Flying Lessons, first years! on Quidditch Pitch

The Coach

October 24, 2020 4:35 PM

Flying Lessons, first years! by The Coach

The weather was decent, as it normally was. Or at least, the coach thought as much. Sonora was, of course, protected from the heat of the Arizona desert by a weather charm that kept it at the peaceful Ireland weatherscape the founders had preferred. As such, it often rained. The coach thought that was perfectly decent, and some of the best Quidditch games happened in the rain. For flying lessons though, the weather being decent meant it was a cool day with a low breeze, sunny with a thick enough smattering of clouds to keep the sun from being blinding. This was especially important for the first year students as they were . . Well, they were a mess pretty often. Still, not all of the first year students would actually be beginners, and it was important to the coach to set up lessons that were accessible, and educational, for everyone.

Additionally, the Quidditch tryout signups would go up soon, and some of these little firsties might be interested in trying out. It wouldn't be the first time first year students had made the school team, and it was a good opportunity for everyone. But that was the future, and today was flying lessons for first years. Baby steps.

The coach waited for the students to arrive on the Quidditch pitch and directed them to take a spot beside one of the brooms set up in two lines facing each other as they did so. When everyone was either present or marked officially absent, the coach began.

"Good morning, first years! We're going to start with some basic activities to get all of you used to a broom. I know that there's students with all sorts of backgrounds here, and while some of you can probably fly very well, others only just recently learned that you can fly on a broom at all." The coach smiled softly, wanting to show the students that this was perfectly fine. "First, I want everyone to take their broom and board it however you feel is the most comfortable. It should look something like this." Swinging a leg over the broom in the coach's hand, the goal was to demonstrate that they should not try side saddle. "I'll come around and check your grips and then you can kick off from the ground and attempt hovering. I promise, it isn't as hard as it might sound. After that, those of you who feel comfortable flying already can have the rest of the period for some free flying - please get my approval to do so - and I'll spend time working with the rest of you more individually to help you get accustomed to broom flight, answer your questions, and help you achieve what is absolutely one of the best parts about being a magic user." The coach grinned, clearly excited about this. Of course, anyone who made their living based on a love of brooms and flying must really love brooms and flying. "Any questions before we begin? If not, go ahead and start working. I'll be available if you need any help."

OOC: Welcome to flying lessons! As with all classes, posts will be scored on length, relevance, and creativity, along with adhering to all site rules. You may godmod the coach [control them even though it is not your character] approving your grip and hovering if your character is a more advanced flier, as well as approving your character to go off to free-flight if they're that degree of advanced. Add a tag if there's something dangerous going on, and ask any staff member in the OOC or Chatzy (as the Coach is a shared character) if you have any questions out of character. Be realistic and have fun!

Also, thank you to Grayson Wright's author for the outline of this lesson and most of the content of the OOC. :)

Subthreads:

Alright, if you say so by Billy Cobb with Rosalynn Tellerman

Almost too good to be true! by Lorena Abernathy with Henry Spellman

22 The Coach Flying Lessons, first years! 0 The Coach 1 5

Billy Cobb

October 24, 2020 5:59 PM

Alright, if you say so by Billy Cobb

Billy was glad to be outside again. He'd never been couped up inside for so long in his life! Most of the folk were nice enough, but it was just moving about from one room in that big building to the next! It'd gotten so bad that he almost just grabbed some food from the hall and ate lunch outside like a normal person. Oddly enough though, no one else seemed to be doing that, so he'd stayed with Oz and Gus. Maybe tomorrow he'd have to see if he could convince them to go outside.

Thankfully though, now they were supposed to be out here, and it was fantastic. The slight breeze felt nice and the occasional sunlight was terrific. He was following the others to 'The Pitch' it was some big open field with wooden structures around it? It reminded him a bit of the rodeo from the state fair, maybe this was something like that. He took his spot where the coach directed him, next to one of the brooms. His first thought was that they were going to clean up the field, but there had been enough talk about these flying lessons that he'd figured some things out. Apparently they were going to fly on these things instead of clean with them.

Yup. Alright, he followed the coach's instructions and felt awful silly about it. If this was for real, it would be awesome. He chuckled, and then they'd be able to fly after and catch them birds for more writing quills. "You ever done this before?" he turned and asked his neighbor, "Where I come from we use these fer chasing off varments and keepin' dirt outta the kitchen."

2 Billy Cobb Alright, if you say so 1519 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

October 28, 2020 5:27 PM

Almost too good to be true! by Lorena Abernathy

Lorena joined other first year students at the Quidditch Pitch for flying lessons. It was hard to believe that flying is really a thing. Her father had shown her his broom but said he never flew it anymore because Mom didn't like it. She thought that was a terrible shame because flying sounded like it could be a lot of fun, as long as you didn't fall off!

She looked around at the other students and noticed a variety of expressions from interest or excitement to boredom. She assumed the latter already knew how to fly and didn't need the information being given by the Coach.

Focusing on coach's instruction, she looked dubiously at the broom laying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up and straddled it as Coach demonstrated. She felt a little silly standing here with this broom. It reminded her of being younger and having a "pony" that was nothing more than a painted broom handle with a pony head on it. Her father had made it neigh for her when her mother hadn't been around and that made it much more fun than just being a stick with a head.

She gingerly clutched the broom and looked around, trying to get Coach's attention. She didn't want to let go of the broom when she felt she had a good grip and made eye contact when the Coach looked over. Lorena watched him head her way, stopping occasionally to answer another student's question. Finally, Coach approached her and offered a bit of guidance, suggesting she loosen her grip.

She wasn't sure she was thrilled to have the Coach watching, but supposed that it was necessary when one is doing something like learning to fly. Giving a kick, Lorena felt herself rising off the ground. Again, gripping the broom tightly, she watched the earth fall away below her feet.

"I'm doing it!" She squeaked, her eye's sparkling with excitement. She lifted just a few feet above the ground and felt she was doing something truly amazing. Coach grinned at her excitement and then gave a few more pointers, making sure she understood how to control her broom and then, she was off!

Slowly, Lorena lifted up on the broom handle and felt herself rising a bit higher. She leveled off about five feet above the ground and got the feel of the broom. Pretty soon, she was cruising happily around the perimeter of the area, laughing at the feeling of freedom. She wondered if she dared fly a bit higher and took the broom up another few feet.

After spending a bit of time flying around the group of students, Lorena decided to practice landing and taking off. She did this successfully a couple of times. She had no idea what she did wrong but the third time she touched down, her broom lurched sideways throwing her into the student next to her. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said as she stumbled and tried to stay upright. “No idea what I did wrong there. Are you ok?”

48 Lorena Abernathy Almost too good to be true! 1510 0 5

Henry Spellman

October 28, 2020 6:32 PM

Definitely too good to be true. by Henry Spellman

Henry had not stopped having big feelings about this whole school and it was starting to wear him out. He was doing his best to focus in class, to meet new people, to just enjoy the ride he'd been given a free ticket for, but he couldn't help thinking about how unfair the whole thing was all the same. Today, however, it was hard to think of anything but the present moment, because today they were going to be flying. Henry remembered what the liaison guy had asked them about ever doing anything strange, and how Oz had fallen and bounced or broke his arm but not his neck, and how Henry hadn't ever done anything like that. He still wasn't sure if rattling the dishwasher and finding it working again counted as magic (it probably didn't), so he was pretty sure that he was going to die if he fell off his broom.

His grip was approved quickly - he was a good student and that part was totally under his control to do well, even if the flying part didn't seem like it was - but he spent a lot of time just practicing getting the broom up and down, examining it, and hovering very slightly. Eventually, he did a single short lap around the group of students, following the motion of others who were being tentative in their practice and trying to ignore those who were being extravagant - especially if one of them was his brother, and he wasn't going to look to find out - but stopped again before he did any more. He just wanted to feel the ground underneath his feet for a minute.

If he was honest with himself, flying was . . . thrilling. But thrilling wasn't usually a good thing in Henry's experience, and he'd much rather have the stability of the ground beneath his feet than have the-- SLAM!

He fell sideways, landing on the ground and looking up to find out that it was a girl who'd knocked him down. He stood up fast, hoping that Oz hadn't seen that. Really, it was a demon stick with hair that had thrown a girl into him, but still. That hardly counted as defense when you were the one on the ground and a girl was the one standing over you. Jumping to his feet, Henry nodded, dismissing her worries. "That's fine," he said quickly. "I'm fine." He looked up to examine the girl more closely, finding that she was an Aladren if the shining blue badge was anything to judge by. Which it was. He didn't yet have a solid connection in Aladren. "I'm Henry," he said, putting a hand out to shake if she wanted. She still looked a bit wobbly herself, so he turned it upwards some, offering some stability if she needed that instead. "Are you alright?" he asked.

22 Henry Spellman Definitely too good to be true. 1513 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

October 29, 2020 5:35 PM

That's one way to meet new people by Lorena Abernathy

"I'm fine," Lorena replied to the boy's question. She stifled a chuckle when she looked at him. He had jumped up so quickly when she knocked him down, she could only guess that he was more embarrassed than she.

She took his hand and said "Hi Henry, I'm Lorena. Nice bumping into you, literally. You sure you are ok? I hit you pretty hard."

"Are you enjoying school so far? Well, I guess flying lessons since that's all we've had. I don't know what went wrong. I was flying around without a problem but when I landed this time, the broom jerked me into you. I probably did something wrong, but I've no idea what." She smiled at Henry, who still looked a bit uncomfortable.

She had been thoroughly enjoying learning to fly and wondered if it was ok to stand around and visit rather than continuing to fly. Last thing she wanted to do was bring the wrath of the Coach down on her.

Making a decision, Lorena once again straddled her broom and looked at Henry. "Would you like to practice flying a bit more? Although you may be used to it and not nearly as impressed as I am by the experience." Now that she had a taste of flying, she didn't want to stop. "C'mon, let's take a cruise around."

48 Lorena Abernathy That's one way to meet new people 1510 0 5

Henry Spellman

November 03, 2020 11:36 AM

I guess so. by Henry Spellman

The girl - Lorena - seemed amused that she'd knocked Henry over, which was pretty on par for most people who had knocked Henry over in his life, and he wasn't sure what to think of her for it. Maybe she was just feeling awkward and laughing for that reason? Or maybe it was actually amusing to her? He didn't like to think that people here sucked but he supposed some of them would just statistically speaking and he had no reason to think this wasn't one of them. But she also was shaking his hand and seemed just happy. Maybe it wasn't that she was sucky, just that she was . . . a bit lighthearted. Some people were like that, he supposed. There weren't a lot of people like that at his old school because there weren't a lot of people who could afford to be like that, but he supposed it wasn't unheard of.

This analysis went through his head quickly, as did most analyses, and his anxiety about the whole situation generally reduced as he thought it through. That was why thinking things through was such a good thing.

"It's a broom," he pointed out a little starkly. "And it flies. I'm not blaming you," he said. "And yeah, school's fine." He'd learned the hard way that neutral opinions were best for these sort of new encounters.

Despite the fact that it was a stick with some old branches sticking out the bottom - it was weird seeing brooms like this because brooms at home were plastic with plastic bristles - and was enchanted to fly and apparently had some sense of sentience if it could huck people into each other at will, Lorena seemed happy to get back on and keep going. He didn't think that taking a 'cruise around' was a good idea at all but . . . well, it was thrilling. That was bad, it was bad, but it was thrilling. And they were here to practice, after all . . .

"I'm not used to this," he told her as he anxiously obeyed and straddled his own broom as well. He was glad that whatever magic people had come up with apparently included some sort of invisible pillow because he didn't think that supporting the whole of his weight on a stick between his legs would have been a fun time. "We can practice more." He kicked off from the ground, doing his best to follow what they'd done before and flew slowly and carefully.

22 Henry Spellman I guess so. 1513 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

November 03, 2020 3:13 PM

Well, I did apologize! by Lorena Abernathy

"I really am sorry that I slammed into you. It was purely unintentional." Lorena was a bit puzzled at Henry's silence. "I didn't mean to laugh, but you looked so shocked when I hit you, it was a little funny. I was pretty shocked to be hitting you, too!" She hoped that this explanation would assure him that she didn't mean to hit him. She hoped that she hadn't really irritated him.

Determined to make the best of the situation, Lorena gently kicked off the ground and hovered a bit as the boy joined her. She decided that he seemed a bit timid about flying and so she slowed down a bit to stay with him. "Have you flown a broom before? I never have, but I'm really enjoying giving it a try. I've only fallen off once and I wasn't very high so it wasn't too bad."

Lorena enjoyed looking around the Quidditch pitch as they flew, watching the other students in various stages of flying or attempting to. She assumed that some of them were used to it as they were cruising around much more confidently than she, while others seemed unable to get their broom off the ground at all.

She didn't mind too much that Henry didn't seem to have much to say and wondered if he was shy or maybe could use a friend. "Do you have any brothers or sisters here in school? Or at all?" She thought about what her brother might feel knowing that she had magic abilities when he didn't. Probably just gave him another reason to dislike her. She frowned a bit at the thought. Lorena didn't like the idea that family members didn't get along, but she seemed to have that kind of family.

"Are you happy to be in Crotalus? I noticed your badge. So far, I like the people in Aladren House."

48 Lorena Abernathy Well, I did apologize! 1510 0 5

Henry Spellman

November 03, 2020 4:09 PM

Yeah it was so sincere. by Henry Spellman

Henry blinked, surprised to hear someone admit that they were laughing at someone. Somehow, being told he made a funny face whilst being pummeled to the ground didn't help anything at all, and he resisted the urge to just walk away. He'd been picked on enough times to know it wasn't going to help either of them and he didn't have a lot of other people he would prefer to work with at this point, so sucking it up generally seemed like the best response. Still, he wasn't about to reassure her that it was okay or anything, so he just moved on.

"You fell off?" Henry said, his shock making him forget that he wasn't sure how he felt about this chick yet. He regained composure and shook his head. "I've never flown before. I didn't even know flying brooms were real until I got here."

Then he nodded. Boy did he have siblings. "My brother is here," he said. For a moment, he wanted to point at him, but he wasn't about to let go of his broom long enough to do that, and he didn't want to try to look around enough to find him anyway. "We're twins, so he's in the same class. How about you?"

He did manage to glance at Lorena out of the corner of his eye when she commented on his badge. Apparently he wasn't the only observant one. "Yeah, it's fine," he said with a shrug. He spent most of his time alone and that wasn't anything to do with his House, that was just his tendency. But he knew Oz thought he'd end up in the same house as the girl, so he was curious a bit. He thought he'd end up there too, actually. He wondered if the girl was intellectually superior to him or something. "It's good you like Aladren. My brother is in Pecari," he added, since he suspected that was the next question anyway.

22 Henry Spellman Yeah it was so sincere. 1513 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

November 03, 2020 4:58 PM

Well, it really was. by Lorena Abernathy

"I did," she said with a chuckle. "Landed right on my back with a thump. Fortunately, I was only a few feet off the ground, so other than bruising my dignity, no real harm done."

Lorena was sure that Henry was truly offended, either by being knocked down by her or by her apology. She didn't like to think she offended someone, but there was only so much she could do to apologize. This kid didn't seem like he was able to laugh at himself, which Lorena thought was very sad. She laughed at her own silly mistakes all the time.

"I've always been a bit clumsy. That's probably what caused me to hit you. I guess I've just gotten able to overlook the bumps and bruises."

It surprised her that she knew more about magic than someone else. She had never seen anyone flying on a broom before, but her father had showed her his and told her that they really did fly. "I knew about flying brooms, but never saw anyone fly until now. Are you from a Muggle family, then?"

Again, she thought about siblings close to your own age, but she was learning that it's not always a wonderful thing. "Does it feel weird to have your twin brother in a different house? I've always heard that twins tend to do everything together."

Lorena thought maybe Henry was getting more comfortable flying and thought it might be fun to try going a little higher and faster. "You want to fly a bit higher? Might as well get comfortable flying since this is a method of transportation, right?"

48 Lorena Abernathy Well, it really was. 1510 0 5

Rosalynn Tellerman

November 04, 2020 5:24 PM

Did you say varments? by Rosalynn Tellerman

Rosalynn arrived to the flying lesson with only a small amount of trepidation. She was familiar with the concept of flying brooms, which probably put her ahead of some of the class, but she wasn't particularly well versed in the practice of flying brooms. She lived in the middle of a muggle city (well, 'middle' was inaccurate, but she was more in the city than its suburbs, so she thought it still counted) with no yard to speak of and neighbors close enough to notice anything too weird going on (Dad being a stage magician gave them some leeway for being kind of weird without getting into trouble, but having his kid flying down the street on a broom was definitely in the realms of too weird).

Once, maybe twice, when they visited the Hernandezes around Christmas time, she'd been allowed to try hovering a little bit, but that was as far as she'd ever gotten.

So she wasn't really expect great feats from her flying performance today, but luckily, neither was the Coach. All she was asked to do was mount up and manage that hover again. That, at least, she thought she could do.

Rosalynn collected one of the brooms, straddled it, found a comfortable grip, and kicked off. She wasn't hovering particularly high (if she straightened her knees, she'd probably be able to touch the ground), but she was hovering, which met the parameters of the initial instructions. Or had he said to wait for grip check before kicking off? She couldn't remember. But she'd done this before and wasn't flying high at all, so it was probably okay? She'd definitely wait for grip check before trying anything more.

Before the Coach finished with the other kids who were more attention grabbing about getting their grips checked, the boy next to her spoke up.

Rosalynn nodded in answer to his direct question. "Yes, my great uncle - or something -" she wasn't entirely sure of the exact relation between herself and the Hernandezes, if there was any at all, "has a space away from muggles where we have a mini-family reunion over Christmas, and I've gotten to try out a broom there before. For flying, that is. I've had plenty of opportunities for sweeping the kitchen at home, too, but that's a different kind of broom. You wouldn't want to use these for sweeping. The bristles are all too gelled up and narrow. It would take forever."

1 Rosalynn Tellerman Did you say varments? 1520 0 5

Billy Cobb

November 04, 2020 6:30 PM

Sure! by Billy Cobb

Huh, the girl had kicked off the ground and was just kinda hanging there. Nothing was holding her up at all. That was fantastic! He grinned wide at her. He had thought the coach had said to check grips before kicking off, but he must have misheard. He just had to try this out, now. He kicked against the ground and made a nice jump into the air before landing on his feet again.

"Shucks." He voice out loud as he looked back at the girl again, nodding in response to her answer. "I've got lotsa space back home away from muggles... or anyone else for that matter. I just ain't had one of these things." He leapt into the air again with similar results, "How do you get these things ta stay up there?" Billy gave his broom a look of consternation. She was right, the bristles on it were not designed for cleaning floors. However, it's still probably work for shooing off 'coons and such. "It ain't busted, is it?"

Then, suddenly, he remembered his manners again. "Oh, sorry miss. My name's Billy, Billy Cobb." he thought about the way Leonor had introduced herself at the feast and figured that was the correct way of doing things around here, so he added "of the Kentucky Cobbs." He began to stick out his hand for a proper handshake, but then realized the girl next to him was holding on to her broom and not actually in contact with the ground. He didn't want to make her let go, that might just go poorly for her, so he turned the motion into a wave instead.

2 Billy Cobb Sure! 1519 0 5

Henry Spellman

November 07, 2020 1:09 PM

Great. by Henry Spellman

Henry wasn't too sure what to think because he didn't think falling off his own broom sounded remotely like something to laugh about, except to other people. Oz would definitely laugh if Henry fell off his broom. His grip tightened some automatically. "Fortunately," he agreed quietly.

He wondered a bit at what it would be like to be clumsy. He was way too careful to ever be clumsy himself, but he still ended up with bumps and bruises. Perhaps if they were his own doing, they might be more laughable? It didn't seem funny most of the time, but maybe if he just tripped instead of being pushed or something, it would be better. He didn't want to dwell on that; it wasn't like he was bullied significantly or anything like that, and Oz probably cared about him, he just liked the "tough" part better than the "love" part and made that clear.

"It's fine," Henry finally said, deciding the girl was not going to let it go until he made her feel better about it.

"Yeah," he agreed about his family background. He wondered a little bit about the idea that she could know about flying brooms but not have seen one. Maybe flying like this wasn't a common thing for magic people? That was cool; Henry would be happy not to have to do it again.

He really hated questions that started with 'is it weird' or 'does it feel weird' when it came to Oz. He'd never not been a twin, and he'd never had a different twin, so it was hard to say. It didn't feel weird because it was normal. Although he hadn't been to Sonora, so really none of this part was normal. Still, people said stuff like Lorena did - 'I've always heard' - and he couldn't help wondering who was going around talking about twins in some big grandiose way that people heard about it.

"We're not that much alike," he said with a shrug. "It would be weirder if we were in the same House." It would have been nice to be roommates again though . . . he did miss that part. Oz had several roommates and Henry didn't have any. It made him feel a bit squirmy to think about.

He cocked his head when she asked if he wanted to go higher. "It can't be that common if you'd never seen it before, right?" he asked, surprised that it would be a form of transportation. "I definitely won't use it again," he added with a grimace, yanking his gaze away from the ground rushing by underneath. "If you want to go higher though, I'll be here and can spot you."

22 Henry Spellman Great. 1513 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

November 08, 2020 5:57 PM

Suit Yourself by Lorena Abernathy

Lorena relaxed and just enjoyed the feeling of flying. Somehow it gave her a sense of freedom that she had never felt before under her mother's disapproving eye or her brother's constant nagging and bullying. It was so wonderful to feel that this was all hers, something her mother had no say about and her brother couldn't do. It made her feel closer to her father, too. She couldn't help but wonder how he could give up this experience. He must love her mother very much to be willing to live within her restrictions.

She thought about Henry, who was flying along nearby. He seemed uncomfortable around her, or maybe in general, and not particularly friendly. She had done her best to be friendly, but he didn't seem all that interested. Lorena decided she wasn't going to beat herself up trying to be his friend. She wouldn't be rude or unfriendly, but would let him reach out if he wanted her friendship.

It was interesting that he wasn't close to his twin brother. All the twins she had known had been best friends. Of course, most of the ones she had known were identical and so they enjoyed being able to fool people. Maybe that made a difference.

"No need to spot me," Lorena said in response to his offer. "But thanks. I'm going to go a bit higher. See you around."

She made sure her grip was tight but not strangling, as Coach had instructed, checked her seat to make sure she was secure. She wasn't foolish enough to be reckless when doing something that could potentially cause serious harm if she fell off. She slowly rose higher over the Quidditch Pitch.

It was a strange feeling being able to look down and see other students going through their lessons below her. Of course, others were flying above her and at much greater speed. She was quite happy being where she was, thinking her thoughts and enjoying the wind in her face.

After a while, her arms began to feel the strain of holding their position on her broom and she decided it was time to head back to the ground. This time she was extra careful not to land near anyone else when she touched the ground. For some reason, her broom lurched again when she landed. Guess I'll have to keep working on that, as soon as I figure out exactly what!

48 Lorena Abernathy Suit Yourself 1510 0 5

Rosalynn Tellerman

November 11, 2020 5:49 PM

Are you related to Yosemite Sam? by Rosalynn Tellerman

"I don't have a broom at home either," Rosalynn admitted. "I borrowed my cousin's the couple of times I've flown before." There wasn't a lot of point having a broom you didn't have anywhere to fly, anyway. Though she supposed that being at Sonora now, that was no longer a problem, if it was something she wanted to pursue. She wasn't entirely sure that it was, though. She might enjoy a quiet leisurely broom ride around the gardens, but if she had a broom, people would probably think she liked Quidditch and, quite frankly, she did not understand Quidditch nor see its appeal.

"As best as I understand it, it stays up by belief. You need to be confident it will stay up, and it will. The first time I tried, I couldn't get it to stay up either. It takes practice and seeing enough other people do it that you start thinking you can do it, too. Think of it like, um," Rosalynn wracked her brains trying to come up with a close enough simile, "balancing a spoon on your nose," she eventually offered. "You need to figure out how to hold yourself just right so it sticks, and have patience, and not try to hurry it. It's kind of the same with getting the broom under you."

She smiled back as he abruptly introduced himself and aborted an attempt to handshake. Her smile broadened, and she tried to give a slight seated bow in his direction in return, but this moved the broom and set her into a dive. She was too low to the ground to cause any damage when the top end of it ploughed into the dirt, and her feet came down to easily catch herself as soon as she realized what what happening, but she flushed in mild embarrassment at the minor crash anyway. She wiped the dirt off the end, glanced around to see if anyone else noticed, then, as long as she wasn't flying anymore anyway, she waved back at Billy. "I'm Rosalynn." He'd given family branch information so she did as well, "Rosalynn Tellerman of the California Pierces. Virginia's line." Billy seemed pretty informal and not all like the fancy purebloods she'd been warned might have problems with California Pierces, so she hoped this introduction wouldn't launch them into immediate enmity.

She reset her broom and pushed back up into her low hover, ready to try to fly away if he took exception to her family. Given that he couldn't manage the hover, she thought she'd pretty easily outpace him, even if she wasn't very fast.

1 Rosalynn Tellerman Are you related to Yosemite Sam? 1520 0 5

Billy Cobb

November 15, 2020 5:12 PM

I don't think so? He from Kentucky? by Billy Cobb

Hmm... welp, this girl sure seemed to know what she was doin' even if she didn't have a broom herself. He listened to her explanation of how the thing was supposed to work and nodded slowly along with her. "The other trick there was gettin' in the practice without Ma yellin' that that wasn't where spoons was supposed to go and to behave and be polite." He shot the girl a mischievous grin, "That didn't stop me none though." Then looked back down at his own broom and reworked his grip on it a bit, "So, if this thing is supposed to stay up there like yours is, well then.. that's just supposed to be what it does."

Billy kicked off the ground again, felt the broom almost catch on something, drop a bit as he grit his teeth and catch again. This time it held. His toes weren't more than an ant's height from the ground, but they weren't touching. He smiled triumphantly and immediately dropped to the ground again. "I got it!" Then the girl dropped dropped to the ground as well. She was back on her feet and looking a bit embarrassed before he could move to assist. She seemed to want to brush it off, so he obliged her.

"A pleasure." He replied with a small smile, hopefully getting the correct response that Miss Leonor had shown him. Then he got confused and a questioning expression may have shown across his face. She was Rosalynn Tellerman of the California Pierces... from Virginia? Had he got it wrong? Her last name didn't match the family name... and she was either from California or Virginia? Was he supposed to be from the Kentucky Cobbs then or from somewhere else? He shook his head a bit. He'd have to stick with what he'd got, at least until he figured this out. If he did, some of these people were downright strange. Maybe her mom had been a Pierce from California and married a Tellerman from Virginia? That had to be it.

That made her real interesting though. She probably knew all about California and Virginia and maybe everywhere in between! She'd hopped back up in the air on her broom, so he followed suit. This time he caught it properly and sat there in the air, but he wasn't really paying any attention to the broom anymore. "That sounds like you've traveled a bunch, have you?"

2 Billy Cobb I don't think so? He from Kentucky? 1519 0 5