The freedom that came with riding a cantering horse had always been a favorite for Navia. Not only was it exciting, her heart racing and her mind focused, the rest of her body was poised to react if needed. Hands were firm on the reins, feet angled in the stirrups to keep from losing them, eyes on the distance before them so she could anticipate any upcoming obstacles and guide Varinata in the right direction. The horse responded well to her commands, her hands able to gently guide Vari into veering left or right without much pressure from the reins. The horse was a smooth ride and eager to run, giving them the upper hand in the little race for the time being. Another glance behind her told her Théadan was closing the distance between them though. That meant Navia would have to be very careful in how she led Varinata down the jungle path. She didn’t want to leave an opening for him to get ahead of her if she could help it. Wyndagar would leave them in the dust if he had a chance.<br/><br/>The desire to race Théadan had been spontaneous and merely meant to give them something to have fun doing together. They would tease, push their horses into giving it their best shot, then laugh together when the race ended and one of them had give in to the wager they’d agreed upon. The only problem with the plan for them to have a little fun that afternoon was that Navia had not designated a finish to the race. The last time they’d raced, Théadan had known they would eventually reach the lake they wanted to visit however; Navia did not fully know what was in the distance, making it difficult to pin down a spot for a finish line. Whoever ended up victorious would just have to call the race once they felt they were far enough ahead that the other person would not be able to overtake them. Wanting that to be her and Vari, Navia was urging the horse to keep going when Wyndagar and Théadan were coming up beside them.<br/><br/>Surprise lit in her brown eyes first before stubbornness did. The road kept narrowing and widening as the jungle attempted to reclaim the space for itself, meaning that eventually the two running horses would not be able to fit together as they thundered down the path. Navia could see an especially narrow spot in the distance, where vines and bushes had taken over, choking the road. “You can do it, Vari,” she urged quietly, hoping it would be enough to convince the pretty gray mare to try to speed up against the bigger, faster black stallion beside them. Within a few moments of trying to push past Wyndagar so they could be first through the narrow space, Navia could tell Théadan and his horse were going to reach it before she and Varinata did. Wyndagar surged forward, faster and with better endurance, and Théadan was soon passing her up.<br/><br/>She also had to slow Vari down considerably to keep the horse from plowing into the bushes and so they could follow through the narrow spot behind Wyndagar. Hands pulling at the reins, Navia straightened from having leaned forward during the race, knowing she had to concede. Slowing down even for a few moments had allowed the faster horse to pull ahead and put a decent amount of space between them. “Okay!” She called out after Théadan as they zoomed down the road, “Okay, you win!” Despite having to admit defeat, Navia’s dark lips were still curved into a grin and she continued to guide Vari in a light gallop so they would hopefully catch up with Wyndagar and Théadan. While she waited for Vari to catch up, her gaze wandered the road they’d been traveling down. It didn’t seem as well kept as before. Grass was growing in many places along the road whereas before it had been too trodden with hooves and carts for anything to survive. Some trees had branches hanging lowly over the road, others had fallen and been carelessly tossed along the edge of the road. The road from Lamph to Puri should have been well-traveled; both were decently sized cities that traded with each other. Shrugging and figuring they were just in a stretch that was less traveled, Navia pushed it from her mind as Vari finally caught up with Wyndagar.