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“Oh yeah?” you challenged under your breath. A turn of your wrist lurched your bike forward with a revving wail, and you chased after Magnus, leaning deep into your turn around the arc of the hill to make up for lost ground hanging on the outside.
Already you were right behind him. The wind in your hair, the clouds lightening and letting patches of sun shine down, all in these hills that begged to be gazed down on from atop one- but your attention was on the road. On him. On the race. Where were you going? Maybe the tallest hill for that look down?
Then, after a gut-bending twist down to the bottom of that hill and weaving around the next, to go up another, Magnus suddenly motioned his left, and slowed. He took the turn there, and you had to skid to a stop and turn around, caring nothing for blowing past him. When you got back to him, he was waiting, and went on, upwards, to a village that rested in the saddle of this hill, the top of it dished in like a giant had punched down on a round hat.
“Hey,” you said, confusion and disappointment leaking into your voice as you called out after Magnus when he stopped, “Why’d ya stop? That was fun. You don’t want t’ race?”
“Race?” Magnus asked blankly, “We can do that later, Lady Nowicki. Look at-”
You pouted at him and put your hands on your hips, gestured to your open midriff. “Anya. <span class="mu-i">Anya</span>. You know my name. Do I look like a lady right now? At least say Sergeant or something.”
“Anya,” Magnus sighed, but agreed with your will. “Anyways, I saw a sign saying that this village, Schalehaus, offers the finest country tea in the heartlands. Quite a boast, isn’t it?” He pointed to a white-stone cottage with a bright scarlet roof. The only one in town with that hue. “It’s that right there.”
You blinked. “Alright. A teahouse. Sure, let’s go.” You liked cola or soda pop better, but if this really was the best, then how could you not try it? “Only for a bit, tho. There’s plenty of gas and a lot of speed t’ go.” You idled your motorbike forward after his as you went closer. “I didn’t see no sign, though.”
Magnus glanced back. “Perhaps you would have with glasses on.”
You looked skyward. “Shaddup. Couldn’t a’ been that far off.”
As you got closer, Magnus started to turn off, to signal for you to stop too. “Hum,” he made a contemplative noise, “Look at that. Motorbikes, three of them. Uniformly painted.”
