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REMI

Remi finds Maea easily, even in the swell of the crowd—the pale hair, the way she holds herself like the eye of a snowstorm. The arena hums with laughter and anticipation, boots stomping and music drifting through the sun-heavy air, but Maea is stillness amidst it all. He weaves through spectators with the quiet confidence of someone who doesn’t need to announce his presence to be felt, the corners of his mouth already lifting. When he reaches her, he smiles fully, something warm and familiar flickering in his sea-glass eyes.

"Well, I'm ready to embarrass myself for the sake of entertainment, how about you?" he murmurs fondly, the words gentle and teasing all at once, before stepping back.

Without further ceremony, Remi shifts. The change ripples through him smoothly—his body surging forward and down, muscle reshaping, golden light tracing the arc of transformation until the man is gone and in his place stands something wildly different. The pixiu gleams in the sunlight—fur the colour of sun-warmed sand, mane tousled and thick, eyes still sea-glass green but ringed in leonine amber. Broad wings unfurl from his shoulders in a stretch of tawny feathers, ruffling slightly in the breeze before tucking in close again.

He lowers himself into a crouch, heavy paws steady against the packed earth, wings dipping so the slope of his back is easier to reach. His massive head tips toward her in something like a nod, the tip of his tail flicking once behind him.

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Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt, Colt

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

If I could sing one last song

A glitter of mischief lit up her eyes as Maea turned to greet Remi. She was relieved, honestly, as being paired with him meant no one would be surprised if she ate the dust after a single buck. The humiliation to come was mitigated by the sheer heroism of the Bastion, that intimidating aura swept around boyish goofiness no darkness had managed to quash.
"Absolutely! she laughed. "Don't you dare go easy on me - it'll be fun to see how high I can be sent flying without wings."

Urging her companion to stay safely out of the way amidst the audience, the petite ancient followed Remi out into the ring. Shaking her hands nervously, time seemed to start crawling as he shifted. Climbing onto the golden back of the pixiu seemed to take forever. Warm and solid beneath her, he seemed made of the same substance as the golden sunlight pouring down on them, syrp thick and amber rich. She wound rough strands of lion mane around her fists. Would that a firm grim was enough to glue her down for the eight seconds required to win - Maea didn't count on it, but there was always room for hope. Sensing Remi's nod, she tucked her chin down, prepared to be jostled halfway to Mort's halls - and nodded that she was ready to go.

I'd make it a good one

REMI

As soon as Remi feels Maea settle—knees locked in tight, fingers buried deep in his mane—he waits just long enough for her nod before surging forward.

The earth thunders beneath his paws for only a handful of strides before he launches clean off the ground. There’s no need to posture or feint; Maea had asked for high, and he’s never been one to half-deliver on a dare. His wings snap open with a crack of wind, broad and golden, and in a single mighty stroke he lifts them skyward. The cheers from the stands fade under the roar of wind as they rise, sharp and fast, his body arcing like a tossed stone through the air.

Then, without warning, he twists. Up becomes down and down becomes a blur as the pixiu rolls into a tight loop, feathered wings cutting the sky in a perfect circle. The shift in gravity is clean but disorienting, and though he holds nothing back, Remi moves with control—flinging her toward the edge of chaos, but never quite letting her fall.

---

Remi takes off and does a loop in the sky!

Colt

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

If I could sing one last song

A fraction of a second was all the time she got to prepare. Then the world became a blur of motion around her and gravity tripled its force upon her as Remi took off. With her hands tangled firmly into his mane, her world shrank into a single mission - hang on.

Up they went. Then around, and round, and round again - and Maea could feel herself slipping off. Desperately she tried to tighten her legs around Remi's rib. Was this how a burr felt in the tail of a bucking horse? It had her sympathy. A second - how long was avsecond again? It felt like a lifetime, like no time at all.

---

Maea tries to hold on.

I'd make it a good one

Sorry Maea, you're no maverick, you are unseated after 1 second!

REMI

The moment her weight shifts—just the slightest lurch against his back—Remi feels it. The loop stalls mid-arc, wings flaring wide to arrest the momentum with a powerful whump of air. In the next breath, the golden body of the pixiu dissolves midair into smoke and shimmer, leaving only Remi behind, his bare feet hitting the ground just a beat ahead of Maea’s tumble.

He’s at her side in seconds, crouched in the dirt with a hand already outstretched, curls wind-tossed and a boyish grin tugging at his lips. "Gods, Maea," he chuckles, breathless with concern and amusement, "I didn't think you'd be so eager to get away from me."

Brushing dust from her shoulder with a careful hand, he tilts his head, scanning her quickly for anything bent the wrong way or bleeding. "You alright?" he murmurs, softening slightly. "Nothing broken?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

If I could sing one last song

Alas, she would be more successful in holding on to soap than staying seated on the twisting pixiu. No sooner had she felt that lurching awareness that she was gliding off, than she tumbled through the air and landed unceremoniously in the dust.

It knocked the air out of her lungs. Rattled and momentarily disoriented, she blinked up at the curly head and merry green eyes - and poked her tongue out at him. As soon as she caught her breath she'd respond to that. Surely there had to be a good enough quip to fire back - ah, but maybe the wit had been knocked out of her along with the air in her lungs.
"MmI'm good," she grumbled good-naturedly, wheezing a bit until her lungs resumed their normal function. "Turns out, I prefer doing the flying with my own wings. Thanks all the same though."

The crowd was being very noisy, but she did appreciate the scattered applause as she sat up and reached out a hand for Remi to help her up. At least they had the decency to be a little concerned about potential injuries - with a few exceptions, no names mentioned.

I'd make it a good one

REMI

Remi chuckles, crouching a little lower as he braces his hand beneath Maea’s to help her up, his grip warm and careful even as his grin edges on smug. "Fair enough," he says, eyes crinkling. He gives her hand a light squeeze before releasing it, but not without first giving her a once-over—not as a show, but with the gentle attentiveness of someone who’s seen enough crashes to know that the adrenaline sometimes masks the worst parts. Only when she seems properly steady on her feet does he straighten up again, brushing a bit of dust off her shoulder.

"Sounds like the crowd loved you, though," he adds, tipping his chin toward the stands. Then, with a softer smile, he glances toward the arena’s edge, where Ronin waits. "You’re welcome to come watch the rest with us, if you’re not too bruised for company," he offers, before walking with her out of the ring.

~FIN

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!