<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
July 31, 2011 1:36 PM
Game One: Aladren vs. Pecari by <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
Normally, the first Quidditch Game of the season would have already happened, but little Benjamin was still new to the family and Gabby and Derry were just starting to ease back into their normal work schedules, so she'd been running back to Boston on the weekends to babysit and help out with the things Derry and Gabby just didn't have time to do anymore. That's what grammas did, even if Amelia was being very insistent that nobody EVER called her that. Benny would be calling her Aunt Amelia, just like Bel was Aunt Bel, and if that wasn't technically accurate, Amelia did not care.But she'd put off the game as long as she reasonably could, long enough that the second game of the season wouldn't happen until after midterm, and it was already starting to get chilly out even when the sun was shining. So she'd told Derry (her son, Derry, Ben's dad, not the Derry living over in Teppenpaw) that she just couldn't make it out this weekend, but she'd definitely be back next weekend.
Derry had sounded frazzled, and Benny had been crying in the background, but he seemed to understand.
So here she was, and so were the teams for Pecari and Aladren. She was wearing one of her heavier robes (red and silver, the colors of Crotalus since they weren't playing today), and a winter hat, though she wasn't yet breaking out her scarf or gloves. It wasn't cold enough to worry about frostbite yet, and she'd rather have cold fingers and full dexterity than warm fingers and a risk of dropping her wand. Aladren was playing today, after all.
She let the two captains take their time with their pre-game speeches, then called them over once both seemed to be done. "Welcome, everyone, to the first game of the year," she announced, with the assistance of a Sonorus charm. "Today, we have Pecari, led by Captain Jose Hernandez, up against Aladren, led by Captain Daniel Nash. Captains, please shake hands."
The two boys did so, then returned to their teams, while she released the bludgers and the Snitch. Lifting up the Quaffle in one hand and making sure she had her whistle around her neck with the other, she continued, "Game starts on my whistle, and ends when one of the Seekers catches the Snitch. Players, ready. Three. Two. One." She blew the whistle and threw the Quaffle up toward the clear blue sky.
Subthreads: Starting Strong by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font> with <font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>, <font color=brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>, <font color=”blue”>Kitty McLevy – Keeper</font>, <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>, <font color="brown">Sophie J. Keeper</font>, <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>, <font color="brown">Demelza, Beater</font>
Seeking Something Shiny by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font> with <font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>, <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
Seeking to succeed! by <font color="brown">Amira Thornton</font> with <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>, <font color=brown>Amira Thornton</font>, <font color=brown>Amira Thornton, Seeker</font>
Recentering and Recap by <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font> with <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>
1
<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
Game One: Aladren vs. Pecari
20
<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
1
5
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
August 05, 2011 9:53 PM
Yes, Indeed! Maim! Maim! by <font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
Preston Stratford had been practicing endlessly on his Beating skills, because he was not going to let Captain Nash down. After all, it was his last year at Sonora, and Preston didn’t want to be seen as a failure by the person that had taught him so much. Plus, he had a great beating partner. Edmond Carey was a great role model. He was an excellent Beater, a Pureblood, and just plain scary. The redhead would never ever get on his bad side, the damage could be fatal, or something. Apart from his grueling Quidditch practices with the team, he went to the Sport Room to do it alone. He had been spending so much time practicing that he had forwent other responsibilities, like socializing and even his studies. He wasn’t very proud of that, but he needed to catch up with the rest of his team. He didn’t think his grades had suffered that much, he hoped. Otherwise, it would be horrible for the second-year.Another thing that he had sent to the back of his mind was Miss Raines. At the end of the last term, they had made plans to see each other and talk about their respective summers. Preston had been somewhat afraid of doing it. He hadn’t come across any books that told him how to act around girls, this was the first time the Library had let him down. He didn’t really know how to feel about that, it was just so weird. He even played with the idea of asking Miss Diaz, but the older witch was very odd, and Preston didn’t really trust her judgment. One just couldn’t trust someone that looked like that, no offence intended. The only thing that had come to mind was to ask Victor, but he was somewhat ashamed of owling his older brother and ask him about a possible date with an older girl. The redhead had to catch up with her.
Anyways, it was Quidditch time. He would worry about Miss Raines later on. Today, he needed to focus on the task ahead. Cream Pecari. It wasn’t going to be a rather difficult task to achieve. The second-year got on his broom and enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline rushing through his veins. He smiled, one of his rare ones. Preston hardly ever smiled, he needed a very important reason to do, and Quidditch was one.
He followed the game as best as he could, but like always, it was going super fast. The redheaded Aladren finally saw his opportunity to act; a Pecari Chaser had the Quaffle. He grinned at the fact that a bludger had just passed him, and he followed it before moving his bat to cause a collision between wood and whatever material a bludger was made with. The whack was loud, he realized that being stealthier with the beating would make it even better, but it couldn’t be done. No matter how beating would never be like a susurrus. A bludger could come like a surprise to the victim, but it wasn’t quiet.
0
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
Yes, Indeed! Maim! Maim!
0
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
0
5
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
August 05, 2011 10:38 PM
Maiming is mean by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Sophie saved. Jose cheered that loud enough to make his throat sore, and though he dove for the falling ball, he wasn't anywhere near the right vicinity to catch it. Jhonice . . . apparently was. He wasn't entirely sure why she kept flying down but there was a bludger on her tail so either she thought gravity might help her outrun it, or . . . or she was having trouble with her broom again.She did have the wherewithall to pass up to Mellie before the bludger did catch up, and Jose watched with some concern as Jhon tumbled. He looked to the Coach to see if she'd call a stop but she didn't. Jhonice was back in the air on her own already and that apparently meant the game went on.
He sort of thought that was unfair to Pecari since they were effectively down a Chaser while Jhonice recovered and regained altitude, but another bludger hit at him from Edmond made him forget about arguing the lack of a call.
He had no sooner outrun that one, and set himself up for a pass from Mellie when he heard another crack of wood on metal. The Quaffle was already in the air though, so he flew at it, snatched it from its flight path early, and started flying like Death itself was after him. He wasn't entirely sure that the released bludger was after him, but he'd already noticed the Aladrens' apparent strategy was to take him out of the Chaser game.
Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. On one hand, it was kind of flattering. Plus, it meant Edmond and Preston weren't intentionally going after his smaller and less experienced teammates, and sending them into even greater chaos than they were already in.
On the other, it was kind of absolutely terrifying.
Not daring to hold onto the ball for long when he was a target even without it, Jose watched for an opportunity to toss it back to one of the girls and took the first one that presented itself.
Only then did he slow down enough to check behind him, making sure the bludger wasn't still back there, but either it had never been after him in the first place, he'd outdistanced it with the help of surging adrenaline, or one of his beaters had relieved him of his tail while he was focused ahead.
And that was when the bludger caught the tail of his broom and proved none of those had happened at all and he apparently had a blind spot as well.
Jose fought to keep control of his broom and managed to keep it from spiraling out only by using every ounce of strength and experience he had. He flew upwards, getting out of the field of play where he could hopefully check out the damage to his broom and perform quick and dirty repairs without drawing additional bludgers.
At least no one on his team was sent to medic yet. That was good, right?
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Maiming is mean
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
August 07, 2011 12:08 PM
Ready, Aim...... by <font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
She was doing good, she was going up. Up was good, up was where all the other players and the balls and the goals were. Up was where she needed to be. Surprisingly, up was where her broom was taking her. Now, she just had to figure out where the Quaffle ball was and she'd be doing really good. She had passed it to Mellie just before that stupid bludger ball caught up to her and she was still a little disoriented from the tumble she had taken. Taking stock of the field, it looked like most everyone was headed towards the Aladren goal side of the field, at least she was pretty sure it was the Aladren side. She hoped it was anyway, but she was already moving towards the group regardless.Jhonice was determined, after that fall she was going to have to do something amazing to impress Captain Jose, Coach Pierce and even the Careys on the field. She was going to make a goal. Yes. The Quaffle ball was heading in the right direction, Captain Jose had it, she could see that now. She was still lower than most everybody else, which hopefully meant no one would be looking for her. Without having to worry about other people, or bludgers she raced forward as fast as her broom could take her. It only spun her upside down twice as she traversed the distance.
As she got closer she saw a bludger chasing Captian Jose, she was about to yell out to him about it, but he threw the Quaffle ball at her instead. She caught the ball, then it slipped. No! In a desperate grab she reached out and caught the ball again, but unbalanced herself on her broom. She swung around and clinging desperately to the underside of her broom, she urged it on forwards towards the goal. She was on to how this broom worked now. It was sneaky, but she could outsmart it. As it raced forwards it spun her around as it had earlier and she was once again on top. Ha! Take that stupid broom!
She was in range now, she hoped anyway. The Aladren goals loomed before her, she threw the ball as hard as she could in the general vicinity of the goals, and closed her eyes as it left her hand. "Please... please..." she whispered before cracking her eyelids open again to see what had happened.
2
<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
Ready, Aim......
209
<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=”blue”>Kitty McLevy – Keeper</font>
August 07, 2011 1:27 PM
What exactly where you aiming at? by <font color=”blue”>Kitty McLevy – Keeper</font>
Her hands were getting cold, and Kitty rubbed them together breathing on them as she watched the game, which was still way down at the other end of the field. Our team is awesome! But…I’m never going to get to play! Kitty thought with despair. It seemed like every time the other team had the ball her super fantastic teammates got it back in the blink of an eye. It probably didn’t help the other team that they only had one effective chaser. The two first year girls seemed rather unskilled at controlling their brooms. Each girl had managed to get a hold of the Quaffle, which still surprised Kitty considering how good her chasers were.Twice the Quaffle flew at the other teams goals, and twice it was deflected. “AWWW Come on GUYS!” Kitty yelled, waving her arms wildly when the second goal failed. She was so into her commentary that for a moment Kitty forgot she was sitting on a broom and almost toppled off. A bright blush filled her wind stung cheeks as she regained her balance. That would have been horribly embarrassing. No one was even near her, taken out of the game not by a bludger but by her own excitability.
The Quaffle was falling before being caught by the girl who really couldn’t fly well. Why is she going down? Kitty wondered as she watched her fellow first year rapidly losing altitude. It almost looked like she was just going to crash into the ground and Kitty pondered whether or not that would be penalty in their favor. Nothing in the books she’d read about Quidditch in the weeks leading up to her first game said anything about what happened if the players touched the ground. Then a bludger appeared seemingly out of nowhere and began tailing the girl. Just before it struck her off her broom she threw the Quaffle up high into the air. The girl appeared to be alright as she climbed back onto her broom and Kitty gave a little sigh of relief. She didn’t like to see people get hurt, even if they were on the other team.
The other first year chaser of Pecari somehow managed to catch the Quaffle before it began falling towards the ground again and was able to get her broom to zoom forward towards Kitty’s goals. Oh my gosh! They might actually make it all the way down here Kitty thought with a wild whoop as she began looping around her goals to get her blood flowing again. The wind stung her exposed cheeks but Kitty couldn’t stop smiling, finally it was her turn to shine! Her excitement was only slightly marred by nerves. The Pecari Keeper had already managed to stop two attempts. What if Kitty failed? What if Daniel decided that she wasn’t good after all and that she shouldn’t be allowed to play again?
The worry increased when the little first year passed the Quaffle off to their Captain. Defending against such an experienced player would be a lot harder than defending against one of the other first years. I can do it, I can do IT! Kitty chanted silently as he got closer and closer.
Suddenly the loud Crack of a bat on bludger sounded and Kitty saw one of the ominous black balls flying towards the Pecari Captain. Before the ball caught up to the older boy, he threw the Quaffle to the girl who’d gotten smacked earlier by the bludger. Just after the Quaffle was passed the bludger almost managed to knock the Captain from his broom. He managed to keep from falling, but the hit took him out of the running at least for a few minutes as he climbed in altitude.
Now it was just Kitty and the other first year girl. A wide grin pulled at her lips when she saw the Pecari chaser’s broom almost flip her off, this wouldn’t be much of a challenge. The girl managed to keep a hold of the Quaffle and was now once again upright on her broom and headed in Kitty’s direction.
Her grin turned into a bit of a pout when the girl threw the ball hard…and it flew in an arch towards the space between the right and center goals. She knows it needs to go though the hoops right? Kitty wondered as she darted forward with fox like grace and plucked the ball out of the air. As she looked around for one of her team mates Kitty saw that the other girl had her eyes closed. That’s not a very good way to shoot a goal Kitty thought with a grin.
A light playful laugh bubbled on her lips as sky blue eyes tossed the ball hard towards one of her fellow players.
0
<font color=”blue”>Kitty McLevy – Keeper</font>
What exactly where you aiming at?
0
<font color=”blue”>Kitty McLevy – Keeper</font>
0
5
<font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>
August 07, 2011 4:04 PM
I don't know about her, but I'm aiming for an Aladren by <font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>
Demetra had been ready for this game for weeks. Mel had been training her like a mad woman, so she felt more than prepared for the game. However, it seemed like Dem was sort of out of it the earliest part of the game. She had almost forgotten how fast everything happened, and had missed a couple chances at a Bludger. She tried to keep up with the game, but it took her a while to get back in to the groove of things. Jose had said that she could easily take the little Aladren beater, Preston, but she wasn't acting like it.She finally woke up to the game around her when Jose took a hit to the back of his broom. Though it was too late to save her captain, she moved toward the Bludger. The thing about being a beater was that you had to constantly control the broom with one hand, due to the fact that instead of occasionally reaching for the Snitch or having the Quaffle, you were always gripping a bat. It seemed like a disadvantage, but if you were going to fly with one hand, you had to be good at it. Depending on the skills that she had developed in practices, she moved to get on the right side of the bludger.
"Sorry, Captain!" she hollered, as picked out the Aladren chaser that the Quaffle was headed to. She swung with all her might, sending the Bludger that way. "Please, please, take him out," she muttered quietly. She wanted to win this year, against Aladren, and against whoever made it to the Finals, Teppenpaw or Crotalus. She wanted it, not only for just herself, but for her entire team, and her entire house.
0
<font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>
I don't know about her, but I'm aiming for an Aladren
0
<font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
August 07, 2011 5:03 PM
And I for a Pecari by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
There was, Edmond thought, something bizarre against this game. The intensity of the Aladren team was in sharp contrast to the slightly comic bumbling of the little Pecari Chasers, and the way the Seekers kept swooping around overhead, continually ending up side by side as though they were walking together in a garden, just as a very high pace, just added to the unreality of it all.Still, he preferred that to last year’s games. Both, even the first, where he’d been in his right mind, had been grim, drawn-out, difficult affairs, both teams fighting tooth and nail for the slightest scrap of advantage, with the wins coming at the price of many injuries, both to the other guys and to them. He didn’t doubt that Pecari wanted to win just as much as Teppenpaw or Crotalus had, but at least there wasn’t such an air of everyone being ready to start playing dirty in a “pulling knives on each other in mid-game” sort of way this time.
Maybe that was why the Chasers had somehow let their Pecari counterparts gain so much ground, to the point of making a shot. That, and possibly underestimating them a little to begin with, especially once poor Miss Trevear had displayed that the rumors about her not being able to control her broom were true. Now that Jose’s broom was damaged, they really were in trouble, but that, as Daniel had warned them, did not seem to have made them want to stop fighting; he thought the other sixth year even seemed to be trying to fix that damage in midair to get on with it.
Determination was admirable, and he had never enjoyed, as some writers indicated he should, beating an enemy he admired. Or, for that matter, even one he didn’t admire too much. He preferred victory to loss, but didn't particularly enjoy seeing someone else defeated, just the sense of his own and his team's accomplishment. He didn’t let that get in the way of his play being directed toward physically crushing the other team, though. Especially not this year. Daniel was smaller than him, but might still do him harm, with a wand or otherwise, if they lost their edge and it was clearly his fault for hesitating.
Getting the ball away from one set of goals was always the trickiest part of the game for a Beater, because everyone was very close together, and the other team’s Beaters were going to do everything in their power to keep your team’s Beaters from getting back toward their own goals. Better for Demelza and Miss Mason if the Aladrens immediately lost the Quaffle again, giving them a second chance at shooting against Miss McLevy. So he had to be on his guard, as Miss Mason proved almost immediately.
He intercepted the Bludger, hitting it away from the blue-robed Chaser – he did not even look to see which one it was – and back toward a brown robe, hoping his team took advantage of the breather and hurried out of the way before she or Demelza could get in there and send it back to an Aladren, or it just went off course and went for one anyway. That was why he hated the goals so since he’d stopped being a Chaser himself. It created a tangle of players where almost anything could happen.
As long as it was the Pecari goals which next had the problem. Until he started to get really tired, he could protect everything but all Aladren’s hoops, so he’d rather move back to Pecari’s.
0
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
And I for a Pecari
0
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
0
5
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
August 07, 2011 5:33 PM
And I for the other end of the pitch by <font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
Daniel honestly wasn't quite sure what just happened. They'd made the two-prong attack at Sophie, which had almost but not quite worked, and somehow the little girl who couldn't fly ended up with the loose Quaffle. But that wasn't the bad part. Sometimes that was just how things went. What wasn't acceptable was that she'd passed it to the other first year who had passed it to Jose who had passed it back to the first one and she made it all the way over to Kitty. And not one Aladren Chaser had been able to get to the ball in that time.Given how sad the Pecari chasing team was this year, that was downright embarrassing. At least Kitty had gotten the Quaffle. He couldn't even rightly call it a save, but she'd at least grabbed possession for Aladren which was more than he and Arthur and Russell had done recently. She passed it to him, and he turned on his broom and headed back for Pecari's end.
There was a crack of bat on bludger before he'd gone more than a few feet, and a glance back showed it was coming at him. Fortunately Edmond was right there and redirected long before it could do him any harm. So Daniel ran with the Quaffle. Edmond was covering him. Jose was out for the time being with a broom problem, and he didn't have much fear that either of the first year girls would try to wrestle the ball out of his arms. After all, he might not be as large as Edmond, but he was seventeen years old and significantly bigger than any other Chaser playing today, including Jose.
Still, he was starting to feel a bit like a large target had been drawn on him as he approached the center of the field and didn't dare push much farther than that on his own. He spotted an open teammate and passed the Quaffle to him.
0
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
And I for the other end of the pitch
0
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
August 07, 2011 7:09 PM
And I'm covering you by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
Though he had been sure when he made it that his tactic would succeed – Edmond almost had to make himself sure in the moment of connection between his bat and the Bludgers, or else he began to lose his nerve, and that was a bad thing to do when he had already purposefully made himself the target nearest the Bludger, and he did not like to hit it just so it would hit someone who was not him, but rather because he believed he would accomplish some goal by risking injury to someone – Edmond felt his breath catch slightly in relief when Daniel did catch the Quaffle and head back down the Pitch with it, unharmed. At the goals, there was always a chance….…But then, there was always a chance, and no qualifiers were needed. The Pecari girls weren’t going to give up because Daniel got too far away for their Chasers to shoot immediately if they regained the Quaffle. He continued to cover the Chasers as they pulled away – as much as the technically legal way they had gotten them felt a little dishonest to him, Edmond couldn’t help but be grateful that his whole team had superior brooms – watching for any threat to them.
It was, after all, only a matter of time, especially since Bludgers could outpace those who hit them and maybe, if it were Demelza, even catch up to the captain, who was holding on to the Quaffle for a long time, no doubt in fear that some strange trick of fate would make it fall into Pecari hands again if it had a chance. Arnold had perhaps the biggest target of the day on his back since he had won twice as a first year and Pecari’s Seeker was untried, but those two were sticking too close together for either to be meddled with without endangering the other for the moment, which made Daniel the one Demelza and Demetra would want. It was Edmond’s job to make sure they could not have him, his and Preston’s, and Edmond did not like allowing someone else to handle things very much. There were only a handful of people in the world he trusted that much, and he didn’t like to put a burden on them.
So he flew behind the Chasers, looking for any attempts by Pecari to interfere with them, prepared to hit a Bludger if he could or just swoop at them to disorient and scatter them if he couldn’t. When one Bludger came by him, whistling darkly through the air in search of someone to maim, he thwacked it back toward the Pecari Chasers, not minding which of them caught it or was driven off the trail by it or any other favorable outcome. The two little girls had played major roles just now, one even shooting, so it wasn’t going to work to assume that because Jose’s broom was damaged that Pecari was finished. They’d lose if they thought that way.
0
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
And I'm covering you
0
<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
August 07, 2011 7:13 PM
And I'm taking it even further down the Pitch by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
The other girl got the Quaffle – strange, he noticed; Aladren’s team had only one girl, and Pecari’s only one boy; if they had brought in their alternates instead of those two members of their first string, then it would have been a direct battle of the sexes – and he only just missed making the interception between her and Jose Hernandez. He grimaced, but pointedly didn’t take it to heart. No one could get it right every time.For the pass between Mr. Hernandez and the girl he had thought had been hit by a Bludger, though, there was no excuse. He had just been sloppy, not paying close enough attention as he thought Hernandez was going to run further, and Pecari had taken advantage of that to keep the Quaffle and run it right up to the goals. If the captains, as seemed possible despite how hard it was to imagine Edmond raising his voice, chose to yell at him about it later, he would do his best not to show emotion, to meet the dressings-down with a lack of facial expressions of any kind, but he wouldn’t plot to get back at them afterward. He’d about deserve it, for that.
There was a brief moment, chaos and confusion, where the girl was falling off her broom and only just holding onto it with her legs where he thought he might manage to save, but she somehow held onto the Quaffle and righted herself, and then it was too late. Only the ineptness of her throw, he suspected, saved Aladren from the hysterical laughter of the crowds watching the game.
But the throw was inept, and Captain Nash and Edmond between them managed to see to it that the Quaffle was secure once more, and the game began to move back down the Pitch. Far down the Pitch, practically to the center line – the hated center line they had gone over so many times in the Crotalus game, the line he had, for a time, had unpleasant dreams about after the Crotalus game. He felt embarrassment again, a sickly feeling. Clearly, the captain didn’t trust his Chasers right now. He ignored the feeling, or tried to, because emotions would make things go wrong, but it didn’t work completely, and he found himself taking the Quaffle from the air with more energy than was necessary, leaning out a little to get it faster even though, at a speed meant for leaving behind the more poorly equipped Pecaris, that meant risking falling.
To his relief, though, he did not fall, and did get the Quaffle. He sped on, leaving the line behind and feeling more comfortable as the grass far, far beneath him became indisputably Pecari grass, the kind his team was supposed to be over as the assaulted the goals. In case of Bludgers, though, he passed about halfway back to the Pecari goals, taking care to make the pass as close as possible and to watch out for threats first.
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
And I'm taking it even further down the Pitch
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
August 08, 2011 12:44 PM
And I'm trying to be sneaky. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
Russell was aware it could possibly get him executed on the spot for sympathizing with the enemy if anyone ever found out about it, but he was a little pleased for Mellie when she managed to pull Pecari’s bacon off the fire after her teammate went down and then passed to her captain without being intercepted. He would have rather Aladren had intercepted at any point in that, but they went back, and he wasn’t yet Quidditch-crazy enough to be absolutely singleminded about it, unable to be, if not as pleased as he would have been for a teammate, at least a little pleased for an old friend even while being a little disappointed that Aladren had just kind of been embarrassed.It was one reason why, to his regret, he doubted he’d ever make captain. He had better sense than to say certain things anywhere near where certain people, including at least two of his roommates, but he was fairly certain they had noticed over time that he wasn’t as rabid about the game as some were. It was a little disappointing, since he had a name to live up to, but he still thought he was in the running for Prefect and Head Boy at least partially because he wasn’t as eccentric as the other three Aladren second years. Two out of three wouldn’t be bad. He’d take all three if he could get them, but two out of three wouldn’t be bad. It was as many as anyone he was related to had held for a while.
Kitty saved – “Good job!” he called encouragingly to the Keeper, though he didn’t know if she heard – and the ball came back to Aladren. First to Daniel for kind of a long time, then back to Arthur, then…back to Russell, halfway back across the Pecari half, apparently with the idea he should make the shot, again. He had to wonder if his roommate knew who he’d passed to at the moment, considering how his last two assaults on the goals had gone.
He covered more ground, then decided he wasn’t going for it a third time. Not yet. Close enough in that he hoped Sophie would mistake him for the assaulting Chaser, he passed quickly, hoping she’d keep watching him and his apparent plan to go left again and one of the others, maybe with Beater backup, could score finally.
16
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
And I'm trying to be sneaky.
183
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
August 08, 2011 7:41 PM
And I'm finishing the manuever by <font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
Arthur caught the pass and flew it into Pecari territory. He passed to Russell and Russell flew it in to the goals. No interceptions from Pecari. That almost made up for Pecari's long run. A goal would really help erase all of the embarrassment though.Russell seemed to be of the same opinion because he made as if he were going to take another shot, but then passed to Daniel. Already being in a good position to take a shot, Daniel caught it and then threw it again immediately, not giving Sophie any time to process and try to correct for the new direction of assault, aiming for the right hoop.
Daniel held his breath and hoped the third time was the charm.
0
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
And I'm finishing the manuever
0
<font color=blue>Captain Nash, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=brown>Sophie, Keeper</font>
August 08, 2011 9:42 PM
...Touché by <font color=brown>Sophie, Keeper</font>
That same Chaser that had shot twice was coming at her again. It looked like he was going left again. Really? What was he up to? Sophie didn’t know. She was getting confused as the game went on because everything was either really complicated down there or getting messed up. It was much harder to follow game play when she was just floating by the rings Keeping as opposed to Chasing.Of course, she loved Keeping, much more than she liked Chasing. It was fun, but Keeping…Something about it was just perfect for her. The blonde knew it was going to be her passion the moment she tried it playing with her cousins. However, now was not the time for those thoughts.
Now was the time to pay attention. The Chaser, going left. She swerved that way to get near that hoop, but then… the Aladren captain had the Quaffle. He was really far, on the right side. Sophie swore under her breath as she tried to get over there.
It was too late. The third year wasn’t even near when the Quaffle went right through the hoop, so instead of focusing on it, she dove down to follow it. After a few yards of straight drop, she grabbed the orb and shot back up. She glanced around for one of her team’s Chasers and, seeing one, passed. “It’s okay guys!” she shouted enthusiastically. “Go get that one back!” Pecari was still going to win it.
12
<font color=brown>Sophie, Keeper</font>
...Touché
34
<font color=brown>Sophie, Keeper</font>
0
5
<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
August 09, 2011 12:37 PM
Aladren Scores! 10-0 (nm) by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
0
<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
Aladren Scores! 10-0 (nm)
0
<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
August 11, 2011 8:19 PM
Trying to maim... by <font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
Preston had to admit he was a bit distracted during this particular game. He didn’t know what was causing it, but he needed to figure it out and work through it as soon as possible. Thinking and playing didn’t go hand in hand. Quidditch was more of a gut feeling sport, do what you feel it is best. Pondering over what was causing his lack of focus would be detrimental. He pushed his thought to the back of his mind and tried to act on instinct. He didn’t even know what his fellow Beater was doing or attempting to do. Not the best tactic if he wanted to win this game. He shook his head in another attempt to focus on the game, it seemed to be working.The redhead then flew around trying to figure out what was happening. It seemed that Aladren was in possession of the Quaffle. Excellent! Then, Captain Nash scored, successfully taking them to the lead in the game. However, nothing was set in stone until the Snitch was caught. Preston cheered in his own little air area before zooming towards a Bludger that had passed him a few seconds before. He smiled and went after it. He swung his bat and it collided with the ball, sending it towards the closest Pecari player. They were going to win this game, they had to, he needed to demonstrate how good he was getting at this.
0
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
Trying to maim...
0
<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
August 12, 2011 1:26 AM
Trying to score again by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Everything happened so fast at the goal that, for a moment, Arthur didn’t quite follow it, but he caught on quickly enough and smiled to himself. Sooner or later, every Keeper missed.Of course, so did every Seeker, and every Chaser, and every Beater. He didn’t remotely share his brother’s hope that they could somehow get through seven years without ever losing a game, or even one of them or the other being taken out of a game for one reason or another. That kind of thing just did not happen. But right now, the fact that no one was always at their very best was working in favor of Aladren, so he was going to be happy with it while he could and try not to do anything stupid when he someday couldn’t. He forced himself to think about the future because he’d heard so many adults say that people his age couldn’t, but it did seem like a vague thing, usually.
Right now was stronger, more immediate, and usually seemed to have enough problems to go on with. Or opportunities. When the Quaffle sailed back into the air, he gave into a whim and intercepted it, sending it back toward the Pecari center hoop as quickly as he could, in the hopes of catching the Pecari Keeper off guard once again while she was still off to the side she’d saved from. Twenty-zero would be a good score. He wouldn’t want to hang around the goals, giving a convenient target for the Pecari Beaters, long enough to try for another score after that, but twice in a row like this would be nice.
He didn’t know what it would do to the other team, though. Shame had spurred Aladren into performing better than they had all game. It might do the same to Pecari. That would be…less fortunate. Kitty wasn’t bad at what she did, but she was only a first year, and Mr. Hernandez wouldn’t be as easy to save a shot from as her fellow first years would be. And they might even surprise everyone. Arthur knew oil and water sometimes mixed better than his brother and logic did, but he had been, though he had for once thought not to say it and possibly hurt Arnold’s feelings, been astonished when Arnold beat Marissa Stephenson last year in the finals. He thought everyone had been, honestly.
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Trying to score again
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Pecari</font>
August 14, 2011 6:25 PM
Wishing unkind things on Preston. by <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Pecari</font>
Pecari had gained some ground, but that didn’t seem to bother Aladren, unless it was in that way where someone went over-the-top to prove themselves.Normally, Mellie would have been at least a little sympathetic to that line of thought, since the best way for anyone to get her to do anything was to suggest that she might not be able to do it, but since it had been abundantly clear to everyone from before they even came out that Aladren was a tough team, she felt at least a little frustrated. Would it have killed the blue-clad players to give them the tiniest of breaks? Just for a minute or two? Once they took off on their fancy expensive fast brooms, the Pecari Chasers didn’t have much of a chance of catching up and reclaiming the Quaffle, and wouldn’t have even if Jose’s broom hadn’t been damaged.
When one of the Aladren Chasers – the larger of the two second years, one of the Careys; Arthur, she thought he was called – caught the Quaffle again after Sophie retrieved it from the successful goal the captain had made, Mellie had a momentary fantasy about taking one of the Beater bats and hitting him over the head with it. That just felt like he was just taunting the –
Crack!
The sound caught up with her ears a second too late, and all thoughts of the other players vanished in pain as the Bludger slammed into her right arm, nearly taking her off the broom as it changed angles after its contact with her and began rocketing toward another nearby player. A fierce corner of her mind hoped it got one of the Aladrens, since they were all right here, too, but most of her was occupied with trying to stay on her broom, trying not to cry. That last, though, quickly proved to be a losing game; biting her lip just made it worse, and though she just saved herself from falling, by the time she was hunched over it with her other hand gripping her shoulder protectively, tears were running down her face.
Around the red roaring in her head, she tried to look for the red Quaffle somewhere on the Pitch. For whatever good it would do. She was hurt, she was hurt, but looking for the Quaffle was what she was supposed to do. She had to try, anyway, try to find it and…do something, thinking wasn’t coming back just yet.
16
<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Pecari</font>
Wishing unkind things on Preston.
206
<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Pecari</font>
0
5