SSO Winter Prompts 2020

15. Bond (Anne and Concorde)

[Takes place between the Starshine Legacy games and SSO]

Dressage is about connection, the bond and communication between horse and rider, working in perfect sync so everyone forgets they are watching two separate beings. Anne and Concorde knew this intimately, even before Lisa arrived on Jorvik and they became Soul Riders. Their bond had only grown since defeating Garnok, and it reflected in competitions.

"Contact, princess," Concorde reminded her as they practiced. Downside of being able to telepathically communicate was they didn't need to physically give signals, which could result in penalties from judges.

"Posture," she reminded herself, fixing the slightest imperfection.

"Rhythm," he scolded himself, adjusting his hoofbeats.

They were bound to perfection. Every movement, every moment, had to be immaculate. It was how they were born and raised, and they held themselves and each other to flawless excellence. During practice they were completely focused on getting every move exactly right, on memorizing every course. People said practice made perfect. Anne and Concorde grew up knowing that perfect practice made perfect. It wasn't about getting it perfect once, it was about getting it perfect every time so that when the competition came they only knew how to be perfect.

And they were achieving perfection, they were rapidly proving themselves on a national level and advancing in international circuits. Despite the hard work and countless hours it was almost not even a challenge for them. How could it compare when Anne had scaled cliffs and teetered on beams over chasms? How could a competition be more challenging than racing through Pandoria over narrow bridges, dodging shadow seekers, and jumping up and down impossibly large mushrooms? Those had no room for error, the slightest slip up would have sent them to their deaths.

It had made them one soul, bonded together in a perfect union.