Jozua Sparks
October 24, 2018 6:21 PM
Dueling Club! by Jozua Sparks
Jozua stood in the center of the MARS sports room. It closely resembled a smaller version of the Dueling Arena in Aladren, Oregon, with four dueling strips lined up in a two by two rectangle in the middle, and surrounded on all sides by spectator seats. He used a hand to wave toward the wall farthest from the door and all the chairs on that side disappeared, clearing a space for the dueling club members to line up for drills.The door opened and he turned to smile in greeting to the new arrival. “Good afternoon, Professor,” he said cheerfully to Tabitha Hawthorne. “Just getting the room set up.” He looked around and the space looked functional and presentable for their needs. “I think we’re good now.”
He moved to stand next to her, and was mildly surprised to see they were nearly the same height now. She had seemed really tall standing next to Professor Nash when she was first introduced as the new DADA professor. Had he actually grown that much over midterm or was he just now noticing what had gradually occurred over the last few months?
“Since this is our first meeting since December, I thought we’d do a few more extra drills to get back in practice then just let everyone split up for some open bouts. You want to ref the beginners or the experienced duelers today?” he asked, letting her have her pick as he’d be happy to be the referee for whichever group she didn’t pick.
Both sets had their advantages and disadvantages, and Jozua had no preference between them. Beginners were usually easier to ref, as they didn’t have a lot of tricks up their sleeve yet, but whoever was with them would need to offer advice and assistance to help them improve. The experienced duelists were more interesting to watch and didn’t need much help, but as a referee, you needed to be paying close attention to follow what was happening and be ready to make tight calls on who earned a point or whether a foul had occurred.
She decided to take the beginners so she could work on improving their form. With that settled, they discussed what spells the youngest duelists should be able to handle by now, then chatted casually as they usually did between when the preparations were done and when the other duelists began to arrive. Sometimes they talked about dueling, sometimes about the recent Advanced DADA topics Jozua was learning about, and occasionally even details about their personal lives, which could range anywhere from Jozua’s interest in studying Curse Breaking as a career to their shared dislike of sushi (because seriously, who thought eating raw fish eggs was a good idea?). Soon enough though, the other Dueling club members began to arrive.
“Do some stretches, then line up along the back wall,” Jozua instructed. Once it seemed everyone had arrived, he led them through some foot work drills, some defensive blocks and dodges, and finally finished up with some offensive spell practice. There was something dangerously beautiful about a whole wall of students casting Petrificus Totalus together in unison.
After about thirty minutes of drilling these basics - twice as long as they normally took for it - Jozua clapped his hands together, “Okay, folks, that enough drills for today. Line up for bouts. Beginners on this piste, Intermediates and up on that one.” He pointed out which two dueling strips they’d be using. “The other two strips can be used for practice, if you want to work on improving your spells some more.” Each strip was conveniently equipped with wards that would keep magic safely contained without endangering anybody standing nearby. At his directed thought, MARS magic provided target dummies on the two practice strips so the students could work on their aim as well as their casting. The dummy on the strip beside the Beginners’ piste was stationary, but the other one moved around, providing the challenge of a dodging opponent.
Jozua took his place as the experienced duelist referee and beckoned the two nearest older students to take positions on the piste. “Salute,” he instructed, then continued after they had done so, “On guard.” He waited for them turn their backs on each other and stride out to their starting positions, then take up dueling stances. “On the count of three, begin. One. Two. Three!”
OOC: Welcome to Dueling club! Your post can be a duel with another student (1st and 2nd years are being directed by Professor Hawthorne, and 3rd and up are dueling with Jozua as their referee), practice against a dummy, or just chatting with another student while you wait for your turn to duel. Professor Hawthorne’s actions and presence were approved by her author.
Subthreads: En garde! by Lily Spencer
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Dueling Club!
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Lily Spencer
October 30, 2018 6:56 PM
En garde! by Lily Spencer
Being a Prefect kept Lily surprisingly busy, and she was rushing to the MARS sports room to make it on time for the Duelling Club. She had been a faithful member since its conception. There was something quietly attractive about Jozua when he was taking charge of the Duelling Club, but that was certainly not the reason why Lily continued to attend. She had first joined to support her best friend, but now she genuinely enjoyed the community and their practises.Duelling was a skill she imagined could be helpful in the future. In addition, if she studied harder, she could do well enough on her RATS to begin Auror training in London. It was a competitive program, and against students from Hogwarts and other European schools, it felt nearly impossible. However, with one connection from within the Ministry and another friend interested in becoming an Auror himself, she didn’t rule that option out quite yet.
Lily was punctual to the club meeting and did her stretches dutifully whilst saying hello to the members she knew. Then it was time for drills, and whilst she did hate doing the same drills over and over again, she could tell she was improving. Playing Quidditch had sharpened her dodges, and her footwork had improved over the years of attending the club. Jozua was forcing them to practise the drills longer than usual, and she was just beginning to feel frustrated when they changed the activity. As the lot of them began casting offence spells, she could feel the magic radiating all around her. It felt so lovely Lily almost didn’t want it to end.
Finally, however, it did end, and she rolled her shoulders and wrists. She stretched her back, glad for a short reprieve before the actual duelling began.
Recently, she’d been enjoying challenging herself not only physically, but intellectually through her courses. Her studies last term had really paid off in duelling practise, particularly her DADA lessons, and she liked to see herself progressing. It made her feel proud of something that she herself had produced.
Lily was the first beckoned to duel against an opponent. She looked at the other person and smiled at them. “Good luck,” she said, saluting before turning her back on them. She went to her starting position and prepared herself, clenching her free hand into a fist and relaxing again as her other hand held her wand at the ready. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating in anticipation, and she held her breath as Jozua counted them off. At three, she stepped forward and exclaimed:
“Petrificus Totalus!”
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Lily Spencer
En garde!
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