Chachanji was still both inwardly and outwardly squeeing over that last jump when Avenger crossed the "finish line," pulling lightly on the young bird's reins and turning to face his mentor with quite the delighted smile plastered on his features. Finishing first was almost an afterthought after that harrowing and hair-raising last second leap, though the little Lalafell would be remiss if he denied feeling at least a little bit of victorious tickle in doing so. It was just that jump overshadowed it quite a bit, as he was quick to gush over it once questioned on the matter.
"That... that was awesome!" Chachanji repeated with almost as much zeal before, gripping Avenger's reins tight in his little hands. While Roen was dismounted, the mounted Lalafell still only reached eye level with her, which made the excited glimmer in his violet orbs all the more apparent to her. Of course, his level of excitement was pretty apparent even without that subtle hint. "I was all sad 'bout not bein' able ta make that last jump and then ya were there 'n I jumped 'n... 'n... eeeeee..."
Avenger merely glanced over his feathered shoulder to look at his youthful rider, doing a sort of happy little dance in his saddle. The youngest Gegenji would've rode on that adrenaline high for quite some time if a stray thought hadn't occurred to him. By serving as the last jump, either the Hyur believed she could've easily overtaken him in the final stretch or she had thrown the race. While he wanted to believe in the former, considering how closely Goldwind had finished behind him, that latter threatened to dampen his good mood until he got it answered.
"Um... Miss... err... Miss Roen," he stammered a bit, both still a bit wound up from the excitement and nervous about asking the question. "Was it... was it akay fer ya ta do that? Ya totally coulda won if'n ya hadn't done that."
Chachanji had a bit of an inkling as to why she would've done it even before he presented the question. After all, he had been so insistent on learning from her because she had a kindness and caring that he felt was crucial to the kind of Paladin he wanted to be. Even throwing a race so that her pupil could succeed was something he could easily see her doing. Perhaps that's why the idea nagged at him so much - he found himself wondering how much of the victory was under his own merit and how much of it was out of Roen's kindness.
Though, finding out that she had wouldn't have lessen his view of her in his young eyes, of course. In fact, it had potential to segue into another lesson for the little Lalafell. Knowing when to step and help, and when to let someone overcome something under their own power was something Chachanji continued to grapple with. It was most likely the cause of his one big fight with Leanne, and gotten him into a couple terse conversations with Aiden at times. Not to mention his first big pout-fest had been over trying to help too many people at once and, in doing so, just running himself ragged.
Perhaps there was much more weight and purpose behind that stuttered question than little Chachanji had first intended. And, perhaps, it would lead into the other question he had been tasked into asking of his mentors. This was quickly turning into quite the leading question indeed.
"That... that was awesome!" Chachanji repeated with almost as much zeal before, gripping Avenger's reins tight in his little hands. While Roen was dismounted, the mounted Lalafell still only reached eye level with her, which made the excited glimmer in his violet orbs all the more apparent to her. Of course, his level of excitement was pretty apparent even without that subtle hint. "I was all sad 'bout not bein' able ta make that last jump and then ya were there 'n I jumped 'n... 'n... eeeeee..."
Avenger merely glanced over his feathered shoulder to look at his youthful rider, doing a sort of happy little dance in his saddle. The youngest Gegenji would've rode on that adrenaline high for quite some time if a stray thought hadn't occurred to him. By serving as the last jump, either the Hyur believed she could've easily overtaken him in the final stretch or she had thrown the race. While he wanted to believe in the former, considering how closely Goldwind had finished behind him, that latter threatened to dampen his good mood until he got it answered.
"Um... Miss... err... Miss Roen," he stammered a bit, both still a bit wound up from the excitement and nervous about asking the question. "Was it... was it akay fer ya ta do that? Ya totally coulda won if'n ya hadn't done that."
Chachanji had a bit of an inkling as to why she would've done it even before he presented the question. After all, he had been so insistent on learning from her because she had a kindness and caring that he felt was crucial to the kind of Paladin he wanted to be. Even throwing a race so that her pupil could succeed was something he could easily see her doing. Perhaps that's why the idea nagged at him so much - he found himself wondering how much of the victory was under his own merit and how much of it was out of Roen's kindness.
Though, finding out that she had wouldn't have lessen his view of her in his young eyes, of course. In fact, it had potential to segue into another lesson for the little Lalafell. Knowing when to step and help, and when to let someone overcome something under their own power was something Chachanji continued to grapple with. It was most likely the cause of his one big fight with Leanne, and gotten him into a couple terse conversations with Aiden at times. Not to mention his first big pout-fest had been over trying to help too many people at once and, in doing so, just running himself ragged.
Perhaps there was much more weight and purpose behind that stuttered question than little Chachanji had first intended. And, perhaps, it would lead into the other question he had been tasked into asking of his mentors. This was quickly turning into quite the leading question indeed.
~