeb," says Watson aloofly.

[the_very_best]

"Five," counts Bella, "four, three, two, one -"

She lets Fireflower react to the countoff by herself, but then she's helping. The Rapidash has better initial acceleration and her instinct is to seize the inside track with it, but given her inferior cornering Bella dissuades her. She also encourages her Pokémon over a jump that Bella knows she can make even if it looks forbidding, from far enough back that Fireflower sails right over it, and that saves them from having to go down around the little tidepool-like structures that gave her trouble before.

[bitofafiction]

Watson and Sherlock have better knowledge of the terrain, but it's the same knowledge they had for the race that just finished. And Sherlock declines to push Watson over any jump with which he is not already comfortable.

They are not making up the time lost on the straightaways so well anymore.

[the_very_best]

Fireflower is insufferably smug and paws at the ground, tossing her head, after she's trotted to a stop at the tower.

Bella looks pretty pleased with herself too.

[bitofafiction]

"Zeb, zeb," says Watson. Sherlock pats him.

[the_very_best]

"Rapidash," says Fireflower.

Bella slides off Fireflower's back, stumbles, and catches herself. "That was fun," she says breathlessly, trying to untangle some of her hair from the windblown state it has gotten into.

[bitofafiction]

"Strika," Watson says agreeably. He does seem very even-tempered.

"It was!" says Sherlock.

[the_very_best]

"Raprapidash. Raprapidash?"

"Tony seemed to have been exhausted, so I guess we can do the aerial installment another time," giggles Bella.

[bitofafiction]

"Zeb," says Watson. Sherlock laughs and pets him.

"Yes, that does sound reasonable."

[the_very_best]

Bella pets Fireflower. "You did good, sweetie." And she puts her away. And she gets her hairbrush out of her bag and attacks her ponytail. "That was a rush, she's almost never running flat out when I'm riding her."

[bitofafiction]

"I don't frequently get a chance to experience Watson's top speed, either," says Sherlock. "It was enjoyable."