Improvising on Quidditch Pitch

Jake Santoro

May 19, 2008 6:52 PM

Teppenpaw Tryouts/Practice (all are welcome) by Jake Santoro

Jake stood in his usual spot in the middle of the field waiting to begin. Just like last year, he was going to take this more as practice than as a try-out considering he had only just barely managed to make seven players. That usually always ended up being the case. Jake had been hoping that for his last year at Sonora, his greatest worry wouldn't be whether or not he would have enough qualified people. As it stood, that seemed to not be the case. This year there were two new sign-ups and Pepper's name was absent. Jake hadn't a clue whether or not this new sign-ups were good or even knew how to fly on a broom.

Over the next week or so, Jake had gone over the list trying to decide who would work best at which position. Obviously, Dalila and Lexi would remain in their current positions without worry of having to be switched around. Hannah had experience with being a Seeker and so, he would trust her with that position. Law had experience with being Keeper, which could put him ahead of Josiah, but Law hadn't made any indication that he wanted that position. Of course, that was probably Jake's fault since he had asked Law to take up Chaser to begin with. Maybe, Jake can convince him to help out Josiah for awhile, just to be on the safe side? And then there was Lucie, whom Jake had no idea who she was other than being related to his siblings friends. Oh well, he trusted Dalila enough to know that she would do what she could in helping teach the newbies the ropes.

"Afternoon everyone." Jake greeted, looking somewhat solemn. "Well, it's not as big of a turn out as I hoped, but we'll make due with what we have." This time Jake actually grinned at them. "For those of you whom I have yet to meet face to face, I'm Jake Santoro, your Captain and Beater on the team. Dalila Bastet-" Jake wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, "is our lovely Assistant Captain and Head Chaser for the team. I'm going to have her running much of the drills to prepare her for taking over the team after I graduate come the end of this year. Everyone do your best to listen to her, she's a great girl, so I know she'll be a great Captain." Jake's grin widened as he glanced down at his Assistant before dropping his arm and returning his attention to the rest of the team.

"Lexi Stafford is our other Beater and also a senior member of the team. Stay on her good side, she's the one who keeps the bludgers off your back." Jake joked. "Hannah Laurent and Law Cooper are both Junior members of our team and, thankfully, have put up with me shifting them around a bit. Hopefully, they'll continue to put up with me as I shift them around a bit more." Jake gave both an apologetic look. "I can only guess that you two are our newbies." Jake glanced at the redheaded boy and the blonde little girl. Geez, he felt so much older than they were. He had five years on the girl, possibly five and a half depending on what side of the year she was born on. He never really thought about it before, but that was a substantial difference in age. "Josiah, you signed up for Keeper but didn't mind playing anything, right? For now, Law, if you wouldn't mind, would you run some drills with him as a keeper? I know that's where you seem to like it best, so I'll probably switch you two around as both Keeper and Chaser. It'll give us better opportunities." Jake waited to make sure both were okay with that idea before moving onto Lucie. "Lucie, you'll remain Chaser, I'm going to have you run drills with the rest of them. Hannah, you'll be our Seeker, but for now, I want you and Lexi to both work drills with Dalila and the Chasers. Is that okay with you, Dalila?" Jake asked, turning to his assistant. "Whatever drills you want. Just so that we can see how Lucie does with everything. Law and Josiah, after you run your drills, I'll call you guys to join the rest with running drills with Dalila. Does anyone have any questions? If not, Law, there's a quaffle in that box there for you to use. Dalila, here's this extra quaffle for you to use with everyone else. I'll stay down here in case anyone else shows up. Have at it." Jake dismissed them, keeping his eyes on the two newbies just to see how well they did on a broom, let alone, play Quidditch.

OOC: Feel free to answer me directly or just follow Dalila/Law with whatever they have you doing. Law and Josiah, when you guys feel like you are set on keeper stuff, you can join the rest of the team. Everyone else, if you wish to join, we'll always looking for new recruits!

Subthreads:

Let's get this started! by Dalila Bastet with Lucie Dupree, Hannah Laurent

Improvising by Law Cooper with Josiah, Law, Josiah Ashwood

6 Jake Santoro Teppenpaw Tryouts/Practice (all are welcome) 42 Jake Santoro 1 5

Dalila Bastet

May 22, 2008 8:08 PM

Let's get this started! by Dalila Bastet

After Dalila grabbed the school broom she used for Quidditch (she still wasn't allowed to have one!) she headed out onto the field where Jake was waiting for everyone to arrive. She greeted him with a smile, truly happy to be back to the only school activity she loved, now that astronomy was canceled. She took her place next to Jake and grinned at everyone who came onto the field.

As Jake wrapped an arm around her, Dalila suddenly tensed. She couldn't remember the last time Jake had touched her and she hadn't just thought how lucky she was to have Adam. It was odd. Dalila blushed in increasing amounts with each compliment, and gave him a small smile when he looked down at her.

When Jake released her from his grasp, Dalila released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and moved over a little. She was over Jake; she had been been for over a year. It was more likely just his compliments. She rarely got such raving reviews for her Quidditch performance. She was good, but not great. Or maybe it was the realization that she would be leading this team the following year. That was a lot of work and Jake made it clear that he was holding her to high standards. Yeah, that was it.

Dalila was shaken from her thought process by Jake saying her name again. She remained silent, trying tot recall what he had said to her.

"Oh! Yeah, that sounds great!" Dalila said, once she remembered the question, but turned to give Lexi a pointed look. This was a new development and her best friend's advice was required, even though Lexi was going through her own stuff. When did life get so complicated? Dalila shook her head, trying to remember back to the good old days when the only problems that she had with boys were their cooties.

Instead of over thinking her reaction to simple compliments and an arm around the shoulder, Dalila grabbed the proffered quaffle from Jake's hand and turned to the rest of the group.

"Okay! So, I guess that's all the girls with me. Let's go!" Dalila grinned and hopped on her broom, assuming that the others would follow her lead. Once she reached playing height she stopped and waited for everyone to catch up with her before starting to talk.

"I think we should start with some super basics. After all, we've had the whole summer to get out of shape. Plus, our newbies." Dalila gave a smile to the little girl who was currently with the group. What was her name? Dalila went over the names Jake had mentioned in his speech. The only unrecognizable one was...Lucie. She remembered.

"We're gonna start off with some basic passing to get everyone warmed up and then we can get crazy. Okay, let's see who can get the quaffle first!" Dalila grinned and tossed the quaffle high up in the air for someone to catch.

0 Dalila Bastet Let's get this started! 60 Dalila Bastet 0 5

Law Cooper

May 23, 2008 12:53 PM

Improvising by Law Cooper

This year, Law was even more focused exercise than ever. Despite a very respectable growth spurt over the summer, he was still overweight, a fact that the family Healer never let him forget. His mother had gone on a frenzy, reading all of the healthy cookbooks she could get her hands on. Ever since, she’d put the entire family on a sweet-free ultra-healthy and organic diet, something his brothers never let him live down. His two younger brothers had some baby fat on them, but nobody else in the family really had a weight problem. But their mother’s determination to go through everything “as a family” had reached new heights. If Law was going to develop better eating habits and do increased amounts of exercise, so was everyone else.

The exercise wasn’t a problem – Law loved sports. The problem was that no matter how much exercise he did, nothing ever seemed to work. He’d struggled to lose ten pounds over the summer, and the Healer still wasn’t satisfied.

Law didn’t mind a challenge; the amiable boy was hardier than he initially appeared. He worked hard to pass his classes in school, he worked hard just to make it on the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. He could work hard to become physically fit, too.

His extreme dedication was why he’d arrived at the Pitch half an hour before tryouts. The boy had received a new broom from his parents on his birthday, and he was still getting used to it. It wasn’t top-of-the-line, but it was certainly faster than his old broom, and far easier to control.

Landing when he saw his fellow Teppenpaws on the Pitch, he said a quick “hi” and nodded rather affably at everyone. Paying the utmost attention to Jake’s every word, he was unfazed at the prospect of changing positions again. He’d grown up playing in very disorganized games of Quidditch back home – nobody really had a designated position, kids switched teams with great frequency, and rules were something to be laughed at. It was not uncommon to pass the Quaffle before borrowing a nearby teammate’s beater’s bat to ward off an oncoming Bludger. The hunt for the Snitch was a total free for all.

Keeper drills. Right. Sure he knew a lot about playing Keeper – but did he know any drills? Drills were for rich kids who could afford instructors and organized little leagues – something Law’s family couldn’t really afford that, not even with the financial help Law wasn’t supposed to know about from Aunt Tabby. Law had garnered all that he knew just from playing. What in the name of Merlin’s beard was he supposed to do with Josiah?

“You got it, Jake,” Law nodded enthusiastically. It wasn’t his place to argue with the team captain. This was just another challenge. He was used to that. Life was never meant to be easy, not his, anyway.

When Jake’s talk was over, he retrieved the Quaffle and walked over to Josiah. They were roommates, but Law had barely ever even spoken to the kid. This was strange, considering that Law was usually a gregarious sort of kid, and something that he planned to correct as soon as possible.

“So,” Law said, the Quaffle under his arm, “I didn’t know you were into Quidditch. Have you played keeper before?” That would certainly make things a lot easier. For now, Law would just have to make it up as he went along.

“Follow me, alright?” he said as he mounted his broom again, and kicked off. He accelerated towards the hoops, before swerving around to make sure Josiah could keep up. He was still acclimating to the speed of the new broom, but overall thought he was a much better player for it.

“Double eight loop,” Law said the first thing that came to mind, “Can you do one?”

0 Law Cooper Improvising 0 Law Cooper 0 5

Josiah

May 23, 2008 5:35 PM

Following along by Josiah

Josiah’s hands were sweating under his gloves. He had ordered the gloves himself. The advertisement said they were great for a beginner as they worked for any position played. He knew once he had an official position that he was going to have to get better equipment.

He shifted his grip on the handle of his broom. He found himself one of the last people to get there. He wondered what he was even doing here. It wasn’t like he was a real player. He only ever watched games. He wasn’t sure he could do this.

Josiah took a huge gulp of air and let it out slowly. He could do this, all he had to do was listen to Jake. Speaking of whom, Jake was beginning his speech. Josiah glued his eyes forward, determined to pay attention.

"Afternoon everyone.”

Josiah gulped. This guy looked a bit scary. He was worried of how his captain would react if he made any stupid mistakes. Looking around, Josiah realized that a lot of the people looked scary. Especially Lexi. Then again, Lexi was a beater.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Jake smiled. Josiah didn’t think he could survive this stress. His poor heart felt like it was working overtime, and his gloves were pretty soaked. They chafed him between his fingers.

"Josiah, you signed up for Keeper but didn't mind playing anything, right? He nodded quickly so that his captain wouldn’t think him rude.

Finally, finally they were turned loose to practice. He walked over to where Law stood. He offered his roommate a shaky smile. “Well… I’ve always liked to watch it. I hope I can play.” He tittered, and was horrified at how scared it sounded.

“Lead on,” He responded, kicking into the air. He realized just how little he knew Law. He didn’t really know many people in his house. Not even the school for that matter. He knew his charms club people. He knew Elly. That was it, and he vowed to change that.

“Double eight loops? Umm… I could try it, sure!” He said. Shifting his gloves, he spurred his Sharpshooter into action. The broom still handled great, responding to his feather touch. Unfortunately, the rider performed the task clumsily. He nearly slipped off the side, but thanks to the rubber grip on his gloves he stayed on.

“Whew! That was a rush, eh? That was actually fun!” He let out a whoop, punching a fist into the air.

He laughed, “Sorry, that sounded nerdy. It’s just, well I’m not allowed to do this sort of stuff. This is pretty new, but I’ve watched games plenty. I never missed a game.” He grinned.

“I’m so totally up for anything Law!” He added enthusiastically. He was really hyped-up for this. Not only was it fun, it was totally a forbidden fruit kind of thing. “Go ahead, what next?” \n

0 Josiah Following along 0 Josiah 0 5

Law

May 23, 2008 9:11 PM

That may not be exactly safe by Law

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Law said with a reassuring smile. It was what he was supposed to say in this sort of situation. Except, when Law said it, he actually meant it. To say that the young teen was an optimist was an understatement.

So Josiah knew about Quidditch, but had never actually played the game before. Well, that was probably the best situation Law could have hoped for. It meant Josiah already knew the basics, but that if Law wasn’t exactly the master of drills, Josiah was less likely to notice.

His roommate was… well, he was enthusiastic. For Law, that was enough. So long as someone had the will to work towards their goals, then anything was possible. It was the mantra that kept Law going. Hopefully, Josiah wouldn’t come so close to falling off his broom again, though. Law had started to accelerate towards his roommate, but came to a halt and allowed himself to breathe again once he realized that Josiah was okay. Law was pretty sure that Jake and the rest of the team would be disappointed in him if he allowed his charge to die after just five minutes.

Law grinned, finding Josiah’s happiness to be contagious, “Nah, it’s not nerdy. I know what you mean – I go to every game, too. It’s done nothing for my grades, though.” He decided to skirt around the not being allowed stuff. It sounded like family business, and family business had the tendency to be volatile. Law didn’t like to break the peace, especially since he’d be seeing more of Josiah, now that he was on the team.

“Okay, lecture time. The double eight loops is how most keepers defend all three goals at once. Ideally, you grow so comfortable that you can fly super fast and you can focus on what’s going on with the rest of the game while protecting the goals,” he explained as he stalled for time, trying to think of something, anything, else to do, “Remember, it’s not just the Quaffle you have to worry about, it’s the Bludgers, everything. Keepers usually have the smallest flying range of anybody, so you kinda act like an observer at times, warning your teammates and stuff. Oh!” his eyes widened with realization, “And that reminds me – as a Keeper, you should try to stay in the scoring area. See, it’s marked off by those curved lines,” he pointed to the field below, “Only one chaser can be in the scoring area at the time. If not it’s a foul, and you make sure the ref knows it.” Not that complaining about too many chasers had ever done him any good back home. But at Sonora, it was worth a shot.

He’d finally got an idea around the time he started talking about being observant, but it wasn’t an idea that he liked. Josiah didn’t seem to have too much broom experience, and Law wasn’t sure if he trusted Josiah doing a Starfish and Stick. The problem was that Law couldn’t think of any alternatives. If Law was just going to practice shooting the Quaffle at Josiah, they might as well go join Delilah and everyone else.

“Okay,” Law finally conceded, “So we’re going to fly a lot lower to practice this one.” Leaning forward, he pointed his broom downwards, until he was about a yard off the ground.

“We’ll get higher up when you get better at this. Believe me, if you mess up, you’ll want the ground to be closer to you,” he informed Josiah in the most reassuring tone possible, “So tell me what you know about Starfish and Stick.”

0 Law That may not be exactly safe 0 Law 0 5

Lucie Dupree

May 28, 2008 6:05 PM

Helping to continue it by Lucie Dupree

Excitement coursed through Lucie’s body, as she stood among members of and potential members of the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. She looked around at those that, if she were fortunate enough to make the team, she would be working with, but didn’t get much time to study any of them, before the Captain began speaking. She focused on him, having to look up a bit. He was much taller than her and it was abundantly apparent that he was also much older, but that made sense since he was in charge. He must have been playing for quite a while. The first thing he did was to introduce who he was, which was good, so that now she could associate the tall one to being Jake Santoro.

Along with this, he included the other members, and she tried to commit each one to memory. The next most important name was Dalila Bastet. If she was lucky enough to make the team, the older girl would be her Assistant Captain and next year, Captain. After which, he introduced Lexi and she couldn’t help, but to try and catch her Prefect’s eye and give an enthusiastic little wave. She had met the other girl on the paths one day after she had scrapped her knee. She had been rather kind in taking care of the problem and talking to her. And now, here she was, as a Beater. How cool was that? Lucie couldn’t help imagining one day being like Lexi. Maybe today would be the start. She would make the team and maybe when she was older, she would get to be Prefect.

The other two introduced were only a little older than her and she recognized them from some shared classes, but couldn’t say much more about them. The only person left, aside from her, was a boy with red hair, also older. He seemed to be trying out, as well, but would be working with the one boy, introduced as Law. She was being sent off to try out as Chaser with the girls. She followed along behind the Assistant Captain, dragging along one of the school’s brooms. If she did well, she would have to write an owl home, asking for something better, but for now, it would due. When it was time, she clamored on and climbed into the air, the wind whipping off her face. Last year, she had taken flying lessons, which had come easily enough, but mostly because she had no hesitations about it. She had no fear in regards to height and wasn’t scared that the broom wouldn’t do what it was supposed to. It was all very straightforward, as far as she was concerned.

Saddling the broom, she hovered in the air, waiting for instruction. When it came, Dalila smiled at her, and in that contagious way that smiles were, she smiled back at the older girl. So, they were going to be starting with basics, which was a plus for her since she didn’t actually know how to play Quidditch, other than having watched it, both professionally and at the school games. The quaffle was thrown up high and Lucie went after it. She reached out her hand, her fingers grazing against the hard surface, just a little more, she leaned up a bit on the broom, before she had the satisfactory pleasure of having it in her hand. Now that she had it, what was she supposed to do with it? Pass it? She had said basic passing and that’s exactly what she did. As quickly as she had it, it was gone, now heading towards someone else.

0 Lucie Dupree Helping to continue it 114 Lucie Dupree 0 5

Josiah Ashwood

June 01, 2008 5:03 PM

No and he may not be exactly waiting for the go-ahead either by Josiah Ashwood

OOC: sorry for the delay, I’ve been busy preping for finals. *sighs* just one more week till summer. Have fun, and sorry again Law!!!

BIC: Josiah smiled at Law. This other kid seemed really cool. He was really starting to regret never talking to his roommate. Law was pretty funny too. He had never pinned the slightly chubby kid as a sports type though. It seems Josiah underestimated him.

“Okay, lecture time.” Josiah suppressed faking a groan.

He listened to Law explain the importance of the double eight loop and some things about the keeper. He nodded occasionally, but otherwise kept silent. He began ticking off a mental list of all the things the other boy said.

The double eight loops is how most keepers defend all three goals at once. Ideally, you grow so comfortable that you can fly super fast and you can focus on what’s going on with the rest of the game while protecting the goals, Remember, it’s not just the Quaffle you have to worry about, it’s the Bludgers, everything. Keepers usually have the smallest flying range of anybody, so you kinda act like an observer at times, warning your teammates and stuff.” He was sure he could do that. He was good at keeping his eyes and ears out.

“And that reminds me – as a Keeper, you should try to stay in the scoring area. See, it’s marked off by those curved lines,” Josiah looked where Law pointed. In, what looked like white paint, was a semi-circle. Okay, that was his boundary line.

“Only one chaser can be in the scoring area at the time. If not it’s a foul, and you make sure the ref knows it.” He doubted very much he would ever raise a fuss about fouls. He didn’t want people to think he was a sore loser and a wuss.

Tipping his broom, Josiah followed like a puppy on a leash. He felt his stomach clench with nerves. Had he eaten today? He hoped not. He was starting to feel kind of queasy. If they had to get down low to practice this, he was sure that this could be potentially hazardous.

“Starfish and stick?” Josiah repeated. He flipped through the mental pages of Quiddtich Through the Ages. Okay, it was a way to guard the goals. He knew that, but that was a given. What else?

Suddenly a diagram popped into his head. A sketchy keeper with his leg looped around one end of his broom, hand clutching the other. Oh no, he wasn’t going to do that was he?

“Okay, what do I know? I know it’s tough to do, ‘cause you have to grab onto your broom with one hand and a foot. It’s pretty useful, if you spread yourself out far enough because you can protect more space and block goals with your whole body. But, it seems to me to be a bit risky. I mean if, say, you’re in that position, and a bludger comes your way, and you get hit, you’ll probably fall. Or, if you’re not able to cover all three goals, then if they shoot at one, you wouldn’t really be able to scoot over fast enough.” He recited, hoping that he was right and making at least a bit of sense.

“So, like you grab on with one hand, like this,” He let go of the broom with one hand, leaving the other in a vice grip around the handle, “And you hook a knee over the stick.” He hooked a knee in sort of the right position. He didn’t let himself drop upside down though. He didn’t like the thought.

“And, um… let me see… it’s called starfish and stick because you look like a starfish a bit…” he was really scraping the bottom of his knowledge bowl, “And umm I hear though, that if you get it right, it works really well.”

He looked down at the ground. It was rather far off, wasn’t it? A fall from this high could break bones. Actually, anything to do with quidditch could break bones. Was Josiah ready for this?

“Umm, so, I’ll try it then shall I?” He suggested, sure that that’s where Law was headed.

Josiah swung his left leg off the broom, almost sitting side-saddle. He let his right hand slip off the handle, his left hand gripping firmly. His knuckles stood out white from the force of his grip. “One…two…two and a half…” Josiah took a deep breath and swung off, leaving his left leg hooked over the handle.

His stomach stayed up above his broom as the feeling of zero gravity overtook him. But gravity, as it often does, caught up with him. His shoulder tugged uncomfortably and his knee slipped. Letting out a yelp, Josiah bent his leg, keeping him on his broom. His long orange locks were dripping into his face and he blew on them.

“Ta-daaaaaa!” He said, panting heavily. He spread out his arm and leg, in “starfish” position. “So? Is this right?” Blood pounded in his ears, and the third year could swear his face was growing red. \n

0 Josiah Ashwood No and he may not be exactly waiting for the go-ahead either 97 Josiah Ashwood 0 5

Hannah Laurent

June 21, 2008 1:23 AM

And continuing on by Hannah Laurent

Like everyone else, Hannah had gathered around the Captain of the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. This was her third year of playing Quidditch for the team, granted her first had been as an alternative, and she couldn’t help feeling a little sad for it would also be her last year with Jake Santoro, as Captain. Though, she was sure that the Assistant Captain, Dalila Bastet, would do a great job. She already did so with leading the Chasers, one of the positions Hannah had played previously and may yet again.

As the speech continued on, she looked for any changes to the roster. Lexi, she already knew, because she was one of the older players and personally, Hannah was thankful that she was on their team, after having witnessed her talents with a bat. Next, her name came up and she couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious, which she really shouldn’t, as she has gone through the same thing last year. Unfortunately, it also seemed as though while she and Law had their spots on the team, their positions weren’t secure, as Jake sent an apologetic look. That only left the other two standing by. Josiah, she knew of, because he was in her classes.

And while the girl was in a younger year, she knew of her too, but hadn’t noticed her before. Lucie Dupree, a name that last year wouldn’t have meant anything, but this year, she knew now that this was her cousin, however, it was doubtful the other girl knew of their connection. It also looked as though she would be playing Chaser for the day with the other blonde. She couldn’t help, but shoot an uneasy look at her. From everything that she had heard about the Duprees (mostly from her mother and some from Nicoletta), she couldn’t help, but wonder why the girl was even here. It didn’t seem like something that would be approved of by the barbaric male population of her family.

With an internal sigh, Hannah followed Dalila and the little girl. She wasn’t trying to be mean, but knowing what she did, made her uncomfortable with working with the girl. Yet, she knew she couldn’t let it deter her. One day, she wanted to play Quidditch professionally and she knew that there would be people that she may not like and rumors that she may hear. She couldn’t let it affect her judgement for what they actually did on the field. Pushing aside all of that, she mounted her broom and headed into the air for drills, starting with basic passing. Dalila threw the ball up in the air, starting their practice.

She should have gone after the ball, but she held herself back and allowed Lucie to get it, wanting to see how the other girl did. She seemed to have a little trouble with getting it, but the pass wasn’t too bad. Easily enough, Hannah caught it, semi-glad that Lucie was throwing it. Last year, she had practiced with Law. While she liked him well enough, his throws tended to be hard, especially catching them with her small frame. Thankfully, she had grown some, so now it probably wouldn’t have caused any problem. With the quaffle in her hand, there was only one thing left to do, she threw it towards the Assistant Captain rather than trying to take Lucie by surprise. At least, yet.

0 Hannah Laurent And continuing on 98 Hannah Laurent 0 5