Nick stood on his toes to flip the spout on the water cooler. As his mug filled with water, he heard the break room door open. He turned to see who was entering, and smirked.

"Wolfard."

Wolfard narrowed his eyes at him. "Wilde." He set his cup of coffee on a nearby table.

"Here to reclaim your title as prince of poker, Wolfy? Last week to break my three-week streak," asked Nick, leaning against the water cooler, paw on the ledge where his mug rested.

"Heh!" Amused, Wolfard fired back with his own quip. "Don't forget who's leading in the office poker league, 12 points to 10. Take a knee."

Clawhauser sat at the adjacent table, silently observing the exchange with wide eyes. He was surprised (and somewhat scared) at how quickly the rivalry between these two had intensified. Since his debut in the poker league, Wilde was one of the few mammals at Wolfard's poker nights who could consistently give him a run for his money. Refusing to let some arrogant rookie challenge his dominance, though, Wolfard would often goad him into overconfidently playing bad paws and could sometimes manage to steal the game this way.

It must have ignited a competitive spark in the two of them, as their rivalry soon spread beyond poker. Wolfard managed to issue the fourth largest amount of parking tickets in a single day, but Nick got third a day later. At last month's charity baseball game, they tunnel-visioned on getting the other out; Nick got more on Wolfard, but Wolfard's team won. Last week at roll call, Hopps facetiously suggested they play pattycake to cool down, but even that got serious. (She learned that it was possible to lose at pattycake.)

Nick raised an index digit at Wolfard. "Well, Mister Arm Wres—" He paused upon feeling water splash on his other paw and looked over at it. His mug overflowing, he reached up to flip the spout again, before continuing, "…Mister Arm Wrestling Champion, this rising star needs league points, not knees. Leave the thinking game to the intelligent mammals." Nick bowed mockingly, putting his paw on his belly and leaving a wet spot on his uniform.

Wolfard took a sip from his paper cup. "So, you think you—"

"Guys, guys!" Hearing their verbal shootout gave Clawhauser an idea. "I know how to settle this once and for all!" Surprised, the other two turned to stare at him, having been completely unaware that he was there. The cheetah grinned brightly. "Most of the others are busy on the last night of poker league, so why don't we play something completely different? Y'know, something fresh. Something neither of you are familiar with. We'll see which of you can rank higher on an even playing field." This was sounding like a better and better idea the more he explained it. "Hey, maybe even Hopps would want to come now! Her 'I don't play poker' excuse wouldn't work!"

The wolf and the fox looked at each other and froze for a moment, both rolling the idea around in their skulls. Clawhauser giggled internally at how silly they looked, glaring at each other wide-eyed. Finally, they slowly turned their heads back towards him.

"This wolf does not back down from a fair fight," Wolfard growled deliberately, cup still raised to his lips. "I'll win whatever you throw at me, Claw."

"This fox thinks that would be hilarious," said Nick, mimicking Wolfard, paw still dripping on his shirt. "A new challenge? Sign me up. What's your plan?"

Clawhauser giggled externally. Wolfard and Wilde were both on board! They had no clue how deep he was leading them. He explained the game they would be playing, and told them what things they would need to prepare. He shared with them some rules and other resources to know for game night, and made a mental note to ask Hopps later about joining.

He looked forward to poker—uh, game night at Wolfard's.