The point he made that she was always trying to come up with bets for them made her laugh lightly, but the reminder of how she had lost the whale bet wiped the smirk off her face. She was sure Théadan had brought it up on purpose too, so Navia narrowed her gaze at him until he agreed to come up with a wager on their upcoming race. In her mind it was the best way to liven up a race, but if Navia thought back on all the bets they had made, Théadan tended to best her. It was not a problem to her though; they always had fun no matter who won and that was important in her mind. So she waited patiently for Théadan to mull over what he wanted to bet, her hand patting Varinata on the neck lightly to help soothe her impatient behavior.<br/><br/>The announcement Théadan wanted her to help him cool off was surprising to her, mostly because Navia had not considered it to be hot just yet. The day was still upon them. Therefore she blinked over at him as his gaze traveled the length of her body, only for her blank expression to shift into a grimace when he proclaimed he wanted her to fan him with a tree leaf. “For the rest of the journey?” She repeated incredulously, “Maybe the rest of the day, but we’re going to be in jungles all the way to Mandira. That’s too long.” Shaking her head, Navia eyed one of the leaves, thinking of how it would grow heavy with time and what Théadan’s smirking, boasting face would be like while she fanned him with a leaf.<br/><br/>“Fine though,” she shrugged, confident in her abilities to beat him in their race, “I will fan you with a leaf only for the rest of today…and only if you can beat me.” Navia grinned over at Théadan as Vari stamped her foot again and shifted her weight, clearly rearing to go. She held the mare steady though, and considered what she could have from Théadan along with the chance to gloat over her victory. “As for what I want, I’d like for you to write in our journal tonight. You have to regale this moment and let everyone who ever reads the pages know how magnificently I beat you and how in awe you are of my abilities as a rider.” Satisfied with her wager, Navia gave a sage nod before adjusting her hand on the reins. She stared over at Théadan with a knowing grin, and the moment she loosened the reigns and Varinata felt them, the horse took off. The race began without Navia even announcing it, likely giving her a few moments head start.<br/><br/>She’d always liked racing someone on horseback. It was always so freeing to let the horse run at a full canter and to do so surrounded by the thick foliage of the jungle was of no exception. They thundered past the trees, colorful birds darting in front of and behind them as Varinata carried her down the trodden dirt path. Laughing, glancing back to see how close Théadan was, Navia urged Vari to run faster with a gentle kick to her flanks. The horse responded, they surged forward to follow a curve in the road, and were soon upon a fork, giving Navia two options for where to take the race. It was likely smart to consult the map before making a decision, but they were racing and slowing down to pull out the map to look things over would cause her to lose. So she took a guess to allowed Varinata to take the left side of the fork, leading them down a path that slowly began to be rougher and twistier than before. It was no matter to Navia; Vari responded well to her commands, making it easy enough to guide the horse and follow the pathway that cut through the thick jungle.