Meeting with Team Seventeen on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Arthur Carey

January 19, 2013 6:37 PM

Meeting with Team Seventeen by Arthur Carey

In the few days since the teams for the challenges had been announced, Arthur had been busily pulling together every piece of information he could on the people he had been assigned. Altogether, it had not made a very large amount of information, and he had not been able to draw very many conclusions he liked from it. If not for one thing, one tiny little thing, he might not have anticipated having his group as much by the appointed meeting time as he had when he’d first spotted his name at the head of a list.

The thing arrived promptly, though, looking tiny enough in a dark red sweater vest which did not really suit his extremely fair coloring and watching Arthur, Arthur was surprised to note, with something close to the same wary interest Arthur was using to watch him.

“Good afternoon, cousin,” Arthur said pleasantly, then ignored Malcolm as the rest of the group arrived. “Welcome, welcome,” he said, a tall figure with dark hair and dark clothes and small, gold-rimmed glasses, trying to look unintimidating to the large number of younger students even though his expressions tended toward being rather somber even in repose. “Have a seat,” he added, gesturing to the large, comfortable cushions he’d arranged in a half-circle around himself, and then he got to business.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” he said quietly, standing just past the last two seats so everyone could see him. “My name is Arthur Carey, I am the leader of team seventeen. I know the majority of us are new to the school, so we’ll begin by going around so everyone has an opportunity to introduce himself – or herself,” he added, with a small bow in Amira Thornton’s direction.

Some of them, he knew, were probably wondering why he had suggested meeting in the art room even as they did that; the truth was that he hadn’t even thought about it, since that was where he and Jane had always met to read and talk at least once a week for two years, but since he was not planning to admit that, he had come up with an alternate explanation instead, if anyone asked, as well as another justification for himself. If no one asked, though, he would let them continue to wonder; he didn’t mind the thought of being found a little mysterious, especially in an environment – it looked today very much like Jane had usually had it, with broad illusory windows onto a rose garden behind him and paintings on the walls and a fountain playing softly in the background – where he felt comfortable and confident.

Once everyone’s names had been announced, Arthur nodded to himself, taking in impressions of them, too, from how they did that, and went on. “I would guess that I don’t need to remind you all that we don’t know what we’re going to see in the first challenge,” he said, “so I’m going to bring something we do know to your attention. We know our opponents.” He waited for a moment for that to sink in. “Every single one of us knows a lot of people who aren’t on this team, and we can go to our common room boards or down to the Cascade Hall at any time and figure out which teams they are on. We can get an idea of their strengths, their weaknesses, and maybe even some of their strategy. Talk with your friends and families, as much as you can without giving away what we’re doing to prepare. Lie, if necessary. We can win this, but only if we use every tool at our disposal to put ourselves just a little bit above the nineteen other teams out there. We don’t know for sure that we’ll even see other teams while we compete, the challenges could all be single-team races for all I know, with no one seeing another group’s times until after it’s over, but if we do end up in an environment with the others, we’ll have to hit them where they’re weak.”

They, for a certainty, were going to hit his team where it was weak, namely where the three first years were. Three first years. That had made him wince, even though Aladren and Pecari were probably the best two Houses to pull from and one of them was another Carey. From what he had gathered, Malcolm was clever enough, but not tough, and looking at him all but confirmed that information. And of course none of them knew much about magic.

“For ourselves, our first priority is going to be to get you three, Adam and Keme and Malcolm, better-trained magically,” he said, following that line of thought. “Beyond that…we’ll see what we have first. Let’s go around again, and this time, I want everyone to tell the group about a skill you have. Everyone has something we can work with.”

0 Arthur Carey Meeting with Team Seventeen 182 Arthur Carey 1 5

Adam Spencer

January 21, 2013 5:37 PM

Introducing myself and my, uh, skill. by Adam Spencer

The day Adam had seen the list, he had been a bit nervous about the challenges. He wasn't naturally competitive as he knew others were, and it was with no doubt that he knew he would be somewhat of a hindrance to this team. He would do his best, of course, but he didn't know much about magic, wanted to have fun more than win a trophy and didn't know most of the people on his team. Adam wouldn't have a problem making friends, he was certain of that, but they could all hate him after this was all through. He hoped his room-mate in the very least wouldn't loathe him afterwards. He'd do his best to keep up.

A meeting had been set in the MARS room which Adam found after a bit of difficulty. He had gotten lost at the doors, trying to remember which one it was that the meeting was in. The castle was much more confusing than his home, that was for certain. He thankfully made it on time, however, and, slightly breathless, went to sit down on one of the cushions. Their team leader was a Carey and Adam was interested in seeing how he led them.

The art on the walls and the decorations in the room were lovely and Adam was tempted to look all around him. His brown eyes took in as much as they could before snapping back to Arthur Carey who had just introduced himself. It was time for introductions and Adam spoke up after Arthur since he was on the right end. "I'm Adam Spencer, first year, Pecari," he said, making eye-contact with every single person. He owned self-confidence that was apparent in his manner of speaking and sitting position and in the way he had looked at everyone.

After everyone had introduced themselves, Arthur began speaking again and Adam listened intently. Learn the opponent's weakness? He hadn't look at the teams his cousins were on, but he knew they weren't on one together. He had at least one inside into two other teams, although technically only one team because he highly doubted he could get Cepheus to tell him anything of consequence.

Adam wasn't a big liar either, not a compulsive one, anyway, and he wasn't sure how he would get any useful information for his team. Rupert would be more inclined to telling him all about everything, so Adam could rely on him for something at the very least.

They were going around again, this time saying a particular skill they had. Adam had to think about that one. Besides flying, he hadn't really developed a skill that he was confident in. "Well, I suppose I'm good at flying. I'm good at sketching too, but that won't really come in handy, I don't think. I'm also not really afraid of much and I can go into dark places and small spaces without being afraid." If they were planning on using the public transportation, Adam was a whiz at that. He had even ridden the Muggle Tube before on his own. It had been highly dangerous for a boy his age, of course, and he'd never done it again, but he didn't fear strangers the way others did. He thought it was because he had younger siblings who depended on him to be talkative and outgoing and unafraid.

40 Adam Spencer Introducing myself and my, uh, skill. 257 Adam Spencer 0 5

Amira Thornton

January 25, 2013 12:22 PM

Following the leader... by Amira Thornton

Amira was still really angry about Quidditch games being canceled. She had been debating whether or not to sign up. And then she realized that she couldn't NOT sign up. She was going to add her name to the list when she got back to the Common Room after class that afternoon.

Walking into Cascade Hall, she noticed that the lists were up for the Challenge teams. She scrolled down the list with her finger until she saw her name on the list for Team Seventeen. Arthur Carey, Laurie Stratford, herself, Adam Spencer, Keme RunningBear and Malcolm Carey. Riiight... Me, a crazy Aladren, a crazy Teppenpaw and three first years?! Oh brother... she thought, her competitive edge showing up again as an owl showed up with a letter from Arthur.

He'd asked the team to meet up with him and the rest of the team in the Visual Arts Center of the MARS rooms on Saturday. With a nod of her head, even though she knew that he probably didn't see it or her right at that point.

Arthur,
I will be there at the appointed time and place.
Amira

Mir sent the letter right back to Arthur so he knew that she would be there and went about her day.

*****
Amira walked into the MARS room that Saturday towards the end of the group. She nodded towards Arthur and the others as he welcomed them. Amira read a bit of the boy trying to be easy on the first years of their team, but even though she was sure that one of the first years was even Arthur's cousin, she wasn't sure it would work. Arthur told them to have a seat and she listened, sitting on one of the cushions next to Arthur, as she and Laurie were older (both fifth years), as he was, as he kept going. Arthur introduced himself and nodded to her.

“I'm-” she started as Adam introduced himself before her. Amira was a little shocked at the gumption of the first year, but he was a Pecari, just like herself. She wasn't trying to justify herself, but she also wasn't trying to bring back the old Amira. She was Assistant Captain for Pecari's Quidditch Team and next year she was to become Captain. I will be professional... she repeated three times to herself as she looked back towards Arthur.

“I am Amira Thornton, fifth year Pecari, and next years Pecari Quidditch Captain.” she said to them. After the others introduced themselves, Arthur went on speaking to them. Amira smiled at Arthur. She liked his style. It was exactly what she'd have done if she was in his shoes.

“Arthur's right. We do know our opponents. And we're going to bring them down...” she said, mind rushing around. Amira herself, had six sisters and a cousin at the school, not to mention her entire Quidditch Team, housemates, yearmates and more. The win was starting to taste really good to her. She smiled at Arthur again and nodded to him. She wanted him to know that she liked where he was going with this and that she agreed.

When Arthur started talking about what the teams first priority needed to be, again she nodded to him. Arthur said he wanted them to all say a skill they have to the group and she opened her mouth to be first as had had tried for her to be the last time, but again, Adam interrupted. Amira kept her mouth shut and looked towards Arthur as if to ask him what this kid was doing. She didn't know if he'd noticed, but she sort of hoped he would. Mir also hoped that he had noticed that she was being very professional about it all as well. She didn't want to be rude, nor seem it. As Adam said that he was good at flying and sketching, she thought of something better to say other than flying as the first years could say that just as well as she could.

When Adam finished, Amira looked from Arthur, to Adam, to the others. “I'm a good Seeker, I can wear many hats on a team. I'm very adaptable. And, I can lead if the need arises. There may be a case in these Challenges that may cause us to have to split up. We have to know what to do. I can help us there.” she said. Mir turned to Arthur and spoke again. “Together, this team can and WILL win if we work for it.” Turning to Laurie, Keme, Adam and Malcolm she spoke, “Can we do it?”

0 Amira Thornton Following the leader... 208 Amira Thornton 0 5

Keme RunningBear

January 26, 2013 12:40 AM

Just watching and answering what is asked. by Keme RunningBear

Keme didn’t really understand what these challenges were for or why the entire school had to do it. He had wished that the feast had more information for them, but considering how chaotic that evening had been, he wasn’t sure if he would have remembered everything that was said that night. Still, he would have liked to have a little information on exactly what these challenges would be. He hoped that there would be little hints the closer to them that they got, but so far, the only thing they had was the team lists. Keme had no idea who anyone was on this list. He had heard the names of Adam and Malcolm from roll call during classes, but never met them. The others, he had never heard of and so, could only assume that they were older.

It took him some time (and needing to ask a few portraits) to find the MARS room and then to figure out which one was the room indicated in the message he had received. Once there, he recognized the males around his age, thinking them to be in his class, and then looked briefly at the older students before approaching. He took a seat when offered and then waited out to hear what their ‘leader’ had to say.

Apparently, they were to introduce themselves. One of the first years went, Adam, but apparently the female thought she was to go and began to speak at the same time. By the look on her face, she was not expecting someone else to speak and Keme, who was used to watching people, wondered if she thought simply because Arthur had specified that there was also a female in the room that he was indicating that she were to go next instead of simply anyone in the room? After Adam spoke, the girl, Amira, went. He didn’t think he liked her very much considering she felt the need to add the fact that she would be the Quidditch Captain for her team next year. That was completely irrelevant and not at all helpful to them now. If they were a Quidditch team, maybe Keme would have been impressed. But they were not and so, her introduction seemed more like bragging to him. “Keme RunningBear, 1st year Aladren.” Keme offered when it was his turn before quietly reviewing them once more.

Keme blinked when Arthur advised that they would be discussing their opponents. Keme wanted to correct their team leader as he did not know very many people and certainly not well enough to advise on their strength and weaknesses. And, Keme was also not a social creature by nature. He was comfortable back home because he knew those kids since the day he was born, but here, they were all unknowns and therefore, he was weary of them. He also didn’t feel comfortable lying. Especially for something like this. His life was not in danger, he did not see the point in darkening his morals in order to win.

His dark eyes turned to Amira who decided to interrupt the leader’s talk with her own, once again, unnecessary comment. She was like the cheerleader for Arthur and Keme had to wonder if they had a thing or if she perhaps liked him. It was a thought anyway, but he planned to watch the two of them closely.

Their next task was to go around and explain what they were good at. Again, Adam began, which seemed reasonable to Keme since he went first the last time around, but the look on Amira’s face showed that she was not impressed by this and seemed to need validation for this from Arthur. This girl may end up causing them problems. Keme wondered if anyone else noticed these exchanges or if he was the only observant one.

Adam’s skills seemed very limited, but Keme supposed if they had to fit someone in a tight space, Adam would be good for it. Amira’s seemed more like a campaign than a list of what she was capable of. But Keme knew from just watching her that if they did have to split up, he did not want to be on her team. She ended her little statement with what he could only assume was to be a motivational question.

He ignored it.

“I am one of the top trackers of my age group.” He didn’t know if they knew what that meant exactly, but did not elaborate for them. “I am also rather skilled with a bow and arrow. I’m still learning the spear throwing, but I have managed to catch fish using them and can throw them decently. Although, I do not imagine that being necessary.” Keme commented after some thought. “I can also fly a broom as it is a means for transportation across our lands. I am also well versed with plants and herbs for potion making and have been tutored in magical theory.”

6 Keme RunningBear Just watching and answering what is asked. 249 Keme RunningBear 0 5

Malcolm Carey

January 27, 2013 4:47 PM

That's a good strategy by Malcolm Carey

Mal had availed himself of his sister’s experience to learn the way to MARS and which of the doors lead to the art room before the time Arthur had set up for their team to meet, and because of that, he found himself doing one of the last things he had wanted to do: being the second person to arrive, beaten to the room only by his distant cousin. He took only seconds to curse himself for not turning back at once, before he was noticed, so he could come back later, but that was enough to introduce a slight hesitation to his step as he took another one into the room, knowing it was too late to get away now.

For a moment, the two Careys simply looked at each other – taking the measure of each other, Mal thought sourly, aware that he was not coming out better in the comparison. Aside from the glasses, a minor handicap indeed, he thought Arthur looked very like the model of a proper heir: tall for sixteen, broad-shouldered, dark-haired and handsome, and everything else, in short, that Mal was not.

“Good afternoon, cousin,” Arthur said pleasantly after the moment of analysis was over.

“Good afternoon,” Mal replied, and went to sit on one of the cushions, careful not to pick one at either end or right in the middle. He did not want the focus to be on him.

Another boy, an Aladren, sat on one side of him, and a taller girl beside the boy, leaving his roommate Adam on the end; Mal offered him a tiny smile, but didn’t otherwise acknowledge that they knew each other as he waited for the last member to arrive, most of his attention taken up with the room. From what he understood, the room could look like nearly anything, depending on the needs of the user, so why did it look like this? Surely the answer to that would tell him something about Arthur, but what would it be? He couldn’t begin to imagine, only having as much information as he did from personal observations and reputations and a few things mentioned by Anthony, why, for instance, a male would seemingly admit to liking roses….

The meeting began, and after they had all introduced themselves – him just with “I’m Malcolm Carey, first year,” without any elaboration – Mal had to bite the very end of his tongue to keep from giggling when the man the school had approved to lead them told them to take all their friends and relatives and use them for all they were worth. The effort wasn’t completely successful, he couldn’t keep himself from making a funny sort of noise, but he disguised it as a cough. Then he listened as the others talked about their skills, succeeding somehow in not rolling his eyes when the girl tried to get a group response out of the first years, instead just nodding, without any enthusiasm, in response to her inquiry before Keme, thankfully, just went on with the session. Interesting things he said, too; Mal noted them, as he had the others before, since this was more interesting to him than the actual challenges were.

When it became his turn, Mal thought for a few seconds about what to tell them and what not to tell them. “I don’t seem to have any problems learning spells so far,” he said finally, then offered, “and I can be very fast.” Deciding that was enough, he bowed slightly, in his seated position, to the next person so they’d know they were welcome to go on and explain to the group what they could do, because Mal had said all he felt it necessary to say, at least for right now.

0 Malcolm Carey That's a good strategy 256 Malcolm Carey 0 5