Ice Flow Race-Faction Brawl

-Sif-
Lin really didn’t want to be here. It was cold. It was going to be very wet. Erica was whining and not in the least bit helpful, and Amyer was way too happy to be in this race (not that she knew that she was in a race right now, she had forgotten and was now just enjoying being on her back as she glanced around to smile at some of the other people around her, most of which were quite confused by her actions). Still, her eyes flickered up to the northern lights in the sky and she somehow found some will in her to finish this. Maybe if she won then she could be excused from ever having to do this again. Her eyes went forward again and she waited for the gunshot, already plotting out her path, only barely remembering to account for the other two tokos by her side who had been deemed her racing buddies, one pair from her faction and a pair of pack leaders. She liked neither of them. Thought honestly that probably had more to do with the fact that she was exhausted and didn’t want to be awake right now then anything else.

While her emotions on the inside were flip-flopping around, nothing really seemed to be happening to Lin on the outside. She was just as calm as ever and only her steady breathing and eyes moving back and forth across the lake gave away that she was alert to the upcoming race at all.

On her back, Amyer was babbling about just about everything to the two people beside her, with Erica curled up against her so that she could use the elf as a shield from the wind. Amyer had been talking about steel and saying something about it being the most toko-friendly metal for some reason or another when she very abruptly stopped, glanced about and then turned to Archer to ask “Excuse me, I know that I’m here for a reason and I’m fairly sure this is an event of some kind, but I can’t remember why or what this is? Do you know? Also who are you again?” And Lin had to fight very hard not to sigh at her handler.

-Tai-
Whiskey was standing with his back to the chill wind, fur fluffed up against the cold as he shifted on the ice. The colors were flashing up in the sky, and he wanted to chase them, but he knew from previous experience that he could run all night chasing them like clouds in the sky but never catch them. His handler, Archer, was light on his back without the usual assortment of straps and pads that he normally put on Whiskey when he rode, and the tokota enjoyed the lighter load. The ice felt firm underneath his large paws, though on their way out to where they were now on the ice there had been patches of cold water that made the ice slick underfoot. Whiskey turned his attention back to the other tokotas- both Lin and Gambit seemed to be standing quietly, more focused on staying warm than exploring around. The wind began to die down, and Whiskey shifted again, impatient to be underway with the race.

Archer listened to the conversation, nodding along with what Amyer was saying, half paying attention. The night was getting late, and Archer was getting tired, despite the excitement of the upcoming race. He had been up most of the night before, unable to sleep, and wondering about the outcome of the race, leaving him tired and sluggish. He had almost nodded off when Amyer asked a string of her usual forgetful questions.
“Amyer, I’m Archer, a new friend of yours. We’re smack dab in the middle of a partially frozen lake for a race, and we’re going to head over there.” He said, somewhat amused, but pointed out the finish line, marked with a series of red flags and lights on the edge of the lake. The wind continued to quiet down, and Whiskey shifted underneath him, impatient to start the race. Archer felt a little odd riding him without tack, but provided he could stay on his back there wouldn’t be too much trouble. He had already pointed out the finish line to him and made sure that the large piebald tokota knew where they were going, as they didn’t have reins per the race’s rules.

-Sif-

Amyer was about to reply to Archer, her hands moving to stroke Erica in her lap instead of gripping onto Lin, but then the starting gun went off and before Amyer could say another word, Lin was off. To be honest, the only reason that Lin even had Amyer on her back was so she could compete. The elf did very little to actually direct her or tell her where to go. She often didn’t. Lin’s paws were moving under her, and honestly, she could care less whether or not Whiskey and Gambit were following her now as she felt herself pull into the lead of the pack of racers heading out.

Her paws went forward as she bounded across the ice, her eyes having mapped everything out.

Or almost anything anyways.

Lin felt something was wrong, something was very, very wrong when her paws touched the next section of ice, but she couldn’t stop herself in time. Erica had just enough time to bail before Lin and Amyer fell down under the ice as other racers sped past her, only to fall into similar traps.

Lin knew how long it would take her to pull herself out of this, and she also knew that she couldn’t afford to lose that much time. So with a quick bark of “Don’t follow me!” To the others she was racing with and Erica (more for Erica if Lin was being honest). Lin did something very stupid, she dove.

Swimming had always been her strong suit, so without wasting any more time, Lin pushed off the ice (knocking another competitor into the water as well) and paddled for the shore, swimming faster then she would have been able to get on land.

Up ahead, she saw her chance just a few feet before the finish line, her breath was running out and she didn’t have time to try and haul herself out. Plus she had no idea how well Amyer was taking all this (the handler seemed to still be griping her back so she was probably fine). Lin bunched up her hind legs, braced them against a the shallow sandbar that was helpfully not that far from the lakeside, and kicked out as hard as she could, sending herself up and out of the water, breaking through a layer of ice as she did so.

-Tan-
At the sound of the starting gun, Whiskey took off, nearly bouncing Archer off of his back. He leaned over and gripped the piebald with his legs, clinging to fistfuls of his mane. They were slightly behind Gambit and Lin, so they had a front row seat when Lin’s paws slid out from underneath her. Gambit and his handler narrowly managed avoid running into the splayed out tokota on the ice, though Whiskey had more time to react and took off in a different direction, trying to stay clear of the patches of wet or slick ice. As they continued running, Gambit spun out beside them, sending up a splash of water that soaked Archer’s leg. He looked over his shoulder to see Amyer and Lin coming up fast behind them, only to feel that Whiskey was falling. He looked forwards just in time to see the water rushing up at him, before the cold rushed over Archer’s body. Whiskey broke through the surface, with Archer still clinging to his back, taking big, sputtering breaths. Beside them, Lin and Amyer were still swimming steadily beside them. The finish line was approaching, though Whiskey’s breathing was growing more laboured, and Archer had begun to shiver on his back- the water was sapping his and Whiskey’s strength. He heard splashing behind him and saw Gambit’s head with his handler on his back, and pushed at Whiskey’s neck, getting the piebald tokota to swim a little faster. The edge of the ice was nearing, and Archer wasn’t quite sure how Whiskey would be able to get up onto it. He looked over at Amyer, and meeting her eyes, knew that she was worried about the same problem. Whiskey’s first attempt to climb onto the ice was met with spectacular failure- the large tokota’s weight was too much for the ice to support, so he and Archer fell into the water again. Gambit and his handler were still struggling behind them, but were closing fast, and Amyer and Lin had a similiar experience with their first attempt to get onto the ice. Whiskey tried again, managing to splay out his forepaws to distribute his weight over the ice. The ice cracked beneath them, but held long enough for Whiskey to get his hind paws on it and shake out his fur, which was enough time for Lin and Amyer to climb up as well, with Gambit and his handler struggling beside them. Archer nudged Whiskey’s sides with his heels, and the large piebald took off for the finish line, with Lin and Amyer right beside them. Both Whiskey and Lin were so focused on the rapidly approaching finish line that they didn’t notice the large slick patch of ice right before it, and both tokotas wiped out, flying paws and fur were sent spinning everywhere, and when the two tokotas had finally slid to a stop, Archer looked around to see that both Whiskey and Lin had managed to slide across the finish line. Gambit and his handler slowed slightly, navigating the slick patch of ice with the tokota remaining on his feet, before crossing the finish line after Archer, Lin, Whiskey, and Amyer. The question now was who had won?