<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
January 13, 2012 9:56 PM
Game Two: Pecari vs Teppenpaw by <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
The second match of the season would prove interesting, Amelia believed. Like Aladren and Crotalus, they were fairly evenly matched, and as neither of them had made it to the finals in the last several years, both would be eager to prove they were better than the other.The other thing she found particularly fascinating about this particular match up were that there were a number of family groups playing against each other. Ms. Amira Thornton was still on medical leave, unfortunately, so she would not be facing Ms. Arista Thornton on the field today. Mr. Andrew Duell, however, would be facing his first cousin, Ms. Jhonice Treveor. Also, it would be the first time in Sonora history that two Pierce branches would go head to head, with Mr. Jose Hernandez representing California and Pecari while Mr. Derry Pierce represented Boston and/or New Hampshire and Teppenpaw.
She had chosen to wear red today, in part because Crotalus was already eliminated and it showed no bias toward any of the remaining competitors (which was perhaps more important for this game now that Derry was transitioning into her own branch), but mostly because the color had grown on her since she became their Head of House and she liked this robe. It was warm, which was particularly important when flying around outside in the middle of January. She had accessorized with a silver scarf, black gloves, and a matching red hat. The warming charm was not visible but no less important because it was quite cold out today.
There had certainly been games in colder weather, but it was the first time this winter the temperature had dropped down to single digits, so it felt particularly cold after the fairly mild weather they'd been having. Fortunately, everything else was in their favor. There was no snow to reflect light and blind people, the light cloud cover also protected players and spectators alike from the sun's glare, and the lack of precipitation would keep lines of sight clear.
She stood in the center of the pitch, awaiting the captains to finish their pre-game speeches. Like in the previous game, there was the potential that one of those speeches would be the last one given by that particular captain. Captain Hernandez, like Captain Carey and Captain Stephenson, would be graduating at the end of the year. She gave them a little longer, then called them over as they both finished before she decided to take pity on the freezing spectators.
"We've gathered here today to witness the second game of the Sonora Quidditch Season, featuring Teppenpaw, captained by Ms. Kirstenna Melcher, versus Pecari, captained by Mr. Jose Hernandez. Would the captains please shake hands."
She waited until they had done so, dismissed them back to their respective teams, and then continued, "The winner of this game will advance to play Aladren in the Final. Game ends when a seeker catches the snitch." She released the snitch as she said that, and then also freed the bludgers into the air. Finally, she picked up the Quaffle. "Game begins on my whistle. Three. Two. One. Tweeet!"
She threw the Quaffle into the game and the match had begun. She picked up her broom and followed the players into the air.
Subthreads: Let's go Pecari! by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font> with <font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>, <font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>, <font color="yellow">Laurie S., Chaser</font>, <font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>, <font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>, <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>, <font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>, <font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>
Seeking a success. by <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> with <font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>, <font color="brown">Mel Eagle, Beater</font>, <font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>, <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
Recentering and Recap by <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font> with <font color="brown">Mel Eagle, Beater</font>, <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
1
<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
Game Two: Pecari vs Teppenpaw
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<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>
1
5
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
January 13, 2012 10:39 PM
Let's go Pecari! by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Jose arrived at the pitch with time to pick his broom out of the school supply, but not much earlier. This had little do with his attempts to always arrive at his classes exactly on time and more to do with how freaking cold it was outside. He was from California, and when it got cold outside the California Pierces, like birds, migrated south to warmer climates.Even warming charms did not make standing out here comfortable. They helped though. Aware that a fair number of his teammates were still in beginner classes, he began with a simple practicality: "Who here needs me to cast a warming charm on them?"
Believing that the sooner the game started, the sooner the snitch could be found and they could all go inside again, he wasted no additional time in starting his speech once everyone had been warmed. He also kept it limited to the basic strategy they'd use. "We are up against Teppenpaw. They have a very good Keeper, so Chasers, we're going to have to be at top form to score against her, but we've been practicing, and I believe we can do that. Their best Chaser is Andrew."
He had contemplated a couple of strategies against his best friend, and thought he had hit upon the one most likely to work. He just hoped Andrew would remember afterwards that this was a game, the goal was to win, and Jose hadn't meant anything personal by it. "Jhon, get in his way so he has to hear it from both your moms if he runs into you." And since Andrew's mom happened to be pregnant right now, she was probably in an unfavorable condition to hear that her son had run over her sister's little girl . . .
"Otherwise, we have the better Beaters, so Mel and Dem, go for Kate, who's been seeking longer than Jade has. Also, if you get a shot at Kirstenna, take it. Those should be your biggest two targets. Otherwise, keep Jade safe, and use your best judgement. Jade, Kate has never caught the snitch in a real game, so you just have to keep that streak going. Let's show Aladren that Arnold's not the only first year who can win."
"Go Pecari!"
\r\nAfter that, he shook Kirstenna's hand, wished her luck as was required by good sportsmanship even if he did kind of hope her luck this game was the bad variety. This was his last shot at the Quidditch Cup, and he really would like to at least make it to the finals his senior year.
Once the whistle blew, he took off, snatched the Quaffle out of the air, and flew up into the sky. He could remember when that had terrified him, but now it just pushed an excited surge of adrenaline into his bloodstream. He headed toward the Teppenpaw hoops, but didn't hold onto the ball long, throwing it toward one of his teammates as he leveled out at the normal playing altitude.
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Let's go Pecari!
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>
January 14, 2012 10:59 AM
Come on, Teppenpaw! by <font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>
It had occurred recently to Kirstenna that her team had never won a game since she'd been captain. It wasn't entirely her fault or theirs. They were good players, all of them and even though she hated to think so egotistically, Kirstenna was pretty much the best Keeper in school. Sophie Jamison and David Wilkes were okay, but she had the most experience. It was just that the Aladrens had been imperiused by the Imposter so they were a little tough to beat.Today though, they were playing Pecari and as much satisfaction as Kirstenna would have gotten wiping that smug smirk off Renee Errant's evil little face had it been Crotalus playing and despite thinking it was a mean thing to think, the fifth year figured Pecari would be the easiest to beat and for once, Kirstenna, who was usually about doing their best and having a good time, wanted to win .
She wasn't too pleased with herself for it. It scared her just a little bit. The Teppenpaw captain had never been the competitive sort and she didn't want to really become so now. Kirstenna was sort of worried that this change meant the Imposter had cast a spell on her . Or Quidditch itself had some sort of weird powers that corrupted people, only instead of it making girls into lesbians-which there was nothing wrong with being anyway-it made people into worse human beings.
Still, Kirstenna wasn't going to quit. That would let down the team. She wouldn't abandon them, she just needed to overcome any tendencies caused by the game itself. Besides, it was probably the Imposter anyway which meant it was too late. Maybe Kirstenna needed to try to find a counter-curse for it but not at the moment.
As she waited for the game to start, shivering, she surveyed their competition. The cold seemed to be getting to Jose more than her. He was from California, she was from the Midwest, born technically in Indiana and spent her last midterm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She'd spent her childhood going between Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Northern Illinois. Kirstenna was used to colder climates. Though it was still uncomfortable, it worked to her advantage that she was better able to take the weather than the Pecari captain.
Merlin, what was wrong with her? These were not Kirstenna-ish thoughts. Kirstenna-ish thoughts involved the Imposter being out to get them all. She hated herself and the way she was thinking right now. She threw the Quidditch Coach-that the Imposter was the Quidditch Coach was something she and Quentin had decided was an indisputable fact, what was in question was that the woman was Amelia Pierce-a glare that matched the weather. She'd-Kirstenna decided that her nemesis had to be female in order to give birth to the embodiment of evil, ghost males could impregnate humans like Tate and Vivien on American Horror Story, but female ghosts, as far as she knew, could not give birth-obviously done something to the Teppenpaw girl that was a detriment to her personality.
It was obvious that the Imposter had done this to her in order to get her to quit. Well, Kirstenna would show her! She would not quit! The Teppenpaw captain turned to her team. "Okay, guys. We can take this one. Our chasers are just as good as theirs, if not better." Jose might have been evenly matched to Andrew, but Arista and Laurie were better than Mellie and Jhonice since Arista was a year older and Jhonice was, well, not the best Quidditch player. "And we definitely have the advantage in Seekers. Theirs is a firstie. Derry and Ben, just try your best to take her out, as well as the Captain."
The whistle blew. Kirstenna shook Jose's hand, returning his likely false wish for good luck with one of her own and took her post at the Teppenpaw goals.
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<font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>
Come on, Teppenpaw!
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<font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>
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<font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>
January 14, 2012 2:56 PM
We got this, Pecari! by <font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>
The morning of the game Mel tore through the halls, running at top speed to the kitchens. She accidentally slept in, but the good news was that she had initially planned to wake up earlier than the rest of the team. Still, there was a reason for that, and now she was going to have to rush to stay on time. Panting slightly, Mel threw open the door to the kitchens and was approached by several prairie elves. Mel smiled at them, and then went on with her special order."Okay, guys, so today's the Pecari and Teppenpaw Quidditch game, and it's freezing out. Could you guys get me 9 to-go cups of hot chocolate? And make sure there's whole milk in it," she added, wanting nothing but the best for her teammates. Mel may have been a hard-ass during training, much more so than Jose in most cases, but she liked to give people treats, so then they would listen to her and not hate her. Her intentions were always in interest for what would be best for the team. Pecari needed to get out of it's slump, and ASAP.
Already dress for the game, Mel was able to stop by her dorm to grab her broom, gloves, bat, and goggles before heading down to the locker rooms. She wore her lightest but warmed clothes she could find, including several layers of Under Armor and sweats, all under her actual Quidditch robes. The weather got this cold in Delaware on occasion, but Mel always preferred the warmer weather. The cold kind of sucked. Snow was superfun and supercool, but after a while it got boring.
"Hi guys," Mel greeted her teammates through clenched teeth (her gloves were in her mouth), looking slightly flustered with so much in her hands. Her goggles we strapped around her head, rested on her forehead as opposed to being over her eyes, her broomstick was under left arm, and her bat under her right arm, and with both hands she was carrying the tray of hot chocolates in. She set them down on one of the benches. "Everyone grab one and drink up, it'll warm you up better than any spell can." Warming spells usually worked on the outside skin, as opposed to hot chocolate, which warmed you up from inside. Mel grabbed one for herself and took sips from it, debating how she should put her hair up. Eventually, she went with a simple, tight ponytail to ensure that her hair did not get in her face.
Mel listened to Jose talk before the game, not at all surprised by his advice. She figured that was who he wanted her up against. Mel had confidence in Jade's skill, and she believed that as long as no bludgers came at her, she would be in good shape. The Teppenpaw seeker hadn't proved herself to be a prodigy or anything. Mel would just have to beat the snot out of her, that was all. Pecari was going to win, and if that meant that Mel had to blow them out with bludgers, than so be it. She had now had almost 6 full years of hard-core beater training, from professionals and peers. She was confident in her skills.
The extremely muscular and tall 6th year (at 6 feet tall) walked out onto the pitch, trying to not let the cold bother her. In no time she will have completely forgotten about the cold whether and be in total game mode. As the whistle was blown, Mel immediately show into the air with everyone else, already on the attack as she shot forward to get to the first bludger she could. Mel liked seeking out bludgers; she was kind of a bludger-whisperer, if that made much sense. She swung back her dominate left arm, her right arm also on the bat to give her hit more strength, and brought it forward with as much force as she could muster towards Kate Bauer, hoping that it would make contact with her. If that were the case, than this game would go by pretty easily. They didn't even have any reserves! This could potentially by great. Mel continued to glide in and out around the chasers, patrolling to make sure that no bludger made contact with one of her players. Pecari was going to make it to the finals Jose's last year; he'd been a dedicated and loyal captain for so long, they deserved to give this to him. Glaring coldly through green eyes at Teppenpaw's seeker, she hoped that her bluger would take her out quick enough and that Jade could catch the snitch.
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<font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>
We got this, Pecari!
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<font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>
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5
<font color="yellow">Laurie S., Chaser</font>
January 15, 2012 4:52 PM
No, you don't! by <font color="yellow">Laurie S., Chaser</font>
Laurie was excited about the Quidditch game, but there was something new within him. Lawrence Roman Stratford actually had come to realize that he didn’t like someone. For the first time in his life he had strife with someone, and that someone was his older cousin, Preston. The Teppenpaw had never thought it was possible for him to hate someone like he hated Preston, and the fact that he was family just made the whole thing worse. During the winter break his older cousin had been a bit of a snob with him and had threatened Laurie to spill the information of the people he hung out with at school. For Preston, Michael and Kitty were unworthy of a Stratford paying them attention, because both of them were Muggleborns. Laurie had snapped at his cousin and called him a lot of names, but now he lived in fear of his father or grandfather sending him a howler about his friends. The redhead didn’t want to be separated from them. He liked them, a lot. Micheal was awesome and Kitty was too. He didn’t see why people would catalogue them due to their ancestry. The important thing was that they had magic and were learning to harness it, but his family didn’t think like that.The redhead was determined to win this game and compete against Preston. Teppenpaw was going to win both games and the Preston would see that he wasn’t part of the winning side anymore. Laurie was determined to show his older cousin that he would not be bullied by him. He didn’t care what he thought about his friends, at least he had friends. Preston was lame and just had Sara Raines. The boys in his dorm weren’t even his friends, just people he shared a room with.
Anyways, the Teppenpaw Chaser trotted into the pitch fully clothed in the winter uniform. Laurie could already feel his face flushing due to the cold. He wasn’t worried about it, since he was sure that after going up in the air and playing for a few minutes he wouldn’t feel it anymore. The Teppenpaw listened to Coach Pierce give her speech and everything. When the whistle finally blew, he soared into the air and gave two laps around the pitch to warm up. During which Jose Hernandez got a hold of the Quaffle for Pecari. Laurie narrowed his eyes and zoomed at a high speed towards the recently passed on red ball. He got a hold of it and a little whooho of victory escaped his lips while he flew towards the hoops, but before he was close enough he passed the Quaffle to one of his teammates.
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<font color="yellow">Laurie S., Chaser</font>
No, you don't!
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<font color="yellow">Laurie S., Chaser</font>
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<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
January 15, 2012 6:29 PM
Let's keep it going! by <font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
Andrew was worried. He was still having some trouble focusing past the news he had gotten over break, and to top things off now he was going to have to play against Pecari. This game was going to be critical. Someone was going to have to dethrone Aladren this year, and he really had been hoping that Marissa and the Crotali had been able to crush them last term, but they hadn't been so fortunate. Now it was up to either Percari or Teppenpaw to bring them down, but before that could happen the better of the two teams had to decided. The problem with that was that he was going to have to play against his best friend and his cousin. Well, he would hope for the best, it would be the first time he's actually had to play against Jhon maybe she would stay out of his way.He made his way out to the pitch, carrying his broom and met up with the rest of his team. It was a bit chilly, but a quick warming charm fixed that. Coach Pierce blew the whistle and started the game. Andrew launched himself into the air with much practiced ease, but Jose managed to get to the Quaffle first. He followed close, and when Laurie intercepted Jose's pass Andrew moved to travel parallel to Laurie. They made it a good distance down the pitch when Laurie passed the ball his direction. It was an easy catch and he tucked it in close and shot farther down the field toward the Pecari goals. He was surprised at how easily he could tune out all of his other problems while he could focus on the game. That was good. The goal was in front of him, the Quaffle was in his hand, a quick feint towards the left and then let the ball fly towards the center. This would be a good game.
2
<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
Let's keep it going!
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<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
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<font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>
January 15, 2012 7:30 PM
Not so fast! by <font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>
Quiddtich time! Jhonice raced to the Quittich pitch all prepped and ready for her first game of the year. This would her first and only time she would get to play against her cousin. Now she would finally show him what she could do on a broom. She bundled up nice and warm since it was downright frigid outside and chasing up and down the pitch would not make things any warmer. Despite the extra prep work, she made sure she was out early enough to be the first one to sort through the school brooms. She found hers with only a few minutes searching. One of these days she was going to have to look into how this broom had resisted whatever curse had fallen upon all the other brooms, but for today she was glad that it had been spared.She took down some mental notes as the rest of the players filtered onto the field. Captain Jose appeared in all his splendor, ready to command them all to certain victory. She hadn't taken much notice of the Teppenpaw team previously, since she hadn't faced them before. Her cousin was on it and came out to the pitch swaggering as only he could. She would show him soon enough. Derwent Pierce IV was one of the exciting people on the Teppenpaw team, she had heard a rumor that he had recently been usurped and cast aside, tossed mercilessly from the heights of Mt. Pierce and taken in by the Boston branch of outcasts. She would have to see if any of that was true, and do what she could to help him reclaim his throne. Unfortunately Derwent wasn't in any of her classes this year, he'd moved up to the Intermediates... but, perhaps Thaddeus would know the details. She would have to talk to him the next time she saw him.
Laurie Stratford was another one that she would have to watch out for on the pitch. The heir to the Stratford legacy would doubtless be a force to be reckoned with as well. Before she could get much farther, Captain Jose was starting his speech. He must be psychic! She'd have to make an official note. The captain knew she would easily be a match for her cousin and be able to stop him cold! She thew a 'I'm coming for you' glare towards him as the teams faced off, he pretended to not see it. The whistle blew and the game was started!
She took to the air, and as per her Captain's excellent instructions, she stuck to her cousin like glue. Well, almost. The cold must have gotten to 'the Enterprise' and it was a bit slow off the ground. She caught up quickly enough though, with just a few loops going around the long way to make sure he didn't suspect anything. Captain Jose grabbed the Quaffle ball and tossed it quickly. The Stratford streaked from out of nowhere, grabbed it and raced it towards their end of the field. Andrew was close with him, time for her to make her move! She kicked the Enterprise into high gear and came in low, she saw the pass from Laurie to her cousin and she kept pace.
Andrew paused for just a moment before throwing the ball to the left goal, and she took her chance to dart up right in front of him to scare him off balance. Instead she found herself getting nearly knocked off her broom as the Quaffle collided with her chest. She and the ball both dropped a moment out of the sky before she could recover the wind that had been knocked out of her. Then it was just a matter of grabbing the ball and Throwing it in the direction of one of her teammates. Yeah... she nearly cackled to herself, she was going to be Andrew's worst nightmare.
2
<font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>
Not so fast!
209
<font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>
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5
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
January 15, 2012 9:13 PM
Pecari can speed, though. Speed, Pecari, speed. by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Jose immediately regretted the early pass as Laurie shot out of nowhere to snatch the ball from the air between him and its intended recipient. He then proceeded to speed the same ball about half the field in one go so that Andrew could then take a shot at the goal. He was not used to that playing style. Both Aladren and Crotalus tended to do much shorter runs.Though he normally would have tagged pretty close to Andrew, as they were the two oldest and most experienced players on the field, Jhonice was taking her assigned job quite seriously and he didn't want to get as fouled up by her as Andrew would inevitably be. She soon proved that by running into the Quaffle that Andrew shot toward the center hoop. It wasn't quite how he had intended for her to interfere but it worked well enough.
She did, after all, intercept and pass successfully, which was one of her better plays, even if it looked accidental and included a fumble. Jose caught the toss to him, turned around and headed away from Sophie and the Pecari goals. He might have been wary about duplicating Laurie's run, but Edmond was not on the field and he trusted his own beaters to cover his tail.
Still, it wasn't wise to just fly straight out with bludgers on the loose. The Eastern Pierce or the Holland kid could get lucky or a stray metal ball might find its way to him by chance. He jinked and juked and tried to fly as unpredictably as he could. He didn't quite dare to fly all the way to the central line either. He threw the Quaffle toward another brown robed Chaser when he was still a good quarter of the distance away.
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Pecari can speed, though. Speed, Pecari, speed.
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<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
January 15, 2012 10:18 PM
Speeding. by <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
Mellie was nervous, but was determinedly keeping a slightly manic-looking smile pasted on her face so that no one would know it. It wasn’t going to be like last year. It just wasn’t. She and Jhon were both loads better this year than they had been last year, and plus, they weren’t against Aladren. The facts that winning would put them against Aladren and that Teppenpaw wasn’t half-bad itself were ones that she chose to ignore, at least for now.Despite her best efforts, though, she wasn’t able to make herself force down much breakfast, her stomach being in a knot which did a good job of staving off hunger. She could only hope that she didn’t get lightheaded during the match; fainting off her broom just didn’t, in light of how that had worked out for Amira, seem like a good idea. Looking like she was too anxious to function just wasn’t something she wanted to do while she was at school. Hopefully, she could just get through this, then be hungry and actually eat properly.
Of course, hopefully flying would warm her up a little, but in reality, it was her guess that the speeds they were going to move at would make the wind chill or whatever it was called nearly intolerable. When Jose asked which of them needed help with the warming charm, Mellie, even though an Illinois native, put up her hand. She was used to cold winters, but also to her mother putting her in great big coats when she went out and to not staying out for very long at a time, which could happen in Quidditch. Look at what happened every time Crotalus and Aladren were allowed anywhere near the Pitch at the same time.
But again, they had nothing to do with this. It was just them and Teppenpaw, and they were going to win. That was the thing to remember.
Right away, Jose got the Quaffle, but then it fell into Teppenpaw hands for a whole pass before Jhonice got it back, then it went to Jose, and then – far sooner than she would have liked – to Mellie. It was almost a surprise to find it in her hands, but though she almost fumbled with it for a second, she did manage not to drop it. That would have been a thing which would have been seriously, seriously embarrassing, too. Since the embarrassment had been averted, though, she flew on, heading for the center line and getting almost to it before, feeling sure she was just asking to be hit in the head with a Bludger, she sighted one of her teammates and passed.
Oh, how she hoped that it worked. She’d hate to be the one who broke the string of Pecari doing well in the past few minutes. It wouldn’t really matter, she guessed, not this early into the game, but…she just didn’t want it to be her. She knew it was stupid, but Mellie found it really hard not to feel like she’d failed when stuff like that happened, like she’d let the team down. Stupid, but there it was, or would be if she failed. So she hoped that she didn’t.
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<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
Speeding.
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<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
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5
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
January 16, 2012 11:18 AM
Carrying on by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Mellie caught his pass and they both continued to fly on toward the Teppenpaw end of the field, putting more precious distance between the Quaffle and Sophie. He trusted Sophie utterly to be a fantastic Keeper, but if the ball spent the whole game over near her, Pecari would never have a chance to score. It was better, all things considered, to just keep the ball over near Kirstenna instead.Jose kept pace with Mellie and she passed back to him after a while. They had nearly made it into Teppenpaw territory and Jose caught the ball and carried it over into the other team's half of the Pitch. They were now nearer to Kirstenna than Sophie but still definitely too far off to make a run on the goals.
He made sure to bring it farther than he'd made it during his initial ascent with the ball, but he wasn't quite to the halfway mark between Kirstenna and the middle line when he spotted an opening to another Pecari Chaser and took advantage of the opportunity for a clean pass.
He also took advantage of an opportunity to bring his frozen fingers up to his mouth and blow the heated air from his lungs onto to them for a moment. Did he mention recently that he hated the cold?
0
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Carrying on
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<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
January 16, 2012 1:35 PM
Someone stop them! (Wotw) by <font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
Right now, Kirstenna did not really want to playing Quidditch and it was not really because of the weather, though even she didn't find it pleasant. Though it beat things being too warm. She was more disgusted with her own behavior, her own feelings. Kirstenna wanted nothing more than to take down Pecari and since she normally was not that competitive, she was certain the Imposter had put a spell on her.Her nemesis had tried everything to torment her. Kidnapping Brian, boiling Tobar, sending in Renee to lead Sophia away from her and corrupt the Pecari girl, somehow getting the Embodiment of Evil into Teppenpaw (which was an impressive feat given that Teppenpaw's were kind by nature, which might have been why there wasn't an overwhelming number of them signed up for Quidditch.) Now she was trying to destroy Kirstenna's very personality. Make her into a horrible person, though she'd never be at the Imposter's level of wretchedness or Renee's either.
It made the Teppenpaw Keeper feel a bit sick. As did the fact that the game started off by Jose taking the quaffle and Demelza firing a bludger at Kate. Fortunately Derry got it away from their Seeker and towards Pecari's and Laurie intercepted the Quaffle and passed it off to Andrew, taking it closer to Pecari's goals, and further away from her.
No sooner was she silently cheering over this than Pecari had the Quaffle again and Kirstenna groaned inwardly. She was certain she could stop it if it came to that, she was absolutely not letting them score today, even if she put her own personal safety at risk. Teppenpaw needed this win, Kirstenna might not have needed to be the very best captain ever but she certainly didn't want to be considered the worst! It might have been Jose's last year, but he'd won a game before as a captain, even if it had been awhile ago.
Still, she would prefer that her blocking the goals and maybe risking her life if necessary not be a factor. She wanted the Chasers to keep the Quaffle at the other end where Teppenpaw could score. That would thwart the Imposter too, because it was likely to the Imposter wanted Pecari to win, because Kirstenna was on to her.
She was still doing everything in her power to destroy the Teppenpaw Captain. She had put this corrupting spell on the fifth year because she wanted Kirstenna to be angry and yell at the team, to become an ogress, and make them all turn against her. Just like the Imposter had taken away Brian and tried to take away Sophia through Renee. Thank Merlin that Quentin had graduated so the Imposter couldn't harm him. He was safe in L.A. so long as he stayed away from Murder House.
Of course, it might have worked in the Imposter's favor for Teppenpaw to win because then they'd have to face Aladren and everyone knew that playing Quidditch against Aladren was one of the most dangerous situations to be in. But the Imposter had to inherently hate Teppenpaws, maybe even Jane, because the Imposter was an evil twisted creature and Teppenpaws were inherently good and kind-other than that half-ghost son of the Imposter who was inherently evil-and Kirstenna's nemesis abhorred that.
That was why she'd chosen this particular spell to place on the fifth year. Because it would corrupt her, her very essence. Well, Kirstenna would not give her the satisfaction! She'd do all she could to overcome it but she wouldn't give the Imposter the satisfaction of Teppenpaw losing either. She watched the Quaffle, more determined than ever to stop it if it came her way.
11
<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
Someone stop them! (Wotw)
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<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
0
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<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
January 16, 2012 4:55 PM
Carrying further on. by <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
Yes! Mellie thought when the Quaffle landed safely in Jose’s hands, wishing dearly that she was on the ground so she could do a happy little dance of celebration. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
The pass had completed, and Pecari was still in possession of the ball, still moving steadily closer to the Teppenpaw captain. This game was theirs. All that needed to happen was for the Beaters to keep Jade safe long enough for her to get the Snitch, and then they could all go home happy, and celebrate a win in their captain’s last year and the fact that they were going to the final.
It would be great, too, if all that could happen after Pecari scored a few goals. This wasn’t the final, so it couldn’t hurt too much to think of scoring a few times, could it? At the final, the real thing would be Jade or Amira who whoever was playing Seeker by then catching the Snitch as soon as possible, but this wasn’t that yet. So she could at least hope in good conscience that they would get to score a few times, since that didn’t also mean it was inevitable that every single one of them would end the game with broken bones in repayment for those goals.
Jose passed again, back to her once more, and Mellie completed it again. It had been a pretty straightforward pass, but she still felt a little thrill of accomplishment, both for herself and for the team. Weaving around a little to shake off any imminent attempts by one of the Pecari Beaters, she covered more ground, then passed again, wondering how soon it would be before they had the first goal taken care of. It seemed like it had to be a pretty sure and quick thing now.
16
<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
Carrying further on.
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<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>
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<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
January 16, 2012 7:01 PM
...and back again. by <font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
No! Andrew screamed to himself as he nailed Jhon with the Quaffle. What is wrong with that girl?! He dived to rescue his cousin, but she pulled herself upright before he reached her. That was close, he hated to think what his aunt or mother would do to him if anything happened to her. He had plenty of time to think about that as he chased the Percaris down the pitch as they tossed the ball back and forth. Not only did he have to concentrate on winning the game, he also had to make sure that nothing serious happened to Jhon... and with her flying... this would be a very interesting game.He watched as the ball as it was passed back and forth between Jose and Mellie, he finally saw his chance as Mellie tossed it back towards Jose. He swung his broom between them, caught the Quaffle and raced back towards the Pecari end of the pitch. Normally he liked to make long, fast dashes down the pitch, but he knew that Jose knew that. So he decided to change things up a bit, he did a quick burst as normal, but before he even crossed back into Pecari territory he spotted an opening and passed the ball to one of his teammates.
2
<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
...and back again.
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<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
January 16, 2012 11:31 PM
Heading for a goal (KEEPER!) by <font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
The night before the Teppenpaw/Pecari game Arista Thornton had an awful time trying to fall asleep. Her brain was working on overdrive. She wanted to win the game so badly, both for Kirstenna and for her house. But she also had the pure desire for her little sister Amira’s Pecari team to win as well. The fourteen year old was conflicted worse than ever before. Amira had sent her an owl the day before to tell her that they wouldn’t let her play. Ris knew that Mir was mad and upset and she had tried to find her with no luck. This was the main reason for the fitful attempt of falling asleep.Finally the red-headed girl fell into a nightmare which culminated in her falling out of her bed and screaming Amira’s name. Once awake, she realized that it was just a nightmare, but in her haze she hadn’t realized that until it was too late. She could tell that she’d woken up at least half of Teppenpaw House by the way the noises centralized around her room. She hid her face in her arms and took a few deep breaths to try to calm down. Addi, knowing the sound of Arista’s screams came barging into her room. The sounds of her younger sister’s heavy footsteps woke her mind from the terrifying nightmare-ish thoughts. “Nightmare.” she said with soft and crackling words. Addi pulled Arista up off the floor and sat down next to her on the bed.
“Ris, you’re worried. I can tell. Mir will be okay, she will. She’s angry now, but she’ll get over it. She’s better than this and soon she’s going to realized that its for her own good that she doesn’t play. Really. Watch, you’ll see.” Addi said as she nodded, patting Arista on her back and laying her older sister back down on her bed. She turned to everyone else who had sleepily gathered to see what had happened and spoke in a stronger voice than she was used to. “Okay everyone, the show is over. Go back to sleep.” she said as she turned back to Arista. “Now, go back to sleep. You need your energy. Go on, I’ll stay till you fall back to sleep.”
Arista nodded and laid down again, but pulled Addi to lay next to her and the pair fell asleep just like they did at home when Addi was upset.
******
Arista woke with a start and looked at the sky out her window. “Ohmygosh!” she said as she got up fast and furiously got herself together for the game. “I’m so going to be late! Addi, wake up!” she called as she struggled out of the sheets of the bed. Stumbling all around she finally had herself together and ran out of the room, not sure if Addi was up yet. Grabbing her broom and her robes she ran out towards the Common Room, not even touching her hair which was up in all of the strangest of angles as it always was in the morning.
Getting to the Pitch in record time, she expected to see loads of people there for the game as she thought that she was very late. However, there was nobody there… Taking a moment to catch her breath she just went into the Locker Rooms to calm herself down. She knew that she was still reeling from her nightmare the night before and if it hadn’t been for Addi falling asleep beside her she wouldn’t have slept at all. She knew she’d have to thank her sister later, but for now, now she needed to bring her thoughts to rest at least for the time of the game. The others showed up after a little while and Kirstenna started her speech which basically, to Arista, said that they were better than Pecari and that they had a better team. Parts of the fourteen year old was happy she said that, but the rest of her was so mad at the shot down of Pecari that her brain went right back into its overdrive of the night before. When Kirstenna mentioned the Pecari Seeker, Arista heated up inside. She glanced towards Kirstenna, unsure if her Captain saw the look, but she’d hoped that she had. Arista was ready to win for her, also for Amira. If she couldn’t play, the fourth year knew that she’d want her sister to win. Wouldn’t she? she thought as Kirstenna went to shake hands with Jose.
The game began, but Arista’s eyes scanned the crowd for Addi, Amira and Andri instead of watching the game. A loud whoosh beside her ear told her a bludger just went right past her head and she pulled her head back into the game. “Fat chance bludger.” she said as she watched it head right for Kate. “KATE!” she called as Derry sent the black ball away from her. “Good.” she said as she watched the Quaffle change hands many times from her position. Finally she saw her chance. Andrew swung his broom between Jose and Mellie and caught the Quaffle. “YES!” she called aloud to him. Then she saw him go straight for her. Her eyes widened and she braced herself for his pass. The ball hit right where he’d aimed it, right into her hands. “GOT IT!” she called happily to him and in a flash was headed closer to the Pecari Keeper’s area. She kept her eyes and ears pealed for any bludger sounds allthewhile wondered how best to get the ball into the hoops.
That’s it! she thought as she decided on her plan of action. By now she’d flown so close to Pecari’s goals she knew that she could get it in. She could do her signature move, she’d not yet played Sophie as keeper and wondered if it would work. She flew sideways, the red Quaffle tucked nicely under her arm and kicked back with the base of her broom as she flipped over completely. This move was something she’d perfected over the summer and it felt good to do it out there in a game. It was cold, this she knew as she wasn’t in as many layers as she was sure the others were in. She could tell by the way her teeth were chattering, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered now was that the red ball in her clutches made it into the shimmery goal hoops.
Focus back on tighter than ever, she finished her flip and sent the red ball hurtling at the right side hoop, hoping it would go in. She’d sent it in with her fastball pitch and hoped that it would go right past Sophie as she hurtled away hearing a deep bludger sound behind her. It wasn't smart for ANYONE to intercept that shot and though the fourth year was almost sure that Sophie wasn't stupid, she wouldn't give away her thoughts.
She wasn’t even sure if the Quaffle went in because she had to get out of the Keeper's territory or have the chance of being bludgered, but she’d hoped, for her sake that it was too fast and the Pecari Keeper let it get by her.
0
<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
Heading for a goal (KEEPER!)
0
<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
January 17, 2012 6:17 PM
You can do it, Sophie! by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
Jose rubbed his hands together in an attempt to keep them from going numb and grinned a little as Mellie completed his pass and kept going. He cheered her and dropped his still too-cold hands back onto his broom to push it back up to speed as he paralleled her and tried to set himself up for a run on Kirstenna. They were close enough now that the next pass could be the last one. Unfortunately, however, the next pass did not make it to him. Andrew got in the way almost exactly in the same manner that Jhonice was supposed to be getting in his way.As Jose wheeled his broom around to chase after Teppenpaw's most experienced Chaser, he wondered breifly if it had been unfair to expect Jhon - who had enough trouble keeping up with herself - to keep up with a seventh year. He trusted her to doggedly keep to her assignment, though, so he didn't really dare to go in and get in Andrew's face himself. She was as likely to mess up Jose's plays as Andrew's. Instead, he kept his distance and tried to be ready to intercept. Unfortunately, he'd been covering the wrong side to be able to interrupt the pass to Arista and he tried very hard not to blame Jhonice for not messing up Andrew's interception on the one end, his pass on the other, or his flying in the middle. She was, after all, only twelve. Andrew had been playing Quidditch much longer than she had. And he probably started with better skill than she currently had.
He changed positions around, trying to jockey for a good place to intercept Arista's pass, but she never passed. He even tried once, when she was about halfway into Pecari territory, to scare her by playing chicken but even that didn't pressure her into passing. Instead, she went for the goal. At least Sophie had had half the pitch to see it coming.
He still thought he might actually pull one of the Crotalus/Aladren moves out next time though, if he thought Teppenpaw might pull another half-pitch run. He'd see how well his broom could get ahead of them then stop dead directly in front of them. He was a seventh year, the only one of their Chasers he didn't think he could handle a head on collision with was Andrew. But if he took out Andrew with him, it might almost be worth it.
He'd missed his chance for it this run, though. Now all that was left for him to do was cheer on his Keeper. "You can do it, Soph!" he shouted. He believed it, too. Sophie might not be very big for a fourth year or for a Keeper, but she was quick and capable. She'd come to Sonora already specialized in Keeping and had trained as Starbuck's alternate even when she played Chaser for them. The only player on his team who he thought had a better chance of going professional in their given position was Demelza.
That was saying something, too. He would be very surprised if Demelza did not become a professional beater. He had never regretted making her his assistant captain (except maybe the year she'd come back with amnesia and he'd had to re-teach her all the assistant duties) and he even sometimes felt their one year age gap was unfair to her since it meant she'd only get one year as captain compared to his five. Of course, for this transition year, they had been more co-captains than captain and assistant. That was mostly because he really did think she would be a more successful captain than he had been (his record was rather unimpressive thus far), but also because she was between test years and he now had Head Boy duties in addition to the RATS preparation that crowded his own schedule.
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<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
You can do it, Sophie!
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<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
January 17, 2012 7:13 PM
Go Sophie!! by <font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
Curses!! Andrew had escaped her somehow. How had he done that? One moment he was right in front of her, the next he had the ball and was gone. Captain Jose was going to be upset. She hauled around on her broom and sent it after her cousin once more. She couldn't loose him again, she just couldn't! She had studied his moves, he had the Quaffle, now he makes a mad dash down the pitch. She could catch him! Kicking the broom into high gear once more, she closed the gap between them... much more quickly than she expected.She shrieked as he threw the ball to Arista and stopped. Stopped dead right in the middle of the field! She pulled back and up on her broom as hard as she could, and she shot past him missing by a whisker. Upon slowing, the broom suddenly jerked to the side sending her into a tumble. When she recovered Andrew was gone and there were shouts coming from their side of the pitch. Arista had made it the whole way to the goal? How had she done that? She spotted Andrew and moved back towards her assigned position, there was no way she was going to let Captain Jose down!
2
<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
Go Sophie!!
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<font color ="brown">Jhonice, Chaser</font>
0
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<font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>
January 18, 2012 9:26 PM
Have no fear: Sophie is here! by <font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>
It was freaking cold. Seriously, it was like the weather was out to get her. Actually, maybe not--she wasn’t that vain. Still, it was annoying beyond belief. She just wasn’t a fan of cold because she didn’t exactly generate a lot of body heat, and even though she was used to cold weather, it was not her friend.This was not the desired Quidditch weather. Admittedly, the blonde just liked being on her broom in front of the goal, so it didn’t really matter what they climate. If for some crazy reason the game would’ve been cancelled, she was pretty sure Jose would have had to literally drag her off of the field kicking and screaming. Today was a Quidditch day. Awesomeness was meant to happen.
And on this day, Sophie thought to herself dramatically, Pecari won a Quidditch game. Her team had never made it to the finals, and this was her fourth year now. This year would be different. They were playing Teppenpaw, and while the blue-eyed fifteen year old never underestimated opponents, they did seem an easier match than Aladren or Crotalus. Maybe what Pecari needed was just some proof of their talent under their belts.
She took her position in front of the rings and waited. While her Chasers were top, it was inevitable that the Quaffle would make it to her eventually. As disgusting as actually doing work was, Sophie would defend the hoops to the death. Okay, so maybe that was taking it a little far, although dying was kind of possible with the sport. Bludgers could hurt a lot if they made contact with a person in the wrong place.
Diligent blue eyes followed the red orb, and when Arista Thorton flew at her, she was ready. While she had never had to Keep against Arista, Sophie always watched the other matches--sometimes with Jose when she could find him--to study the other team’s Chasers. It wasn’t surprising that the Teppenpaw tried to pull her unnecessary and tacky flip thing, but she was ready.
The fourth year shot over to the right hoop and reached out her arms. The Quaffle slid into her fingertips, and she just barely caught it, jamming a finger or two in the process. She glanced around for a Chaser of her team, and when she spied one, she lobbed the ball in the direction of said Chaser. “Now go the other way!” she shouted good-spiritedly. She knew all of Pecari’s players worked very hard, but she also knew that by now, her whole team should have been able to tell when she was teasing.
12
<font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>
Have no fear: Sophie is here!
34
<font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>
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5
<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
January 18, 2012 9:59 PM
Getting suspicious... by <font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
Andrew paused for just a moment as his cousin brushed past him, tumbling and shrieking like a... well, like a little girl. That was the second time that she'd been far to close for normal chasing tactics. Not that she'd ever, as far as he'd noticed, followed any type of 'standard chasing tactics'. He wasn't entirely sure if she could if she had wanted to, but still there was something going on. He watched for just a moment more as Jhon recovered from her tumble safely, then took off after Arista and her mad-dash down the pitch.He looked around for Jose and spotted him keeping some distance away. He would have figured Jose would be all over him trying to interfere, they were the only seventh-years on the pitch after all. What was he planning? Arista was at the goal and had gone for the shot, unfortunately he was still to far away to interfere with Sophie's return of the ball. Well, the Percari would bring it back towards him anyway, he only had to wait and be ready. That was when he caught sight of Jhon again. She hadn't followed the Quaffle to the far end of the pitch, she had turned and was headed back his direction. Things were starting to click into place... Jose, you wouldn't...
2
<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
Getting suspicious...
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<font color ="yellow">Andrew Duell, Chaser</font>
0
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<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
January 19, 2012 1:08 PM
I'm always suspicious. by <font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
Kirstenna sighed as Mellie Goodwin caught the pass from Jose and Demelza sent the bludger back at Kate. Fortunately, the Teppenpaw seeker made it out of the way. Then, Andrew intercepted Mellie's pass back at Jose and made his way back towards the Pecari end of the pitch, passing the ball off to Arista who made a run for the Pecari goals and attempted to score.Kirstenna held her breath silently hoping that the Quaffle would go through. While she'd found Arista's flip a little show-offy and obnoxious, the fourth year was still her teammate and Kirstenna wanted her to score. That was the thing about team sports, they were a team . Even though it produced obnoxious behavior towards opposing players, there should be at least unity among teammates. It wasn't about personal glory, it was about the glory of Teppenpaw as a whole, and they all needed to remember that including herself.
Of course, for Kirstenna, it was also about proving that she would not let the Imposter get to her. Would not let the Coach break her. The woman could kidnap and murder Kirstenna's friends and use dark beings to take them away from her. She could Imperius and otherwise try to give the opposing teams advantages over Teppenpaw and mess with the fifth year's very personality but Kirstenna would not crumble!
Still, she groaned as Sophie blocked Arista's goal. Admittedly, the Chaser should have handed it off sooner, the Pecari Keeper probably saw her coming and was ready. Keepers had that advantage to basically be watching the game at all times. It helped her as a Captain. Jose (as well as Marissa and Edmond) would likely get distracted by their own jobs on the pitch. However, Sophie, while not Captain, maintained the same advantage Kirstenna did.
In fact, this vantage point allowed the Teppenpaw to notice something else as well. Jhonice kept flying awfully close to Andrew. Too close for Kirstenna to direct one of her beaters-where on Earth was Ben anyway? Derry was covering Kate, but what was the other third year doing?-to take her out. Normally Kirstenna would have picked out the second year as an easy target for Bludgers, because she wasn't known for her flying skills. But what was she doing now? Logically Kirstenna would have expected her to follow the Quaffle down in order to intercept and the second year hadn't done that. She was flying towards Andrew again instead.
That was more than bad flying, this seemed just wrong. Kirstenna looked warily at Coach Pierce. The Imposter just had to be behind this.
11
<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
I'm always suspicious.
161
<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>
0
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<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
January 19, 2012 1:21 PM
There's no I in Team by <font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
Arista turned back just in time to see Sophie actually catch her fast throw of the Quaffle and her mouth dropped. Are you kidding? That had to hurt! she thought as she swung back to try to intercept the lobbed pass of the large red ball. The oldest Thornton child was competitive; not nearly as much as Amira or Andri, but still she had a competitive streak. “This will not happen again.” she said as she sped back towards Pecari’s goal hoops.She tightened her legs around her broom and reached out her hands for the Quaffle. The Chaser leaned forward and happily felt the ball hit back into her own hands. “HA!“ she shrieked as she heard the blonde Keeper speak to the Pecari chaser that should have caught the lob as she flew back towards Teppenpaw’s territory to meet up with Andrew or at least to turn around and try again, with the ball in her hands once more.
Ris knew that Teppenpaw would win, they had to, with Kirstenna’s fabulous Keeping, Kate’s years as a Seeker, Derry and Ben’s Beater skills and of course the terrific three chaser team of Andrew, Laurie and herself. They just rocked, she knew it.
Arista knew that she hadn’t given Laurie a chance to shoot, nor Andrew and she felt bad about it, but she really thought she could do it. Now she learned however. They’ll get their turns. she thought to herself knowing that trying to make another shot wasn’t a good idea so instead she made her way closer to Andrew. He was a seventh year after all, therefore, most likely had ideas of what to do better than the fourth year did. “Andrew! Laurie!” she called as she passed the Quaffle right for Andrew, but she knew that Laurie was within reach as well and wanted to give him the chance too. There was not much distance between the Teppenpaw Chasers now. There was about to be teamwork to make their dream work. She was sure that there could be no interception in that pass and that was her plan. Teppenpaw needed to win, for Kirstenna. And Arista Rose Thornton for one, vowed to make it happen if it was the last thing she ever did.
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<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
There's no I in Team
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<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>
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5