FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Alice was naturally up early and mostly dressed before Jenny or Harley even stirred. Today was race day, and she was excited. It was something she hoped would never fade, no matter how many times she took to the starting grid.

After a light breakfast Alice was standing out in her pit stall talking to Carly and some of the media present. The cars were getting their final checks and last minuet adjustments. A last minuet driver meeting while the crews rolled the cars out onto street to put them in starting positions.

"The two of them look like they have know each other for ever." DJ said as her and Katie stood next to the car, while Alice and Sidney talked and posed for a couple of pictures together.

"That's just how Alice is. Along with her calm demeanor at these things." Carly said as she walked over.

"Because I enjoy the competition, and friendships I have made doing this. Once again we find ourselves on an alien planet, surrounded by different people and cultures. With a shared enthusiasm for driving ridiculously powerful cars at high speed." Alice said with a smile as she and Sidney came over.

"When you put it like that, the universe does not seem so large." Sidney said with a smile.

"We are just about ready to start, ladies if you will take to your cars." A male race official said politely.

It was time again for the count down to green. DJ and Katie helped get Alice belted in the car and hooked to all the things she needed to be. While the other drivers and their crew did the same. Alice looked through the windshield down the mile and a half straight to the first turn. All the race fans lining both sides of the major city street. She could see the silhouettes of camera crews on the tops of buildings along with more fans.

After the race officials checked all the drivers and the crews were behind the safety wall, Alice heard the call to start engines. Alice reached for the starter button and the symphony of engines came to life. The V12 in Sidney's car sounded just as mean as the V10 in Alice's. Of course only true car enthusiasts or race fans would find the mix of piston and turbine engines and their loud exhausts a symphony.

That whining scream of the Velopian jet cars mixed with the ferocious growl of the big displacement engines, disturbing the usual quiet and tranquil city scape. Thousands of horse power begging to be released as the red lights flashed on the over head light bar. Several thousand screaming fans and the music blaring over the PA speakers.

Alice smiled wickedly as Sidney matched her throttle blips as the lights went yellow. Alice pushed in the clutch and shifted to first gear, her heart rate slowing in anticipation.

She was already engaging the clutch as the yellow lights went out and the green lights illuminated. With engines roaring and tires howling on the verge of losing traction, Alice and Sidney were neck and neck as they quickly up shifted through the gears screaming to the first turn. Sidney had to back off slightly as Alice had the inside line.

Alice led a slowly becoming single file line to the second and third turns. Right now they were sitting in the actual starting order. The faces in the crowd just a blur as Alice hugged the outside wall at well over one hundred and forty miles an hour. It was a stunning spring day on the Salak home world, with the projected high already reached, a pleasant seventy six degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

As Jenny and the others watched from their different spots, it was clear the entire field was better prepared for this race than the first. The cars were closer matched in power and performance. The smaller displacement cars and the jet cars staying on the big motor cars' tails better. Those in the back half of the grid held off fighting for spots, which made for tighter groups of cars and a more exciting race. Well depending on who you asked.

The cars dropped down the steep and banked off ramp of the highway back to the city streets. The roar of the cars nearly rattling the windows they passed by so close, and so quickly. With the race field stretching out, the drivers began to shuffle spots as they headed to the line for the first time.

The dogleg bend in the straight did nothing to hamper the top speed of the cars. Alice and Carly up shifted to seventh while Sidney hammered her car into eighth. They screamed past the line approaching two hundred miles an hour. The Velopians had drastically changed the gearing of their two cars and surprised many by not pulling out to pass the four cars in front of them.

That little fact made Alice all the more happy, not because they would out run her. Because they could get the power down and stick with her in the tighter portions. Making a tighter race, which would mean it was better to race in, and probably watch. At least that's how Alice saw it, her father and pit crew saw it in a different light.

After the crash at the ring, Jenny was understandably worried as she watched Alice click off another lap. Nodrog, Lilith and Alice all assured her that Alice's leg was healed and she was mentally prepared. Of course the doctors said the same thing, in their much more lengthy medical terms. Easing her nervousness slightly, was to her knowledge, none of the female drivers hated Alice.

Jenny was relieved when it came time for the first round of pit stops. And even more thankful Lucy and Carrel could watch Harley why she went to the bathroom. Which she had to do before sitting down in front of a microphone to talk to the sports announcer. It was the gentleman who had covered the race on the Amazon world, and a man Alice had done many interviews with. Also joining her, was Mike.

"Tell me, did Alice and Carly do anything different to prepare for this event?" The announcer asked.

"Not that I know of, Carly likes to stick with her normal routine." Mike said.

"Alice spent a little more time at the gym, but really she just has her thing figured out." Jenny said a bit nervously.

"What do the two of you make of the race so far?" The announcer asked.

Jenny had to think of something to say and partly waited to see what Mike would say. Mainly so she didn't sound like an idiot.

"I am glad they are not fighting for positions so early. However this type of circuit plays more into Alice's favor than Carly's." Mike said.

"Alice does like racing on closed street courses. I am also glad they are being a little less aggressive this year. Alice had hoped everyone would finish the race last year." Jenny said.

"I know a lot of people are excited to see Alice compete in a full season, what are the two of your thoughts on the matter?" The announcer said.

"Carly is thrilled that her long time friend has decided to run a full season. I am just glad I am not in the same class as them." Mike said and laughed.

"I am excited for Alice as always. Truth is I am surprised she has not done it sooner." Jenny was excited and nervous, but Jenny didn't want to tell the whole world that.

Down in the pits, they were all enjoying themselves. Partly because the atmosphere down on pit lane was less tense than the previous year. It also helped that the Salak's security was a little less noticeable, well with some exceptions. The ten foot tall war machines did stand out. The other AI security blended in a little better, both in design and function. That and only a very few knew all the machines were connected to the security network.

Out on the track, it was business as usual for the ladies up at the front. Though Alice had not lead as many laps as she had on the Amazon world. Granted currently she was in third, Alice still had lead more laps than any other driver. The two Velopians were out in front at the moment. While they had tuned and tweaked their cars to get the power down sooner and at lower RPM, there were places on the circuit that they couldn't hold off the big motored cars.

Alice, Carly and Sidney all over took them as they raced up the ramp that lead to the elevated highway. However Alice was not the only one who could see things other drivers could not. Sidney pulled out and passed Carly placing herself back on Alice's rear bumper.

The Amazons had spent a fair amount of time learning how to work as team mates. Because the two of them were never lower than their starting positions and held the lead for several laps. Which made Alice happy while putting a damper on a few of the other drivers. Still the sinister pair of snakes made the two warriors a little nervous. And as you might expect, that also made Alice happy.

Aside from the stretch of elevated highway, there were crowds of people along the whole length of the race course. They watched from balconies, roof tops, make shift grand stands, any place there could be people, it was crowded. Alice was on an asphalt cloud nine as she guided the Viper as if it was an extension of her own body and will.

It teared at the ground with all four wheels as it belched fire on gear changes and howled as Alice deftly applied the power. Gliding from corner to corner with the fluid grace of a dancer but with the ferocity of an enraged dragon. The Viper's seductive lines adding to its presence both on track or sitting still. With the sun directly over head, the deep candy red seeming to come to life as it quickly ate up mile after mile.

From Roslyn's position the Viper was easy to pick out anywhere on the track. She was joined by Dallarth and Tolthain; Inilth and Perenth. They had decided to take in the view offered by the roof top and the company of other monsters. Alice was not the only one with no sponsor logos or car number this year.

Sidney's Countach look alike was sporting just its green and yellow pattern that matched the cute salamander's skin pattern. The purple of Carly's GT and the pair of candy green cars the Velopians had all stood out. The Grays and Yovar had the least colorful cars on track, but they were fast.

As Roslyn had overheard comments, she agreed that Alice had the stand out car. At least from a purely visual point of view. There were other red cars, but the Viper just stood out especially in the bright sun light. Everyone knew who drove that car, a car that spent a vast majority of the time leading.

Roslyn smiled and cheered louder for Alice as others voiced their disbelief at how fast the little rodent was. She was a little torn in who else to cheer on. Alice and Carly of course because she personally knew them and they were all human... ish. She also felt a strong connection to the Amazons and Velopians. And damn it all if the Salaks were just too freaking cute and impossible to hate. And curses at Jenny for putting kinky thoughts in her head about the little salamanders.

Tolthain let out a 'woop!' as his sister and the other Velopian pulled into the lead on the lengthy straight. "Ha Ha, good job sis!"

"You have been rather quiet Dallarth, who are you cheering for?" Perenth asked before taking a drink from her spiked tea.

Dallarth smiled. "The little mouse of course."

"I would have thought you would be behind the Velopians." Roslyn chuckled as Tolthain looked a little hurt.

"Oh I am rooting for them too, Alice just gets my support because her car is my favorite color." Dallarth reached for one of the odd looking but delightfully tasty barbecued meat on a stick.

Roslyn didn't know what the meat was from, and maybe didn't want to know, but it was spicy with a little sweet. "That's how one of my nieces decides who to cheer on, by their uniform color."

Dallarth shrugged as she chewed on the treat. "Tunrog and you about put me to sleep when you started talking about aircraft. I admit the technical stuff confuses and bores me. At least with other sports, I can follow them a little better."

Dallarth eyed Tolthain as she spoke and he blushed slightly. She and Roslyn shared one reason they like watching sports, all of those good looking men. They also shared a love of spicy food and alcohol. Roslyn and Dallarth mainly decided to watch from the roof so there would be a little more room down in the divided ball room. Plus Roslyn was finding herself having a little harder time relating to mortals.

Alice grumbled as she slowed down to pull onto pit road. It was a forced stop three full laps before her scheduled stop. Some where she ran something over cutting a tire, Little Joe noticed the slowly dropping pressure and called her in. Sidney and a few others had followed her in, for reasons unknown to her.

"Well that was lucky." Ron said as Alice made her way to the pit stall.

"No joke, hope those three are okay." Katie said. Three cars tried to squeeze through a turn that was really only wide enough for two. They tangled up and brought out the first caution of the day. The race was just about at the half way point.

"Somebody wreck?" Alice asked after zipping into her pit.

"Three some bodies. Carly was a half a turn ahead of them." Ron said as he watched the tire changing and fuel filling. Might as well do a full stop since they are in and under caution.

Alice spun the tires slightly as she pulled out of her pit stall and beat Sidney to the end of pit road. They would regain several positions once everyone cycled through their pit stops. Still Alice was happy about how the race had been going thus far. She was pleased with how well Carly and her have been doing.

Caution laps brought them past the half way mark, two and a half hours earth time, with forty laps under green completed and three under yellow. Alice's hand tightened on the shift knob as the safety car pulled off and she readied to unleash the snake once more.

Buildings quickly passed by as Alice gave it full throttle up shifting with lightning speed. Alice, Sidney and Lorain began their slow march back to the front of the pack. The trio were the favorites to win the race. As Alice dove under one of the Grays and Yovar in a tricky hair pin, she was proving why she was one of the favorites to win. Alice and Sidney were the only ones to have pulled off a pass in that corner.

The two petite ladies had pulled back up to the front in short order. Alice with her eerie calm grace, and Sidney with her quick exuberance. With a little more than a solid hour left of racing, it was any ladies' race. However with Alice back out in front clicking off lap after lap, the window the others had was closing.

With Alice pitting early because of the cut tire and the caution laps, Carly was not pitting at the same time. Trying to get them back in sequence now, would be difficult and neither Alice or Carly wanted to try it at this point. They would focus on their own strategies for the remainder of the race. The GT did get a little better fuel economy since it lacked the drag of the all wheel drive. Which meant if it was looking like it was going to stay green long, Carly could stay out on track longer.

Running out of fuel was a possibility Alice did not give much thought too. She knew how to conserve fuel if need be, and could stretch it several laps. The only reason tires would be an issue is if she cut one again. It was all part of racing that Alice knew very well, having sat on a tool box with her father's crew chief for years. Little Joe could do math in his head nearly as fast as a computer and could figure out to the third decimal place how far she could go on the fuel in the tank.

Knowing ahead of time that there could be very long stretches of green flag racing, they installed a boost controller in the car. Essentially Alice could adjust the turbo blow off valves and fuel pressure regulator to detune the car. At one hundred percent the car had full power, Alice could cut the power down to seventy five percent of its maximum horse power. Which would save fuel, but would make it easier for Sidney or the other women to pass Alice. Currently Alice was running at ninety percent power since she was in the lead, had clean air and Sidney was not going to force a pass with so many laps left.

It was getting late enough in the race that those in the back began to fight for positions, as they tried to take first place from Alice. Alice had to eventually pull off the track and stop for fuel and tires. Under the green flag with the shorter course meant she would come back out mid field.

It was a little slower regaining positions now. The other women wanted to win and were trying their best to keep Alice behind them. It was putting a strain on the car's drive trains and attrition was starting to be a factor. A blown engine here or a shattered clutch there. The biggest worry was blown engines, since that usually put oil and or coolant on the track.

And once more Jenny's life froze as a blown motor lead to a large pile up, right in front of Alice. Tire and fire smoke blanked the area as Jenny had visions of the crash at the ring. The seconds stretched on and on as Jenny could only watch in horror. Bright flames lit up the smoke as emergency units quickly swooped into action.

Jenny was so focused on the fire she missed Alice coming out of the smoke on the other side. The right side mirror missing and a little paint from a close encounter with the outside wall.

Jenny finally breathed as she heard Alice over the radio. "Copy that. Sorry about scratching the paint Katie."

"Paint is easy to fix. Anything broke?" Katie asked as Ron and the others got ready to check the car once Alice pulled into her pit.

Alice weaved the Viper aggressively at slow speed. "Everything seems to be solid."

"Copy that, everyone has to come in. Probably will be a red flag delay." Katie said.

The fire was quickly brought under control and the drivers involved taken to the medical center for examination. Thankfully only minor injuries and some smoke inhalation. It would take a half hour to clean up the debris, fluids and glass.

Alice waited in the car, with the door open for a little fresh air. TJ and Ron carefully examined the suspension and steering on the right side of the car while it was jacked up in the air. They could make repairs, but they could not make adjustments, as could every other team left. The accident took out eight cars, putting her in seventh place.

Not the way Alice wanted to gain spots. While others took it as good fortune that was just not how Alice could look at it. She wanted to win by her own skill, not by accidents. Alice breathed a sigh as she up shifted as the remaining cars followed the safety car around for two laps before they would have a ten lap shoot out to the finish.

All teams were permitted to fuel the cars and change tires before the race got underway once more. Alice glanced at the boost knob to make sure she had turned it back up to eleven... it was a joke from an old movie Little Joe liked. Alice smiled and tightened her grip on the wheel and shift knob.

The safety car pulled off the track and the remaining drives hammered down as the lights went green. The short break gave them all a little bit of a breather and gave a few their second wind. Alice didn't have or need a second wind, she was always good to go when behind the wheel.

Ten laps to go and six cars in front of her Alice up shifted to seventh gear and pushed the skinny pedal to the floor. Her mental cool unwavering even having lightly kissed the wall once. The Viper roared in anger from having been scratched and chased after its prey, alcohol dripping fangs bared.

Six laps to go and Alice had four cars in front of her. Sidney holding the lead over Carly, Lorain, and Anastasia. Anastasia keeping her cool even with the scared but menacing Viper in her mirrors. The harder the Amazon pushed herself and Lorain the mouse stayed within inches. Even with the more powerful engine she had this year, Anastasia could not hold off Alice forever and the Viper slithered under her in a tight corner.

Four laps to go and Lorain found herself fighting a losing battle with Alice and her snake. All of the good the short break had done for her, it seemed that it didn't matter to Alice. The Velopian did stick with Alice and with three laps to go she sat in third having snuck past Carly.

Two laps to go and once more it was a close race as fans everywhere were on the edge of their seats. From the roof top Roslyn and the others could hear the screaming and cheering of nearly an entire city. As for the moment the cute little salamander outran the cute little mouse.

Sidney put her heal on the brake while toeing the throttle and managing the clutch with her other foot. Downshifting and cutting a tight line around the more technical downtown section of the track. She had spent a fair amount of time with the snake in her mirrors and was mostly unfazed. Her heart rate quickened as her adrenaline kicked in, this was incredibly exciting and she loved every minute of it.

However she pushed a little too hard up the ramp leading to the highway, she broke traction and the back end stepped out of line just a little, that opened up the smallest window and the mouse did not hesitate to take it. Alice pulled back into the lead as she rowed the seven speed transmission to seventh gear and gave the Viper all the fuel and air it could take.

With one lap to go, the sinister Viper led the field down off the highway back to city streets and howled to the start finish line. Alice screamed past the line with Sidney and the others giving chase as best as they could. Sidney was on Alice's tail at every turn.

She just needed the smallest opening to retake the lead. Sidney followed Alice's every move. The Salak could almost smell the flames the Viper belched on every gear change. As they crossed eighteenth street which marked the half lap point, Sidney was still chasing Alice. The furry rodent had not made a single mistake or bobble. The harder Sidney pushed the faster it seemed Alice went, the previous lap she broke her own record by half a second. The two of them were just flying around the course.

Alice was still calm as they came out of the final turn and only a mile of ground lay between her and the finish line. She up shifted quickly and effortlessly as the speedometer quickly climbed. Alice crossed the line leading the others at two hundred miles per hour. They had given it their all, but ever present, Alice once more took victory.

Chapter.

Since it was still daylight, there were no fireworks. However there was still a considerable amount of fanfare. Alice smiled as she relaxed a little to make her victory lap. It was a little more difficult this year and that made her happy. The competition was fierce and the track challenging. All in all it was a very enjoyable trip, race and experience that she was very thankful to be able to come to.

While Alice was quietly musing over things, the vast majority were considerably more vocal. Since she did pull off a second upset over the top local driver. The fact she had won a second off world race was incredible given the odds. Which made the other women all the more determined to beat her next year.

The venue already was chosen, and it would be the Velopians hosting the third intergalactic race. The Salaks had put on quite the event and had out done the Amazons a little, starting a different sort of competition. Who could put on the best event. The after race celebration went on late into the evening.

Alice refrained from drinking too much and it showed the following morning since the thin air made hangovers worse. Granted Nodrog, Sherman and Roslyn did drink a lot, it didn't affect them in any noticeable ways.

"Alice, you are more than welcome to come and race me any time." Sidney said as they loaded equipment up.

Alice smiled. "I might just take you up on that some time. Feel free to come to earth and race with me."

"Hopefully we will get the infrastructure in place so we will be able to host one of these races." Marko said as he and his body guards walked over. The racing was superb, but there was also a great deal of money to be made hosting something like this.

"I am sure with as big as next year sounds to be, this will be an ongoing thing for hopefully a long time." Sidney smiled and grabbed Alice's hand. "I will practice even harder so next year I can win."

"Then I will have to practice harder to keep up." Alice said with a smile. They all turned as Nodrog and the other dragons took on their true forms to take their teams home. Most never saw so many dragons in one place which in itself was exciting to many.

Nodrog took to the air and pulled the container with him. In the blink of an eye he was gone from the Salak world and returned to the snow covered tarmac that was home. Home greeted them with a large banner hanging from the building saying congratulations to Alice. There was considerable media present, naturally since Alice's stardom was soaring past anyone else.

Alice was a little nervous from all the attention people were giving her. Thankfully Jenny, Nodrog and her parents were close by to lend her their support. She talked to the media and fans for a little while before retreating inside from the cold.

Inside was in nearly the same state of excitement as outside had been. As nearly all of the people Alice worked with cheered her as they went further inside. Her friends that could not make the trip were present inside, Joe had already been inundated with calls to get Alice on TV and radio shows.

"What is this for?" Alice asked.

"Those are all the things people want you to go too. You are lucky I managed to get them as spread out as I did." Joe chuckled.

"Maybe we need to get you an assistant." Jenny said as she looked over Alice's shoulder.

"If you would like I am sure I can make better arrangements." Tabbatha said as she glanced at Marko's reworked schedule. Keeping the company CEO schedule was work intensive, but the list Alice had was a mess.

Alice blushed. "If you don't mind, Joe is great with cars... not so great with managing."

Tabbatha held out her hand and looked at Nodrog and Roslyn. "The two of you are being reassigned to her personal security for all of these. Consider this your only notice. Now Mr. October we have a great many things to go over..."

The cute mouse went over things with Marko as they headed off. Leaving Roslyn and Nodrog a bit stunned that she just told them what to do. The others found it slightly amusing. Celebrations went on late once more and this time Alice did drink a little more than she should have.

Alice grumbled as she got out of bed and looked out into the living room. Nodrog, Roslyn and Tabbatha were all present. "Oh god damn it... At least let me shower first."

She was mostly awake after the shower and was dressed before Jenny woke up.

"What are you doing up so early?" Jenny asked as she stumbled out of bed naked.

"Apparently I have places to be." Alice said and kissed Jenny on the cheek.

"Oh okay." Jenny said as Alice pulled the bedroom door closed behind her.

Alice grabbed a bagel and an apple from the fridge as she followed them down to a SUV. Tabbatha had already fixed the mess Joe had made and laid out most of the next three weeks. Tabbatha stayed behind and headed back to get Marko up and moving this morning.

"I hope she wrote all of that down." Alice said as they headed to one of the TV stations.

"Nodrog and I both have a copy." Roslyn said with a smile.

"Sorry about getting you dragged into all of this." Alice said with a mouth full of bagel.

"Don't worry about it, breaks up my other duties and there are worse people to be doing guard duty for." Roslyn said.

"Oh come on, I am sure Dmitri would not give you an ounce of trouble." Nodrog grinned widely.

"As I said keeping Alice safe is a cake walk." Roslyn chuckled.

"We are almost to our first stop." The driver said.

Alice glanced out the window. "I probably won't be driving myself to any of these for a while..."

Despite the sudden changes in the appearances Alice was making, there was still a large crowd gathered. However Alice refused to just walk past and smile. She still stopped and signed autographs and shook hands.

However the TV producer was not exactly thrilled by her slow arrival and hurried her off to makeup before hurrying her over to the actual studio set. Not paying attention to Tabbatha was a problem, because this first stop was not a sports program or regular news show. It was a women's talk show and Alice had never watched it once. So she did not know any of the hosts.

Thankfully Nodrog told her the four other women's names, telepathically saving her cute little ass. He also used a little magic to keep her nerves calm making the interview go smoothly for how poorly prepared she was for it. Her blue jeans, t-shirt and sneaker attire did draw a little attention from the more fashionable hosts.

"I don't follow fashion trends like most women. Dusty old tombs, rundown buildings and garages are not a place for fashion." Alice said.

"What does Jenny think of your wardrobe?" One of the hosts asked.

Alice smiled. "She would agree with most of you. However she also thinks that's why fans find me so approachable. I don't dress up and look like most of them."

"Was it hard to step down from your full time work to pursue the race career?" The older woman asked.

"Not as hard as I would have thought. Mr. October is a very understanding man, he was a little surprised I had not done this sooner. I am lucky to have the support of so many." Alice said.

After the interview Alice signed a few more autographs and posed for a few pictures. Mainly with the handful of men who had been dragged to the show by their wives. After that it was back down to the SUV and onto the next thing.

She only had two things today, however there was still plenty of things to be done. Plus Tabbatha added to them as more requests came into Marko's office. As with most things it soon became routine and the three of them shrugged the headaches and nuisances off easily.

That did not mean Jenny adapted to it at all. It was far too easy to slip back into her old habits of hiding her feelings. Harley's birthday came quickly and so did spring once more. The full race season was twenty eight races long and were nearly every weekend. It was much harder to be apart than Jenny would have thought. She loved and cared for Alice too much to say anything, but it still sucked.

It also took a toll on Joe's staff at the shop with half of them gone to support Alice and Wes. Work didn't suffer, but it did lead to a backlog that would be hard to work through. After hiring a couple extra hands things balanced out. After all with Alice still getting support from him, several aspiring young ladies came to the shop looking for parts. They were busy and turning a good profit, so neither Joe or Katie were going to complain.

The first race was at the local road course. The weather was mostly pleasant even though it threatened to rain at times. The stands were packed and the tickets had sold out early. While Alice was her usual self; Wes, Carly and the other drivers were a little uneasy. This was the first time they were racing against Alice for championship points, not just an isolated event here and there.

Wes and Carly both qualified faster than Alice who would start the race on the second row behind Wes. Wes had barely edged Carly out of the pole position. With Alice starting third that put her menacing Viper in his mirrors for the start. They had detuned the Viper for the season and allowed some of the smaller displacement cars to add a little more power. They also adjusted the ballast the cars had in them to even the field out a little better.

Something that made Stacy extra excited about the racing season was Randy and his blue truck would be pulling Alice's race car hauler. So she got to see her handsome cowboy a little more often. That and she was excited to watch Alice race, but the hunk did hold more of her attention.

Jenny was up with Stacy, Lucy and a few other family and friends in the VIP box. Even Marko was in attendance, along with Kitty, Catlin and Tabbatha. She was glad Harley liked Marko, the little girl found the giant bear amusing. Harley screamed with joy any time he picked her up high enough to touch the ceiling.

Nodrog had taken his position back as the fuel and jack man. Though they had still practiced with him in the driver side rear tire changer. Just to make sure the change could be done quickly with no effect to pit stops. DJ had finally gotten over her little hang ups and questions about his motivation to fixing her leg. Unfortunately the kitten was starting to develop feelings toward the metal monster.

Her sister TJ was as always oblivious to such things and left DJ with no one to talk to in that regard. Plus she was starting to think Little Joe might have a little thing for her, at least he seemed to flirt with her a little. Life was suddenly complicated, and exciting at the same time.

Thankfully the rumble of engines coming to life got everyone focused on the task at hand. Aside from Alice who was always focused on driving fast. Her quiet confidence was only betrayed by the sly smile on her lips. Of course at this point it was hidden by her helmet. The way the points worked she just needed to be consistently up at the front at the end of each race. Winning would be preferred, but consistency was necessary.

Another thing that awarded points was leading the most laps. Still Alice knew what it took to win races, and how to win championships. Her father had won several during his career and Alice wanted to make him proud. Alice also wanted a good showing for Marko, since he was paying for all of this. A driver always had to keep their sponsors in mind.

Being her hometown track and having spent days upon days practicing, tuning and actually racing here gave her a strong advantage over a good portion of the field. Carly and Wes both spent a great deal of time here and were very determined to beat Alice. There was a lot of hype behind Alice, however Wes and Carly had a longer track record of consistency and far more races under their belts.

Even with the hype, several figured Wes and Carly would simply outperform Alice as the season progressed. By the time the half way point of the race was reached, Alice had not actually lead any laps. Part way through that lap, Alice did take the lead from Carly.

Which possibly set the tone for races to follow, because after taking the lead, Alice never gave it up. Crossing the line with the lead, Carly in second and Wes in third. It was sort of expected that she would do well at her home track. The following two races were actually at facilities Alice had never raced at.

Not that something like that would slow her down. As Alice took first at the following two races with the same grace as the first. It would take until the sixth race of the season before Alice was handed her first loss. A poorly timed pit stop and a caution put her back in fifth and Alice only made it back to fourth before the end of the race. That was racing and even Alice did not expect to win every race outright.

Thankfully she would have the following weekend off and got to spend time with Jenny and Harley. Jenny was surprised by how little the loss dampened Alice's spirit. Quiet time with friends and family, along with a lengthy sexual tryst with Jenny a couple of times was just the break Alice needed. One of those passionate encounters included a certain dragon that took very good care of Jenny and Alice's sensual needs.

Jenny had needed Alice's affection more than she had realized and just having Alice next to her at night made her feel better. Work was picking back up which helped Jenny keep her mind off of missing Alice day after day. Plus Jennifer, Samantha and a few other friends invited her out often enough Jenny wasn't spending all of her time alone.

Actually Jim and Jenny took first and second place at a pool tournament while Alice was out racing. Jenny was a little surprised one night when Roslyn knocked at her door.

"Hey, come on in." Jenny said with a smile. "Please excuse the mess."

Roslyn smiled and laughed. "You have a kid, messes are rather natural."

"True enough. What brings you by?" Jenny asked as Roslyn sat on the couch next to Harley.

"Well these brought me by." Roslyn said as she held up two plastic tickets. "Dallarth's boyfriend is the captain of a field ball team, and he got me a pair of tickets to their first game of the year. One of them is yours."

"I had heard about that from Nodrog, when is it?" Jenny asked and sat down on the couch.

"The game is in a week and a half, it is a Thursday our time." Roslyn said.

"I would have to check but it should be easy to get the time off to go." Jenny said excitedly. She had wanted to catch a game after Alyvia had talked about it.

"I figured as much, I have all ready talked to Marko about it and he does not have a problem with the time off." Roslyn said.

"But how do we get there?" Jenny asked.

"Dallarth said we could use a shadow to travel to her home. Where she and a few others would take us to the game." Roslyn said.

Jenny looked down at Harley. "I am sure your grandma wouldn't mind watching you for a day."