Adna is delighted by how easily he gives into the game, chasing her without hesitation.
She doesn’t have many friends her own age, although she’s trying to branch out and meet more, and it’s a delight to be around him now. She doesn’t bother to look over his shoulder and track his whereabouts, although if she was officially training her father may scold her for her willful ignorance. Instead she just keeps her wide reptilian eyes on the path before them, jumping over the small objects and weaving around the trees, and feeling the faint but welcome burn in her lungs at the constant exertion.
When he hits her rump, she squeals with delight, tucking her butt underneath her to transition into a sliding stop—or as graceful of a version of one as she manage. By the time she’s untangled her legs and turned, he's already racing in the other direction, and she quickly follows, her laugh ringing out again.
“Hey! Wait up!”
She knows, of course, that that’s not how this game goes, but she can’t stop herself from trying, hoping to distract him so that he can slow down for her to catch up again. Regardless, however, of how he reacts, she begins to level out, getting used to the particular springiness of this land and starting to better understand how it’s mapped out before her. She begins to stretch out, teasing a little more speed out of her coltish legs and draws even with him. Looking over her shoulder, she tosses him a wide, fanged grin, her eyes bright. “This is so much fun! I’ll race you to that tree over there!” And then she’s off.