Spirit blossom by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves combat that features underaged characters You have been warned.
The Festival had come and gone and the crowds of people that had come to visit had all but left the bandlewood. Bandle City was back to its normal quiet life and things had gone back to the regular grind of the expectations of reality. The school was back in session now, with the students expected to go back to class and return to their normal duties of studentship. Much of the town was glad to return to a quiet life as the hubbub that came with the Spirit Blossom wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Several weeks had passed and the cleanup had been long completed. Many of the village constituent residents had returned to their usual duties. The mayor was back closed up in her office and the bandle scouts had returned to duty, surveying the land just along the border of the forest itself. Only the kids had all but forgotten about them as their minds had been turned to focus on more academic concerns.
Bandle Academy was back in session and every class had regimented itself back in whatever the routine set by its teacher was. The kids weren’t nearly as excited now that the holiday had come and gone but such was the way of things. Hailun and his friends were going about classes as they always had. Rotating through each session and performing tasks as they were told to. The return of the monotony of routine had set in hard for most of them.
Recess and Gym were the only time when students were allowed to be themselves. It was one of the only times in the day when the instructor allowed them to play freely among themselves. Of course, the gym was more structured than that but many of the activities that came with the gym were things they never experienced and so there was more trial and error than there was actual enjoyment. Still, the physical exertion that came from it was nonetheless a welcome respite.
For Gnar and some of the more hyperactive yordles, like Kennen, Gym was something that they looked forward to daily. The boys just got a new coach who had been transferred in from Demacia. He had recently graduated from the Academy of the Exalted, an upper-level school meant for the more academic types. Now fresh into the world of teaching, the man was a little older than some of his oldest students.
Baustus, as he was known by his familiars, was a prim and proper yordle who had grown used to the luxuries afforded to him by a rich upbringing. The rigid yet fair society of Demacia had done little but enable his already entitled sense of existence. Even on the first day of his employment, the man came overdressed and stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest of the faculty who paid him very little attention as of yet.
The first month or so had gone poorly for him. The students were walking all over him. To say his classroom management was a mess would be an understatement. Already the administration was checking in on him regularly. His stress levels were through the roof and he was worried about the stability of his job. That is until he took over one of the school's athletic clubs. Bandle Academy was known for its lacrosse team as the sports various divisions were well represented in the school.
Until recently the lacrosse team had been captained by a woman who was an alumnus of the program. She was a well-established player who had seen competition on the world stage. However, she was quite elderly now and her days of retirement and pension were ahead of her. Since she had left, the school had to replace her and the only member of the staff that was willing to take the extracurricular activity up was Baustus himself.
Baustus had played the sport in his youth and even at the collegiate level but didn’t quite make it to any sort of professional level. However, before taking up the mantle of teaching he had been coaching youth cricket for some time and had found some success at that. After combatting the issue with his boss, it was decided that no one was interested in taking up the position. He was awarded it and informed that he would begin at the junior varsity level.
The junior varsity team was set to begin in the coming weeks and Baustus had already begun planning for it. He noticed that he wasn’t being visited nearly as much now but was still having issues getting the kids to do what he wanted. The signup sheet had been set outside the gym and the announcement had been given at a school assembly. Once the news had gone out the students were in a frenzy to get to the list.
Hailun had never played lacrosse before but the number of kids trampling each other to get out was nothing short of astounding to him. When the assembly hall had cleared out, he found that he was the only one in the room besides Gnar who was just about to file out of the auditorium on his own. Just as the red panda noticed him, he rushed over and patted the orange yordle on the back.
Gnar looked back at him and smiled. “Gnar Yada!”
Hailun cocked his head to the side figuring that must have been a greeting for the boy. “Hiya?”
“Gnarrrrrrrr.” The smaller yordle jumped up and down in place.
“Are you going to join the lacrosse team?” The red panda asked his friend.
Gnar shrugged as if he wasn’t certain about it. “Gnar?”
“Do you want to check it out at least?” Hailun was at least curious enough to see what all the fuss was about.
The orange yordle shook his head and ran off through the door, leaving Hailun by himself. The red panda didn’t think much of the sudden disappearance of the other boy and went about things as if it was normal. He made his way out of the auditorium and into the hall beyond. There were only a few other students around and much of the space was vacant. He continued making his way to the gym which was on the other side of the school.
It didn’t take him long to clear the distance to the gym. When he arrived near where the gym was located, a large line was filed around the entrance to the area where the various courts for each of the sports were located. Hailun filed into the line, and the crowd of kids was buzzing with chatter about the lacrosse team. Out in front of the line, the tallest individual standing was Baustus himself who watched with interest as the list reached was completed sheet after sheet.
When Hailun reached the front of the line, many of the kids had pushed over to the side and still mingled about it. The red panda looked over at the teacher who had a whistle around his neck, wondering if he was the coach.
“Wondering if you should join?” The man asked him.
Hailun gave the man a confused look. “Oh, oh no. I was just wondering what the sport was like.”
“Why not try it and find out?” The man crossed his arms expecting an answer.
The boy hummed to himself for a second. “I guess.”
Hailun signed his name on the sheet and the man collected the paperwork soon after. The Red Panda made its way to where the other kids were hanging around. He looked at one of the time dials and saw that classes would resume soon. He noticed that Amumu was by himself again, entirely removed from the crowd itself. The boy walked over to the green yordle who turned his attention upward once he realized that Hailun was coming his way.
“How’s it going Amumu? Did you sign up for the lacrosse tryouts?” He stood idly next to the other yordle whose smile grew a bit wider.
Amumu shook his head. “No, I am not interested in such things.”
“Oh, how come?” Hailun had an idea but wasn’t sure.
“I do not wish to discuss this.” Amumu seemed somewhat annoyed that the other boy was prodding a bit.
Hailun shrugged and decided to not pursue the issue anymore. “Alright, well what are you up to then?”
“I was doing no specific thing.” Amumu looked away for a second and then back again.
The red panda cocked his head awkwardly. “Is something bothering you?”
“No.” The green yordle walked away, seeming to want to be alone.
Hailun watched as the other yordle walked away, wondering if he had upset him. He decided he would have to ask him later and allow Amumu to cool off. The bell rang and the kids began to stray off from around the gym to return to their classes. Hailun wasn’t far behind them as he wasn’t one to be late for class as he didn’t want to risk being late. The rest of the day was nothing short of routine, new lessons about the topic of the day; not many of which interested him.
When the final bell rang, the crush of kids out the door was as it always was. The flow of traffic between going towards the front of the building with those who had signed up for tryouts filing in the opposite direction. Hailun followed the kids who went to the back of the building where the breezeway spilled out into a field behind the school. Once he was outside, he felt the breeze of the wind hit his fur and skin, which felt immediately refreshing.
A lot of kids were outside. The girls and boys had already self separated each other despite not being told to. Hailun made his way to where he saw Kennen and Gnar, both of which seemed somewhat removed from the other boys. The red panda was surprised to see Gnar who didn’t seem to be that interested in the team when he mentioned it to him. He made his way over to the other two who proceeded to wait for the coach to arrive.
Baustus wasn’t much longer. He had already been given an adjacent office off to the side of the field. He arrived from within in a bright blue and green jersey with a dark red number 0 on the center. Over the center of his chest rested a whistle which he fingered as he walked his way to the middle of the field. Some of the kids turned their heads as he walked to a platform that had already been arranged for him to get their attention.
“Good evening student-athletes. My name is Mr. Baustus but you can call me B, if you like. I will be your coach until you are assigned a team. The goal here is to assign you to teams based on your skill levels. We are not worried about gender or size as
you will all ultimately end up somewhere.
I thank you for showing up today. It’s always nice to see some school spirit.”
The crowd of kids cheered loudly and he blew the whistle in his mouth, making it silent once again.
“So here’s what I need. To start with I will count you off numerically. Team one will begin with stick work. Team two will work on catching the ball. Team three will work on passing the ball. Team four will work on goaltending and finally, the last team will work on defending.”
Baustus began counting off the kids one by one. When he was done, they looked at him expectantly.
“Alright, so team one to the left end of the field, team two right end, team three-center, team four on the outer rim, and team five will stay here. Break to your positions.”
He blew the whistle once again and a few other assistants filed out of the inside of the gym to the outer area of the field. Hailun was given number 4 and so he knew he would start as the goalkeeper. The person assigned to them was a woman who was already clad in regalia established for the goalkeeper in a lacrosse squad.
“Good evening lads and ladies. I will be your instructor for the next twenty minutes. We just want to see which of you is capable of taking up the mantle at goal. I would like for you to go ahead and try your best to shoot on me, one at a time. Those of you not shooting on me should watch. After a few shots, I will let each of you take your try at goaltending.
She moved over to where a triangular goal was situated near one of the edges of the field. There were several lacrosse sticks laid on the grass. The yordle woman picked up one of them and scooped up a nearby ball. The kids lined up near the sideline and looked at her. She handed off the stick to one of them and walked over to the goal and stood in front of it.
“Alright, go ahead and shoot on me. Give it your all.” The woman had no padding on except on her shins, knees, and elbows.
The young yordle who had been given the lacrosse stick had never used one before and looked at it a second. He rotated it slightly, causing the ball inside to jiggle around.
“Lift the stick upward above your head and throw it forward.” She instructed him, still forgetting that the lot of them had very little experience in playing the sport.
The boy tried doing what she said, pivoting the stick forward which caused the ball to catapult to the floor.
“Try again. This time don’t bring the stick too far forward and stop as it reaches just above your head.” She walked away from the goal to show him the motion and then returned to the goal.
He tried doing it a second time and this time he was able to lob the ball forward. The woman lept towards the ball as it fell just short of her position and grabbed it in the net at the tip of the stick.
“Alright, so now that you’ve seen how it’s done I’m going to shoot on each of you and I’d like you to try and at least catch the ball. The goal is to not throw your body but instead catch the ball in the net.”
She walked out of the net and walked towards where the boy she had instructed was still standing. The taller yordle waved him off and pointed at Hailun. A fevered sense of pitch rose within him as he wasn’t sure he could imitate the fashion in which she had just performed. Still, she remained pointing at the net until he made his move over towards where it was. One of the kids tossed him a net as he took his position at the center of it.
“Now you’re going to bend your knees so that you are completely square with the net. When I throw the ball at you, try to catch it.”
Hailun looked at the woman, awkwardly holding the stick in his hands so that his paws were about halfway up the stick. She leaned forward a bit and launched the ball slow enough so that the young yordle could see it. The red panda watched as the ball was lobbed towards him. He reached out and grabbed the ball with the net of his stick and scooped it up inside.
“Nice job. Do you want to try again? This time with a faster throw?” The woman asked him as she walked over to collect the ball.
Hailun shrugged, not seeming to be proud of his accomplishment. She returned to where she was standing a moment ago. After throwing the ball back into the net, she postured herself so that her stick with slung back behind her back. Povolting it forward she launched the ball more quickly causing it to race from the capture net and into the air before it. Hailun was nowhere near prepared enough as the ball raced past him.
“That was a nice try. Do you want to try again?” She asked as she once again went to collect the ball from the net.
Hailun shook his head and let the stick go, allowing it to hit the ground softly. He did not like to be one-upped. The woman went through the remainder of the kids in the same fashion as she had done with him. Each of them fell short of her expectations of what she wanted them to do. It wasn’t long before the whistle sounded which signaled the group was to go to the next round of practice regiments.
Hailun’s group moved on to the defending station. There was already a group of kids waiting there as the group on offense had already been set up to try their skill in running drills against each other. An older teen spoke out loud trying to take charge of the two groups.
“Good afternoon, athletes. We would like you to try and run some drills with no sticks. We are going to give you a ball to carry and the goal will be for the defense to strip the ball with your hands. Once we accomplish that, we will try it with sticks.”
The older teen split up the groups so that the defense was on one side and the offense on the other. He handed them off a bright orange foam ball and then stepped to the side before blowing the whistle. Hailun was on the defensive side of the ball and watched as the yordle with the ball started to weave back and forth. It looked to be someone he recognize, though he could not entirely make them out as they were turning from side to side and didn’t give him a chance to make them out.
One of the other students managed to leg tackle the one on offense. The teen blew the whistle and the miniature pile of players lets themselves up and he collected the ball. The teen handed out sticks to each of them and then used the same ball as he delivered it to one of the kid's catchers.
“Now, I want you to try again. This time no tackling. Essentially it's like basketball where you try to block with as little physical contact as possible. The goal is to try to get them to pass the ball and attempt to steal it. I will break you into teams of fives and we will do a few mini rounds. The first team to score a steal will win. There will be no goals for these scrimmages.”
The teen went about breaking them into teams of fives. He then pointed them to the opposite sides of the field where they were standing and handed them each a ball. After blowing the whistle both groups started their rounds. Hailun was in the second group of kids and watched as the offense weaved down the field. The player in question looked to be Kennen. He sped down the field with great speed, able to rush past people with ease.
Hailun watched as Kennen neared him. The red panda tried to edge towards him, throwing his body directly in front of him. The bigger yordle faked him out with ease, breaking through the rest of the crowd as he blazed through them. The assistant coach watched with amazement as the boy reached the goal line and settled into an idle state like it was no big deal to him.
“That…was good, guys. Let’s try again. This time try to give someone else the ball.” The assistant couldn’t believe what he had just seen but tried to play it off as no big deal.
Each of the teams returned to their sides of the field. Kennen was brought to the sideline so that he didn’t take charge of the field once again. A girl picked up the ball and the whistle was blown again. They started down the field and Hailun watched as she made her way toward him. Some of the boys avoided her since was one of the more popular yordles. Hailun didn’t recognize her, she was stout and had pigtailed white hair that set her apart from the other girls.
Every time she was squared up by one of the other players on the defensive side of the ball, she was able to brazenly rush through them with ease. The Red Panda ran forward to meet her, positioning himself so that he was right in front of her. The pig-tailed girl didn’t stop and looked right into his eyes as she ran towards him. She leaned her shoulder in so that her body was at an angle towards him. Hailun did the same, trying to match the move but she was too strong for him to brush off and fast enough to keep up.
Hailun remained at the side of her but wasn’t able to lodge the ball from its net. The girl was able to toss the ball at the net, even despite the persistent boy at her heels. Since there was no one in goal, it soared to the back of the net with ease. Her team cheered and chanted her name.
“Pop, Pop Poppy…Pop, Pop Poppy!” The repetitive song sounded twice before they came over to give her playful pats on her back.
“That was a good effort, guys. Much better this time. You will be good with Kennen on the offensive side of things.” The assistant coach bolstered the girl.
They continued this routine one more time, allowing Kennen to join once more. It was clear that the defensive side of things needed work and that some of the kids were just more athletically built than others. The whistle was blown once again, signaling that it was time to switch drills.
Hailun’s group made its way to the stick drill station. He looked around and noticed some other kids he hadn’t seen before were already standing around. They were wearing some striped shirts and looked to be older. They took notice of the approaching group of youngsters and grabbed two sticks from the floor.
“Alright so here is probably the simplest regiment. We would like you to just work on handling the stick with no-ball. The goal is to imitate all of the motions you would normally take while having control of the ball. So please try passing, shooting, guarding, and rotating. We will model each of them for you.”
The older students in question were some volunteers from the high school. Students who had experience with the sport and had participated in it in the past. They began showing the younger kids what they needed to do. Since the group had already been through the previous two stations, some of them were able to pick up and repeat the motions with ease. Hailun and his friends had no issues mimicking what they were told to do.
The remainder of the stations went without an issue. The students were able to pick up the basics of lacrosse and some of them were better at some tasks than others. Once everyone went through the remaining stations, they beckoned to the center of the field once again. Baustus and his assistants were now standing around together. The coach blew his whistle to end whatever chatter that was occurring throughout the group.
“First off, we would like to thank everyone for coming out to lacrosse practice. You all have performed adequately and we were glad to show you some of the basics of the sport. Tomorrow there will be a list posted near the gym, showing the teams. You all have nothing to worry about as everyone will be on a team. All we ask is that you show up to practices, play in games, and put forth the effort needed to get better each time we meet. You are dismissed.”
The crowd of young yordles began to disperse. Many of them were tired, as it had been a long day, and they wanted nothing more than to go home. Hailun looked around, searching for some of his friends. Kennen was nowhere to be seen but he saw Amumu hanging around the side of the field. He was surprised to find the isolated boy out and about, especially after he seemed so upset earlier about something.
The Red Panda made its way over to where the other boy was idly standing by. Amumu took notice and craned his head upward, looking at the other boy who returned his gaze. Hailun paid no mind to the kids who were exiting the field and walked around him or ran into him because they were not paying attention. It didn’t bother him much since this was a regular occurrence in the halls and it wasn’t worth making a big deal out of.
“What’s up?” Hailun asked the green yordle.
Amumu shrugged, not seeming all that interested in a conversation.
“Something bothering you?” The Red Panda said again as he was interested in getting to the source of the issue.
The smaller boy shrugged again and then sighed. “No.”
“Well, if you don’t tell me then I can’t help you.” Hailun reached over to touch Amumu on his shoulder.
The green yordle hesitated a second before answering. “I don’t want you to become one of them.”
“One of them? Meaning What?” Hailun wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting at.
Amumu looked him directly in the eyes, seeming firm and serious in his conviction. “A sports jerk.”
“Oh, I see. You think if I hang around them, then I won’t hang around you anymore?” The Red Panda asked as he really
The smaller yordle nodded and looked down to the floor as if disappointed.
“Don’t worry, bud. I will like you the same. I just like sports and wanted to give it a go. I’m not entirely sure I want to play yet.”
Amumu looked back and forth in a surprised fashion. “Oh, alright.”
“Come, on. We can walk you home and hang out until then.” Hailun reached behind the smaller boy and patted him on the back.
Amumu and Hailun began walking together out from the field and through the path created by the wooden bleachers. It was getting darker now and the only thing lighting the path were some magical lamps that had been arranged along the cobblestone pathway. The moon was out and very few clouds darkened the very bright sky. It was a starry night with a light breeze, one that carried the leaves across the flowing grass of the fields below.
The two friends continued to walk and chat about nothing particular. Hailun was the more talkative of the two but whenever he was asked something, he gave shortened answers as he wasn’t the best at socializing. Still, Hailun kept up with chatting with him. Eventually, the topic changed to school, where Hailun learned that Amumu was adept at history, citing several facts that he knew about the various regions of Runeterra.
Hailun was surprised at all the tidbits of knowledge that the other boy was spitting out. He was especially knowledgeable about Shurima, which was a city he had only heard about in legends. Amumu stopped for a second before Hailun looked back to notice his sudden hesitation. The green yordle began to recite an old tale from memory.
“Shurima, the land hidden in the Sands of Icathia. Wavering Sun, Blazed lights coursing over the vast desert beyond. The eternal disk of the sun lighted above a spired tower, spinning as it shone against the streets below. The coursing streams of dark green rivers flow through the outer skirts of the town, surrounding it in an encircled fortress. Faceless individuals walk the street, heads covered in scarves to protect them from the scathing sands that erupted whenever sand storms raged. Such is the way of things in the land of the eternal desert.”
Hailun had never heard the short tale before but Amumu seemed captivated by it enough to share the story.
“Thanks for sharing. Is that where you are from?” Hailun asked as he had never inquired about the boy's origin before.
Amumu nodded and began walking again with the other yordle following soon after. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the smaller boys' home. Hailun had never seen it before. The place was a ramshackle old hut that was completely covered in roots and weeds. Overgrown foliage littered the landscape with several huge oaks looming above, overlooking the property with their ominous shadows.
The place looked old and more like an out-of-control garden than an actual home. Hailun looked at the door, a wooden fixture that had roots strapped all around it.
“I’ll see you later?” Hailun said as he figured Amumu would go his own way now.
Amumu waved and left without a word, leaving Hailun on his own. The Red Panda looked around to determine where he was. He had only traveled throughout bandle village a few times and knew his surroundings well enough to determine where he was. He figured that he was on the other side of town based on the location of the Bandle Tree at the center of town. It was just about the only thing that could be seen from anywhere since it was by far the largest thing in the entirety of the forest.
Hailun was glad that he had made up with Amumu. He knew that the green yordle didn’t have many friends and was attracted to his personality. The Red Panda skipped along his way home, making better progress than he would have otherwise. He was tired but not tired enough that he couldn’t rush home as he was excited to share his day with his parents. By the time he got home, he was a sweaty mess.
Hailun made his way into the living room, greeted by his mother who could smell the boy's stank odor despite being several meters away. She shewed him away, insisting he took a shower. He could smell the aroma of whatever was being cooked and already was keen on dinner despite not knowing what it was. Once he was all cleaned up, he joined his parents at the dinner table. The nightly ritual of feasting together was something they had done for as long as he could remember.
At the table, he shared the tale of his day and how he had participated in the Lacrosse tryouts. The parents also went on about their workdays, which soon lost the boy's interest but still, he tried to listen the best he could. It had been a long day and his body was sore from overexertion. Despite it being relatively early, he was eager to get to bed early. He knew another day of school was ahead of him and he wanted to be fresh for it.
All that was left after dinner was doing his chores. The only homework he had that night was something he figured he could procrastinate on until the next day. Of course, this was something he didn’t share with his parents as they would have insisted that he did it that night. Once he finished doing dishes and sweeping, it was time to retire. He thought about reading a book but wasn’t sure he could keep his eyes open, allowing sleep to overtake him.
His parents checked in on him one time, assuring him that the lights were off, and seeing that their son was fast asleep made them happy that their kid had transitioned so well made them smile. Each of them looked at each other and hugged at the door. They remained silent until they departed from the entrance, leaving the boy at peace. Hailun snoozed away, the moon looking over his body with its frosty gaze and the stars sprinkling their light down upon him.m
