After the duel down by the lake.

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

As soon as she had left the confines of the castle a loud pop was heard and Shellivia shook herself out, now back in her full centaur form.
It was still early, and a few owls could be seen flying around lazily, but there were hardly any people out on the grounds since most students were either in class or now confined to their common rooms.
The squirrel seemed relieved that Shellivia was back to her old self, and he scampered up and down Shellivia's back before tearing off up a random tree and started a bout of 'got your tail' with poor unsuspecting chipmunk who seemed none to please with the whole ordeal.
Trotting down to the lake in a happy silence she seemed to forget the whole conversation before from the hallway.
"So why are you riding on a stick?" she asked finally, giving Aseir a concerned look.

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir floated alongside her, looking around at the beautiful, breathtaking scenery. He was a tad less surprised when she transformed back into her centaur form, smiling nonetheless upon seeing her more comfortable. Upon being asked the question, he looked to her with a helpless smile.

"Why is it ye prefer goin' round on four legs stead of two?"

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shellivia gave him a look that implied he had lost his brain.
"I was born with four legs. You honestly can't tell me that you were born on that stick."
She shook her head and gave him another odd look.
"If humans were meant to fly then they would have been born with wings. It makes no sense to hack apart trees and use their carcases to fly around the air. Hooves, and feet were meant to stay on the ground."

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir looked to the sky, stretching and smiling as he did so. The look in his eye as he hovered above the ground on the broom expressed a mixture of longing and rapture.

"When once you have tasted flight you will always walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward: for there you have been and there you will always be. Words of wisdom from me Grandad's journal. He was a fighter pilot in the second World War." he said, wistfully. Smiling, he turned to address Shellivia. "Man was not meant to fly. It's precisely for that reason that flight is perhaps me greatest love; we shouldn't be able to fly, yet here I can, and taste the freedom that many men can only dream of and that birds take fer granted."

He grinned. "I've heard it said that I'm an Animagus too, but I just don't remember it. A friend told me I was a bird trapped in a man's body."

He patted his broom. "This one be made of driftwood. That be the reason she's already as smooth as silk but sturdy as stone." he said adoringly, as he ran a gentle hand across it. "She's me pride an' joy."

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shellivia listened carefully to what he said.
"Your grandfather must have been a wonderful pilot, though I do have to disagree with him. I was made to fly once, and I don't believe I ever shall again."
She stared at his broom with a calculated look.
"That thing won't survive any kind of impact, though it is very streamline, so it should cut nicely through the air." She glanced over the twigs and frowned.
"Some twigs are out of place, you may want to warp them back, or trim them."
After her brief appraisal, she looked back at Aesir, a mischievous smirk on her face.
"How fast can it go?" she asked, and without waiting for a reply she bolted across the grass.

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir took in the criticism of his work, looking at the broom and giving her his best "Uh huh, and you would know this how" look.

Twigs out of place. Got it. Needs to be reinforced some. Check.

He was about to snap of a witty retort but she bolted off before he could barely even open his mouth. Smiling wickedly, he slowly lowered his goggles over his eyes and stretched his gloved hands for a moment beofre grasping the yoke.

"She can make the Kessel Run in five parsecs." he muttered to himself as he leaned in close to the broom. "Hya!"

As though he were riding a horse, the broom bucked into life, splitting the air and speeding along at a remarkable speed. He laughed as he felt the thrill of flying once again, gently pulling her up to get more air as he began to chase after the sprinting centaur.

She's fun.

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

She bundled herself as tight as she could and ran like she had been trained; low and hard, her hooves barely making contact before they pushed off again. She had been clocked at 63 mph one time, but then she had been trail hard and being chased by a truck, which was the only reason she knew the speed. This was different though, she was racing for fun and could tell she wasn't nearly at her best, not even 50 if she was lucky. A whiz in the air told her that Mr. Broom Head wasn't far behind. Another smirk graced her face quickly as she waited for him to get a little closer before she doubled up and spun around heading back the way she came, adn went back towards the lake. She was glad that there weren't any students around; it wouldn't do for them to see her behaving like a foal. still though, even after this short sprint, she could feel her flanks becoming slick with sweat.
I'm more out of shape than I thought I was, she thought to herself, but merely pushed harder, trying to gain a bit of lead.

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir followed suit, hounding her gallop like a shadow. He lowered the broom closer to the ground, flying her roughly two feet above the ground level. He bobbed over the uneven terrain with ease as he followed Shellivia, thinking he'd be nice and slowly overtake her until they reached the...

Finish Line? Who the bloody hell says there's a finish line? And where? Take her out!

Aesir gripped the yoke of his broom, readying himself for the burst of speed but peculiar movement from Shellivia caught his attention. She also seemed to be laughing.

Aesir squinted at her.

That can't be good. What's she up to?

Shellivia, without warning, quickly pulled a 180 as she quickly began sprinting in the complete opposite direction. She seemed to be enjoying herself. She thought she had him beat.

Aesir smiled too.

Big mistake.

Aesir yanked back on the yoke, sending the broom sailing straight up like a rocket. Quick calculations bolted through his mind as he contemplated his approximate speed in relation to the angle he was intending to take, giving him a much needed burst of speed to cover lost ground. After a handful of seconds, he snapped the yoke downwards, sending him on a nosedive towards the ground. Roughly halfway, he angled it into a shallow dive that brought him with two feet of the grass again at an approximate speed of 80 mp/h. Soon enough, he caught up to Shelly and zoomed past her, spiraling about like a corkscrewing madman.

Finally, he came back alongside her as she jogged, slowing the broom down to a cruising speed, flipping himself upside down as he spoke to her, grinning arrogantly.

"Hello there! Tired?"

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shellivia looked over at the man who was curretnly upside down in mid air.
Broom Head indead.
She slowed her gallop down to a brisk trot and smiled.
"Not in the least," she said, slightly out of breath, "A good run does the body good."
She kept up the apce adn let her sides cool down. Shaking out her mane and gave a chuckle that sounded vaguely like a horse's whinny.
"That was fun, it's nice that there is finally someone who can keep up with me."
She reasched the shores of the lake and circled around in palce before settling down, her front legs bending first and followed by her hindquarters.
Looking out over the water, she glanced over at him.
"Though I doubt you you be quite so confident, or as able, without your stick." she said with a smirk.

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir continued his upside down flight towards the lake and smiled,tossing his gloves to the shore, as he proceeded to descend slowly towards the water. He hung on the broom by his knees as he dipped his hands into the lake and ran them through his hair and splashing his face.

Spinning right side up, he approached Shellivia again, and dismounted, swinging the broom over his shoulder instinctually.

"No, I probably wouldn't. But I bet ye still found it fun nonetheless, eh?" he responded, grinning. Aesir picked up his gloves and began to slip them back on. "But she's a pride and joy fer a reason. And as I was gonna tell ye before ye left, she flies a d*mn sight faster than most people assume."

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shellivia whistled and the squirrel soon came into view bounding down the grass. He was being jumped onto her shoulder and chattered a bit before she gave him a nit and he settled down on her back and nibbled at it happily.
"I don't believe that I have won more than one or two races against wizards on brooms, but it's still fun to try. Speed was one of the points of pride in my herd, so I still like to test myself." She ran her fingers over the grass and smiled gently to herself.
"Besides," she continued not looking up and her smiled turned into a small smirk, "no one else here is a challenge."

[Aesir MacLeod]

Aesir looked over to her, blinking a bit in surprise at the sudden compliment.

Well, I'll be damned. Not often centaurs give compliments. That broom is definitely a work of art then.

He smiled. "I do my best to make the best, and this broom is my baby. Spent a few years makin' her and she hasn't lemme down since. I would hope she and I are a challenge. Maybe sometimes we could have a race through the woods. Like to keep my wits sharp. Nothing keeps you sharper than dodging flora and tree truks at 80 mp/h, that's for sure."

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shelly looked up at him and blinked. She held him in a serious stare for a few moments before she spoke. Her words were slow, deliberate and carefully chosen.
"I will tell you now, Mr. Macleod, that the woods are more dangerous than people think. If you were to try flying around in there, it would be more than flora and trees that you would have to dodge. Even going at 80mph, you'll need more than skill to live in there that long if you aren't careful."
She held his eyes for a few more moments, before dropping them back to the grass.
"I would like to train against you some more though, I'm afraid that teaching here has made me soft. How fast do you judge that we were going?"

[Aesir MacLeod]

Oh, please.

Aesir was about to roll his eyes when he heard her talking about the woods, but there was a quality about them that held his glued to hers.

The little voice inside his head that thought she was kidding around remained quiet.

Shutting up.

She finally asked him another question that allowed Aesir to shift into a more comfortable position and mindset. His mind naturally processed the numbers and he shrugged a few seconds later.

"I'd roughly guesstimate, ye were sprintin' bout 49 to 52 mp/h, tops. Quite a remarkable speed fer a landbound being such as yerself. I was going over 70 at one point, but that was after I reversed the momentum and slungshot meself in yer direction." he said casually as he relayed the facts and numbers. He looked at her. "What kinda trainin' ye had in mind, Shellivia?"

[Shellivia Nos Taronin]

Shellivia nodded and looked pensive for a bit.
"The best I have been.. clocked at?" she sounded unsure at the phrase but continued, "was 63 miles and hour. Granted I was being chased at the time, but I would still like to average 60 or around that speed again."
She glanced up at the surroundings and didn't talk for a bit.
"I suppose running laps might be a good thing to start with, I'm only going to need a running partner for later, and mostly to test the sprints." She looked over and smiled at him.
"Interested?" she asked.