Strong Start

//Content Warning for foul language. (https://youtu.be/kXOqyImTTOo?si=i9KvzPQGqiEJ4c4U) With the blaring of a buzzer, six figures rocket out of the garage of the old Helfire Coal Plant. The moment they clear the door, two of the figures, a pegasus, and a blue dragon, unfurl their wings, and take to the skies. Below, a pack quickly forms between the remaining four. Ryuji is in front, with Nar not far behind. Juno follows fairly close behind, and Steeltrap brings up the rear a fair distance away. The group makes a tight turn into a small downwards slope, leading to the main road of the old industrial district. Ryuji takes the turn without slowing down, while the others are a tad bit more cautious when making the turn. When the turn ends, and the road straightens out, Nar begins to pick up speed, and quickly catches up to Ryuji, but doesn't pull ahead. Instead, he matches pace with Ryuji, and skates alongside him. Just far enough to be out of reach of his claws, wings, or tail, but close enough to shout a bit of banter. "Your bassist has the right idea! You guys are gonna need a mask when you have to eat my dust!" Behind the two, Juno's face contorts. That insult was so 'schoolyard' that it gave him secondhand embarrassment. "Oh yeah? You think he's wearing that mask, and those chains for looks?" Ryuji lets out a slight chuckle. "No. It's because if he wasn't, this wouldn't be a contest. He'd eat you alive the moment this race started." At this, Juno turns his head to look back at the black dragon at the back of the pack. He's definitely being slowed down by all the metal on him, but with the unhinged snarling he can hear from behind the steel mask, that's definitely a good thing. Ryuji might very well mean what he said literally. Well, that sure wasn't unnerving. Not in the slightest. Racing a murderous psychopath surely wouldn't end in something bad, right? "As if!" Nar retorts, before swerving to avoid a decently sized pothole in the road. "That walking case of indigestion would burn himself out before he even got he chance to get ahead!" From behind, Juno cups his hands over his mouth to shout "Better comebacks Nar! C'mon!" Down the road, it appears the race organizers have blocked off the main road, forcing the racers down a much more windy side street. Nar is the first one to take the turn, with Ryuji hot on his heels. Juno spots a gout of flame exit Ryuji's nostrils as he attempts a risky maneuver to overtake Nar during another turn. He attempts to switch from the outside of the turn, to the inside, intersecting behind Nar. Only, when he goes to go to the inside of the turn, Nar cuts in front of him, nearly clipping the sidewalk next to the road in order to cut him off. Realizing that he's lost focus, Juno initiates a powerslide to complete his turn without crashing onto the other side of the sidewalk. Behind him, Steeltrap continues a slow, but steady advance. His snarling, and incoherent rambling grow ever louder with each moment that passes. From the starting line, Asuka watches the race unfold VIA the giant screen behind her. Watching the main pack, Asuka develops a few question. Firstly, why does Juno seem so out of focus? He's making a lot of last-second maneuvers to avoid collisions, and it really looks like his head is elsewhere at the moment. Second, What's up with that Steeltrap guy? He's at the back, but he hasn't made any attempts to try and catch up. He's just slowly inching closer, and closer to Juno. No fancy maneuvers, or tricks like the rest of them. His skating style is crude, but functional. Does he even know how to skate properly? Lastly, why is Nar going so slow? Asuka knows Nar can go a lot faster than he is right now. Is he just conserving his stamina for the last half of the race? Maybe he's trying to keep it entertaining, and make people think the race isn't one-sided? Or is he so nervous that he's scared to try anything risky? Bah. It's not like Asuka would get answers to these questions. Not until the end of the race anyway. Everything she knew about skating came from Nar, and even then, she forgot a good two thirds of everything she taught him. For now, she'll just have to watch, and see what happens next. Above the pack, Sapphire and Ruby soar above the track. They are so close together that their wings have barely an inch of space between them. They bank, and twist around turns, all the while throwing insults at one another. "You know, ripping up your dresses so that guys will stare when you walk by won't fix your daddy issues!" Ruby shouts during a straightaway. "Oh please!" Sapphire snarls back. "You're just jealous I actually get attention! Unlike you! It's no wonder you came crawling back to your old band! they're the only people who can stand to be around you for longer than 10 seconds!" Ruby quips back in turn. "At least I have actual friends, unlike you!" Sapphire lets out a gasp, which quickly turns into a snarl. During the next turn, she banks hard, slamming into Ruby's side, knocking her off balance. This is accompanied by a vitriolic "Bitch!" Ruby responds by pulling a similar stunt on her during the next turn, accompanied by an angered shout of "Whore!" Sapphire attempts to respond, but when she attempts another bump, her wing manages to partially tangle with Ruby's. The two quickly begin to lose control of their flight, fighting against one another to free their now tangled wings. They attempt to turn just before a small cluster of trees on the edge of the track, but their movements are awkward. Ruby, on the outside corner of the turn, is unable to make as tight a turn as she needs to, and ends up flying into the trees ahead. In turn, Sapphire is pulled into the brush with her, and the two tumble down the branches to the floor below. By now, Asuka has entered the EMS SUV, and the driver begins the descent down the track, towards the site of the crash. Inside, a small screen displays a broadcast of the race, where the camera is currently focused on the site of the crash. After a few moments, Ruby, and Sapphire's upper bodies begin to poke out from behind the foliage. Their wings appear to have been untangled, but are fairly injured. Ruby shouts out a "We're okay!", only to wince when she tries to move her injured wing. The camera begins to zoom in, only to stop when Sapphire lets out a startled cry. Ruby's eyes appear to go wide before she turns so her good wing can flash out, and obscure Sapphire from view. The camera pans up slightly to reveal the tattered remains of a sparkling, silver dress hanging from a branch in the tree. The camera begins to pan back down, and is met by the face of an outraged Ruby, who begins to yell at the crew. "Hey! Turn the camera away, you creeps!" Despite their quarrel in the air, not even a minute prior, Ruby was not about to let another woman face public humiliation on live TV. Enemy or not, Sapphire deserved basic decency. From there, the feed cuts back to the main pack, who pass by the two grounded fliers not long after. From here on out, the race will be decided by those on wheels.