The shiny metal caught the light of the fire, sparkling and shining as the fire danced and smoked, a light that was echoed in the eyes that watched. Entranced, the owner of the eyes made a noise that Ranma would have found eerily familiar.
"Oooo...kawaii. My little Guillame."
"Huh." Ranma frowned as he finished cleaning up the campsite, stretching in the early morning sun.
"[Somethin' wrong, sugar?]" Ukyou stood stiffly on all four feet, tail and mane flaring a little as she stretched, getting the night's kinks out.
Ranma shook his head. "Not really. Just...well, you know those energy bars I had last night? They're gone. Everything else is here, but the wrappers are gone."
Ukyou looked unworried. "[Probably the wind picked them up last night, sugar.]"
"Yeah. Maybe." Ranma idly turned over the rock with his foot. It was fairly heavy. "Musta been some wind. I hate littering like that, though."
"[Pick up some trash next time you see some, then.]" Ukyou rolled her eyes, coming up to nudge lightly at Ranma's side. "[You got some breakfast in there, sugar?]"
"I don't think you need any, really."
Ponyta pranced easily in front as Ranma tried to keep up, trying to work the pain out of his foot. "[C'mon, slowpoke. And you said a three mile run before breakfast would be good training for me.]"
"You haven't had your foot stomped on this morning," Ranma shot back, "by a Ponyta that's far too touchy about her weight."
"[You still have one more foot, two-legs.]" Ponyta rejoined playfully. She trotted back a little to take a stomp at his feet, one easily Ranma's martial art skills. He grinned and tapped her nose before retreating out of range.
"I thought Ponyta are supposed to be quick!" he teased, dancing a bit on the balls of his feet.
"[Oh, them's fighting words, sugar.]" A quick game of stomp and dodge erupted on the path as Ranma tapped Ukyou's nose pretty much at will. They laughed, enjoying the early morning sunshine as they moved lightly down the path, running and play-fighting. Ranma took off at a run after a moment, leaving Ukyou to pound down the path after him.
It took a few hundred meters for the Ponyta to pass him, hooves shedding sparks as they pulled chunks of turf from the path, tail and mane roaring fiercely, smoke trailing from Ukyou's nostrils as she ran hard. Ranma tried to keep up, putting his legs into it, but it was no use as Ukyou pulled away.
Ranma laughed, pulling up to a stop. "You win on a straight line. I'd like to see how you do on a tight course through the trees, though." He panted for breath, grinning as Ukyou turned around, coming back in a high, fancy trot.
"[The VICTOR!]" she said, amused. "[And I could beat you in the trees too, if you want, sugar.]"
"I'll take that challenge in a mom-" Ranma broke off, staring into the foilage.
"[What's wrong, sugar?]"
"I thought I saw something moving..."
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Will McDuff
(Posted Wed, 28 Jan 2004 23:40)
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