It all started when Saila stumbled upon a brightly colored clipboard in the Marketplace. There were some familiar names already on the list, so the purple haired teenager signed up on impulse, with no clear idea what she was getting herself into.
http://i.imgur.com/I2w9PAd.jpg
Well, that was pretty much par for the course with her, but the girl decided that some insight as to what she was getting into might be a good thing, and that resulted in a handful of text messages. It was only a few moments later before Jackie messaged her back.
Saila caught the phone before it fell off the dick table, read the messages on it and stood up. She was puzzled for sure, but she'd also long since learned not to Question the Jackie. So she abandoned the phone and her colored pencils on the table, stepped off the lanai into the main room, let herself outside and rounded the house. Taking the stairs at a rapid clip, the girl almost slipped a step when there wasn't a Des and then suddenly there was, only just barely righting herself before she went face first into the sand. Little Des came scurrying out from under the stairs, pretty randomly except he knows he's a mage and can command time and space -- but Saila didn't know all that.
The boy lugged a bucket of water balloons, the little ones, full up enough to break and with enough air to sting a bit. He thumped them to Saila's feet and peered up at her. Wow. She is TALL. He had a pugnacious look on his face. "Okay, now you throw them when Jackie..."
Blinking mismatched eyes down at him, her head tilted curiously. "Des? Jackie said I'm supposed to be ignoring you..." She peered at the bucket quizzically. "Water balloons?" Just confirming. For all she knew they were water buffalo.
"Yes... I know she did, but we're supposed to serve Balance and Justice..."
Here came Jackie now in her little sportscar! Wait, what?!
"Balance and Jus--what now?" Saila was lost, as usual, and working double time to catch up.
Oh, guess who learned something new in class today? Also: perfect opportunity to paste his sister with water balloons. But didn't he look so sweet and earnest? Jackie was glowering at her brother as she swarmed out of the car, and thus, the first water balloon in her arsenal -- the big ten inch party balloons, filled mostly with water! came sailing to kersploosh! Over Des! He flailed a few of the smaller ones. "Avenge me!" he was going down! It wasn't true that they melted like brown sugar and certain wicked witches when wetted. He did manage to lob one of his towards Jackie.
There was a shadow making its arc from on high and then suddenly the boy mage beside Saila was drenched and demanding vengeance. One second, two, and then it clicked! Water balloon fight! A grin spread across her features as she reached into the bucket. Ringed fingers closed over a water balloon and it might have been the strangest thing she'd tried to grab onto yet, all.. wiggly and slippery smooth and unwieldy. Her strange eyes slid from Jackie coming down the stairs to Desdenova getting drenched beside her and well, there wasn't really a choice in the matter, the way she turned and lobbed her little water balloon at Des.
Given how close to him she was, though, it totally bounced off him and rebounded back at her, which Saila was not expecting. When it collided with her hip, it hit one of the metal rivets on her belt and broke, drenching her from the waist down. Saila, of course, was astonished.
"Cheat! Foul! My vengeance! My veeennnnggeeeaaaannnceeeee!" Desdenova yowled as he 'died', dramatically, and oh hey! It worked! Saila got her own watery doom! So he fell to his butt and cackled. Jackie hooted and picked up another of the big water balloons to lob at Saila. "Throw 'em harder! Those little ones will bounce!" Because Saila mightn't have noticed that. She was wearing a black Hello Kitty Captain America t-shirt and shorts, so she was fearless.
Thankfully, Saila wasn't wearing anything that might go see-through on wetting. Saila doesn't actually own anything that isn't black, so she's totally safe? But still perplexed. "I don't understand. Why didn't it..." But then Jackie in her Captain America gear was explaining, and Saila was, well. Saila was getting wet some more as another of the larger water balloons landed on her head. It was her time to cry "Foul!" --because it sounded so good when Des did it, you see -- and she scooped up another of the little ones to hurl at Jackie this time.
"It's just for fun," Jackie started to say, when she was nailed in the face with a water balloon. SPLOOSH! Hey, at least this one broke! Desdenova arose from the mildly deceased and hucked a few more balloons at her. "Yeah! Foul! Soak her!" Splash splash! So far, he was on Saila's 'side', but ... that probably wouldn't last.
Jackie cackled and spat out balloon, skipping back up to her car to grab the big tub of balloons. It was a tactical thing. Bigger balloons meant more water per payload, but smaller ones meant more throws. She lugged the tub out and tipped over forward until she had her face in the balloons, off balance and yowling. Saila snickered, now fully drenched, and switched sides yet again as she ran up the stairs to help bail Jackie out of the tub of water balloons. Once her partner in arms was lifted, the girl with damp purple snakes of hair plastered to her everywhere hefted one of the bigger balloons out of the bucket and lobbed it at Des below!
Des gasped, indignant. Saila was worse than him! He gaped at the huge balloon wobbling its way towards him. And flung out his arms to cast a spell -- too late. Pasted right in the mug. He blinked a few times. His eye twitched. Then narrowed. Jackie was howling laughter until then. "Ooh no, we've awakened Brat-thulu!!" she cackled. She slung another balloon at the boy and he cast: Rain of Water Balloons. A good two dozen assorted water balloons appeared overhead, and fell. Just as he got pegged again! GIRLS SUCK!
Saila was just getting the hang of this whole water balloon fight thing when she and Jackie lost. Spectacularly. She went from bright eyed and just about to throw another water balloon to having a veritable hail of brightly colored grenades raining down on the pair of them like righteous, uh. Hail. With vivid purple flowing over her face and obscuring her vision, Saila blindly threw the one in her hands, with virtually no chance of actually hitting the target below but hey- she had to try.
Desdenova had yet to learn that all-important lesson: never exult over your enemies until you are certain they are completely hosed. So, mid-victory booty dance, he got thwacked again - twice! The balloon his sister threw, then the one Saila pitched. He had another dramatic death scene, except he was trying to grab another balloon from the bucket. EVIL GIRLS. Jackie hooted and high-fived Saila! "That was cheating, Desdenova! No magic!"
The muse made a mental note: No magic in a water balloon fight. Saila was in the process of peeling her hair out of her eyes, trying to shift a curtain of purple that clung like sea weed. Second mental note: Wear hair up next time. She spat out what turned out to be a little bit of blue latex balloon, snickering once she could see, high-fiving her comrade in arms right back. "How do you know who wins?"
"It's whoever surrenders or gets most wet," Jackie explained, ducking the balloon Desdenova pitched at her and promptly sticking her tongue out, giggling. She was sodden and so was Des, black hair slicked down and at least Des resembling a drowned rat. "Also, you have to watch out for cheaters, like him, who'll suddenly pull out some heavy artillery..." as she spoke, she leaned into her car and pulled out ... a squirt gun. ...Actually, more of a water cannon. She handed it to Saila as Desdenova gaped. "Pull the trigger!" Jackie advised happily. She rummaged out a water balloon bazooka, and promptly fired several 'shots' at her beloved baby brother -- who was fleeing!
Saila had virtually no idea what she was holding and therefore gamely, thoughtlessly, pulled the trigger when instructed to do so. Could be the force of the water that exploded out from it knocked her on her butt, could be she just tripped. Saila's not telling. "Wait, you win by giving up?"
Jackie folded over cackling! "No no no, I meant, the winner is the one that doesn't surrender..." Jackie knows how to talk, really! "I guess it depends on the rules that the water fight sets up. They may decide whoever's hosed the worst after ten minutes or something. Or maybe they'll put dye in the water."
Saila was also drenched to the skin, and possibly covered in sand as she picked herself back up. Dusting off her jeans was of course a lost cause, but. It's cool. "This has been a very educational experience," said the teenager, peering down the beach as she scanned for energy that might be Des.
Desdenova had scooted out of range, and then disappeared. Probably regrouping. Possibly just done for the day! He was soaked to the skin! Jackie snickered as she scanned the horizon for him or other likely targets. Looking for Des energy would bring the muse into a loop: he doubled back and was sneaking up behind the car.
Jackie gave a good dog-shake, eyes narrowed as she tasted the air. "Well, I couldn't let you come into a water balloon war without learning the basics." Also, of course, couldn't let her get pegged by people who didn't know and love her! Bwhahaha. "Then we get to watch hot guys and gals running around in wet clothes and swimsuits. Oh, yeah, you should probably wear a swimsuit for the fight..."
"What's a swimsuit?" Saila's been in the water a lot, actually, but never exactly on purpose and never in a bathing suit. Fully clothed most of the time, at least once in her bra and undies. Mismatched eyes narrowed as she turned in a circle. "I think your brother's trying to sneak up on us..." She's squinting at the car now.
Saila's the worst person in the world to play hide and seek with.
Des and Jackie could be awful, too, as they both had keen noses. Though all that water diffused scent, they could see aura energy when they so chose, but it took concentration. She was just about to note it was just like Des to hit from behind when ...wait, what? Wide eyed stare at Saila -- as Desdenova struck, popping up and pitching a water balloon at his sister. So HE said it, blinking a lot, leaning to the car. Interestingly, the water wasn't pooling in it. It was nice and dry. "Wait, you don't know what a swimsuit is? I guess you're gonna go shopping now."
"I... no. Should I?" Sure enough there was a Des behind the car. She took advantage of his shock to throw another water balloon at him! Her aim was getting better, too. "What do they look like?"
GAH! Hit! He reeled back, flailing, and giggling. "I'm peacin' outta this one!" he announced, and yup, he was gone. Energy pooled and vanished.
Jackie cackled, putting away her launcher. "They look like bras and panties but more colorful, or a girdle, but less girded. Come on, girl, we're going shopping for swimsuits!" Oh geez!
"Victory!" with a gleeful shout, Saila raised her hands in the air. "Go team Girls!" Or, you know, something like that. At the mention of shopping, her brows furrow, and she's glancing down at herself, her dripping, sandy clothes. "Maybe we should... change first?"
"...Oh. Yes." Jackie blinked, realizing they were soggy. She snickered. "Meet ya in an hour, or I can come and get you tomorrow?"
"Let's go tomorrow! We can make a day of it." I mean, Saila doesn't really shop? But it sounds like something one should make a day of to her. She grinned, then, wrapping an arm around the smaller Hellion, sharing all that sopping wet love. "Thanks for the education."
"Perfect. I'll swing by and we'll hit the shops," Fates help the marketplace! She hugged Saila in return. "No worry. We'll have plenty of water ballooning skills!" And then off she went, jumping in her little red sports? car and zooming off back down the hill...
Just as quickly and seemingly randomly as they?d arrived, her visitors were gone. Saila turned then, crossing back over to the top of the stairs to peer down at the carnage wrought. Bits of brightly colored latex littered the landscape, a breadcrumb trail of the short lived skirmish all the way from where the car had been turned out to the foot of the stairs where Des had first appeared. Shaking her head with a grin of amusement, the teenager peeled long hair heavy with damp away from her throat and shoulders, twisting it up into a messy knot before she she set herself to the task of clean up.
(adapted from live play with Jackie! Shout out to Peaches for the idea that inspired this! )
