Tsunee

The sharp scent of pine needles underfoot is how Tsunee always knows their rival is close. They and Ren have been racing through The Heart of the Forest for seasons, a silent competition to map the untrodden paths first charted by the great Michi. Ren relies on instinct, leaving carved sticks and stacked stones. Tsunee trusts technology, their raspberry visor scanning for heat signatures and analysing soil displacement. The locals find it all very amusing, placing bets with rice cakes and berry tarts. Once, Tsunee found Ren dangling from a frayed vine over a chasm and silently lowered a line. The next morning, a perfectly ripe apple was left at their camp. Today, Tsunee found a pine branch pointing up a sheer cliff, a single grain of sushi rice balanced on a needle. The race was on.