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“Violet! Violet! Violet!””Violet, how are you feeling after such a huge win your first season?” A man asks pushing a fluffy mic into the player's face, She stammers trying to take off her helmet without smacking someone. “It’s a lot. I am very proud of my team. We, well- They’re the reason I’m even here tonight.” “Violet-“ a man jumps in before being overtaken by another,” “Violet, you scored the winning goal tonight, what was going through your head?”“Don’t trip.” She huffs, blinking rapidly as the white flashes finally hit her eyes.A woman jumps forward pulling a camera into Violet's face as she shouts over the cacophony of voices surrounding the girl, ”You hit Jessie Pines a pretty hard to get that shot, how are you feeling?” The woman finishes her question with a smirk on her face, that gets washed out from Violet’s sight as every second of hesitation is captured with harsh white flashes, ”I- what-“”Alright, everyone out, any further questions will be answered in the green room down the hall!” A woman shouts, guiding the cameras out the door, “Get cleaned up and meet us in the conference room, Ortiz.”The door shuts behind them with a metallic clink echoing against too low concrete walls, the sound rattling abandoned lockers, and shadow filled corners. The lights now dim and hollow, not meeting the edges of the room even as they constrict tile by tile. The shadows claw their way behind her eyes, taking root at the base of her skull. Violet collapses to the floor against back, pushing against the cemented door, chest heaving under pounds of padding, as the metal steals the heat radiating from her spine, leaving nothing but irreplaceable cold in her bones. She fumbles toward the bench in front of her locker, sight nothing but streaks and outlines of phantom objects. The blades of her skates cracking against the ground in frenzied kicks, before they stop moving all together. “And with that folks, we head into overtime! The score is tied three to three and after a rough scuffle with RedDevils ‘guard dog’ Violet Ortiz, it seems the Mavericks have decided to sub out Colette Sullivan for Jessie Pines #13.”
“If Pines can pull out a goal here in overtime, this will make it her second championship winning goal as only a sophomore.”
”She’s been very vocal about wanting a hat trick of championships during her college career, this could be the start of a legacy tonight folks.”
The buzzer blares, as Violet watches from the penalty box.
“As you can hear down on the ice, fans are the RedDevils fans are not happy, #22 is stuck in the penalty box.”
“Even without their guard dog the RedDevils are not going to roll over, they are working hard to run down that penalty clock.”
“What's this! #13 intercepts the puck!”
”Jessie Pines breaks from the pack, it looks like she has a clear shot to a championship win.” Sticks and clapping fans blend together in a silent roar, as the ref opens the door. “Here we go folks, Violet Ortiz is finally out of the penalty box!”
“And it looks like she’s ready to give Pines a fight for that Championship win!”
The ice blurs, time becoming non-existent until only the puck exists in a distended, frozen moment in time. The ridges glinting wet with ice, golden in a refraction of light off of stained wood.
“Get the puck Vi.” Anxiety chitters inching her way toward the consoul.
“What the hell are you doing here? Move over!”
“Come on. Come on.”
Anger glows as she skitters around him pressing buttons, “Hey, give that back!”
“Come on Vi!” Joy cheers watching the darkening screen.
Sadness watches from the couch as the glowing tree in the center of headquarters begins to morph in its pot, its voice a faint echo against the walls.
‘I have to win.’
Time kicks into overdrive, every cheer thunders in her eardrums perfectly distinct, she feels every slice of her blades into the ice, the very atoms pushing against each other to hold the stick in her hands.
“What happened?” Fear shrieks hiding behind a sleeping Ennui, “Who turned off the lights?” -Scrapped bleeding fingers wretch at knotted laces and the soaked mesh strangling her lungs with every half full breath she gets. Her mind pulsing with alarm, desperately clinging to every shroud of oxygen it can collect. Ripping the pounds of cloth and pads from her body, her head smacks the gray floor so hard not even the padding can keep the concrete beneath from meeting her head.- “What a hit by Violet Ortiz!”
‘I have to win!’
“What’s going on out there I can barely see!” Anger rages his prickling sparks lighting the dark room along with the growing intensity of the auburn tree.
‘I have to win!’
“Violet-The Violence-Ortiz charges the goal!”
‘I HAVE to win!’ The tree pulses the sound roaring through the tight space, its roots threatening to pop from their holder as energy spews into it.
“Will someone turn that off!” Anger roars.
The tree responds, a memory pulled from under ground, forced to fill the screen without an acknowledgement from any of them, ”YOU HAVE TO WIN!” A man clad in red and black shouts behind scratched plexiglass. His voice shaking the foundation of their tower, handbooks throwing themselves to the ground at the force, Ennui startling awake long enough to curl up under the couch.
“She shoots and she scores!”
-
“You won. You won. You won…” Vi whimpers rubbing her hands up and down her arms, trying desperately to regain a semblance of warmth.“You won.” She grits, her fingers tightening no longer soothing, her jagged nails clawing until red streaks raise, blotchy and angry from under burning too tight skin.
“Violet-The Violence-Ortiz wins her first ever college championship game with an overtime backhand snap right into the net!”
”You have to win!” The tree pulses, as Disgust and Anger and embarasment try to pull the memory away from the projector. Sadness and Joy attempting to calm Anxiety.
“I won.”
“Violet-The Violence-Ortiz wins-“
“I won.”
“You have to win Vio-“
“I won…” They whisper, shutting their eyes, as the thumping in the back of their head finally quiets.
“What are you doing!” Anxiety screeches.
The other emotions stand in shock watching the final root snap away as Anger pulls the tree from its stand, shaking the glowing ball in his fists.
“This thing is going to kill Them!” Anger shouts tossing the memory away to get a hold on the glowing entanglement of beliefs.
“That ‘thing’ Is Them!” Anxiety and Joy yell back.
“Well we can change that.” Anger grunts tugging at one of the branches.
“Just because we don't like it, doesn’t mean its not a part of Them.” Anxiety says softly.
Hie eyebrow raises, “Not like it? I don't know about you all, but I hate this goddamn thing!” He shakes it causing it to change rapidly, “It was so much easier when we had control over what was going on inside their head.”
”I know…” Joy sighs putting a hand on his, “but Anxiety’s right. This is Vi. It’s who she is and who… who they want to be. Only they can change that.”
”But its not just Them.” He stresses, ”It's everyone. Even us.”
“That’s not a bad thing.” Envy tries.
“It's also who she tries to be.” Fear agrees.
”Its not a great thing either.” Disgust responds with a pointed look, “They never have a second to like who they are before someone or something tries to change it again.”
Fear shrinks, attempting to hide behind Envy not wanting in on the girls glaring contest.
“It is exhausting.” Ennui sighs from the couch.
“They’re so much more than what's in here.” Anger says, thumbing at one of the strings.
‘I’m a terrible person.’
“But it’s not all bad.” Joy shakes her head pulling another.
’I'm a good person.’
“See, they know that. There's just a few rough spots, they can’t be perfect!”
‘I’m going to be perfect.’
Joy beams, plucking the tangle from his hands, handing it back to anxiety who plugs it back in. “Maybe I'm wrong, but the point is right now this is who she is and we loved her before this showed up, so we love her as she is and we will keep loving her when-“
“If.” anxiety notes.
“-this weird little thing changes. Right?”
The others pass glances at each other, mumbling essences of acceptance.
“That’s right, Joy.” Anxiety smiles patting the tree.
‘I’m not good enough.’
“Violet! Violet! Violet!”Cameras flash, the instant she opens the door to the conference room, up until she takes her seat with a perfectly practiced smile and perfectly neutral voice, perfectly oversized hoodie hiding the less than perfect scratches and less than perfect nail beds. And under the table, away from HD eyes, she picks at her the fraying fibers of her jeans, drawing little infinities on her knee. ”How are you and your team feeling after such a big win?””I think they’re pretty happy. They worked so hard to get here and I couldn’t be more proud of them and grateful for their support. They help keep my head on straight.”“And your family?”Vi’s leg jumps as she finally feels one of her nails pierce her skin, ”Like I said, I think they’re pretty happy.” “You’d say your team is your family?” A woman hidden in a halo asks.Vi smiles briefly, glancing down at the red spot, before smoothing her jeans over it, “How could I not. Hockey has been my life longer than I remember, it's what my world revolves around, I mean this year I spent more time with them than myself.”There’s several forced chuckles from behind the halo. the rest of the questions blurring together, the same generic answers, essentially preprogrammed in her brain after a year of common sense training. ”Is this win going to change your plan for next season?”
‘why would i tell every team watching this our plan?’
“No, were just going to come back and do our best to do it again.” ”Have you made plans for the off season?”‘Who are you my father?’“I’m keeping it open between classes and training, but you know I'll be on the ice.” ”what was going through your head when the game headed into overtime?”’sonofabitch’“Just kept going. You know, you don't stop until you hear a whistle or a buzzer, so I just had to keep going.” ”Violet, are you aware that the hit you gave Jessie Pines in overtime has given her a concussion as well as fractured her collar bone?” A familiar voice rings out, breaking the bliss of boredom.-
She takes the puck.
“What a hit by Violet Ortiz!”
She takes the-
Time kicks into overdrive, cheers, ice, wood.
“Get the puck Vi.”
“What the hell are you doing here? Move over!”
“Come on. Come on.”
“Hey, give that back!”
“Come on Vi!”
“WATCH OUT!”
Helmet…Bone…Glass…The puck. She takes the puck.
“What a hit by Violet Ortiz!”
-Her nails dig into the raw skin of her knee as she struggles to keep her voice steady, ”no… No I was not aware, I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope she has a fast and healthy recovery.” Violet’s coach calls for final questions reinvigorating the snake pit in front of her.“Violet! Violet! Violet!” They hiss out in tandem.“Yeah, go for it.” Violet nods randomly. “Violet, you said at the start of the season, ‘Being out on the ice makes you feel complete’, tonight you had a similar sentiment about your team keeping you together. Are they what motivates you when it comes to games like this?”’More of a toxic ex burning down every bridge I have outside of them but sure tomato, tomate‘“I love hockey more than anything, I love my team more than anything.”
A golden orb lined with silver drops down.
“Vi play?” Says a little girl, with a stick bigger than her.
“Except my baby sister.” Vi smiles eyes far from the cold room, lost in amber warmth from the memory.
“You’re gonna win for me right, Vi?” The girl says, two years older, jumping and screaming on the sidelines every time Vi scores. Staring with anticipation for her chance to be out there too.
“She's the whole reason I started playing hockey. Without her I never would have picked up a stick. She’s always the first and last thought I have during game day. Pretty much everyday.”
“How's it feel knowing I'm better than you, Vi?” The girl says, sporting a new red streak and cocky smile as she circles around them to show off the scarlett ‘C’ stitched into her jersey.
Warmth spreads through Vi’s chest at the flood of memories, fingers loosening their death grip one full breath at a time. “She never watches these, so it probably won't be until I'm dead that she sees this.” She laughs standing from the table, making sure to smooth out the fabric of her jeans so it covers her knee, letting her coach lead her back to the locker room. Before she has a chance to ask, there’s a quick knock followed by a backlit figure stepping into the empty room. As the door shuts behind her, Vi finds a smiling face she hasn't seen in over a year. “Hey, kid.” Coach Roberts grins as the young player throws herself into waiting arms. Vi sniffles, tightening her hold on the older woman when she tries to pull away, allowing her brain to slow and fixate on the texture of the jackets embroidered lettering and the forgotten smell of bergamot. Vi can't seem to part with the woman after feeling the warmth return to the deepest part of her bones, wanting nothing more than to latch on to the woman’s radiation of safety and never let go. The coach smiles, rubbing the girls back, allowing the lost pup to finally find its way home. The peaceful moment is paused when Coach Roberts begins to speak, putting enough distance between them to look the now towering college student over. “You look like you could use a break.””Thanks.” Vi rolls her eyes, slouching into the chair behind her, “You look tired too.”“Hey now!” The coach laughs, wacking the girl on the shoulder, getting a dramatic whine as she sinks lower into the chair, “Don’t bite the hand that fed you, or the one offering your tired ass a break.”Vi's head perks, every bit of an excitable puppy hearing the word W.A.L.K, making Roberts chuckle from where she leans on the desk. Pulling a flier from her pocket, it’s snatched from her hands almost instantly, excited eyes darting over the words without actually reading them. “It’s not for a couple months and I'm still scouting, but you would you wanna be an assistant-“”Yes! Yes. Absolutely. Thank you coach.” Vi stumbles words moving faster than their brain. Their eyes meet Coach Roberts, a little less tired, as the smile on Vi’s lips finally meets their eyes.
“Are we sure about this” Fear fidgets inching toward the consoul, “public speaking isn’t really our thing and- ack!“
Anger punches him before he has a chance to touch the button.
“This is gonna be perfect for us! Perfect!” Joy twirls pressing buttons as she goes.
“This is going to be perfect.” Vi mutters with a smile, fidgeting with the paper in their hands as they exit the arena.
Behind the memory bank, the tree roots shimmer in their pot, morphing the soft ocean blues into a jagged golden sunset.
‘I’m going to be perfect.’
It rumbles glowing bright enough that most emotions have to cover their eyes. Behind the control panel, Joy and Anxiety stare, unable to fathom looking away while being graced with the feeling of such awesome heat.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Golden light filters through the stacks of windows lining the far wall of the ice rink. Soft whispers barely audible over the sound of the shining obsidian puck rapping gently against pythagorean spirals of black and gold tape. Every movement from the swirling wooden waves it's attached to, being guided by the finely inscribed pattern layered into the glistening frozen ice. A meditation of figures eights tangle together, a solo dance, as a lone red jersey weaves around the painted surface.“Welcome- hi- what’s up… oh my god.” They sigh, making another loop.
“Why did we agree to do this? We hate public speaking! And the public! And speaking!” Fear reaches as anxiety pats his back.
“Calm down.” Joy soothes, “We got this, they’ve been practicing for weeks.”
“They did mess it up a few times.” Sadness mopes.
Joy’s shoulders droop, “Not helping. We're not gonna mess this up.”
Anxiety’s rambles fill the silence, “What if they do, what if they hate us and don’t take us seriously, what if we’re the worst teacher, what if we kill their chances and then they'll never be able to follow their dreams-“
“WE’RE A DREAM KILLER.” Fear shrieks.
The puck slips from its path knocking forward into the boards after Vi jolts to a stop.
Joy jumps up pushing him away from the consoul, “WE ARE NOT- We haven’t even started yet. We’ve gone over the plan a million times with Coach Roberts and she loved it. We're fine.” She says shoving him toward the couch.
They take a breath, popping the puck up onto the toe of their stick and bouncing it while skating back to center ice.
Anxiety joins Fear and Joy's bickering. Disgust gets up walking away with a comment about them ruining her aura. Ennui gives a half hearted kick before rolling to the other end of the couch and falling back asleep. In the corner of the screen there’s movement, a moving shadow that makes Disgust squint.
“But there’s the possibility-“
“-guys-“
“-We’re fine. They’re fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Guyes…“
Disgust glares at the group of idiots, waving her hand, before pulling up her control panel. “What are you?” She squints, replaying the moment.
Through the window, a thick veil of clouds roll in, obscuring the sun and casting the room in a muted, grayish light. The golden rays struggle to break through the dense barrier, leaving only faint, diffused glimmers of light hidden away. Silver shadows stretch long and harsh, and the world outside appears draped in a somber veil. Nature itself holds its breath, waiting for a dam to break. Vi fails to notice the change as they line up their shot, wheels turning as they imagine an opposing team of ink blotted shadows lunging toward them.
“Coach said to fake right and break left,
Watch out for the pick and keep an eye on defense-“
“Ugh no!” Disgust retches, pointing to Embarrassment, “Out. Now.”
“Can they play that?” Fear quips, earning a shrug from Joy before they continue their argument.
Vi hums as they skate around the players, throwing the puck through insivable gaps, shielding it through plumes of smoke as non corporeal forms collide with their own, the smoke riddled bodies evaporating and reappearing with every push. Popping the puck over an ink pool trying to assemble itself into a stick, they punch into a tight backslide, yanking the puck back to their body as they circle the net.
“We can’t do this lets just tell coach we pulled a muscle-”
“No! We made a promise and-”
Disgust gasps as the flare of color comes into view, “GUYS!”
““What!””
The shadows howl racing to defend their goal. A black mass threatening to encase the net as it rises from the floor, webbing its way out of the cracking ice. Vi smirks, scooping the puck into the right corner as the webbing closes. The shadows pop exploding into dark confetti as they celebrate. “You really are a show pony.” A woman’s voice calls over the ice.
“Oh boy…” Joy sighs
“Oh no…” Sadness whimpers, ringing her hands.
“Oh yeah!” Anger flames.
Fear collapses in Sadness’ arms.
“…You were saying Joy?” The spindly orange chirps, batting her eyelashes.
Joy clicks her teeth, “Shut up Anxiety.”
”Guard dog.” She sighs, rolling her eyes at the nickname, “If you're gonna insult me, at least do it properly.” “Did you learn a new trick?” The girl says in a high pitched voice.Vi turns, shoveling the puck up and bouncing it dramatically while smiling back at the emerging blue figure. “Thank you, thank you. Do I get a ribbon?”“I wouldn’t go as far to say you're a show dog. You're more of a mutt than a purebred, if I remember correctly.” The Blue player chuckles.“And here I thought therapy was supposed to make you a better person.” Violet snips, tweaking her head with a questioning look…
“What the hell is she even doing here?” Disgust huffs looking around the room.
“The better question is, Why are we still talking lets just-”
“Everybody calm down.” Joy
She drops the puck, passing it hesitantly to the girl, “What are you doing here, Pine.”“Roberts wanted me to volunteer. My team thought it would be a good look after what you did last year. My doctors too.” Her glare softens into a knowing smile, seeing Violet's raised eyebrows, “You didn’t think you were special, did you?”
“Oh That’s it let me at her!” Anger fumes, pebbles melting on his scalp.
Joy slaps his hand away, “No. The weekend cannot start like this. This weekend is about the kids. It-”
The tree glows interrupting Joy's train of thought, shifting to a rounded mirage of colors like the sun setting over an ocean.
‘This is going to be perfect.’ Vi’s voice echoes in the distance.
Violet shakes her head, a small placating smile coming to form on her lips, “I didn’t know Coach Roberts asked anyone else, but I'm glad you're here. At least we won't be taking care of sixteen kids by ourselves, Right?” ‘Perfect.’ Says the tree.
”Ok, does anyone else still find that freaky or just me?” Anger raises his hand followed by Fear, Disgust, Sadness and a half hearted “Oui” from a pile of blankets.
“So…did you wanna go over anything before the kids show up?”Jessie shakes her head at Violet in disbelief, “Just saying hi to my favorite cheater. Hi.” She grins, shooting the puck toward her chest.
“That little-”
“Anger!”
“What a-“
“Disgust!”
“Bitch.”
“ENVY!”
Catching the token on her glove, Violet chuckles, dropping it to the ice, pushing it in a figure eight pattern as she speaks, “You know, it was a legal hit. Despite what you keep telling people.””You broke my collarbone. You gave me a concussion.” Jessie grits stalking closer, “You stole MY winning goal while I was still on the floor.” Her stick shoots out like a starving viper toward a mouse, snatching the puck away, her cold eyes piercing through theirs.
“This time won't be an accident, let me at her!”
“Anger no! what if someone sees?”
“Who. Cares.”
“They care. We are not messing up the first day. Sadness, Ennui please.”
“I’m sorry you got hurt. But it's not my fault the refs didn’t call it.” Violet sighs, leaning on her stick. “I had a chance and I took it, don't act like you wouldn’t have done the same.” The other woman’s lips tighten into a sharp smirk, ”Oh, I will. And after I watch your dreams shatter, I'm gonna leave you there, right where you felt me.”“I didn’t-“ she snaps her jaw shut, as a buzzing fills the back of her mind.
Bone. Glass. The puck. She takes the puck. She leaves her.
‘I left her’
‘You left me’
’you left her’
Three voices begin to overlap, the three words replaying themselves over and over in her mind. The tree glows, almost glitching, as its roots pulse and tangle in an incomplete branch. In the stream, a floating orb is pulled under the surface in a whirlpool, depositing itself in front of the projector.
‘An 18 year old Violet slams the trunk of her car shut, before a bag of clothes can fall back onto the cracked driveway. Her parents unfocused, their faces blurry as they speak, a flash of brilliant red comes into her vision leaving just as quickly as the door to the house is shut. She looks down at the disk in her hands, running her fingers over the small infinity symbol drawn on the maroon cover.
One foot at a time she goes in, the house hazy and cold through the memory’s blue tint. Nothing, but a hollow fun house made to look like a home. She comes to a jarred door, the same one she'd walked through for 18 years, now quiet and impossibly cold compared to the rest. Her hand burns as her fingers touch the worn handle. On the floor in front of her old bed, sits a crying girl with red bangs.
The sound of raw, aching pain, punctuated by the occasional shaky breath. In the dim light, she clutches an old photo, the edges, worn and faded, that seemed to whisper memories of happier times, contrasting sharply with the sour grief that filled the room. Their words muffle, miles away under crashing ocean waves.
“Can we talk for a second.”
The girl sniffles, wiping her face quickly, “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well I have a lot to say to you.” Violet says, stepping into the room.
“I dont care.”
“Valentina…Can you just...”
The girl pauses. Keeping her back turned as her hand comes up to brush another tear from her cheek.
“Val…Please. I don't want to leave like this.”
She turns looking back through scarlet bangs, her breath shaky as she tries to steady her voice, “You left me, three weeks ago.”
She turns away. In the windows reflection, her face crumbles. She worries her lip, teeth leaving indents as she tries not to sob. Her eyes blurred and covered in tears that flood down her cheeks.
Violet reaches out, only for her legs to cement themselves to the floor. She tries to speak only for the words to get stuck in her throat, like an invisible barrier has formed. The memory blurs and cold streaks down her face, splashing and smudging the marker on the red case, fading as she places the disk on the dresser by the door. Their muffled sobs seeping into the walls, a haunting chorus of sorrow permanently engraving their place on two bleeding hearts.’
‘I left her.’ The tree glitches. ‘You left me’
“What was that?” Joy asks.
“This stupid thing doesn’t even work right!” Anger snaps, Sadness pulling him back before he can yank at it again.
“It was an evocative memory.” She weeps pointing to the old handbook shelves.
Disgust raises her eyebrow.
“Not like that,” The blue girl chuckles through her tears, “When Jessie said-“
“She did that!” Anger interrupts stomping toward the consoul.
”No! Vi did, kind of… its complicated.” Anger groans at her words, wiping a hand over his face.
“Jessie’s words evoked a subconscious association with what happened last year with Val, which must have triggered the recall and then they must have pulled up the memory without meaning to.”
The emotions look between each other, “Do you get any of that?” “Eh.” “I dunno.”
Sadness mopes pressing on the consoul, Anger right behind her.
“There is nothing you could do that would shatter my dreams.” Violet scoffs, eyes low with a wave of chilling heat racking through her brain.“I think you underestimate me.” Jessie smiles, turning her gaze to the puck.She mimics Violet’s stick turns in a choppy quick way making the puck ping against the glossy plastic with every pass. The sound grates on every possible nerve ending as it travels through the air, clattering against her eardrums. The noise bounces over itself in their mind, adding layers and layers of incomplete rhythms, screeching over each other. Their arm shoots out, as a strike of white hot lightning hits their spine. Their stick thunks against the ice, replacing the incessant pings with a satisfying click as the offending object is plucked away and sent rocketing backwards, down the ice without a second glance. ”You overestimate yourself.” Violet scowls, shoulders rising in satisfaction as the rink is bathed in red light.The older player shakes her head, circling like a vulture with a fake look of concentration, eyes glinting as she finds her opportunity. Ten well placed words sinking delicately beneath the padding on their chest. “Does your sister have the same self-esteem issues?”“You think this is funny? You know what else is funny? Skating lines!” Coach Roberts shouts, collecting the last of the phones as the girls file out the door. ”Now hit the ice ladies!”Riley trails behind the rest of the team, eyes on the floor, as Val and her teammates whisper to each other.
All the emotions turn to Joys slumped form.
“Well that went great!” Disgust says sashaying away.
Fear stands in the corner chewing his nails, “Now everybody hates us.” Anxiety nods beside him pulling her hair down and twirling it between her fingers.
“We’re fine, this is just a minor bump, the rest of camp is gonna be great!”
“ugh… right, sure Joy…”
“Great!”
“This is not how I expected to start today, but if y’all need a lesson on how to listen, you're gonna know by the end of today.” The woman shakes her head marching toward the rink without looking back. Riley shrinks, face hot, deciding to walk behind Bree and Grace instead of alongside.Unseen steps echo faintly through the tunnel from the locker room, not quite loud enough to reach the ice where the two players stand at center silent and statuesque aside from the encroaching space between them as they drift almost imperceptibly closer with every pop of their helmets. “Don’t.””What, you asked if I wanted to discuss something before everyone showed up, I thought of something. I mean you and I both know there’s not a snowball's chance in hell, she’s gonna pick you, so I just think I should know what I'm gonna be dealing with.”
“That little bitch!” Joy shouts, stomping her foot into the ground watching from behind Anger.
Scarlet and Viridian hands pop off the consoul for a high five before going back to work.
“She's better than I am. Happy? Good. Because I’m gonna need you to stop talking.” “Obviously she’s better than you, that half-pint freshman Robert’s scrounged up is better than you.” She chuckles, grabbing her side.“Probably.” Vi grits, “At least she knows to keep her head up.”Jessi sucks her teeth skating into the center, “You know, if little Valentine is half as good as Roberts makes her out to be, your team should trade you for her.” She chuckles, spinning around like a cartoon character with a lightbulb, “Hell, maybe I should make a recommendation to mine!”
“Oh she is so not going there.” Disgust grunts.
Anger spews, “Let me at her!”
Vi jabs their finger into Jessie’s shoulder pushing her off balance, her gasp overtaken by the growl in Vi’s voice, “Maybe I should break your jaw this time.”“Don’t worry ‘big sister’ I promise to take good care of her this weekend.” She pushes their hand away crossing her heart with crossed fingers.
The other emotions bundle together away from the hellscape that has engulfed the center of the room in toxic neon red.
“Though, I suppose, we of all people know accidents happen in training, right Violence?” She winks ginning as flames dance in their irises. Something snaps in their brain, a rage they’ve never felt crawls beneath their skin, blood boiling under the layers of cloth trapping the rolling heat to their skin. Their voice so low, it barely carries the syllables across the foot of space between them.“Touch her and I will break every bone in your body.” “No wonder you're the guard d-“ The girl snorts trying to interrupt, her smile falling, as their stick clatters a millisecond before their black gloves hit the ice, bare scalding hands cinching tight in the mesh of her jersey before she has a chance to take a breath.“I swear to god Jessie. If you fuck up this weekend for her…”Their whispered growls whisk themselves away, the only remnants of their existence, the fog -not unlike smoke- leaving their mouth. The bars of their face mask sending an eerie click through the rink, as they hit the girls visor. Jessie's stick is held loose and shaky in her glove, as she stares with wide eyes up at a girl she could have sworn was shorter than her five seconds ago.
Everyone flips the couch, taking cover as flames engulf the consoul. The awesome heat distorting the air, filling it with an acrid smell, burning with every shallow breath they take. As the inferno devours the oxygen with voracious, crackling hunger The trees' hellish glow emerges painting the static filled screen in watery shades of orange and red.
‘A growling shadow of a man towers over a Vi, “Keep her safe! What don’t you understand about that?”
“Dad, I’m sorry.”
“You had one job and now your sister is hurt, because you didn’t do your job. You didn’t protect her.”
Through a small window Vi watches a 12 year old Val, suck on a lollipop that finally got her to stop crying while she picks out what color she wants her cast to be.
“She just wanted to play…” Vi whimpers, hands shaking as her words stumble, “It was an accident, he didn’t mean to hit her, I- I just looked away for a second…and-”
“Don’t. I gave you one job Violet, protect your damn sister!”
Violet chews on her lip, her nails digging into her biceps where her fathers had been a moment prior, forcing herself not to cry. The door opens, Val’s happy voice muffled around the candy, as she rushes over, shoving her pink cast in her sister's face telling her to look at the color.
Violet’s stomach flips as she looks into the girl's bright eyes, no anger in sight. The little girl laughs as she’s lifted into her big sister's arms, accidentally bonking her on the head. Violet just laughs and holds her tighter, telling her, “It doesn’t matter as long as you’re ok.”
Disgust shutters at the memory, tripping as she races toward the others. They huddle under one of Ennui’s blankets, hiding from the encroaching shadows welcoming Angers heat, dancing through his flames.
Face to face, toe to toe, Vi’s heart rattles behind their ribs. A powder keg willing the metal to spark. A single breath from either threatening to ignite the sudden ironic stillness. Quick and solid footfalls barely register to them before a shrill whistle sounds. Their hands release the bunched fabric, not moving away.
“Anger, that’s enough!” Anxiety calls, flames spitting at her fingers as she reaches for him.
“Back off!” Anger screams at her wrenching the controls forward, Vi’s fist closing, but refusing to move with the orange girl so close, “Come on!”
“They don't want to do this!” Anxiety shouts, pushing forward through the heat wave, “They can’t. They won’t. Not now. Come on Vi.”
She scurry’s around the board forming a vortex. The flames whip, attaching themselves to the loose threads on her shirt, disintegrating them at the touch, but she doesn’t stop. She can’t, she won't, not until the panel cools. Not until Vi is safe. The flames burn hot, anger refusing to relinquish his grip on their mind.
Sadness's tears evaporate as they form on her cheeks, “Guys, stop!” She sobs, stepping forward only to be pulled back by Disgust and Embarrassment.
“Just let them fight it out, we'll be ok.” Disgust chokes out rubbing her back.
Her eyes briefly connected with Envy, curled up in Ennui’s arms, head tucked into her neck. Ennui, shares her look of tired irritation before slipping back to sleep. Disgust shakes her head in disbelief.
The startled girl pivots, not making any sudden movements as she puts as much space between them and her as possible, as the coach’s voice echoes through the arena. Red refuses to look away, wisps of smoke leaving their nose in deep puffs. After several hand gestures Jessie takes a single step to her side of the center line, quickly skating toward an extremely pissed off coach Roberts. Red follows closely with shadow covered eyes, their strides so silent her to jump as they appear beside her. The vortex thickens, trapping the raging flames inside. The heat contained within her panic, no longer suffocating the others, where they gasp on the floor. The monitor becomes clearer, blocked by the orange swirl, but no longer in pieces. The tree dims, once again softening its shape, still emitting a roaring fire. Anger coughs, his flames begin to extinguish, from engrossing white blinding his eyes, to tiny sparks suffocating inside Anxiety’s barrier. His hands shake as he pulls them from the handles to pull at his tie. Anxiety stays, holding in the heat, until she collapses beside him, singed and panting. Joy and sadness rush forward pulling them away from the consoul and each other, Ennui tapping at her phone screen, while Embarrassment attempts to fix the couch. “What the hell are you two doing- don't even!” She scowls holding up her hand, when Jessie starts speak. She shakes her head to the sky motioning to them, briefly turning back to the younger players, losing a touch of veracity, “Y'all sit down.” “You two are here to be teachers here, role models- hell MENTORS -for these kids and here you are at each other's throats like two dogs over a bone!” Coach Roberts chides looking between the two. There’s a moment of silence through the rink, not even a whisper from the gallery of teenagers behind her, deciding not to add to her fury they had witnessed only a minute ago. Jessie begins to speak, attempting to assuage the current fury in the woman’s eyes and redirect it toward the player in red.“Coach, you have to understand, I was just setting up and then she came in and… after the last time we saw each other-”Vi, rolls their eyes, catching the crowd of highschoolers piled onto the bench behind the woman. The rest of the conversation fading as her eyes sweep the crowd. She’s met with various faces. Some bored, several unhappy, most wide eyed at their idols -two stressed college athletes- being chewed out in front of them. Most stare at the girl in blue, last rumored to be “gearing up for another season after some serious therapy. Physical and mental. Obviously.” Though eyes begin to turn and several girls with red streaks in their hair start to whisper, nudging each other when Vi takes off her helmet.Confused at the big fuss, they watch a familiar girl with a raised eyebrow piercing make a point of staring back at them. She taps the girl beside her, setting her water bottle down and whispering indistinctly enough for Vi to hear only a “Vuh'' sound before the girl she’s speaking to snaps her head around, giving them whiplash. A chill runs down their spine as they look away. ‘She’s totally not gonna murder us in our sleep. It's fine. Everything’s fine.’ “Well, since Pine has so graciously decided to tell their side of the story, What’s your excuse?” Coach Robert’s asks, completely exasperated. As she opens her mouth, an amber memory dropping down when her eyes meet a small blonde’s.‘There’s a girl I want you to keep an eye on this weekend, Riley Andersen. She reminds me a lot of you two. Let me know what you think.’Riley’s blue eyes widen along with a small excited smile.
“Oh my god.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
”Oh…Oh my god!”
“Violet Ortiz is looking at us!”
“Oh my god both Ortiz sisters are here! Were gonna train with The Ortiz’s!”
Envy and Disgust screech together.
”See, this is just getting better!” Joy smiles, hopping a circle with them.
They can almost feel the energy pouring out of her, eyes darting frantically between Vi and the glaring girl on the bench.
“You have got to be kidding.”
“How does she always manage to show up at the worst time?”
“They seriously couldn’t wait five minutes before starting a fight.”
“Now we’re guilty by association, twice.”
Disgust and Envy say over each other.
“This is just getting worse.” Sadness sighs behind them.
Vi pauses, just quick enough to return her smile, before her blue eyes flick anxiously to the ground. They watch the way Riley picks at the tape on her stick, shuffled into the corner like she’s trying to hide from the rest of the players.
“She seems sweet.” Joy smiles, waving at the girl on the screen.
“She seems off to a rough start.” Disgust says, filing her nails.
“Not any worse than us.” Envy huffs.
“Worry about the child later!” Anxiety jumps up scurrying back to the controls, “Right now, coach looks like she wants to kill us.”
“Right, sorry.” Joy says, stepping away.
“What’s the plan?”
Fear drops a stack of papers onto the consoul, handing several to the orange girl.
“Today Ortiz. Do not make me ask again.”
“Ack!” Fear retches, jumping at the controls, pulling Anxiety and Joy with him. He slams their hands down, pointing to Ennui, who sighs, passing her phone to Disgust and Sadness. Anger passes Embarrassment a tiny idea to plug in. The tree lights up with a rainbow of colors as the board illuminates.
“I’m sorry, coach. You’re right.” She says, taking a much needed breath, before turning purposefully to the group, “I’m sorry this is some of your first introductions to camp-and to me, But I promise you this-“ They gesture to the player beside them, “-isn’t what this weekend is going to be. You're here to learn, and if you learn anything from me, know that the best idea is to walk…skate away, before you do something stupid.” They gesture flippantly toward center ice, “Do as I say not as I do.”“I know that’s right. You do what they do, someone’s gonna end up in the hospital.”Several huffs of laughter filter through the group, as the clouds finally shred, allowing beams of gold light to hit the ice. Coach Robert’s looks pointedly between the sisters, a small unnoticeable smile on her face. ’Not bad kid.’“Alright, get out here.” She says, followed by several groans, “Uh huh, don’t think I forgot about earlier, you don't get a free pass just ‘cause of them being stupid. In fact, since you two are their mentors why don’t you show some initiative.” The shrill of her whistle scrapes against the walls of the arena defending every player in the vicinity. “Lines. Now.””I’m concussed.” The older Ortiz deadpans holding the stall door open for the girls.“…” The coach brings the whistle to her lips curtly letting the ‘girl’ in red groan, before the shrieking hits their ears.“Right.” They mutter, quickly digging their skates into the ice.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You’re lagging behind Andersen, skate harder!” Coach shouts from the sidelines, “Ortiz, I expect better, lets go!“”She's talking to you.” Val grunts, jabbing her elbow into Violet's side; using her as a springboard to take off.The whistle blows as they cross pass her at the centerline, “Alright ladies, take a breather, then we’ll divide into teams.”Val knocks her shoulder into them as she skates to the bench. Her teammates follow up into the stands without hit a glance back. They sigh, heading to the bench, when someone collides with them knocking the girl off balance. Jolting, they grab her hand pulling her up before she can hit the ground.“Sorry.” They mutter looking the small girl over, “You alright.”She stares wide eyed up at her. “I- you- yeah-”“Breathe.” They chuckle rubbing her arm.”You're Violet Ortiz!” The girl says quickly slamming her mouth shut, “I mean hi- I'm fine. Thank you, Sorry!” She squeaks, pulling her hand away. Her cheeks turning red as a memory plays.
“I’m Val-“
“I know, you're the varsity captain, you set the all time girls record as a junior, your favorite colors red, and-“
Embarrassment shrinks into his hoodie. Disgust shrieking and waving her hands frantically, “Oh god turn it off!”
They laugh, patting her shoulder, “I am, Hi, I’m glad you're ok. What’s your name stalker?”“Riley…” the girl grimaces, heat radiating from her cheeks.
A memory appears: “What's your name stalker?”
“Oh, absolutely not get it out of here.”
“On it!” Joy jumps up, tossing the memory into the spring box.
”I'm just messing with you Riley, promise. Come on, you blush anymore you're gonna melt a hole in the middle of the rink.” They smile, pulling her to the bench. “So how has camp been so far?” They say, hopping onto the ledge in front of her.“Uh..”
Orbs begin to ping pong off each other as they’re recalled faster than they can play.
“We got assigned to a different high school.”
“Michigan, right?”
”Fall in line!”
”Got that, Andersen?”
“Thanks a lot Michigan.”
“This is the worst.”
“Not great.” she mutters grabbing her water bottle.Vi’s brow furrows toward the suddenly stoic girl, spinning a puck in their hands as they rest their back on the glass, “Well then it can only get better then right?““I guess” she sighs with a small smile. Their eyes drift away from the lone girl looking at the clusters of students. There’s a couple small groups loitering around the center of the ice giggling to themselves; and if Vi notices the way the girls all but scatter when they look in that general direction, they decide to ignore it. The second group, slightly older and probably from the same team, ‘whisper’ not hiding the glances between the older players. She doesn’t know exactly what they say, but one of them definitely calls them gay; Vi chuckles inwardly hoping Jessie heard that. Their eyes drift back to Riley watching her nails dig at the worn plastic bottle.
Disgust frowns, “She needs someone.”
“And that someone is us?” Fear gulps, as she levels a glare at him.
”We don't wanna scare her, just make an offer.” Joy says, tapping a button off to the side.
They fiddle with the puck, figuring out their next words, “Why don’t you try to be on my team later?“The girl looks up with a surprised and anxious smile, ”Really?”They open their mouth to say something and the words fall away.“Ortiz, get over here!” Coach calls cutting her off.”I have to go, apparently, but I’ll see you later Riley.” They smile tossing her the puck, before hopping back out on the rink.“See you…” Riley whispers, unheard, walking back to the tunnel as more girls filter off the ice. Riley sets her things down, leaning tiredly against the wall, when she hears familiar voices from up in the stands. Peeking her head up, she sees them, the team of FireHawks.“That Michigan girl is off to a rough start.”
“Oh no. Are they talking about us?”
“Yeah, there’s no way coach is putting her on the team if she can’t get it together.” Val’s face scrunches, “Uh, okay Dani, like you had it all ‘together’ when you were a freshman?”“I wasn’t that immature.” Dani huffs.
Embarrassment whines, reaching for the last button on the consoul. “I got you, big guy.” Sadness says helping push the last button.
“Dani, you stuck straws up your nose!” Vals voice fades into the background as Riley’s mind begins to spin.She turns away from the conversation, crying softly as the team laughs in the background.
“I always wanted people to talk about us but not like this.” Envy says.
“Oh Joy, what do we do now?” Sadness worries.
All eyes turn to Joy, “um, we can just…”
Anxiety pops up behind her, “I have an idea!”
“Oh, ok.” Joy nods at her wide smile.
“If we can get Val on our side, everything will be great.” She scurries, placing in the lightbulb, before anyone can object.
Riley wipes her tears, coming around the wall after the rest of the team disperses.”uh, Val?” She calls, from the bottom of the steps.Val smiles as she finishes pulling her skates on, “Oh, hey Riley, what’s up?” “I uh…” The girl stutters, tapping her hand on the rail beside her as she thinks of what to say, words tumbling out faster than her brain, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get the whole team skating line, I feel terrible. I respect you so much and i would never do anything to mess you up.”
“Uh that’s laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?” Joy protests.
Anxiety shushes her, not taking her eyes off the screen.
“I mean, you’re a great hockey player and you lead the team so amazingly a-and I really look up to you-“
“Oh my god, this poor girl.” Envy laughs.
Disgust and Embarrassment cringe in the background, “Please put her out of her misery.”
”Ok, ok, ok.” Val chuckles, putting up her hands to stop the girl from passing out, “Thanks. You know, coach was pretty hard on you today, but that’s not a bad thing.”Riley’s cringe says otherwise. “It means you’re on her radar.” “Really?” Riley perks up.“Listen,” Val stands, “I’m glad you came to talk with me, we should try to be on the same team later ok?” She smiles, wrapping her arm over the girl's shoulders. “Oh, yeah, cool!” Riley smiles back.
Anxiety sighs in relief, finally letting go of the controls, earning applause from the other emotions, “Oh you guys, it really wasn’t anything.” She smiles.
”Now, I can’t be with all 16 of you every second of the day, which is why these two are here. Introduce yourselves, go on.” Coach Robert’s says, giving the older players the floor.”h” “Hi everyone! I'm Jessie, I’m sure most of you probably know me and if you dont get ready to! I’ve got a lot to teach y’all, and I can’t wait. We’re gonna have so much fun this weekend!” Her voice, high and fake as she beams at the girls, eyes hardening for a split second as she meets theirs.Vi can’t move. Their mouth dries, as all the half baked confidence plummets, shattering on the ice like a lead balloon and they’re forced to wait. They cant feel their arms, how were they standing? Did they breathe? How do you breathe? Their brain melts too far gone down the rabbit hole to even consider having the ability to think in a time like this.‘They’re staring at me.’‘They’re staring at me.’‘They’re staring at me!’“Go on.” Coach gestures pushing them forward by their shoulder.Their eyes flick anywhere, feeling like a figure skater looking for a balancing point, they land on familiar brown. ‘Oh hell.’ ”uh, hi, Hi guys…” They swallow voice cracking, “I’m Vi, Violet Ortiz.'' ‘Anywhere, but Val.’ They beg their brain willing it to refocus their eyes.
Anxiety screeches reaching the camera in a million directions at once.
“THIS WASN’T THE PLAN!” Fear cries, throwing his notes in the air.
Disgust stands taken aback, “Oh my god we did not just do that.”
“What are we doing with our hands?” Anxiety squeaks.
“We are slouching! Where is our confidence people!” Disgust retches pressing several buttons.
“Our own sister hates us! We can’t do this, oh…” Sadness melts, trying to reach the panel.
“Sadness, it's fine! Anxiety, Disgust, please stop pushing things!” Joy flails as she trips over Fear, who’s fallen to the floor in a fetal position, whacking the joystick out of the orange girl’s hand.
They look across the crowd, finding Riley, who gives them a small encouraging smile raising and lowering her shoulders. They take a breath, pulling their shoulders back, “From what I hear, you guys are the best out here and coming from Coach Roberts that’s huge. I hope you can learn something from me and I can't wait to learn a thing or two from you. I look forward to training with each and every one of you.”‘Not bad kid’ Robert’s smiles sliding in between them, “Alright, split yourselves down the middle. Team one on the right, team two on the left. These will be your teams for the rest of camp.”Val immediately turns, skating to the right side of the rink, with the rest of the Fire hawks. Vi’s jaw clenches, looking away from their sister to see Riley talking to her friends, not noticing Jessie come up to them until she tugs on their jersey pulling them down. ”You always have to show me up, don't you.” Jessie whispers harshly in Violet’s ear.”What the hell are you talking about?” She whisper back, eyes darting making sure no one else is watching.”At least she made the right decision.” The older girl hisses letting her go, moving back to the right side of the line.
“Who the hell does she think she is!” Anger bubbles.
“Cool it, we're boiling in here.” Disgust groans, fanning herself.
“Cool it!? She just-“
‘In for five, out for five. In for five, out for five.’ Vi’s voice comes into the room through the Personal Address system, whispering to herself.
”Alright, alright.” He whines, hopping away from the panel.
Vi feels her chest loosen with every push toward her team. “This is going to be perfect.” They whisper. Riley skates over to Val being greeted with a smile, “Alright, welcome to our team Michigan!”She smiles, looking back at Bree and Grace, before turning back.“Alright these are your teams for the rest of camp, everyone on the left you're with Pines.” Val’s face drops as the words leave the woman’s mouth, “and everyone on the right will be with Ortiz.” Coach chuckles to herself, holding back from embarrassing Val further.Val groans as Violet skates over to their team, ”You’ve gotta be fu-“”Hey guys.” Vi greets with a smile, “So first things first why don’t we introduce ourselves, yeah?”They’re met with silence, and bored stares.
“Teenagers.” Anger huffs pulling out a newspaper and going to sit on the couch.
“Okay…Well I'm assuming since you’re matching,” They point to five girls with red streaks, who look them up and down rolling their eyes, “That means you know each other.”
“What are we mad about?” Several versions of Disgust ask.
“I don't know,” Anger says, “Whatever Val’s mad about.”
“What’s Val mad about?”
“I don't know.” The others shrug.
‘Nothing.’ Vi sighs, eyes pleading with the broody girl glaring at them through red bangs. The team shuffles nervous and bored as the siblings stare at each other.
‘Can you just help me out here?’
‘I can’t believe you’re asking for my help right now.’
‘Please?’
‘No.’
‘Please?’
‘Ugh, you owe me fucker.’
She rolls her eyes, shifting so she stands in front of them, “I’m Val, varsity FireHawks captain.””Great! Everyone say, Hi, Val.”The FireHawks reply with sarcastic, “OMG Hi Val!” and “I love you Val!” Making Vi shake their head.“Beautiful,” They nudge her shoulder. “Thank you.”Silence falls over the crowd again, their ice breaker, more of a warm breath in the middle of a blizzard.“Anyone else? No, lovely. Everyone, that's Dani.” They point to the girl laughing and partially curled into Val.The girls mutter a version of “Sup Dani.””Great, so are we gonna have to do that for all of you or can we get moving because it looks like Pines team is already beating us.” All the girls' eyes shoot behind them, watching a small scrimmage start, immediately snapping back to their own.‘That’s what I thought.’
“Oh my god so many people, how are we going to remember them all!” Anxiety whines pulling at her hair.
“Five Fire Hawks, Two Sea Lions and a Foghorn, we have our team.” Fear says quickly scribbling on his notepad.
Anxiety sinks into the couch resting on Ennui, “Nice job buddy.”
Vi shoulders relax, “We're gonna work on a couple drills-” groans chorus the group, “I promise that won't be the only thing we do this weekend. Now get lined up.”Val takes the lead, followed by the rest, taking shots at the FireHawks goalie, while Vi cuts back and forth in front of them, as an excuse to pace.
“Joy, Fear, man the consoul.”
“On it!”
“They don’t see us as their captain. Val is their captain, everyone knows that, even the younger ones.”
“Even if they follow what we say it's because she does first.” Envy quips.
“Not helping.” Anxiety sighs, “They don't respect us as captain.”
“We’re not a captain.” Sadness says.
“Yet!” Joy pipes up being completely ignored.
“We’re not a captain.” Anxiety turns on her heel.
“Yet..? Where did you get that?” Joy asks, watching Anxiety scramble around a whiteboard.
“We-“ The scraggly girl draws a smiley face, “Aren’t a captain. We never have been. Never will be, But Val is.” She stresses drawing a smaller smiley face with a red streak.
“And a damn good one.” Anger chimes in.
“Yes! Why?” She asks, getting blank looks in return, “Ugh. She knows them, She's tough, she pushes them, she takes the responsibility as their captain seriously and keeps them in line. They respect her, they love her and they know she loves them. She’s fun, she lets them make fun of her, she helps them; I mean look at Riley, she didn’t even know Val five hours ago and she already a puppy following her around! She built her reputation as a good captain. Someone who keeps them safe.”
Everyone nods, as Anxiety finally takes a breath, flipping the scribble covered board over and popping the cap on a new marker.
“All they know about us is whatever Val has or hasn’t told them and why would she. What do we bring to the table?”
Anxiety writes ‘NCAA Freshman ice hockey champion’ at the top of the board in red, getting cheers from the group.
The Guard dog
Most assists all season
Consistent points per game
Most passes in a single game
Hockey Humanitarian Award Nominee
Most volunteer hours out of any RedDevils
EMT certified
“Sure, we have a couple thing’s going for us, we have a heart, we protect our team, but” She says now with a black marker, “We have a reputation.”
The Violence
-Most time spent in penalty box last season
-One of the highest penalty stats in the league
Leading cause of injuries Including:
Bruised - ribs
Broken - nose, arm, ankle
Fractured - collarbone, rib, wrist
Sprained - ankle, elbow, knee
And one torn rotator cuff
“And we all know that our media presence isn’t the best. To them we might as well be-“
“A ghost?”
”Threat?”
”Nightmare?”
”Horror story?”
“…thank you, I think they get it.” She sighs, simply wiping away the positive side drawing a frown on the big smiley face.
“Oh.”
Her head hangs, “And all we’ve shown them so far is a hot head who lives up to their reputation.”
She holds up a glowing red orb, of Vi grabbing Jessie’s jersey.
Anger takes offense, but accepts it, because, “Yeah fair.”
Fear shrinks anxiously looking around, “When did she grab that?”
Embarrassment shrugs.
“Don't worry about it.” Anxiety says with a toothy grin, dropping it at the shrieking purple guy's feet.
Reappearing in front of the board, she flips it around, “We haven’t done anything to gain their trust, only to show that they should be scared of us. That’s why they follow Val. They’re safe with her.”
Anxiety taps the marker against the bored at such a rapid pace it phases through it, the noise causing Fear to faint.
“They dont trust us. Yet!” She cuts off joy. “So we have to build it. We start small, we work with Val, we have to gain Val’s trust first otherwise it could throw the team into chaos and ruin everything and she’ll hate us even more!” Anxiety rambles.
“Ok!” Joy jumps up, pulling Anxiety down to the couch “What's the plan?”
The orange fervor mumbles to themself, almost in a stasis, the world slowing to a halt as she thinks. “You!” she yells, sending the others into panic, trying to find them.
Anxiety skips over to the consoul, idea in hand, frowning when a now whiplashed and vertigo driven Joy doesn’t accept it. She shrugs, plugging it in herself. As it lights up, she pushes the stumbling bluenette’s hand onto the controls without explanation.
“Alright, I want two groups of four.” Vi calls as they circle around. The girls split, Val grouping with the younger kids. ‘atta girl.’ They smile at her, receiving a confused glance. “You guys are group one, ok?” The younger players smile, their eyes flicking to Val.“Alright, group two in the circle please.” They say over their shoulder skating to the bench. “This is called- well you’ll figure it out. Everyone in the center grab a puck, good. That is your puck. You keep that puck.” They hold two pucks in their hands, tossing them up into the air. A Sea Lion takes one as well as Riley. “Your jobs are to pass the pucks through the circle without it getting lost in the chaos. If you lose your puck you go in and get it. If you get hit with a puck, you come out and start passing through the circle.”‘They don't hate it!’ Joy beams, slapping her hands over Disgusts mouth before she can comment.“Oh, and you're not allowed to stop.” The girls' heads shoot toward them, “Ready Steady Go!” They shout, not giving the instruction a chance to sink in. The players start shooting, between dodging and weaving in the center and unplanned passing on the outs, the drill immediately devolves into chaos, laughter erupting from their side of the rink. From the halfway point, Coach Robert’s smiles, pride behind her eyes. From the other side, the girls' scrimmage falters, as they look over. The contagious goofiness infiltrating the once serious drill, girls laughing as they lose the puck, everyone celebrating when someone makes a goal. Jessie scowls, her smile tight whenever one of her girls passes her. In the midst of chaos, Vi somehow ends up with a puck and gets pulled into the circle. Players weave their way around each other bumping into everything and anything in their way, as the players move out of the center, passes get confused and stolen or shot off course. All followed by laughter. ‘They're having fun.’
“We’re doing good.” Anxiety sighs happily leaning into Joy.
‘We’re doing good.’
Everyone targets the siblings, their captains, with their shots, and they steal as many pucks as they can from each other, before getting pulled out by Coach Robert's whistle.“That’s all for today ladies, go get unpacked, sleep, be up and ready to play tomorrow.””Not bad today kid.” She whispers to Vi as they pass each other.
“Not bad today kid.” A shimmering golden orb rolls out.
Vi holds open the door for the girls, getting several high-fives as they exit the ice, Riley trails behind the rest, “Today wasn’t so bad huh?” “It was alright.” She sighs tiredly.They nudge her shoulder, almost sending her into the wall as they walk back to the locker room, “Shit, my bad. Shit, son of-“ They stop completely pointing at her, “Forget that happened.””Yes, captain.” She salutes, rolling her eyes, a sarcastic smile on her face.They shake their head pushing Riley gently through the door.