Jake stood in the center of the pitch watching as his team approached him. He had always considered his team one of the best. Even during the first couple of years when they were the laughing stock of the school. When all the other teams thought little or nothing about them. Thought they were easy to beat. Despite what others thought of them, Jake always held them at their best. Always told them they were brilliant. And last year, they proved just how great they really were. They showed others that the Tepps shouldn't be taken so lightly.
Of course, most of that went toward Lexi and her crazy ability to take out the chasers, but Jake still claimed that the team as a whole, was wonderful. He would never say anything less than that.
This was also the first year when Jake actually had more than seven players. I new feat. Hopefully it would continue as the years go on. His smile, though slightly forced, was still genuine when the last of the players finally reached the center of the pitch. It was time to start the practice. "Afternoon everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jake Santoro, Captain of the Quidditch team." Jake paused there and looked around, only the first years wouldn't know who he was...unless they asked around, which would be sort of creepy.
This year was one of the worst for Jake. In his third year he had been worried for his older sister and had caused him to be off slightly, but this year...this year was a different sort of thing. A problem that had nothing to do with family. But, he couldnt' think about that now. "I'm pleased to know that all of my team members have returned from last year, but I need you guys to know that just cos we won last year, doesn't mean you can grow big heads." His words were heavy with seriousness, but his smile showed he was mainly jesting with them.
"Okay, introductions. Our senior members are Tally Adams, chaser, and Kaylie Brockert, our seeker. Lexi, who is my other beater, Dalila, chaser, and Pepper, our keeper, are our second in commands, and finally, Gil, who is our other chaser and no longer the newbie of the group." Jake smiled in Gil's direction before turning to the new first years. "Hannah, Hikaru, and Law are our newest members. Welcome guys..and gal." Jake greeted the three of them.
"Assignments, Tals, Dal, and Gil, take Hikaru up and do some passing and throwing with him. Law, go ahead and head up to one hoops. Lexi, for now, I want you to work with Law, I know you're good with beating bludgers, but for now, I want for us to work with him. Kaylie and Hannah, you two stay here for a moment." Jake waited for everyone to say their peace before flying off to their respective places before turning his attention to Kaylie and Hannah.
"Okay, there's a reason why I asked the two of you to stay. Hannah, what would you say about playing Kaylie's understudy?" Jake asked, looking at the girl with interest. "Since last year, who knows if one of the other teams will retaliate and try taking Kaylie out. I can't afford to be down a seeker, so I need someone to be her reserve. Do you think you'll be up for it, or should I ask Hikaru instead?" Jake asked the first year. He was hoping he had chosen right. Hikaru was already nearing Jake's height and was heavier built and not at all the right type for a Seeker.
OOC: If Pepper does show up, then just write her in as to fly up and help Law. I wasn't sure if she still wanted to be a part of the team or not and I know her author is busy in real life, so I thought this was the easiest way to do it.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Subthreads:
Quidditch Practice, Great.... by Hikaru with Tally Adams, Gil Idoya, Dalila Bastet, Hikaru Kasuragi
What? [tag: Law] by Lexi Stafford with Law Cooper, Lexi
*Bursting with Excitement* by Hannah Laurent with Pepper Jones, Jake
Hikaru slowly strode into the Quidditch Pitch and looked around, he had gone to the World Cup Game a few years ago and thought he had it made but, now he got to actually practice Quidditch. He listened carefully to Jakes instructions as he leaned on his broom "It's nice to meet you all." He looked over at the other Chasers and nodded at them, then proceeded to get up into the sky. He got onto his Nimbus 2001 and rocketed up into the air with a decent amount of speed.
He looked over at the other two Chasers and inside he shuddered at the thought of not being able to play very well, I mean...he was okay and he wanted to play but if the rumors were true, this team had won the Championship last year and he figured her shouldn't mess with them.\n\n
There was something funny here in the water at Sonora. There was no other reason Lexi could think of that explain the insanity that seemed to be taking over at the school. First, of course, there was McKindy. Any person who wore pink bubbles had obviously gone off the deep end a long time ago. And now Jake seemed to have joined him there. When she’d been heading down to the pitch, Lexi had assumed she’d just be doing what she always did during practice- try and keep bludgers away from the team with Jake.
She didn’t pay all that much attention to the welcome. She assumed it was more for the first years than anyone else. She’d glanced at the first years when their names were mentioned, but beyond that just tried to appear like she was concentrating until assignments were mentioned.
Those were what had made up her mind about Jake’s insanity. She was supposed to go work with a firstie keeper, throwing quaffles at him, or so she assumed. There was one major problem, though- she hadn’t ever played chaser or keeper before. Poised to protest to Jake about it, she then realized that she didn’t want to look whiny, or difficult (even if she was), and it really couldn’t be all that different from soccer throw-ins. Or so she hoped.
Heading over to the first year she assumed was Law (the only one not female or Asian, as she decided Hikaru had to be), she stopped once she was right beside him. “Law?” she asked, although it wasn’t really a question. “I’m Lexi Stafford. So, what do you want me to help you with? It’s really up to you.” She didn’t mention it was because she had no clue what she was doing. She knew she had faults, knew what most of them are, but had never been one to admit that to someone else. \n\n
Law didn't know which feeling was stronger- his feeling of awkwardness for being one of the new guys on the team, or his feeling of pride for actually making the team and getting to practice with them on an actual regulation Quidditch Pitch. True, he was only reserve, and the first year probably wouldn't see very much playing time, but that didn't matter to him. He’d get to be doing something he knew, something that reminded him of home and was fun. Who could ask for anything more?
He’d seen most of the kids before around Sonora, but couldn’t match any names with their faces – save for Hikaru, his roommate. A girl in his house at the Opening Feast (was it horrible that he forgot her name already?) had pointed out Dalila and Jake. But he had forgotten their names since then, and was glad for the reminder, even if it was likely that he’d forget some of his teammates’ names again and would have to ask them a second and possibly a third time. Smiling weakly when his name was mentioned, he fidgeted with his borrowed school broom. Law’s parents hadn’t allowed him to bring a broom to school; for fear that it would distract him from his studies. They were proud that he made the team, but Mr. and Mrs. Cooper still wouldn’t let him bring his own broom to school until after midterm.
The brunette boy found it odd that he was assigned to Lexi, a beater, but wasn’t one to question a captain. He’d heard a lot of things about the girl but didn’t know which were true and which were exaggerations. But if the girl’s skills inspired so much talk out of all the players on the best team in school, she had to be a good Quidditch player, right?
“Yeah, I’m Law Cooper,” he said when he heard a girl call his name and introduce herself as the Lexi he was supposed to be working with. What did he need to work on? Well, he obviously knew his basics, he could fly pretty well although he was no aerial acrobat- and he knew a heck of a lot about Quidditch. The tall, broad, eleven year-old was a decent keeper, and the worst thing that could happen was that he’d get too into the game and forget that unlike back home, they had assigned positions here and needed to stick to them. But that was something he figured would get better with time.
“I’ve been playing Quidditch since I was little-never on an actual Pitch, before though, some of the older kids just charmed hula hoops to stay up in the air,” he admitted, “So I guess the best thing to do would be to just practice and get used to the Pitch, right?”\n\n
Hannah knew that her chances of making the actual team were zip since from what she was told, and the Captain confirmed, everyone from last year had retaken their spots, but the fact that she was part of the team at all was an opportunity. She would get to practice her skills, possibly play, maybe get to play when she was older, and most importantly, gave her a chance to get to know the others. When Jake introduced everyone, Hannah tried being friendly and smiling at each one. She knew it might not mean much since she was only a first year and it wouldn't exactly make her stand out to them, but she also didn't want to get a reputation as being an ice queen.
When Jake asked her to stay behind, she almost paniced. Why would he ask her to stay behind? He hadn't asked the other two first years? Did she do something wrong? But he had also asked Kaylie to stay. He wouldn't have asked Kaylie to stay if she had done something, right? And Kaylie wouldn't have done something. Afterall, she knew who Kaylie was through Adam and since she had seeked Kaylie's help earlier in the year. She was a fifth year and a prefect.
Tentatively, she approached Jake to find out what was going on. She couldn't believe what he told her. He wanted her to be Kaylie's understudy, the reserve seeker! She had wanted the position, but hadn't signed up for it, because she knew that it was Kaylie's spot. But now she wouldn't be going against Kaylie. She would be getting to work with the older girl. Unable to contain her excitement, she gave a little squeal.
"Yes! I mean, of course, I'd love to. If it's okay with Kaylie that is," she managed to get out.\n\n
0Hannah Laurent*Bursting with Excitement*98Hannah Laurent05
She could no longer count how many times she had been on this pitch. Nor could she count how many times she had both lived for it...and dreaded it. Quidditch had always been something of a constant in Tally's life. It was something she could do and not have to think about anything...or feel anything. It was also one of the rare things that still kept her close to her father.
Today, her long hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. The usual eyeliner that Tally had become accustomed to wearing, was not present, nor was there lipgloss decorating her face. Clad in loose pants and a t-shirt, Tally walked to the center of the pitch where her Captain was standing waiting. She had seen the list before making it down to the pitch, the sight of the first years made Tally sigh silently to herself. Every year there were new faces to learn. Every year another person to train with.
After the assignments were read off, surprise registered on Tally's face when the first year just hopped on his broom and soared off. Tally turned to Dalila-probably the only person on the team other than the Captain that Tally trusted-and raised her eyebrows. "A bit sure of himself, ya?" She stated, before remembering Dalila when she was a first year and how much she had irritated Jake. That had been an amusing sight.
"Alright, I guess it's time to get in the air." Tally said, with a shrug. Picking up the quaffle, Tally sat on her broom and lightly pushed off of the ground. Within seconds, she was soaring high with a grin on her face. She loved the wind and the sound it made as it rushed passed her ears. "GIL!" Tally shouted out suddenly, tossing the quaffle widely, hoping that he understood to chase it.\n\n
Why his twin was so resistant to trying out for the Crotalus team, Gil would never, not in a million years, understand. Who could deny themselves flying time when they had the chance for it? Especially when they'd be playing on a team as good as this one? Well... so maybe Leo wouldn't have the championship-winning (he grinned a little to himself) Teppenpaw team, but still--it was Quidditch! What more could a boy want?
His piano and another one of Abuelo's 'assignments,' apparently. Gil shook the dark thought off as Jake began his speech, eyeing the firsties. He didn't know much about Hannah or Law, though he'd seen them around the common room, but he'd heard rumors that the Asian kid--Hikuro? something like that--had been yelled at by their head of house not too long ago. What someone could do to get the good-natured astronomy professor that angry, Gil didn't want to know. He frowned as the kid shot off without waiting for them, then walked over to join Dalila and Tally.
"All right, I guess it's time to get in the air," Tally said, mounting her broom.
A huge grin spread over the twelve-year-old's face. "I love it when you say that, Tally," he laughed, following her example and shooting almost straight up so they'd be sufficiently spread out for a decent practice.
He'd barely had a few moments to savor the sun on his face and the wind tugging at his clothes before he heard his name. He looked quickly over to Tally, saw the Quaffle going wide, and pressed himself down over his broom. It wasn't the fastest model, but he got a good speed up anyway. Not good enough... He ignored the doubts and launched himself after the Quaffle, and when it came time, scooped the ball neatly with one arm into a secure position against his chest. Now that was how you started the new year! Grinning again, he shouted, "DALILA!" and pegged it behind her, so she'd have to reverse directions pretty sharply mid-flight.
Dalila walked quickly down to the pitch. She was excited about their first practice since winning the championship the year before and there was a skip in her walk and song that she kept hearing on her dad's muggle radio all summer stuck in her head.
She joined up with Tally to listened to Jake's speech. It was the same as always. She didn't know why she was expecting something different. The thought went away when Hikaru, whom she had had the pleasure to meet a few days before, quickly took flight and Tally commented on it. Dalila giggled in agreement and gave Tally a knowing glance before Tally launched herself in the air. Dalila grinned wider and followed suit at around the same time as Gil.
Wisihng dearly for her own broom as the school one she was riding drifted a bit in the wind. No sooner had she corrected her wayward broom, she heard Gil shout her name. She looked over tyo see the ball fly straight behind her. She could either risk turing around on thei s flimsy broom or...go backwards, which she did.
Pressing her broom in reverse Dalila caught the ball over her head by the fingertips.
"Nice throw Gil," she said sarcastically, knowing that he had done it on purpose. Without warning, she tossed it to Tally, a few feet out of reach, so that she'd have to dive for it. So far, so good. Dalila saw another championship in their grasp.\n\n
Why am I always the one being made fun of?
by Hikaru Kasuragi
Hikaru smiled at Dalila as she approached on the feild but was paying too much attention to wave. He felt the wind blowing his hair back and smiled, oh how he loved to fly!
He looked over at the small group of Chasers playing catch the Quaffle and thought to himself They could have tossed it to me! He looked over as the ball went towards Tally and looked around over the field.
I wish that I could have the entire team on Firebolts! That would be sooooo awesome! He smiled as another gust of wind knocked out his hairband he sighed as it flew off into the wind and quickly flew after it.
He zoomed low to the ground and caught it just as he was about to hit the ground head on and swerved up. He flew back over near Dalila and smiled at her brightly. He thought to himself Ok Hikaru, no getting a blown up head, thats gotten you in trouble how many times today? \n\n
0Hikaru KasuragiWhy am I always the one being made fun of?0Hikaru Kasuragi05
Tally smiled as she watched Gil lunge for the quaffle. She was glad he had stayed on the team. If anything, he was one who showed some natural talent to which Tally was grateful for. Tally had been playing on a broom for much of her life, but it had been a steady progress. She couldn't even remember how many times in her life that her father or brother had gotten impatient with her lack of talent while holding the Quaffle.
Luckily, her unluck with Quidditch finally vanished and she grew to be a rather decent Chaser. She thanked her family for that. And now, she was a main part of the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. She didn't think she was all that necessary, but she liked the idea that perhaps they thought she was. And that always made her work a little bit harder.
She flew around a bit, not far from where the others were, but just so that she wasn't drifting in her spot while Gil threw the Quaffle for Dalila to catch. Had Tally not been watching them intently, she would have missed the pass from Dalila entirely.
Tally and to throw her weight forward onto her Clean Sweep so that, for a brief moment, she was free falling. And then, quite suddenly, she pulled her broom forward lightly and shot forward. Her broom shuddered violently for a moment but with a gentle nudge, calmed itself down. Her hand shot out, but wasn't quite ready for the catch. She fumbled for a moment and had to lean herself forward even more, nearly causing herself to fall right off of her broom.
All of this happened in a matter of seconds, but soon, she was level again with the quaffle safely tucked between her arm and the side of her body. Her green eyes stared hard at Hikaru for a moment. The boy didn't seem to be paying any attention at all to what they were doing.
"Oyi, Hikaru, get your head out of your butt and take notes." Tally called out to him. "We're working as a team and you need to know how it's done. Gil and I both shouted out names so that the receiver was aware that the quaffle was heading in their direction. However, we made so that, no matter what, the person had to be prepared and to the extra length to catch it." Her voice was stern and authoritative.
"Dalila's approach was different, she used no words. As a team, we have to know where each one is at all times. Especially during a game. Paying attention is what gets us goals. Paying attention is what gets us the Cup." She let her eyes stray from Hikaru to look at the other chasers for a moment. "Alright, Hikaru, you're in on this one. Be ready." Tally lobbed the quaffle high and far making it difficult for any chaser to grab it. "Tag, it's a free for all." Tally declared, making the quaffle free reign to change things up.\n\n
Honestly, what did that Hikuro kid think he was doing? Gil had only just thrown the quaffle to Dalila when movement out of the corner of his eye brought the second-year's attention to the newbie. He wasn't even paying attention to the exercise! Instead, he shot off to the ground after a hairband, of all things. Was that some misguided attempt at showing off, or something? Gil rolled his eyes, though he didn't mentally correct himself when Tally yelled at the firstie. Oh... Hikaru, not Hikuro.
He barely had time to regret that Tally invited the firstie in--it was so much fun when he played with Tally and Dalila, since the three of them worked so well together, and he was sure having Hikaru in would screw that up at least a little--when the older girl threw the ball as high up as she could. Gil only heard the words 'free for all' and another grin crossed his face.
Rather than shooting right after the quaffle, he sped off a ways away, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds to keep an eye on the others, then turned and prepared to do what he did best... Chase. Maybe if the newbie was good enough, Tally would let them go two on two.\n\n
Lexi chuckled as Law answered her question, mostly because of how he’d played before. She knew not everyone learned to play on an actual field, just like with any other sport, but she’d never really heard anyone mention how they did things like goal posts. And the hula-hoop thing just cracked her up. They were actually logical things to use, if one thought about it, but it was still amusing, at least to her.
“Sorry about that,” she said once she’d stopped giggling. “I was raised more muggle then magical, at least in some aspects, so played with things like hula-hoops, and am probably far too easily amused by things like that. I’m done now, I promise.”
Looking more composed, she studied the first year. He knew what he was doing, or so he claimed, which was a definite plus. Even though Jake had apparently entrusted her with the firstie, and she knew the theory of each position, Lexi had no right to attempt teaching anyone any position besides beater, and she probably didn’t even have enough patience for that. So it was really fortunate for all involved that he wasn’t new to the game.
“Alright, then,” she said once she’d finished thinking. “Getting you used to the pitch shouldn’t be all that hard. I can just try and shoot on you, if you want, since that probably would be the most efficient way to do it.” She paused for a second, and then decided her pride could take a hit. She knew very well what happened when people, but athletes in general, got over-inflated heads, and it wasn’t pretty. “Do try not to laugh at any ridiculously horrible throws I make. I may not have my bat on me right now, but I’m still older than you, and I could seriously hurt you if necessary.”
She grinned at him to show she was joking (mostly), then grabbed the quaffle, mounted her broom and pushed off. Hovering near the end they’d been closest to, she waited for the first year to join her. \n\n
Hikaru nodded at Tallys orders and shouted back "I'll make sure to remember that!" He did notice that the entire section of Chasers seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces I'm not a third wheel am I?
He saw Tally toss the ball into the air and say the words 'free-for-all' he smiled mischeiviously and shot after it.
It was nigh impossible for him to get it on the first throw but, he still wanted to try and get it! He pushed his Nimbus to the maximum speed and barely even touched the air around the ball as it dropped out from under him. He looked at his only two solutions A)Drop off your broom and hope you can catch it and your broom or 2)Bolt down towards it.
Hikaru aimed his broom down and shot towards the Quaffle, it was a long shot but maybe, just maybe...he could grab it.\n\n
She liked Hikaru, but when she chanced a glanced at the first year, she saw him, not paying attention and not even near where they were practicing. Dalila grimaced. This wasn't a good start. She watched him come back up to join the rest of the team in the air holding what appeared to be a hair band. Dalila was quickly losing respect for this firstie, but she held off judgment until she saw him play.
Dalila ignored her thoughts and grinned at the words "Free for all" and shot at the quaffle. A few feet from the red orb, she pulled her broom to the side. Hikaru was going for it; he might as well have a chance to prove himself. She waited to see if he would catch it; waiting impatiently, but waiting nonetheless.
Hikaru soared after the ball faster than he had ever gone on a broom before, it was insane! The only way he was going to catch it was to drop off of his broom and hoped he caught it.
He took all of his body off the broom except for a hand and reached out towards the ball, it was almost at his fingertips Almost got it, yes! He grabbed the ball and jumped up onto his broom and pulled up as fast as he could.
He sighed to himself At least I got it without killing myself... He smiled at his teamates as he pulled up to where they had originally started. He sighed again and held the ball in his outstretched hand "Wow...that was the craziest thing I have ever done..."\n\n
Gil was not incredibly fond of show-offs. It was one of the few qualities that both Idoya twins shared completely, actually, though Gil's dislike of them seemed to eclipse even Leo's. So when Hikaru attempted that stunt--practically leaping off his broom--Gil's blood boiled a little. Not only was it ridiculously foolish, it also very well could have gotten him killed! That kid must have an in with some deity or another to still be alive... Gil was a connoiseur of Quidditch, and he'd never heard of anything outside the professional leagues being foolhardy enough to even attempt that sort of thing.
He'd leave the yelling up to one of the girls, though. At the moment, he just wanted to play Quidditch, and every fiber of his body was focused on the game. His eyes narrowed, pleased, as the stupid firstie came to a stop near Tally and Dalila; Gil, who wasn't too far away, circled around to the left a bit, looking only as if he was about to join the trio, but then sped up quickly, scooped the ball out of Hikaru's hand with ridiculous ease--does the kid not even know to keep a steady grip on the quaffle?--and sped off to loop back around the group, a smirk on his face.
"Tally!" he called, lobbing the quaffle easily to her.\n\n
0Gil IdoyaReasserting my place on the team.0Gil Idoya05
Tally had stayed put after throwing the quaffle. She had no intentions of chasing it. The sole purpose of her actions was to see how everyone else faired. There were always some good things to being a Senior on the team rather than a newbie. She didn't need to defend her spot on the team nor prove herself to anyone. That was something she was definitely grateful for.
She watched in amusement as Gil went the opposite way of the Quaffle while Dalila kept herself back. They were all seeing how good Hikaru truly was. Tally was aware that Jake let everyone on the team because, a.) they needed as many players as possible, and b.) this was the first year that they had more than the usual seven members to have signed up.
Her lips turned into a thin line of both distaste and anger when she saw the stunt Hikaru pulled. Perhaps he was doing it to prove that he could. Or maybe he just liked to do dangerous things. Tally neither knew the answer to that or cared very much for it. All she knew, was that Hikaru purposely allowed himself to hang off his broom dangerously above the ground seemingly without thought.
Tally caught the quaffle by Gil with ease and placed it lazily on her lap while waiting for them all to join around. Her gaze landed on Hikaru for a moment. "Nice catch." She told him, though her voice was bland sounding. "Next time, if you need to jump off your broom to grab it, let it fall." She exclaimed, not taking her eyes off of him. She had heard rumors about him. Causing all sorts of trouble. If Jake caught on, who knew how secure his position on the team would end up being.
"This is only practice, Hikaru, we don't expect you to be perfect or to catch everything that's thrown your way. The point is to have fun, not die." She said that last part firmly and with a bit of ice behind her words. "Alright, new exercise." Tally declared. She tossed the quaffle from one hand to the next. "Since the beaters are currently busy, we'll try scoring. After that, we'll see if we can run some drills or go two on two." She paused and looked at them before continuing.
"Okay, I'll play keeper. I'm not very good at it, but don't hold back. You all take turns trying to get the quaffle passed me. Dalila, you start." Tally said, tossing the quaffle towards Dalila before moving to position herself infront of the hoops.\n\n
Then I definitely don't nned to reassert.
by Dalila
Dalila's eyes followed the red quaffle towards the ground and blinked as it was stopped by a hand, which belonged to Hikaru, who had almost leaped from his broom to get it. Dalila didn't know whether to cheer or scold him for doing such a stupid thing. She glanced around. No one looked very happy about Hikau's stunt, so Dalila cheered.
"Go Hikaru! Yay! I can't believe you caught it!" Dalila spun a circle on her broom before joining the rest of the chasers. Tally was angry, but Dalila didn't have to be. And she had no idea why Gil was looking so glum. Dalila tossed the thought aside while listening to Tally's ideas on what to do next.
Dalila swiftly caught the quaffle Tally has tossed her. She gave the chaser-turned-keeper a ten second head start before kicking her broom in gear and heading towards the goals, the quaffle tucked safely in the crook of her arm. She spotted a hole in Tally's keeping, aimed and lugged the ball as hard as she could at the far right hoop. The quaffle bounced on the edge of the hoop, but made it in. Dalila let out a "whoop!" before giving the thumbs up to Tally. She was bad, but not horrible.
She flew over to Hikaru and Gil, smiling brightly, wondering how the boy would do on scoring.\n\n
0DalilaThen I definitely don't nned to reassert.0Dalila05
Hikaru sighed as Gil and Tally both scolded him for his foolish antics, Oh well, this isn't their choice, I should probably tone it down. He smiled as Dalila cheered him on and shouted as she flew towards the goal "Go Dalila! Your doing great!"
Hikaru whooped and hollared as Dalila scored "Way to go Dalila! That was awesome!" He watched as she flew back up to him and Gil and waited for Tallys response. He wanted to try scoring next so he waited for Tally to give the ball to the next Chaser in the scenario.
I wonder if they think I'm a show off for trying that stupid stunt, that was something I should do if I either want to commit suicide or be a pro Quidditch player. \n\n
The first few weeks of term had not been fun for Pepper. Most of her time had been swallowed by lengthy and less than cheery correspondence with her family. The remainder had largely been spent fretting and waiting for their next letter, which would tell her whether her grandfather was any better. This had put a stop to her usual activities of shepherdessing the first years, and had distracted her from the debate with herself of whether or not she should sign up for Quidditch (although it had played about in the back of her mind). When she noticed the team list had been published, she had assumed that fate, or rather her lack of time and attention, had decided for her. However, they seemed to have decided the opposite of what she'd expected. She'd meant to seek Jake out and ask him... just why, really. It wasn't as if she'd been that amazing at Keeping when the pressure was on (understatement of the century) and it wasn't like there was no one else to do it either - this all seemed very unfair on Law (no doubt one of the firsties, who she'd been too busy to look after). But the morning the list had gone up, she'd got an owl telling her that her grandfather's condition had taken a turn for the worst, and it had driven all thoughts of the team from her mind. Having determined to speak to him this morning had been all that reminded her of the team practice, and so now she was running down to the pitch, broom in hand, hair sloppily pinned.
"Hey - Jake," she panted, "I'm sorry I'm late, I just... it... I am meant to be here, aren't I?" she asked, suddenly swamped with doubt as to whether Jake could actually have wanted her back enough to put her on the list himself, when he had a perfectly eager firstie after her position. It seemed unlikely and she had been so busy and stressed lately she was sure it was entirely possible that she'd got the wrong end of the stick. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying in vain to politely stifle a yawn. "Sorry," she muttered again. \n\n
Jake grinned when Hannah said she would gladly be Kaylie's under-study...so long as Kaylie didn't mind. Jake would have said that it really wasn't up to Kaylie to decide, considering it was his team and in two years they would be gone and would need a decent replacement, but he figured Kaylie would take it the wrong way and be mad at him.
He would rather not have his teammates angry with him. It caused all sorts of unnecessary problems.
"Good, Kaylie, go let out the snitch. Hannah, just work with Kaylie, see how she locates the snitch. If you see, go for it. It's only practice, but at least you'll get the throng of it all." Jake said before turning to head to his own broom. He stopped abruptly. Pepper had arrived. "Oyi, you made it! Good deal." Jake said, by way of greeting. He dumped an arm around her shoulder and turned her so that they were facing the goals in which Lexi and Law were practicing at.
"'Course you're meant to be here, you're part of the team. Listen, that there is Law, he's your understudy. Go up and practice with him." Jake said, removing his arm from her shoulders and giving her a gentle push in their general direction. Walking over to the box where the equipment was held, Jake called up to Lexi, "LEXI, GRAB YOUR BAT I'M LETTING THE BLUDGERS OUT!" Jake opened the box and released both bludgers. Once they were out and away, he grabbed his own bat and took off to chase them off.\n\n
Tally swooped down low to catch the quaffle on the rebound. Dalila was good at scoring, Tally didn't need to worry about her. But, Tally was rubbish at Keeping, so who knew whether or not such a score could have been saved during a real game. She supposed that once the new Keeper got used to it-oh, Pepper was there now too-well, once the two of them had time to warm up, the chasers can go ahead and try scoring against them. That's always fun.
Flying back up to her position infront of the goals (it was really strange being on this side of the game), Tally tossed the quaffle towards Gil. "You're up. Be easy on me, I'm only a girl." Tally teased, giving him a grin. She was actually glad that Gil had stayed on the team. It seemed like every year they had to replace the newest member with another member. At least this year, it was just a reserve they had to train.
Okay, so the newbie liked to show off, didn't seem to pay attention all that much, and nearly tried to kill himself. But he was enthusiastic about playing and that was always a good thing. Course, if Tally scolded him for doing something dangerous, she would have liked a little bit of backup from Dalila instead of cheering him on for the thing he was being scolded for in the first place. It doesn't help their team any to congratulate him on being stupid.
"I'm ready when you are, Gil." Tally declared, wondering what sort of stance the Keepers took in order to actually be prepared. She felt relatively stupid just sitting on her broom. Back in Muggle school, when she had to play goalie for soccer or field hockey, she had an aggressive stance, legs apart, bent low at the knees, hands opened in a gesture that showed she was ready to stop anything. That was a bit difficult to show while on a broom. Oh well, they already knew she was no Keeper.
OOC: I know this isn't a game, but the same etiquette applies. If you could all just give me the opportunity to try to stop the quaffle, that would be appreciated. 9 times out of 10, I won't cos this isn't my position, but there's still a chance that she could knock it or fumble it or whatever. Thanks guys.\n\n