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"I wonder what I can do with it," River mused, holding up both hands and making the strange light zip from one hand to the other and back.

Leyenda looked alarmed, and she touched River gently on the shoulder. "Don't play with it," she cautioned her firmly. "If you don't know what it is or what it does, then you need to find out before you hurt someone else. Remember, you've already hurt one person with it already."

River's face paled. "Oh ... right."

She closed her hands, and the light vanished.

River pointed out across the field, where the boy who'd had the ball earlier was standing, half hidden behind a tree. He was peeking around the tree, watching the five of them shyly.

"Looks like we have some company," River said quietly.

"It's Jess," Amalirahc said in a surprised tone. He motioned for the boy to come and join them. After a moment's hesitation, the boy leaned over and picked up the ball (which had been at his feet) and started slowly towards them.

Amalirahc turned to Miyuki. "He's usually a nice guy, he's the one who explained to you and River how to play the game. But he ran off before, when Darren was being so mean, so I'm surprised he's still here. He usually sticks with Darren all the time."

"Well, he's coming this way," River shrugged as the boy approached.

The boy was a bit taller than River and Miyuki, and his golden hair was just long enough that it fell into his eyes, making him look as shy as he was acting. His eyes were a soft blue, a contrast to the faint blush that was splashed across his cheeks.

"Hi," he murmured softly, holding the ball up in front of him so that it was partially hiding his face. The ball was made of hexagons of softened leather, stuffed so that it was a fairly solid sphere. "Um ... I ... I just wanted to apologize ... Darren was really mean before. I wanted to play with all of you."

Amalirahc blinked. "I thought you always did everything Darren did," he said suspiciously.

Jess shook his head. "He just likes to make everyone do what he does," he corrected Amalirahc. "And normally I guess I do ... but today he was way out of line. He deserved to be beat up."

River was looking at the boy thoughtfully. He did seem nicer than the others, and he hadn't judged them when he had so amiably explained the game to them.

She nodded. "But are we enough people?"

Amalirahc grinned. "Sure! We'll just have one goal then, and we can take turns trying to score! Because you and Miyuki are new to the game so it wouldn't be fair put you on teams yet."

"That sounds good," Jess agreed. "Who should keep the goal?"

"I will," Amalirahc offered. "You always say you want more chances to work on your aim."

Jess's blush deepened. "Thanks, Amalirahc," he murmured, hugging the ball to his chest. He dropped the ball suddenly and turned towards the field. "Come on, then!"

River glanced at Leyenda and Kelirahc before following after the other children.

Amalirahc ran immediately to stand in the space between the two painted rocks. "Okay!" he called out to the others, bending his knees ever so slightly in preparation for defending the goal.

Jess was the first one in place, and he positioned the ball in front of the goal. He took a step back, then kicked the ball as hard as he could at Amalirahc. Amalirahc caught it in his arms and threw it back to Jess. "Good strength!" he grinned.

"Thanks," Jess grinned back, his eyes bright. He turned to Miyuki. "Go ahead," he said, nodding at the ball at her feet. "You want to try get it past him, but he's going to try to stop it. So it's got to go fast and not right at him."

He stepped back, out of the way, so that she could try.

Amalirahc ran after the ball, chasing it into some bushes.

Jess looked at Miyuki silently, his eyes drifting to her feet, then back at the ground, and then back at her feet again. He kept his mouth closed though - apparently if he wasn't actually playing, his shyness would return.

River eyed the boy, then smiled at Miyuki. "That was a strong kick," she complimented her friend. "That's good, I think." She looked back over at the boy. "Right, Jess?"

Jess blinked at her. "Huh? Oh ... yeah, yeah it's good to kick hard like that."

He smiled shyly and averted his eyes.

"Well, have you ever kicked a ball before?" River asked practically. "I mean, if it's your first time then of course it's not going to go straight. It takes practice!"

Amalirahc was back with the ball already, and he rolled it to the others as he took his position in front of the goal again. "Ready!" he called to them with a grin.