Kicking it off (Revised) on Quidditch Pitch

Jennifer Zucchero

May 27, 2008 7:25 PM

Crotalus Quidditch tryouts [walk-ons welcome] by Jennifer Zucchero

Jennifer hadn’t expected the first quidditch practice of the year to bring forth a wave of nostalgia. Games, certainly, and probably the last practice or two of the season, but this first one seemed far too early for the ‘beginning of the end’ feelings to be starting. To her chagrin, they had snuck up on her nonetheless, and as she headed out to the pitch to get everything ready, there were a few times she almost had to stop to just think everything out. This was her last tryouts, her last beginning of the year speech, her last team.

Thankfully, by the time said team made it out to the pitch, she’d pushed through her emotions and managed to set everything up and present a responsible, organized, and put together front for the newest members (the returning players had already seen her at her best and worst, so there was no point in putting on a front for them. Once she counted heads to make sure that there were at least as many as had signed up, she whistled to gather everyone’s attention. It wasn’t a talent one would normally associate with the normally lady-like Jennifer (naturally, Will had taught her), but it was useful on occasion.

“Hello, and welcome to the first Crotalus quidditch team practice of the year,” she began strongly. “For those of you who have yet to meet me, I’m Jennifer Zucchero, the seeker and captain. In addition to myself, there are five other returning starters; Geoffrey Spindler, the assistant-captain, Helena Layne and Oliver Abbott as chasers, Earl Valentine as keeper, and Lily Collins as a beater. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on one’s view, our other beater, Gwen Carey, has decided not to return this year.” She hadn’t had a chance to track down Gwen and ask why the change of heart, but she wasn’t counting on her former player’s mind being changed, and so the reasons didn’t matter all that much.

“Practices are going to change a little this year. While, like previous years, there will be some practices such as this one where alternates and starters will be practicing together, separate practices are also being implemented, run by Geoffrey and me respectively. Hopefully there won’t be any confusion over the various schedules; however, if there are any questions feel free to ask. I’ve got a good feeling about the returning team and the newcomers, and I think we’re going to be able to go far this year.” She smiled at the collected group, and then glanced down at the plans for the day’s practice she’d painstakingly written out the night before.

“That sums it up for the non-tryouters, so you five go run two laps around the field, then Geoffrey will be running your part of the practice at the beginning. We'll be combining later, once everyone's properly warmed up and drilled.” She ignored the look that she was sure her assistant-captain was going to be giving her, as Jennifer hadn’t managed to warn him about this new development in the plan. She’d discussed handing over some practices without specifying when that was going to start. Ah, well. He was going to have to learn to sink or swim eventually, and there was no time like the present.

“As for the rest of you; there’s one open starting position and four main alternates. While I have no problems with having more than that, I definitely want all of those positions covered before overlaps start, so some of you may have to switch around. I’m sorry if any of you have a problem with that, but if you want to play on a quidditch team you have to be flexible. First, though the position of the new beater needs to be decided. Please raise your hand if you have any interest at all in playing beater. If so, then your try-out will be first; give me your name and any experience, then grab a bat and warm yourself up. If you are not, then give me name and experience still, but what positions you would be willing to play, and which you would not. If there are multiple people dying to play the same position, then try-outs for that as well will occur. If not, then I’ll send you on your respective merry ways over to Geoffrey” who is so going to hate me by the end of this practice “Who will work you as he sees fit. Any questions before we begin?”

OOC: There will be a playing component of tryouts, obviously, but I just need to know about who's going to be playing what, so if all alternates could get in that preliminary post as soon as possible, that would be great. Thanks!\r\n\r\n

Subthreads:

The anticipated try-out! by Renaye and Josh Warren with Addie Laurent, Jennifer

Last Part by Jennifer with Geoffrey Spindler

0 Jennifer Zucchero Crotalus Quidditch tryouts [walk-ons welcome] 48 Jennifer Zucchero 1 5

Renaye and Josh Warren

May 27, 2008 10:18 PM

The anticipated try-out! by Renaye and Josh Warren

Josh wasn't really sure what to do with himself, besides pace that is. He had been ready, old blue-and-yellow jersey with the number 2 evinced on the back along with WARREN, had been thrown on along with the rest of his Quidditch gear. Josh had lost count of how many times he had paced the dorm floor or how many times he had undone and redone his Beater's gloves. He had messed his black hair so much that it looked like he had just returned from a flight. He had silently polished his broom, twice. He had made a mental list of everything that may go wrong and later daydreamed of everything going right. Merlin, he wanted it to go right... He may be competeing with his sister, but somehow that made it more comfortable, like any backyard game... From what he saw, Raye and himself were the only new kids trying out for the remaining spot. Either way, one of them would end up happy, unless some lucky soul decided to become very good at being a Beater at the wrong moment.

Josh had been playing since before he could walk. His parents had given the twins each a broom for their first birthday, just for future notice of course... Once he could fly, he took up the bat. Once that happened... Well, everything went pretty much downhill. Now it was nothing sort of obsession. He loved being a Beater. There was nothing like playing in a game. That was why he loved the league team so much. The twins could play for fun and competition, all at the same time. And now the try-outs were here and he had to put everything he knew into his flying if he really wanted that spot. Which he did. Badly. Glancing at the clock once last time, Josh grabbed his Flare turned to meet Renaye in the Common Room.

*-*-*-*

Renaye couldn't contain her excitement. Her fingers trembled as she pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail. Quidditch try-outs! She had waited so long for this... The stress that was mounted behind the upcoming day was in the back of her mind now. She wasn't going to let stress defeat her. Nothing short of death was going to keep her from doing her absolute best. Renaye adjusted her beloved and (hopefully continually) lucky Montrose Magpies shirt and flung herself onto her bed for a last breather before heading down to meet Josh.

It was going to be so weird... Josh and Renaye always played on teams together. For this, they might be on the same team, but it wasn't they same as starting. Someone would be one step up from the other. Of course, no one would say anything to rub it in (unless it was called for), but it would be known knowledge. Renaye let out a long breath, her anticipation sending adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her previous decision to step-down if chosen had been reversed once it came to Cecily's WAIL project. Now she had to do something if she was going to prove anything. Renaye lept back to her feet and glanced at the pamphlet tacked to her bedpost, underneath the league team photo. Oddly, at that moment, some wise words from her brother came to memory: "Just shut up and fly! It's not like you're going to forget how to!" That kid has a way with words... At that, Renaye snatched up her treasured Avalanche and made her way down to the Commons, her excitement now mixed with determination.

"Hey!" She greeted Josh, bouncing down from the last step and pulling him into a hug. "Let's go!" Josh grinned back at her and led the way to the Pitch, each in equal silence. Their voices were useless the whole walk to the field, each caught up in their own thoughts. In no time, the two were in the line up, waiting in the hopes of being on The Team. The twins listened intently to Jennifer's speech, not wanting to miss a thing. If only they had this passion for classes. Then the question came:

"Please raise your hand if you have any interest at all in playing beater." Josh and Renaye each punched the air, as if that would get them the spot. When it seemed appropriate to speak, Josh took the dive and spoke up,

"Josh Warren. I played Quidditch since the womb and I've played starting Beater on a junior league for the past few years."

Renaye smiled brightly and began her into, "I'm Renaye Warren. I'm Josh's twin and I was his fellow Beater on the league team. Our parents own a supplies/engineering shop so brooms are everywhere even at home."

Josh's state-of-mind was filled with excitement, mixed with the same amount of nerves. It was making him a bit uneasy, but he hoped to leave that on the ground. Renaye seemed just as excited as before, if not more so. She was slipping on her gloves, looking ready to kick off at any given second. They kept their mouths shut at the "any questions" part. They just wanted up in the air...

0 Renaye and Josh Warren The anticipated try-out! 0 Renaye and Josh Warren 0 5

Addie Laurent

May 28, 2008 4:16 PM

The dreaded try-out by Addie Laurent

Among the crowd of eager housemates biting at the bit just to try out, Addie stood uncomfortably and couldn’t help, but fidget. She flexed her fingers. She smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles from the too large red shirt. She still couldn’t believe she was here. Why was she here again? Oh, yeah. Hannah. Her insistent sister who had encouraged her to try out on the basis that it might remove some of her invisibility. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be visible. It was merely that not being offered a sense of security. If she messed up, no one would ever notice, but as her family had pointed out, it was also a lonely existence and if she wanted to make friends, she had to put herself out there, which is how she found herself here and was thankful when the Captain began what she knew would be the worst day of her life. The sooner it was over, the better for she certainly didn’t belong here.

As the older girl, who introduced herself as Jennifer Zucchero talked, Addie tried to listen carefully and make a mental note of everyone. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself by not remembering someone’s name or position, or worse if she did, she might offend someone. Neither was really an option for the goal of survival. Helena was easy to remember, as she was the only female chaser. She recognized Oliver from having gone to the ball with her sister. This left Geoffrey, as the other chaser and for a distinguishing quality, he was the Assistant Captain. Earl’s name, she remembered hearing over the summer, because her cousin, Nicoletta, who was now living with them, had gone to visit him. Then, there was Lily Collins, female, beater, and had a reputation that preceded her. All in all, it didn’t appear to be too difficult to keep everyone organized in her head.

Then, there was a mention of how the practices were going to run, but she decided not to worry about it until they were actually posted. Until that point, it was on to the next order of business, which was stating the available positions. One actual team position and four alternatives to which she figured she would be lucky to even get an alternative position, but regardless of such, she had promised to try out for any available position. Growing up, her parents had always taught them that anything worth doing was worth doing right, so since she was here, she was going to give it her all. So, when the time came to raise her hand to try out for the only open spot of Beater, she did.

She wasn’t the first to give her information, though. Her eyes drifted over to those who had spoken first. The Warren twins. She was actually surprised that they were competing against each other. Every time that she saw them, they seemed incredibly close-knit. She didn’t think she was nearly as close to Hannah, but at any rate, she didn’t think she would have competed against her. She would have felt horribly guilty for doing so, knowing how much her sister would want to make the team, not that she would have been competition really, but still, she wouldn’t have been able to help feeling that way. On that note, it was probably what surprised her most, because they were probably each other’s only real competition. If one made it, then it would only prove that the other wasn’t up to par, even if it was only by a little bit. She didn’t think she would be able to handle something like that and had to admire them for their ability to do such a thing regardless of any personal feelings on her part, but that was mostly for Renaye.

Secretly, she hoped that Josh got it over Renaye. It wasn’t a very nice thought and it was bitterness that was creeping through from the first time she had met the girl for she had seemed to seal it that Addie wouldn’t have any close friends within her House. This wasn’t to say she hadn’t made a friend, because she had with Laurie, and she had a couple friends outside of the House, yet it didn’t change that she didn’t have any close friends within the dorm, which brought her back to the point of why she was trying out in the first place and that it was her turn. How was she to follow two kids that had grown up with Quidditch, as their entire lives? Of course, the probably put the pressure on them more and she breathed a little easier, thinking that maybe it wasn’t so easy for them after all. “Addie Laurent. I play Quidditch at home with my sister and our friends.” She hadn’t been in a league and the games had been informal, but it was something.

With that said, she did as instructed and made sure to get a bat for when her turn came. For now, she had no questions and would work on warming up with some stretches. Even if she was a complete embarrassment up in the air, she wasn’t going to be one, because she got a cramp from not having warmed her muscles properly. After doing so, she quickly braided her hair (having not thought to do so before), and tied it off with a rubber band. She pulled on the borrowed gloves, a little small on her hands since Hannah had really tiny ones, and she was ready to go. Now, all that was left was to wait. In the meantime, her stomach would continue its dance of flips and tosses in anxiousness, and all she wanted to do was get her shame over with, so that she could go hole up in her portion of the room to dwell in misery.

0 Addie Laurent The dreaded try-out 0 Addie Laurent 0 5

Jennifer

June 09, 2008 2:25 PM

Try-outs part 2 by Jennifer

OOC: Zane and Alexis, since you two didn’t post I’m going to assume that you’re interested in playing chaser (Lutece, we talked but I’d still like confirmation), and that’s it. If that’s not the case, then mention it in your post, and I’ll change it here.

The tryoutees didn’t look half bad, Jennifer had to give them that. Yes, she hadn’t seen any of them fly yet, except for Lutece, and the third year and the Warrens were the only ones she knew anything about, but, still, they didn’t appear completely inept, which was definitely a start. Now that she had everyone’s preferences, the actual tryouts could start.

First, though, she belatedly realized, more instructions had to be given. “Zane and,” she quickly checked her list, “Alexis, you two are to report to Geoffrey, then, after taking a lap. Oh, and tell Geoffrey that I’m going to need Lily. You two will be competing for the first alternate chaser position later, but for now just focus on getting warmed up, like everyone else over there will be.” It wasn’t quite true; she and Geoffrey (she assumed) would be keeping an eye on the two of them, but it would be more to see how well they worked with the team than anything else. Once the two second years had left, Jennifer turned to the rest.

“Alright, now that we’re done with that, you have a few more minutes to prepare yourself. Once everyone’s ready, and Lily gets over here, we’ll begin the first drill. One of you is going to be defending your teammates, with Lily attacking. We’ll start off with just one target, and then move up to two and three. Each of you will get three minutes with each successive number, with my whistle meaning someone else needs to take to the air. No intentionally letting a bludgers hit the competition; that kind of behavior is highly frowned upon, and fairly obvious.” In spite of her tone, she cracked a smile at the younger students. “After everyone’s gone, we’ll switch to you guys attacking while Lily defends. Decide order among yourselves. If there aren’t any questions then go prepare.”

Ignoring the perspective beaters momentarily, Jennifer explained the situation to Lily as soon as the blonde arrived. Once the other girl understood, Jennifer informed the tryoutees that time was up, blew her whistle, and then settled back to watch and take notes.

OOC: You all are going to be judged on technical skill, realism, and writing strength. Adding as many details as possible will improve your chances greatly, while grammar and spelling mistakes will detract. Be careful not to write for other players (though the bludger, of course, is all yours), and you can write generalizations, particularly with regards to what Lily does (very basic, though, like 'Lily hit the bludger') so that she doesn't have to continually post (provided, of course, she doesn't express a concern with that. Good luck.
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0 Jennifer Try-outs part 2 0 Jennifer 0 5

Josh Warren (with Renaye)

June 16, 2008 10:44 AM

Kicking it off (Revised) by Josh Warren (with Renaye)

OOC: I changed any personally sent directions of the bludger to something that the bludger did on its own. I hope that's okay?

BIC:

The twins listened as instructions were given. Renaye was beginning to feel her stomach twisting with nerves. She realized how much was resting on these next few minutes and this knowledge was resulting in her sudden tenseness. Josh was doing his best at just remaining calm. His mind of cleared of any worries. He simply stared into the air above, waiting patiently to fly. Renaye turned toward him with a nervous smile. Josh returned it lightly. Now it was their turn for instructions. Jennifer turned to them, informing them of the upcoming competition. The confirmation that their turn for observation was so near sent a shock of energy to Josh. The broom in his hand almost trembled with anticipation, but that may have been his hand wrapped around it. The two nodded at the end of instructions.

"You want to go first?" Josh asked, secretly hoping she would say no. Renaye's green eyes widened.

"No," she said, "Remember the semi-final game?" Josh nodded. "It's like that right now." Josh understood. She was nervous. He nodded, grabbed his broom and a bat, put a hand on his sister's shoulder, and pushed her forward towards the pitch. Once she got in the air she would be fine. He knew how she played when she got nervous. He wanted to both of them to fly at their best. It wouldn't seem right if he got the spot because Renaye hadn't been playing up to her potential.

Josh mounted his broom, Raye doing likewise beside him. The two kicked off, soaring into the air. Josh felt as if a longtime craving had been satisfied as his feet left the ground. Renaye zoomed up to his side, her old grin back on her face. She playfully bumped his side before swerving to the right, daring him to follow. Josh clenched his broom into high gear, shooting past over Renaye's blonde head and dropping down several feet in front of her. He heard her cry "Hey!" from behind, but instead just held up three fingers in the air, signaling for the W3. Josh swerved right, Renaye going left. They turned until they were facing each other and flew straight. Just as they were near the crashing point, Renaye turned to the left as Josh (should there have been a bludger there) remained in his flight forward to take the hit. Josh flew around to meet Renaye, who seemed in a much better state than before.

"You know me too well, dear brother," she said, "You always know how to fix my problems." She reached out and messed his windblown hair, which Josh didn't bother to fix.

At that moment, the sound of the whistle rang through the air. Josh watched as Renaye returned to the ground and Lily flew into the air. He felt relaxed but on-edge all at the same time. He could do this; it was waiting for the moment to begin that was making his blood race. Lily took a swing and the framilar sound met Josh's ears, like an alarm in his mind to begin his flight. The deadly hunk of metal was driven with speed. As bludgers do, the ball turned in the direction of the Chaser and Josh turned his broom with it. He had reacted in the instant the bludger left her bat, his hands gripping the Beater's bat. The bludger swerved once to the left, heading for the nearby Chaser, causing a moment of confusion, but Josh adjusted his course, making a note to stay out of the Chaser's way. With a mighty swing of the bat as the bludger drew near, he sent it speeding back to meet Lily. His hit was thankfully on target. Josh was pleased that he has gotten off to a less-than-miserable start. He liked to think that was a good sign. He didn't have much time for his mind to linger as Lily took another swing. Bludgers were never sympathetic to one's desired direction. They went for the players. Period. This one headed for the Chaser that was below. Josh dove, his mind focused on going wherever the nasty metal ball, which he had a strange affection for, went. At the second he was able to judge the ball's path, Josh jumped towards it. He pulled the bat back as he was almost on top of the bludger. However, the ball drifted sharply to the right at the last moment. Josh, who had been ready to send it back, had to turn his torso quickly and give a ferocious swing. Ball and bat crashed together, sending a sting into Josh's hands. The bludger swerved away, curving to the direction he had been aiming for. He hadn't gotten a hold of it as much as he would have wanted to, but accuracy was part of the game. He'd get some power into the next one he hoped.

The whistle sounded from the grassy field, but Josh's pale blue eyes never left the bludger that had just been contacted. Lily was good. The reason she was on the team was quite obvious. From what he had seen at the last Crotalus match, she was a No-mercy, watch-you-back player. Players like that were useful when playing Beater. With additional players on the field, the variety of direction the bludger may take multiplied. He took off flying after it, figuring it was better to get an early jump than a late one. Josh almost let out a groan as the bludger directed its attention to the farthest possible player. He clenched the broom handle with one hand, putting his trusted broom into gear. Josh sped up, making sure he reached the bludger before it reached one of his teammates. He urged his broom forward, thanking Mom and Dad for the terrific speed they put into his Flare. He brought both arms up to the bat, winding up his swing and building up as much power as possible. He took the swing. This would have worked should the bludger have stayed on the expected course. That was something Josh hated, but loved about playing Beater. You could never know what to expect from a bludger. Instead of hitting the center of the bat, the bludger moved just enough to where it was in perfect position to roll off the bat and skin the arm holding the bat. Josh turned, and swung at the bludger (with a little extra force), watching as it snaked away with speed. He let out a hiss of pain, giving his stinging hand a shake. His spare hand went through his black hair, reminding himself to focus on the game— wait, try-out.

The whistle sounded for the last time. Josh hovered from side to side, keeping himself alert. There were three Chasers in the air now. He kept his ears alert for the crack of bat on bludger and scanned the field for the three. He heard the bludger's depart from the bat and jumped to accelerate. You couldn't really wait for a bludger to come to you, or it wouldn't. That was part of being a Beater; you were pretty much a Bludger Hunter. Go get it. Josh eye's judged the metal ball as it soared upwards, several feet above his head. He turned his handle as high up as he could and took off after the ball. The Chaser was right in his path to the bludger... Josh's mind went into overdrive. He could always call over to his teammate, but he didn't think that was the point here. Josh gripped the broom, hoping to Merlin that there was enough room to beat the bludger... Just in case though,

"Hey, Chaser! On your left!" He called as his broom put in the extra speed. There was about five feet between him and the chaser, plenty of room to swing a bat if he did it quickly. Josh pulled his arms back and swung with as much force as he could. The center of the bat made contact with the bludger, sending it towards the other end of the pitch. The whistle sounded for the last time signaling the trade-off and Josh let out a breath.

Now that it was over, Josh was aware of the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. As he landed, he wiped his face with his sleeve. His eyes found Renaye as she marched onto the field for her go. Her hand rose for a high-five and Josh slapped her palm with his. "Good go! I though you were going to get slammed with that last one!" She said as she passed. Josh smiled lightly to himself as he returned to stand at the sideline. He had too.

0 Josh Warren (with Renaye) Kicking it off (Revised) 0 Josh Warren (with Renaye) 0 5

Renaye Warren

June 16, 2008 3:35 PM

Following the kick-off... by Renaye Warren

Josh was a tough act to follow, there was no doubt about that. The kid focused in when he was in the game. Now it was Renaye's turn. After a brief exchange with her brother, Raye tuned out distractions. Her stomach was only slightly tied up in knots, but that was enough to make her nervous. When she was in the air it really didn't matter. She would play the best she could. The best option was to just get in the air. Renaye mounted her broom, her favorite gift from Mom and Dad yet, and kicked off the ground with force. She drew level with Lily and began to fly as if she was pacing in air.

The first bludger skirted around the very edge of the pitch, making sure that Renaye would have to fly forward to cut it off. She flew at a decent speed, not wanting to throw off her aim by going too fast. The speed proved to be good enough. She reached the bludger, pulling back her arms and smashing the bludger in the opposite direction. Renaye had time to fly towards the center of the pitch before her attention was returned to the bludger. Lily had gotten a hold of it once more and Renaye accelerated, following its path. The bludger darted to the right, Renaye's green eyes following every movement. She took a sharp turn, putting herself in the path of the bludger and taking a ferocious swing. Her bat made contact with the bludger and she let it slide over the top. This was something she had tried out in the semi's. It put a spin on the ball making it dive down through the air. Being higher up in the air, this technique was helpful because it went down to Lily's level.

The shrill sound of the whistle met Raye's ears, though her attention remained on the scene in front of her. The bludger was sent shooting through the air once more and Renaye tore after it. The decline the ball's path required Raye to take the dive towards the ground. For a second, she thought the dive was too much. She pulled up on the handle of her broom with difficulty, but managed to do so in time to crush the bludger to the target. The confusion of the dive, however, resulted in an offset of the aim. The bludger was sent a foot or so below Lily. Renaye let out a groan and returned to normal height. She would have to kick it up a notch to recover.

The last whistle sounded. Renaye's attention was only on the try-outs. Any sounds were blocked out. The bludger was sent back towards her once more. Renaye took after the bludger, that was aiming for one of the three Chasers. Renaye circled around to meet the bludger, adrenaline rushing through her blood. She pulled her arms back and collided the bat with the hunk of metal. Renaye immediately grinned at the result. The aim was on and the speed was just as she had hoped. The whistle sounded for the last time. Renaye let her sore arms hang down, letting out a breath. She returned to the ground, feeling relieved and accomplished. Renaye stood next to Josh and exchanged a grin. It had been a great day so far.

0 Renaye Warren Following the kick-off... 0 Renaye Warren 0 5

Lily Collins

June 16, 2008 5:56 PM

Taking aim. by Lily Collins

Lily sighed. She had been pretty disappointed that Gwen hadn't signed up. It was weird, since initially she had no confidence in Gwen's ability to play Quidditch in the first place. Now though, over the last few years, Lily had grown to like the younger girl and even think she was a fairly good beater. Plus, Lily was just used to her. Now she had to deal with some new kid.

As the first two potential Beaters introduced themselves, Lily rolled her eyes. They seemed so arrogant. She couldn't help but hope that the third girl, Addie, was the one who made it.

She went to take her lap with the other returning players until she was informed that she was going to be attacking the targets while the newbies tried to defend. Lily grinned. Attacking with bludgers was one of the things she did best and she wasn't going to go easy on any of them. After all when had she ever done that for anyone? The other teams wouldn't be.

The first up was the boy, Josh. Lily slammed the bludger, sending it hurtling towards one of the Chasers. He sent it back towards her and she sent it off again, smacking it even harder this time. It came back to her and she fired one last time, nearly hitting a Chaser this time. That was the point. She had nothing against her team's Chasers, she just wanted to make sure the boy knew what he was in for. The Beaters at Sonora had a tendency towards brutality, though Lily was probably the worst on that.

Josh's try-out was over and next up was his twin. Lily wasn't about to cut her any breaks either. She fired the bludger towards the edge of the pitch. Renaye sent it back towards her and she sent it off again,really slamming it. The third time, Lily fired it off towards the Chasers again. Next time she would have to mix it up a bit.

As soon as Renaye was done and the whistle blew for Addie, Lily sent it hurtling through the air, this time right for the Chasers, (even though she would have much rather tried to hit the Keeper)

11 Lily Collins Taking aim. 45 Lily Collins 0 5

Jennifer

June 17, 2008 12:27 PM

Last Part by Jennifer

OOC: Addie and Lutece, you should still post below, and here as well if you can.

After watching the potential beaters, Jennifer was fairly pleased with the way that the team would look after she left, both alternates and regular player, at least for this one position. However, she couldn’t make a decision yet, not without knowing how well each of them would work with the team at large. Which is where the last part of the tryouts came in.

“Alright, everyone, come down and go get water,” came the command to both her group and those with Geoffrey (after several years in this position, she had managed to make herself be heard across the field, despite the lack of volume one would expect from her rather diminutive size). “Five minutes at most, and come back here afterward. Geoffrey, I need to see you.” She waited for her assistant captain to make his way over to her before beginning the individual instructions.

“You’re not going to be playing, just because I want another eye and so you can get experience with this. Plus, you know, you would make the numbers uneven,” she grinned, and then reached up and ruffled his hair affectionately. “So you’re stuck down here with me. Terribly sorry about that, but I’m sure you’ll be having more than enough playing time over the course of this year, with two practices. Besides, I already know how good you are. Oh, and I hope springing the rest of the team on you wasn’t too bad a surprise, and I apologize if it was.” She was in a more talkative mood than usual, which surprised her. Perhaps it was because she actually had decisions to make, and the power and authority were going to make her mad. Always a lovely possibility, and one that she had always suspected would happen eventually.

Her monologue was cut short by the return of the team, probably all for the best. Now she could actually get on with things, and make her decisions. “The next exercise is a half-team scrimmage, with two beaters, a keeper, and two chasers on each side. The first line-up is Earl, Lily, Renaye, Alexis, and Helena against Addie, Lutece, Oliver, Josh, and Zane. Lutece, start off as keeper, and then I’ll switch you and Addie. I do hope by now people have decided what position they play, though if there are any last-minute changes of heart, just let me know. Earl’s team is defending the far goals.” She waited for everyone to sort themselves out while releasing the bludgers, and then blew the whistle and tossed the quaffle up in the air to signal the beginning.

Settling back down on the bench, she leaned over to Geoffrey with a somewhat mischievous look. “How much you wanna bet someone gets taken out before the end of practice? I have five sickles on Lily forgetting Earl’s on her team.” Such humor was probably not appropriate for the circumstances, but it did make everything more amusing, and, after all, five sickles could be rather useful.
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0 Jennifer Last Part 0 Jennifer 0 5

Geoffrey Spindler

June 17, 2008 1:59 PM

Finally here... didn't mean to take this long :-/ by Geoffrey Spindler

Blindsided was probably the best way to describe how Geoffrey had felt when the Captain had just dropped him in the deep end with the older members of the team. But, after throwing her an 'are you crazy?!' look that she'd been too busy with the Beater hopefuls to notice, he'd shook himself, mounted his broom and risen to the challenge. If nothing else, there could be words later, he'd promised himself. A little warning wouldn't have been that hard to have arranged.

A couple of laps for warm-ups, and some basic drills (to start the process of getting the team members unkinked and free of the holiday rustiness and onto the path to a successful year of Quidditch) later, there came the call for water break followed in swift succession with a call for him to attend the Captain. He landed close to where she was, propped his broom up and raised an eyebrow.

"You might have warned me about the change in plans," he started before she dropped the second bombshell. Ducking didn't help avoid her ruffling his hair, rather making the task easier for her so he was partly distracted with trying to sort it out again as he attempted to protest. It was almost strange how short she seemed now. "But-" She didn't really give him a chance to speak, continuing on with her explanation as to why he wasn't going to get to play with all the will of a bulldozer taking down anything in the way of a planned new road. He rolled his eyes a little at her praise of his skills, and tried not to turn red while grumbling half-heartedly. "Yeah, well... I suppose."

He shrugged at her apology, but the sound of his approaching team mates and prospective team mates made the decision on what to say or not to say for him, so he simply found a comfortable spot on the bench and sat down, making certain that he still had a good view of the pitch and - more importantly - above the pitch, where the action was going to happen.

He was watching the start of the action with an intense interest that almost surprised him, following the quaffle's passage down the field when he realised that Jennifer had sat down beside him. He glanced at her, and was somewhat taken aback by her expression. And somewhat nervous about how close she was leaning. He looked up at the Crotalus players again, even as she spoke.

"No bet," he said, with only the slightest hint at hesitation as he tried to convince himself that his mouth hadn't gone dry. "And Lily will forget about being on Valentine's team within five minutes, tops." If he'd been able to focus on it, he would have been quite pleased with how he was phrasing things. The stilted formal code of speech that his mother especially had tried to instil in him had taken a battering from living with the Baxters, and spending his summers with Stephen and his friends. As things were, he bit his lip and tried to concentrate on the sky.

"What do you think of the twins?" He asked. "I met Josh last year before the ball. Seemed..." he searched for the right word. "Enthusiastic. Gave the impression his sister was too."

39 Geoffrey Spindler Finally here... didn't mean to take this long :-/ 79 Geoffrey Spindler 0 5

Oliver Abbott

June 17, 2008 5:14 PM

Me neither by Oliver Abbott

There seemed to be a lot of new faces at the tryouts this year. Oliver even recognised some of them; Hannah's sister was there, and Irene's cousins. Oliver didn't stay long enough to find out much about the others, because Jen decided to split the practise, and Geoffrey took the players who'd been on the team last year for a bit of a work out. Oliver did some laps, getting back into the habit of flying again after a long summer on the ground. His broom was sturdy as ever, and Oliver did start off with a wobble here and there, but his balance returned to him within a couple of minutes.

Next they did some of the usual drills, including various ball games to practise all the necessary Quidditch skills: catching the Quaffle, throwing the Quaffle, and dodging the bludgers. Oliver was, not for the first time, pleased beyond words that he was on the same team as Lily. Unfortunately, this happiness was relatively short lived. After a quick break, they regrouped again for a mock-up game, and Lily was on the opposite team. Oliver grimaced; had he done something to upset Jen? She'd put the three most experienced players on one team, and left him with Lutece and three newbies. Great.

Still, the game wasn't going to win itself. It wasn't that he doubted the second years' abilities, but he guessed they might be lacking in experience, so he anticipated having to pull his weight on the mini-team for them to stand a chance at not being completely crushed. Brow furrowed in determination, Oliver positioned himself in the air for the start of the game. "Good luck and have fun," he called over his shoulder to the three new kids. Then Jen threw up the quaffle. Oliver burst forward, and as much to his surprise as delight, he caught the quaffle. He'd never got the first catch before! Yet that was just the starting point - he now had to throw it to a chaser and hope they caught it. Oliver dove a little lower, to avoid the players on the other team. He flew towards Earl's goals and glanced around for another chaser. "Here," he called, and passed the ball as fluidly as he could. Hopefully it would be caught by his team, and not intercepted.

0 Oliver Abbott Me neither 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Josh and Renaye Warren

June 18, 2008 1:03 PM

My arrival by Josh and Renaye Warren

OOC: I'm sorry this may seemed rushed. I am leaving very shortly, but I wanted to get the twins' posts up. Since I won't be here before this weekend when teams are decided, I wanted to get something up.

BIC:

Drills, like the one the twins had just undergone, were fun and all, but nothing beats a scrimage. Scrimage was as close as Josh could get to a game at the moment. He had been dying to play in the middle of the excitement of a game for months now. There was something about the chaos in the air that was simply intoxicating. Josh stood beside Renaye as they the team returned to the ground and instructions were given. Renaye gave a quick smile to Alexis. Josh picked out those on his team as the names were called. The teams took to the air.

Josh, bat in hand, hovered in the air, anticipating the release of the bludgers. Jennifer released them, the metal cannons shooting into the air, followed by the sounding of the whistle. At the burst of sound, Josh tore after the nearest bludger, keeping an eye out for his fellow beater in addition to those on the opposing team. Renaye was nearby, soaring towards the same bludger that he had his attention on. Josh sent her a wicked grin and put on an exrta burt of speed, just as she did. Renaye's green eyes were dead-on focused on the bludger ahead. The bludger shot to the left, speeding after Oliver. The turn was in favor of Josh's direction. Turning to get the right angle at the bludger, at the same time avoiding colliding with Oliver, Josh made contact with the ball, sending it shooting off in Alexis's direction. Nothing personal, just sport. Not a second after he swung did Renaye shoot by, turning towards the direction of the bludger. Josh turned in the air and continued his scan for possible threats as Renaye tore after the bludger he had just sent.

*-*-*
As soon as the bludger had turned, Renaye knew that Josh was going to get a hold of it. The thing with playing against her brother was that she knew all his tricks and all the skills he was able to put into the game. He sent the bludger speeding after Alexis. She watched the ball leave his bat, following the bludger at that second. She pulled her broom into a sharp turn, making it so Renaye was able to cut the bludger off. Pulling back her arms, Renaye swung the bat (hard), her target being Zane. She knew he played, well, and would be the biggest help to the opposing team. She smiled to herself as the bludger's path stayed on target. Renaye accelerated to the edge of the pitch, soaring around the outside of the field, senses alert for the little buggers.

0 Josh and Renaye Warren My arrival 0 Josh and Renaye Warren 0 5

Addie

June 18, 2008 3:31 PM

Trying to avoid your aim by Addie

In the countdown time until their try-outs, Addie opted to go up in the air, like some of the others were doing, rather than wait. It wasn’t to practice any special maneuvers or the like, but she wanted to get a feel for the broom, to become one with it, as though it were a part of herself for she was going to be counting on the simple school broom to keep her out of the way of the bludgers. Oh, wait, that’s right, she was trying out for Beater. No, instead, she would be counting on the beaten up piece of wood to put her right in their path. A surge of panic ran from her brown hair to the tips of her toes and back up again to settle in her stomach. She couldn’t do this. She absolutely, positively couldn’t. What had made her ever think she could? She was going to make a horrible fool of herself and everyone was going to laugh, or worse, she would get hurt, or even worse yet, she wouldn’t be able to protect the other people and someone else would get hurt and it would be all her fault. She could feel the sting of tears coming to her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. No, she wouldn’t cry.

She inhaled the warm air that was sweeping past her, as she made simple patterns to warm up. The previous urge to cry faded away, as she calmed down slightly. It was only a try-out, but the nervousness was still pulsating within her. She supposed that it could be used to her advantage. If she were too self-confident, then she might make mistakes in her arrogance, but being this worried couldn’t be good either. She would be too focused on it. She forced herself to relax. In doing so, she loosened her grip on the broom, the knuckles, hidden by gloves, returning to their normal shade of coloring. The rock in her stomach had slowly been dissolving into a pebble when the whistle sounded causing it to explode into a boulder. The moment of destruction was creeping ever closer. Landing, she sighed and went over to where the others were waiting their turns.

Josh was up first, followed by Renaye, and then it would be her turn. Her hand tightened on the broom. Lovely. It would be the cherry on her moment of humiliation. Not only would she be making a donkey of herself, but also would be doing so after the wonder twins. A small smile broke over her face at the thought and wondered if they had special rings to make their powers activate. She knew she was being silly, yet it lightened her worries, especially as Josh had begun his try-out and he was obviously very good. It was hard to believe that he was around the same age that she was with the way that he was taking on everything that Lily Collins, infamous seventh year beater, was shelling out. On the grounds of facing Lily alone should have had people running away. Why wasn’t she? She was obviously insane, but she had made a promise and it was one that she intended to follow through with, even if she ended up in the worst case scenario, which she had not doubt it would be. It was an inevitability that she felt now resigned to, as she continued to watch the only male up for the position defending three chasers rather spectacularly up to the point where the whistle sounded once more.

Next came Renaye. The girl was fearless, as she kept putting herself in the path of the angry mental ball time and again. Addie was in awe. She couldn’t imagine ever being that brave. When she was younger, she used to run and hide under her covers at the slightest hint of thunder. Renaye was probably the type that would go and play in the rain even when there was lightening. She encompassed everything that Addie wasn’t and most of what Addie wanted to be, but she didn’t want the jumping to conclusions part. Okay, admittedly, she might just be doing that very thing herself based on one incident that happened last year. And if she wanted to really admit it to herself (and she really didn’t), she could be making more of an effort to be friendly to the other girls and get to know them, but she wasn’t. Mostly, it was because she was cowardly. By not doing so, it meant that she wasn’t noticed. She got to be invisible and by being invisible no one could do anything to her. She hoped Hannah was happy. She was taking an incredible risk to the possibility just by trying out for Quidditch. The thoughts weren’t able to continue. Renaye had just taken an incredible dive towards the ground. Addie couldn’t help, but jump in anticipation and worry over what might happen. She might not like her roommate, but she certainly didn’t wish for her to be hurt and that had looked a little risky to her eyes. Though, Renaye pulled out of it and sent the bludger flying back. Her mouth was open slightly in wonder and remained that way until the final whistle sounded to announce her turn.

The mere sound, which shouldn’t have done so seemed to cause a Pavlovian reaction, but instead of drooling, she began breaking out into a cold sweat, her heart pounding and her breathing heavier. She had to get a hold of herself. She wasn’t even up in the air yet! She had to remind herself that soon it would all be over, soon she could just put all of this behind her. Well, hopefully. Probably. She rationalized that there was little chance that anything she did now would be remembered, aside from the poor, unfortunate soul that had to follow Josh and Renaye Warren’s performances. Chances were that all in all that most people would be interested in who did the best. They would be the ones remembered. They would get all of the attention, all of the positive attention for which she couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Yes, she wanted to be unnoticed, but that was to avoid the negative attention, which could lead to her being teased or an outcast. At least, if she made herself one, it was by choice and thus, more acceptable.

Straddling the broom, she flexed her fingers around the broom and bat, finding the most comfortable holding positions before taking off into the air. Once she did, there was no turning back and that was made perfectly obvious as the bludger was immediately hurled at the chaser. She tilted her body so the broom angled towards the attack. She leaned forward, willing it to go quickly towards the person; the only thought in her mind was that she had to protect the person, only because if she didn’t, they would hate her. It was this worry alone that became a driving force to get the bludger. Of course, she had no idea what she was going to do once she got there. Oh, she knew the theory that she was supposed to hit the ball with the bat, but it was the practice that just might fail. She hadn’t lied to the Captain when she said she had played Quidditch before. It was just that she normally played Keeper (very badly), but only a minimal amount of flying or contact with bludgers was required. In fact, they normally, only played around with one rather than two, which made the odds of being hit by one even less. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the same. The bludger was approaching ever closer. She was almost there just a little further and there, she was between the chaser and the death-defying metal. Any thought she had of the possibility of the person being angry with her left her mind. All thoughts were gone. The only thing left in the end was her. The need to protect herself overrode anything else. The bludger was rapidly closing in. Automatically, her arm moved back and in the next instant, the bat made a cracking sound, as it slammed into the evil metal and back towards Lily.

If she had been smarter, or thinking at all, really, she would have aimed it away from Lily, but as it stood, she just wanted it away from her and it just happened to go in that direction. Soon, she knew it would be coming back either directly at her or at the chaser and as expected it did, and like before, instinct took over, the instinct to protect. Once more, the bludger was sent back. This time it was sent upwards and would give her a minute before it was after someone. It didn’t matter, though. There was no consciousness to what she was doing. Was she really doing this? It was like looking at herself from a third-person view. It was as though she were someone else. Was this what people talked about when they had gone through some traumatic experience for them? They felt disconnected from themselves? She certainly felt like that now. When asked later how she had managed to do anything, she knew she would have no real answer, because she had no idea.

A whistle sounded from somewhere. It seemed distant. There was a second chaser, making things increasingly difficult. Almost instantaneously, the heavy ball was heading towards them. Addie tucked herself into the broom, putting herself in front of the bludger once more, the desired result the same, as she smacked the bat against it. Being a fast-paced game, a fast-paced position, before she could even breathe, the bludger was heading towards the other chaser. Could she get there in time? She pushed forward, trying to go as fast as she could, but she failed to get there and for a moment, she closed her eyes, not wanting to see what happened. Opening them, the bludger was gone. Either it had missed the chaser or the chaser has swerved, but, thankfully, the person was safe for the moment and for a brief second she cursed the school broom for not being up to par in speed, though, she knew she really shouldn’t, because she was always lectured that a good Quidditch player can work with anything. She wasn’t really sure how accurate that was, but it was something that she couldn’t worry about now, especially since there was a third chaser. Where did they come from? She hadn’t even heard the sound of the whistle.

Using her sleeve, she quickly wiped the sweat from her brow. Lily was certainly not going to be merciful in any sense of the word. As though to prove the point that it wasn’t going to be easy, a bludger was heading towards the newest chaser, who was lower than the others, which caused Addie to have to dive. Noting as daring as what Renaye had done, but still not something she wanted to do. It felt like a rollercoaster, as she swooped down. She had to hit this one since she had missed the other one, but it didn’t look like she was going to make it. She scooted forward on the piece of wood, causing the broom to become slightly off balance. She stretched out her arm with the bat. There was no way she was going to be able to hit it to send it where she wanted it to go, but at the very least, maybe she could get it away from the chaser. The tip of the bat brushed against the ball. It wasn’t much, but it was just enough to send it heading away. She inhaled a sigh; glad to have managed that yet didn’t hold still for long for soon it would be sent back. She was vaguely reminded of a tennis match with the way Lily and she kept hitting the bludger back and forth. Of course, it was like a supped up one with the addition of targets, living targets.

After what seemed like an eternity of this continued back and forth, the final whistle sounded at last and she got to return to herself. She brought the broom down until her feet touched the ground. A smile was spread across her face. It wasn’t because she thought she had done a wonderful job, but rather because she had done it all and it hadn’t been as terrible as she had been expecting. Walking over to where the others were, the grin faded. She knew she didn’t have a chance at the spot and she didn’t want to give the impression that she thought she did. It would appear like she was egotistical and would give just one more reason that she should be disliked. Joining the group, she hung around in the back, waiting for the next piece of instruction.

0 Addie Trying to avoid your aim 0 Addie 0 5

Helena Layne

June 18, 2008 9:00 PM

Here for the party. by Helena Layne

Helena tugged gently on the end of her light brown ponytail for a moment before realizing how Anne-ish the gesture was. Shaking her hair back over her left shoulder, she smiled at the two second years assigned to her scrimmage team warmly, hoping equally to put them at ease and make it clearer than good glass that she was a good little team player who would never, in a million years, suspect that two of the students on her team hated each other, that the other two might well do the same, or do anything to give any of them a reason to take it out on her. She could see putting players who hated each other together now to see if they could work together, but what had she done to deserve being put in the middle of it? Earl and Lily's rivalry was the stuff of school legend, and she'd heard a few things about the second years. I'd almost rather get in a box with Anne a minute after we beat Aladren!

That thought was ridiculous enough to clear her head. Even someone uninvolved in the Aladren loss would be too stupid for words if he or she took that bargain, and she'd never considered herself stupid. When Jennifer started the scrimmage, Helena kicked off with the other four Far Goal-ers and began considering the best way to get her hands on the Quaffle as she approached it, keeping one eye open for Bludgers and the positions of the other Chasers.

When Oliver went down, Helena followed, now focusing mostly on the ball he carried and his immediate surroundings. That last part was more complicated than usual due to the influx of new people, but the girls' different hair colors and the lack of any second-year boys on her team made keeping which players belonged to which team simple enough that it didn't distract her too badly. When Oliver tossed the Quaffle, she moved to intercept it but slightly misjudged it; instead of catching it between her hands, she got it by her fingertips and almost dropped it as she tried to get a better grip and move away from the Near Goal Chasers simultaneously.

Repressing an urge to try out one of her brother's favorite curses - they wasted time and breath without fixing things, which made them pointless and so unused - Helena lobbed the Quaffle toward her fellow Far Goal Chaser at the first half decent opening she found so she could get at least one hand back on her broom. So much for experienced competence. With an irritated shake of her head, she moved with the Quaffle, prepared to cover her teammate or attempt or aid another go at stealing the ball from the opposition as necessary.

16 Helena Layne Here for the party. 88 Helena Layne 0 5

Addie

June 20, 2008 5:21 PM

Not the term I would use. by Addie

Five minutes for water. Five minutes for water, which meant there was more coming yet. Addie took in a handful of air. She had survived the first part. Now, she just had to manage anything yet to come. She could do it. She just had to keep telling herself that and maybe she would eventually believe it. But no matter what, it would end and it would be over for better or worse, and she would be able to move on with no regrets for not trying. Sure, she might have other regrets about the entire experience, but that wouldn’t be one.

After a small cup of water, she was back with the rest of the group. Her stomach dropped. According to the Captain, they would be playing an actual game. She looked at those that would be the opposing team. Earl, she didn’t know much about, other than he was older and had been involved with her cousin. Lily, though, everyone knew about. Just lovely. She already had to face off against the girl, trying to protect chasers. Now, she had to face her and another beater. She was never going to make it out alive. To make matters worse, the other beater was going to be Renaye, who had already proven to be really good and whom she had to share a room with. It didn’t seem as something that would bode well, but then trying out for the spot had never deemed as such. The same could be said for Alexis, as well, but she hadn’t really had much interaction with the girl. Helena was like Earl. She didn’t really know anything about her.

From there, her gaze drifted over to her teammates. The good news was that aside from her and the keeper, the rest were male, so it would be easy to keep track of who was on which team. She made a mental note that Lutece was the other girl on her team. Aside from that, there was Oliver, who she knew slightly, because of Hannah. Well, a little more than slightly since Hannah had talked about him and the Ball a lot at the beginning of summer, but she couldn’t blame her sister since she had been excited about having gone. Then, there was Josh and Zane, who were in her grade. Zane, she knew as being Ronen’s cousin. At the thought, she realized that she hadn’t seen him around lately. Maybe she would look for him later. Then, there was Josh, who she felt sorry for. After his performance, he was going to be stuck with her, who wouldn’t be able to help him out in the slightest. At least, she didn’t think so. This game was not going to be pleasant.

The whistle blew for the game to begin and the quaffle was sent up in the air. Addie completely expected the other team to get it, but much to her surprise, Oliver had gotten the ball. It wasn’t that she thought that he wasn’t good at Quidditch, so much that the other team contained the majority of experienced players. Of course, now that he had the quaffle, Addie had her own job to do. Even if she was the worst player, she still had to play at her best. There was a bludger heading rapidly towards him. Thankfully, intercepted by Josh and sent towards Alexis, unfortunately, taken care of by Renaye. Where was it going now? Oh, no, it was heading towards Zane and she was the closest to him. She had to get to it before it got to him. She really didn’t want to tell Ronen that it was her fault that his cousin got hurt.

Urging the broom forward, her thoughts concentrated on Zane rather than herself, because if she thought of herself, then she would freeze up and not accomplish anything. As it was, she closed in on the bludger. Playing the scrimmage added a new level that wasn’t in the initial part of the try-out – actually aiming the metal ball. She had to think of it like when she ended up in the keeper position at home. She had to give the quaffle a course. This was the same except it involved a bat and getting it to go towards whoever was a threat. In this case, it was whoever had the quaffle. Oliver no longer had it, but rather one of the girls from the other team did. She took a breath and it was like everything was in slow motion. She tilted the broom ever so slightly and a backhand swing sent the bludger heading in the right direction, if not a little off. Her heart nearly stopped. Sure, she had only been applying theory, but at least, she had done it. She hadn’t managed to screw up so completely that her teammates would blame it all on her if they lost, not that it probably wouldn’t be mostly her fault for her inexperience, but at least, not totally her fault. To continue the trend and filling a little more confident, she began actively seeking bludgers.

0 Addie Not the term I would use. 0 Addie 0 5

Lily

June 20, 2008 7:31 PM

I've always liked the term "slaughter" by Lily

Lily had to admit, arrogant as the twins came across they were pretty decent beaters. She had no time to really think about it though, as they were getting into a scrimmage. She flew over to where it was taking place.

As soon as she heard the teams announced, Lily made a face. Why couldn't Jennifer just once let her have a shot at Earl? She supposed she could understand that the captain didn't want to have him injured before the actual games but...this was Lily's last year. When would she ever get the chance to slam him with bludgers? If she was lucky, she'd never see Earl again after she graduated, so this was it. Plus, what better way to test the new potential Beaters than to have them try and stop her from killing her mortal enemy?

She sighed and gazed around looking for bludgers. Lily spotted one going off towards Helena and zoomed after it before it could hit the younger girl. She made contact with it and slammed it back towards Oliver, though not quite as hard as during a regular game against another team. After all, the players were still needed for real games, so Lily couldn't use her usual fire-to-harm stratgy. Plus, she really didn't need to show her skills as much as those trying out. Lily had nothing to prove. Everyone knew she was a good (and completely scary) Beater. Still though, the bludger was going at a pretty high speed. Josh or Addie would still have to be rather good to stop it from hitting their teammate. She might not have needed to show off (and might have needed the team members to stay in tact) but Lily was still not going to make things totally easy for them.

11 Lily I've always liked the term "slaughter" 45 Lily 0 5

Josh

June 22, 2008 1:16 PM

Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? by Josh

Josh scoped the field, looking around for threatening bludgers. Renaye had sent a bludger hurtling towards Zane. Josh had been about to tear after it, but Addie jumped in with a nice backhand towards Helena. He turned towards the genaral area of his team's chasers. Josh continued his path around the outer edge of the field, keeping an eye on Lily and Renaye. At his glance towards his opponents Josh's saw Lily pull back her arms to make contact with the bludger. Josh immediately took off, following the path of the bludger as it hurtled towards Oliver. Merlin, that thing was going... Josh gripped the handle of his broom increasing his speed to compete with the bludger. The most he could do was fly beside it with the speeding death on his left. Josh put on as much speed as his broom could take and swung his left arm out to meet the bludger, targeting the girl with the Quaffle. He made contact with the speeding bludger, its speed actually acting against it and helping Josh out, rebounding off the bat with a decent speed towards Helena.

He already had a word to describe Lily: relentless. That wasn't a bad thing in Quidditch. Josh eyes remained scanning the field, keeping an eye on each bludger. He knew the one had been sent towards Helena. The second bludger was hurtling around the opposite goal post, some distance far from where he was flying, its direction speeding towards Renaye. He sucked in a breath, mentally pleading for her to turn to see it, being too far to take it himself. He trusted her skill, but Merlin Raye! Turn around!

There was a certain frustration about being on the opposing team as his sister. He knew that after today it wouldn't happen again, but today he was facing the fact that they couldn't help each other out. She took care of her team and he took care of his. Where normally they would combine their efforts, today they were flying solo in the most literal way. As frustrating as it way, it carried a certain refreshing feeling. They were individually proving themselves in try-outs. Individually. It was new. It wasn't something they did all the time. They had tried it out last year, going seperate ways in classes, but went back to their old ways this year. Seperate just didn't work out for them... All the time. It was nice every once in a while, but he would never hope that it would stay that way. He didn't mind being referred to as the Warren Twins rather than Renaye and Josh. For today, they did their own thing. Josh knew that after practice they would be meeting up in Cascade, like they hadn't even been competing.

0 Josh Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? 0 Josh 0 5

Renaye

June 22, 2008 1:41 PM

Hmm... I've always liked "Smithereens" by Renaye

The whistling sound close by resulted in the quick jerk of Renaye's head, spotting the fast-approaching ball. Renaye turned, the bludger too close for comfort. She reacted instinctively, her arms swinging out with a built-up force. Raye slammed the bludger towards Zane once more with an applaudable forehand. He was far enough from Josh and Addie that they would have to kick their brooms to gear to get there. She gave Zane playful, but still competitive smile and continued on her own search. She couldn't help but notice Josh breathe a sigh of relief as she soared away. Renaye was enjoying herself, Quidditch bringing that familiar warmth that had nothing to do with the work out. Addie wasn't bad. To be honest, she hadn't expected much from her, but she was turning out to prove her wrong. The normally quiet girl was sending some force onto the field. Renaye took off down the center of the pitch, flying below the chasers, her eyes alert, keeping her mind strictly on the game. There was time for fun later. She couldn't risk the spot on the team.

It was weird, playing on a separate team than Josh. She had to continually remind herself that they were on separate teams. Raye was grateful she wasn't on the receiving end of Lily's slams, but at the same time she wanted to prove herself by getting a hold of one of her returns. This was, after all, try-outs. She was suppose to be performing to the best of her ability. Renaye felt that she had been doing her best, but maybe she could do more. Come on, Josh. Hit one this way, no mercy, Raye found herself thinking. If not, she'd just have to take after it herself. You want something done right...

Renaye didn't want to think of the results of the try-outs, facing that smug look on Cecily's face... God, the thought of it made her stomach turn... The thought that brought her some satisfaction, though, was the developing plan for DISCUSS. Reminded of the pamphlet back in her dorm, Renaye kicked her broom into a higher speed, ready to take on any bludger than crossed her, even if she had to change her direction so it crossed her path. She didn't want to lose the spot because she hadn't taken opportunities. She could make her own opportunity. This was Quidditch. The game was about the players, not waiting for the game to come to the players. Raye shook her thin blonde bangs out of her face and sped around the pitch.

0 Renaye Hmm... I've always liked "Smithereens" 0 Renaye 0 5

Jennifer

June 22, 2008 7:01 PM

Mmhmm...slacker by Jennifer

Jennifer considered Geoffrey’s counter-offer seriously, staring intently up at the rest of the team. “I’ll take you up on that one, actually. I don’t think she’s going to be that quick about it. After all, there are at least three others who can take her position away from her, and she should know that by now.” There hadn’t been any actual conversations to that effect between the two, but she had dropped a few hints in her beater’s direction a few times when it seemed that Lily was getting particularly outraged at the younger boy. “Do you remember what started the animosity, because it’s completely escaped me? Honestly, there was a time I thought it was just, oh, unresolved sexual tension or something, and that they’d end up dating and be fine, but it doesn’t appear to be that, for better or worse. At least with flat out animosity, there’s no potential for a messy break-up screwing up the team dynamic even more, though I suppose inter-team dating’s not as bad as intra, really.”

Because she’d be taking careful notes about the players, her thoughts continued to flow without consideration out her mouth, with her talking to herself more than to Geoffrey. If she had realized what she was doing, she would never have gotten onto the subject of dating at all, and particularly not the benefits of dating someone on the same team instead of an opposing one. Unfortunately for the both of them, even after she fell into contemplative silence, she didn’t go back and process the contents of her rant.

"What do you think of the twins?"

“Oh, enthusiastic’s definitely the word I’d use for them,” Jennifer agreed readily. “They came up during lunch a few days ago to ask a few questions about the way try-outs were going to run, and whether they’d be able to work together. Seemed disappointed when I told them no, but apparently they can work through it. The only thing negative thing I’ve heard about them is that Josh at least sounded like he had some kind of, oh, problem with authority, though it may have been more his companion at the time. Heard it from Chrissy, who also said they were insulting one of their other year-mates into tears and didn’t take it well when she interceded as a prefect. However, he hasn’t shown anything like that to me, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. Alexis as well.”

After that, her attention returned to the skies once more. This situation was different, and more than a little uncomfortable in some ways, because making decisions about who got to play and who did not was very different from just running practice a couple of times a week. It was…unnerving was probably the best word. It wasn’t that she was incapable of making difficult decisions when necessary; it was simply much harder to do when those she was deciding about were cute little second years (a few of whom, at least, were already bigger than she was. Damn never hitting her growth spurt). “So, what do you think of the new recruits?”

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Geoffrey S.

July 04, 2008 7:46 AM

Mmmhmm.... slave-driver by Geoffrey S.

"Can't say for certain," Geoffrey said with a carefully nonchalant shrug, continuing to keep his gaze on the action in the air. "I mean, it seems like they've been like that since I was in first year." He thought back, trying to remember. "Didn't Valentine forget he was a Keeper in my first game? Headed out and tried to be a Chaser? Yeah, I remember that. It was pretty funny. That might be it," he suggested. "I don't think it's...er..." he trailed off, not really willing to say 'sexual' out loud to anyone, let alone Jennifer. With a glance sideways he licked his lips "Any kind of 'tension'."

Very carefully he didn't say anything else, at first. Letting her comments about dating dynamics go unremarked on mostly because he wasn't sure what to say, or what would happen if he said one of the numerous things he didn't know what to say about it. Luckily she got to talking about the Quidditch hopefuls, so between that and his keeping track of the players in the sky, he was well able to talk on other matters.

"Honestly?" he asked. "I don't think they're bad. I mean, they could definitely be worse. I'd just worry about their dynamic with Lily - whoever get the spot. She's not really much of a team player. The words 'sparking wand*' spring to mind, especially around Valentine. The non-twin Beater.... she doesn't seem so confident in the position as Josh and his sister - they've definitely got confidence on their side."

And then, because he really couldn't say nothing, he asked in about as casual a tone as ever there was, "is everything ok?"

OOC: *I was trying to think of a Wizarding way to say 'loose canon'. Best I could come up with for the moment.

39 Geoffrey S. Mmmhmm.... slave-driver 0 Geoffrey S. 0 5