We will triumph! on Quidditch Pitch

Coach Amelia Pierce

February 11, 2012 11:40 AM

Quidditch Final: Aladren vs Pecari by Coach Amelia Pierce

Spring was starting to bloom when the day of the Quidditch final dawned. The grass on the pitch floor was fresh and new - only a week ago it had still been brown and dead - and a few small yellow flowers were starting to pop up here and there, too. The temperature was warm, hitting the high sixties this morning and expected to rise into the mid seventies by the afternoon. The sky was overcast, which would save the seekers some trouble with glinting jewelry in the stands, but there was a fair chance of a light drizzle before the snitch was caught.

So far, though, the rain was holding off. With a little luck, it might continue to do so until the game was over.

"Welcome to the Final Quidditch Match of the year," she announced when it looked like the two captains were finished giving their pre-game pep talks. "We'll be watching Aladren play Pecari today, so would Captains Carey and Hernandez please shake hands."

After the two seventh years had done so, she released the snitch, and then the bludgers. "As always, the game begins with my whistle and ends with a seeker catching the snitch." She picked up the Quaffle and announced, "Without further ado, let us begin." She blew into her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air.

She followed them into the air as the Chasers took off, hoping that Pecari would hold up against Aladren well enough to make a good show for the final game of the year.

Subthreads:

A good start to a final game by Cap'n Jose, Chaser with Jhonice Trevear, Chaser, Jade Owen, Seeker

Recentering in the Rain by Coach Pierce with Captain Jose, Edmond Carey, Beater, Amira Thornton (Seeker)

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Quidditch Final: Aladren vs Pecari 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 1 5

Cap'n Jose, Chaser

February 11, 2012 12:31 PM

A good start to a final game by Cap'n Jose, Chaser

Jose was ready for this. He'd doubled his number of practices each week in preparation, and - knowing that Aladren had the school's other good beater - he'd been making sure Elijah was ready to take on any of the roles that he may be called upon to take over. This morning, though, it looked like they wouldn't even have to wait for Edmond to take out a player. Demetra was too sick to play.

Jade was also still filling in for Amira, since the medic refused to sign off on letting her play. Honestly, Jose was kind of glad Medic Bailey made that call because he really hadn't been looking forward to making a choice between the two girls. Mira was a great seeker, but she'd been benched all year and Jade had caught the snitch against Teppenpaw. Jose dearly hoped she could carry on that luck against Arnold.

Once his team gathered around him, Jose gave his last speech as Pecari Captain. "We've been practicing really hard for this and we can totally take on Aladren today. Demelza will keep Edmond off our backs, I've been Chasing longer than any of their players, and Jade has the same percentage of wins as Arnold does. Jhon, I want you to tag on Arthur Carey like you did Andrew last game." That had seemed to work pretty well for her, so Jose saw no reason not to follow the same strategy. "Mellie, Aladren likes to make short passes so keep close to them."

"Elijah, you'll be taking Demetra's spot today, so just do your best. Let Mel handle Edmond. Keep an eye on what Preston's doing and take whatever opportunities you can." He thought he'd seen Mel talking to Elijah earlier so hopefully she'd been giving him some advice, too. "And if Mel told you anything that runs against what I just said, listen to her not me. She's the way better beater."

"Jade," Jose continued, turning to his seeker. She surely already knew she was playing based off of Amira's obvious displeasure. So as not to further upset Mira, he opted not to explicitly state the obvious and just went into her instructions for the game. "Arnold likes to talk during games. Don't let him ruffle your feathers. Just keep on task."

He didn't give Mel or Sophie instructions. They knew what they were doing. He also didn't mention that they were playing without an alternate since the medic wouldn't let Amira fly and Demetra was ill. It was obvious enough and it would only unduly distress the team if it was mentioned.

"We can do this," he concluded. "Go Pecari!"

Then Coach Pierce called him over and he shook Edmond's hand. "Good luck," he said insincerely as good sportsmanship demanded, then returned to his team and broom. He readied his trusty old school broom for take off, and on the whistle he kicked off. Luck was in his favor and the quaffle fell into his grip as he reached it before any of the Aladrens did.

Flying upward, Jose reached about forty feet before leveling out. He'd been travelling at a diagonal, so he'd entered into Aladren territory with his climb, but he hadn't made it far inside. He dared another twenty feet but then saw an opening to one of his teammates and passed the Quaffle.

OOC: Since Demetra did not post in the last game and I haven't seen her post since before midterm, I'm making a substitution. So Elijah will be playing beater this game.

0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser A good start to a final game 0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser 0 5

Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

February 11, 2012 2:55 PM

We will triumph! by Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

They were in the finals! Jhonice knew she could crush her cousin at this game and she had! Now she was in the finals and he was just sitting up in the stands, there could be no dispute now, she was the awesomeist quidditch player in the family! She trotted out to the pitch whistling happily to herself. It was early and she had given herself plenty of time to pick out her broom from the school supply. She had thought about demanding Andrew's broom, since she was a better player than he was, but then she figured it was probably cursed along with the rest of the brooms. Also, she had triumphed over Andrew with her 'Enterprise' and she would now triumph over the Aladrens. she would bring victory to her captain!

Captain Jose had a brilliant battle plan, as always. She would stick to Arthur like glue, she had followed this excellent strategy to defeat Andrew, it would work with Arthur as well. She had been keeping an eye on the Carey and she had made copious notes of his quidditch skills, he would fall before her as well. She cheered a "Go Pecari!" right along with Captain Jose. After the face off, she took to the air and began scouting out for her target, Arthur Carey.

She didn't make it to far before she saw Captain Jose, he had the ball and wasn't far away from her in Aladren territory. He threw her the ball and she caught it deftly, it only slipped around in her hands twice before she got a firm grip on it. After that she guided her broom expertly closer to the Aladren goal, but somehow she wound up on the far outside lanes of the pitch. Spotting an opening she passed the ball towards another of the Pecari chasers while she figured out why her broom was pulling to the side.

2 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser We will triumph! 209 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 11, 2012 4:35 PM

Wild Boars Eat Hawks for Breakfast. by Elijah Errant {Beater}

He tried to control the whimper that had been vibrating in the back of his throat since the morning of the final game. He had been content in his pouting, letting the days pass with his dark brown eyes practicing different levels of glowering and glaring whenever Jade Owen came into view. He had been quite comfortable in his blazing sense of betrayal from both the captain and the assistant captain who had refused to use their good sense to cast him as seeker and Pecari hero. On the sidelines, along with an even angrier Amira, Elijah had formed an amicable relationship with bitterness. Bitterness made him strong, made it impossible to fail at anything because nobody allowed him even the chance. Within his vengeful and glorious fantasies (the ones that began with Jade falling off her broom and plunging to a bloody end, or losing control of her broom and ramming into the stadium, or simply randomly combusting in flames) he took to the skies and caught the snitch in his hand each time.

Now all that bitter and blissful security in his own superiority had been taken away. Elijah had spent nearly every hour outside of sleeping, eating and classes on the pitch. Sweating and heaving great gasps of air back into his lungs, his arms sore from swinging bats and feeling the hard of slap of Jose's Quaffles against his arms when Elijah was called onto to defend the goals in practice in case Sophie was taken out of commission. He'd been learning each position, feeling the aches and pains of each position, the painful sting of embarrassment every time he missed a pass or the bludger hit him instead of the other way around, or a Quaffle soared into the hoop just inches away from his straining, sweaty, slippery fingers.

He had been very nearly ready to hate Jose Hernandez.

A week before the match however, he had actually managed to block one of Jose’s shots toward the goal. One practice session he’d actually managed to keep all the bludgers away from the players he was told to defend (mostly due to their own maneuvering... but still) and though at night his hand had routinely begun to cramp up, each finger stinging as blood began to flow again, he’d been managing to capture faux snitches quicker and quicker with each passing practice. Slowly he’d eased into the idea of what being a reserve really meant. It was the most important position on the Pecari team because he had to be excellent in everything. He was Pecari’s last noble defense. He was their seeker, their keeper, their most excellent chaser, a reliant beater, he was each position rolled into one. Then Demetra fell ill and the whimpering started.

Dressed in his brown Quidditch robes, gloved hands clutching tightly to the wooden bat that made him feel more like a target than the assassin Pecari needed him to be, Elijah swallowed hard, a small squeak finally emitting from his throat when Jose suddenly addressed him though he quickly coughed to hide it. “Whatever I can,” He repeated. “Right.” He felt a spike of irritation despite his nervousness, mildly insulted that Jose so obviously saw him as unfit for going up against Edmond Carey. ‘I’ve tamed hippogriffs two times as big as he is.’ Elijah’s gaze traveled toward the Aladren end where Edmond Carey was probably giving his team a speech as well. ‘Three times even!’ A bright image, so vivid it seemed like a real premonition, flashed acorss his mind, of his beater’s bat slamming against a bludger and sped directly into Edmond Carey’s chest WHAM and then he too fell amongst the countless hordes of conquered enemies. A small smile eased into the tension lining Elijah’s face, and he managed to gather enough breath to shout, “Go Pecari!” before the whistle was blown and the players rose into the air.

Captain Hernandez, as always, proved his superior skills as a chaser and caught the Quaffle first out of the midst of Aladren chasers. Elijah crouched low on his borrowed Cleansweep 12 and shot after him, the slight breeze that coursed the warm sunlit air attempted to tug down on his dark curls but a brown headband kept them out of his face. He pulled up to fly a little above Jose and Jhonice whom he passed to and who caught it with only a slight fumble that Elijah watched from above. ‘So far so good...’ His heart was beating in his chest. A number of realizations were beginning to pound in his mind. This was his first ever game and it was the championship. He was playing both against and alongside the best beaters in school. He stifled all the other thoughts threatening to waylay him from his mission, focusing on the comforting fact that Demelza was around. And that he had the privilege of flying with her.

Even in his darkest hours of practice, the bludgers whamming into him if he didn’t fly fast enough, his arm aching from hours of swings, some successful, most fruitless, he’d taken some pleasure in at least getting to be around Demelza so much. She was just so cool, so confident about everything, and though Elijah fit naturally on a broom (when he wasn’t being asked to wham flying iron balls in the air or forced to wait with heightened anxiety around three metal goal posts that became his prison cell) the air particles seemed to part and make way for Demelza. Her broom wasn’t a broom at all, it was a ship. And she the absolute master of it. The only way Elijah even got through Beater practices, and the only way he was going to get through the game now was to follow her lead. He tried to remember bits of advice she’d either given him directly or generally to the whole team as an Assistant Captain.

Continuing to follow Jhonice from above, threatening the borders of Aladren territory, Elijah saw the flaps of blue robes and heard the whistle of a bludger as it sped through the air. He looked up and saw the dark brown ball barrell across the blue sky, some grey tinting the edges of space. He took a breath, gripped his broom with one hand, and shot up, flying for a short distance after the bludger, heart continuing to hammer. It felt oddly natural to chase after things that wanted to harm him though part of Elijah’s brain tried to tell him it shouldn’t be. He was still resisting the call of beating, seeking would be his path, he would make it so, but for now he allowed himself to enjoy the exhilaration of chasing the iron weapon.

CRACK

He made the hit, a deep breath and than an exhalation as his bat swung and the bludger shot off on a diagonal plunge toward one of the flapping blue robes that neared Jhonice and her pass. A few tremors rippled Elijah’s arm but the pain wasn’t intense and in fact a wide grin flashed across his face. “Woah...” That felt powerful, that felt good, unlike the sweaty miserable sessions in practice. This was a good sort of sweaty, the kind that beaded his forehead and sloped down his nose, painting the back of his neck but it felt good, it felt very real and the entire pitch came in sharp focus. ‘I wanna hit another one.’ Elijah leaned forward on his broom and shot off again, his dark eyes bright with energy and enthusiasm. Was this what Demelza felt like all the time? Was it the beating that made her so awesome or were only awesome people allowed to beat? He didn’t know, wasn’t sure, but wanted to feel that feeling one more time - no - again and again and again. He continued flying, eager for another bludger.

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} Wild Boars Eat Hawks for Breakfast. 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Jade Owen, Seeker

February 11, 2012 5:11 PM

Eat my dust, Carey by Jade Owen, Seeker

It was a shame for Amira, it really was, but then you couldn’t play Seeker if you were already sick, could you? That sort of thing led to falling off brooms, and losing to Aladren, and Jade wasn’t about to let either of those things happen. She was so pumped for the final game, which had translated into a crazed sort of excitable energy that the first year emitted with every movement and syllable she created. She had woken up late, so hadn’t bothered to shower, because getting a good breakfast was far more important before a big Quidditch game than being clean. Her brown curls had been tied back tightly, if not neatly, to keep her hair from obscuring her vision. Her game robes were on – practically pristine compared to every other garment Jade could call her own – and she looked the part. She might be tall for a first year, but she was still small by Seeker standards. She was smaller than Arnold Carey, at any rate, which would make her victory dance all the sweeter as he had to view it from above.

Confidence, firmly in place, Jade made her way to breakfast, which was no minor occasion. The first year began with two bowls of cinnamon cereal and milk, and then had some scrambled egg on toast, lots of fruit juice, and a chocolate chip muffin. Then she thought she’d better stop because she didn’t want to eat so much that she’d get indigestion, so she left the apples and bananas to their own devices while she went down to the pitch to locate her preferred broom. She’d already spent some time earlier in the year picking out which was the fastest, and had marked it with a star shape and her initials near the tail-end of the handle, firmly engraving her mark into the wood. She had even spent a little time polishing it previously in the week, making sure the tail was clipped to reasonable standards, to allow good speed and control. Not that she actually expected to compete with the ridiculously high standard of all the Aladren team’s brooms (she could only assume on a team that was heavy on the Careys that the family had most unfairly chipped in to help – that just made her angry, and all the more determined to beat them by sheer skill, not the depth of her parents’ pockets), but it was just good sense to ensure her equipment was up to scratch.

Broomstick in hand, Jade made her way to where the rest of the team was gathered, making sure she avoided meeting Amira’s gaze because there was just no way she could possibly refrain from a smug smile, and she didn’t actually want to be mean to the other girl. She couldn’t help being sick. Jade did, however, grin at Elijah, who had also signed up to play Seeker, but he was at least getting to play Beater for the game. He was hopefully going to help protect her from Bludgers if it came to it, but really Jade was more interested in him taking out Arnold. She didn’t care about how she beat the other Seeker, just that it was going to happen. So when Captain Jose said to her, “Arnold likes to talk during games. Don't let him ruffle your feathers. Just keep on task,” Jade merely saluted in affirmation. She doubted there was anything an upper-class Carey boy could say that would ruffle her anything, but it didn’t matter – she only had eyes for the Snitch, and there was just no way that Aladren were going to win today. No way at all.

The captain’s speech was over, the Pecari team was pumped and ready to fly, and the Coach called the captains over to shake hands. Jade wondered whether that would be her one day, shaking hands with the opposition before the championship. She’d never craved any sort of position of authority before, but it would be awesome to be in control of the Quidditch team, and drill them to victory (though she’d do it with a shade more aggression than Captain Jose, she didn’t doubt his own approach had merit; they were in the championship game, after all, and would be holding the Quidditch Cup in less than an hour). Plus the personal glory would suit her very nicely. But now was not the time for day dreaming. She mounted her broom, yelled, “Go Pecari!” with enthusiasm and vigour, and kicked off from the springy ground.

Soaring into the air, Jade decided she was going to choose where she wanted to fly this game, regardless of where her opponent chose to be. For the first minute at least she was heading out to Aladren goals, where it would be less profitable for the Aladren beaters to follow her and make attempts at incapacitation too early on in the game. Catching the Snitch would, after all, be easiest with all her limbs intact. She wasn’t too worried about out-flying the Bludgers – she had practised with Demelza Eagle, arguably one of the most formidable Beaters in the school, but then she was now prime target of Edmond Carey, the other competitor for that particular title – though that didn’t mean she had to actively go looking for trouble. Instead she headed to open air, passing underneath the majority of players, who seemed to actually be traveling in the same direction. That would indicate that Pecari already had the Quaffle. Good for them.

Without other team members to watch out for, Jade reached the Aladren goals earlier than the Chasers were likely to, and she was flying upwards at an angle to place her at higher altitude upon reaching them, too. Above Aladren’s Keeper, Jade began to turn her broom, to circle above the pitch, looking below her for that miniscule golden ball that would bring success to her current venture. With her eyes trained on the search, and her ears attuned to picking out cracks and whistles that indicated nearby Bludgers, all that was left for Jade to do was to keep flying, enjoying the pleasant weather and the exhilarating freedom, until her target was in sight. Such was the hard life of a Seeker.

0 Jade Owen, Seeker Eat my dust, Carey 0 Jade Owen, Seeker 0 5

Edmond Carey, Beater

February 11, 2012 7:12 PM

I'm afraid I feel obliged to disagree with you all by Edmond Carey, Beater

It was strange, Edmond thought, and a little sad to realize that not only was this the last time he was ever going to play Quidditch, but that they weren’t even doing it against Crotalus. He supposed he must have bought into the strange myth of Aladren versus Crotalus which had been building over the past two years more than he had thought he had.

If it helped his team win this one, though, then so be it, and if it hurt them by making them underestimate the opposition, well, he thought it was a bit too late to do anything about it now. He had been drilling them as thoroughly as though it were Crotalus and telling them not to underestimate Pecari for months, and he really did not see what he could do that he had not already done, especially not at this late date. It was the day of the game, the day of the last game, and all they could do was their best.

“All right, everyone,” he said mildly, looking around at them. “I trust you all know what you’re doing as well as you did before Christmas. Just concentrate as much as you would in any game. Pecari is a good team, remember, and while we think they’ll have at least one substitution – “ he glanced slightly at Arthur, remembering the two very odd visits they’d had recently; he was, he supposed, going to have to keep an eye on Arthur, because there was something a little unsettling about a fourteen-year-old seeking out information on enemy forces that way, even if it was for Quidditch – “their alternate Seeker did beat Miss Bauer.”

Arnold, to his surprise nodded, seeming to understand the order to take Miss Owen seriously and take it to heart. Edmond officially gave up on ever quite understanding either of the twins, or at least of trying to predict them.

“I trust that we can win this, but however it ends, gentlemen – Kitty – it’s been a pleasure working with all of you. Everyone try your best. I think Coach Pierce wishes to speak with us now.”

She did, but only briefly; Edmond guessed she, too, wanted this over before the rain came. Arnold could play in the rain, but it was a chancier thing, and none of them would enjoy it anyway. He’d sort of like to enjoy his last game – or at least come closer to enjoying it than he had in years, anyway. He smiled, hoping the expression was not interpreted as threatening, as he and Jose shook hands. “And to you,” he said when he was wished luck.

It seemed his wishes were more effective than Jose’s at first, with Jose first getting the ball and then successfully passing it, but Edmond had been playing this game for the better part of seven years. They had been playing this game for less than five minutes, and even Arnold had never been good enough to catch it in that little time. When the first year substituting for Miss Mason tried to hit a Bludger at one of his players, Edmond went after it and redirected it back toward a Pecari Chaser before glancing around to find the Seekers and make sure Arnold was doing all right. He seemed to be, but he’d better get up there now, to be sure.

0 Edmond Carey, Beater I'm afraid I feel obliged to disagree with you all 0 Edmond Carey, Beater 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

February 12, 2012 1:04 AM

Because Pecari is going to lose by Arthur Carey, Chaser

Arthur knew it was the sort of nervous gesture he should avoid, since anyone who noticed it would realize he was feeling something strongly, but every time he forced himself to stop rubbing the flat of his right index finger against the flat of his thumb, he would look down and realize he was doing it again. He did not feel anxious, but he suspected that if he might begin if he stopped for too long. For the first time, as far as he could remember, he wanted a Quidditch game to start so he could play the thing, rather than so he could just go ahead and get it over with, though he could only hope that it would prove enough of a distraction to keep him on task and at his best.

His anxiety, or whatever it was, did not come from the opposing team. He did not think Pecari was going to be anything like a challenge. Instead, it came from his proximity to their team captain. He was worried he’d overstepped his place. That was ridiculous – it was Quidditch, for Merlin’s sake; at worst, he looked like one of those idiots who thought the game was the be-all and the end-all of life and refused to apply his talents to a more sensibly productive task in life – but….He had to bite down hard on the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing at the ‘gentlemen and Kitty’ moment.

As they lined up to face the Pecaris while the captains shook hands and Miss Pierce made her final remarks, though, Arthur did allow himself to smile slightly. A slight smile, he’d learned from his father and great-great-grandfather, was the single most disturbing expression that the human face could wear at times, and even if this wasn’t one of those, it would certainly get across that he was not worried about the match. If there was one thing he had to name about Quidditch which could always hold his interest, it was the psychological element of it.

Pecari got the ball, then got it again, and Arthur could hear a bat cracking against a Bludger, but he was already heading in to intercept and had little choice for a moment but to just put his trust into his team’s Beaters. He felt a little ripple of relief go through him when his trust was proven well-founded and there was another, louder, crack of bat against Bludger, after which he did not feel a metal ball collide very hard with any portion of his anatomy in the moment that he reached out and pulled the Quaffle from the air and began to turn back toward the Pecari goals.

It was not, he thought, ideal. Pecari had managed to cover ground, adding to the full half a Pitch they would have needed to cover even if they’d gotten the ball first. Ideal wasn’t much fun, though – part of him, the one which was usually in charge, was appalled by the very thought, but another was just reckless enough today to think it – and it was not that much of a problem. He sped up, taking advantage of a good broom, and stayed low to the handle both to decrease resistance and make himself less of a target for Bludgers until he was nearly to the center line again and found an opening to one of his teammates and passed.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Because Pecari is going to lose 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

February 12, 2012 10:47 PM

Apples and bananas sound tastier by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold was, to his own surprise and a little bit of disgust, feeling almost nervous as he waited with the rest of the team for the Final to start. Part of it, he was sure, was the way he and Arthur sometimes mirrored each other’s feelings since he could tell Arthur was a little bit tenser than usual about something, but part of it was the genuine worry that, for once, he might lose. Superstitious worry, but genuine worry anyway.

He wished it was Miss Bauer. What had been the chances that, the very year the coach decided she had to shake things up to force either Teppenpaw or Pecari to make it to the Finals, the old Pecari Seeker would be benched and a first year would, in the first game she ever played, beat Kate Bauer, just as he had, in the first game he’d ever played, beaten Kate Bauer? It was superstitious, and he knew it was superstitious, but he couldn’t help but see meaning it. Too many Divination classes, he guessed; he had only come along to keep Arthur company, but maybe it had gotten into his head after all.

Well, now he had to get it out. This game was important. If he lost the last game of the first Carey captain or prefect of anything this school had possessed in three generations, his twin brother would send their mother the head of her eldest son on a plate and their father his body by express mail. Honestly, he almost thought this game meant more to Arthur than it really did to Edmond; their cousin seemed much calmer about it, and much less inclined to somehow find out all that information about Miss Owen. Either way, though, he had to win this game. And he was going to. He was a Carey, and if Fate was real, then a Carey still wouldn’t let a little thing like it get in his way.

He waved to the opposing Seeker as though he didn’t have a care in the world as the captains shook hands, then flew up high above the game, looking for the Snitch. It looked like it was going to rain; maybe that was a good sign. He’d won his first game in the rain. When the object of his search made no immediate appearance, though, he flew fast for a while, then looped around to Jade’s area of the Pitch. He was fast enough, comparatively, to get in her way from here short of most things, and if the second to most threatening Beater in the school decided to take a swing at him, he fully intended to lead that Bludger straight toward her Seeker. Normally, Jade was a first year and a girl, both of which would make redirecting an attack on him toward her absolutely horrifying to even contemplate, but right now, she was a Quidditch player, and all was fair in even this smaller and tamer version of a war.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker Apples and bananas sound tastier 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

February 13, 2012 6:17 PM

So they are. by Russell Layne, Chaser

Russell didn’t think Pecari was going to be a complete pushover – they had to want this bad, and plus, a few of them were kind of certifiably crazy – but he wasn’t feeling intimidated as he waited for the game to begin. He figured they’d have a pretty good time, maybe break a few bones courtesy of the Pecari Assistant Captain, and then come out the winners anyway. And that would be good.

Next year…well, next year might be interesting. They’d been on one long winning streak as long as he’d been at this school, but next year, David Wilkes was going to be the captain, and he just wasn’t as intimidating as Daniel Nash and Edmond Carey. Somehow, Russell did not see Arthur and Preston being very impressed by a Muggleborn a year older than them who was occasionally known to ask Russell what the homework was. They might still win – Arnold would still, presumably, be Arnold – but he wasn’t at all sure how coherent things were going to stay. Maybe they would work out just fine; maybe they wouldn’t. He didn’t know. He just knew that at the first sign of trouble, he was going to do the sensible thing, which was stand back and watch the show without getting involved in any way he could help then and that he was going to worry about this one right now.

The Pecari captain, who was one of the big reasons Russell had no trouble with Edmond’s requests for them to take Pecari seriously, got the ball and got it to Mellie’s roommate, but then she started having trouble with her broom or something – her very unpredictability was another very good reason to worry about Pecari a little – and Arthur got the ball back. He nearly got hit by a Bludger, too, but that happened sometimes, and anyway, he didn’t. When Arthur passed after a bit, Russell completed it, then crossed into the territory closer to the Pecari goals than his own and covered about twenty-five, maybe thirty feet before taking another opening to pass, hoping to avoid those Bludgers himself as long as possible.

16 Russell Layne, Chaser So they are. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Cap'n Jose, Chaser

February 13, 2012 9:33 PM

I respect that you guys are Aladrens, but you are wrong by Cap'n Jose, Chaser

Things went a little sideways after Jhon caught his pass. Initially, that was merely a literal statement as Jhonice brought the ball toward the outside edge of the pitch. He wasn't entirely sure if that was part of her plan or her broom acting up but if it was intentional it didn't seem to be working out for her. Even with Elijah's help trying to divert him, Arthur still got in there for the intercept.

Worse, Edmond deflected the hit meant for Arthur and sent it Jose instead. Out-maneuvering that and trying to lead the bludger back into Pecari control cost him the opportunity to intercept Arthur's pass to Russell but he was in place in time for Russell's pass.

Dropping down from above, Jose snatched the ball as it was halfway to its intended target, changed directions and headed back for the center line. He had only just crossed it when he thought an opportunity presented itself for a clear pass. Looking up - it would be embarrassing to be caught on the very same trick he literally just used - he made sure there wasn't Aladren hovering in wait, then took the chance to pass to his Pecari teammate.

0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser I respect that you guys are Aladrens, but you are wrong 0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser 0 5

Mellie Goodwin, Chaser

February 14, 2012 6:05 PM

Not only merely wrong, but really most sincerely wrong. by Mellie Goodwin, Chaser

As she waited for the speeches to begin, Mellie was so excited she was standing on her toes, the overcast sky barely even registering with her as she clasped her hands in front of her to keep from fluttering too much. She could still hardly believe she was about to play in the Quidditch Final!

She was not, she suspected, going to be great in the game, but she was sure Pecari was going to be. Maybe it was just because she knew one of them, but she didn’t really find the Aladrens that intimidating. Sure, their Seeker had never lost a game, but neither, as Captain Jose had pointed out, had Jade. Sure, they had a big Beater, but so did Pecari, which also had a Chaser with…four or five years or something more experience than any of theirs, she couldn’t do the math off the top of her head. And since Jhon had been given the task of keeping Arthur Carey busy, that meant that he was probably the craziest there (not a surprise, given that he and Arnold were apparently twins), and if he was kept tangled up….

Still, she was glad it wasn’t her playing Seeker. But then, she was always glad about that, so that was okay, too.

Smiling, she chanted, “Go Pecari!” along with everyone else, and then the game began to rapidly move – and do so back and forth. Jose passed to Jhon, who had some ball trouble and so the ball was intercepted by Arthur, who passed to Russell, who lost the ball to Jose, who –

The ball was in her hands. Mellie’s face, for one second, broke into a smile before the wind got uncomfortable on her teeth as she flew on, very conscious of the weight of the red ball in her arm and the feel of it and just its general presence in her vicinity. She didn’t want to let it go.

She had to, though, or the Aladren Beaters would break her in half sooner or later and probably sooner, and then she wouldn’t be much use to the team or, for that matter, to anyone else. She knew that. So she looked for an opening, found one, and took it, throwing the ball toward one of her teammates with both hands, holding her breath for a second and willing the pass to work instead of proving the most recent in the string of one-pass reversals.

16 Mellie Goodwin, Chaser Not only merely wrong, but really most sincerely wrong. 206 Mellie Goodwin, Chaser 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

February 14, 2012 8:55 PM

I am amused by your optimism by Arthur Carey, Chaser

His pass to Russell was successful, but just as Arthur reached to get the ball back when Russell passed it again, it suddenly wasn’t there to be gotten anymore. It did not take long for him to put two and two together, look around, and figure out where it had gone. Arthur conceded a hypothetical point to the Pecari captain. That had been nicely done.

Nicely done, nicely done indeed. He couldn’t have done it more neatly himself. Now he just needed to prove that he could do it as neatly and get the ball back for the Aladrens.

Mr. Hernandez did very well a second time, too, though, and prevented him from intercepting the pass to Miss Goodwin. She was not as good, though, and he succeeded in intercepting again when she passed. Feeling something very like the kind of satisfaction he did when he had just completed a minor but necessary and somewhat unpleasant bit of homework, he turned quickly and drove back toward Pecari’s side of the Pitch. He still felt no real sense of urgency about this game, the going back and forth was a little amusing, but it was, he felt, just about time for them to make it to a goal for the first time and make the first attempt at – and hopefully have the first success of – scoring.

He was not yet, nor did he expect to become any time soon, irrational enough to attempt to cover all the distance to that goal by himself, though, be it from desperation or a desperate desire for glory or simple insanity induced by too much time moving far too fast. That was too risky; he wouldn’t even consider it a good idea with smaller Beaters than Miss Eagle, and he certainly was not going to try it with her if he could help it, especially since he imagined Edmond had already abandoned him for his twin by now, as was only right and proper. He covered a respectable amount of the Pitch – perhaps a bit further than he thought he had the last time, but not enough to be stupid; he did not like to show off well enough today yet to be stupid about it – and then he checked the air immediately above and below him and, finding it clear, took advantage of a good, fairly close opening to one of the other Aladren Chasers.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser I am amused by your optimism 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Edmond Carey, Beater

February 14, 2012 8:59 PM

Good for you, too by Edmond Carey, Beater

Taking a brief moment among the players of the main game was, for Edmond, something of a gamble, but it was one which at this moment seemed to have paid off for him. Arnold was still unharmed – indeed, he didn’t even seem to have been assaulted yet; if Edmond had been even slightly more paranoid, he thought he might have wasted time trying to figure out how that was a Pecari ploy of some kind, rather than most likely being an example of the opposing Beaters just getting carried away by the rush of playing this game – and a likely injury to Arthur had just been avoided as well, which was also good. Not only was Arthur valuable as a Chaser, but he was Arnold’s twin, and keeping one of them steady seemed likely to help the other. At any rate, it couldn’t hurt.

So far, then, some turnovers with the Quaffle aside, Edmond felt like the game was going Aladren’s way.

So far. That was, of course, the key term. There were patterns to Quidditch, reasonable expectations and predictions one could make, but the nature of the game was that things could turn on any given day. If that Beater alternate somehow got lucky and reckless at the same time – not an impossible combination, especially with Pecaris – and broke Edmond’s right arm clean through in a moment of inattention and took him out of the game for just long enough, Arnold could take a Bludger to the head and that would be the end of the game. Bludgers, more than the Snitch or any other innovation to the game Edmond had ever read about, made Quidditch an unpredictable game. And it wouldn’t do to be unwary anyway; the girl, Miss Owen, was an unknown quantity to them.

He had hoped his cousin would stay well away from her and so decrease the number of times when he could justify hitting one of the Bludgers, with force, toward a little eleven-year-old girl, but it seemed that much, at least, was not going to go his way today. It had only been a hope, and not one he’d really expected to see realized. Sooner or later, most of the time, the Seekers ended up together; he was just glad Arnold did not, so far, seem to be testing to see whether or not he could provoke the new person in their midst into attacking him. Edmond had never been sure if that was actually part of his cousin’s strategy or if it was just a joke, and, truth to be told, he really did not want to know.

At the moment, he didn’t see anything to indicate that anyone was any more likely to get hit by a Bludger than they were to be bludgeoned by Miss Owen, though, so he flew at a comfortable pace around the area, watching and listening for any sign of trouble while keeping an eye open for any sudden movements by either Seeker or either of the Pecari Beaters.

0 Edmond Carey, Beater Good for you, too 0 Edmond Carey, Beater 0 5

Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater

February 14, 2012 9:38 PM

Dropping by by Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater

Everything seemed to be going right for Pecari, Quidditch wise. Most people probably looked at it as bad, but Mel was quite happy with the situation they were in. Jade had proved herself to be quite a good seeker, and Mel finally got her wish that Elijah would get to play beater along side with her. And the good new was, Jose didn't even have to worry about hurting any of the upperclassmen's feelings by relieving them, because they both happened to be sick. And so, Mel got to have Quidditch Minions.

The tall seventeen-year-old had no doubt about Jade and Elijah's abilities to do well in the match against Aladren. Elijah seemed keen to listen to everything Mel said, and she couldn't say the same for Demetra. The Assistant Captain was pissed at her for the performance she displayed at the Teppenpaw game. You could mess up, but you at least had to try! It was dumb of her, because now she was on Mel's bad side, and that was not a good thing. Mel kinda had a lot of pull for decisions made with the team, if she did say so herself.

In the locker rooms before the game, Mel immediately approached Elijah after changing, butterflies in her stomach. "Okay, so I know you were like, a third string seeker originally, but don't let that discourage you. You weren't meant to be a seeker. You'd suck at it, just like me. I knew all along you were meant to be a beater. You're a lot like me, you know," she said, giving him a friendly punch in the arm and a smile. "So don't let me down. Just try your best, and actually try and hit the bludger around some, okay? Just not at Pecari players. I'll worry about Edmund," she said, her voice suddenly becoming much more serious. Stupid Edmund. She didn't like people who challenged her skills. She would prove herself better this game. Deciding that she told him all she needed to, she went back to her bench to rock back and forth while clutching her broom for support.

What if this was her last chance to win a finals? What if Pecari didn't get the finals next year? How could she become a professional player if she couldn't even lead her school team to a championship victory? She was just so, so nervous, and for once she actually had a real beater challenging her.

Her green eyes bright with determination, Mel joined in a huddle when Jose called the team together. She took deep breaths, fumbling with her gloves while trying to look confident. This was Jose's last game. She was really quite depressed about that. Mel loved Jose! "Let Mel handle him", he told Elijah, in reference to Edmund. Yeah. She could do that! So what if some people thought he was better....

When it was time to go onto the pitch, she put on the most intimidating face she could make and walked out, her long chocolate brown hair, pulled into a pony tail, swinging behind her. Cracking her knuckles, she glared at a few Aladrens before taking off.

For once, she paid more attention to the general direction of the quaffle before immediately searching for a bludger to shoot. She needed to find the best time to rocket one at an Aladren chaser. It would be smart to try and take out Aladren's seeker, but she wasn't going to get herself involved in the seeker chase until Edmond did. She just didn't want to risk anything, like unnecessarily putting Jade under even greater radar because she was after SeekerCarey. So, she looked with pride as Elijah took a shot at an Aladren Chaser, but Merlin Dammit, Edmond had to stop it. And Merlin Dammit again, there was no way Mel could get to Jose in time! Thank goodness Jose was able to ward off the bludger and keep it off his tail. Mel considered trying to get it for him, but he seemed to be doing well on his own. As that bludger sought another opponent, the other one sought Mel. Feeling like she was now officially part of the game, the larger-than-average sixth year pulled back her left arm, her right hand still on the bat for better support, and took a hard shot at an Aladren Chaser that Arthur Carey passed the quaffle too.

"Bye, bye, chaser," she mumbled until her breath, delighted to find that Edmund seemed to be concentrated on the seekers. Then--shoot. What if he shot at Jade? Mel was supposed to cover him. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot! Feeling a bit scattered brained, Mel turned her head shortly after hearing the CRACK from the bludger making contact with her bat towards Jade, making sure she was a-okay. Then, she looked around for the other bludger, but now she was getting lost. Too much to worry about. She just had to keep her ears open, that was the all. In this case, her ADHD was going to prove to be very useful; every little sharp sound she turned her head to, terrified one of her teammates were being dismantled.

Mel hadn't meant to feel so insecure of her abilities. But, for the first time, the usually cocky beater was feeling a bit unsure of herself. And she really needed to knock it off.

0 Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater Dropping by 0 Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater 0 5

Jade Owen, Seeker

February 15, 2012 4:23 PM

Less satisfying from my perspective by Jade Owen, Seeker

Flying for the first few minutes of the game could be as much therapeutic as energising for someone as rambunctious as a first year Pecari Seeker, albeit simply a reserve who had been lucky enough to be granted a chance to participate in the championship game of the year. The wind rushing past her, the clouds darkening on the approaching horizon, and the colourful flashes of other players darting in and out of her peripheral vision could be equally relaxing and exhilarating. As usual, Jade’s only focus was on personal gain. It was true she had issues with dedication, with drive, and with personal demons of laziness and complacency, but so long as the opportunity for profit was present, whether the reward be physical and measureable or something less tangible, such as gloating rights over a firstborn Carey, Jade had determination in enormous quantities. She played the part of a team member - turned up to practises and wore a uniform - but Jade was an independent agent when all was bared. She would catch the Snitch because that’s what she wanted to do, and she hated not getting her own way.

Her wayward eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Jade sought the Snitch not just with her eyes but with her whole person, her senses each trained to do what they could to assist. Well, her taste and olfactory awareness were pretty much dormant, because really, how would they help catch a Snitch? But Josephine had told her that there were other senses, like a sense of balance, sense of time, and sense of direction, and Jade was using all of those, too. She wove round her selected domain, prowling, defending her territory subconsciously, even though she heard no crack of Bludger on bat within the vicinity that would be cause for caution.

Presently, however, she was aware of the incoming spectre of one Arnold Carey, opposing Seeker, and hence her personal arch nemesis for the current epoch. He was older than her, presumably he weighed more, and his broomstick was faster. He had a decent reputation for a school Seeker, and his record was, up until now at least, untarnished. Other than these easily accessible facts, Jade had been able to extract very little information concerning this particular subject. She had grilled Josephine none too lightly on the matter, as her sister was at least in the same year group, but had been met with a defensive barrier that she couldn’t crack; apparently Josephine didn’t spend a great deal of time with this particular pest with a penchant for pitch-based posterity. Likewise, Jade’s older brother James, who was in Aladren House and roommate to its Assistant Captain, had been mute on the topic. Useful allies her siblings were not, but that was just fine by Jade; it would make her inevitable victory all the more pleasurable considering her lack of outside assistance (though if Mel or Elijah happened to take out her opponent she would grudgingly allow them to bask with her).

As a preference, Jade didn’t like to share her space with others. She had shared a room with Josephine her entire life, and now, at Sonora, she was stuck with not just one, but three other female first years in close quarters. She shared her books, her clothes were hand-me-downs, and even her broomstick was technically fair game to any other student, being, as it was, property of the school (they might not try taking it twice once she’d had her say, but she couldn’t easily prevent them from the first ignorant insurrection without practically inviting insurgence). Naturally, when she was out in the open, up in the air, and with a clear focus, the last thing she needed was to be crowded. Arnold, she knew, wasn’t of this persuasion, preferring instead to distract his opponents with conversation of some variety (though as she’d yet to be exposed to this, Jade couldn’t describe it in detail, nor be sure of its effect on her). She was determined not to let this happen as much to have her own way as to prevent him from having his, and so as soon as the Pecari Seeker became aware of his encroaching nearness, she began to swerve increasingly away, making moves towards the other end of the Pitch.

Of course this entire game of chase, as it had the potential to become, was merely passing time until the most important player on the field (the Snitch, obviously), was ready to join the fray. Only then would the Seekers need to put their skills to the ultimate test, each vying to be the quickest, or simply to be the one in the right place at the right time. The rest of the game was the warm-up act; the Snitch was the star, and the winning Seeker its captor, claiming notoriety. That time, however, was not now. The cloudy coverage aided in restricting those heart-stopping, taunting moments of false identification, and so Jade could be quite certain that the Snitch wasn’t yet ready to be found. As she flew she threw occasional glances over her shoulders, all the time turning her broom this way and that, doing all in her power to promote optimum viewing of her surroundings. In a game where one winner took all, and the loser lived up to that title in its fullest form, she couldn’t afford to be on the team that fell merely into second place. For a start she’d have to answer to Amira, and then to Elijah, who’d also been keen on the position, and probably to Jose, who was Captain Almighty in his graduating year, and so this was his last game at the school, not to mention to Mel, who would be next year’s Captain, and probably wouldn’t even contemplate having Jade on the team if she screwed this up too badly. The first year had become nicely accustomed to having the fearsome Beater on her side; she didn’t relish being on the receiving end of an onslaught of any variety.

0 Jade Owen, Seeker Less satisfying from my perspective 0 Jade Owen, Seeker 0 5

David Wilkes, Keeper

February 15, 2012 7:25 PM

Hey, me, too! (WotW) by David Wilkes, Keeper

It wasn’t, all things considered, the best day in the world to play the Quidditch Final. It looked like rain, for one thing, and David was feeling like insanity was contagious and had been passed onto him by his teammates for another after he had briefly debated with himself over breakfast about whether or not he had it in him to Confund Sophie Jamison from behind and then debated with himself for a rather longer time about whether or not he could get away with doing it. Nothing personal, but he’d been in the hyper-competitive atmosphere of Aladren for a long time, the one thing the Wilkes family shared in common with his mother’s family was a certain loss of moral fiber under pressure, and this was the last game before he became the Aladren captain. If he made a Grade-A fool of himself while the other Keeper had a perfect record for the same game, any chance he had of surviving next year would be gone. Of that, he was reasonably sure.

In the end, though, he was unsure enough of his teammates to and wary enough of the authorities that he overcame his genetic predisposition toward ruthlessness at the first sign of a tight corner and just hoped for the sky to clear before the game. It did not oblige him, and he spared it a dark look full of hollow promises of retaliation before smiling optimistically through Edmond’s pre-game speech. The issue of whether or not it should change to his wishes had always been a point of contention between him and the weather, and he tended to not get his way. This was not the first time his will to change it had proven less than its will to stay as it was. It was definitely going to rain now, actually, just because he’d bothered to hope it wouldn’t; he just hoped that Arnold caught the Snitch before it did. Unlike the rest of the team, he hadn’t really had the happy experience of playing in the rain, but he was pretty sure that the water everywhere and lack of light and all that did not improve visibility and make it easier to interact with any of the four balls in the ways one wanted to.

He flew up along with everyone else when the whistle blew and, to his consternation, did not find himself pulling away from the rest of the game as he headed for the Aladren goals. Instead, he felt like a cartoon character, speeding up on his fancy broom to lead just ahead of the rest of the pack, desperate to get there before the Chasers landed at the goalposts and started shooting and he wasn’t even there to defend th….

There was a cheer. Something had happened. Reaching the goals, he turned on his broom and found himself watching the action move away. Aladren had recovered the ball. He cheered enthusiastically, clapping his hands.

No sooner than he did that, though, than the Pecaris got the ball back, and so, though he was as happy as anyone had ever thought to be to see Arthur recover the ball for Aladren again, he didn’t make such a production out of being happy about it this time. He liked to think he wasn’t really, deep in his heart of Aladren hearts, that superstitious, but it wasn’t like he really thought it could hurt anything, either, to indulge the odd mood he was in and just be a little bit more careful. After all, a Bludger did seem to be heading one of his teammates' way....

16 David Wilkes, Keeper Hey, me, too! (WotW) 169 David Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

February 15, 2012 7:54 PM

Wish you'd been the only one, Dave, but we'll still win. by Russell Layne, Chaser

Russell vaguely wanted to hit something when he realized that his pass had just been intercepted from above by the Pecari captain, but since that didn’t seem very practical under the circumstances, he decided to just worry about getting the ball back. It was just good that it was Jose who had the ball right now, because he was the one on the Pecari team who was really good; Jhonice Trevear could be downright dangerous, sometimes, but at others she couldn’t fly and this was a day when her broom seemed to be refusing to cooperate with her, and Russell knew Mellie well enough that he wasn’t worried about her as an opponent.

Though she was doing pretty well, he granted as she completed Jose’s pass a minute later. A minute after that, though, Arthur intercepted her pass, and the game was moving back their way again. Russell followed along, kind of sorry he hadn’t gotten the glory of being the one to get the ball back but also kind of glad he hadn’t been the one to get it back from Mel. He wasn’t yet Quidditch-crazy enough to completely forget that there was, in fact, life off the Pitch and away from the Aladren team.

He wasn’t bothered by that. The feeling would, he knew, go away soon enough.

When the pass came again, Russell caught it again and kept on along the way to the Pecari goals. Things were back to moving along well; here went hoping that they continued to do so this time. Going back and forth would, he knew from long experience with the Crotali, get pretty dull after a while. He covered more ground, found another opening, checked for Pecaris what he hoped was more thoroughly than he had the last time, and tried once more to pass.

Far too shortly after he did that, as his focus moved out of momentarily being entirely on the ball, he heard the noise of a Bludger. He pulled away, but it still hit him just below the knee, and pretty hard – not as hard as he thought it might have if he hadn’t noticed and tried to evade it, but still, hard enough. The pain was jarring, anyway, and his hands tightened on his broom as he flew out in an arc, half-thinking for a second to try to shake the feeling off before realizing that wasn’t going to work and just heading back for the game. He guessed having one’s own personal Edmond was one benefit of being the Seeker. Though having one’s own personal Demelza was definitely a downside. At least she seemed to be going away now. His leg was far happier than his intellect knew he should be to see her heading away, presumably toward the Seekers.

16 Russell Layne, Chaser Wish you'd been the only one, Dave, but we'll still win. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Kitty McLevy - Chaser

February 15, 2012 8:57 PM

Always and Always by Kitty McLevy - Chaser

It felt…off. Even though she’d only been playing the game for one year, there was a rightness about Aladren facing off against Crotalus in the finals that facing Pecari just lacked. Pecari and Teppenpaw were warm up teams, games that were played to get back into the swing of things. They weren’t the teams that actually made it to the finals. Well, I guess it just means we get the cup again this year, Kitty thought dismissively as she finished off her waffle heaped high with chopped bananas and apple butter.

Her belly full, a warm sweater under her game robes and a newly shined broom, Kitty was ready for the game. She got a bit turned around and ended up going out the wrong door. Darn it! The pitch is on the other side! Flinging herself back though the doors Kitty ran, her tight black braid whipped behind her like an angry serpent as she sped through the halls towards the right door. Finally she made it, thankfully before the game actually started. That would have been too embarrassing for words. Still out of breath from her mad dash Kitty was a bit slow taking off and the Quaffle was handed off in a flurry of passes back and forth between the teams.

Like temperamental dogs fighting over a bit of rope, the Quaffle was pulled between the two sets of goals. First towards the Aladren, then Pecari and back and forth again. Twice Kitty had almost managed to get into position to intercept, but both times her timing had been a little off. Well in the case of Jhonice, the girl had suddenly drifted off course, which left Arthur in a better position to intercept. So she’d backed off, not wanting to get in the way and end up losing the Quaffle to another Pecari chaser.

As she expected him to, Arthur easily got the Quaffle back for Aladren. With a happy “Whoop!” Kitty flew after him. Russell had the same idea and Kitty couldn’t help but grin as they fell into an easy formation. Now as long as the beaters stayed away, hopefully they’d be able to make it all the way to the goals! Arthur passed to Russell and Kitty moved closer, making sure to keep an eye out for rival chasers as the goals loomed ever closer.

The sharp crack of bat on bludger caused Kitty to look around wildly. One of the ominous black balls was headed straight for Russell just as he passed the Quaffle in her direction. Kitty was so distracted by the bludger that the Quaffle nearly slipped out of her grip as cornflower blue eyes tracked the black ball instead of the red one she should have been paying attention too. It was only the feel of leather on her palms that jerked her back to reality just as the bludger struck Russell. Swallowing hard, Kitty gripped the Quaffle tightly as she shot towards the enemy goals and hoped that none of the beaters were targeting her back.

Kitty took a deep breath and sternly told herself to ignore the way the flesh between her shoulder blades crawled, she flew sharp and fast at the center hoop. Closer, closer, she pulled up fast only a few broom lengths away from the goals so hard that she was almost vertical as she threw the Quaffle as hard as she could at the left goal. She hoped that her odd tactic would hide her intended target from the Keeper until it was too late. Continuing the movement, Kitty arched the tip of her broom back fully, looping back on her path and plunging towards the ground for a moment in free fall before she was able to regain control and straighten out again.

0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser Always and Always 0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser 0 5

Edmond Carey, Beater

February 16, 2012 11:17 PM

Well, you can never make everyone happy by Edmond Carey, Beater

Edmond had barely reached the area the Seekers seemed to be gathering in before Miss Owen decided to go Seek elsewhere. Well, he wasn’t completely surprised. It had been one of the possible side effects of his appearance, especially since the absence of her Beaters and either of the Bludgers gave her the luxury of more unrestricted movement.

It did, though, present him with a problem. Since they were in a quiet time in this part of the game, he also had a luxury, the luxury of being able to actually make calls and tell Arnold what to do. Did they go after her, or just stay in this part of the Pitch and keep looking and see what happened? He could see benefits and risks to both strategies, really, and he couldn’t even put off making a decision by blaming it on Arnold going off to do whatever he wanted without waiting for direction, because he could tell the Seeker was looking in his direction.

Absently, he wondered what on earth was wrong with Arnold today. He was never this…reasonable? Maybe ‘calm’ was a better word for it. He usually, Edmond thought, would have been doing something on his own – most likely going right on over to continue annoying Miss Owen. He didn’t have too long to think about that, though, because first he saw Miss Eagle heading toward the Seeker game at last – she must have come to her senses and realized that while the Chasers were often very amusing to watch, they didn’t count for as much as the girl who was keeping this part of the game from being terribly interesting. And there – well, there was the other Bludger.

He pointed, and Arnold nodded and rose in the air as Edmond went to intercept the Bludger’s path and send it straight toward Miss Owen. Looking around for Arnold once he had done, he found his cousin had changed direction as quickly as the Bludger and was now diving, looking like he’d level out pretty far away from where he’d started out in both altitude and position on the Pitch and so put more distance between himself and the Bludger. Edmond began to descend in that direction also, though more slowly because he was trying to keep both Seekers in sight so he could move quickly in either direction. Hopefully, Miss Eagle would be too busy trying to save Miss Owen and her companion would stay occupied with the rest of the game, but it would never pay, he was sure, not to be vigilant.

Really, it was possible to make a metaphor out of that. He thought he would rather not, though. He knew it wasn’t very likely, all things considered, to happen, and knowing that was what he thought was making his nerves feel more and more frayed as time went on, but he did like the thought of managing to live a reasonable life like his parents’ had, as far as he knew, for the most part, been.

0 Edmond Carey, Beater Well, you can never make everyone happy 0 Edmond Carey, Beater 0 5

Jhonice Trevear - Chaser

February 18, 2012 9:10 AM

Dream on Aladren, your reign of terror is at an end! by Jhonice Trevear - Chaser

Jhonice was upset. Something was wrong with her Enterprise, it wasn't responding to her demands. She struggled to get it facing back toward her quarry. This was Aladren trickery! They knew she was a threat and that she relied on this broom. So they had infiltrated the school broom storage and cursed her broom! She finally got it pointed in the right direction and set off to follow 'Arthur' Carey, but arrived to late to intercept the pass to his teammate. She watched as Kitty got the ball and rushed for the goal.

Maybe this was more than just Quiddich, she watched 'Arthur' carefully. Which one of the triplets was this one really? Perhaps they were on to her being on to them... It could be a sneaky Carey plot to remove her from exposing their diabolical schemes to the world. A Quidditch final would be a convenient place and time to silence some opposition. Wouldn't they be surprised, she would not fall so easily! Pecari would triumph! "Go Sophie!" She cheered. She wanted to move into position to catch Sophie's pass once she stopped the ball, but she had to stick with 'Arthur'. He was definitely up to no good.

2 Jhonice Trevear - Chaser Dream on Aladren, your reign of terror is at an end! 209 Jhonice Trevear - Chaser 0 5

Sophie Jamison [Keeper]

February 19, 2012 10:49 PM

...Maybe not so much. by Sophie Jamison [Keeper]

Her head was a mess. Sophie was having a fair number of issues, and it seemed like they all wanted to stir in her mind at once. It wasn’t fair, but then again, neither was life. That was obvious. Who had ever alleged that it was? Whoever had was just plain dumb. That, or the person had been lucky that far. Or both.

The blonde wasn’t that lucky, and she wasn’t that dumb. She knew how unfair life could be, but that didn’t make it okay. There were a lot of times she lost in life, a lot of times everyone lost. Still, today was not the day for these thoughts.

She tried very hard to think about winning, to pay attention to the Quidditch final and be excited, but she couldn’t. Too much was weighing her down. Flying seemed impossible, but then again, her broom did most of the work. Cheer up, she tried to tell herself, but she was too busy falling down.

The first problem was the fact that her father still wasn’t back. He’d been gone since November, without a trace. The note he left indicated that he was planning on coming back, but when? Sophie was terribly worried about him, but she didn’t want to share those feelings with Ileum or Serapes because they were both worried enough themselves. She didn’t want to confide in Liz either because, while she loved her cousin, she would try to mother her. Her cousins her own age, whom she also loved, would do little more than tell a trusted adult. In good nature, of course, but that wasn’t what she wanted.

That led her to confiding in her best friend, Ryan O’Malley. Problem was, he was another thing on her mind entirely. Ever since she’d spent the holidays at his house… things had been different for her. Sophie and Ryan had been talking, and then the next thing she knew, she was kissing him. She’d just been trying to make him feel better and show him he could get girls to like him, and…. Obviously he did.
She was trying so hard not to fancy him. He was her best friend; she couldn’t think of him that way! Like, there was no way she could ever tell him how she thought she was feeling because it could totally screw up their friendship, and that wasn’t something she was okay with risking.

Shut up, she commanded the thoughts in her head. Now was not the time. She had to protect the rings in the name of Pecari, but it was so hard to plan out and strategize against the opposing Chasers—Aladrens at that!—when she was so distracted. It seemed like the girl was coming at the middle hoop, so before that one Sophie took position. However, it was not the girl’s target; the left ring was.

The Keeper couldn’t make it in time. It slid beside her through the hoop for a goal. She recovered the ball quickly and passed it to the nearest Pecari Chaser, but the damage had been done. Sophie had missed. Aladren was up. Profanity floated from the fifteen-year-old girl’s lips.

12 Sophie Jamison [Keeper] ...Maybe not so much. 34 Sophie Jamison [Keeper] 0 5

Mel Eagle, Beater

February 20, 2012 9:13 AM

Touche by Mel Eagle, Beater

This was what it all came down to, really. A battle against the beaters. The seekers just happened to be targets, was all. The humidity on the pitch was increasing, something quite unusual at Sonora usually because of the rather dry climate, but Mel was very used to it back home in Delaware. Her arms began to cling to her robes, and her arm-pits began to sweat. Her left hand, the one grasping her bat, also began to sweat. Couldn't it just rain already? She was pretty sure she could feel it coming.

After playing a little game with the chasers, Demelza made her way over to Jade, just tempting Edmond. Apparently, the tempting worked--he finally took the first hit towards Jade. Mel, not worried about anything else at the current moment but protecting her first year seeker, kicked on the speed as she flew over as fast as she could the rest of the way to Jade. Which was a good thing, because that bludger was moving fast. Too fast. By the time Mel got to it Jade was literally right behind her. In order to not smack her own player while trying to ward bludgers away from her, she kicked Jade's broom as she swung her back bat just in time to lightly trap the bludger. This was a move she discover over the summer was used to control a ball in soccer, and she practiced it often. Instead of just stopping the ball as if to bunt in a baseball game, she let her bat fall back as the ball made contact with it, making it not head anywhere at random, but toward the ground much more slowly. This also put less pressure on her expensive bat. "Sorry!" She shouted out to Jade quickly, considering that kicking her own teammate wasn't really the nicest thing in the world, but it was necessary. As the bludger moved toward the ground, Mel was finally able to find a spot to reaim it. Preferably at Arnold.

The tall sixth year dove to reach the bludger, and the minute she saw him, she swung her bat back to let the metal ball made contact with him. Problem: her hands were sweating like crazy. Effect from problem: not only did the bludger go flying, but so did her bat.

Mel swore loudly and flew in the direction her bat had flown in, trying to wipe her sweaty hands on her robes. How could she have done that?! She didn't think she'd be able to reach the bat in time, though, before it hit one of the players in the field it was flying at. And if it did that, Mel would surely be penalized, wouldn't she? Oh Merlin, this was just awful. She didn't even have time to see if her bludger made contact with Arnold (she was 1 for 1 so far in this game, so between the distraction of her flying bat and those statistics, it was possible). She had never felt so dumb before. She really needed to retrieve her bat. And Elijah needed to be on the lookout for Edmond.

0 Mel Eagle, Beater Touche 0 Mel Eagle, Beater 0 5

Coach Pierce

February 20, 2012 11:58 AM

Aladren Scores! 10-0 (nm) by Coach Pierce

0 Coach Pierce Aladren Scores! 10-0 (nm) 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Mellie Goodwin, Chaser

February 20, 2012 2:18 PM

Let's go, Pecari! by Mellie Goodwin, Chaser

“Oh, no!” Mellie tried to exclaim in exasperation when Arthur Carey stole the ball from her, but she was a little out of breath and ended up just making a kind of strangled noise instead as she fought to get her broom turned around and moving back toward her own team’s goals, hoping desperately that they would be able to get the Quaffle back before it made it all the way back to Sophie. She was totally, completely sure their Keeper was up to the job of stopping it, of course, but it would just be embarrassing for Aladren to make it there first, when Mellie was sure she would not be the least surprised person here to hear it if it came out that the Aladrens really thought they had this game in the bag before they ever came out onto the Pitch today.

The ball moved from Arthur to Russell, and though Mel came in and managed to hit Russell with a Bludger, it didn’t stop the ball from going from Russell to Kitty McLevy and then…oh, dangit…right past Sophie.

At least Jhon had apparently gotten her broom back under control and rejoined them now. That was something. Something good, that was; everything was something, after all. Sophie passed the ball back into the game and Mellie took it and turned again, starting the long run toward the Aladren goals and reminding herself that it was early in the game still, that ten points wouldn’t matter at all if Jade caught the Snitch, and that they had all three Chasers back together on the Pecari side now. She thought this game was totally about to turn around for them.

She hurried down some of the Pitch, nervously looking around for Bludgers, but knew that it wouldn’t be hard for Aladren to take it straight back to Sophie if they intercepted it when she caught the eye of one of her fellow Pecari Chasers and tried to pass again, hoping it would go better for her this time than it had the last time she tried in this game, and that one day she would feel less nervous whenever she touched a Quaffle and tried to do…er…well, if she was going to be perfectly honest, anything with it. It seemed like one of those things that her mom said came with age, which she wished, if that were true, would come quicker.

16 Mellie Goodwin, Chaser Let's go, Pecari! 206 Mellie Goodwin, Chaser 0 5

Kitty McLevy - Chaser

February 20, 2012 5:45 PM

We can do it, Aladren! by Kitty McLevy - Chaser

As she finished her little loop de loop Oh please, please, please, let it have been distracting enough! Kitty almost ran straight into the bottom part of the post supporting the center ring and only a sharp swerve to the right kept her from crashing. A breathless little laugh escaped her lips as her cheeks burned with embarrassed adrenalin. She’d been so focused on her stunt that Kitty didn’t know if her shot made it or not. Maybe that was just a smidge over the top? Kitty wondered. Some of the crowed was cheering, but she was still too turned around to figure out which side was making the most happy noises and she couldn’t help but pout a bit.

Finally back in full control of herself and the broom, Kitty glanced up just in time to see the Keeper grab the Quaffle and toss it easily to one of the Pecari Chasers. Urging her broom back up to the level of the rest of the players, Kitty kept an eye out for bludgers as she silently cursed her flare for the dramatic. While her stunt may or may not have worked, it nearly got her smeared all over the goal post, and further prevented her from regaining control of the Quaffle to try for a second shot. Still, the game was young, and although her hands ached with want of the brilliant red orb, she knew it would be hers again before too much longer.

The Pecari chaser was flying fast towards Aladren territory. Even though Kitty’s broom was now a year old, it still out classed the school brooms by a fair margin. A wild grin pulled at the young Aladren’s lips and she felt like a hound running fleetly though the forest after a lone fox, the belling of the pack and the horns of the huntsmen seemed to ring in her ears as she closed the distance. Close, and closer still, the red of the Quaffle filled her vision as she raced forward before a flash of red streaked fur-like though the air. Kitty fought for more speed, but the distance hadn’t been closed in time, the fox had found momentary shelter in the arms of another.

0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser We can do it, Aladren! 0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser 0 5

Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

February 20, 2012 6:24 PM

No, We can do it Pecari! by Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

Jhonice groaned in anguish as the Quaffle sailed right past Sophie and through the goal. She thought their keeper looked a little distracted, she could recognize that look, Andrew was still wearing it after all. The Careys had cursed her broom, did they do something to distract their keeper as well? She glanced over at her quarry, the Careys were known for their plots and intrigue, plus these are Aladrens as well. They were undoubtedly up to something, and Pecari was on the receiving end of it. That would just not do! She would have to do something about it.

She cheered as her roommate recovered the ball from Sophie and started racing it back up the pitch. Gambling, she broke away from Arthur and caught Mellie's eye. Knowing that her broom was now cursed, she was able to anticipate it and she felt the ball land safely in her hands. Success! Now she just had to keep the momentum going! The Aladren/Carey plot for Quidditch domination would be foiled! She dived and continued forward into Aladren territory, the forward had been part of her plan, the dive had not.

Fighting with her broom for altitude, she looked frantically for a teammate to pass the ball. Did the Carey curse give them some kind of direct control over her broom? It had behaved when she first got away to catch the ball, but now that they've had a chance to react to her having it, it wasn't following her commands. This wasn't good, maybe she should trade it out for one with a normal curse on it. First though, she had to get the ball to Captain Jose or back to Mellie. Spotting one of them, she tossed the ball and hoped it would make it to them.

2 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser No, We can do it Pecari! 209 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

February 20, 2012 8:28 PM

I think Quidditch is more a mini-war than a fencing match by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold had to admit, he’d had happier moments on a Pitch than the one in which he realized that Miss Eagle had decided to join his game, but he reminded himself that he wasn’t scared of her. If he got hurt again, it would just make it that much more glorious to win, and he probably wasn’t going to get hurt much anyway. Those first few games had been strange, everyone trying to figure out the rhythms of the team they had inadvertently wandered into, but now, there was a definite expectation that Edmond’s main job in the game was to protect him. It was less exciting for everyone involved, but it did make them win better; he hadn’t had any really close calls, he felt, since his first year.

When Edmond signaled to him, Arnold got out of the way, leaving Edmond to handle the Pecaris in their airspace. Miss Eagle managed to save Miss Owen, but only just barely, or so it looked from where he was, a long way away. Then she came after him – the Bludger had headed down after she deflected it, the same direction he had initially gone when Edmond went after Miss Owen – and he darted up as quickly as he could then turned into a diagonal, moving back toward where he’d been before, which was where the Bludger didn’t seem to be now.

He expected her to take another swing at him before Edmond could get there to redirect it, but she seemed to be heading in a completely different direction just now. Arnold squinted, confused, wondering what might make her do that, but then he shrugged it off. Didn’t matter, so long as she wasn’t hitting things at him, and he really could not afford to take his attention off the Bludger that long. He had to watch out for them himself until Edmond’s return was completed, and though their brooms were almost equally good, the captain was a bit slower than he was because the captain was a lot bigger than he was. Weight did have something to do with it all, too, after all; if Miss Owen hadn’t been flying from the school stock, Arnold would have been a little worried because she was smaller than him.

Really, that was kind of funny. He had been looking forward to growing some for so long, and now that he had, it turned out to be a disadvantage, because one of the other teams had finally gotten a Seeker who was smaller than him. It was on him, so that took some of the good off of it, but never let it be said that Arnold couldn’t appreciate a good joke when he saw one.

He didn’t have long to think about that, though, because as he changed direction again, sailing toward the other end of the Pitch just to confuse the Bludger a little more if it was still after him, he looked down and thought he saw the Snitch. He knew it could just be a trick of his vision, especially with everyone and everything moving around so much and the light unreliable today and all, but decided, rather than taking the time to try to verify it, he’d just dive for it and see if he was right once he got there. The worst that could happen was that he was wrong and succeeded in drawing the Pecari Seeker after him and either really annoying or confusing her, not to mention her team. If this game wasn’t over, it was high time it started to become interesting, anyway.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker I think Quidditch is more a mini-war than a fencing match 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

February 20, 2012 10:44 PM

Aladren shall be victorious. That is all. by Arthur Carey, Chaser

Arthur smiled grimly as Katrina succeeded in scoring. Miss Jamison was a fairly good Keeper, so he considered this a victory for the youngest of the Aladren Chasers as well as for the team as a whole. Undermining the opponent’s morale seemed to him to be one of the most important parts of playing the game, and a goal did that job very well.

Another right on the heels of the first would have done as good a job, but Miss Goodwin managed to get the ball. That was all right, since staying in front of the goals for too long gave the Beaters an opportunity, and Mr. Errant in particular might decide to do that, despite the risk to his Chasers. He did not, apparently, strike Theresa as the most stable character in their year, and while her also deciding Miss Alexandra ought to marry him made him take that judgment with perhaps a grain of salt more than he took all of Theresa’s comments under the circumstances, there was the implied relationship to Miss Errant. Any relative of Miss Errant, Arthur was sure, was going to be a bit unstable; he would have thought this was unfair, considering his own family, if he had ever met more than one Carey who’d never, on any occasion, under any circumstances, struck him as even a little bit less than sane. At best, she was a freak of nature, and it was more likely that he simply hadn’t seen her often enough.

So it was all right that Miss Goodwin got the ball. Not so all right, though, was Miss Trevear getting it from her. Her getting the ball at all was all right, but her being able to make a successful pass was nothing more or less than sheer sloppiness on his part and the parts of Katrina and Russell. They would have to rectify that. When Miss Trevear dove, he followed her, then intercepted her attempt at a pass and turned back toward the Pecari goals.

He could, he thought, have covered the distance the two second years had on his own again without too many problems, but he also thought, knowing that his team had a reputation for not being too much saner than Mr. Errant’s Crotalus…whatever she was to him, that it might be expected. So he took the opportunity, soon after getting the Quaffle, to attempt a short pass, hoping for the best but knowing that there was plenty of time even if it didn’t work out. It was still much further to his goals than it was from theirs.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Aladren shall be victorious. That is all. 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 21, 2012 10:10 AM

My crystal ball says differently. by Elijah Errant {Beater}

The desire to hit bludgers hadn’t subsided, but Elijah grew distracted from above, watching in fascination as the Quaffle passed quickly from chaser to chaser, sometimes clothed in brown, sometimes in blue. Streaks of intermingling color that almost never moved in perfect straight lines. He followed them, providing neither defence nor offence, bat lowered at his side, dark brown eyes struggling to keep up with the pattern of brown, blue and dabs of red. The players seemed to weave in and out of each other in a much more complicated way than he’d seen in practice and that he had seen the first time he’d hit a bludger this game. He wasn’t fully aware of which direction the streaks were headed toward until one of the blue streaks broke from the mass and Elijah realized it was taking a shot at Pecari.

‘Right... I should be knocking those streaks down.’ Turning away from Sophie who was sure to make the save, he scanned the field for a bludger to have ready and waiting for Aladren. ‘There!’ He leaned forward on his Cleansweep and went into a quick dive, the crisp air growing briefly colder as the wind blew faster against his skin, the sleeves of his robes pulling back on his arms. The bludger he was chasing sensed his presence and made a sudden about face. A yelp of surprise got caught in Elijah’s throat and he instinctively ducked, the bludger speeding just above his head, grazing his soft curls. Blinking rapidly, Elijah made a sharp tun to again face off with the same bludger now reversing its trajectory to try and hit him again. CRACK. An upperhand smack with his bat and the bludger whistled through the air it rose in.

His blood pumped hard, heart hammering in his chest, a wide smile restored upon his face, loving these strange public continual brushes with death. He leaned back on his broom, right hand gripping the wood, and sped after the bludger, eyes widening at the sudden surge of chasers heading toward him instead of away. The bludger rose just above the space of air Jhonice was about to fly into, Quaffle held in her possession. Elijah swerved out of her way and rose a little higher, letting go of his broom, clutching his bat with two hands, left fist above right, bat raised above his left shoulder, and twisted away from the bludger. A blue streak passed below him, the Quaffle temporarily finding new ownership. Elijah twisted toward the bludger, his clenched fists swinging the bat.

CRACK. A ripple of power through his arms, spreading throughout his body, smile widening on his face, laughter lost in the flapping of robes and wind and beaters’ bats. He watched his bludger speed past the the blue robed chaser who’d stolen the Quaffle from Pecari and toward the blue robed chaser close enough to catch the pass. ‘Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit!’ He silently chanted, torn between keeping his gaze locked on the bludger and the painful need to look around wildly to see if Demelza was watching. He chose her, turning away from either his success or another exhilarating fail, just in time to see her speeding away from where the seekers were. ‘She didn’t see me at all.’ His brow furrowed but he tried not to take it too personally. ‘She’s a professional, she needs to focus on the game... anyway, I’ll make sure she sees me next time.’ He turned back around to see where his bludger had gotten, wondering if any Aladrens had plummeted to their deaths and if there were any Pecaris he should be racing to defend.

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} My crystal ball says differently. 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Russell Layne, Aladren

February 21, 2012 5:42 PM

It's broken, then. by Russell Layne, Aladren

And they were up. He hadn’t been the one to make the goal, but Russell still felt something like relief and triumph as the ball sailed on past the Pecari Keeper and into the hoop. Aladren was in the lead.

Mellie reclaimed the ball, passed it to her roommate, and Russell considered trying to intercept it at that point, but it looked like Kitty was already going for it. Since she was uninjured, he fell back and decided to let her have that one. His leg was still bothering him, after all, and she was much smaller than he was even when all other factors were left out of consideration, so he thought she might have a better chance than he did at getting it out, anyway.

She didn’t pull off the interception, but Arthur did the next time the ball came into play, and it looked like the game was theirs again. Russell was surprised by how soon his roommate passed after getting the Quaffle back, and fumbled a little with the Quaffle before he got a good grip on it in his surprise, but he accepted the situation readily enough. One reason for this was hearing the crack of a bat on a Bludger somewhere nearby. With the memory of a hit very fresh in his mind, his main goal at that point became getting out of the way real fast, before another injury could take place.

Doing that carried him back to the goals, bringing up the question of what to do now that he was faced with the prospect of scoring twice in five minutes. He was tempted to pass again and then fake a run at the goals, but he wasn’t sure he had time or the skill to pull it off, really, so he moved as though he were going to pass to his left before putting on an extra burst of speed and then throwing the ball toward the right hoop.

16 Russell Layne, Aladren It's broken, then. 183 Russell Layne, Aladren 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

February 21, 2012 9:46 PM

Why, so it is by Arthur Carey, Chaser

Concentration, Arthur thought, was a funny thing, and possibly a malevolent one. When he needed to focus on just one thing and exclude everything around him, he seldom could, but when he was playing Quidditch and could actually sometimes use that tendency, he sometimes found his mind completely on one thing, or close enough for it to make no difference. That, too, had its uses, and it wasn’t all the time, but it could still be…inconvenient, though mainly, it was just unsettling.

Today, though, it seemed it was going to be more than merely unsettling, slip further toward inconvenient than it usually did. His mind was totally on passing the Quaffle to Russell, and because of that, he didn’t move quite quickly enough to get out of the way of the Bludger Mr. Errant had just hit. And after he had just thought about how he needed to keep an eye on that one, too. He was almost more annoyed with himself than he was wounded by the Bludger to the upper part of his left arm.

Almost. That had been a fairly good, or at least a fairly lucky, hit. He noticed, from the impersonal distance he often viewed painful phenomena from, his jaw clenching and his temples beginning to pound in time with the new pain in his shoulder. That pounding was not yet painful, but he did not think that happy state of affairs would last very long. It usually did not, unless it was at the end of a headache, rather than what felt a bit like the beginnings of one. Well, he didn’t suppose it would really be the Quidditch Final if he wasn’t at least a little sick after it, and at least it had been his left arm, not his right. His left arm wasn’t worth much anyway.

Dragging himself back to the immediate situation, he noticed that Russell appeared to have made it to the end of the Pitch without sustaining further injury – good, very good; better when neither of them had been hurt, but better than some options – and was taking another shot. Very good. Now just to see if it was good enough. All right if it wasn’t; they lost nothing, he guessed, by the attempt.

In the meantime, he looked around for his brother and Edmond, a quick look meant mainly to assure himself that everything was happening there the way it was supposed to. They were all, in a way, all right as long as Arnold was all right. What happened to him, Russell, and Katrina was small potatoes indeed compared to the impact on their game if Miss Eagle’s absence from their immediate surroundings meant she was after his brother and was proving successful in her efforts. Happily, though, that didn’t seem to be the case, so it was back to watching for the Quaffle.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Why, so it is 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Kitty McLevy - Chaser

February 22, 2012 5:43 PM

Pretty crystal shards by Kitty McLevy - Chaser

Things were happening fast now. Kitty caught up with the action and positioned herself for an easy pass now that Arthur had the ball. Russell appeared on Carey’s other side and didn’t look too worse for wear after his tangle with the bludger. It always made Kitty feel a bit uneasy when her fellow chasers were injured. Sure, Aladren could beat Pecari any day of the week, but if too many of their players were taken out before the Snitch was caught… Well, it might make things tricky.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, Arthur passed the Quaffle to Russell when a bludger came out of the blue and promptly slammed into his arm. Kitty eeeped in surprise at the sneaky attack before she darted off after Russell. It was hard not to look back and make sure Arthur was alright. He’ll be ok, he’s been hit by bludgers before, we just need to focus. We can’t lose! Kitty thought as she bit her lip. Of the three of them, Kitty was now the only one not suffering from a bludger induced injury.

That realization left the young Aladren half terrified and half elated. She felt almost invincible, after all, she was the youngest chaser and the only girl on the team. And yet, she had never been hit by a bludger. It was a heady feeling and Kitty almost forgot the half of her that was anxious at the fact that she was the only uninjured chaser they had left. Then again Russell apparently wasn’t letting any lingering pain keep him down as he took a shot at the goals.

“Wooohooo! Keep up the pressure!” Kitty shouted as she followed. Hopefully the Quaffle would make it, but if it didn’t there was still the hope of snatching it back quickly and making another shot as long as she was close enough. Bright blue eyes scanned the sky above them (remembering where the last bludger had come from) for any threatening beaters as she waited to see which way the Quaffle went.

0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser Pretty crystal shards 0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 23, 2012 12:39 AM

At the end of the match, you'll know I'm right. by Elijah Errant {Beater}

Elijah didn’t hear the sound of desperate screams filling the air emitting from an Aladren throat, so his mission was still incomplete. The nearest bludger - probably the same one he’d recently hit - was heading toward Pecari goals, a few meters below Sophie. While the Keeper dealt with the Quaffle, Elijah leaned forward on his broom, circling the blue robed chasers and the goal posts, a mixture of hard blowing wind and sounds from the surrounding stadium blasting in his ears, his eyes widened and focused on the bludger he was tracking. Its familiar whistle joined the surge of noise, rising to meet Elijah in his sudden dive between the left and middle goal posts, still far enough away from Sophie.

“Nnngh!” He swung, clumsily with one hand, the iron ball pushed with a dull crack toward the awaiting array of Aladren chasers attempting to keep the Quaffle in Pecari territory and continue to apply pressure. ‘We can put pressure on you too.’ It hadn’t been the most powerful hit but the bludger moved quickly enough through the air, albeit in a slight curve in its trajectory. Not the straight direct hits he’d been practicing. He hoped it was enough though to distract them from trying to intercept the Quaffle once released by the Keeper. He glanced up toward her before speeding between the metal goal posts and most of the players on the pitch, everything resuming blurred sound and color. His robes flapped a little harder around him, the wind picking up. He felt something cold on his neck but thought it might just be his imagination. Playing his first game without much of a clue was challenging enough. Playing his first ever game which also happened to be the championship against Sonora’s undefeatable team in however many years without much of a clue while in the vision-blurring shivering-inducing rain would call for some excessive whimpering.

‘Then again,’ He pulled away from most of the other players, chasing the sighting of another bludger, his left arm still throbbing from the last awkward hit, but his heart beating for those cracks and whistles. ‘If I prove myself a great reserve - no, beater - in the rain, then Jose and Demelza will have to know how valuable I can be to them. That I am to them!’ He grinned, flying faster, urging the rain to fall, begging for it. ‘And then I’ll push Jade out of the way, they’ll grant me seeker, and then Pecari will be restored to its glory.’ The bludger switched sudden directions, and Elijah faltered in the air, slowly turning his broom around, and then shot right after it, planning future rapid assaults against the nearest Aladrens (and Jade) within his mind. Obsessions were good, they kept him focused. He had to be a good beater, if he ever hoped to become a great seeker.

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} At the end of the match, you'll know I'm right. 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Coach Pierce

February 23, 2012 12:29 PM

Recentering in the Rain by Coach Pierce

It just started raining, folks. We've got a light drizzle going on.

\r\nIt was a dim and cloudy morning. Aladren and Pecari were on the mound. The captains shook hands. It would be the last game either of them played. The whistle blew.

\r\nThe Quaffle Game:
\r\n-Jose gets the Quaffle for Pecari first and passes to Jhonice.
\r\n-Elijah the Reserve Beater enjoys smacking a bludger at Arthur for Pecari.
\r\n-Edmond rescues Arthur by redirecting at Jose but then goes to cover the Snitch game.
\r\n-Arthur intercepts Jhon's pass and makes one of his own to Russell
\r\n-Jose shakes the bludger and intercepts Russell's pass and makes one to Mellie
\r\n-Arthur intercepts again when Mellie passes and passes to Russell
\r\n-Mel hits a bludger at Russell then also departs for the Snitch game.
\r\n-David has nothing to do but manages to win Word of the Week anyway: ten points for Aladren! But not for Quidditch
\r\n-Russell takes a hit to the lower leg, but successfully passes to Kitty
\r\n-Kitty takes a shot at the goal
\r\n-Jhonice gets her broom under control for the moment and cheers Sophie
\r\n-It doesn't help. Sophie's distracted and misses the save. Aladren really does get ten points!
\r\n-Sophie passes to Mellie
\r\n-Kitty fails to intercept Mellie's pass and it makes it to Jhonice
\r\n-Arthur does intercept Jhon's pass and he throws to Russell
\r\n-Elijah tries to prevent Russell from passing by hitting a bludger at Arthur who gets hit on the left arm
\r\n-Russell does not pass, but instead attempts another shot at the the goal
\r\n-Elijah redirects the ricochet from Sophie's area back at Kitty
\r\n-Kitty fails to notice and takes it solidly in the ribs, does a couple somersaults, but stays on her broom

\r\n\r\nThe Snitch Game:
\r\n-Jade is pleased to be seeker again
\r\n-Arnold decides to bug her
\r\n-Edmond is content to watch
\r\n-Jade isn't too bothered but tries to create some distance anyway
\r\n-Edmond takes the opportunity to hit a bludger at her
\r\n-Mel barely gets there in time to stop it
\r\n-Arnold thinks he sees something shiny
\r\n-So does Jade
\r\n

\r\n\r\nWill Sophie save Russell's shot at the goal? Which seeker will discover if that flash of gold is really the snitch first? And just which team has the accurate divinators predicting their victory? Is the rain going to change one team's fortunes? Stay tuned to find out who earns glory and who needs remedial lessons with Professor Mathers, coming up next on BBC Sonora!

0 Coach Pierce Recentering in the Rain 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Jade Owen, Seeker

February 23, 2012 3:25 PM

Then to war I go by Jade Owen, Seeker

She had been enjoying her freedom and autonomy while the game had simply been between her and Arnold, but now both Mel and Scary Carey apparently thought it was a good idea to join the Seekers and ruin Jade’s fun. She didn’t really mind that Aladrens’s Captain had decided to hit a Bludger at her – that was, after all, his job, and she really ought not to be Seeker if she was opposed to this notion – but it would be more fun if he’d just kept on antagonising the Chasers, instead. The outcome of his change of heart was such that not only did Jade have a Bludger on her tail, but it didn’t look like Mel was going to fend it off in time. Jade kept flying, fighting down minor arousal of anxiety that she might feel the contact of metal at any moment if she couldn’t successfully out-manoeuvre the ball chasing her, while simultaneously she wouldn’t deny the thrill of having to flee.

Then it seemed like she wouldn’t have to out-run the Bludger after all, as Mel was making good distance. It was going to be close. The Bludger was practically on top of her… but then so was Mel. Jade refrained from shouting out in protest as her teammate used her as a trampoline, instead twisting her broom a little more sharply on the curve she’d already been taking round the pitch, to put Mel and the Bludger back out of her way. The height she’d lost through the force of a Beater jumping off her broomstick was sufficient that she could be in danger of hitting other players if she attempted to cross the pitch at her current altitude, so Jade dove lower, casting glances about her again for the other Bludger, seeing as she was fairly sure the one that had just been after her had been sufficiently well deflected for the time being, but she had no idea where its brother might be. She also had no idea where Arnold was at the current time, either, and while she could be sure he hadn’t caught the Snitch in the past exciting couple of minutes, because the game was still in play, she couldn’t be sure he wasn’t causing trouble nonetheless. On top of all that, it sounded suspiciously like Aladren had managed to score a goal. Typical. Luckily, for her own peace of mind if nothing else, Jade had always assumed the pressure would be entirely on her to win the game for Pecari; apparently the rest of the team couldn’t even keep up the score, let alone contribute towards scoring bonus points that would make their overall total more impressive. It really was just down to her.

With the responsibility of this realisation fresh in her system, Jade locked back into her most competitive mode, and cast her eyes about for her Seeking opponent. She saw him on the other side of the pitch – how had each of them gotten to their respective locations, anyway? It wasn’t that long ago he’d been right behind her, and neither of them had been where they were now. That just went to show how badly the Beaters should have stayed out of the way (though she didn’t doubt that their interfering had made a more exciting spectator sport). She couldn’t even quite bring herself to be thankful for Demelza saving her from being hit by the Bludger, considering she’d kicked Jade’s broom in the process, and her presence near the Seekers had probably been sufficient excuse to draw Edmond away from the rest of the players and cause him to direct a Bludger at the Pecari Seeker in the first place. Regardless, there Jade was and there Arnold was, and he – huh. In the split second that she identified him, Jade saw the blue-clad Seeker drop into a dive. In the split-second that followed, she saw what she presumed was the reason for his change in course: a golden glint below.

Before she’d even had time to process what this meant, Jade was already moving, acting purely on instinct. She was too far away at this stage to determine whether either of them had actually seen the Snitch, but if they had, then the wonderful little ball seemed to be closer to her by distance than it was to Arnold. Of course, the other Seeker had the better broom and more experience, not to mention the extra weight he carried would be useful in making a quick descent. Jade wouldn’t give up based on mere probability and meticulous statistics; she wasn’t in Aladren, after all. She had agility and vivacity on her side, not to mention sheer will power. If that little golden glint right there was the Snitch, then, Merlin help her, she was going to be the one to catch it. She would reach out, grab it, hold it in her fist, and wave it in Aladren’s faces as they fell, relinquishing their title of reigning Quidditch champions with sick reluctance. She would gratefully savour the moment. If, on the other hand, this was some elaborate ruse to distract her from the real Snitch, or to bring her into the path of a Bludger, then Jade’s reaction was simply to bring it on. This was the game, this was the competition; this was the final showdown. If Arnold wanted to play dirty, then Jade would only welcome the challenge. She wasn’t about to give in to some coddled-since-birth Carey, no way no how. These thoughts were barely coherent as she pressed her thighs tight, grit her teeth, lowered her chest to her broomstick and coaxed every last iota of energy out of her body and broomstick, determined to beat Aladren’s Seeker in whichever game they were playing.

0 Jade Owen, Seeker Then to war I go 0 Jade Owen, Seeker 0 5

Kitty McLevy - Chaser

February 23, 2012 5:19 PM

You wis---OUCH! by Kitty McLevy - Chaser

Excitement bubbled like carbon though her veins as she tracked the streak of red though the air. Even though Kitty hadn’t made the shot, waiting to see if it went in was just as nerve wracking. “Come on, come on, come on…MAKE IT!!!” She shouted as she crowded a little closer to the goals. They’d make this goal, then Kitty would intercept before the Quaffle could be passed off to one of the waiting Pecari Chasers, and then she’d take another shot. It would be absolutely brilliant. They’d be up thirty points to Pecari’s zero which would hopefully get into the heads of the other team.

Even with two thirds of our chasing team hurt we’re still the best her thoughts were smug as she waited for things to play out just as she imagined. The sharp crack of a bat on bludger went unnoticed over the sound of her own yelling ringing in her ears.

All thoughts of gloriously making the next assault on the Pecari goals were shattered when the evil ball crashed into her left side with enough force to fling the small girl right off her broom. The world spun with sickening force as Kitty held on to the wildly spinning broom with one hand and the crook of her knee. It felt like she’d been kicked in the ribs by a mean spirited mule and for a moment all Kitty could do was cling to the broom and breath though the startling pain.

This wasn’t the first time she’d ever been hit with a ball playing sports. Soccer balls, base balls, and once, a golf ball had knocked her clean out when she’d run out into the yard at the worst possible moment. Her dad had taken up golf and was epically terrible at it, after knocking Kitty out and having mom threaten to beat him senseless with the clubs he wisely gave up the sport. But, none of those instances came close to the unique force that was a bludger.

Stupid…ouch…evil, mean balls. Kitty grumbled mentally as she managed to drag herself back on to the broom. By the time she’d righted herself, the Quaffle was back into play and the dark scowl she shot at Elijah should have struck him from his broom. With a huff of pained aggravation she poked at the mass of pain that felt like it covered half her ribcage, nothing shifted under her touch so she doubted the bludger hit hard enough to break anything. But, hello kitties did it hurt!

0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser You wis---OUCH! 0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser 0 5

Captain Jose

February 23, 2012 9:10 PM

What a glorious feeling? by Captain Jose

Things had gone poorly for Pecari since the Quaffle's brief sojourn into Aladren territory. He'd followed Arthur (not too closely because he was Jhon's this game) and Russell (not too closely there either because Elijah was targeting him) and Kitty back toward Sophie, but he'd been in no position to do anything but shout encouragements at his Keeper as Kitty made her shot.

He really thought Sophie should have been able to make that save, but she didn't, and as she threw it back out to Mellie, Jose hesitated a moment, wondering if he should say something to her - an encouragement or a captainly snap-to! order - but he couldn't think of anything that didn't sound trite or mean and the Quaffle was now in Jhon's hands and Jose shook his head and decided he was needed elsewhere on the pitch.

He didn't make it more than a few feet before Arthur intercepted again so he decided to just stick around here and add an extra layer of defense since Sophie wasn't at the top of her form, possibly suffering from the start of the same illness that had taken out Demetra.

It proved to be a winning strategy. When Russell took a shot at the right goal, Jose swooped in, snatching the Quaffle out of danger zone. He flew back the other way, toward the Aladren Assistant captain who hadn't had to do anything yet this game. Jose wasn't going to make it anywhere near him this run, but every bit of distance away from Sophie brought them closer to a goal for Pecari.

He didn't make it as far as he might have liked - there was still more distance to the center line than there was back to Sophie, if only by a little - but the Aladren team was battered and he saw a clear shot. He threw the ball to his teammate before Preston decided to make a target out of him.

0 Captain Jose What a glorious feeling? 0 Captain Jose 0 5

Edmond Carey, Beater

February 23, 2012 9:52 PM

It's no problem, we play better in the rain by Edmond Carey, Beater

Miss Eagle arrived in time to keep Miss Owen from being struck by the Bludger Edmond had just hit at her, which was, at least from a purely strategic view, an unfortunate thing indeed. Of more interest to him, though, was the Pecari Beater then hitting the Bludger in a direction that could be reasonably interpreted as ‘toward Arnold.’

Arnold seemed to notice and take steps to get himself out of the way, but Edmond went after the Bludger in question anyway. Control of the Bludgers could, under the right circumstances, be control of the game, and it was never a bad thing to have anyway. At the very least, though, he had to hit it away from his Seeker, which he did as soon as he could, noting at the same time that they had scored a goal.

Sometimes, he wondered what the point of that was. They went back and forth, running plays of various complexity, sustaining injuries, attempting goals, and then doing it all again – and even at the professional level, there was only a chance in a million that it would mean a single thing in the end. Here, there was no chance, and still, they practiced week after week, doing those things week after week, playing that year after year – and then, at the end, they were what he’d be at the end of this day, ex-Quidditch players, they’d thrown away most of their free time for maybe seven whole years, and then, when it was all over, what did they really have to show for it?

Well, he thought, his mood lifting again out of its momentary slump, except for the joint damage. He did have to wonder about how many ex-school Quidditch players did have such problems. Did it go up and down, with the especially bad years, or the times when one or another team had a particularly good Beater? Were there patterns to that, too – spikes in Beater-induced Quidditch injuries across multiple schools? He thought it might be interesting to look into, sometime.

And then the Seekers dove, and it began to rain.

This did put another complexion on things. He couldn’t tell how Arnold was doing, and so decided he had to take things into his own hands. He flew out until he got a Bludger, squinting a little against the drizzle of water trying to obscure his vision, and then took a swing, aiming toward Miss Owen and hoping that it would at least throw her off, distract her for a moment, if it didn’t actually succeed in hitting her.

Perhaps the rain would help him, he thought. Maybe it could mask the sound, or at least keep her from seeing where she was going too clearly even if the Bludger missed her entirely. Unfortunately, those were things which could work just as well for one of the Pecari Beaters if they chose to make another attempt on Arnold, but Edmond to some extent, from nature carefully buried beneath his careful training in being reasonable and rational, believed in Arnold having either skill or luck and the way these would let him manage nevertheless.

0 Edmond Carey, Beater It's no problem, we play better in the rain 0 Edmond Carey, Beater 0 5

Preston S., Beater

February 23, 2012 10:06 PM

I am aliveeeeee by Preston S., Beater

Once again, Aladren had made it to the finals. There was no surprise, really. They had the best team and as such they were bound to be battling for the cup for the third year in a row. The difference was that this time it was Pecari they were facing and not Crotalus. If he was being honest, he was somewhat puzzled about this turn of events, because the Aladren vs. Crotalus final game had become a tradition, at least for him. Maybe Charlie graduating had negative effects on the Crotalus team. Not that the current Captain wasn’t capable, but he remembered how Charlie and Daniel used to compete. Of course, Daniel had won and Aladren had been crowned victorious with him. Those were good times. Though he couldn’t complain about Edmond, he was pretty good as Captain.

One of his many faults was over thinking things and even when the game had started, Preston followed everyone a few minutes late. He berated himself for being so slow, but he had a lot of things to think about. He was going to become a fourth year in a few weeks, and he was afraid that he was wasting his time at Quidditch instead of studying harder for the increasing workload that came from the Intermediate classes. The redhead wanted to enter Wesley Magical College and get in for his own merits, not because his family had attended it for years and years. Preston didn’t want to be like Victor, he needed to do everything in his hands to avoid such a horrible comparison, but it was becoming harder and harder as he grew up. A lot of new variables were sneaking up on him.

Another thing that was Sara had been haunting his thoughts in a way that was becoming somewhat annoying. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and that just scared him. It was something new for him, a new feeling he wasn’t sure how to manage, and spending time with her was making it more difficult for him to concentrate on important things. The most daunting discovery was that he didn’t mind that too much, because he liked being with her.

Once again, he was distracted while the game played in front of him with him just flying aimlessly. Preston pinched himself and went in search of a bludger. He finally found one and the redhead hit it with his club. Unfortunately, he stupidly sent the ball towards nothing. His aim had been completely amiss. He cursed under his breath and decided he needed to do something about this concentration issue, because if they lost he would feel responsible for it.

The last thing he registered before finally focusing on the game was Kitty being hit a bludger and the rain soaking him. It was his job to prevent such things from happening! And he hadn’t performed a water-proof charm on his robes before the game started. The weight of them was annoying him.

He sighed and wished Arnold would get the snitch already, he wanted to get dry. The redhead spotted a bludger not so far from where he was and went in pursue of it. He hit it and watched its trajectory towards a Pecari player. The redhead was now in full Quidditch mode.

0 Preston S., Beater I am aliveeeeee 0 Preston S., Beater 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

February 23, 2012 10:47 PM

What he said by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold was just beginning to think he might get through this one without a single injury of note when he noticed that his opponent was diving, too. At that point, he tensed slightly, expecting a Bludger to come his way at any time. It only made good sense, after all, and was part of the ritual of the Quidditch Final; he and Marissa had always gotten their worst injuries, traditionally, while they were both running for the Snitch and both of their Beaters, his Edmond and her…whoever, usually her Topher, got a little overenthusiastic and started bouncing Bludgers off them like that was the actual game.

He considered whether or not it was better, at this point, to try to interrupt her and let the Snitch go fly around on its own for a little longer, until he had a clear path to it. If he flew right across her line of flight, either they’d crash or she’d change directions, by which time they would have both lost sight of the little golden ball. Then…well, there was always the option of asking her what it was like, being the second pick, since he’d never been there and of course had no idea what it was like. That might actually make her attempt violence against him, though, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. That was the kind of thing that might not stay on the Pitch, or at least he thought it might be. He wasn’t sure; to him, anyway, everything had always stayed on the Pitch. The world here had very little to do with the rest of the world out there.

It bothered him a little, when he thought about it too much. Before he had a chance to do that, though, the rain started, and he found himself smiling, not very cheerfully, remembering his first game. There had been rain then, too, and it had gone well. Plus, he knew it might get uncomfortable if this went on more than a few minutes, but right now, at the very first, the drizzle felt almost refreshing.

He thought he lost sight of the Snitch for a second and felt his heart give a jolt in his chest that didn’t feel very healthy, but then he looked and found it again and flew faster on that little burst of adrenaline. He had this one. He just had to get there, get there quick, get the Snitch and go on and then it would be done for another year and they’d be on to the next, on to all the games of fourth year….

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker What he said 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Amira Thornton (Seeker)

February 24, 2012 8:40 AM

Angry Rain by Amira Thornton (Seeker)

The benched seeker was once again so mad that she could have spit at everyone on both sides plus. She barely slept the night before because of the anger that decided it would host itself inside of her once again at being told that she was not to play in the finals. Her head was fine, she hadn’t had a single headache for the last two weeks. Except for the one that threatened to come from her anger. When she got as angry as she was then all the pressure built up in her head which had been what had given her that headache. It wasn’t even bad as headaches could go. She got dressed in her Pecari robes in her room, knowing it wouldn’t matter. The medic had once again told her he didn’t want her to play in this game either. So even if both their reserves who were to be playing fell, she would still not be going in. Instead she would have to sit on the bench AGAIN, watching the rest of her team play without her, AGAIN.

She slammed the door to her now empty room shut behind her and made her walk to the Pitch for the start of the game. The rest of the team was gathered around Jose and as a part of the team, whether she was playing or not, she knew she needed to be there. She stood on the outskirts of the group and listened to Jose’s last speech as Captain. Sure, part of her didn’t want to see him go, but he hadn’t done anything to push the medic to let her play in the finals, and she was perfectly fine. However, she also knew perfectly well that Mel didn’t want her playing at all. It was for that reason she didn’t want to see him go. He had made the whole team practice a lot more than usual, which was irritating for Amira as she could not play, but she had to be there. It bothered her terribly, but she tried to not show it. Jose told them who would be doing what and at hearing that even Elijah had been given the medical signature to play her already sour demeanor turned even worse.

When he started speaking to Jade, she pursed her lips together as Jose told Jade what she already knew. Her hands pulled into tight fists and the anger boiled up inside of her, threatening to burst from her mouth. She pursed her lips even tighter as he finished with telling them that they could do it. She heard a few Go Pecari!‘s but didn’t partake in it herself.

Instead, she looked up at the cloudy sky above them. She could feel the rain coming in the breeze around her flaming red hair and she only hoped that would allow for Pecari to have a slight advantage, though she knew that was near impossible. Jade hadn’t had much chance to play against the Carey’s or rain and that was definitely a negative towards Pecari. With a glare at the reserve in her spot, Jose went to shake Edmond’s hand and the game began with Jose getting the Quaffle to start the game. She watched what happened, but only because she knew it was her duty to watch. It wasn’t because she wanted to in the least. If it were up to her she wouldn’t even be there. If one of her own got hurt she couldn’t even go in to replace them. It would have been different if she were seeking, then they would at least have a reserve. But that’s not what happened. she thought angrily as she saw Jose pass to Jhon and Elijah smacked a Bludger at Arthur Carey. She smiled at this development. Amira saw the pure pleasure in his face and nodded towards him on the off chance he was glancing toward her. She was glad that Elijah got to play at something. He hadn’t been anything but nice to her at the last game and she hoped for the best for him.

Then Amira, out of the corner of her eye caught the two seekers’ little game and she watched intently at them as Edmond’s Bludger went right towards Jade. Part of her wanted the first year to get hit by the black ball, but she realized that if that happened Pecari would be without a seeker and that wouldn’t be good. Instead, she shouted loud and clear through the growing clouds, “JADE! BLUDGER!” Thankfully Mel saw it coming too and stopped it from hitting Jade. Mir sighed and turned back to the rest of the game and caught into it just as Elijah smacked another Bludger at Arthur. “GO ELIJAH!” she called, glad that he was getting into his role. A rainy drizzle had started, just as she’d suspected would happen and she kept her eyes on the game more than she had to start.

The second youngest Thornton girl there at school watched as the black ball hit Arthur in the arm and as a Bludger flew right at the youngest Aladren Chaser and hit her in the side. “Ouch.” Mir said as she put her own arm on her ribs. She’d had that very thing happen to her before and she knew how badly that hurt. However, her eye contact with the girl’s whirling broom was broken by the two seekers diving downwards. Had they seen it?

She followed their direction and indeed spotted something golden. The second year found her heart falling and rising at the same time. She was split at wanting her team to win for Jose and for her desire that Jade not catch the Snitch again. If Jade caught it, it would be harder than getting rid of Aislynn’s Cancer to get her spot back on the team. Instead of taking sides, now she just watched in wonderment at what was happening in front of her.

0 Amira Thornton (Seeker) Angry Rain 0 Amira Thornton (Seeker) 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 24, 2012 2:21 PM

Time to Rectify That by Elijah Errant {Beater}

It was impossible to keep track of what was going on beyond himself. He knew his blood was pumping and wind was blowing and cold droplets of rain splattered the nape of his neck and the back of his hands and tickled his nose. He wasn’t sure who had gotten hit and if any of those hits were due to him and hadn’t let his attention wander to the scoreboard to see which team was in the lead, too focused on knowing that one hand was wrapped around the broom and the other held his bat and that a bludger was speeding away from him. “Mine... mine... mine...” The smaller Aladren beater came in clear focus, his own bat swinging toward the bludger Elijah had already claimed. He swerved away from him toward the nearest Pecari target, Jose, stretching himself on the Cleansweep, keeping low, trying to cause as little wind resistance as he could. He was convinced Jose could dodge anything hit at him, and if he was hit, Elijah knew Jose could make professional worthy shots at the goals with only one hand, but this bludger was a blessing for Elijah. He wanted to take every chance offered to him to prove his unwavering loyalty to the Pecari Captain... even when he did make questionable decisions concerning his roster.

He was able to position himself directly in the Aladren beater’s line of fire, balanced on his broom, gripping the bat with both fists, knuckles whitening, a slight shiver inspired by the light shower that dampened his robes, sticking a little uncomfortably against the dark hairs on his arms, covering most of his clothed skin. CRACK. He breathed into the swing, exhaling as forcefully as the bat connected against the iron ball, watching as it sped away from Jose and toward a blue robed chaser on Elijah’s right. ‘Oops.’ He needed to work on his aim, having intended to avenge Jose and knock the bludger right back at the Aladren beater who’d sent it. He tipped the handle of his broom into a dive, dropping several feet below the concentrated mass of chasers, not wanting to get in any Pecari’s way. At a chance glance he saw across the pitch where both Jade and the Aladren seeker were chasing after something Elijah couldn’t see. ‘They’ve spotted it!’

A huge tear ripped his form. He hung suspended in the air for a full second, a rush of thoughts and feelings. ‘Jade catches snitch, Pecari wins, Jade seeker forever. Aladren catches snitch, Aladren wins, I might be seeker eventually.’ His mind not yet quite made up, he found himself leaning forward and speeding toward the seekers anyway. ‘Pecari deserves to win, but winning means I don’t really get to win!’ He imagined himself as the one to catch the snitch, feel the restless beating of the silver wings against his fist. ‘But if Aladren wins, then I really don’t win.’ Edmond was close by the seekers, and both Jose and Demelza had warned Elijah to stay away, but he felt drawn to their race for the silver winged golden snitch.

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} Time to Rectify That 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Jade Owen, Seeker

February 24, 2012 2:55 PM

You guys must suck in the dry. by Jade Owen, Seeker

Adrenaline was a fickle creature. Jade wasn’t sure what its actual purpose was – or even what the substance itself was, really; she’d heard people talk about enzymes and the like, but she hadn’t really ever bothered to find out what any of it meant, and such topics weren’t taught at Sonora so it obviously wasn’t that important – but she knew how it felt. The way her heart beat faster, her very insides tingled with the rush, and her cheeks felt flushed. She was dimly aware that it had started to rain, and the cool flecks of water felt refreshing against her heated face as she cut through the air in pursuit of her goal. Adrenaline was the reason she was able to push herself further, make her muscles work harder, allowing her to focus on one task alone. It was also the reason she felt oddly close to vomiting as one of its side effects was to arouse butterflies in her stomach, but she supposed that would be a fair trade off if her body’s natural resources had such an insignificant side effect but still contributed to her winning the game.

She was sure, now, that the golden glint she’d spotted was, in fact, the Snitch. That meant the game would all be over very soon, one way or another. Both she and Arnold were racing towards it; not from the same direction, but it was a race nonetheless. The winner wasn’t just the victor of the race, but of the game, of the championship; practically the winner of the Quidditch Cup itself. Jade so very desperately wanted that glory that she didn’t conceive for a moment of any other outcome. Pretty soon she would be close enough to reach out and grab that walnut-sized ball, to crush its delicate wings in her eager fist and cease its flirtatious fluttering. She would holler and dance in jubilance, and make sure every single student in Aladren House was watching (especially its Seeker, and also her brother, just because James had so little faith in her, and Jade was rarely in a position to beat him at anything). Under no circumstances would it be acceptable for Arnold to be granted that privilege, instead. He already had a great more privileges in life than Jade would ever be afforded, and she was damned if she’d be the person to allow him to gain anything further, be it even something as comparatively immaterial as a win at a school Quidditch game. It wasn’t even as though Jade had anything personal against Arnold, per se. He couldn’t help that he was a Carey any more than she could help that she was an Owen; her resentment of his family was general, not particular. Besides, it was largely irrelevant. Jade would have found cause for complaint whoever her opponent happened to be at that particular moment. She wanted to win, and the opposition was just an obstacle to overcome. Nothing more, nothing less.

So entirely immersed in her mission was Jade, that she was oblivious to everything else within her surroundings. She couldn’t hear the crowd, nor see the other players. There was just her, the Mighty Snitch, and the blue-clad Enemy. Unfortunately, that tunnelling of her senses also excluded from her awareness the crack of wood on metal, the whooshing sound of a solid object speeding through the air towards her, and the sight of a Bludger fast approaching. Once the merciless bullet did enter her field of vision, it was far too late for Jade to do anything to avoid it. She could swerve one way or the other, but there was insufficient time for her to calculate which way would be best, and whether either direction would even be effective in putting her out of harm’s way. In the unlikely event she did manage to completely dodge the ball, her re-routing might put her off course for catching the Snitch, and hence her entire pursuit of it would ultimately be a wasted opportunity. Likewise, she wasn’t sure whether speeding up (not that this was technically a possibility as she was already pushing the school broomstick to its greatest speed) or slowing down would be more productive in her efforts. Inevitably, there simply wasn’t time to properly analyse the options, so Jade settled for bracing herself for impact, not taking her eye of the Snitch for even a moment.

Then the impact came. There was no searing pain, not even an uncomfortable bump, but the air still rushed out of Jade’s lungs as her broomstick flipped itself forward. The Bludger had clipped the nose of her broomstick, off-setting its balance enough to make the entire thing flip forward, taking its rider with it as she clung on, moving the fastest she had genuinely ever moved in her life, let alone while on a pitch. If she’d felt as though her breakfast might leave her before, Jade was now positive that she and the entire spectating student body were about to see her earlier meal in reverse. Being spun around as though she were a billywig did not agree with her in the slightest.

Luckily the ordeal was over with before she’d even realised it had begun, and all the first year had to do was re-orientate herself. She was still on her broomstick, she was still travelling in the right direction, she could still see the Snitch, and all her limbs were still intact. All in all, she couldn’t have asked for a less disastrous Buldger collision. She’d been lucky; that’s all there was to it. Hopefully that luck would stay on her side just long enough for her to claim the win for Pecari. The Snitch was right there. Right there. Jade’s right hand was already loosening its grip on the broom’s handle in anticipation of reaching forwards to make the catch. The taste of victory was already rising in her throat… no, actually, that was bile. She was sure victory would taste much sweeter. She was certain she was about to find out.

0 Jade Owen, Seeker You guys must suck in the dry. 0 Jade Owen, Seeker 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 24, 2012 6:19 PM

What she said. by Elijah Errant {Beater}

Both Seekers were caught in a dive by the time Elijah drew near enough toward them to be of any use or obstacle. He squinted through the rain, his bat raised but largely forgotten, searching for that elusive glint of gold. He dove after them, urging his borrowed broom to succumb to the free fall and go faster, eager to see what the seekers could see, forgetting the task assigned to him. ‘Is that it? Is it that?’ His senses were attuned to only the rainfall - colder and heavier - his wet robes clinging to his body, warm despite the surrounding atmosphere, accelerating heart rate and gold. He was completely blind to the loud crack signaling pain, and the whistle of iron streaking towards Jade.

“Dios!” The exclamation was inspired out of shock rather than concern for Jade’s safety. His dive toward the snitch did not cease while Jade flipped in somersaults, her own path still leading her toward the snitch. His eyes focused on her, still lacking concern, but there was another, not altogether negative, feeling that shone in them. Slipping off a cousin’s broom and crashing into rivers, flying his own broom into a hippogriff, its angry claws slashing his arm, diving for snitches leading to metal poles slamming against his shoulder. Elijah had an appreciation for odd collisions within the air. His attention strayed from Jade toward the bludger that had ricoched off her broom and was now coming back to finish her off. He sped faster, eyes widening with the rush of wind, suddenly pulling back and leveling up, his arm stretching back, flying a few meters above her, attuned to the coy whistle of the bludger.

CRACK. He swung and made the hit, the bat loosening in his grip after impact, water squeezed between his fingers and the wood. The bludger shot off toward Arnold Carey who was as intent in getting the snitch as Jade was. ‘Mine.’ He hoped the bludger knocked him off course. Elijah knew that as much as he wanted to streak past Jade, shoving his shoulder against hers and knocking her out of the way just enough to stretch out his arm and strain his fingers until he grasped the key to his own personal glory, he couldn’t. Still, he saw himself in Jade. ‘Curly hair, check. Pecari robes, check. Interesting flight patterns, check.’ It was enough to make him extend his loyalty to her, and enough to help him pretend it was him the crowd (eager for Aladren’s demise) would soon be cheering for. ‘Catch it, Jade. Catch it!’ He focused on her, excitement growing, tasting a hint of Pecari's victory on his lips. He needed to Jade to make the taste stronger. She was so incredibly close. 'Go on, Jade... GO ON!'

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} What she said. 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Kitty McLevy - Chaser

February 24, 2012 7:49 PM

Steals Eli’s bat and throws it at his head by Kitty McLevy - Chaser

Slightly (ok more than slightly) battered, but not beaten, Kitty growled when she saw that somehow, while she was doing a fine impression of a top, Pecari had once more gained the Quaffle. Darn it! How did that happen? It didn’t matter, only that it had and the situation needed to be rectified as soon as possible. She’d flown only half a broom length when a fat rain drop hit her square in her left eye. The broom swerved slightly as she harshly scrubbed at her eye and muttered about how this game was cursed from the start.

Finally back on track, even though her side hurt and her eye was still watering slightly, Kitty was closing the distance between her and her rival chaser. Every foot they flew away from the Pecari goals was almost a personal insult, how could they be having so many difficulties against a team that should have been easily beaten? Sure, their chasers hadn’t been close to Aladren’s goals, but what they lacked in chasers they surely made up for in Beaters. Who knew that a restive firstie would be so good? She thought grudgingly.

The chase continued and with it the rain. Her robes quickly became soggy seems she hadn’t bothered with drying charms due to the belief that the game would be over long before the rain started. Yeah right, at this rate we’ll be playing this game for the rest of forever. She thought darkly, her side aching fiercely enough to dampen her normally chipper mood. The sharp crack of a bat caused Kitty to shy off track, and the distance between her and the Pecari chaser grew. Before she could tell where the bludger was going another crack sounded and though the rain she saw the evil ball headed once more in her direction.

“Shoot!” She yelped as she broke off her chase and dove down and to the left. A glance behind her showed that the darn thing was still on her tail.

0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser *Steals Eli’s bat and throws it at his head* 0 Kitty McLevy - Chaser 0 5

Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

February 24, 2012 8:12 PM

That's not very nice by Jhonice Trevear, Chaser

They were going to win. They were going to win. The score didn't matter, the weather didn't matter, Pecari was going to win this game. Jhonice was absolutely certain of this. It was Captain Jose's last game, she could not let him down. They were going to win this! If only her broom worked. She had found her way back to Arthur just in time to watch Captain Jose make a glorious save as only he could. They had the ball again, this was going to be their big chance! She swerved away from Arthur again. She had to be as open as she could be just in case Captain Jose needed to pass the ball her way.

She watched as he made it impressively far down the pitch, she swung into a receiving position relative to Jose and kept an eye out for him to make a move. The rain was beginning to make it difficult. It wasn't coming down hard enough to be truly detrimental, but it sure was slowing her down. However, it wasn't slowing down Enterprise. Perhaps the rain was beginning to dissipate the curse that the Carey plot had thrown upon it. She had heard stories of water washing away enchantments and the like. This was excellent news! She grinned and edged on her broom faster.

A sideways glance back at Captain Jose showed him making his move, the ball was heading her way! She reached out to tuck it into her arms once more, take it into Aladren territory and onto victory! That had been the plan. Unfortunately it was no long a run-of-the-mill Quaffle. It was now a wet Quaffle. Key difference. As her grip tightened on the ball it slipped shot out of her hands. Curses! The ball didn't make it to far before she was on top of it again, this time handling it a little more gently.

Now that she had it safely in her arms, Onward to Victory!! She kicked her broom into high gear and streaked across the pitch into Aladren territory. Now she had to put all of her training to work, she had to dodge and weave, do all sorts of confusing maneuvers to make it through to the other side safely. Her broom continued across the pitch in a rather impressive show of straight flight for her. She began looking around for a teammate, her broom was still obviously cursed. Spotting someone, she threw them the ball and cheered them onward!!

2 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser That's not very nice 209 Jhonice Trevear, Chaser 0 5

Edmond Carey, Beater

February 24, 2012 9:04 PM

Now, now, children, untruth and self-delusion are unbecoming by Edmond Carey, Beater

The Bludger succeeded in attacking Miss Owen, sent her spinning – but didn’t turn her off her path, at least not to any significant extent. Edmond, who’d already been flying after it, grimaced in frustration and sped up more, enough that he felt ever so slightly uncomfortable, to catch the Bludger and try again.

The Snitch, it seemed, was in play, and in play in earnest. He did not think she would have kept going so doggedly after taking a hit, even if it was to the broom, if it had merely been a feint, whether by her or against her – if, in other words, she didn’t actually see the Snitch, or at least what she believed to be the Snitch. He supposed there was always the happy chance that someone had left a candy wrapper in their Quidditch robe pocket, it had fallen out while they were flying, and now she was going to go after that and then crash into the ground, but that seemed unlikely enough that he thought he was much safer working under the assumption that she really had seen the Snitch and really was in hot pursuit, along with Arnold.

At least Demelza didn’t seem to be on top of things at the moment. That was, he thought, a distinct advantage. If some bizarre event were to lead to the two of them having a fistfight – he could not imagine the circumstances which would make him decide having a fistfight with anyone was a good, or even plausible, idea, much less having one with a young woman, but the world was strange enough that he could imagine that the circumstances where he and the Pecari Beater would decide to forego both diplomacy and wands did somewhere exist, even if it was somewhere beyond his comprehension – he was fairly sure he would win, but that did not change the fact that she was a formidable Beater, and quite capable of breaking Arnold in half if she chose to do so and something external, such as Edmond interfering or Arnold getting out of the way, didn’t happen to stop her.

The other Pecari Beater wasn’t an issue Edmond had given much consideration to, both because he was a first year and because he had seemed content to stay in the Chaser game. That was, after all, how it worked: two Beaters fought it out over the Seekers while two handled the Chasers. Now, though, the new kid was either switching the places with his more capable leader or else joining this part of the game in defiance of the usual way things went. Edmond frowned, wondered for a moment if he should feel a little thrill of hypocrisy at being annoyed with this breach of the usual when his team did like to disregard the unspoken etiquette of many parts of the game, then decided he did not need to. He did not always approve of his Chasers’ moves, either, so he could be comfortably cross with the boy.

Later, he could, anyway, if he really felt the matter needed more thought than he was giving it right this second. Still moving, he determined that what he needed to do right this second was keep moving, shift his attention away from anything other than tactics, fly over there, and intercept that Bludger and hit it back toward Miss Owen, before she and Arnold got any closer together and it became a bit of a risk to do anything except block less cautious Beaters from trying anything stupid. So he did that, only feeling a twinge of regret as he put a good deal of force behind the hit. Either way, he thought he’d win; either she’d have broken bones or her Beaters would be otherwise occupied for a moment, though the best case scenario was, of course, “both.”

0 Edmond Carey, Beater Now, now, children, untruth and self-delusion are unbecoming 0 Edmond Carey, Beater 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

February 24, 2012 9:09 PM

So they are by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold was starting to feel a little nervous as he assessed the situation in front of him, and while no one was close enough to see this, his eyes were starting to show it. Most of their time was still spent fixed on the Snitch, but every few seconds, he would find himself glancing ever so briefly toward Miss Owen, trying again and again to figure out their positions relative to the Snitch.

Was she closer than him? It sort of looked like she was closer than him from here, but he couldn’t be sure. They were coming in from opposite angles, and – there, the Snitch had jumped a little, so they had to accommodate for that once, if she was at all like him, they stopped almost having a heart attack for the second time that day upon not finding it exactly where it had been a moment before, though in her case it might have been the third heart attack because of that Bludger, that kind of thing did happen…He shook his head slightly and squinted toward the Snitch, trying to focus on that and only that, but the question kept darting through his head, at best just very quietly: Is the Snitch closer to her than it is to me? And if it is, is it closer enough to her than it is to me for it to make a difference?

There were times he had thought that having a very good broom made the game less fun in some ways, but if he won, he thought he would try hard not to have that thought again. It was far more fun to ride a fast broom than a slow one, anyway, as the number of broom-related injuries he’d had over the years, both in Quidditch and out of it, could attest, and he was sure that made up for knowing from the start that he had something of an advantage just because his father had never really thought of broom quality as a sportsmanship issue and his mother had decided to write it off as a necessary sacrifice toward potentially keeping him alive if she ever had. Merlin only knew, after all, what kind of hideous breaks he would have accumulated between the ages of three and fourteen if he couldn’t even have trusted the broom he was riding on to be completely reliable and as safe as could be without breaking some kind of rule.

He was sort of wishing, now, that he had gotten in her way and given it up, this time, for both of them, but he tried to ignore that. It was not a proper thought, and he really did try to think right, anyway, whatever Arthur seemed to think sometimes.

Just a little further, just a little further, just a little further, now, come on, it’s not that far, keep going, get the Snitch, get the Snitch, this is easy, she’s hardly the Head Girl, and besides, Terry will never let me live it down if I lose to her roommate…. He barely even noticed the Beaters in the vicinity; it wasn't, since he was aware one of them was Edmond, really his job at the moment. All he could focus on was getting that Snitch.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker So they are 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Arthur Carey, Aladren

February 24, 2012 9:17 PM

I doubt it was meant to be, Miss Trevear by Arthur Carey, Aladren

If he ever became an evil overlord, Arthur decided, he was going to do something unpleasant to the Errant family. First one of them annoyed him every time they played Crotalus, and now a Pecari one had hit him with a Bludger, hit Katrina with a Bludger, and deflected Preston’s attempt at ruining Mr. Hernandez’s day. At the same time he saved Mr. Hernandez's day, the first year tried to hit Katrina with a Bludger again, too. Arthur decided that he would have to strongly discourage Theresa from any notions of making the boy family, even very distant family through a girl who was not even really a Carey. He did not like Mr. Errant.

Competition was not, Arthur had come to slowly realize over the years, something which he really enjoyed. Arthur liked for his plans to work smoothly, without complications, and certainly without him having to get his hands dirty. Complex was fine, he enjoyed complexity very much, but only when he could watch things unfold as neatly as napkins, without people getting in the way. There was a kind of grim pleasure that came from adapting quickly, but he had not yet learned to prefer it, or even think of it as an adequate substitute for the satisfaction of having things go exactly as planned. That, he thought, was an accomplishment; struggling like this, out in the open for everyone to see, was just sloppy, embarrassing. He liked it even less than he did Mr. Errant, and hoped the number of times he had to do it would grow fewer and fewer as he grew older. Age, his mother always said, brought experience, which brought a greater understanding of things; Arthur could only think this greater understanding would translate into a greater ability to manipulate his surroundings to suit him, because he couldn’t think of another outcome of grasping more of life that made sense.

Mr. Hernandez passed, and Arthur, still feeling slightly irritated about the number of Bludgers directed toward him and his fellow Aladren Chasers in this game, decided to gamble a little with the safety of himself and others and try to intercept it again. He flew forward, reached, and –

Curses, he thought crossly a moment later, pulling back half-instinctively, the less conscious and more sensible parts of his brain deciding at the last moment that it was a little too risky and he was more likely to initiate a multiple-broom pile-up than he was to come out of it all with the Quaffle in his hand, covered in glory. Scowling, he looked to try to figure out what had made him think that and withdraw, and, incidentally, find out at the same time what had ultimately happened to the Quaffle. It had, he was sure, resolved itself now, one way or the other. Probably not in Aladren’s favor, but there was hope.

...Or not. Miss Trevear had it, which explained quite a lot, not least of which was that sudden flash of subconscious concern for his skull he'd experienced during the abortive attempt at an interception. That girl was something of a menace on a broomstick, though he wasn't sure how intentional it was half the time. Mentally grumbling a bit, he went to catch up with her suddenly oddly straight line of flight.

0 Arthur Carey, Aladren I doubt it was meant to be, Miss Trevear 0 Arthur Carey, Aladren 0 5

Elijah Errant {Beater}

February 24, 2012 11:10 PM

So you're going to finally admit you're inferior, then? by Elijah Errant {Beater}

He hadn’t even realized his body had broken into sweat. The rain mixed with the perspiration, dampening his robes, his breathing a little more labored. Everything seemed to be in constant motion, nothing ever really stopped in Quidditch, and there was no time for any individual to pause. Elijah didn’t want it to. Right then at that moment, the game, the pitch, all of Sonora felt just like home. The first time he’d gone to a Griffin fight in Seville with his abuelos, watching the masterful dodges of Joselito, too afraid to blink, his eyes watering up, refusing to miss the precise second when either Joselito’s sword plunged straight into the Griffin’s chest or Joselito would meet his tragic end, his own chest torn open by the savagery of the beast he’d been compelled to face. The first time he’d ridden Sombra on his grand-père’s ranch; clinging fearfully to the onyx feathers, the uncomfortable feel of the large wings beating on either side of him, turning his head to see the surrounding Grand Canyon simultaneously lessen and grow. He loved that fear, it made him comfortable, it reminded him he was Elijah. A boy with his own experiences of which he didn’t have to share with the whole Errantez clan. These experiences were his own. This game (exhilaration and excitement and anxiety and still more fear) was his own.

It was Aladren’s too, and the rest of Pecari’s. They all continued to move. Quaffle passed from hand to hand, heading closer and closer to Aladren’s end. Edmond Carey struck the bludger Elijah had sent back to Jade who was still chasing after the snitch, her arm still stretched out, Pecari’s win still a painful few inches away. Elijah moved with it, urging his broom into a diagonal tilt, his mouth parted, rain splattering his lips, teasing his tongue. He swallowed thickly into the rush of wind and sounds of the encompassing crowd, the confusing blur of colorfully robed players. He raised his bat, a now familiar motion to his arm, and gripped it tight with one hand, the other focused on steering his broom toward the patch of atmosphere that separated Jade from her iron assassin. “Grrrr - ung!” His determined growl to conquer the bludger melted into a grunt, swinging the wooden bat into a slight upper cut, not having realized the full potency of the force behind the bludger’s hit. “Ohhhhhhh....” ‘Ow. Ow. Ow... ow.’ Sucking in the many various sounds of pain (whimpers, moans, groans, hisses, shrieks, shrill yelps) straining to burst through his throat, Elijah bit his lip hard and watched with a little pleasure as the bludger continued on but in an angle that gradually led it slightly away from Jade. If she made a sharp turn to the side it could easily clip her on the shoulder, but if she followed her path straight he thought it looked like for now she’d be spared.

His arm wasn’t fully spared from deflecting Edmond Carey’s shot, throbbing and feeling as if it had splintered into three separate pieces entitled: painful area, more painful area, most painful area. He tossed the bat from his limp left hand to his right, flexing the dark fingers and shaking the new hand a little, unused to the feel of it holding a bat. From Jose and Demelza’s warning tones he’d expected Edmond to be breathing fire, his broom to have been made out of dragon scales, his strong muscles as threatening and massive as a troll’s. He wasn’t, he was as mortal as the rest of them, but strong nevertheless. Much stronger than Elijah, though now he’d faced him semi-directly and survived the ordeal Elijah felt the caution for dealing with the seventh year captain slip away. The soreness traveled from his arm up his shoulder, a new tightness in his neck. He pushed through it, bending low and chasing after another bludger within sight, rising between raindrops, trying to draw Edmond’s attention away from Jade. ‘That’s right - what am I going to do next?’ His need for attention transferred to the Aladren. He wanted the legend to recognize him. Wonder about him. He hadn’t ever heard of a Carey before he’d attended school; European balls hardly ever held more than a handful of Americans, and anyway Elijah didn’t care about straightening the many family names in his head. If it wasn’t Errantez or Errant then it was all just white noise fading into the background. But at Sonora, the name Carey apparently meant something. Errant meant nothing yet but a wild girl in Crotalus. Elijah relished the challenge of rising above that. Of actually working for his name.

CRACK. He twisted in his hit, teeth clamping down once more on his bottom lip, his neck and shoulders cringing in pain, but his bludger heading downward to join Arnold, another attempt at distraction. Getting used to the routine, Elijah didn’t rest, out of breath but sucking in the air that he could, diving after the bludger, after Arnold, after Jade, after the snitch, waiting for that moment when Edmond hit the bludger away from his seeker and toward Pecari’s and repeat the exhilarating dance steps all over again until someone’s hand clamped down on the prize. ‘Now I don’t want it to end.’ He liked the soreness, he grinned through the rush of salt, tasting something bitter on his tongue, something wet and heavier than rain or sweat dabbing his lip though just as salty. He liked how his curls drooped over the headband that was supposed to be keeping them out of his face, the stray strands slipping into his eyes. He liked how his body began to sag from slight temporary exhaustion, the weight of the drenched robes pinning him down. He liked playing protector to Jade, so recently his enemy, and aid to Demelza, his idol. But mostly he liked the one-sided dance around death he was playing within his mind against Edmond. ‘One more hit back.’ Maybe Jade could hold off catching the snitch just for a few moments longer. ‘Maybe I’ll have time to knock at least one Aladren off their broom.’

0 Elijah Errant {Beater} So you're going to finally admit you're inferior, then? 0 Elijah Errant {Beater} 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

February 25, 2012 12:47 AM

I think the idea was that you would by Arnold Carey, Seeker

There it was. There was the Snitch. He had it, he had it, he had i –

Arnold threw his arm out, and then a Bludger slammed into it. He slipped, nearly falling off his broom, and began to spin crazily through the air as he struggled to stay on, a situation which had only one redeeming feature, which was that it took him away from the Bludger he’d just never seen coming until it was too late to do anything about it. For a moment, everything was upside down; he thought that was pretty unpleasant, until he tried out the view from sideways. How, in all the times he had ended up in strange positions trying to stay on a broom after a Bludger hit during Quidditch, had he either never observed this point of view or not remembered it after the fact? It was disorienting, he went through it twice in quick succession, and it made him feel a little sick.

Of course, the pain in his arm had something to do with that, too. There were many bones in Arnold’s body which had never been broken – there were, in fact, more bones in his body which had never been broken than there were in Arthur’s, since his toy broomstick hadn’t malfunctioned when they were very small – but enough had been broken, cracked, and otherwise mistreated for him to know immediately when one was, and the Bludger, though it hadn’t been the worst hit he’d ever taken, had hit his arm at just the wrong angle, he guessed. He was going to have to go to the medic once this was over and he caught the…the Snitch….

Oh, Merlin, where was the Snitch? What had happened to the Snitch? He needed to figure that out, he needed to figure that out now, they had both been close, had the other Bludger gotten her, or Arthur forgotten that tackling other players off their brooms wasn’t precisely a legal move, or….

This was not good. Nor was it helping him feel less sick. He ran his good hand across his eyes and scanned the area frantically, trying to figure out what was going on and what he ought to do about it and how to ignore his arm more thoroughly so it didn’t get in the way of the first two things he was trying to do. If Miss Owen hadn’t been the victim of an unfortunate accident, or a random Snitch trick of Fate….

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker I think the idea was that you would 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Jade Owen, Seeker

February 26, 2012 5:41 AM

Dear Aladren: here is your Reality Check by Jade Owen, Seeker

The final few seconds of the game seemed to stretch on forever. The flip had actually sent her closer to the Snitch, for which Jade was thankful to the Aladren Beater who’d helped her out, but it seemed as though Arnold was still going to get there first. Jade had raised her hand ready to make the catch, but Arnold’s arm was already out-stretched. For a moment, Jade felt something akin to panic. This couldn’t be happening. She hadn’t practised every week since the beginning of the term, worked harder for this than she’d ever worked in her life for anything, just to be beaten at the last instance.

All her hopes, her day dreams of glory, no way were they going to go up in smoke. She would catch that Snitch, even if reality was against her. The hand she’d already lifted continued to raise as Jade progressed on her course. She reached out, leaning forward to spur herself onwards, in danger of over-balancing and flipping her broomstick for a second time. She saw her fingers out-stretched, and just ahead of them, she saw Arnold’s limb in a mimicking motion. She tried to ignore it; that Snitch was hers.

Then, as if sheer force of will had made it occur, Arnold’s hand wasn’t there anymore. There was just Jade, and the Snitch, and she didn’t even have to think about what to do next; it was instinct already. Her fingers touched the metal, curling round it and pulling the little ball into her hand. Her breath caught in her throat and made her choke a little as she reassured herself that it was happening: she had caught the Snitch. Pecari had won the game. She had won the game!

Letting loose a harsh cry that could possibly be interpreted as a howl, Jade thrust her closed fist upwards to demonstrate her victory. She had fully intended to fly a victory lap, soaring above the players and crowds, showing off her prize-winning catch for the world to see. However she could barely hold onto the ball as well as her broom – she was still shaking from the effort of exertion, the surprise of being flung forwards, and the side effects of the adrenaline - and decided that the ground would be the safer option at that juncture.

Not daring to let go of the Snitch – her own personal trophy – Jade landed her broomstick on unsteady legs that gave way the moment they were no longer supported. So she sat on the ground, the Snitch raised above her head as high as her remaining stores of energy would allow, and fought the urge to vomit. She could totally throw up later. Her game plan of boasting loudly already had to be delayed until her head stopped spinning; puking in front of the whole school would really ruin the experience completely.

0 Jade Owen, Seeker Dear Aladren: here is your Reality Check 0 Jade Owen, Seeker 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

February 26, 2012 3:05 PM

Pecari wins! 150-10! (nm) by Coach Amelia Pierce

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Pecari wins! 150-10! (nm) 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Arnold Carey, mostly

February 26, 2012 7:04 PM

You can cash yours in next year by Arnold Carey, mostly

Arnold was sure some things happened between the moment when he realized what had happened and the moment when he landed on the Pitch, but he couldn’t have told anyone what they were. It was only when Edmond abruptly appeared right in front of him that he even began to feel his arm again, at least to know he was feeling it.

Of course, then Edmond spoke and shocked him so much he almost forgot it again. “That was my fault,” the captain said calmly, adjusting his grip on his wand slightly. Where had that come from? Arnold guessed he must have brought it out to the game with him for some reason; that was something some people did, though usually not Arnold. He got hit by Bludgers often enough that if he had his wand with him, he would be forced to bet on it getting broken at some point. Maybe not the first game he played while carrying it, maybe not the second, but eventually. “Let me see your arm.”

“It’s broken,” Arnold said, wincing as, he was quite sure, thinking about it made it begin to hurt worse. “Cracked, anyway. What do you mean, that was your fault?”

“I should have intercepted that Bludger. I didn’t make it there in time. Are you sure that’s broken?”

“Yeah,” Arnold said.

“And the medic will already have his hands full with Arthur and Miss Kitty,” Edmond said, and Arnold, realizing dimly that this was intended as a kindness to keep him from having to see everyone right this moment, gave up. He went white when the bone made a slightly sickening-sounding noise, but then tested his arm and found it largely repaired, at least by the feel of it. It did not seem to have been any different from any other time he'd needed that spell performed on him. “It’s a third year spell, and my sister’s a Healer,” Edmond explained, a little dryly. Arnold guessed he had looked surprised. “I left you with quite the bruise so Medic Bailey doesn’t feel left out, and so he has an excuse to check it over, but I think that much is taken care of now.”

“Thanks,” Arnold said, then winced when he saw Arthur coming over. His brother’s face was set in the hard, nearly blank look that he liked least, the one which told those who knew him, and told them very clearly, that Arthur was in one of his moods. There was a good chance, he thought, that this was not going to be pretty.

Upon arriving, though, his brother was very calm about it all. "Well," Arthur said. "That's it, then.”

Arnold closed his eyes, feeling tired. "We'll make it up next year," he said. "I had to miss one, right? Nobody's perfect except you." He was a little surprised to hear what he had just said. That had come out far more harshly than he'd meant it to; he didn't even know where the last two words had come from. He hadn't planned to say them. "Sorry. I'm not really looking forward to going to congratulate Miss Owen."

"So don't," Arthur said, looking a bit as though he wondered if Arnold was insane. Arnold, for some reason even he couldn't have told, began to laugh, and Arthur began to look cross. "I don't see why you're doing that, either," he added. "This is the last thing you needed."

“Don’t worry about it,” Arnold said, deciding not to even touch that last remark right now. Arthur meant some Arthur thing by it, and more than that, some annoyed Arthur thing by it, neither of which he routinely expected to be very comprehensible. He'd get over it and admit they'd lost this one fair and square by nightfall, surely. “Thanks, though.”

Arthur shook his head. “Mother bought you off the black market,” he said. Then, “You’re going to destroy her next year.” It was not phrased as a suggestion.

Arnold looked at his brother like he was crazy for even needing to say it. “Of course,” he replied before setting off to see if it looked reasonably safe to lose gracefully just now.

0 Arnold Carey, mostly You can cash yours in next year 181 Arnold Carey, mostly 0 5

<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

Quidditch Final: Aladren vs Pecari by <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

A good start to a final game by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

<font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>

We will triumph! by <font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>

<font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

Wild Boars Eat Hawks for Breakfast. by <font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

<font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

Eat my dust, Carey by <font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

I'm afraid I feel obliged to disagree with you all by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

Because Pecari is going to lose by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

Apples and bananas sound tastier by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

So they are. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

I respect that you guys are Aladrens, but you are wrong by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>

Not only merely wrong, but really most sincerely wrong. by <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

I am amused by your optimism by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

Good for you, too by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

<font color="brown">Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater</font>

Dropping by by <font color="brown">Assit.Cap'n Mel, Beater</font>

<font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

Less satisfying from my perspective by <font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">David Wilkes, Keeper</font>

Hey, me, too! (WotW) by <font color="blue">David Wilkes, Keeper</font>

<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

Wish you'd been the only one, Dave, but we'll still win. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

Always and Always by <font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

Well, you can never make everyone happy by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

<font color=brown>Jhonice Trevear - Chaser</font>

Dream on Aladren, your reign of terror is at an end! by <font color=brown>Jhonice Trevear - Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>

...Maybe not so much. by <font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Keeper]</font>

<font color="brown">Mel Eagle, Beater</font>

Touche by <font color="brown">Mel Eagle, Beater</font>

<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>

Aladren Scores! 10-0 (nm) by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>

<font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>

Let's go, Pecari! by <font color="brown">Mellie Goodwin, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

We can do it, Aladren! by <font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

<font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>

No, We can do it Pecari! by <font color =brown>Jhonice Trevear, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

I think Quidditch is more a mini-war than a fencing match by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

Aladren shall be victorious. That is all. by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

<font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

My crystal ball says differently. by <font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Aladren</font>

It's broken, then. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Aladren</font>

<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

Why, so it is by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

Pretty crystal shards by <font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

<font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

At the end of the match, you'll know I'm right. by <font color = brown>Elijah Errant {Beater}</font>

<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>

Recentering in the Rain by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>

<font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

Then to war I go by <font color="brown">Jade Owen, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

You wis---OUCH! by <font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Captain Jose</font>

What a glorious feeling? by <font color=brown>Captain Jose</font>

<font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

It's no problem, we play better in the rain by <font color="blue">Edmond Carey, Beater</font>

<font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>

I am aliveeeeee by <font color="blue">Preston S., Beater</font>

<font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

What he said by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

Steals Eli’s bat and throws it at his head by <font color="blue"> Kitty McLevy - Chaser</font>