A Day For Losing

They try their hardest to sprint, their feet hit the ground almost painfully. They refuse to be slower than a non-hybrid. It’s a matter of not just pride, but honor.

And it’s also about losing it seems, as one of their hooves catches on their skirt. They go flying a couple of feet and they skid across the grass. Their antlers make a concerning crack noise as they collide with the ground.

They take a moment to simply lay there, because they’ve done this enough times to know that the moment they move, their head is going to hurt and their body is going to ache. They only take a moment because soon enough, Finn is rushing over.

So they suck it up and heave themselves into a sitting position. Their head spins violently and their vision is a blur, the world warping around them. When their vision clears, they realize that there’s drying blood on their face and tears in their eyes. Usually they’re lucky enough to not have to deal with a bloody nose, but it seems it’s a day for shame.

Finn is already sitting in front of them when they open their eyes again from where they had slipped closed. When he sees that they are once again aware, he grabs their hand.

“Are you okay? You went like, flying.” He pauses as he flicks his eyes up. “And one of your antlers has a giant crack down the middle, you have to go to the doctors.”

“It’s fine. I hit the ground hard but I just fell. The crack is fine, it’s not like I feel it and it’s going to shed soon anyway. I usually lose my antlers around the end of november.”

He tries to touch their nose, see the damage, but they wave him off. They’re fine. They might not be able to stand right now, but that’s not a problem.

They just need a few minutes.

When more than a few minutes pass, Finn tries to help as they heave themselves up. Only a split second passes before Finn fails to hold their weight as their legs give out on them. They tried too hard to win.

Finn might have to carry them. That’s so embarrassing. They always end up having to be carried by someone, or at the very least have to

lean most of their weight on them.

Oh well, it’s not the worst fate. Since they didn’t finish, they didn’t lose. Today’s not a day for losing, and especially not to a non-hybrid. Their pride and honour stays intact today.