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 Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:39 pm
grasshopper pie I hope you don't mind me having her racing and they can meet after the race? The stadium was not packed today; busy yes but not crowded. Today's race was for Breeders and Xaraan owners to test their steeds and see how they did before sponsoring them into the larger races. It was called a show race, no bets were held, and instead of eager crowds cheering for their favorite jockey or Xaraan, you had prospective sponsors, the rich, the bored and the breeders watching. Xaraan were tested here... but so were jockeys. if a jockey showed skill there was a chance a sponsor would talk to them after the race and see about entering them into the official races. Sanele once had wanted that.. she still did actually. But for now, she was content to race promising Xaraan for her Uncle-In-Law and get experience before she asked him to sponsor her in the official races. She sat, perched on a small Xaraan that had been built for racing; Lan was looking forward to good results in this race and Sanele did not want to disappoint! The Xaraan all perked up and the jockeys crouched down in the saddles as the official stepped out onto the platform and raised his hand. It was silent for a spilt second as all eyes turned towards him; “Race with honor and pride and may On’os favor you all. Ready… set…. Gooooo!” At this last fire sprang from his hands; the signal to begin! Sanele felt her heart stir with excitement as the xaraan's muscles bunched beneath her and she shot forward! They were ahead of the crowd, the long limbs of her Xaran and the lighter load on her back insuring she got a small lead. But in front a larger Xaraan blocked Sanele and her Xaraan's path, its tail waving back and froth to keep her from passing. They tried at tight turns to get around, but always that tail would swing out and keep them at bay. It was with disappointment that they crossed third; Sanele a little angry that she couldn't come up with a way to get around such a road block. She sighed and patted the Xaraan's neck. "Good race girl," she murmured as she led her off to cool down and take the Xaraan for a slow walk. She always walked the Xaraans afterwords, making sure no muscles were pulled and that they didn't hurt themselves.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:59 am
Life was a funny thing. It kept pushing you along no matter how badly you wanted to just sit and wait a while. In a way it was positive; a good distraction at the very least and something to occupy the hands. When it had become known that a delivery was to be made concerning a show race, Sebastien had openly volunteered to be the one to lug it to the stadium. He had seen a proper xaraan race anyway, maybe it would be interesting?
The young man was not able to make it up into the stands for the race, but he could watch from the sidelines and still keep an eye on the supplies. The man who had been named to sign off on the shipment had not yet arrived and so he was free to stand and wait and watch until he appeared.
As it turned out, xaraan racing was pretty exciting. He hadn't been too interested at the start, but as the race neared its end he was feeling that familiar pulse of adrenaline in his chest. He had no stake in any one jockey or bird but still seemed interested in who won, rising up on his toes to see. Outwardly, that was the most interest he showed. He fell back to his flat feet when it was all over and noted the people flooding in from stands and sidelines alike. It was only polite to take the quhar pulling its supplies further away from the crowd. Something was going on, breeders were try to sell or get sponsors or... something. It wasn't really his business. His interest lay in the sport, not in the political hubbub surrounding it.
It should only happen to be that a young female jockey was walking her steed a ways away from the track, as some seemed to do. He offered a smile and a wave, and then a thumbs-up. She had been one of the first three over the line, after all! ...or was that not a good thing in xaraan racing? Really he wasn't sure. The quhar had taken interest in a patch of nearly-green grass and was chewing contentedly.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:11 am
grasshopper pie heh heh heh... tags 8D bag= money bag= merchant/rich folk. Nobs= nobles Sanele saw an older boy standing with a quhar along the sidelines... right where she was going to walk her Xaraan.... Might as well chat with him! She thought with a smile when he gave a wave and thumbs up to her. Since he was being friendly.... She dismounted with practiced ease and loosed the saddle and bridle to allow her Xaraan to relax. "Mornin';" She said with a smile. "You here to meet one of the bags or nobs? Iffn you are you'll have to wait a bit... they always do business for a while after one of the show races." Her tiny Xaraan pulled against her lead to sniff at Sebastion
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:27 am
A slow grin slipped across Sebastien's face. Well then! He hadn't heard slang like that in quite some time! His first job had been more accustomed to people of the lower classes as it were, but such words rarely crossed the lips of his coworkers now. Once he had sounded quite the same, but with all of the teasing and the realization after puberty that the girls looked down upon street urchins, he had trained himself out of it. It was almost charming to hear it again!
"A nob, I think," he said with a little chuckle. "I figured as much. I don't mind waiting around, though." He turned to make sure his beast of burden didn't mind the company and patted its solid flank before turning back to the girl. He offered her his hand in greeting. "I'm Sebastien. You did well out there!" He nodded back toward the direction of the race track.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:26 pm
Sanele was a bit surprised the other knew what her slang referred to and didn't seem disturbed by it. She was trying to not talk like an urchin, but habits died hard. Lan had been mentioning that it would be better if she dropped it since it might drive off customers. "Sanele;" she said with a grin as she shook his hand. "My lil girl woulda done better, but that larger Xaraan knew how to use his tail to keep us off." She sighed and buried her displeasure at the lost. She had gotten 3rd and that was nothing to sneeze at! Lan would be happy with that since this Xaraan was not from a notable line. "Gonna have to remember that trick and figure if I can train others to do it..." She muttered to herself as she tugged slightly on the lead to keep her xaraan from pestering the quhar. "You from around here? You don't use slang but you seem used to it." maybe he'd worked his way out of poverty like she was doing?
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:20 pm
Sebastien nodded receptively at the sound of her name, and straightened once the casual greeting had been struck.
"Really?" he asked then, brows furrowing briefly. That sounded like cheating to him! A pack of Oban runners would greatly protest against one of their peers holding their arms out or smacking them away. Undoubtedly the 'race' would become a fistfight before long. He laughed to himself and shook his head. "I know nothing about Xaraan racing, myself. I'm glad I got to watch."
His attention turned to the young woman's Xaraan for a moment. It was a very lean, muscular sort of model, wasn't it? He had helped to train a few in his day, but never to race. He'd bet it was fun. Oh, oh, she was making conversation. His eyes turned to Sanele again and he nodded.
"Originally I'm from Sulburi," he said, gesturing in the direction of the city, "but I live in Orrod. I got lucky and found a job working for a nob out there." As per usual, he felt no need to share his life story even so far as particularly where he lived. There had been a time when he'd begged and fought for a few coins so, yes, the slang was appropriate. "I trained myself out of it for the looks. Where are you from?" Seb enjoyed the company of others, but most of his Oban contact came from his coworkers during his shifts. It was nice to talk to someone his own age for once, and in such a casual setting.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:34 pm
Sanele smirked; " So long as no fights start out, your Xaraan can do anything! Jockeys can't though.... If the rider had been doing something he'd-a been disqualified. Sometimes the Xaraan start a brawl in the middle of a race!" She laughed; "It's quite entertaining when that happens! They hate to lose as much as we do." It really was quite cut throat sometimes! But fun! She loved that part of it... Plus so long as you weren't caught... "I'm from here too. Currently on my way to working up to own my own ranch! Not sure iffn I'll go Xaraan or try for the animals in the tendaji lands.... Gotta first figure out what sorta animals are there though..." If Sebastien could train the accent away so could she! And she really loved Xaraan... but the temptation of new beasts to train was just so hard to resist!
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:46 pm
"Ah! Yeah, I can imagine that," he agreed, nodding. The Xaraan back at the compound were prone to little spats as it was. They had been particularly angry at the invading demon-spiders as well but that was a whole different ordeal. Even the drunks at the pub generally didn't believe that story.
"Ooh! That's a good goal if 'ere ever was one! Huh. This might be a silly question, but if you did stick to Xaraan would you train 'em t'race?" Ah, there was hope for her accent but he found his own slipping and he simply didn't care. "Will you stick t'races when you're rich n'famous?" Really the whole event had sparked his curiosity. The race had been an exciting display of pageantry if nothing else!
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:04 pm
Sanele gave a grin when she heard his accent start to come out. How cute! He was all excited about the races! She'd found a fellow enthusiast perhaps? "Of course!" She laughed and wrinkled her nose at him. "Racing's what attracted me to the Xaraan in the first place! I'd raise em to be the best racers ever! You go to lots of races?" She went once a week at least! With her family to cheer on the current favorite... "Though I'm not to sure iffn I'll be the once racing... I want to race on the big stage one day." She said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "At least one race! Make a name for myself and then settle down to create a ranch of my own!"
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:34 pm
"Ah, no. This is my first, actually. I thought I wouldn't be interested, no offense." He looked around the track and eyed the groups that were still gathered at the other end. Hopefully the man he was looking for wouldn't feel the need to interrupt. Still, it was his job to deliver supplies and his boss wouldn't be-- ah. Right. His boss had become king, hadn't he? The compound had lacked a bit of organization lately.
For the first time, the young man's smile dissipated. Everything had changed, hadn't it? He caught himself quickly, though, and shook the thoughts from his head.
"Alright, alright. A good plan. I'd definitely come see ya then." He wasn't sure how he'd know, though. Did they announce these things? Meanwhile the quhar at his side had grown tired of waiting and moved close to Sanele's steed. Sebastien turned to it and clicked his tongue a few times. It barely payed attention, but an ear did twitch toward him.
"Uh-uh, sweetheart. We don't want you gettin' bit." He took the beast's head and guided it gently away. He didn't make a habit of talking to animals in public, but his walls were slipping a bit. Something about Senele put him at ease. "You've got nice horns 'n all but look at that beak, eh?" The quhar grunted and wandered a bit to the left. Once again, Sebastien affectionately patted the beast.
"So have y'done this long? Third place is no joke." He offered the girl a charming smile. "You've been at it years, right?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:34 pm
Sanele smiled happily; it was a good feeling to find out one of her races was someone's first and they'd gotten attracted to the sport! "No offense! There's usually small 'nouncements on posters in various places... mostly bars actually." Sanele laughed. " For the official races, like the big ones with bettin' and prize money, you'll find grander posters posted about the city and sometimes they send em out to towns and other villages... Get more sponsers iffn there's a large enough crowd..." She eyed the curious quhar and smiled as her xaraan returned the sniff and bumped noses. Must be someone who trains animals, Sanele thought when Sebastien talked at the quhar. It seems those of us int eh business of beasts talk to them! She blushed slightly and giggled; "Nope! Actually just started recently! Didna have the sponsor till now... Though really Lan's not a sponsor I'm just testing his animals out... I work on his farm and have a knack and am light so its now part of my duties... Pity he's not interested in the big races." He normally raced the Xaraan, then sold the ones who did well in the small time test races for exorbitant amounts. making money off the hope that they'd do just as well in the hands of an experienced jockey on the big stage. "Thanks though~ Thirds not bad... but I'd rather get first." Nothing but the best! If she didn't aim high she'd never get off the ground! "What do you do for a living.. other than delivers?" She leaned forward to offer a hand to the quhar to smell before running her hands through it's fur. " If you have time off... there's a race tomorrow; the opening season race in fact! I've got tickets if you're interested!" One of the benefits of this job; Lan would often get tickets since he supplied many with Xaraan.. he'd taken to giving them out as rewards for jobs well done.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:56 pm
Sebastien smiled and nodded. He must have seen the posters in a pub by this point but the event had never really appealed to him. As it turned out he had been wrong, go figure! For some reason it was different when the xaraan took several left turns for a long period of time. He wasn't going to question it. The idea of sponsors also seemed fairly reasonable. There'd be no sport without people to support it, just like anything else.
Meanwhile, the quhar rolled its eyes up at Sanele as she offered it a hand and grunted without truly considering it. Its pelt twitched when she touched it, and that was all. The quhar continued existing in its contented, monotonous sort of way and Sebastien smiled down at it. Good boy.
"Well, who wouldn't?" he asked. Clearly he'd prefer first place over third, but third wasn't so bad either! "I'm a... uh." He tilted his head. "Well. I'm a 'charmer working at the king'd old compound?" The young man thrust a thumb back in the direction of home. "I do a little bit of everything-- ah. Except race. I feel like I'd probably crush the poor thing."
Her offer then was rather sweet, wasn't it? He imagined she only got so many free tickets with her participation and he was only a stranger. "Oh? At what time?" Although he did live amongst the flock on the compound he also had required hours to attend to. A race at night wouldn't do, not that it would make much sense to have people riding especially fast animals in the dark.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:45 pm
grasshopper pie she's asking hot guy on date 8D Sanele gave the uninterested Quhar a final pat before straightening. Fur was okay.. she preferred the scales of the Xaraan! "Oh? New king still keeping that one up? Afore I got my current job, I had wante to work there.. he seemed a good boss." She looked at the older boy, impressed. She'd checked out, through rumors and talking to workers mostly, most of the Xaran farms to see which one she wanted to enter when she came of age and knew at least some information on most of them. Now with him beign king, she figured she'd have an even smaller chance to ever work there! Nobles will probably claim most of the apprentice poitions, she thought a bit sourly. "Already a 'charmer? Lucky! I'm still in training for that; Lan's got me working in different seconds every month to get me experience and see where I should focus." She grinned briefly. "Iffn you'd asked me a year ago what I wanted to do.. it would have been a jockey! Now.... I dunno." She reached out to pat her little Xaraan girl. "Racing is a blast, but I almost prefer raising them..." Training was fun too! But raising them meant she got to cuddle them when they were cute adorable balls of scales that were all feet and tail!
"You are a bit... big to be a racer~" She grinned up at him. "Though some of our bigger bloodlines could hold your weight for a long distance, none of the sprinters can!" She giggled at the image of him sitting on a small racing xaraan; his feet would probably almost touch the ground! "Usually in the afternoons... that way the race occurs then we all go out and have a huge party!" She grinned happily; "Party's almost as much fun as the race! My whole neighbor hood goes and cheers on our favorites so the party's usually in the street with everyone briging out food, chairs, and stuff!" Yet another reason she loved living at home and not at the farm!
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:06 pm
"That's good, though!" he insisted. He wished he had had some guidance in his younger life rather than accidentally stumbling into his profession. There had been nobody to lead him, just a random pattern of blind leaps that had ended up working out. He laughed outright at the comment about his size and shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's a gift," he joked, flexing his biceps and then chuckling at himself. "I'm so sorry. Yeah, as far as I know I'm not out of a job, so I hope he's still runnin' it?"
The idea of a race and party, though, that set well with him. He'd like to see another race, and an all-out block party was more than welcome. Really he could be plied with good food and social interaction any day. The afternoon, though, that didn't necessarily bode well.
"I do have to work tomorrow until early afternoon, and then at night. I might be able to stop by, though. Are you racing, or...?"
robot kitten Oh, Sanele, you can't possibly know he's sworn to someone else, and neither does he. I am so sorry. xD He would so say yes-for-sure if it wasn't a work day.
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Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 4:54 pm
grasshopper pie Sorry for wait, school ate me. Sanele enjoyed the flex show and smirked; "A Janarim might suit your size better that's for sure!" She thought with a chuckle. "What's it like working on the king's compound? What animals does he have?" She really was jealous... how had he managed to get that job without money or title! He must be really good at what he does... "Pity about the race." She sighed. She wouldn't have minded having him along! But work always came first. It was why she missed a lot of races these days... "Maybe you can ask for one off in the future? I'm not racing in the big ones !... Yet anyways." She grinned. Nice of him to think she could stand on the big stage right now. "Need to get better, and have a better mount first! And a sponsor cause those things are expensive!"
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