Let the races begin!!

[Kimiko Taiyou]

"Ooooh SHINY~!" a certain blonde yelled in delight at the sight of the main stadium of the Imperial capital.

It was a day of celebration for all. The Empire was putting on quite a display of charity, this time with the grand spectacle of pod racing. Kimiko, along with her companions and Tsubasa were attending. They were dragged along because apparently Mari had connections to some of the racers. None of them knew how, but they assumed it had something to do with money.

It mattered not to the majority, who were not placing any bets on the racers this day. But it had excited them to see an actual race. Especially Ki and Tsubasa, who had never seen one before.

They approached the entrance of the large hippodrome, all exchanging eager words with one another;

Kanan was sandwiched between Mari and Dia, who were each attempting to pull her in opposite directions.
Ruby hid behind Hanamaru, occasionally peeking out behind the other woman.
Yoshiko dragged Riko around by the hand, much the latter's dismay.
You and Chika walked casually arms linked, enjoying eachother's company and the sights and sounds.

Behind them all, Kimiko and Tsubasa walked together, admiring the small groups before them with fond smiles.

The young girl spoke to her adopted mother,"Mama, do you know anything about how these races go?" the curiosity of the girl gave her mother reason to wrap an arm over her shoulders and hold her close.

Ki shook her head, her ears flicking back and forth, tuning in to the many conversations around them,"Unfortunately, I know nothing of these sort of events darling. I am sorry." Tsubasa hummed her acceptance of the answer.

[member="Elaesanne Araeris"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Surrounded by curious children, Elae recounted stories of her adventures in space punctuated by the occasional pew, pew, pew here and KA-BOOM there. "...And that's why you should become a starfighter pilot when you grow up!" she exclaimed, her voice full of passion.

For an excitable young woman like Elaesanne Araeris, her place was not on the ground but in her starfighter navigating the endless void of space. "Want to go for a ride on Comet Mk II?" she asked the small crowd, beaming brightly.

"Uh...no thanks. Podracers are cooler than starfighters," one replied.

"Fighter pilots may be heroes but professional podracers are stars!" another added.

"Uh-huh," the children nodded in agreement much to Elae's annoyance.

"Fighter pilots can fly podracers just as well if not better than the pros!" the pink haired pilot exclaimed loudly, attracting the attention of those around her.

"Prove it!" the children challenged her, having seemingly ganged up on the young woman.

"Fine! I'll show you," Elae pouted childishly. "But I'm not letting one of you brats to ride with me," she said and made her way towards a rather large party of women.

"Heya kiddo," she smiled bending down so that she was at the child's eye-level. "Wanna watch me win a race from front row seats?" she winked at the girl.

[member="Kimiko"]​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Ruby squealed at the sudden appearance of the newcomer, hiding further behind Hanamaru. This earned her some chuckles from the women. But Kimiko eyed the stranger curiously as she addressed her daughter. Tsubasa, looked on in bewilderment at the lady before her.

"I...uhm...guess?" she stuttered, looking between her and her mother, looking for guidance.

"But I already got the penthouse reserved for us..." Mari pouted, before being shut up by her girlfriends.

"Honey, she's offering you a front row seat to watch the race. What would you like to do with the offer?" Kimiko asked her daughter, before returning a polite, yet subtly mischievous smile to the other woman.

Tsubasa thought about it for a moment and took a deep breath,"Yes, I would like to take you up on your offer miss...?"

[member="Elaesanne Araeris"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Follow me!" Elae grinned when the child agreed to her offer. "You'll need to suit up and your mother will probably need to sign a consent and waiver form just in case. Things tend to get a little...exciting there," she said, standing up and gestured at the child to follow then made her way towards the tent where her podracer had been stored.

"Scruffy!" the pink haired pilot yelled, summoning a young man whose appearance matched the nickname she had taken the liberty of giving him.

"What?" a man with an unkempt appearance frowned, not quite sure what to expect from the eccentric young woman.

"I have acquired myself a co-pilot, so I'll be needing an extra flight suit - child sized," she beamed, filled with excitement.

"What?" he said again but this time with a tone of disapproval. "You're here to represent the Empire in a friendly race against our citizens not mess around. What if the kid gets hurt?"

"That's simple! I'll just make sure she doesn't! Now get me the suit and oh! The consent and waiver of responsibility forms!"

[member="Kimiko"]​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Kimiko watched on, first with amusement, then in abstract horror as the eccentric pilot pulled her adopted daughter towards the track.

She quickly turned too gain support from her companions, quickly finding the nine of them had abandoned her to Mari's penthouse. Ki wished she could join them, but opted out in favor of following Tsubasa and her new friend.

"W-Wait! I'm coming with you..." her keen ears picked up something about a flight-suit and a waiver of some sort,"Tell me what you are planning on doing with my daughter this instant!"

The sight would've came off as comical to an outsider, however, twin pairs of garnet eyes watched on with intent, mainly following the white-haired woman's path...

[member="Elaesanne Araeris"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"I already did, Miss," Elaesanne grinned. "I'm going to give your child one of the best seats to watch the podrace from - the second seat of my podracer!"

"Please sign this waiver, m'am," an annoyed man clad in an Iron Empire uniform placed a stack of papers to the child's mother. "By signing it, you are agreeing that the Iron Empire are not responsible if any harm should come to your daughter during the race," he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone and offered the woman a pen.

"Put this on," the bubbly, pink-haired young woman offered the child a flight suit and helmet. "Once your mother signs the forms, we'll be zipping around in the sky in no time!" She maintained her smile as she wrapped her ponytail around itself until it formed a bun and secured it with several bobby pins.

[member="Kimiko"]​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Ki quickly did as she was instructed, following the man's finger in signing and initialing various lines across the page. She nodded her thanks to the man before once again chasing after her daughter.

The younger girl, on the other hand, was in heaven. It had always been her dream to fly, and here was someone willing to give her an opportunity.

A wide smile shone on her face as she zipped up the flight suit, holding her helmet beneath an arm. Her emerald eyes looked herself over, noting how form-fitting the suit was, thinking about it made her blush.

She looked up at Elae, beaming brightly,"Miss? Should we wait for Mama to catch up?" asking innocently.

Just as if she was magically summoned, Kimiko appeared beside the duo, panting from exertion. She took one look and garnered enough information to figure out what was happening.

"Fine...But, please, be careful with her..." the young mother pleaded with the pilot.

[member="Elaesanne Araeris"]