Tales of the Tournaments

Sofia quickly pocketed her phone and squeezed AT's shoulder reassuringly. The teen was looking around the Swedish locker room, quietly taking the Swedes' singing and dancing in as the elder Swedes celebrated with a variety of drinks, some more AT-safe than others.

"Here."

AT jumped a little, looking up as Caro appeared, offering AT a frothy glass. 

The teen sniffed it suspiciously, then took a sip.

She blinked. "...Root beer float?" she queried, and Caro shrugged. 

"Julmust, but close enough. Sofia insisted I put ice cream in it for you."

"It's not alcoholic," Sofia promised. "It's usually a Christmas drink, but we brought it along for our match celebrations, seeing as it's winter here anyway."

"Guess that makes sense." AT took another sip. "I like it with the ice cream."

"You'd probably like it without, too, but I knew you'd want ice cream after...everything."

AT nodded. "Can we keep you, storasyster?" she asked plaintively, and Sofia accepted her own glass of julmust, sans ice cream. 

"No, lillasyster, I'm sorry. Caro, Kosse, and Magda need me here."

"It's not--"

"Not fair, I know," Caro headed off the impending protest with a shake of her head. "Rules are rules, little one, and we don't make them. We just have to keep them, that's all."

"But what if Sofia comes home anyways?"

Caro raised her eyebrows. "You mean if Sofia runs away?"

AT nearly choked on her mouthful of julmust float, and swallowed hurriedly. "O-oh." Of course that wouldn’t be allowed, she thought, blushing.

When Sofia and AT had finished their drinks, and Caro had rejoined the party, AT looked around at the players. "Is that her over there?" She pointed, and Sofia looked.

"Musovic? Yeah, that's her."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Sofia regretted them, because AT was storming up to the Swedish keeper, a scowl on her face.

She kicked Zecira Musovic hard in the ankle, yelping as the nearly six-foot-tall woman scooped her up, tossing AT over her shoulder where she hung like a flour sack, feet drumming on Zecira's chest.

"That's enough." Zecira pinned AT's ankles with one gloved hand.

"Let go! Let go of me, you're not my mamas or Tias, you can't," AT yelped as Zecira's other gloved hand swatted her bottom firmly. "Ow! Ow, no, stop!"

But Zecira wasn't stopping. Draped over her shoulder wasn't the most optimal spanking position, but she landed a few more good swats to AT's bottom to settle her down before carrying her to the bench.

The singing and dancing had stopped, all eyes on Zecira and her little prisoner. 

Zecira strode over to the bench and plopped AT down on it, sitting down on her tenderized bottom. Zecira grasped the teen by the shoulders, looming over her. 

"If you ever kick me again, or anyone else and I hear about it, that will be a gentle warm-up," Zecira said firmly. "Wicked, bad little girls who kick other people deserve to be punished, not treated."

AT shrank back, pulling her knees close to her chest and whimpering. "N-no...please...sorry....I'm not a bad girl, I'm not," she protested tearfully. "Mama Tobin and Mama Christen said."

Zecira frowned. "Christen Press?"

Slowly, AT nodded. "Y-you know Mama Christen?" she ventured, and the Swede softened, looking thoughtful.

"We weren't teammates, but I know of her, of course. I knew of her when she was in Sweden," Zecira said. "I respected Press' achievements, and she always struck me as a good person. Not someone who would allow her daughter to go around kicking people."

AT hung her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered meekly. "No, Mama Christen wouldn't. But I had to."

Zecira hmm-ed to that. "You had to?" she probed, releasing Alyssa from her grasp and sitting on the bench next to her. She angled herself so that she was facing the teen, putting a hand on her knee. "Tell me about that."

AT stared at her lap. "I...I just got...biggest mad because we lost, and you...."

Zecira raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I think I see." She nodded. "You couldn't contain it, and it had to explode out of you somehow."

"Uh huh," AT whispered miserably.

"You know what Seger calls that biggest mad feeling."

AT eyed Zecira warily. "No, what?"

"Being a brat in need of a good spanking."

AT cringed.

"But you are a brat, aren't you?" Zecira pressed, and AT frowned, sucking her lower lip.

"Um...I don't think so? A little, and a submissive," she offered warily, afraid of being judged.

Zecira looked stricken. "Oh. Well, a submissive I could have guessed, but a little's tantrum is different than a brat tantrum," she said. "I'm sorry, little one, I'm used to Stina."

"Hey!" Stina protested.

"Why is it different?" Alyssa ventured, hopeful that Zecira didn't seem mad with her anymore. "I really didn't mean to be a bad, wicked girl," she added anxiously.

"Oh, no, I know you didn't, I know that now," Zecira cooed, her anger gone. "It's alright little one. Brats want attention, usually disciplinary attention, because it makes them feel seen," she explained. "Little ones need attention, especially from Caregivers, whether it's disciplinary or something else. And they might need discipline whether they want it or not, but they aren't acting out on purpose to get it."

"I told Tia Alex. I don't try to get in trouble, it just finds me sometimes," AT said miserably, and Zecira nodded, petting AT's hair.

"It's okay little girl. You're alright," she soothed. "No one's mad. You've taken your smacks, it's alright. No more now."

AT sniffled and nodded. "But my team's not gonna be alright," she whispered. "And then we have to go home and I can't take Sof."

"You'll have Sof back soon," Zecira promised encouragingly. "It's only two weeks until the final."

"Uh huh," AT sniffled. "But I don't want to go away from her. When I go home I'm gonna be in real bad trouble."

"I bet," Zecira agreed dryly, having heard the essence of that escapade from Jenna. "But you know Christen, and the rest of your family love you and won't let anything horrible happen to you."

Slowly, AT nodded again.

Zecira fetched AT another glass of Julmust float, despite much eye-rolling on Caro's part because too much sugar this late at night for the little one would probably get the Swedes killed by Alex Morgan. "Here you are, lillan. Just this one, no more or our Captains will kill me. Drink up."

Slowly, AT obeyed. "What if my Captains end up killed?"

"They won't, except maybe part of them temporarily," Zecira commented sarcastically. "That's the worst you have to be afraid of for any of them, a well roasted backside, that's all."

"That's more than enough," AT sniffled. "What about big Lyssa? She did so good but she's gonna be so mad with herself."

"Then I'm sure they'll help her manage that," Zecira promised. "She did do a good job, didn't she? We wouldn't have gone all the way to penalties if she and I weren't doing a good job."

AT thought this over, feeling somewhat mollified by Zecira's approval of big Alyssa. When AT was finished with her drink, Sofia came over, looking guilty. "Sorry, lillasyster, I should have stopped you. I'm sorry for pointing her at you, Zecira," she added, and the keeper nodded.

"It's alright, we've straightened it out, but I'm sure Caro could straighten you out if need be," Zecira added.

Sofia grimaced. "Probably."

"Or Miss Pernilla."

"That's worse," Sofia groaned. "Speaking of which, I should probably get AT back to her own side before Alex loses her mind."

"Probably," Zecira agreed. She wrapped AT in a brief, reassuring hug. "It's alright lillan. We Swedes might be scary, but you're just as welcome with us as Sof is. You are. So is Sonnett. Some of your other teammates might be questionable," she clarified. "For now, I think it's past your bedtime, little one. Besides, you have a long trip tomorrow."

AT grimaced. "Did you have to say it too?"

"I'm sorry," Zecira said, and she meant it. "But I hope it's a safe flight, little one, and as painless as possible."

"For AT, I'd believe it. For some of the others, not so much," Sofia muttered. "Come on, lillasyster."

AT clung to Sofia's hand as she accepted farewells and good wishes for a safe trip from some of the other Swedes, then let Sofia lead her back to the other side.

Foudy and Carli were just getting the girls in an orderly line for the bus, except Alex who had waited for Sofia to return. She tried to take AT from Sofia, but AT clung hard.

"I want to bring Sof."

"Alyssa Paola, you know we can't do that. Sof has to stay here," Alex said reluctantly. 

AT sighed.

Gently disengaging herself, Sofia took off her Jakobsson 10 warmup top, leaving her jersey on, and dropped the top over AT's head. AT pulled it to her.

"But what if you need a new one?"

"I've got extras."

AT nodded, wrapping it around her like a hug. "O-okay," she said hesitantly, and Sofia kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Safe travels, lillasyster. Goodnight."

"Night, Sof," AT whispered. "Good luck with everything."