The Fast and the Furryest

Neo ran. There was nothing in the world she was better at. She lived for it. The feel of the world beneath her feet, the wind in her face. She loved the way her heart raced and how the problems of the world were unable to catch up to her when she was at full speed. Running wasn't just her hobby, it was her escape. Her chance to chase her dreams, in many cases literally.

Today was a day like many others. She had woken early, finished her chores and headed into town to spend time at the gym. To make things a little more interesting, however, she also had a race lined up. A confident shifting person named Tez was certain that he could outrun her. She had every intention of proving him wrong.

She had thought about this all night, psyching herself out, getting that flow of adrenaline she so desperately loved. She knew he would be quick, that he may even give her a run for her money, but she was certain beyond all things that she would win. They had even had a wager on it. If he lost he had to buy her a drink. It hadn't dawned on her that this could be just an attempt to ask her out and that he could throw the race and still get the date. All she could see was her impending victory and a free drink. To the victor go the spoils after all.

To add to the excitement, another boy had offered to buy her a smoothie afterward. Not so much in those words though. He had simply asked her to go out for a smoothie, but it didn't make sense for him to ask her out and not be prepared to pay. She had made a not to forget her money at home.

It was strange for her to have so much male attention. After all, up until now, she had only ever had two boyfriends, and they had both been huge disappointments. She couldn't understand why suddenly boys, Human shaped boys for that matter, were interested in her.

This is what she was thinking about as she rounded the corner coming into a straightaway at nearly 50 miles per hour. This was going to be the last lap she could squeeze in before her race and so she began to slow down as she completed it.

She sighed happily as she trotted over to the bench where her bag had been sitting. She pulled a towel from inside and draped it around her neck while taking a drink from her water bottle. Almost time! she thought with a grin

Neo smiled as she heard a familiar voice. Instantly she adopted her game face as she turned to face him. She looked him over for a moment, sizing him up as it were. He didn't look as though he were dressed for this. In fact, he looked as though he were ready for that drink now. Silly boy, she thought as she pawed at the ground with her hooves. She was excited about this. She would get to show off and have a little fun at the same time.

"Lose? God, I hope you aren't too crushed when I leave you in the dust." She couldn't help but grin now. Trash talk was an essential part of contests. Being able to psych each other out was all part of the game. If anything a healthy competitive banter was just as crucial as the event itself.

"Now that I think about it though. You might have tricked me. If I win you buy me a drink. If you win I buy you a drink. No matter what we have to go out for a drink. SO how about we make this a little more interesting?" She asked giving him a coy smile.

Tez had already finished shifting as she stepped up to the line. Now he looked ready. He looked sleek like he knew what he was doing. Too bad he was still going to lose. "If I win... You have to wear a dress for our drink." She took her spot on the lane next to him. and looked over. "That is unless yer veins are too clogged with chicken shit to take a chance."

"Alright, lets keep this simple. You told me you cant hold things as long, so let's not make this an endurance contest. One Lap. That's a full quarter mile. Run like the devil himself is on yer heels, and you just might keep up with me. Sound good?" She said as she got herself ready.

She knew he would take off from the line faster. Cats could accelerate quickly. But she would smoke him by the end of the second straight away. She could lead into the final turn and be gone by the last break. She had it all figured out in her head.

"Watch the clock... We go on the minute."

The clock showed 15 seconds to the minute.

Her grin widened. He had taken the bait. His counter was interesting, to say the least. He could have wagered anything, not that he would have won, but he chose something so simple and nonpermanent. It certainly reflected the silliness of their contest.

"Alright. Yellow black. No worries" She said confidently as she prepared herself for the clock. 5 seconds left to go. "see you at the finish." she taunted one last time as the hand struck 12.

As she expected he was off like a shot, and she was off the line a second later. She could see him ahead of her, his body moving in fluid strokes. His hips twisting gracefully. He looked like a runner, looked good doing it. but there was one problem. He was getting closer.

Her own hooves struck the asphalt in strokes pace, pulling her along faster and faster. It wasn't long before she was sprinting at full speed topping off at 70 mph. She had much more going for her than she had previously thought. She was taller, with a longer stride. She was overtaking him faster than she could have guessed.

Closer and closer she got till she was running up past him just after the first turn. She had the outer lane which put her at a slight disadvantage, not that it made a difference to anything. "On your left." She taunted as she ran neck and neck with him for a moment before pulling ahead.

They had turned into the second straight away, the longest one, and now he was done. He had surprised her on the corner, keeping pace with her. She guessed the swivel of his hips, and the balance provided by his tail allowed him to turn without losing any speed, but that wouldn't help him now. He had topped out, and she still had more to push.

Neo gritted her teeth as she leaned forward, digging her hooves in with each step. She was in full gallop now and pulling ahead again. Her tail trailed behind her as she flew down the track. Her heart was racing, she could hear the wind in her ears and for a second she was the only person here. It was exhilarating.

She was pulling ahead of Tez Now and was running a full length ahead of him as she neared into the last corner. She had all the distance she needed and the speed to keep gaining. Her form was perfect now as her powerful muscles pushed her along.

As they came around the last corner she was still in the lead, and as they entered into the final straight she poured on every last ounce of power she had. Her lead began to stretch further and a few moments later she cleared the finish line at least two body lengths ahead of Tez. To anyone observing that may not look like much. In truth, it came down to less than a second. But to someone who understood a race, that was crucial.

She looked up at the clock as she slowed down to a trot and eventually came to a stop. "Damnit." She cursed as realized that she had been a half-second slower than her top lap of the day.

"I beat you yeah. But I'm not just racing against you. I race against that clock, against myself. And I wasn't fast enough this time." She sighed with a smile. It wasn't disappointing to lose to herself. It would push her to dig in a little harder next time, reach a little deeper and gain back that half a second that she lost. For now, though she was done running. She had been going hard for a while.

"But nothing to worry about. So How do we do this? I'm going to want to grab that Smoothie with Eon, and then go home and change. And you are going to need to go get prettied up." She couldn't help but grin as she turned her attention from the clock back to Tez. He didn't look too disappointed. Maybe it was cause he was still getting his drink.

"There is a little place I like to get my drinks from. It's in the northeast of town. Its called The Barn. Have you heard of it? They actually have accommodations for Centaurs since its close to our farms."

The Barn was a great little bar. It had been designed to look much like an old-fashioned red barn, complete with a full bar, vegetarian and traditional kitchen, as well as "The loft" which was a more relaxed upper floor to grab a drink.