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Description
Name: 401 SASH Infinity Ignition
Rider: Jacqueline Stevens
Age: 2 years
Race: Landon Cup [Steeplechase] [Debut Race]
Extra Images: [None]

Featured Competitors:
Front: 339 King's Kestral
Middle: 2545 Niveus
Back: 66 X-Factor

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"She's nervous."

Turning to look at Raziel, Jacqueline frowned. "Of course she's nervous; up until now she's only paced with other Shedu; the claiming races weren't really true races, either. They were more like joy runs than actual races. If I'd just flown ten hours across both land and sea to compete in a foreign country against cats I'd never seen before, I'd be really nervous too!" Nodding, the golden-hued JBD continued to check her paws for injury, cleaning off the dirt that had accumulated from their early morning pace. Working from the other side, Jacqueline carefully combed out the Shedu's soft mane, every now and again murmuring soothing words to her. Turning to look at her rider with expressive golden eyes, the Shedu gave a soft purr though her gaze conveyed anything except comfort. Looking up, Raziel noticed the gaze between rider and mount, and he gave a soft smirk. "I'll go retrieve her tack," he said simply, and Jacqueline nodded thankfully as the JBD moved back towards the trailer.

Laying the comb on the edge of the stall door, the African woman moved to stand in front of the cat, holding her tawny head as Infinity nuzzled Jacqueline's chest. "It's alright," she crooned softly, "Don't get yourself all worked up; remember, it's just a race. We've done this before." Looking up at her rider, Infinity gave what sounded like a soft whine, and in return Jacqueline moved one hand to softly pet the Shedu's massive head. The shared moment of silence seemed to relax the tense cat, and Jackie smiled. "Just remember to have fun, girlie. If you're not having fun, then you won't give it your all!"

It wasn't but a few moments later that Raziel returned, easily hauling the Shedu's tack in his strong arms. Taking her bridle from him, Jacqueline held it out expectantly. The she-cat lowered her head, and allowed Jacqueline to secure the bridle in place as Raziel placed her navy blue saddle blanket, already emblazened with a golden "2", easily on her back before heaving the saddle into place. "Go ahead and get dressed; I can get her saddled, no problem," Raziel said, glancing over. Jacqueline simply nodded tensely, but grabbed her bag and moved for the jockey's changing room.

As the tawny Jelly Bean Dragon slid the golden-hued girth into place, slipping it under her chest and moving around to buckle it securely on the other side. Infinity's eyes followed him the entire time, watching him as his hands danced easily across her coat. Silence evnveloped the two as Raziel easily clipped her martingale into place, making sure the saddle had settled without ruffling up her coat or making her uncomortable. Finally he looked up to meet the Shedu's gaze, and he smiled at the worried expression in her eyes. Holding her head, he gave a soft chuckle. "You're going to do just fine, girlie. Just a track full of boys, and you know how they act!" He laughed. "They might just let you take the lead, get a look at that pretty little tail of yours," he teased, but Infinity only continued to purr loudly, earning an irritated grumble from one of the neighboring cats.

"King's Ketsrel is racing," Jacqueline suddenly appeared, carrying her halmet casually as she discarded the bag now full of her civilian clothes. Raziel turned to look at her questioningly. "Another she-cat; if the race goes as you just suggested, then Infinity will have Kestrel to compete with for the lead," Jacqueline petted the light Shedu, obviously worried about the looming race.

"She'll do just fine," Raziel smiled; Jacqueline wished she could be as confident as him, she mused, as she slipped on her helmet.

Dropping Infinity's reins once they were out under the sky, the JBD helped Jacqueline into her seat and handed over control of the Shedu, where it belonged. Nearby, his paint stallion stood semi-patiently, remembering his manners but obviously excited to get out onto the track. "Seraph, you're not racing, silly. Behave," he easily reminded the mustang, who simply tossed his head and skittered sideways, bumping Raziel with his hip. The JBD rolled his eyes and vaulted easily into his dark western saddle, tucking his tail and settling in. As he rejoined Jacqueline, he caught wind of the race horns, and watched as the other Shedu and riders began to fall into line. He quickly clipped on Infinity's gold lead to her bridle, and nudged Seraph into an easy walk to take their position behind the leader. All of these cats were intimidating, he had to admit, but he had the utmost faith in Jacqueline and Infinity. They'd hold their own.

As the line of cats approached the track, Raziel could feel Infinity becoming more and more nervous. Giving Seraph his head, the JBD transferred the lead to his left hand, and used his now free right hand to gently stroke her cheek. Glancing up at Jacqueline, he found her darkened visor staring forward intently, but she was still petting her mount. Perfectly in tune with each other, he mused, as he found Infinity staring forward as well. Only her tail gave away her nerves, save for the slight misstep every few moments or so. Smirking, he looked forward too, taking back the reins to his own mount and releasing the lead back to his right hand. "Start it up, turn it on, we can ride this storm. A grip of hope in our hands for the coming dawn, up to our necks in complexities causing us to pause as we collect our thoughts," he sang softly as the line stopped, awaiting permission to enter the track. Time seemed to drag on for a few moments, but he kept singing in an attempt to relax and focus both Shedu and rider. "So don't blink if you wanna come cross the border, take a look around or come test the water. We won't stop till we see the morning, so welcome to the quiet before the storm hits..."

All to suddenly, X-Factor in front of them began to move, and in unison both Jacqueline and Raziel nudged their mounts forward. There was a dull thrum of voices as the crowd talked, all different tones blended into one singular note that made Infinity very unsettled, but she instead focused on the voice of her rider and her leader as they talked, eyes searching the track as they passed. She could hear the other cats sigh and purr; she was the only one racing for the first time, it seemed. She was the only newbie, and Infinity didn't like that. It was a long, tense walk to the starting gates, Raziel discussing tactic with Jacqueline, leaving Infinity to worry in her own thoughts. She may not undersand what they were talking about, but she new it was important. She wasn't stupid. So she left the human and Jelly Bean Dragon to talk.

Suddenly the starting gates loomed in front of her, and the tawny she-cat hesitated. Yes, she'd trained on these many, many times, but now that these were for real made them ten times more frightening than if they were pacing back home, which was so many thousands of miles away. Suddenly she wished she was home, sleeping in her box, safe and sound and away from all of this..... strangeness.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Raziel's voice drew her attention, and she noticed that her lead had disappeared. Now Jacqueline had complete control, save for Raziel's light hold on the cat's bridle. "You've done this so many times before, nothing's different. Just imagine you're back on the Serengheti, racing with Ramses. It's the same thing! Just a friendly race between cats," he crooned. "Besides, this is your debut race; the only thing expected of you is for you to run. We don't expect a ribbon, or a perfect performance; we just want you to have fun!" With a soft pat on the shoulder, Jacqueline nudged Infinity into the gate, and the she-cat relunctantly entered. Raziel quickly nudged Seraph into a canter, riding him back into the entrance tunnel so they could both watch the race. Silence eventually fell upon the crowd, and Infinity felt Jacqueline shift on her back; there came the familiar transfer of the woman's weight, and Infinity's ears tilted back, just in time to catch her rider's whisper. "Come on sleeper, turn on the ignition."

Suddenly the gates snapped open, and Infinity leaped forward without even thinking; countless drills lit her muscles on fire, and her golden eyes focused on the track ahead of her. Why had she been so worried? This was her purpose, her life; this is what she had been born to do.

There was a slight tug on her reins, and the Shedu shifted closer into the rail, though hung on the outside of the pack. She watched as another cat boxed in, and her golden eyes narrowed; no way she was going to let that happen. She overthought the first hurdle and stumbled slightly, but fixed her stride and fell back into her rhythm. The second was smoother, and the third was effortless. Now she hung right behind the two leading cats, following them as closely as possible without tripping them. Her ears pinned as they cleared the last hurdle before the final turn, waiting for Jacqueline to give Infinity her head. She wanted to win this, for Jacqueline. For Raziel, and for Amethyst, too. The Ranch needed this money. Leaning father into the turn, she seemed to float just above the ground as the turf tore apart beneath her thundering paws. Midway through the turn, Jacqueline released her tight grip on the reins, and Infinity exploded.

As the tight pack exited the turn, Infinity pushed harder into the ground and propelled herself forward, towards the last hurdle. She just managed to nudge into the lead as they cleared the last jump, but it was still anyone's race; they still had the last stretch to clear. Hind paws hitting the turf hard, Infinity put all she had into her muscles, and beelined straight for the finish line. Her breath came heavy, a soft growl emanating from her chest as she poured all her determination into one last burst of speed, and the she-cat stormed through the finish line. There was a brief moment of weightlessness; they'd finished in one piece. She heard Jacqueline give a muffled yell of adrenaline, and together the two slowed to a final halt. And there, at the entrance of the track, was Raziel and Seraph, waiting to collect them. Raziel was beaming as he clipped on Infinity's lead. "You'd never know she was a newbie," he smiled fondly, petting her sweaty shoulder. "Let's get you cooled off. We can worry about the results later; you both deserve a nice cool place to rest and a treat," he said, leading the exhausted duo off the track and back towards Infinity's box.

word count: 1829

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahh, Infinity's debut race!
I have so much art of her I haven't submitted because I've been unhappy with it, but I had to get her in the game.
I still need to do my Novice Diploma, and lots of other shit. *sigh*
It'll be done. Eventually. Once I can get happy with my feline anatomy. *eyes every imperfection in this image*
I tried XD

Shedu Cats (c) Templado
Art (c) myself.

Description
Name: 401 SASH Infinity Ignition
Rider: Jacqueline Stevens
Age: 2 years
Race: Landon Cup [Steeplechase] [Debut Race]
Extra Images: [None]

Featured Competitors:
Front: 339 King's Kestral
Middle: 2545 Niveus
Back: 66 X-Factor

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She's nervous."

Turning to look at Raziel, Jacqueline frowned. "Of course she's nervous; up until now she's only paced with other Shedu; the claiming races weren't really true races, either. They were more like joy runs than actual races. If I'd just flown ten hours across both land and sea to compete in a foreign country against cats I'd never seen before, I'd be really nervous too!" Nodding, the golden-hued JBD continued to check her paws for injury, cleaning off the dirt that had accumulated from their early morning pace. Working from the other side, Jacqueline carefully combed out the Shedu's soft mane, every now and again murmuring soothing words to her. Turning to look at her rider with expressive golden eyes, the Shedu gave a soft purr though her gaze conveyed anything except comfort. Looking up, Raziel noticed the gaze between rider and mount, and he gave a soft smirk. "I'll go retrieve her tack," he said simply, and Jacqueline nodded thankfully as the JBD moved back towards the trailer.

Laying the comb on the edge of the stall door, the African woman moved to stand in front of the cat, holding her tawny head as Infinity nuzzled Jacqueline's chest. "It's alright," she crooned softly, "Don't get yourself all worked up; remember, it's just a race. We've done this before." Looking up at her rider, Infinity gave what sounded like a soft whine, and in return Jacqueline moved one hand to softly pet the Shedu's massive head. The shared moment of silence seemed to relax the tense cat, and Jackie smiled. "Just remember to have fun, girlie. If you're not having fun, then you won't give it your all!"

It wasn't but a few moments later that Raziel returned, easily hauling the Shedu's tack in his strong arms. Taking her bridle from him, Jacqueline held it out expectantly. The she-cat lowered her head, and allowed Jacqueline to secure the bridle in place as Raziel placed her navy blue saddle blanket, already emblazened with a golden "2", easily on her back before heaving the saddle into place. "Go ahead and get dressed; I can get her saddled, no problem," Raziel said, glancing over. Jacqueline simply nodded tensely, but grabbed her bag and moved for the jockey's changing room.

As the tawny Jelly Bean Dragon slid the golden-hued girth into place, slipping it under her chest and moving around to buckle it securely on the other side. Infinity's eyes followed him the entire time, watching him as his hands danced easily across her coat. Silence evnveloped the two as Raziel easily clipped her martingale into place, making sure the saddle had settled without ruffling up her coat or making her uncomortable. Finally he looked up to meet the Shedu's gaze, and he smiled at the worried expression in her eyes. Holding her head, he gave a soft chuckle. "You're going to do just fine, girlie. Just a track full of boys, and you know how they act!" He laughed. "They might just let you take the lead, get a look at that pretty little tail of yours," he teased, but Infinity only continued to purr loudly, earning an irritated grumble from one of the neighboring cats.

"King's Ketsrel is racing," Jacqueline suddenly appeared, carrying her halmet casually as she discarded the bag now full of her civilian clothes. Raziel turned to look at her questioningly. "Another she-cat; if the race goes as you just suggested, then Infinity will have Kestrel to compete with for the lead," Jacqueline petted the light Shedu, obviously worried about the looming race.

"She'll do just fine," Raziel smiled; Jacqueline wished she could be as confident as him, she mused, as she slipped on her helmet.

Dropping Infinity's reins once they were out under the sky, the JBD helped Jacqueline into her seat and handed over control of the Shedu, where it belonged. Nearby, his paint stallion stood semi-patiently, remembering his manners but obviously excited to get out onto the track. "Seraph, you're not racing, silly. Behave," he easily reminded the mustang, who simply tossed his head and skittered sideways, bumping Raziel with his hip. The JBD rolled his eyes and vaulted easily into his dark western saddle, tucking his tail and settling in. As he rejoined Jacqueline, he caught wind of the race horns, and watched as the other Shedu and riders began to fall into line. He quickly clipped on Infinity's gold lead to her bridle, and nudged Seraph into an easy walk to take their position behind the leader. All of these cats were intimidating, he had to admit, but he had the utmost faith in Jacqueline and Infinity. They'd hold their own.

As the line of cats approached the track, Raziel could feel Infinity becoming more and more nervous. Giving Seraph his head, the JBD transferred the lead to his left hand, and used his now free right hand to gently stroke her cheek. Glancing up at Jacqueline, he found her darkened visor staring forward intently, but she was still petting her mount. Perfectly in tune with each other, he mused, as he found Infinity staring forward as well. Only her tail gave away her nerves, save for the slight misstep every few moments or so. Smirking, he looked forward too, taking back the reins to his own mount and releasing the lead back to his right hand. "Start it up, turn it on, we can ride this storm. A grip of hope in our hands for the coming dawn, up to our necks in complexities causing us to pause as we collect our thoughts," he sang softly as the line stopped, awaiting permission to enter the track. Time seemed to drag on for a few moments, but he kept singing in an attempt to relax and focus both Shedu and rider. "So don't blink if you wanna come cross the border, take a look around or come test the water. We won't stop till we see the morning, so welcome to the quiet before the storm hits..."

All to suddenly, X-Factor in front of them began to move, and in unison both Jacqueline and Raziel nudged their mounts forward. There was a dull thrum of voices as the crowd talked, all different tones blended into one singular note that made Infinity very unsettled, but she instead focused on the voice of her rider and her leader as they talked, eyes searching the track as they passed. She could hear the other cats sigh and purr; she was the only one racing for the first time, it seemed. She was the only newbie, and Infinity didn't like that. It was a long, tense walk to the starting gates, Raziel discussing tactic with Jacqueline, leaving Infinity to worry in her own thoughts. She may not undersand what they were talking about, but she new it was important. She wasn't stupid. So she left the human and Jelly Bean Dragon to talk.

Suddenly the starting gates loomed in front of her, and the tawny she-cat hesitated. Yes, she'd trained on these many, many times, but now that these were for real made them ten times more frightening than if they were pacing back home, which was so many thousands of miles away. Suddenly she wished she was home, sleeping in her box, safe and sound and away from all of this..... strangeness.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Raziel's voice drew her attention, and she noticed that her lead had disappeared. Now Jacqueline had complete control, save for Raziel's light hold on the cat's bridle. "You've done this so many times before, nothing's different. Just imagine you're back on the Serengheti, racing with Ramses. It's the same thing! Just a friendly race between cats," he crooned. "Besides, this is your debut race; the only thing expected of you is for you to run. We don't expect a ribbon, or a perfect performance; we just want you to have fun!" With a soft pat on the shoulder, Jacqueline nudged Infinity into the gate, and the she-cat relunctantly entered. Raziel quickly nudged Seraph into a canter, riding him back into the entrance tunnel so they could both watch the race. Silence eventually fell upon the crowd, and Infinity felt Jacqueline shift on her back; there came the familiar transfer of the woman's weight, and Infinity's ears tilted back, just in time to catch her rider's whisper. "Come on sleeper, turn on the ignition."

Suddenly the gates snapped open, and Infinity leaped forward without even thinking; countless drills lit her muscles on fire, and her golden eyes focused on the track ahead of her. Why had she been so worried? This was her purpose, her life; this is what she had been born to do.

There was a slight tug on her reins, and the Shedu shifted closer into the rail, though hung on the outside of the pack. She watched as another cat boxed in, and her golden eyes narrowed; no way she was going to let that happen. She overthought the first hurdle and stumbled slightly, but fixed her stride and fell back into her rhythm. The second was smoother, and the third was effortless. Now she hung right behind the two leading cats, following them as closely as possible without tripping them. Her ears pinned as they cleared the last hurdle before the final turn, waiting for Jacqueline to give Infinity her head. She wanted to win this, for Jacqueline. For Raziel, and for Amethyst, too. The Ranch needed this money. Leaning father into the turn, she seemed to float just above the ground as the turf tore apart beneath her thundering paws. Midway through the turn, Jacqueline released her tight grip on the reins, and Infinity exploded.

As the tight pack exited the turn, Infinity pushed harder into the ground and propelled herself forward, towards the last hurdle. She just managed to nudge into the lead as they cleared the last jump, but it was still anyone's race; they still had the last stretch to clear. Hind paws hitting the turf hard, Infinity put all she had into her muscles, and beelined straight for the finish line. Her breath came heavy, a soft growl emanating from her chest as she poured all her determination into one last burst of speed, and the she-cat stormed through the finish line. There was a brief moment of weightlessness; they'd finished in one piece. She heard Jacqueline give a muffled yell of adrenaline, and together the two slowed to a final halt. And there, at the entrance of the track, was Raziel and Seraph, waiting to collect them. Raziel was beaming as he clipped on Infinity's lead. "You'd never know she was a newbie," he smiled fondly, petting her sweaty shoulder. "Let's get you cooled off. We can worry about the results later; you both deserve a nice cool place to rest and a treat," he said, leading the exhausted duo off the track and back towards Infinity's box.

word count: 1829

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahh, Infinity's debut race!
I have so much art of her I haven't submitted because I've been unhappy with it, but I had to get her in the game.
I still need to do my Novice Diploma, and lots of other shit. *sigh*
It'll be done. Eventually. Once I can get happy with my feline anatomy. *eyes every imperfection in this image*
I tried XD

Shedu Cats (c) Templado
Art (c) myself.