It had been a long time since Erroll had bedding in Elridge. His tiny house atop others atop staggering cliffs had a breathtaking view of city, walls, and plains. Of course, all the buildings in Luftt District were built with that view in mind. But Erroll had grander sights in his mind. So while he was careful with his pack full of keepsakes from gliding all the way to Landale, he did not check his door for traps. Which he should have. As soon as Erroll pushed the door open a bucket of something was dumped on top of his head. Erroll stood in shock at first then quickly set down his pack, which had mostly escape the liquid, on a clean chair. He then stepped outside and screamed “Johanaaa,” as loud as he could.
He knew the culprit and hoped she heard. She had likely set that trap weeks ago and had probably forgotten about it by now. But she would remember soon enough. Looking at the liquid on his hand, Erroll gave a start. It wasn’t water. His hand was green where the liquid had splashed on it. Erroll ran to the nearest washroom jumping down two walls to get to it. Erroll pushed past clean individuals who were no longer after being pushed by Erroll’s green fingers. He ran into a washroom just vacated and jumped into the tub, clothes and all. As Erroll scrubbed himself with the vigor of flea ridden dog, he plotted against Johana. Firecrackers on her glider? A tad dangerous. Spooky noises outside her house every night? Too tiring. Perhaps… No. Or maybe…
Erroll emptied the tub of green water five times before giving up. He looked in the room’s mirror. His skin had been cleaned, but his hair was now tinged with green. That atop his black made his hair look like sludge. White eyes flashed in anger and despair. Had Johana gone over the line? This was a semi-permanent result. Could he forgive her? Or repay her? Erroll worried for the first time how far their prank war would escalate. He didn’t want to give it up. It was the only constant thing in his life. Everything else changed and shifted. As was the way for air mages, but the solidity gave Erroll comfort when he needed it. Not that he would admit that out loud. But how to rein her in?
Later that evening Erroll decided what to do when Johana came over to examine her handiwork. She hadn’t heard the scream but it was the talk of the town. Gossip was the lifeblood of Luftt District. Erroll offered tea and a seat that Johana examined both intently before accepting. She was waiting for his retaliation. But it would never come. Because Erroll had a different plan in mind. A truce. Not to end the war, but to change targets. A joint prank on someone else. They could reign each other in so they wouldn’t go too far. They could get some safe revenge on anyone. And if they didn’t enjoy it as much, they could always return to how things were.
Johana was intrigued. Her own white eyes flashed with amusement. She agreed while rubbing Erroll’s newly dyed hair like a good dog. Before she could change her mind as she was wont to do, Erroll pushed them into making plans that night. Three weeks later, the longest Erroll had stayed in Elrdige at a time, they were ready. It impressed him how well Johana kept her focus for their mission. She only wandered away approximately twice per day. Normally her short attention span would’ve led her to abandon the project altogether after a day. It showed how much interest she had in this. Their target was acquired, traps laid, and plans set in motion. All there was left to do was wait.
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Photo by Samule Sun