Style Quest: An Old Rivalry

Drakethorpe was far enough in the north that it usually had a mild summer. This year was different as a few days in, and it was already setting heat records. Varick didn’t mind the heat as the spell threads he had sewn into his clothes kept him cool and comfortable. As such, he decided to practice his violin in the yard behind his parent’s shop between tailoring jobs. Blue and purple flames leaped from the stringed instrument and down the horse’s tail and mane as he played. As he finished his song, Varick saw his sister Kaytlyn come out to listen to him play.

 

“Why are you playing with fire in this heat,” the fennec asked as she fanned herself with her hands. Sweat was already running down her forehead and over her green and yellow sundress. 

 

“Touch your left should strap and tell it you seek is cooling,” Varick explained as he returned his bow to the strings. He had sewn spell threads into her clothes specifically for this purpose, but Kaytlyn had forgotten about them.

 

“What I seek is cooling,” the fennec girl stated as she grabbed her left shoulder strap. Fire magic from the spell threads formed inverse heat waves to keep the hot air away from her. As she started to cool down, an arrow with a letter tied to it landed a few yards away. Curious, Kaytlyn ran over to read the letter aloud, “It would come to pass that a truce was broken as peace was never meant to last. What does that mean?” Upon hearing those words, Varick looked up to see a dozen water balloons in the air. The Clydesdale ducked behind a tree and watched as the balloons hit the ground, missing him completely.

 

“Run to Bridgette’s house and tell her it’s a Code Costner,” Varick yelled at his sister as he looked out from behind the tree. “Take a long way, or they’ll get you.” Kaytlyn tried to ask what was happening, but Varick told her to go again. The fennec did as instructed, barely avoiding another volley of water balloons. 

 

McCleary’s Haberdashery owned the yard on the other side of the fence. The McClearys were a family of rabbits that had come to Drakethorpe as refugees, much like Varick’s family. In middle school, Varick had beaten their eleven-year-old daughter, Myrna, in a talent contest. The judges determined that the Clydesdale’s original violin composition was better than the rabbit’s harp performance. Myrna threw the first water balloon the next day. Varick bought a water gun and got his revenge on the next. From there, it escalated till all of the McCleary children were allied with their sister while Varick had his white-furred wolf friend, Bridgette, on his side with a few others. A full-scale water war erupted in the streets until the last hot day of the year. After that, it became a yearly event, with more and more kids joining each side each year. Soon the water wars evolved into a form of capture the flag. The annual event eventually ended seven years ago when Myrna and Varick tried to use magic to gain an advantage over the other but ended up causing a bit of property damage. Both leaders signed the Water Truce on the schoolyard’s neutral territory, ending the water wars. However, all truces come to an end eventually.

 

“Sorry it took a moment getting here,” Bridgette apologized as she finally appeared in the yard carrying a large box with Kaytlyn. Both of them were wearing matching frilled blue and white swimsuits. The tags tipped Varick off because the two had stopped to shop on their way back to him. “I wasn’t about to get any of my good clothes soaked for your old rivalry, and Kaytlyn needed something cute if you’re dragging her into this,” the wolf explained when Varick motioned to the tags. On cue, a water balloon hit her in the face, soaking her fur. “That’s it; I’m gonna drench that rabbit!” Bridgette dropped the box and set to work, unscrewing her magitech right hand from her arm. In its place, she screwed on a modified water cannon before throwing water guns at Kaytlyn and Varick. Together the three of them hopped the fence and faced off with Myrna and her two youngest siblings. When the sunset for the day, both sides were drenched from head to toe with plenty of fun had by all.

 

“Been a while since we had fun like that,” Varick laughed as he toweled himself down while calling for a ceasefire for the day. Bridgette had left already, and Kaytlyn talked with the young rabbit siblings. 

 

“You ready to admit that the harp is a superior instrument, “the brown and white rabbit asked as she sidled beside Varick. The Clydesdale shot her a glance that gave her the answer she needed. “I know it’s been a few years, but you want to revive that little tradition we had after the yearly ceasefire?” Myrna didn’t wait for an answer as she pulled Varick in for a passionate kiss. After the third year of the water wars, the rivalry was mostly for show as Varick and Myrna started dating in secret, with the yearly event as a cover for their hidden feelings. Once the water wars ended, the two realized that they only liked each other when competing against each other. This new water bottle had sparked some old flames.

 

“Meet me at my apartment later,” Varick winked at Myrna after he had pulled away from her lips. “Won’t want anyone finding out about our secret.”