Looking over the crowd and previous competitiors, Shiorkiku suspected she wasn't going to claim victory here. As such, her primary intent was to survive.
Shirokiku looked for an... unusual choice in bird, one who for which at least taking it on would be impressive. She found a grizzled old veteran looking bird (at least, as far as she could tell), bowing to it. It broke off in a run.
Birdie-birdie?
rollInvestigation/Per, 1 raise for TN 20 - 30, success, 2 FR for later steps
Following suit, Shirokiku kept pace for a while, waiting for the oppurtunity to go for a dangerous mount - which proved to be her undoing. Though she had chosen her beast well, its old reflexes caused it to dart from her grip, causing her to only have a tuft of feathers for grip.
Not to be deterred, Shirokiku used the feathers to launch herself up, onto the bird... where the Otori's skull collided with hers after a full flip, leaving her dizzy for a few seconds on top of the bird.
Mount the bird!
rollAthletics/Agility, void spent, 2 raises for effect and 2 called raises - TN 25 - 19 - fail, no points
In the end, her embarrassment let her hold out for longer than she liked, but she made an effort of showing that she was able to keep hold of the beast.
Stick to the bird!
[url=https://orokos.com/roll/843207]
Horsemanship/stamina unskilled, void for +1k1, no raises - 15 - success, 1 point
After the event she bowed to the beast, and it to her. An old veteran like itself was not one to be controlled, but a respect of sort was formed. She was left to wonder if the noises the old bird was making were chuckles.
1 point total, Bird will not be kept.