The Altador Cup was over. Awards had been given out, spectators got their souvenirs, and the players gave too many interviews to count.
As such, every year once the chaos settled down, all teams gathered together at an afterparty. Hosted by the wonderful Techo fanatic, Archibald, it was a time for everybody to have fun and relax after the strain that was the Altador Cup.
"It's a real shame our teams didn't do better this year," a wistful Whimsi Dia sighed. "I wanted us to have a much bigger impact."
"It was our first year, don't be so hard on yourself," Tulay Ada replied. She nudged the Vandagyre in the side. "We both did an amazing job this year. The fans seem to think so, at least."
"I suppose that's right." A smirk came across Whimsi's face. "At least my team placed ahead of yours."
"I'm telling you, if Volgoth used his head and stuck to my strategy, we would have beat you when we were playing against each other!"
The two players laughed. Despite being on two different teams, Whimsi and Tulay had become quick friends outside of the stadium. Being the first new players in such a long time, a lot of attention was placed on them from the start. What started as locker room small talk turned into hanging out during bye days. Whimsi and Tulay hanging out stirred up some gossip from the other teams, but both Faerieland's and Mystery Island's teams were happy the two got along so well.
"Don't get me wrong, Volgoth is such a powerhouse," Tulay went on. "I love all my teammates. We get along really well. We're all going surfing next weekend."
"I'm glad. My teammates are really nice as well." Whimsi sighed. "I'm tempted to invite them over to my house for a game night, but I don't know. What if they don't want to hang out with me?"
"Whimsi, are you kidding me? They'd love to hang with you. You're all sorts of fun." Tulay threw an arm over Whimsi's shoulders and playfully shook her. "And if worse comes to worse, you can join me and the guys surfing."
Whimsi chuckled. "I don't even know how to surf."
"That's half the fun!"
The pair began to laugh again, but their joy was quickly cut short. Even through the sound of the band, the two began to hear some arguing coming from the dance floor. Whimsi and Tulay looked at each other for a moment in unease. Surely something was wrong... |