Legal Tender 10

With the homestead in Kua came a certain amount of acclaim for both Ginali and Dhanoo. His design was ground breaking - if not only for the way that it rested within half the hill and gently caressed the natural boulders to the west, but for the way that he'd convinced Ginali to allow him to build it. Dhanoo was convinced that his Membayar status wasn't going to last, with the way he'd gotten so many offers to design things recently.
"Why not start with my idea?" Ginali asked him, as she moved through the Kua hold. "I heard you muttering about it, why not blow some of that money on me?"
"What, again?" Dhanoo laughed. "Where are you thinking?"
"I am thinking that the neighbors don't have enough interest in their Landholds..." Ginali pondered while glancing out the east windows. "Look at it."
"I look at it every day, do you think they'll sell?"
Ginali pressed up against her architecht-husband and purred, "of course they will, if you let me do the talking..."
So it was, that shortly after opening the Kua Flip Ranch (a name that Dhanoo despised with a grin on his face), that Ginali and Dhanoo began preparations to flatten out some of the low-grade hills on that Hold and see about putting in a major piece of real estate.
It would be much larger than anything Dhanoo had designed, and would probably take both their combined monies to assemble. But ... it would be a marvel. While they would rest, snuggling in a large dark room with starlight playing over them through the north "tunnel window" that was burrowed through the ground behind the building itself, Ginali would tell Dhanoo of her desires, and Dhanoo would tell her how it could come to be. Their pillow talk was rather odd, it would seem.
But if it was pillow talk, the pillow was rich.
For the next few months, both of them worked solidly on other people's projects, and accepted payment eagerly for the first time in ages. They would normally have given better rates, or even haphazardly discounted their services in both Steed and design realms - but they were preparing for the big investment of their lives.
Zudhi and the others in the family contributed what they could, even if only for a small plaque when the thing was done. It was well worth their efforts. In the fall of the year Fourteen-Eight, Ginali's superb (and as yet unnamed) Steed Arena broke ground.
By summer of Fourteen Ten, it was finished. The landscaping had time to grow in, and there was a beautiful festive platform which rested somewhere between the Flip and the Arena, where a large group of Steed professionals, architects and a multitude of other onlookers gathered. The grand opening was upon them.
A flight of bright yellow, golden winged Steeds rose as one from the area behind the platform, circled into the air as though they had never done anything else. They vanished behind the big bank of trees, and came back around to graze the bush tops by the platform. Then, they climbed again aggressively into the sky. Ginali commanded them with a great ease and a huge smile on her face. Though she was pregnant - and not with Dhanoo's child - she was able to take attention away from the Steeds long enough to say: "We will meet them inside the Arena!" And with that, the group moved from the outdoors to the interior of the large Arena.
It was big enough to hold aerial stunt flights, yet each portion of the place had a close, intimate feel to it. Perhaps it was the angle of the walls, or the way the vertical windows streamed in light from the setting sun, or maybe the place was smaller than anyone realized? But it was mostly white, no spare pillars or anything that might catch a Steed's wing. The floors and grounds were meant for both Zekiran and Steed feet to walk. It was ironic, really, that when Ginali asked about substances to line the Steedways with, the first thing that Dhanoo thought of was that frightful yellow sand that his step-aunt owned.
She sold him the Hold, without two blinks of her eyes. She realized quickly that her own daughter was by far the biggest mouthed young woman in creation, and that sand was just sand unless she could afford to somehow turn it into gold or dirt. Since neither were about to happen, she abandoned it just as its prior Holder had done.
And about three tons of that sand wound up lining the Steed ways. It was comfortable on their hooves, compact enough that it didn't wind up everywhere when they waved their wings, and matched the pale tone of the white interior.
Ginali wasn't sure why Dhanoo always chuckled to himself with a guilty look when he talked about that Hold - he hadn't really explained why he knew about it, only that his relative had it. So it was with the utmost irony in the world, that Lady Uryi brought her trio of Steeds to show at the Arena's premier opening. She and several dozen others were set up in the booths that lined the main arena space. There was a kind of wheel-shape in that room, with ten main double-wide doors leading back to the Steed housing. Another ten more smaller doors led down slightly longer corridors to other boarding areas, and all were in use and open right then.
The Arena itself was to hold Steed Shows, more than races. That was Ginali's forte after all, training a racing Steed was work for someone who actually rode more than she. Whenever she did have to put herself onto the back of a Steed, Dhanoo always complained that she didn't like having her tail touched afterwards, so she managed to stay off them most of the time.
"This is wonderful," Ginali whispered, heard only by Dhanoo over the celebratory din.
"Isn't it?" Dhanoo laughed. "I'd offer you wine, but you and the little one there won't be needing that."
At that, Ginali adopted a strange look, one which Dhanoo had gotten used to of late. "You're sure you-"
"Ginali, if you're fertile, you're fertile. Your BreedLady would hardly warrant an entire strip on the boardwalk with her name on it if she couldn't get you to give the world a child."
"But - He's-"
"Not mine, I know. But he's yours." Dhanoo smiled again and raised his wine glass to the center of the Arena. "And some day, part of this might be his. Maybe he'll grow up underfoot. But maybe," he said, with another more sly grin, "he'll be growing up with a sibling."

That turned into a truth quickly. Ginali and Xem had practically plotted out the next decade, but Ginali had the final say about who she would and would not pair up with. When the Arena was making an ungodly amount of money - Steed boarding, Shows, events, and even local broadcasting held there regularly - Ginali decided that now she was ready for Dhanoo to get serious.
Not that they hadn't been serious before, about their lovemaking. But now, after two births and a five year wait, Ginali knew how her body worked more accurately. Whenever she got that look on her face, a heavy-lidded smile, Dhanoo immediately got himself in gear. They enjoyed every effort they made, of course.
Less than five months later, Ginali's belly swollen again, her son and daughter visited and asked the typical questions of her. They would be experiencing school and being informed about Breeding later on, as they were both quite young yet. Dhanoo watched as his wife entertained them with stories of how heavy the child inside her was, and then took them outside to her favored Steed's stall. Dhanoo rose and followed after her, interested in just watching her interact.
"You see how swollen she is too?" Ginali showed the two young children - both with her spotted skin, one with a much longer tail and pointed ears as well - the dark yellow-gold mare's own pregnant self. "Ooh - did you see that?"
"It went bulgy!" Said the girl, Vanlith.
"The baby Steed is getting restless, moving around."
"That's ikcy," said Gonell, her older brother. "I don't want that!"
"... uh-" Ginali said, pausing because she was about to laugh so hard she might cry. Fortunately, Dhanoo stepped in to save the day.
"Well, Gonell, only girl-types have to worry about that. You don't get pregnant, just females."
The profound look of exaggerated relief on the boy's face made everyone laugh. "That's good!" He clearly had his mother's sensibilities and temper. Only his sister would be Inheriting from this Hold, though - her father was another Animal Master. Gonell's father was a Free Worker thanks to his donation to Xem's breeding pool, Bayaran turned Free for the moment.
It amused both Ginali and Dhanoo that not more than four months later, as his mother went into labor in the Flip house, that he added, "girls get to do all the cool stuff."
"Maybe you should become a Breeder like Xem," Dhanoo said, and Gonell shrugged. "It's a lot of work, but ... look at that... You've got a sister."
"I already have a sister," the ten year old grumbled, but then he and that selfsame sister nearly bubbled over when they got to hold little Dhanali. Ginali was tired, but not exhausted from her third birth. Xem said something about slowing down on the Breeding work for a while, which was a bit of a relief to both adults. After all, too many Inheritances spoil the Hold.

"Why didn't I get that damn thing cut off?" Dhanali grumbled, rubbing her rear end and wishing heartily that she had her hand-length tail removed when BreedLady Xem suggested it. She determined that when she had the spare silver she'd do it. Of course, she told herself that every time she rode, and the next day promptly wondered why she'd ever think of such a thing. She could hardly imagine her own rear end without the extra flap of vertibrae and skin.
Neither could her assortment of fans and lovers. As an Animal Mistress she was superb, a racer and trainer of Steeds like her mother. She was more interested in the active role that a jockey plays, than merely the aspects that Ginali worked with. Both of them would work on their group of fine yellow and gold Steeds together, but it was Dhanali who would race them to victory. Not every race would be won, there were some very serious Steeds and jockeys out there. For the moment, Dhanali participated in local races instead of worldwide. She liked being at home. Flip House had become busy again with the birth of Ginali's fourth and final child, a little boy whose Suzeraan father required an heir for his sizable plantation empire.
Xem would never have accepted money for any of the little surgeries that could have changed Dhanali's appearance, since this was also her project. One of the other projects that the aging Breeder was working on, was training a young apprentice. A woman named Layahta, whose habit of cracking her knuckles landed her a permanent spot in Dhanali's book. They would compare notes - seeing which direction got the best satisfaction, how many neck bones they could snap at once... Both BreedLady Xem and Ginali were horrified that such a thing could cause bonding with two otherwise sensible and popular young women.
But it did.
Layahta was a bit older than Dhanali, perhaps a decade, so she had been working on her Breeding degrees while Dhanali was still in school. They were able to entertain each other, though, in ways that most people did not expect. Not the least of which were in belching contests.
"I cannot see how that girl came from either of us," Ginali muttered while passing the suite where her daughter lived. Dhanoo chuckled and agreed. They were lusty, fun-loving people. But they were polite.
"It's a shame, really," Dhanoo said, "because she's a beautiful young woman. What if some rich Holder comes along to court her, and she manages to pass gas at their tea service?"
Ginali burst out laughing, and from Dhanali's suite came a loud, "I know you're talking about me! You can stop it now!"
Which of course elicited a grand cascade of laughter from both her parents.
In Dhanali's room she leaned against her thick pillows and looked at Layahta on the vid screen. "See what I have to put up with?"
"Then come with me. There's a race I want to bet on, and I'd love to get closer to one of the racers. It's in Reimal, a new course."
"I suppose."
"You don't like traveling, I know, I know..." The green-black of Layahta's lips moved into a smirk, "How about we fly there on our Steeds?"
"That's insane, Layahta. Even my Steeds aren't that good for endurance. Besides the race is when? You said in three days?"
"I was only joking... You really are nothing like your folks."
They met up at the hoverport, and Layahta made a surprising change to their plans. "I would love to go on that boat across Neres Gulf," she announced. She was looking with some interest at a large ship which held four huge masts and a batch of white sails. The young Mistress Breeder caught Dhanali's look of fear and confusion. "Come on. You're up in the air half a mile high, half the time without a saddle. This is hardly any more dangerous - it's safe, Dhanali!"
"I ... suppose it is. They wouldn't let people on boats if they weren't actually safe."
Layahta chuckled evilly, then had to back pedal and do a more convincing job of getting her friend on the boat. In order to distract her during the eighteen hour long trip the Breeder talked at length about the project that had finally netted her her own Sixth Degree status.
"It was pretty easy, all things considered. I just had to keep checking on three sets of genes instead of two. Even Xem was surprised I could do it."
"I'm not surprised at all that you managed to convince three parents worth of genetic material to fuse. You convinced me to get on this boat, and I think I complained more." Dhanali groaned and lay down with her face pressed into the soft mattress in their stateroom.
"You are still complaining," Layahta giggled. "Worrywart. I will have to check up on Lepa, she's probably not going to be able to bear children, all in all. But we know that doesn't matter these days." She puffed herself up with pride.
"It's such an enlightening time..." From her face-down muttering spot, Dhanali fumbled around with her long, spotted hand, and located what she was looking for. A spare pillow which she then launched in the general direction of her friend.
That worrywart's anguish over being on a boat for a day and a half didn't last too long in the face of a good pillow fight.
When they did get into the port, they had to arrange transportation away from the shipyards and up the coast a bit toward the Teklel Project. That would take up the remainder of their travel time - the race would literally be starting only hours after their expected arrival.
"I wish we could have just taken a hover," Dhanali said, "all this traveling is making me wish I'd taken you up on flying FeatherFeat here." She paused, looked at the sly expression on her friend's face, and shouted, "I was joking!!"
"I know you'd never put a Steed through that effort, Dhan, I know..." Layahta nodded. "Still, I wonder what their real distance limits are like?"
"I would never put any Steed to that kind of a test unless our lives depended upon it. Like that one Slave who almost lost a whole herd of her Lord's Steeds." She sighed. "It shames me to know that I'm part of that bloodline."
With surprise, Layahta glanced at Dhanali. "You're related to Vrva?"
"You know her name?" Dhanali said, equally surprised.
"I do - it's a good bit of history when you like Steeds."
"It's my history because she was my ... I don't know, great aunt or something, on my mother's side. She ought to have been Raised and given her right Status, that might have changed the way she flew them across the gorge."
"Falling to your death is still falling to your death," Layahta commented. "And what really surprised me is that they were able to contain the Steeds one by one."
"If they'd found an adequately talented Animal Master to do it, they wouldn't have taken two years to get them," Dhanali said, with a grin.
"Oh, you think you'd be able to get them all back? Twenty Steeds is a lot."
"Not for my mother," Dhanali reminded the Breeder. "For her that's a strain, but not too many. Besides they could have done it with the safe-nets."
"Did those even exist then?"
"Layahta, it was only one hundred years ago. Of course they existed then."
Their conversation went this way for another six hours, while the hovercraft they and three other people were in flew over the soft rolling Reimal coastline. On occasion, Layahta would attempt to get the others to converse, but they politely declined by turning a bit and pretending to sleep. They clearly didn't know that this woman with the burly hands and the rough voice was a Breeder of considerable talent.
They found out later, when she donned her long coat that had the emblem of the Breeders embroidered in bright gold on it. It was like a gang-member's jacket, showing off her affiliation as though it was meant to terrify or cow other Status. It worked well enough.
While they were in the large inn at Teklel where many transient visitors to the race circuit stayed, placed bets and watched the race on large view screens, Dhanali noticed something different about her friend. She was placing bets at a rapid rate, for not only this race, but for half a dozen others. The Animal Mistress couldn't help but notice - since she didn't bet, herself - that Layahta's bets were mostly poor, and mostly losing.
The big race went on, but even though there were a dozen very fine Steeds to watch, Dhanali found herself watching Layahta's reactions instead of the screen. It was almost painful to her, as though the woman could try willing a fourth-rate Steed into a first-place spot. Obviously, it did not work.
"Why did you bet on that Steed? He was never going to win, Lay."
"I like to play long shots," she said, with a half-satisfied grin. There was an oddly wild look on her dark blue eyes when she noticed that another of her races had been run, and she'd lost again. The Breeder swore without caring who was there to listen.
"Those long shots are labeled that way for a reason," Dhanali pointed out. "They don't often win, and they're never going to amount to a good Steed placement in the finals."
"Maybe I don't care about that," Layahta said. She drank a glass of wine as though it was water in the desert, and looked back at the big screens where yet a third race had gone farther from her grasp. The Steeds she bet upon didn't even finish - two of them had tangled in each other's wings, and a third had to shy away from them so far he drifted off the whole course.
"How much did you put on those races?" Dhanali demanded, trying to sound merely interested.
"Oh, probably three or four hundred."
That pushed Dhanali into an alert stare. "But... Lay... Those Steeds aren't even worth three or four hundred sil, they're worthless and untrained! The least you could do is ask me if I think their training is good enough to-"
"I don't need to worry about that kind of thing," Layahta snapped, in her drunken way she was still trying to be friendly. "I just go for the ones I like, is all."
"But how many others have you wound up placing bets for that aren't even in the top ten in their race?"
"Oh, bunches, bunches. They're all pretty though... Their jockeys are very fine."
"You're going on looks? And whether you'd bed the Jockey?!" Now Dhanali was angry. "You're going to wind up washing dishes like Bayaran if you don't stop betting like this!"
"Ah - hardly. There's no need for such a big voice, Dhani." The Breeder waved her friend off. She started looking for another betting station, and found one which was showing a race that was to be run in Difar shortly. She began to load her personal banking information into the machine, since she'd run out of cash to put into it.
Dhanali sputtered, "You have a problem!"
From the machine's glowing front, Layahta said with a deep slur, "Maybe I do have a problem with that. Do you have a problem with me having a problem with that?" She laughed abruptly and thumb-printed the release of funds.
It didn't take long for those funds to be sucked out of her account. Which, Dhanali noticed while the on-screen information was still vivid, was depleting rapidly.
"You're going to lose all your money, Lay!" Dhanali said, as her friend searched around for yet another place to throw her money.
"Ahh, I can make more. What's the big deal? Even if I do wind up Bayaran it'll only be for a moment. I'm a Breeder, remember?"
"But Lay - when was the last time you took a client on? You've ... you haven't done any Breeding work since you got your Degree! I know that Xem spoke about it to you, she's disappointed in your - "
"Of course she's disappointed in my lack of work." Layahta spat unkindly. "She wanted me to do all kinds of messy splicing after I showed her I could do it. Just because I can, doesn't mean I want to all the damn time!"
"But maybe once would be better than never," Dhanali said. "Come on. You're drunk and you're wasting your money here."
"I do not want to go yet, I'm not finished yet."
"There are always going to be other races that you can lose money on, Ley," Dhanali said, and she looked around toward the owners of the establishment. Her eyes - always changing with her mood - had gone a bright yellow color that contrasted with the violet markings around her eyes. She hoped that one of the local Bayaran would come and help her take Layahta up to their room.
"You just don't want me to have any fun."
"This is not fun, Lay, this is insanity. You have to come upstairs with me right now. You are drunk and you are causing a scene."
"Oh and since when has that ever been a problem with you? I thought you were my friend! My best friend!" The woman was not yelling, yet, but others were starting to take interest. One of those big burly men with the logo of the inn on their uniform was looking on, and Dhanali wished that he would just walk right over. The fact that he could still see the Breeder's logo on the noisy woman's coat kept him at bay.
"I ... maybe you need a better friend if you want me to continue letting you do this to yourself." Dhanali said. Layahta froze and stood up straight.
"A friend would let me have fun, and not worry about me impressing my mentors." She said, low. Dhanali had never seen such a dark look on her friend's face.
"Then I ... might not have what it takes to keep you happy, any more. I never knew you were so ... addicted to this. It's wrong, Lay. It's stupid. You're smarter than this."
"Don't you tell me what I am and am not."
"I'll tell you you're going to be Bayaran and I don't think I can help you get out. I don't think I should help you if you'd just go back to doing it again."
"Then maybe you shouldn't try helping me at all," Layahta said, almost as though she enjoyed saying it.
"I don't want to lose you as a friend, Lay," Dhanali said. "But... I don't want to lose you to this, either. Come on upstairs and at least just sleep tonight. It's been a very long couple of days and we're both tired."
"You go on ahead," Lay said, narrowing her eyes. "I don't need to worry about the problem I have. I've got you to do that for me."
There was a creeping pain in Dhanali's stomach, which went up to her throat and cut off anything else she might say. Layahta had never been like this before. She'd been drunk in her presence, certainly, they enjoyed having romps through wine tasting houses. But... The combination of betting and wine had ruined whatever was left of her friendship.
"Not any more," Dhanali said, and turned to go upstairs.
She cried openly, while on the vid to her mother and father. But she managed to straighten herself up a bit to speak to Xem. Since it was in a later time zone, it was all right to call the BreedLady at her plainsland Homestead in Tana. She would have to know about this. When Dhanali spoke of Layahta's distressing behavior to the Breeder, Xem's response was to look downcast and disappointed.
"I ... was afraid that this would happen." Xem said. "Her father was like this, I had no idea that it could be passed like an addiction to a substance - it's almost like a disease."
"It is a disease," Dhanali said, shakily. "It's frightening. I ... don't know what to do. I want to go home, but I can't leave her here. She'll run herself straight into Slavery at this rate."
"How about you let me make the decision about where I go and what I do," said a very angry Layahta from nearby. She startled Dhanali enough that the Animal Mistress yelped out loud. Xem on the screen could not see her apprentice, but she heard her speaking again. "You and that woman have tried to manipulate me all my life! Enough! If I want to bet on Steeds I can do that. If I want to run myself into the ground, that's my problem. Not yours!"
Dhanali squealed in fear as her friend of more than half her life swung with a cane that she'd clearly either stolen from someone or found on the way up to the room. Dhanali's reflexes were better by far than the Breeder's, so she ducked and slid down to the floor, scrambling away from the chair. Xem's communication was cut off, when the cane impacted the vid unit.
"Oops!" Layahta said, loudly, "that's another debt! Broke someone's little toy!"
"This isn't a game!" Dhanali yelled, "Why are you doing this!?"
"It's in my blood," Layahta said, a growl escaping as she gripped the cane more firmly and advanced on Dhanali. "Didn't you hear? It's inescapable, I can't beat my genes, after all.... But I can beat you."
Fortunately for Dhanali, either someone in the inn had heard the crashing and the yelling, or Xem had called the inn back and warned them of the attack, two guards came bursting into the locked room's door. It took Layahta by surprise, and gave Dhanali the time to duck around the couch and into a more safe area. Layahta would have to fight her way past not only the guards but several pieces of furniture to hit her. One of the guards allowed Layahta to swing the cane at him, it thudded onto his thick arm with no obvious damage to him, and he expertly took the weapon from her. His partner, a more lithe man, came up to grasp her arms and pin her down.
"I'm so sorry!" Dhanali cried, sobbing at the men while they subdued her friend. "I didn't know she was like this..."
"A lot of people get like this, BeastMistress," one of the guards said. His partner had administered a chokehold which rendered Layahta unconscious. "Just rarely this high Status is all. We'll need you to give a statement to our security team, and the locals."
"I.... I'll do that."
"We'll inform you when you're needed," said the other guard, as they took the woman away. The door couldn't shut, since they had had to break the lock to get in, but the hinges seemed acceptably undamaged. Little things like that, the way the grain on the door frame would have to be replaced and repainted to match, kept Dhanali occupied as she waited. She could hardly think, so her father's professional words would come to her. Her mind escaped as she ran through the ways that he would have designed the room differently. Over there would be the table, not in the center of the room. This color scheme is all wrong. The vid should be on the wall... Not smashed into pieces on the table.
Dhanali absently picked up the pieces of the broken vid unit, and tried to get them all onto the table. It was difficult, for her eyes were constantly tearing up and making her vision blurry. When the security team finally did ask for her, it was nearly dawn. She'd slept on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest and sobbing all night into it.
She gave what she could as a deposition, trying to make sense of her friend's behavior. It was clear that her accounts would not support this massive incursion, and worse than merely causing an accident, this was a purposeful abuse of hotel property, theft of someone's posessions - the cane belonged to an elderly Lord who didn't think much of women in the first place, endangerment, and all manner of other slurs that the patrons downstairs had to endure while she was bumping her way from betting post to betting post. It did not look good for Layahta.
It looked bleak indeed for their friendship. When Dhanali saw local police escorting her to their hover vehicle outside, Layahta gave Dhanali such a blistering look of hate that she knew she'd never be able to call the woman friend any longer.
She finished her statements, and was allowed to leave. Dhanali gathered up what she had brought with, and left Layahta's things where they were. They would be used to offset any financial damages she couldn't pay back anyway. When Dhanali reached her home, the Flip hold seemed both invitingly familiar, and a bleakly chill world. Her suite was empty without her friend - and full of Layahta's things that had been left there or shared. She spent the rest of the day wearily packing those things up and separating out what she knew was hers when she'd let herself into Layahta's place later on.
A pile of exchanged items, a bag of her own goods - music recordings, a trophy, clothing, wine - placed into her carriage.
The small Hold that Layahta had might have to come up for sale, too. Could she bear that? Dhanali thought it was a more personal loss - even if Layahta didn't think so.
She would never know how much of a loss, really, because she learned that two days later Layahta killed herself with a dinner knife and would leave all the debt for the lawyers to sort out.

Dhanali threw herself into her work. With her mother training the Steeds for the Arena, and Dhanali getting them into the air and racing them to moderate success, they gave themselves little time in which to dwell upon Layahta. But every time Dhanali went into a race, she felt she was betraying everyone who had ever placed a bet compulsively.
Eventually this guilt drove her to do something quite unusual. She went to her uncle, Lord Zudhi, and asked him about things that she might be able to do. One of his suggestions was clearly based upon his own recent dealings, but it was the best option she'd found yet.
He'd just created a superb location for a broadcast company. They were located in the south of Bohata, but their broadcasts would be seen almost everywhere. The tower for their signal was part of the design of the building, he'd always been best at that kind of thing. He took stock in the company as his payment, so he had a stake in the success of it.
"If my neice thinks she can change the way people do their betting, then that's the best place for her to do it," he said, for some reason always referring to her as 'his neice' even though he was otherwise informal with her. Thus encouraged, Dhanali went out to find further evidence that betting and the addiction that it can aggrivate was not only a social factor, but a genetic one. She contacted Breeders, some of whom thought she was insane, many of whom gave their professional opinion but would not go on screen to solidify it. Some though managed to come through for her.
"It's a set of genes, and sometimes they just seem to activate in people who do have an addictive personality," said one Breeder. They were in a smallish studio being filmed for this event that Dhanali was planning. "It's been confirmed over several studies, but not every Breeder has seen this information."
"So you think that perhaps people ought to check up on those genes, before starting themselves on a destructive course?" Dhanali asked him, hoping that she didn't sound completely insane.
"I think... well, I think that it would be wise for people who have those genes to avoid betting entirely. But then again, I'm not a betting man. I know when to stop - there are many who don't."
"But by the same token," Dhanali said, glancing at her notes, "there are many people who can bet, lose, and walk away - in equal numbers to those who bet and lose, and keep coming back to lose again. Do you think that all of those people are genetically predisposed to this problem?"
"I don't think so," the Breeder confirmed a suspicion that Dhanali had. "I do think that it's necessary for people - like yourself, and I commend you - to intervene when they can. I have seen several people destroyed if not by betting, then by other dangerous and repetitive activities. Theft, compulsive danger addiction, it's able to manifest itself in many different ways, and I think that while it doesn't go specifically with the set of genes I'm talking about, they may certainly play a role."
"Thank you, Lord Breeder Whaalnoth." Dhanali turned to the camera, and leveled her serious, currently green, eyes on it. "So the general consesus, with no fewer than five prominent Breeders and other experts knowledgable on this subject, is that sometimes knowing when to stop isn't enough. Sometimes, knowing when not to start betting - or playing the dangerous games such as petty theft, placing ones self into physical danger - can be even more important." She paused, and the assistant in the room switched the cue reader for her. "If you suspect that you feel overwhelmed by needs, such as those, there are always options to consider. First is to allow your friends and family to help you, if they offer it. My... My best friend died, because of her addiction, and she could have been given help, if only she'd taken it. That is not the way I want anyone else's life to end - over a betting machine loss." Again she paused, and gave a flickering smile. "Here are some locations of the Breeders that we've spoken to this evening. If you suspect you - or someone you know - has a problem? Please contact them. It's better than becoming deeply in debt, and certainly better than a life of Slavery to an uncaring Lady Luck."
The cameras were on just a moment longer, then they turned to clear, and everyone relaxed.
"Did I do okay?" Dhanali asked, nervously.
"Okay?!" Said the station manager, "Beast Mistress, I've never seen anyone do what you just did. I would be honored if you'd consider coming on to the set more often!"
She turned away and flushed, giving off an embarrassed smile and muttering something silly.
"He's right," said Zudhi, "you were composed, well-spoken, and clear. I've rarely seen someone with that kind of talent, Dhanali."
"You never call me by my name," she whispered.
"Then take it as the solid truth," Zudhi said, leaning in to his neice and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Now, they're going to add the right information to the screens and put some other technical things in under your faces - who you are and all that kind of nonsense. It will be shown, if we can pull it, during the world Steed semi finals."
"Is that wise?" Asked the Breeder, a short man with brightly green skin and tan colored hair. "It might anger people a bit, to know that they're somehow being thought of as 'damaged' when they're out there betting. And that might make parlour Holders angry..."
"I catch your meaning," Dhanali said, nodding. "But when then? By making them aware of it at the very moment they're doing it? I think it makes sense. Especially for family members, if they see their friends or ... well, you know."
The group parted and headed their diverse ways. Dhanali and Zudhi went back to Kua, where their family waited and asked a multitude of questions. Zudhi was careful to leave instructions with them, however, regarding the eventuality of tirades, threats and hate mail that they were sure to get after the broadcasts. None of them were naive enough to think there would be no such events, but they were glad that one of them had the foresight to plan for it.
Two weeks later, with the race circuit in full swing, and Dhanali on a Steed belonging to her mother, the semi finals were upon them. At least one of the other riders in the race had heard about the 'informative vid spot' on gambling addiction and said he was all in favor of it. Yet three others were so silent and cold toward Dhanali that she knew they were either heavy bettors themselves, or knew that her actions would be giving serious repercussions in the industry. Their livelyhoods were made or broken by betting. Gambling was the way of their world.
But she wanted to stop them?
Let her try, she heard someone mutter to their trainer, as she got onto Dusty Account. The Steed wasn't one of the show-bred, his fur was a much darker shade of yellow-tan than their high quality breeders. But he was a fast Steed, good in the air. Dhanali tried to focus on his mood and the race.
There was a pause, while some wild birds were shooed out of the area, and then the race was announced fully.
Twelve Steeds, representing ten breeders. It was as wide a field as they'd had in years, so many people were now getting into breeding and racing. Their apperances ranged as widely as their moods - Dhanali could sense them all. She could even sense the one heavily Bred man who rode a strongly winged black toned Steed nearby. The buzzing of excitement finally overtook her, and she stopped for the moment in her worrying.
Shortly they were up, blasting into the air with heavy wing beats. This course relied upon a lot of lift, nearly two straight-up sections were involved, and then long portions of fast moving downhill weaves between tall poles. One wrong move there, and it was likely death to either Steed or Rider.
Was she one of those Riders whose level of danger gave her the thrills? She enjoyed flying, she wasn't in denial. There was always risk, and she sometimes refused to take a Steed on a particular course for that very reason. The Steeds went into a formation up into the sky over the grandstands, and then circled around their first destination. A tall white pillar with a helium balloon pulling a long banner straight up. They would have to circle it, then move on to the next section. Dusty Account was admirably fast in the turn, but wasn't always good for lift. They would have to make up some speed on the slalom portion.
Dhanali was intent on at least getting Dusty Account up to the second pillar, when one of the other riders was nearly knocked from the sky by his Steed. Suddenly angry with him for some odd reason, the Steed faltered, bucked in midair, and began flapping hard enough to dislodge the saddle. The rider clung on for dear life, as the saddle fell to the ground below. He was out of the race, she swept by him yelling that there would be help on the way - from her vantage point, she could see they were arriving in hovercars.
But this was a race after all, and there was half the herd ahead of her now. "Dusty, come on. Up!" She urged, and his training kicked in. He was if anything well versed in accepting instructions, a very well behaved Steed. His cream-grey colored wings beat in a pattern, and Dhanali nestled herself down by his neck. They reached the pinnacle, circled, and then Dhanali looked over the competition as they spread out before her. Down a steep hillside, there were five poles, again with the balloon supporting a line of ribbon so they could see where to go. There were six ahead, and four left behind her. That was no place for a rider and Steed like them.
"Go!" She said, and she felt Dusty's back arch in anticipation of movement. He was in his full glory, his wings were long but also quite wide so they allowed him to pump them and gain accelleration momentarily. They swept past the sixth leader, and went around the pole. The fifth and fourth leaders were heading to the right of the second pole, and wove expertly into the pattern. Dusty and Dhanali joined them, all of them quite intent on the next pole.
"You won't win," yelled one rider. He was a coldly-blue man, his hair tucked under a slick hood. His Steed was in almost the same colors, blue and green, as he was. "And you won't keep anyone from betting!"
With a sneer, she tilted into their turn, as they rounded the next pole, "I never wanted to do that! Only stop them from killing themselves in the process!"
They both knew that there were camera stations focused on them from the balloons, and from hovering platforms all through the course. So if he tried to do anything, it would clearly be caught and recorded. The rider refrained, but he did send his Steed down lower to avoid discussions with the woman. The other rider kept silent, kept to her task of remaining in front of Dhanali and the others. But it was clear to Dhanali that her Steed was tiring already, clearly not used to the high chill in the air. The weather was clear, but cold, in this part of the world. Stetil was all mountain peaks and craggy hillsides, but this area was ideal since it had several lush valleys to build in.
They wove their way through one, and then had to head upwards over one peak, to the next! It was hard work - the lead Steed and rider faltered at the peak and almost tumbled down head-over-wings. There was a medical station nearby and Dhanali felt the Steed's pain as they passed overhead.
But that left her in third place now. Dusty was breathing hard, but there was only this one section of the course to go, and then they were home. At the top of the peak, starting their descent, he spread his wings and -
Dhanali's eyes went wide and white. There was something outside her, prying in... Another Steed's mind, not just hers, and she could see through his eyes. Angry eyes, angry like his rider, coming up right behind them! Too close! Dhanali could hardly control her hands, and she tried to send Dusty into a sharp drop, but it was just a bit too late. The other Steed, ridden by one of the more hostile of the jockeys, had come up and 'accidentally' swept down too quickly - while urging his Steed to have his sharp hooves out in a show-style manner. That meant that his hooves impacted Dusty's hindquarters hard, sending the Steed imbalanced and into a backward loop.
Dhanali wasn't ready for this. She'd done loops, but this was not in the program for today! Neither was it a standard loop - catching no air on the way up, and just bottoming out the hindquarters... It would most certainly have ripped Dusty's flight muscles, for he was already in pain. It was sharp pain in his rear, but it was growing in his wing shoulders.
"NO!" Dhanali screamed, "Dusty you have to catch yourself, catch the wings! Bank left!" She fought for control, and it was difficult. Shortly before they would have bashed into the trees below, the Steed rolled sideways and that gave his wings enough rest that he could open them up and glide out again.
Amazingly, though the Steed was hurt and dismayed, his overwhelming urge was to head toward the poles again. Dhanali knew that this would be one of those race moments... If she allowed him to go. If she did, he might never fly again. If she didn't, she'd be disqualified and deal with that - and with her special broadcast on for this race she didn't want to lose that kind of respect.
Of all the times to have a dilemma. It was solved for her, when another rider swept by and called out, "he's okay! We saw the whole thing! We'll have him disqualified - get back in!!"
And with that, Dusty rose to the occasion. At least he didn't have to climb any more, it was all downward from there. Using muscles that were more than sore, they were ripping, using tendons that had been bruised by the sudden jerk of impact on his hindquarters... It didn't matter to either of them. Dusty wanted to finish, and Dhanali could hardly refuse him.
They came in fifth, which was a tremendous surprise at all - and were changed to fourth, when the other rider was kicked from his second-place finish. The stormcloud mood of some folks competed with the cheering of many others. This truly was an amazing race, and everyone wanted in on the winners circle.
"How do you feel about the winners? Do you think they deserved their earnings?" Asked one man with a microphone and a vid-recorder.
"I think that everyone flew admirably well - Steeds only do what they're asked to do, after all... Except this one," she glanced at Dusty, "he apparently wanted to come along just to prove he would finish. I'm going to have to have him checked up now, if you don't mind?"
The crowd parted for them, and it was clear that Dusty Account's wings were damaged. Not so much in the feathers, but the way he held them closely to his body, wrists downward. That indicated to any other Steed tuned Animal Master that his flight muscles were so tired that he couldn't use them to counterbalance. His back-side showed two very clear marks of impact, marks which of course matched the other Steed's hooves. She administered some salve to the injuries, in the quiet area where the boarding was done. Heavy wooden walls separated each Steed from the next, and a long hallway connected the rooms at one end.
"This wouldn't have happened if you only hadn't interfered," said one rider as he passed her, his Steed trailing still had spittle on his flanks and his flight feathers looked ripped.
"I think you should practice your words, Lord Nathzi," Said a familiar voice, "my daughter did what she knew was right. If you had ever lost anyone you'd know."
"I hope you tumble," he spat, and continued on his way. Ginali entered the room and quietly helped soothe Dusty.
"You saw him coming," she stated.
"I did... It was the oddest thing, mother. I've never noticed that power before, but this time... it was like I could see right through his Steed's eyes. I saw them coming up on us, I saw me!" Dhanali said. She was as amazed as anyone else about this.
"That's a new use to an old power, I think," Ginali said. "Your father can find things, you know, just by thinking about them... Perhaps your powers are all Steed tuned and not so different."
"Whatever, it was strange. And I could live without the death threats, too..."
"That was a decision you knew you'd face," Ginali said. "We've already started getting calls, people are thinking they want to pull their Steeds from the Arena's boarding facility. I've told them that we do no on-site betting and we never have, in case they hadn't noticed that."
"What did they say to that?" Dhanali asked.
"They said they'd leave their Steeds with us."
"I'm glad people respect consistancy," Dhanali sighed.
"Oh, and that man from the broadcast station called, too. He said he'd be honored to have you out to dinner, if you'd go." Ginali's expression drifted to a knowing smile while she was hidden from view of her daughter.
"He did did he..." Dhanali pondered this.
"I think you should go. He seems a nice man, and he believes in your cause as much as you do."
"Then I shall have to accept once we get home. I am so tired, I just want to be there already."
"Well, tomorrow. This race was flown and we're going to be in the finals, you know. Will Dusty be able to fly?"
Dhanali looked over the Steed, and how his wings drifted downwards. "I can't say for sure. I'd rather pull him than injure him permanently trying to finish a race."
"Then I shall pull him. He is my Steed after all, and I wouldn't want him falling before he gives us a good colt or two."

The dinners with Master Nesh went nicely. He was a pleasantly aggressive man, somewhat older than Dhanali, who enjoyed to hear about Steeds and training as much as he obviously enjoyed talking about his own profession. At the beginning, Dhanali wasn't sure what his intentions were. But it became clear that he was not only interested in keeping her on as a commentator for racing events, he also was quite interested in producing an heir for his "media empire" as he called it.
"Nesh," Dhanali laughed over the shellfish dinner, "you've got a broadcast station. Just one," she held up a long marked finger, "how does that consitute an empire?"
"Well," he said casually while he dunked a breadstick into the glossy sauce nearby, "because since your gambling spot we've had so many people jumping on to our airwaves we're going Area wide. I've been offered a good location in Stetil that can send signals all the way across Laiarta, and I'm going to take it. Your uncle and father have already been planning on helping with the structures." He sipped at his wine, smiling. His pale yellow skin was a bit flushed with pride, when he added, "and I think you'll be surprised how many people want to see you in front of a camera as well on a Steed's back."
It had been several months since that aired. The death threats had dwindled, but there were still some people who would leave horrible messages with the servants or on the vid captures.
"You know it would be fun," Nesh said, breaking Dhanali out of a little trance thinking on those threats. "There is a lot of money in shaking people up."
"I think I've done enough of that." Dhanali looked down at her plate and picked something new off it to sample.
"I don't think you've done nearly enough," Nesh said seriously. "And have you thought about the other offer?"
"I'm definitely thinking on that," Dhanali said with a grin. "But at the request of BreedLady Xem I'm supposed to get a contract and agreement of Inheritances first."
"Ah - yes, that's right... Well," Nesh rolled his amber-orange eyes, "they're always thinking of little things like that. I'd rather be thinking of the juicy bits."
"You and juicy bits," Dhanali purred, sliding a piece of food into her mouth so carefully that Nesh nearly choked on his drink. "Why not just run a pornographic station? If you've got such a great broadcast range?"
Nesh licked his lips and smiled, finally recovering. "There's only one problem with that, and it's that I just don't have enough naughty film of you, my dear."
Dhanali burst out laughing, and other patrons of the restarurant couldn't help but glance over and wonder what was such the grand joke?
In the end it was hardly difficult to convince Dhanali of either proposition. She could never give up Steeds, but her racing days were numbered. She had trouble entering races, not physically but for the grim reminder that she would have died at the hands of an angry rider. That could not be allowed to happen again. Racing was dangerous enough as it was, to add that factor in.
She continued to train with her mother of course, it was in their blood. Would it be in their child's? Neshad was his name, with spotted fire-colored skin, a tiny version of his mother's tail that she herself had inherited, and oddly enough, he seemed to have longer slightly pointed ears. He was not furry or showing any odd signs of any further Tunings, but as a young child who could tell? Only the most powerful mutants were able to do anything before their pubescence for the most part. Neshad grew up in a secure homestead under the broadcast peak in Stetil.
Dhanali enjoyed the company of her uncle more often than not, because he was very keen to keep up on such projects. He branched out in many directions, unlike Dhanali's father who deeply enjoyed his work in construction and architecture. The only problem that the Animal Mistress had was that up here there weren't nearly enough Steeds.
While Master Nesh and Lord Zuhdi would plot and plan what types of information or entertainment they would be playing from this huge station, Dhanali would take her son outside and watch the huge formations of clouds go by. He did have an uncanny knack to know just where the local animals were, when they would go on nature walks, so Dhanali suspected that he had at least a slight inherited Tuning. Probably not enough to become an Animal Master - but then their contract wasn't for any such thing, it was for little Master Neshad to become his father's protegee. That would suit him, for he seemed just as at home inside the big station's technical center, as he did outside.
The start of the race season was the opening of the station's broadcasts, as well. They'd spread word of their frequency - but that wouldn't even matter. If a vid unit was within some fifty miles of its intended arc of broadcast it would be picking up the station. They would have to contain the stray power because it was actually interfering with some local bandwidth and almost caused a hoverjet accident. They got the bugs out of their systems before their first official day of broadcast, however.
"We're coming from the Peaks of Stetil," said an excited Dhanali, "where the air is clean, cold and today - filled with Steeds!"
Behind her, in the thin air and with a great snow-capped peak as a backdrop, a large group of Steeds used in transport and locally were allowed to fly freely. The Steeds in the race were still in their stalls and waiting, they were far too valuable to allow to fly without supervision. But the flock that was up there certainly was colorful, and loudly brayed as they passed the crowds.
"Today there are two races, both of them speed trials. Tomorrow there will be a placement race for the start of the Circuit season! Zerin has added three new stops on their Area tour, allowing for another dozen or more Steeds and Jockeys to place in the finals later this year."
Dhanali continued to rattle off scores, statistics and names, as the participants of the first heat were led from their trailers and stalls. She knew most of the riders, had a hand in training at least two of the Steeds herself. Only one of the riders was openly unfriendly to her, and he merely glared as they walked, not willing to make a spectacle of himself before the race.
Up in the broadcasting booth, under their massive tower which actually blended in beautifully with the tall pines of the peak, Nesh and Neshad toyed with the technical bits. Nesh was quite clever with machinery and equipment, and he thought his son would be brilliant that way. Within a few years, of course, that fact would be one of the most important discoveries in the world.
Dhanali ran commentary on the race, and gave a brief reminder that her betting helpline was still always open. That was sure to make a batch of Masters angry with her, but hey - they did have to make their living somehow. She just didn't want it to have to be at the expense of someone like her dear friend...
As a commentator on the race, Dhanali was quick and sure. She knew the subject, and she knew the racers. She was only a bit shy of the other reporters. Her only exposure to them were the brief moments when she'd been in the winner's circle, and they would do their interviews and talking. As it was, however, she was their station's only representitive. Their staff was still quite small.
After the broadcast, however, and after the races that day, they had gotten a huge number of messages from people all the way through Stetil and Laiarta, and even one from an isolated area of Reimal. They were able to show clear images, moreso than those coming through the distant satelites, and a number of advertising deals were suddenly in the works. That was how it went, for the first several years until the business really got rolling on its own.