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In the forests of Foenum's frozen tundra, the ground shook and shards of ice flew over the treetops, shaking the earth all around at regular intervals. They'd go wild, stop for a moment, continue, on loop. In a clearing among the coniferous trees, a young cow and a reindeer sparred, although the average onlooker may not have told as much given how much they were putting into it. A small group of Winter Sprites stood out of the crossfire, managing a whiteboard divided down the middle which said "ARIZONA" on the left in red marker, with score hatches underneath marking five wins, and "MS. VELVET" on the right in blue, with hatches marking four.
With one missed lasso grab, Arizona's fate was sealed as Velvet landed a good hit with one of her ice rocks and sent the bovine's chin and belly to the ground, earning Velvet her fifth victory which the Sprites were quick to update and applaud for.
"Seems ve're even, 'champion" Velvet joked, poking Arizona and helping her off the ground.
"If Ah looked up in time, 've' would be havin' ourselves a different dance" Arizona snapped back, all in good fun however. Sitting down on the cold snow, they shared some hot cocoa the Winter Sprites brought over at Velvet's call. "Jabbin' aside, can't say I'm at the top of my game. Cold's just gettin' to me, s'pose" She lamented.
"If it's any comfort, going five-to-five in zis weather? You've been keeping up vell enough" Velvet replied, "And I'm sure you'd have ze advantage if ve fought in ze prairie" She sipped her hot cocoa and sighed in delight. They sat together, enjoying the view through the snowy trees, glancing at the whiteboard and the nearby empty cabin. Velvet seemed to just own it as this was her preferred sparring ground whenever Arizona visited and nothing seemed it belonged to anyone else. The dedicated space was, of course, entirely reasonable given Arizona's rough-'n'-tumble style and earth shaking attacks. Both could guess the citizens of Reine wouldn't be very fond of them fighting even close to the city walls, not after the mess they caused the first time they ever met and dueled. Velvet certainly didn't mind, she'd always wanted to spend some time in the wilderness and it was only through Arizona's insistence that she made the move.
The clouds above began to darken, with more snow falling and the sub-zero winds getting stronger. A blizzard was brewing and even someone who can handle the cold would have a hard time making the trek back to civilization, especially from the middle of the forest, and even Winter Sprites were known to be fallible in extreme conditions. Luckily for the two of them, trekking back mid-blizzard was unnecessary.
"Zis looks like a bad storm... Suppose ve'll be calling it a day and staying inside" Velvet had her Sprites start putting away their stopwatches and the board, even the hot cocoa.
"Ah, darn it, Ah would'a loved to go for a six-to-five" Arizona voiced her complaints but complied with Velvet's plan of holding up in the cabin and not dying. The two of them, alongside the three Winter Sprites, quickly jumped into the cabin and locked the door, making sure all windows were also sealed and snow-proofed and lighting the fireplace with a Huoshan spell card. Tianhuo was also not a big fan of the tundra's weather, but she was always courteous enough to bring gifts to the Champion of the Tundra out of respect.
Warmth secured, cabin locked tight, loved ones notified through magic letters, and the two were free to relax after such an intense and lengthy sparring session. The Sprites summoned far fancier mugs of cocoa for the two snowed-in ungulates, complete with wafers and marshmallows on top, holding the cups up for both of them as they sat in front of the fire and listened to the raging blizzard outside.
"Y'all fancy folk do some weird stuff to drinks, but 'ey, not about to knock yer hospitality" Arizona took a sip, realizing it was still very hot and biting her marshmallow instead. Velvet did not respond to the comment.
"Zis storm could take a while to pass" Velvet began thinking out loud, "Ve may be stuck here for some time"
"What, are ya scared?" Arizona asked, with a hint of genuine concern to her voice.
"No, no, it's not even about being stuck with you" Velvet clarified, "Ze last time I vas stuck in-doors like zis it vas at home, and I vas at least busy practicing magic with my tutor" She continued, "I guess I'm just not used to... Relaxing, or something"
"S'pose Ah get it, probably spent all your time training or putting up with fans" Arizona spoke between sips of her cocoa "Honestly thought ya liked that life for the longest time, but yer soundin' a little... Less fancy, Ah guess, right now"
Velvet's already sour expression went down further "It's... Complicated. But I really don't like to bore people with my life stories"
"Well, we don't got anythin' else to do, unless y'wanna hear what Ah get up to"
"Sounds good to me! So, vhat have you been up to back in ze prairie?" Velvet replied, almost too eager to get the attention off herself. Arizona reasoned it was just about her fame as another champion and didn't question it.
"Hoo boy, where am Ah gonna start..." Arizona rested her chin on one of her hooves "Took care of some rattlesnake troubles with my pa', helped fix some of our caravans, watched 'im wrestle a boulder outta the way... Guess those're the highlights" She listed off enthusiastically, looking back at Velvet if she had anything to say. She looked about as dull and tired as a second ago. "Alrighty, something's up with you in that head ya got, and Ah ain't gonna sit around while you look so down in the dumps"
"D-don't vorry about me like zat, I swear things are fine" The Winter Sprites couldn't speak for her, but they seemed concerned for their mistress as well.
Arizona grunted in frustration, "I'm gettin' through that tough shell of yours at some point, Ah ain't the most reliable or brightest or whatever you wanna say but Ah care about all you fellas" She spoke up, "Tianhuo, Paprika, Ollie, Pom, all my fellow champions are my friends on some level, and you were the first one Ah met all that time back so... Dunno, it's not like I'll say yer my best friend or whatever, but there is somethin' to it"
In a moment of silence the blizzard began to intensify to the point of breaching a locked window just enough for the wind to take out the fireplace, surprising the two of them with Arizona shivering quickly. One of the Winter Sprites dashed to seal the window again while the ungulates tried to stay still and close for warmth, the two other Sprites searched all around the room for another fire spell card but couldn't seem to find any, meaning they'd just have each other and a thick blanket. With the window shut again it wasn't extremely cold, but still quite uncomfortable.
With a swift motion Velvet pulled the blanket over Arizona and pulled her close to her neck fluff, surprising the cow who saw Velvet was looking away while maintaining a dejected look on her face. "Don't get any ideas, bovine, I just... Care enough to not let you freeze if it stays zis bad. We can't get our rematches if you're an ice cube" She explained with a shaky and agitated tone. Something was up and Arizona was gonna get through her sooner or later, especially with her tough face cracking like this.
Sitting awkwardly close for so long, the two grew tired. Velvet was still incredibly tense and Arizona was still worried and it was clear they wouldn't fall asleep without resolving things, and so Arizona tried to talk once again, "Was there something bad Ah said? Ah swear you got bummed out when I talked about good times with my pa'... Is that it?"
With that question, in this state, Velvet finally caved and answered, "Maybe it vas... Partially, at least" She muttered and sighed "If you'll keep prodding, I'll tell you. I hate being ze daughter of Reine's Jarl, and a champion, and famous. My family expected so much my entire life, making sure zeir little princess came out right, and zen I have to keep up appearances to the people for my own image and my father's" Velvet ranted, getting warmer as she spoke up about everything, "Just last veek I had another arranged meeting with some idiot suitor from another noble family, I just vent through the motions and told him 'no' like I did to every single other boy they put in front of me"
"Do you... Not like boys?" Arizona asked.
"No, I really don't. Not as if my father vould ever listen to me" She lamented, "Being the Jarl has alvays been his top priority, and even me taking second place was just so he'd look good. I tried to tell him I had doubts, and feelings, my own vants, and he'd just pretend to care before sending me off" A cold, deafening silence overtook the room. Even the Winter Sprites just found a safe corner to rest in instead of getting in the way of Velvet's rant. "Vhen I think about you and your father, I just get... Jealous. I vas born with everything someone could ever vant, except for a normal family" Her eyes seemed to get a little watery.
Arizona wasn't sure what to say to all the information she just received. Up until this moment she really did just see Velvet as some posh snob and now was confronted with the real Velvet; The vulnerable, lonely reindeer beneath all the prestige of royalty, fame and skill. All it took was a terrifying blizzard and a warm blanket to sit under with a loud-mouthed cow she once hated but who was, presumably, the only one she trusted enough to talk to like this.
After some careful thought, Arizona broke the silence, "Well, Ah can't really say Ah get you... Pa' was always the first in the caravan to listen to me and support me. Yer's sounds like a real scumbag, tell you that much for free"
"It does feel good hearing someone call him zat, I suppose" Velvet wiped her tears with her own hooves.
"Even about me being a lil'... Different myself, my pa' was there for me" Arizona stuttered, feeling just a little pushed to tell this part of the story. Funny, her first rival as a champion was also the first she talks about this with, "Y'see, when ma' put me on this earth, Ah was gonna be a bull. One day Ah just told the old man that it felt weird and being one'a the cows felt better"
"Oh! I... Did not know zat"
"Not somethin' Ah tell everyone, mostly 'cause it can be risky. Back when Ah told him, pa' put me up on 'is back and immediately introduced his 'daughter' to the rest of the folks. Even came up with 'Arizona' on the spot, the clever old coot" She smiled. Velvet also giggled, but Arizona was worried she just struck the same nerve as before. "Sorry if that just makes you jealous again. Guess what Ah wanna get at is that you're yer own person and you can just... Ditch things the way you have 'em now. Make yer own life, Ah mean you got this cabin in the middle'a nowhere"
"Can't say if starting over just like zat vould be for ze best. I'd just be fully alone, instead of only feeling it despite having people around me" Velvet responded.
"Who's sayin' you gotta be doing it all alone? B'sides, livin' in the cabin was just one idea" Arizona nuzzled closer to Velvet's neck fluff, both feeling warmer and overall better in each other's presence, "Heck, pa' might even like having three whole daughters to listen to his terrible jokes" She joked.
"Vait, three?"
"Oh yeah, that pirate goat kid Shanty kinda got swept into the family too. Tries to spend most of 'er time out at sea, but she stays in touch" Arizona explained, "She was also 'born in the wrong body' so to say, an' we've hit it off despite feeling a lil' differently about ourselves"
"Heh, you have quite ze family, you know zat?" The reindeer commented "I suppose I'll need some time to think about it, but I do appreciate ze kind offer... To actually live with folks that care about me, and care about my skills and my own merits, to stop lying to ze public, and just be... Me" Velvet began to cry quietly but soon was outright sobbing, tears rolling down her face and onto her fluff.
"Y'gonna be alright, Vel?" Arizona just instinctively called her by a nickname. They usually just did it as part of their friendly rivalry, but here was none of the 'rivalry'. Velvet wiped away her trailing tears and gave off a soft smile.
"Y-yes. I'll be fine" She muttered, "Something in me just feels lighter, being able to talk to someone about zat. Thank you so much, Ari" She also let out her nickname for the bovine out of intimacy and kindness.
"Ah feel lighter too, now that Ah told you about my whole... Deal. Never found a good time before, y'know" Arizona smiled as they just sat close to each other, no longer bored or tense in the middle of a blizzard but genuinely enjoying each other's company. By the time they could focus on anything but each other's speeches and feelings, they realized the blizzard was far weaker and would surely pass by sunrise. They'd stayed up so long they lost track of time or why they were stuck in the cabin to begin with.
In the middle of trying to doze off, leaning on each other, Velvet has one more question to ask. "Ari, are you avake?"
"No offense, but if Ah wasn't then you woulda gotten me up"
"Sorry, I just had something I vas curious about" She was speaking as quietly as possible to not bother the Winter Sprites nearby, "Do you, err... Also prefer girls, like me?"
With a moment of stunned, awkward silence, Arizona had her answer "Don't got much of a 'preference', to be honest" She began, "Guys, gals and anyone in between are pretty fine by me, so... Yeah, in a way, Ah can say Ah do"
"Zat's good to know... Just for future reference, of course, d-don't get any funny ideas" Velvet quickly tried to cover her feelings, an old habit she only thought to break about two hours ago. Arizona gave her a knowing smug glance and both traded chortles, getting up close and comfy again and eventually sleeping through the blizzard.