A rowdy bunch entangled an entire neighborhood to take a break and watch a match of a weirdly divisive human sport, football, with two captains enthralled in a heated competition about which version was superior. Another breakfast verbal spat between Maci and Finley escalated to the tipping point today, as everyone finally found out the source of the two’s dislike of one another. 

Lian- “ Ah, why can’t I just pick up the ball and throw it like Mac’s team?”

Giol- “ Right? Wish I could at least use my spear to-”, but a highly passionate Finley squashed the two’s quibbling- “ We’re playing by the original rules, using only our feet as real players intended for centuries!”

Maci, exuding a guardian aura in front of her goalpost, noticed the disorder in the opponent’s group and started to think of ways to take advantage of it. “...New girl, come here for a second”, she called out for Temitayo, who did the laziest power walk towards the goalkeeper.

Maci's eyes twitched, waiting for her but she tried to keep her comments to herself….for now. “ Listen, I know you’re new here-”

Temitayo- “ Not true. I’ve been visiting Caer Sidi for years now; besides Arim, the rest of the other humans here are the newcomers I’d say.”

Maci-” I was talking about the game-”

Temitayo- “ Not true as well then. I’m quite familiar with the rules of football, both versions. I only lack experience on the field.”

A firm hand pressed on Temitayo’s relaxed shoulders, almost slipping away. Maci looked her in the eyes and decided to press forward with her plan, no matter how many more times Temitayo would unintentionally interrupt her. “Ok!”, “breaths in through the nose”, “ I want you to keep an eye out for Giol, the short green guy, while Tommen’s on guard for Brigit. Lian’s a mess regarding sports and Finley is under my attention, ok?”

Temitayo- “ Alright. I don’t really understand why me…Oh, is it because I’m in the defensive line and closest to signal you?”

Maci- “....? So is Tommen?”

Temitayo-” Oh…sorry.”

A thunderous roar from the public distracted the two, as Arim and Brigit were dueling in the middle of the field, with the firbolg trying to steal the ball from the human. The girl stopped several of his attempts to dribble the ball over her head; while he had the advantage of using all of his limbs to control the round object, as the new rules allowed for slaps with hand, her senses were like the response to this disadvantage. 

Brigit-” The air’s movement suddenly changed to the left, he’ll probably try to pass it”, she guessed correctly, positioning herself perfectly to steal the ball before it could reach Ogda. Finaley’s team was now on the offensive, as Brigit ran and ran before placing into the ideal shooting stance and distance. Arim caught up, but to Maci’s irritation, he sprinted past Brigit and jumped in front of the comet flying towards the goalkeeper.  Instead of congratulating him on his catch, Maci clicked her tongue and asked the referees for a timeout. 

????- “ Ma niece est bouleversee”, to which the other referee, Nizzio, raised her hands in confusion. “ Ah, my mistake madame. Maci, ma niece, seems to be boiling up some…uhm… annoyances. I was quite surprised this morning, when those capitaines decided to settle their dispute like this…oh, to be young again”, mentioned the old man, scratching an unfeeling right leg.

Besides Maci, Finley, and the new trio, who decided to spend their forced break apart from the others, the rest of the players banded together under the shade of a curved building. 

Lian- “ No offense meant here Tommen, but how come only you and I are the only ones out of breath? Ogda, Mincha did you betray the covenant of non athel-”, the girl stopped, short of breath and wiping sweat off her forehead. The water monster shrugged, while the coral firbolg seemed caught in her world. All guessed the cause, as nothing signaled her sister waking from the incident from a week ago. 

Zinc, whose noise sounded like gibberish to most, answered for the coral- “ Mincha is a hard worker, giving her all in her day-to-day job in the library; unlike some entitled redheads I won’t name.”

Lian- “...You’re lucky that I’m stamina vacant Zinc, otherwise I would snap you like a twig.”

Ogda-”...This is…hmmm…getting a bit too personal Zinc. I think you should apolog-”, but a sudden angry growl made Ogda cut his advice short. Arim just shook his head, tired and unsure of the squabble between Lian and Zinc; mostly not sure of the cause of it. All he knows is that Zinc feels threatened and furious at the girl, while she dislikes the little firbolg’s attitude towards her.

Tommen quickly interjected: “ Guys, guys remember that we’re here playing a game, we should have fun. Giol, Brigit, amazing passes on the field”, to which the two low-fived, “ Arim…nice defense…but why? That’s not your position, why do you keep jumping in front of goal shoots?” Before he could reply, Maci appeared with a stern face, demanding to hear his reasoning. 

Arim- “ Ah, well…because”, the young man started to look around for help, expecting a save from Brigit and Zinc. Neither could think of anything, and Lian caught that. 

Arim- “...Because I don’t want the other team to score?”

Maci, crossing her arms- “ That’s my job.”

Arim-” Yesbut…uhm…just trying to keep my team safe, you know? Getting hit by something shot by Brigit, for example, is quite dangerous. Trust me!”, he added ominously, being reminded by countless kicks in the shin and but in their childhoods.

Brigit-” I apologized for those already.”

Maci- “ I know what I’m doing, I’ve been playing this game for all my life. My top girl can kick, but I know she’s been holding back. So are Giol and Ogda, for that matter…I can tell”, she spears the green firbolg with her gaze, sending shivers down his spine. “ So stop worrying and start following my advice.”

Arim tucked his face in his shirt and just gave her an ok sign. Tommen clapped his hands, and continued his praise, bringing the newcomers in the limelight now. “ Now you three- Let me just thank you for agreeing to participate first. We had quite some problems finding team members, so it was nice for you to agree to join.”

The two coin firbolgs saw the opportunity to both mingle and brag a little, which was what they waited for in the back. 

Scramble- “ No problem, no problem, me and my sweetheart love trying new experiences. We’ve been on the road for such a long time and it was nice meeting new people once in a while. Especially humans.”

Tommen- “ Oh? And why is that?”, he asked with a welcoming smile; to which the other coin chimed in.

Grushie- “ We just think that our little girl lacks some human…acquaintances in her life. I mean we’ve seen those nice young men”, pointing at Arim and Tommen, “around in the city, but they’re…”

Tommen-”...Ah, older boys. A nightmare for any parent with a teenage daughter. I get it though, it’s a valid thing to be concerned about.”

Temitayo knew her adoptive parents were just genuinely concerned, so their overprotective attitude didn’t bother her. “Besides, we won’t see these people again too soon.” ; only Arim felt a bit hurt and insulted by their remark. “I’m not that scary looking, am I?”, naively thought the boy.

The coral, out of a sudden, started speaking to the trio. “ It’s a pleasure to see you again. Librarian Goidel will be pleased to trade with you again, both in stories and tomes”. Temitayo’s bulb lit right after that, as until then she was puzzled about where she encountered Mincha before. 

Temitayo- “ Correct, you are one of the assistants. Pleasure is all ours; and just like you said, after this we will visit the library, both for our sake and that of our Tuatha liege. “

Without skipping a bit Lian, who until then followed the conversations with keen interest, jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the mysterious Tuatha. “So, don’t mind me asking, but do you mind if I ask you some questions about your…lord?”

The trio stared at her and agreed, but only if they found the question up to their liking. “ No offense, but the Lord of Mask is still our benefactor, in a sense. So we’ll answer anything deemed safe for him and the Tuatha’s standing.” At this point, Lian was used to the secrecy part of an organized group and didn’t impose more. 

Lian- “ Ok. So the Tuatha are in charge of making the Fect Pact…workable? Official?”, to which the trio nodded. “ And today this Lord of Mask will do that for us. Do you know if he can use a Pact to find out who or where the other member is?”, she asks, a bit worried. 

Temitayo- “ Impossible. Pacts are only a measure for relieving the human from their power’s stress on their body and increasing the energy and might of Fect firbolg partner.”

Lian-” Got that…but it usually works only for one, right? Because we found cases where a human could have multiple partners.”

Scramble- “ Well, the boss made us learn about these so we could help him with the quizzes. If I remember correctly, a sign, the dot thingy, can attach to multiple firbolgs, organically connected. Twins, linked bodies, stuff like that if I remember correctly.”

The redheaded girl took notes this time, trying to keep up with all the information she had gathered so far. All that remains, for now, is to see if her case fits in with the rest. “ Aha. I’ve got a hypothetical then: can a human have two dots, or more?”

The trio stared at each other and swiftly shook their heads. “ Impossible.”, a response which staggered Lian for a moment. Before she could ask, the teen continued. “ Tuatha doctrine states clearly- The Dia has blessed the humans with one seal. If someone has multiple, which would be known by them, as apparently, the Dia sends them records with every crossing human; their power potential and risk of affliction by it.”

The redhead lifted her head, thanking them for their help, and called the break off, before the trio could ask her questions about her interest in the Pacts. “ So there’s a list…”