Coach Amelia Pierce
February 11, 2011 9:09 AM
Game I: Aladren vs Teppenpaw! by Coach Amelia Pierce
Coach Amelia Pierce had enjoyed - nearly - every game she'd ever referred at Sonora. There'd been one or two that the weather had made unpleasant or that had become somewhat stressful when a player fell off her broom or crashed into the ground chasing a snitch, but by and large this was a good and fun job. She planned to be here a while.Now, maybe if some professional Quidditch team asked her to play with them in the World Championships, yeah, she'd probably drop it as quick as Amy Fox had, but that was seriously unlikely. About as unlikely as the chance that anybody in the stands or on the Pitch might stay dry today.
It wasn't raining yet, but the clouds were dark and menacing, and she expected they could open up with deluges of water at any time. So far, she hadn't heard any rumblings of thunder though, so the game was still on.
So she didn't allow the captains quite as much time as she normally did to give their pregame speeches and called them over as soon as it it looked like they were winding down. She did, however, take a few seconds while Tobar Brishen was talking to study his team's only Pierce. Derry Four caught her looking and she quickly turned to look over at the Aladren team, pretending like she hadn't just been watching her cousin. She needed to at least pretend impartiality here, with the eyes of the school on her.
"Welcome to the first Quidditch Game of the Season," she called out to the crowd as well as the captains with the help of a sonorus charm. "With any luck, we'll beat the rain, so let's get started quickly. Captain Nash of Aladren, shake the hand of Captain Brishen of Teppenpaw." The two boys did, and she sent them back to their teams and released the snitch and bludgers.
"On three," she said, skipping over pretty much every formality beyond the handshake. "One, two, three," she blew her whistle to signal the game's start and threw the Quaffle high up into the air.
OOC: Please refer to the instructions on the OOC page if you haven't participated in a Quidditch game before. Everyone else, remember to write detailed posts and have fun!
Subthreads: We have this one by <font color="blue">Captain Nash, Chaser</font> with <font color=yellow>Captain Brishen,Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>, <font color="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>, <font color=blue>Preston Stratford,Beater</font>, <font color="yellow">Derry Four, Beater</font>, <font color=yellow>Kirstenna Melcher,Keeper</font>, <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
Failure is not an option by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font> with <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
Recentering. Play continues up here. (nm) by <font color=red>Coach Pierce</font> with <font color=blue>Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>, <font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
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Coach Amelia Pierce
Game I: Aladren vs Teppenpaw!
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Coach Amelia Pierce
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<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
February 13, 2011 9:25 PM
The super-long list of fouls suggests it's not. by <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
Nervous was the right thing to feel before a Quidditch game, and Kate guessed she did feel that a little, but mostly, she was excited.Strategy wasn’t a huge skill of hers, but it was clear that Teppenpaw had a huge advantage over Aladren in terms of experience, and she had at least some advantage over the Aladren Seeker in the same terms. Jera Valson had been unbeatable, but Arnold Carey was eleven years old. Admittedly, he was a Carey, which meant something, but still – Kate had played on brooms before she ever came to Sonora, and when she’d been eleven and in her first game, she’d totally blown it, which was why she’d been working as much as she could ever since to get better. She thought she’d improved a lot, and getting the position back made her really believe it.
She greeted the rest of the team cheerfully, loving being a second year and the greater comfort around people it gave her all over again, listened to the speech, and thought she did an okay job with the water-repelling charm (or hoped she did, anyway; she had to be able to see to do her Seeker thing, and be focused on what she was doing, and being sopping wet and uncomfortable and having rain in her eyes and on her hands and broom if the game didn’t end before the sky fell in wouldn’t help her with either of those), and then went out with the rest of the team when Coach Pierce called them to the center to begin, where she saw the one major advantage Aladren did have sticking out like a sore thumb.
Her sister (who wasn’t speaking to her again, but who, Kate would just about bet, was skulking somewhere in the stands, maybe with a hat, maybe even on the Aladren side, but there for her just the same) said he was actually pretty nice, but Edmond Carey just looked like a big and slightly scary guy while holding a club and towering over a bunch of first years. He’d also probably been playing longer than eleven of the other thirteen people on the Pitch, and could almost certainly hit a lot harder than any other Beater. Strategy might not have been Kate’s strong point, but it didn’t take Sun Tzu to realize that he had probably been tasked with putting her in the hospital for the next few months.
That didn’t make her job any easier than the rain would, since she had to keep an extra eye and ear out for Bludgers while still looking for the Snitch, but she could handle it. Sure she could. She was Kate Bauer, second year Seeker extraordinaire.
She glanced up long enough to tell that her side was applauding for Kirstenna making a save instead of one of the Chasers making a goal, and a moment later looked toward the Aladrens when she heard Edmond yelling at Arnold. Had he spotted the Snitch? No – he was hitting a Bludger toward her!
Kate dove, extending her hand in front of her as though she had just seen the Snitch. With any luck, Arnold would follow, and Derry and Ben would be able to hit the Bludgers toward him after she pulled out of the dive (a good ten feet, minimum, above the ground; she was nowhere near crazy enough to think she was good enough to pull off a true Wronski Feint) while he was lured away from his Beaters and take him out of the game, if only long enough for the nurse to fix a broken rib or two. That would give her some time to try to track down the Snitch without interference, and jump on it the moment the game resumed.
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<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
The super-long list of fouls suggests it's not.
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<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
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<font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>
February 15, 2011 1:14 PM
Preventing a Kate Crater. by <font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>
The bludger Derry hit away from Andrew glanced off the leg of one of the Aladren Chasers and kept on going toward the blue-clad Seeker. That hadn't been his intention, but Derry was impressed with himself anyway. At least, he was until the Giant came in whacked the bludger away from Aladren's Seeker and toward Teppenpaws.He was both closer than Ben and in a good position to react since Kate was diving, both giving him time to get there and closing the distance between them herself. Plus, it was kind of his fault Edmond had been able to get at that bludger anyway. So he turned his broom (not as new as some of the other brooms on the field, but it had been top of the line and custom made when it was purchased, and someone had kept it well maintained before Derry got it) and sped toward his team's seeker as fast as his broom allowed.
He didn't have the time to aim it anywhere, and his actual game experience was all but nil so he wasn't entirely sure who might be endangered, but as far as Derry was concerned, anyone on the pitch was better to be hit with a bludger than Kate the Teppenpaw Seeker, so he just blindly whaled that black metal beast as hard as he could in the direction of Away.
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<font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>
Preventing a Kate Crater.
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<font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>
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<font color=blue>Preston, Beater</font>
February 15, 2011 9:56 PM
How about a Derry Crater!? by <font color=blue>Preston, Beater</font>
Everything was happening so fast, that Preston became confused after a few tries of catching up with what was going on in the game. Daniel had tried to score, he had failed, Andrew had not been hit by his Bludger, Edmond was targeting the Teppenpaw Seeker, and it all happened in a few seconds. Quidditch was becoming more complicated that he had realized. He had read about it, but the actual experience was different and enlightening. Preston would work harder on becoming the best Beater ever.After a few very confusing seconds, the redhead got back in the game. He realized that Edmond was trying to hit Rachel, disabling her for the game. Good tactic, he wondered why he had not thought about it. The most important thing was that it would give Aladren a very good edge on the Teppenpaws, not that he doubted for a second that they would win this, but having a very good advantage never hurt anyone, and Edmond was the perfect one to give them that. Plus, he was bigger, and stronger, and meaner than he was. All the good makings of a Beater, or so he had read somewhere.
Deciding that the job to take out the Teppenpaw Seeker would be better off in Edmond’s hands, Preston flew after a Bludger that another first-year Beater sent aimlessly. During the small trajectory towards the homicidal ball, the redhead decided to target his fellow Teppenpaw Beater, it would help his team if the other team just had one Beater, more ground to cover and less human power. Excellent. Preston grinned, he was certain Daniel was going to be impressed by his awesome idea, and praise him. So, he swung his bat and with a loud CRACK sent the Bludger to the small Teppenpaw Beater. Thanks to his long hours of practicing, his aim and strength were better than when he had tried out, he hoped the Bludger would hit its target; Aladren already had an injured player. He could not forget Rusell being injured by the Teppenpaw Beater. That deed would not go unpunished! Aladren for the win!
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<font color=blue>Preston, Beater</font>
How about a Derry Crater!?
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<font color=blue>Preston, Beater</font>
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<font color=yellow>Ben Holland, Beater</font>
February 16, 2011 12:50 AM
I think an Aladren crater will do just fine. by <font color=yellow>Ben Holland, Beater</font>
Ben was running on pure adrenaline, due to the lack of sleep the previous night. He had to make Cy proud, and he was determined to win this game. The nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach drained away once he was in the air. This was where he belonged.The game was hard to keep focused on, and he knew that focus was the key to success. He ran a hand through his chocolate curls, tuning his mind into the game. He gripped his bat, ready to defend his team. He watched as Four sent a bludger away from the seeker. An opponent sent it toward Ben, who immediately reacted. Knowing that he wouldn't have time to defend himself, he swooped upward. It barely hit his shin on the way past, but it was enough to bruise. Now, Ben was angry, his knuckles growing white as he held the bat tightly. That kid was not going to get away with it.
As he raced toward the bludger that had zoomed by a couple seconds ago, he knew that the Seeker needed to be his concern. Ben spotted him, and aimed the bludger with as much strength as he could manage. He knew that if it hit, it would surely leave a lovely mark. He grinned, struggling to fight the pain in his lower leg. Cy had always told him it was the best place to take a hit. Sure, it would slow him down a bit, but it wouldn't complete disable him.
He thought back to their training sessions. He hadn't dodged her bludger quickly enough this past summer, and had ended up being hit in back. When she saw that it wasn't life threatening, she forced him back into the air. "Play through pain, Benjamin, it's the only way to win. Push it behind a wall, and keep it there until the seeker has the snitch. Then you can scream, cry, and limp to the Medic as much as you want." Of course, their mother had been livid, but Cy had shrugged it off. With a flick of her wand, she healed his cracked rib, but left the gruesome bruise for a reminder. It had disappeared since, she was constantly reminding him of it.
Ben decided to listen to her, shoving the pain behind a barrier, fighting through it. He loosened his hold, calming himself. "Keep your emotions out of the way, B.J., understand?" Another tip, another mistake in training. He had once complained that he wouldn't ever be perfect, no matter what she did. She had looked at him, and told him that he'd better get his attitude straight before the next day. "Ben, if you aren't willing to strive for it, I'm wasting my time here." Today, Ben was going to strive for it, no matter what it took.
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<font color=yellow>Ben Holland, Beater</font>
I think an Aladren crater will do just fine.
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<font color=yellow>Ben Holland, Beater</font>
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<font color=blue>Samantha Hamilton,Keeper</font>
February 16, 2011 5:58 AM
Well this is all very interesting by <font color=blue>Samantha Hamilton,Keeper</font>
Even through the practises, Samantha still wasn't sure whether she would prefer playing Chaser or Keeper. She'd signed up for both, thinking she could do a reasonable job at either position on the team, and had ended up as keeper. She's been Chaser in her first year, so she supposed this now presented her an ideal opportunity to discover which out of the two positions really suited her best. She'd been getting a lot better during practises, too, managing to save the Quaffle a good percentage of times. It didn't really come as a surprise to her, since she'd been acting as goalkeeper for her two older brothers while they played soccer shoot-outs in their back yard for just about as long as she could remember. Besides, Keeping was actually easier than Chasing, in Samantha's opinion. Far less movement involved, and you often had more time to prepare for a catch, rather than having to look over your shoulder, above your head, and just about everywhere for the Quaffle whilst avoiding Bludgers and all. Yes, Keeping was definitely easier. Plus there was also the fact that she wasn't actually required to catch the Quaffle - she could knock it away with any given part of her anatomy, just so long as it didn't go through one of those hoops. The rain that threatened to fall any moment would probably make catching the ball more difficult, but it ought not to make a difference to simply batting it away. Samantha thought she'd do okay.The first game of te year was Aladren versus Teppenpaw, and despite the weather it felt to samantha like a good day. She was pleased to discover that she didn't have any pre-game butterflies. Good; they ought to be a thing of the past. She'd been on the Quidditch team before, and had spent a large portion of her life on soccer teams, playing little league baseball, and generally joining in with team sports whenever the opportunity presented itself. She had no qualms about flying in front of an audience the size of the whole school, especially when she thought Aladren had one of the better teams this year. Admittedly lots of them were first years, but they'd been practising welll and Samantha thought everyone was coming along okay. The only thing that did bother her from time to time was that she was the only girl one the team. more than that, she was the only girl who had tried out for the team. Last year the Assistant Captain had been a girl; what had happened to all the other females in Aladren? Considering the House descriptions, Samantha wouldn't be surprised if Crotalus didn't have many girls on its team, but actually that team seemed to have almost as many girls as boys, plus the captain and assistant were both girls. In fact, Aladren was the only team were both the captain and assistant were both boys. She didn't mind too much, she supposed, she'd never been a particularly girly type anyway (she wore jeans more often than not and didn't even own any make-up, which was apparently unusual for a fourteen year old). It's just that boys could be... such boys sometimes.
Having showered, dressed and breakfasted, Samantha joined the boys down on the pitch and found the school broom she liked to use. It was a Cleansweep in decent shape, and she'd named it Whistler because sometimes the wind caught between its tail twigs and made a high-pitched whistling sound - the broom was now identifiable by this name written in green ink on the handle. Samantha didn't think the Coach would mind her defacing school property in this manner, because it was hardly detrimental to the performance of the broom. It was probably the closest Samantha was ever going to get to her own broom, anyway - her Mom was a Muggle who never had any spare money, her Dad was a fairly rich Muggle who barely spoke to her, and her step-dad was a fairly rich Muggle who was a true idiot and still didn't believe in 'all that magic nonsense' anyway.
After Daniel made his quick speech and retured to the team after shaking hands with the Teppenpaw captain, Samantha readied herself on Whistler, and on the coach's signal she kicked off and headed to 'her spot' - in front of the Aladren hoops. She'd just have to wait there until she was needed, which was turning out to be a really long time. Trying to stay alert in case the Quaffle suddenly came down this end of the pitch, Samantha watched with interest as the Quaffle bounced this way and that, Bludgers were smacked and intercepted then sent off again, and the crowd made a lot of noise. It was exciting to watch, she was sure, but it wasn't so far very exciting for her to play, as the Quaffle was yet to make it down her end of the pitch. She supposed this was a good thing for her team in general, because they were more likely to win if they weren't letting teppenpaw get near enough to score (not to mention the Beaters were doing their best to take out Tepp's Seeker), but it was making dull work for her. Nobody wanted to just sit in front of the hoops all game. Samantha was starting to think that she might prefer playing Chaser, after all.
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<font color=blue>Samantha Hamilton,Keeper</font>
Well this is all very interesting
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<font color=blue>Samantha Hamilton,Keeper</font>
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
February 16, 2011 2:38 PM
I live to entertain, if I don't die falling by <font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
People, Arnold supposed, were like bowstrings. They could only remain tense and focused for so long before they either snapped or began, even against their wills, to relax. And bowstrings didn’t even have prior interests to make things more complicated.He noticed he was paying too much attention to the Chasers at about the same time Edmond did, when Arthur, in an uncharacteristically bold move, flew between two Teppenpaws to take the Quaffle back for Aladren. He grinned, pleased and determined to tease him about it despite his confusion about where that had come from. Arthur was the sort who remained predictable just long enough for it to come as a nasty shock when he suddenly did something unexpected; Arnold thought he should be used to it by now.
Feeling guilty about not doing what he was supposed to be, though, he made a show of looking around the complicated, moving knot of players for the Snitch, and didn’t notice Russell’s situation or the Bludger heading his way until he heard the crack of Edmond’s bat, followed by an irritated order for him to follow. He was startled as much by the tone as by not expecting to be addressed; Edmond was usually polite to a fault, and in practice and around school alike, Arnold had never heard him raise his voice. He was, however, not so alarmed that he couldn’t notice enough of his surroundings to feel almost sorry for Kate Bauer. The other three Beaters most likely couldn’t do much damage, but the second thought Arnold had ever formed about his cousin was that guy could put someone in the hospital if he wanted to, and that had been before he knew said guy played Beater.
Miss Bauer dove before the Bludger could reach her, though, but – was she running from the Bludger, or going for the Snitch? It had to be one or the other; a girl was not going to attempt a Wronski Feint. She had her hand out, now –
Oh, hell, he thought, a piece of language he’d added to his mental lexicon about a year ago, and, without thinking about it further, dove after her as fast as he could go.
There was something terrifying about going that fast, faster than he could really keep the broom completely under his control, and he wished he had ever really done it at home. It was only here that he needed to, that it was a challenge and he had to throw all he had into it, lest these strange new people be better than he was. It didn’t really matter that Seeker wasn’t his first idea of a fun thing to play, though it was growing on him; he just hadn’t been able to face the idea of losing that race, whatever it cost him, or however the back of his mind screamed at him about how he was risking involuntary suicide.
Luckily, however, there was also something exhilarating about it (this was why it was starting to grow on him), and he’d practiced enough since coming to Sonora, both with the team and on his own any time he could get away from his homework and the Pitch was empty, that he could almost focus more on that than on how likely he was, after catching the Snitch, to lose all control and plow into the ground. That part didn’t really matter anyway, so long as there was winning involved. Unless he actually killed himself on impact, which wasn’t likely, there were very few things that could happen to him that his father or grandfather or great-great-grandfather couldn’t make a call to get the services of someone capable of fixing.
He was looking for the Snitch, trying to see whatever it was Kate saw, when he noticed that the enemy was coming out of her dive. Nor were the Teppenpaw stands going wild, so he had to assume that she hadn’t caught the Snitch. She’d fooled him, girls weren’t supposed to – if he didn’t pull his broom up now, he was going to need one of those specialists one of his ancestors knew in very short order, so he banished Kate from his thoughts in favor of doing that.
It was a close thing, it was a very close thing, so close that he might not have done more than cracked an ankle if he’d fallen and landed on one, but he managed it. His heart beating rather harder than usual, he started to fly back up, cursing that girl and resolving not to let any such thing happen again.
It was at about that moment that he heard an ominous whistle and, in what even he would later have to admit was a moment of high stupidity, started to turn to confront the danger rather than keep both hands on his broom and try to go in the opposite direction. He didn’t make enough of the turn for the Bludger to hit him in the chest instead of slamming into his right shoulder, but it did put him just enough off balance to knock him off his broom.
He was pretty sure his body was yelling as it fell, and being terrified, but somehow, he felt only a sort of mild interest in the situation, and some contempt for his body for being all upset when it couldn’t do any good and was just causing a problem, and a little curiosity about whether this was what being Arthur felt like all the time.
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
I live to entertain, if I don't die falling
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
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<font color=red>Coach Pierce</font>
February 16, 2011 7:27 PM
Nobody is going to die falling on my watch by <font color=red>Coach Pierce</font>
Some games were easier to keep track of than others, but this one was quickly becoming one of the 'others' - the Quaffle was near the Teppenpaw goals again so she had to watch that, but the beaters were in drag-down fight around the seekers who were both diving dangerously close to the ground, and she really wished at least one of these things were not happening right now.The only thing that could make things worse right now was if the rain chose just then to start falling.
Amelia quickly cursed herself for the thought, and then thanked Merlin when it did not immediately come to pass.
Kate pulled out of the dive, and then so did Arnold. No deaths, no snitch. She caught sight of the pass between Nash and Carey, and glanced back at the Beater Battle just in time to - swear.
Arnold was hit and was falling. No foul so far as she could tell, but her interference was definitely called for before the first year got seriously hurt. His distance above the ground was both a blessing (it probably wouldn't be fatal, but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant to crash land from that height) and a curse (she didn't have much time to catch him). Fortunately, she'd dropped lower during the feinting dive in case interference was needed then, so she was already in position to cast a levitation charm on him.
His fall stopped - probably more abruptly than his body appreciated - but not as abruptly or painfully as hitting the ground would have done. She summoned his broom to her, and helped him get back on it while hovering in mid-air (not as easy a task as one might think), then released the charm. "You alright?" she asked, with a glance up toward the goals (and an ear turned toward the crowd - though the Aladren cheers could just as easily be for their Seeker being back on his broom) to see whether or not a goal had been or soon would be scored.
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<font color=red>Coach Pierce</font>
Nobody is going to die falling on my watch
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<font color=red>Coach Pierce</font>
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
February 17, 2011 8:32 PM
Then I shall live to be amusing another day by <font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
His dissociated, pre-death state was ended abruptly by what felt like both a collision with hard air and someone trying to jerk about half his limbs off. Once he registered that he’d stopped falling, though, and was only in slightly worse shape than he would have been if he’d just been hit in the shoulder by a Bludger and not fallen, Arnold decided not to complain about that too much. They would, he knew, make you stay in bed overnight for cracked skulls and that kind of thing, and he couldn’t win the game if he was lying in bed with his head all wrapped up in bandages and Arthur, no doubt, chatting amiably with the nurse, reading one of his books in the bed next door, and generally making sure he didn’t disobey orders.Or, possibly, doing his best All-Adult-Anthonies-Combined impression to give Arnold a terse lecture about Being An Idiot. Everyone accused Arnold of being like Grandfather, but Arthur, though in tastes and his usual manner more like the Fourth and Seventh, was the one who’d inherited the Sixth’s ability to make someone he thought had Been An Idiot feel about half an inch tall. Arnold had seen him do it to tutors, and really hoped, now that he had time to consider something other than his own mortality, that his twin hadn’t seen exactly how he’d fallen off his broom.
“Fine,” he lied at once, noting vaguely that he should be impressed by her ability to work two spells at once like that, when Coach Pierce asked him if he was all right, forcing a smile. “If you’re not too picky about your life debts.” He remembered, a moment too late, that it was usually a bad idea to joke with adults, and that Grandfather said the Pierces had thrown this adult out but that she was still dangerous, and that he might have just said a very bad thing, but thinking about it just now wasn’t what he needed to be doing. Arnold waved, as cheerfully as he could, with his mostly uninjured right arm to the Aladren crowd to let them know he was all right and still in the game. His left was only going to be used if it was absolutely necessary.
Hey, Art, he thought, we match. Except - no. Arthur said he didn't feel things as well with his left hand as his right, and Arnold was pretty sure all of his nerve endings were currently working double time. Still, at the rate he was going, he reckoned he and Arthur would ultimately develop arthritis at the about the same rate even thought Arnold hadn’t had an early childhood accident. “I mean - you have my thanks,” he said, looking for Miss Bauer. If she got the Snitch while he was talking to an adult..."May I go now?"
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
Then I shall live to be amusing another day
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<font color=blue>Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
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5