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Scarlet vs. Rain: Close Encounters of the Icy Kind (formerly An Ice-Cold Rivalry Begins) - Redux
A while back, I decided to make some tweaks and additions (nothing too drastic, though) to what I believe was the first real story I made for my Sonic fancharacters, Scarlet and Rain, involving them meeting for the first time and getting into their first real fight that cemented their relationship as rivals. Now I'll share the improved version with all of you, along with some art based on the story that I've been wanting to make (which also involved actually trying to make a non-abstract background for once; applaud me). I'll keep the original version up, though, for the sake of preservation and comparison. Enjoy.
What you see below is only a portion of the story's start; the full version is under the "Keep reading" prompt.
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Scarlet Pyraga couldn’t get enough of the sensation of flight. The freedom to go in any direction she wished. The wind blowing through her quills. The sheer rush of speed that made her feel the exhilaration she figured her idol, Sonic, felt every time he ran (which was often). It was a good experience to have, and it never got old.
The hedgehog girl cartwheeled over Station Square, whooping in delight as she literally blazed a trail over the city skyline. Before she had these powers, she'd been ordinary, leading a boring existence. Now she could hold her own with the worst crime had to throw at her (and, of course, have fun punching their faces in).
But Scarlet's happiness would be quickly interrupted. A sudden force slammed into her side, sending her plummeting out of the afternoon sky into the asphalt road below. Cars swerved out of her way at the last moment. Fortunately, it wasn’t rush hour; in fact, traffic had been relatively light today (and for Station Square, that was an accomplishment). For a brief second, she lay in the small crater her impact generated, groaning in pain.
“What the heck hit me?” she asked, slowly getting to her feet.
“Not what-- who.”
That voice-- it came from behind. Maybe somewhere above her, too.
Scarlet whirled around, craning her neck up to find her-- a blue fox girl glowering down at her from a balcony on the building to her left. She was wearing a dark-blue top with a white line running down it, followed by a black midsection and black and white pants that led to a pair of blue and white heels. She had icy blue eyes, one of which was covered by a small tuft of hair sticking out of her forehead. Two ponytails ran from the back of her head with yet more hair hanging loose down the middle, and her look was completed by a dark-blue-lipped scowl on her white muzzle.
The fox stared for a couple more seconds, then backflipped from the balcony to meet Scarlet at street level, landing on the ground effortlessly before slowly walking towards her… with a purpose. Scarlet had no idea who on Earth this total stranger was, but clearly, she wanted to pick a fight. To what end, the red hedgehog wasn’t sure. Perhaps this was an unprovoked attack at random.
But then, Scarlet's confusion tapped out and gave way to anger, as was typical of someone with a hair-trigger temper like hers. To heck with why; any way she sliced it, it didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t a fan of random people messing with her like this. She was of half a mind to retaliate by punching this girl in the face so hard, she’d be out cold until next century.
And by “half a mind”, she meant every last bit of her gray matter.
