Amy Fox
May 25, 2008 12:23 AM
Flying Lessons: Part One by Amy Fox
It was a new year and a new year meant a new beginning. It was difficult to fathom the amount of time she had spent at the Institute- years had passed and she had found herself drifting into a routine: lessons, games, fights with Wolfe, attacks from Quidditch haters and WAIL. The anti-Quidditch movement was escalating to new heights, attacking all females associated with the sport. It was antiquated and inane. Those women, if indeed they could be called such a thing, were scared of the future. Although times had changed, they were still stuck in a world where they were the lesser partner in a marriage. It amazed Amy that women had fought for so much and yet there was still that few who struggled to hold on to the past. It infuriated her.Looking out at the field before her, Amy smirked. WAIL's movement would have little effect on her classroom and lessons- in fact, they had driven her to new extremes. If WAIL was determined to keep all females from flying and Quidditch, Amy was determined to push both in her lessons. All first years were required to attend flying lessons. No parental excuse note would be accepted. Also, some form of Quidditch would be incorporated into each of her lessons. She hoped that each of her students would develop a love for the sport in time.
Removing her hands from her pockets, Amy sighed as she scratched at a welt that had begun to form near her elbow. The mark, of which she was certain was a result from a bug bite of some sorts, had been annoying her for the past few days. It had only further annoyed her when she had found two more within the following days. Jerking her hands into her pockets, she made a mental checklist, ensuring that she hadn't forgotten any of the supplies. The brooms were located in a pile to her left and to her right was a stack of balls approximately the size of a Quaffle. The field had been filled with obstacles which had been erected earlier that morning. Each obstacle would play a large portion in her lesson.
Another year meant new lessons and new students, and students, she had to admit, were never her forte. She could barely stand the ones who were on Quidditch teams, let alone the whining little first years. It had also annoyed her to no end when it had been decided that second years, while not required, would also be welcome to attend the lessons. Shaking her head, she glanced at the entrance, noting that the first few students were beginning to enter.
Soon the pitch was filled and it was time for her lesson to begin. Without bothering to clear her throat or wave her hand, Amy threw her wand into the air and a loud, shrill whistle echoed across the pitch. When silence fell over the pitch, Amy cleared her throat. "Alright, I'm Amy Fox, the Quidditch coach. Yes, I'm sure a good portion of you have heard of me. Yes, I am that Amy Fox and no, I won't sign anything for you and no, I won't answer any of your questions. This is flying lessons and you are required to attend, no ifs, ands or buts.
"On top of that, each of you will be required to attend at least one Quidditch match each term. Following the match, you will owl me a recap of the game. Don't think that you can get your friends to write it for you and don't think that you can get them to tell you how it went. If you didn't attend, I will know. I have my sources. If you lie, you fail. Got it? Good."
Running a hand through her hair, Amy pushed the short strands behind her ear. The once wild multi-colored highlights were now mostly gone, her hair now a tame red, lightened by the sun. "I've got just a few rules to go over with you and if you follow them, you'll get through my class just fine. First, I expect each and every one of you to be on time. My time is valuable and I don't want to waste it waiting on you. I have better things to do. Second, don't talk over me. If you are talking you could miss out on important instructions and then you could be injured. If you are injured then I have to deal with the consequences. And if I have to deal with the consequences, you better believe that you will have to deal with them too. Third, do as I say, not as I do. I know many of you have heard about my career and all of the things that I may or may not have done. I don't expect you to look to me as a role model, I just expect you to come to my classes and learn. I know what I'm talking about and if you want to learn how to fly then I'm someone who can teach you how to do so.
"That being said, I now want each of you to go and grab a broom, if you don't already have one. I then want you to separate and practice hovering on a broom. The command to activate your broom is "Up!". All you need to do is place the broom below your wand arm, which is your dominate hand, and command the broom. It won't always work the first time, so be prepared to do it more than once. Remember: you have to be authoritative. Don't be timid. When your broom is in your hand, I want you to practice hovering in the air for a few moments. If you have any questions, raise your hands."
Stepping back, Amy motioned to the brooms. "Alright, get to it. We don't have long; I have a lot to cover with y'all today."
OOC: Alright, this is the first section. Posts must be detailed: fifteen lines (three paragraphs) minimum. The main portion of the lesson is in the second part, so be prepared. Most of all, have fun! \r\n\r\n
Subthreads: I may have made a mistake by Holly Greer with Amelia Smythe, Amelia
Hating baby classes TAG: Professor! by Seanus McFarlan
Zero-gravity. <i>That</i> is fun. by Kyler Kent with Mark Johnson, Kyler
Oh dear. Going in a plane is bad enough. by Andrew Tudor
wicked! by Mollie Buchanan with Jera Valson
here we go (WotW)! by Finley MacGregor
Not hard at all. by Delany
0
Amy Fox
Flying Lessons: Part One
0
Amy Fox
1
5
Holly Greer
May 25, 2008 11:08 AM
I may have made a mistake by Holly Greer
While Holly had not exactly enjoyed flying lessons the year before, she had found she enjoyed flying. It was as close as she could come to horseback riding at Sonora, and horseback riding was her sanity check. She was also just starting to get into aerial acrobatics on her own time, and thought further lessons on flying might help with some of the problems she was running into - like the fear of going higher than five feet over the ground without supervision.So despite her wariness of the slightly frightening flying instructor and the small worry that people might get the mistaken impression that she liked Quidditch (Cecily had made it pretty clear how terrible the team sport was - it sounded even worse than football and Holly wanted nothing to do with it) but it hadn't been a major focus last year and she thought she could handle any minor references to it that her classmates might make.
Unfortunately, this year, the curriculum sounded quite different from last year's. She would have to watch one of those awful games? Holly really hoped it wasn't too late to change her mind about taking the class. Or maybe she could go just long enough to get seen and have Renaye write the paper for her. That might work. She'd see how the rest of the lesson went.
She held her hand over the school broom she'd borrowed and said, "Up!" as she'd been taught and mastered the year before. It worked very similarly to commanding a horse. The broom rose up to her hand easily and gracefully. Mounting it was easier than swinging into a saddle and she rose up with a nudge of her knees and a small clicking sound like she would use to urge Wendy into an easy walk. Holly's posture immediately straightened as she adopted her ingrained equestrian habits.
She hovered a few feet over the ground as easily as she'd sit at parade rest in a dressage competition back home.
1
Holly Greer
I may have made a mistake
123
Holly Greer
0
5
Seanus McFarlan
May 25, 2008 12:25 PM
Hating baby classes TAG: Professor! by Seanus McFarlan
Seamus clutched his Windrider 2008 passively. This was the day he would show the Quidditch Coach he was worthy of being on the team in spite of his young age. He lived breathed and ate the game as long as he could remember. Seamus was a long time fan of the Kenmare Kestrels team. He longed to be on a team, no matter what the position although he was particularly fond of beating.His enthusiasm died as she gave instructions. Hovering? He knew how to hover. Know it since age five. Seamus commanded his broom “Up” and it leapt into his hand as it always did. He loved the vibrations it sent to his hand that he interpreted as eagerness to be off. He had no name for it yet, but in time it might earn one. Following the all too strict guidelines of Professor fox, he obediently hovered in the air for several minutes before drifting off in the lady coaches direction.
“Professor Fox,” Seamus grinned his most charming smile. “Are the teams in the need of a water boy or an equipment manager?”
Seamus would have licked the dirt off the quidditch field with his own tongue if it allowed him to feel part of the Aladren team. Anything would have been better than sitting in the bloody stands.\n
0
Seanus McFarlan
Hating baby classes TAG: Professor!
111
Seanus McFarlan
0
5
Kyler Kent
May 25, 2008 2:45 PM
Zero-gravity. <i>That</i> is fun. by Kyler Kent
Quidditch Lessons, like everything else here, was something entirely new to Kyler. He didn't know how to fly, he didn't know that much about Quidditch or anything, but he was interested in learning. Kyler use to pretend he could fly by jumping off his bed while wearing a cape, but that didn't work out as well as his young mind had hoped. He had always wondered what it would be like... How high could a broom really go? Kyler's brown eyes took in the appearances of all the different brooms as he looked around the field. There were different obstacles around there that made Kyler all the more excited, at the same time a little nervous. He couldn't wait to hop on a broom, but he didn't think he had what it takes to really fly around on an obstacle course! He hoped this wasn't too hard...It wasn't until Coach Fox started speaking that Kyler got an idea pf how cut out of the whole Quidditch-thing he was. She was talking like most people had heard of her, but he had no idea who she was. She gave them their instructions for the class. Kyler pushed himself quickly off the ground and took a spot at a nearby broom, hardly containing his excitement. As instructed, he held his hand over the broom and said, "Up!" The broom did a little hop from the grass, but remained stubbornly still after that. Kyler was a little disappointed. He had hoped that this would be the thing that he was really good at. Oh well, he would find something. Kyler focused down on the broom and said again, "Up!" The broom almost reached his hand, but went back down to the ground. Getting a little frustrated, Kyler held his hand over the broom once more and said, with force, "Up!" Thankfully, the broom jumped up into his outstretched palm and allowed Kyler time to wrap his fingers around the woody handle. Feeling rather pleased with himself, Kyler allowed his grin to appear on his face.
What was next? Oh yeah, this was the part he had been looking forward to... Kyler kicked his leg over the side of the broom, almost shaking with excitement. This was so cool! He was about to fly! Magic was the best thing to ever happen to him! And that included the New Zealand trip. Kyler kicked off the ground, reminding himself to only go a few feet up. He was in the air! It felt so sturdy, but he knew there was nothing beneath him. Wickedwickedwickedinsane! Kyler was so caught up in the moment of zero-gravity that he couldn't remember how to land. For a moment a wave of panic hit him. What did he do now? Kyler looked around at the others that were in the air and realized that he had to lean forward to land. Oh. That makes sense. He leaned forward slightly on his broom until the tips of his toes brushed the grass. Hopping off, Kyler turned to the person nearest him, brushing his dark brown hair back to normal.
"Dude, I love this class!"
0
Kyler Kent
Zero-gravity. <i>That</i> is fun.
0
Kyler Kent
0
5
Amelia Smythe
May 26, 2008 2:12 PM
Yes, sweetie, I think so by Amelia Smythe
When Cecily had complained last year about flying lessons being compulsory for all first years, Amelia had made a point of informing her parents that she absolutely must have her own broomstick, because she refused to borrow one from the school. She just simply couldn't be seen riding an old broom that who-knows-who might have used. Her parents didn't really have any option but to agree with her. So with her new Stratus VI held neatly in one well-manicured hand, Amelia sauntered onto the Quidditch pitch in a cute pink tracksuit with her long blonde hair tied neatly back in a tight ponytail.Amelia listened to the Coach go on and on about rules and Quidditch, and other matters that didn't bother Amelia in the slightest. She managed to feign intrest, though, and only yawned once. As soon as the students had been given instructions, Amelia moved into her own space, away from the crowd of ther first years, and did as she was told. She placed her broom on the ground before her, raised her right arm over it, and commanded it up. The broom rose lazily but obediently from the gound and sort of hovered a foot lower than Amelia's hand. Sighing heavily, Ameia grasped the brom firmly by it's polished mahogany handle and hauled it up to waist level. Hitching her leg over in a manner not entirely dignified, Amelia felt very uncomfortable straddled over the broom. She pushed off nervusly, and felt so peculiar floating that she leaned forward and touched ground again almost immediately. She decided that she didn't ike fying all that much, which is what she'd predicted, anyway. It was practically impossible to look graceful on a broom. The gril next to her seemed quite at ease, however, and came closer to gracful than any other student in the class. Amelia thought she recognised her as one of Cecily's friends, but she didn't think tht one of Cecily's friends would voluntarily attend a flying lesson, and the second years were here of their own desire. Curious, Amelia pushed off from the gound again so she was level with the ther girl, and said, "Are you one of Cecily's friends? I'm her sister, Amelia."
0
Amelia Smythe
Yes, sweetie, I think so
121
Amelia Smythe
0
5
Mark Johnson
May 27, 2008 3:09 PM
Its not just fun, it' a blast! by Mark Johnson
Mark was almost jumping out of his skin with excitement. He finally got to fly, and was the first step to being a quidditch player. When he got to the pitch he noticed that his friend Kyler was already there so Mark ran up next to him.Mark was about to greet Kyler when Coach Fox started her introduction. Mark was beaming, of course he didn’t know who Amy Fox actually was, but she must be a great quidditch player if almost everyone here knew who she was. Mark listened very carefully to all of Coach Fox’s instructions and drew in her every word. Mark also couldn’t wait to attend a game so he could tell Fox everything he saw and learned while watching.
After everything was said and done, Mark practically ran over to the brooms and grabbed the first one he could get his hands on. Setting it don beside him as told, Mark reached his hand out and looked at the broom with determination that he would be good. “Up!” Mark said in a soft, but commanding tone. The broom must have been excited, or it could have been the determination that flooded Mark, because the broom jumped straight up to his hand without hesitation. ‘Wow,’ thought Mark as he readied himself to mount the broom.
Mark swung his leg over the broom and hopped on, and then by instinct alone Mark hopped up off the ground. Mark didn’t think about how high he was hovering though. He looked down and realized that he was at least six feet up already if not more, but Mark was completely stable and in control at the moment. That’s when he heard Kyler speak up “Dude, I love this class!”
Mark looked down at Kyler with a huge smile on his face and responded, “Yeah, it’s amazing, but how do I land without face planting?” Mark was staying put in the air where he was. Mark knew he had to land and had an idea on how to do it, but he wanted to make sure, plus being up in the air on a broom was so cool that he really didn’t want to come down.
\n
0
Mark Johnson
Its not just fun, it' a blast!
0
Mark Johnson
0
5
Andrew Tudor
May 28, 2008 7:10 AM
Oh dear. Going in a plane is bad enough. by Andrew Tudor
Andrew's stomach was somersaulting as he made his way to the Quidditch Pitch and he felt sick with nerves. He wasn't terribly fond of heights at the best of times, the plane journey here was hellish, and neither did he trust a flying stick. He shook his head as he walked through the first years gathering in front of the professor and whipped his sweaty palms on his trousers. A loud, whistling noise made him jump; worsening his nerves and making his palms feel even sweatier. He was not looking forward to this lesson by any stretch of the imagination. He looked around his fellow first years sensing their excitement. He sighed sadly, wishing he could be excited by it all too.The professor began to speak and Andrew listened intently, afraid he'd miss something terribly important and end up doing something terrible. As Professor Fox came to the end of her instructions, Andrew wondered what she was possibly famous for as he had never heard of her, which was no surprise coming from his background. He guessed she was known for Quidditch or something based upon her attempts to get them all involved in it somehow. He looked over to the pile of broom's she had indicated too and grimaced as his stomach tied some more knots. The professor had mentioned being authoritative, which he had never been in his life and thus this lesson can only be a disaster.
Andrew made his way through the students to the brooms, picking up the closest and moving to a space. He looked around the pitch noticing the strange obstacles that were everywhere; no doubt they had something to do with the lesson. He then looked at the boom he was holding rather gingerly in his hand and it looked no different to the ones used for Halloween. Sighing, he placed it on the floor like instructed and glanced around everyone else. 'All I have to say is "up"?' thought Andrew. He coughed, preparing his voice for sounding authoritative and put his wand hand over the broom. He suddenly felt idiotic saying "up!" to a piece of wood and put his hand down by his side again and shook his head. His breathing was shaky and his hands had begun to sweat again as he went to put his hand above the broom.
"Up!" he said in possibly the quietest voice he could conjure. Nothing happened, just like Andrew had expected. He had never been authoritative in his life, he'd always been the one ordered around or such like, never the one to do the ordering. He however refused to give up. He tried again. "Up!" there was nothing. "Up!" still nothing. He looked around at the other students, who didn't seem to mind shouting commands in a demanding manner. Andrew stretched his hand out again, determined to get this right. He imagined bragging to his sister that he had actually flown on a broom stick and smiled. "Up!"
Andrew watched in amazement as the broom stick floated lazily upwards into his hand and rested there, pushing slightly against his grip. 'Now,' he thought 'hovering... How am I going to do that?' he pondered for a while, unsure of how to even get on his broom. He looked at it, trying to imagine the easiest a most elegant way to get on it. He knew trying to do it elegantly was totally feminine, but he didn't want to look like a complete idiot. He pulled the broom closer towards him and put his leg over it and rested on the broom. 'This isn't... so hard' he thought, shaking with nerves. 'Now, just lift your feet off the ground' he knew he was just trying to reassure himself 'just lift your feet off the ground'. Andrew closed his eyes and managed to lift one foot off the ground, only to quickly replace it. He was aware he must have looked strange, which only made it worse, so he snapped his eyes open. His breathing was very uneven.
'Come on, Andrew' he thought, 'what's the worst that could happen?’ Taking a deep breath in, in an attempt to steady himself, Andrew gingerly lifted his feet from the ground and felt the broom take his weight and hover there. Andrew looked down and grinned. There he was, floating, above the pitch. He put his feet back on the ground, vexed about what he had just achieved. 'Thorn will be so jealous' he thought, allowing himself to chuckle quietly out loud. 'I can't wait till she writes to me so I can tell her...'
0
Andrew Tudor
Oh dear. Going in a plane is bad enough.
0
Andrew Tudor
0
5
Holly Greer
May 28, 2008 10:41 AM
That's what I was afraid of by Holly Greer
Holly looked to the side, half surprised to find herself being addressed by one of her classmates. She thought of flying as a solitary pastime and simply hadn't been expecting anyone to try to talk to her, especially since she hadn't thought any of her friends were taking the class. When she looked at person in question and the younger girl introduced herself, however, Holly was not surprised in the least to discover that she was related to Cecily. They looked very much like sisters.Holly nodded in response to her question. "Yes. I'm Holly Thistle of the Hollywood Thistles," she introduced herself in return. "Cecily and I are quite good friends." Holly's eyes drifted down to the broom the other girl was using and a small flush of shame touched her own cheeks at having to use a school broom. She made a mental note to immediately send her father instructions on how to buy her one of her own. If she really was going to make a habit of teaching herself aerial acrobatics and dance, she was going to need a better quality broom.
The only reason she hadn't already asked for one was because she'd been afraid people might think she was interested in Quidditch if she bought a nice one of her own, but presumably if Cecily's sister had one, that wasn't going to be the case after all.
And while she was on the subject of Cecily's sister and mistaken impressions of seeming like a Quidditch supporter, Holly hurried to add, "I think of flying as riding a very skinny and not terribly interesting horse. I don't think I could survive being away from my beautiful Wendy for so long if I couldn't fly a broom along the garden paths or practice my dressage routines on the Pitch. Now that I'm getting a little better at it, I'm thinking of trying aerial dance, too."
She smiled in mild embarrassment and held her forefinger and thumb about an inch apart as she finished, "I'm still a little bit scared of heights, though, so I thought taking the class again might help with that." She frowned over at the Coach then in distaste. "But last year she didn't make us go to those awful Quidditch games. Honestly. I watched twenty seconds of a football game on television once. That was enough of an organized sporting event. I don't need to go to one in person." She shuddered in memory of the row of crazy half naked men covered in body paint that the camera had panned over briefly and had consequently scarred her for life.\r\n\r\n
1
Holly Greer
That's what I was afraid of
123
Holly Greer
0
5
Mollie Buchanan
May 29, 2008 11:19 AM
wicked! by Mollie Buchanan
Mollie made her way down to the pitch with the throng of other first years and a few second years. The excitement for flying had her totally enthralled, following the crowd onto the pitch, stopping in front of Coach Fox. As the coach explained the lesson, Mollie was perplexed by her forceful demeanor. Mol meant to enjoy lessons, but the coach kind of scared her. However the requirements for the class didn't seem all too hard; she wanted to attend quidditch matches anyway.Moving away from Coach Fox as she finished her very clear explaination, Mollie headed for the pile of brooms. They didn't look like anything out of the ordinary, made of wood of course where most of the ones she had seen were plastic, she supposed that they flew better if made of the traditional wood. She didn't pick one at random, she had read in a quidditch book that brooms can be tricky. She didn't want one that was going to be too much trouble.
Looking through the pile, she spotted a more brightly-colored one that looked to be made of the same wood as her wand. Figuring her wand had treated her well so far, she pulled the broom from the massive pile and headed off to her own spot. There was no reason to pretend that this would be easy, but she was eager, she'd just have to have patience.
Glad she had dressed in sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt with a zip-up sweatshirt over it, Mollie stood with her hand over the broom which lay inert on the grass. Calming her thoughts and focusing on the broom, she commanded, "Up!" She watched as the broom gave a little wiggle, but didn't jump up into her hand. Shaking herself, glad she had at least made it move, she tried again. "Up!" She said with a little more force, willing the broom to her hand. It jumped about a foot, but didn't reach her hand. Never one to give up, Mol closed her eyes briefly, focusing entirely on the broom. "Up!" She said firmly one last time and finally the broom hopped up to meet her outstretched hand.
The grin that appeared immediately on her lips almost seemed to split her face in half. She had done it! She could feel the vibrations pulsing from the broom and decided to try hovering like instructed. Swinging one leg carefully over the applewood broom, Mollie held fast to the handle and tenatively lifted one foot off of the ground. So far so good. Hestitantly, she lifted the other to find herself hovering two feet from the ground, the broom steadily resting, waiting for a command.
Flushed with excitement, Mollie put her feet back on the ground, not wanting to cross the coach by trying anything other than instructed. "This is wicked!" She said to the person closest to her, smiling broadly, hoping they were enjoying this as much as she was. Maybe playing quidditch wasn't entirely out of the question next year; she'd have to see how well she flew first.
0
Mollie Buchanan
wicked!
0
Mollie Buchanan
0
5
Kyler
May 30, 2008 6:48 PM
As in cannons? by Kyler
Kyler grinned up at Ark as he hovered just a few feet above his head. Ark was one of those kids that just seemed cool to pal around with. Like at the feast, they had talked about all the different stuff at Sonora and all the etceteras that followed. Along with that, it didn't look like Kyler was alone in the newbie-flyer department, or so it turned out when Ark asked, “Yeah, it’s amazing, but how do I land without face planting?” Kyler let out a snort of laughter and called up to him,"Just lean forward!" Kyler said, "But not too much! You don't want to go into nosedive mode!" Kyler waited until Ark was safely on the ground before heading over to him.
"I think I may have found a class I can live with," Kyler said, spreading his arms out into the warm Arizona air. Classes weren't exactly unenjoyable at Sonora. Actually, Kyler kind of liked them. The problem was, he couldn't find one that he was actually good at. Dayda was cool, but it took some work. Too much. Unless he was partnered with the brilliant Jera, Kyler wasn't sure how he was going to make it through that class. Flying was so stress-free! It was like it wasn't even a class at all. Really, their homework was to watch a Quidditch game! The only people he could see disagreeing with that would be the uptight people or girly-girly girls, neither of which appealed to the young boy. Turning back to Ark, a kid that was well and far from the said negative standards, Kyler said,
"So, Ark, you said you were a basketball guy, right?"
0
Kyler
As in cannons?
0
Kyler
0
5
Amelia
June 01, 2008 11:57 AM
Still, there are worse choices you could have made by Amelia
The girl introduced herself as Holly Thistle. Amelia thought, 'Holly has a Horse', one of the may short labels she'd personally assigned to Cecily's friends, mostly so she'd have a clue who Cecily was talking about from one conversation to the next. Holly proclaimed herself to be good friends with Cecily, which Amelia acknowledged with a nod. She was just about to ask Holly why she was at the flying lessons, when the second year provided the answer without prompting."Oh, I see," Amelia replied. She didn't really understand these horsey types. She had enjoyed riding Heidi on a couple of occasions last year while Cecily was at Sonora and therefore not around to berate her to within an inch of her life for daring to touch the pony, but this obsession with animals that Cecily and Holly seemed to share was a bit bewildering. However, the idea of aerial dance seemed a little more plausible. "That does sound like fun," Amelia acquiesced. She could appreciate the poise and skill needed for perfoming graceful dance movements whilst airborn (if anyone in the class could do it, Holly could), though the activity didn't interest Amelia enough that she felt the need to take part. Then again, there was very little that interested Amelia enough for her to take action. "You could start a club and have rehearsals and performances, and everything," she suggested, fully supporting Holly's proposed venture. "That would be a far better use of your time than learning Quidditch manouevres."
Although Milly was not so anti-Quidditch as Cecily seemed to be, she did appreciate that it was a violent game, and any self-respecting young lady such as herself should not even consider taking part. Perhaps Holly's air dancing could create a more suitable alternative for those odd girls who actually enjoyed flying.
0
Amelia
Still, there are worse choices you could have made
0
Amelia
0
5
Finley MacGregor
June 02, 2008 3:12 PM
here we go (WotW)! by Finley MacGregor
Finally a class that didn't require too much thinking or textbooks or anything of that nature. It was a nice relief. Of course he was excited, of course he had ridden a broom before, but not as often as he would have liked. Having grown up in a mixed muggle-magical community, flying was pretty restricted, but Fynn's older brothers had managed to give him a few basic lessons. Both Brody and Connor played quidditch at school, so it had been natural for them to impart their love of the game on their younger brothers.So as Fynn walked down the pitch with his classmates, he was naturally impressed to see Amy Fox. The Amy Fox. Duh, of course he had heard of her, he was sure everybody on the pitch with any inkling of interst in quidditch had heard of her. It was hard not to gape just a little. However, in trying to keep himself from staring, he found it was rather easy as she introduced herself. Her mannerisms and general demeanor screamed that children were not really her thing and his awe quickly faded. Fynn wasn't really taken aback, but if anyone around him wanted to stay bewitched by such a nonchalant and stiff person, he'd let them wallow in her 'splendor.' Personally, he wasn't really in the mood, which kind of sucked, because he wanted flying lessons to be fun.
Listening half-heartedly as Coach Fox went through the instructions, Fynn simpley grabbed a broom when she was finished and headed off to his own little corner to practice. Setting the broom down on his left side, he held his dominant hand, his left hand, out over the broom and commanded, "Up!" Rather proudly, he watched as it jumped immediately into his hand. This had been one of the few things he could practice in his backyard with his brothers, when his da wasn't paying attention.
Hovering and flying on the other hand, had been strictly forbidden and there was no way Fynn was going to cross his father on that. So, still rather unfazed now on what was going on around him, Fynn swung one leg over the broom and pushed gently off of the ground. He had done this before, but it had been a little while, so he was a little rusty. Luckily, the broom he had chosen didn't seem to have any kinks and let him hover a few feet off of the ground.
Well this lesson wasn't quite what he expected. He'd been so exited when he'd gotten here. Now with Fox staring them all down and noting new to learn, he was a little disheartened. Touching back down, Fynn looked around to see what everbody else was doing now. It seemed that some were still having trouble, so he walked up to somebody near him and asked, "How's it goin' for ye?"
0
Finley MacGregor
here we go (WotW)!
0
Finley MacGregor
0
5
Jera Valson
June 08, 2008 9:18 AM
or terrifying... by Jera Valson
Flying lessons filled Jera with a stomach-churning combination of excitement and dread. She loved being outdoors, and had been given rides on a broomstick by some of her older cousins. The sensation of flying was therefore familiar, but Jera had never flown all by herself, and the prospect instigated mixed, but strong feelings. Would she fall? Would she feel sick? Or would it be the single most fantastic experience of her life so far?Without remembering the journey there, Jera fund herself on the Quidditch pitch with the other first years, and Coach Fox. She had tied her dark hair back today in the neatest braid she shuld manage (which wasn't very neat at all), and so was prevented from fidgeting with it as the Coach explained the lesson and homework. Jera was already planning on going to the Quidditch games, so that task didn't present to much of a problem. Now, though, she was expected to start flying. At least Coach Foz was starting them off small.
Jera picked out a school broom that didn't look too battered and found herself a space to practise. Following the instructions, Jera placed the broom on the ground, raised her hand over it, and said 'up'. After about four tries she finally encuraged the broomstick to hover near her. Now for the tricky bit. Jera flung one leg over the broom, relieved that she'd worn her orange tracksuit to class, and not her jeans. Taking a deep breath to rad herself, Jera pushed the ground with her toes and, sure enough, rose a few inches into the air. It was a very peculia feeling.
The girl next to Jera ws obviously enjoying herself, as her xclamation startle Jera so much that her broom wobbled, almsot but not quite toppling Jera onto the ground. "Woah," she said aloud as she tried to steady herself. "I'm not so sure I like it all that much," she replied to the other girl.
0
Jera Valson
or terrifying...
112
Jera Valson
0
5
Mollie Buchanan
June 08, 2008 9:49 PM
aww come on! by Mollie Buchanan
"Yikes, I didn't meant to scare you!" Mollie pulled a face as she watched the other girl faulter a little bit on her broom. "Sorry, you alright?" To tell the truth, Mol thought the girl looked a little unsteady on her broom and it made her see that everybody probably wasn't quite as excited as she was. There had always been little inhibition in Mollie's life, if she wanted to do it, she usually did. If she got hurt, well it made one hell of a story. Other than things that she could potentially die from, Mollie usually tried everything once, twice just to be sure, three times if she hadn't died yet."I think it's exciting." Mollie gave the girl a sympathetic grin. "But heights and stuff don't really bother me." She shrugged and decided to give hovering another try. Swinging her leg back over the broom, Mollie kicked up again, letting her broom jover just a little bit, getting a better feel for the broom itself, the vibrations, the twitches. She was pretty eager to learn about quidditch too, so that maybe she could try out next year.
She'd have to see how the rest of flying lessons went first. She leaned left and right to get a feel for that before touching back down again and looking over at the girl she had startled. "I'm Mollie by the way, is this your first time on a broom?" She was curious to see if kids who had grown up in magical households also had a leg up in this category.
0
Mollie Buchanan
aww come on!
0
Mollie Buchanan
0
5
Jera
June 11, 2008 10:36 AM
what? it's scary! by Jera
"It's alright, I'm okay," Jera assurred the other girl, who now looked a bit worried that she startled her. "We're good."Once Jera settled herself on her broom once more, she looked at the ther girl properly. She seemed far more at ease on her broom; Jera wondered if she's been taught to fly before Sonora. "Oh, the heights don't bother me none," Jera told her, "it's the balance I'm not crazy about."
The othr girl introduced herself as Mollie. Jera smiled, though it was a bit awkward seeing as she still felt rather uncomfortabe. "I'm Jera," she replied. "This is my first time riding by my own," she answered the next question. "My cousins been taking me out since a long time ago, but they always held me steady," she managed a real smile this time. "It's a whole lot harder than it looks to drive by yourself. Think I might be starting to get the hang of it though."
Jera experimentally twitched the broom to the left, then to the right, and managed not to wobble very much. "How about you?" she asked Mollie. "You look like you've been riding a broom your whole life."
0
Jera
what? it's scary!
0
Jera
0
5
Delany
June 13, 2008 1:59 PM
Not hard at all. by Delany
Delany walked onto the pitch. She had heard from the other students that Amy Fox was teaching the lessons. She was so excited. She spped walked over to where Proffesor Fox was standing and looked around. There was a pile of balls the size of quaffles and a pile of brooms. She stood a few feet back and waited for the lesson to begin. Once a majority of people formed, Proffesor Fox began. She talked about the rules, what she expected, and what they were stqarting of with. She then dismissed everyone to get a broom and practice hovering.Delany walked forward and grabbed a broom from the top of the pile. She walked over to an empty spot and laid her broom on the ground. This was easy. She had done it in the country side when she was at least six. She looked down at her broom and held her hand out.
"Up." She said quickly.
For the first second her broom did not respond. She wiggled her fingers anxiouisly and in the next second her broom had shot upwards and slapped into her grasp. It had shot upwards with such force, it left a little sting in her palm. Just like she remembered. She smiled and swung her leg over the handle. It felt so right. She kicked off from teh ground a hovered into the air. She could feel the broom shaking slightly beneath her. Like it was alomst as eagear as her to start flying. She looked around happily. everyone else was eaither in the ari or working on it. She smiled once again and had to force herself to land her broom for now. She could hardly wait to rush back into hte air again.
0
Delany
Not hard at all.
0
Delany
0
5