“Haven’t seen that move in a while, but all the same, I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

Erica Decker broke her iron stare at the chess board in front of her to look up at the mischievous grin on the vixen sitting across the table from her. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Oh, and what might that be?”

“Alekhine’s gun,” Jessica McCalister responded while snapping the gum she was chewing on. “It suits you, but I’m in a good position to counter it.”

Erica and Jessica, more widely known to the city of Colmaton and most of the country as War Wolf and Vesara respectively, were now over an hour into their match. Were they anywhere else at the moment they’d surely be attracting some stares, and blowing secret identities at the same time. Here at one of the Night Ranger’s bases in the city though, they could enjoy their game in relative peace and quiet. Jessica had hung up her goggles, coat, and belt on a hook beside the table, and Erica had likewise removed her excess gear so they could have a good game together.

“So you are,” Erica commented as she brought her paw up to chin to reconsider her options. “Good eye. Would I be far off in assuming that if you’re warning me that you’ve been trying to find a good challenge?”

Jessica frowned and snapped her gum again, “I don’t like putting it in those terms, but the short answer is yes. Janet actually challenged me the other day. Made the entire chess set out of steelight.”

“Oh, and how did that go?”

“Not well,” she giggled. “Checkmate in two moves. I even warned her. She made a table out of steelight too just so she could flip the entire thing.”

Erica smiled at the mental image before returning her attention to the game. After some more careful consideration she decided to advance with her bishop instead of her rook. Nodding, she looked back up at Jessica, “Forgive the question, but has it always been hard for you to find a good opponent?”

Jessica had already started moving a knight when Erica asked her question, and she frowned as she let go of the piece. “You might say that. My Dad taught me how to play when I was four, and a year later he didn’t stand a chance.”

Erica nodded. “When my father taught me, I was around that age and I kept asking why the pawns couldn’t advance in a cover formation or why the king doesn’t deploy archers or send the knights to ride in a flanking maneuver. Truth be told, I’m still frustrated by what martial idiots chess pieces are. I was always more an Axis and Allies girl.”

“I graduated High School when I was nine, but at that point I was already learning the basics of differential calculus for the challenge.” Jessica sighed as she grabbed her glass, “I don’t say anything because just admitting it out loud makes me sound arrogant and…”

“I disagree,” Erica interrupted as she grabbed her coffee mug. Sipping on it as she considered her next move, she pointed at Jessica, “You go out of your way to help your friends when they need a hand. When you see one of us struggling with a problem you’ve figured out you don’t just announce it, you help us work out the solution on our own. You may not think I notice, but I do.” Erica then calmly took another sip of her coffee before returning her attention to the board.

Jessica stared at Erica for a bit before smiling and shaking her head, “You’re just full of surprises aren’t you? Thank you Erica, that really means a lot to me.”

“Now if I ever retire and Janet takes over, you might be in some trouble there. She’s quite the stubborn one.” As the two ladies laughed over the thought an alert suddenly flashed across the nearby computer screen. Reviewing the alert, Jessica grinned and Erica stood up to grab her gear, “Speaking of whom, looks like that’s our cue. Ready to make a move on this group?”

“Of course,” Jessica quipped as she too grabbed her gear. Quickly adjusting the sensitivity on her goggles, she gave Erica a thumbs up. “Looks like I’ll have to finish kicking your butt after we’re done tonight.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Erica responded as the two dashed out the door.

-

Art by  magolobo
Erica Decker /War Wolf and Janet O'Connell / Spectra (mentioned) by  vivavulpes
Jessica McCalister / Vesara by  gamegod210