Work Text:
Velancea let out a long sigh, slouching more heavily against the stone wall at her back, idly digging her heel further into the sandy ground. Not too far away, she saw her newfound mount chirping happily and dancing to himself. She scowled.
“If looks could kill, I’m sure Gorrik would be rather devastated.” Velancea raised her head to see Canach approaching from her right. She sighed once more, shoulders sagging.
“I don’t wanna kill him. I just… UGH, I don’t get why he hates me so much!”
“I didn’t think a beetle grown beneath the skin of an asura was capable of hatred.”
“Yeah, well, this one is. The fucker keeps throwing me into walls and not turning right. I try to reward him when he does things right and correct him when he does things wrong, but he just doesn’t listen to me.” She buried her face in her hands, then shot her head up to look at him with desperate eyes. “How am I supposed to get a beetle to listen to me, Canach?!”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t study up on beetle behavior in my free time.” Velancea groaned, slumping further.
“You’re no help,” she muttered, chin against her chest. The vision made Canach want to snort. He often hears whispers about the all-mighty commander from civilians, and how they portray her is nothing like what he sees - a woman sprawled out on the ground with her head propped against a wall, pouting and all bent out of shape over a misbehaving insect.
“Well, as unhelpful as I am, I will tell you that there’s an area northeast of here that the locals call Veldrunner Drifts. From what I gathered by scouting, the area should be vast enough to keep you from planting your face into any buildings. By the way, you still have some sandstone on your cheek.” A smirk tugged at his lips as Velancea cringed and reached up to brush the debris away. Oh, yes, he saw that little stunt earlier - and what a sight it was.
All-mighty commander, indeed.
Finally, Velancea pulled herself up to her feet, determination settling in her eyes.
“All right, then. Fine. Let’s go.” Canach gave a nod, motioning for her to take the lead.
As they arrived at Veldrunner Drifts, Velancea took note of how barren the dunes seemed to be.
“I believe there were a few hunting parties out here earlier today. They must have cleared out most of the vermin. So, before they all start flooding back, I suggest you get a move on in your training,” Canach said at her side.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going,” Velancea muttered before summoning Petey. The large beetle chirped happily, and the commander almost felt as though she were being mocked. With a disgruntled groan, she mounted the beetle and flipped a glowing switch, the saddle whirring to life. She hesitated, glancing down at Canach with uncertainty.
Big mistake.
Canach grinned and gave a hard pat to Petey’s shell, which sent the beetle excitedly flying down the dune upon which they stood with far more speed than necessary, a loud cry of surprise coming from his commander. He was sure she shouted an expletive at him, but, at that point, she was too far for him to really hear.
“Petey, NO !” He heard Velancea shout as they headed straight for a small oasis. Fortunately, either by the desperate leaning of the sylvari or the smarts of the beetle, Petey dodged the palm just in the nick of time, turning back towards another drift. The duo flew over it, another scream ripping from Vel’s throat. (Canach laughed at that.)
As time went on, he could see that Velancea was actually gaining more control of her mount, and he was rather impressed at the development.
Behind him, Canach heard the hissing of a sand eel, and quickly turned to dispose of it before it could attack. He wasn’t sure how long it took him to rid of it and the three others that had tagged along, but when he turned back, he’d completely lost track of Velancea. His brow furrowed and he squinted, but nothing.
“DUCK!” He heard, but the warning went unprocessed, and before he knew it, the round shadow of Petey was surrounding him. He looked up to see them passing over head, a boisterous peel of laughter in their wake. They landed, and drifted into a turn to circle back around the secondborn. He caught her bright, smiling eyes.
“Now you’re just showing off,” he said, although he was rather happy to see the vast improvement of her mood from earlier that day.
Velancea winked at him before heading for another large dune and vaulting over it, pushing herself up with the handles of the saddle, resting one knee on the padding and sticking one leg and one arm into the air with a triumphant shout. Oh, yes. She was most certainly showing off.
Before long, she came towards him again, dismounting several yards away from him and allowing Petey to roll forward, past Canach, and come to his own halt. She was smiling, panting softly from her own adrenaline rush. However, she didn’t quite make it a step forward before the ground below her erupted, a sand shark forcing her up into the air.
“Vel!” Canach shouted, quickly grabbing hold of his sword and shield. Before he could act, though, he saw her fall, hammer in her hands to come down on the shark and put it down in one hit. The guardian fell to the ground in a fit of laughter, one arm crossed over her stomach and a hand wiping at her eyes. He watched her for a moment, then found himself wanting to laugh as well. It was rather amusing.
Canach went to her, extending his hand downward. Velancea wiped a stray tear and reached up to grasp it, sighing happily as he pulled her up to her feet.
“Thank you,” she said as she placed her hammer upon her back. The two headed back for the main camp.
“I’m not too unhelpful, now am I?” She smiled and nudged him with her arm.
“Guess you’re not too bad. C’mon, let’s go find something to eat.” Once more, Canach nodded and motioned for her to take the lead. However, she remained content at his side, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.
Progress.