Eye of the Tiger

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo did in fact slow down, but not for the reason Kennedy might have guessed.

No he slowed down to laugh at Cavan. Because, quite frankly, there were few things funnier then watching someone slam into something while running. Slapstick was the best form of comedy.

However, Leo probably should have decided to keep running OR turn around, not both, and soon enough he felt himself hit something. He had tripped over a stone bench, which did indeed hurt like hell, slamming his leg full force into the stone. He tumbled over it, and managed to stop himself on first contact with the ground. The advantage of knowing your powers he thought with a smirk.

But by now Kennedy had in all likely-hood closed a good deal of the distance.

It was just as well, Leo could see the track from here, which meant they were moving out of these damn gardens.

[ken]

Karma bit Leo just as hard as Kennedy.

The Cavanite tutor grinning as Leo flipped over the bench, and tumbled around. He resisted the urge to mock the cocky student, or to do something to make things worse. Besides, Kennedy had enough on his plate regaining ground.

He flew over benches, and squinted to plan a course ahead. Now that he could make out just about everyone ahead, he could chart a course around them. In fact, he could figure out where to head so he wouldn't lose Leo's Gift.

Thanks to his planning and Leo's header, Kennedy was now only a handful of paces behind. Still the loser, but not nearly by as wide a margin.

Besides, they were coming up on the Academy, and the first of Kennedy's more daring short cuts. He smiled, watching the distance close...

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo had regained his full momentum rather easily, and now he pulled onto the track. Only to notice something which made him arch an eye brow. It was almost like people had set up hurdles, but they weren't hurdles so much as they were giant wooden horses from gym class.

"Oh wonderful." Leo growled. And here he was in a foot race with someone who could fly. Hey wait a minute, he'd never tried that before.

They called it free running, where those crazy people would run up walls and jump over benches and crap. It was quite impressive to watch, and maybe he could try it. I mean, if he changed his motion to move up along the wall, how far could he go before gravity caught up to him?

The wooden horse he was approaching was 20 feet tall, so he better find out quick. He ran full throttle at it, showing no sign of stopping. His foot moved towards it and touched the edge of it at an angle, and he began his ascent. It sort of worked, kind of. He got about 15 feet up before he felt his feet slipping, and reached out above him. He barely snagged the edge and pulled himself over. He fell the 20 feet back down and took off again.

Thankfully, there wasn't another of those on the track.

[ken]

For his part, Kennedy had flown over a section of the school, cutting a huge part out of the planned race. As such, he managed to land just ahead of Leo. Unfortunately, he floated too near a small crowd of Gifted, and his Gifts abruptly switched. Cursing, Kennedy flailed for a moment before falling hard.

As he stumbled to his breath and started running, Leo caught up. Kennedy's Gifts shifted yet again as the Almasian pulled up, but any lead he'd managed to get by cutting had been eliminated.

Cursing, Kennedy sprinted toward the wooden horse. Unlike Leo, he didn't think about running up them or anything. And he knew he couldn't fly.

Panicking slightly, Kennedy tried to figure out his Gifts. Just as it looked like Kennedy would collide hard with it...

he went through it.

Phasing.

Grinning, Kennedy kicked up speed, taking a temporary lead. He knew it wouldn't last long, but he had to take it while it was there...

[Leogare Lasteulf]

"Tricky, Tricky." Leo called out in front of him, to where Kennedy lead by a handful of steps. Luckily they were able to dodge and weave around the other obstacles. This was much easier for Leo, who was very used to changing direction rapidly. In fact they were nearing the completion of one lap, that meant that the last part left was the final straightaway to the finish line. Leo and Kennedy were pretty much neck and neck. Leo was faster, but Kennedy and his tricks had really helped him a lot more then Leo anticipated.

"And here comes the home stretch." Leo announced, making a mad dash for the finish line. What trick would Kennedy pull out next? He made sure to keep himself on his toes, you never knew with this kid.

[ken]

Actually, Kennedy had ran out of tricks. He honestly couldn't think of anything else to pull, and was fairly certain that Leo was going to wind up the winner of the race. Which was about what he'd been expecting from the beginning.

Of course, Kennedy could cheat. Wouldn't be too hard, with the right application of Gifts. But as lucky as Kennedy had been lately, he didn't want to push it. He'd probably wind up phasing into the ground or some other ridiculous failure. No, this would be a straight up run to the end.

So Kennedy tried to run, though he could tell Leo was slowly gaining. Yes, they were neck and neck, but most likely not for long. In reality ,Kennedy just didn't have a runner's stamina, and was beginning to feel the effects of the long distance run. Blood pounded in his ears, sweat poured over his body, and his breath was coming faster and faster. At this rate, he'd be thankful to finish just a few steps behind Leo.

The mad dash seemed to seal Kennedy's fate, though the Alkerinor head put on one last final push, trying to close as much of the gap as he could. Still, unless something odd happened to Leo, the Almasian would cross paces before Kennedy.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Sure enough Leo did pull across first, stopping on a dime at the precise place they started. He knew because of the rocks laying in the ground. "Whew!" he exclaimed, doing a few kicks of his legs. "It's been too long since I had a real challenge. You've got a nice stride." He said turning to see Kennedy finish.

"All right, that's the good old bit of male bonding and such, so what say we go grab a drink or something? After all, what better way then to know someone without competing, wouldn't you agree?"

Leo lived for competition. It was his bread and butter. Maybe he liked winning, maybe he liked being superior, but over all he liked the thrill.

That is what was most important when you lived your life at an insane speed, as many thrills as you can get.

[ken]

The Cavan head didn't make it far past the finish line before collapsing. Leo might be used to running about at top speeds, but it was something relatively new for Kennedy. The well-built tutor could only lie on the ground, panting, for a while, staring at the sky.

When he did catch his breath, he levered himself to a semi-upright position, looking over at Leo.

"A drink?" he repeated, arching his brows and smiling. "I'm assuming you mean a soda or something. After all, neither of us is old enough to legally drink here..."

Though that didn't mean Kennedy couldn't get a drink, should he want one. he could even get a free drink, should that be his desire. Benefit of having a club owner for a best friend.

"Probably should head for the Antechamber for that. They've got some good soda machines that way," said Kennedy. He rose to his feet, wincing slightly. They were sore, but he could manage.

He took a few wobbling steps towards the main building, pausing to look over his shoulder at Leo.