<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
October 06, 2012 3:26 PM
Game One: Aladren vs Teppenpaw by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
Having gone over her notes of past seasons, Amelia Pierce noticed that Aladren had not played against Teppenpaw at all in the last three years and decided this should be rectified. Plus, it amused her that both teams had a Pierce & Stratford Beater line-up and felt the two sets of relatives should get to play against each other. There were also Thorntons on both teams, though the Aladren one was still a reserve since Aladren had not felt the need to make any change to their previous year's starting line-up.As they were returning Champions once again and had not suffered any graduations or drop-outs, Amelia could not fault Captain Wilkes for this decision. Though they hadn't graduated anyone either, Teppenpaw's team had seen a small change to their roster with the new influx of first years. Mr. Davies was back on the bench as Teppenpaw's emergency Keeper (the position, as Amelia understood it, that he preferred) and his unwanted Chaser position had been claimed by newcomer Carter Browning. Otherwise, Teppenpaw's starting team remained unchanged as well.
However, since they had not played each other last year, or the year before, or the year before that, both teams would be relatively new to each other at least, if not to the spectators watching.
"Welcome," she announced, once the time for the match to begin had arrived. The stands were filled with those who wanted to watch, and the two teams were gathered on the ground in the middle of the Pitch with her. The two captains had finished with the speeches, so the new Quidditch Season was ready to begin.
The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and a few fluffy white clouds provided intermittent relief from the sun's blinding glare. Right this moment, though, Amelia was squinting a little and shielding her eyes from it with a hand as she looked up first toward the stands and then toward the teams. "Today, we start the new season with Aladren, led by Captain Wilkes, facing off against Teppenpaw, led by Captain Melcher. Will the two captains shake hands?" She waited for the two to complete the request before continuing. "The game begins on my whistle. It ends when a Seeker catches the Snitch."
She released the Snitch, and the bludgers, and lifted up the Quaffle. "Ready? One. Two. Three." She threw the ball into the air and blew into her whistle.
The game had begun.
Subthreads: This is it. by <font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font> with <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>, <font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>, <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>, <font color=yellow>Carter, Chaser</font>, <font color="yellow"> Laurie. Beater </font>
Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font> with <font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>, <font color="blue"> Preston. Beater </font>, <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>
From the bench... Again... by <font color=yellow>Brielle Thornton,Reserve</font>
Recentering (nm) by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font> with
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<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
Game One: Aladren vs Teppenpaw
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<font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>
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<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>
October 09, 2012 9:04 PM
the very next day by <font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>
Carter saw the ball sail past the Keeper’s fingers and into the goal. “Yes!! Our first goal!!” he thought excitedly, hopping slightly on his broomstick. It had felt pretty good to make another run after losing the quaffle twice and getting it back. He was fairly certain this probably made some of the Aladren players mad, but they were playing a game and he and the other Teppenpaws came to win. He watched the Keeper collect the ball and hurl it back into the game only to see Arista snatch it up this time. Then she did something that confused him for a moment. She started to fly right at him! He started to move out of the way when another movement caught his eye. He glanced to see one of the Aladren Chasers heading right for him as well. He heard her yell “MOVE!” just before she went flying right between them. She veered off towards Aladren’s goal post again. Carter moved as she instructed and just barely managed to miss colliding with both of them. He was about to sigh with relief when he caught sight of the bludger that had been following the Aladren. It was heading almost straight for him!Carter tried moving out of the way, but wasn’t quite fast enough. The bludger bounced off the side of his broomstick, clipping his thigh before it took off in another direction. Carter winced visibly as pain coursed through his leg and his felt it go slightly dead weight on him. He grit his teeth and tried blocking the pain as he watched Arista circle around the Aladren goal like a hungry vulture. He fought to ignore the array of stars that were forming before his eyes. Fairly certain that his leg may not be broken, he took off towards the goal himself to see if she might need some assistance. He doubted it, but he wanted a closer look at what she was doing with her broom. She appeared to be having fun buzzing around the keeper’s head like a bee. He almost laughed himself when the keeper tried to taunt her. “Thornton, are you here to play ball or just look stupid?” he shouted, trying very hard not to imagine what his mother would do to him if she heard this. “Your House really doesn’t need any help with that on the Pitch, you know. Or are you too chicken to take a shot? I’d be ashamed to be outclassed by a firstie, but that’s just me…”
Carter was close enough to hear the taunts and almost laughed. It didn’t appear to him as though she were trying to be stupid and getting outclassed by a firstie…he didn’t see that from her either. She certainly didn’t strike him as chicken either. He was sure she would take the shot when she was darn good and ready. Either that or pass it to the nearest teammate which he intended to be. He especially liked her comebacks at his taunts. He heard the sounds of whizzing wind and metal and knew exactly what that meant, bludger. He saw it coming out of the corner of his eye and moved to dodge it, making sure that he didn’t move to far from his designated spot. He watched her dodge out of the way of the bludger as well and then fly up over to him. She was making it appear as though she were making sure he was alright when in actuality she had handed him the quaffle, keeping her arms cradled as though she still held it and turned back towards the keeper. The keeper, it appeared, had the bludger they had dodged heading straight for him. Carter flew off in the other direction, covering the quaffle as best as he could as he made his way towards the goal as well, watching to see if the bludger struck him or not. He whizzed over to the spot Arista had told him to go and he threw his arm back as if he were going to score again.
Instead of throwing the quaffle towards the goal, he lobbed it to Arista.\r\n\r\n
\r\nOOC EDIT BY COACH: The last lines of this post have been removed for God-Modding. Carter cannot say that Arista caught the pass and took a shot. Arista has to do that.
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<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>
the very next day
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<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>
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<font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>
October 09, 2012 10:29 PM
This is just getting annoying by <font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>
Thad looked on in something like horror as his bludger was dodged, swung passed her, then came back around at David. He had no idea what kind of bad luck had struck Aladren that it ignored normal physics and came back up that way instead of toward someone less critical to defending the goals. Freak chance that David was somehow the closest to the rogue return. Thad must really need more practice in attacking large groups of people to account for contingency hits, though he'd really thought it would have gone for Carter, or maybe Arthur next. He'd been hitting it sideways, not toward the goals, just to avoid that sort of situation.But it was going at David, and Thad let out a word of fewer than five letters but more than three that he was sure his mother would not have approved of and dove in to handle the problem before it could actually hit his Captain.
There was very little choice in what to do next. David might have said to go for whoever was holding the quaffle at the time, but this time he thought he could be forgiven for not aiming at the slippery player who hadn't been hit by a bludger in years despite the school's best beaters trying and instead aiming for the little kid who was proving almost as annoying.
Thad actually felt no compunction against this. Abstractly, he'd thought he'd might have a problem aiming a bludger point blank at someone littler than him, but he really didn't. It was actually a little worrisome in a vague sort of way. But he double checked and there was no remorse for tapping the bludger away from David, and swinging as hard as he could to hit the metal ball at an eleven year old who was maybe eleven feet away.
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<font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>
This is just getting annoying
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<font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
October 09, 2012 10:39 PM
You're getting annoying... by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
“You don’t scare me!” she’d said to David as she started singing that irritating song that her younger sisters liked so much. Not the ones at school with her, the younger ones. Of course it was irritating because it was one of those songs that kept repeating itself over and over again like that Lambchop’s Play Along song did, and because it was all she heard once there was their first cat issue in the house.“The cat came back…” she kept singing as David spoke back again.
“Sheer dumb luck. You’ve got the tactical mind of a concussed flobberworm if you’re recommending plays like that.”
She ignored him, knowing in her own mind that would piss him off more than her responding to it. Besides, she wasn’t going to let him run her down. She was there for a reason and he wasn’t going to stop her. Teppenpaw was meant to win this game, this year even, but especially this game. And the Aladren Keeper/Captain wasn’t going to stop them.
David laughed. “Seek therapy, I seriously doubt you’re bright enough to become an Animagus.”
I should seek therapy? I’m not bright enough? Oh I’ll show him… she thought as she flew away from him and towards Carter as she heard David yell again, calling her a Chicken. You wanna see chicken? I’ll show you chicken! she thought as she flew angrily away from him, but still more focused on the task at hand. Now she had even more of a desire to kick some Aladren bum and she wouldn’t let anything stop her from obtaining this.
Arista angrily dodged a bludger on the way back towards Carter (she’d seen him dodge it first) and veered a little off course in the process, but made it work to her advantage. Now she was above the hoops, in prime spot for Carter to lob the ball to her as planned. (Of course, his being hurt wasn’t planned, but she’d see to it that he was okay once they got the shot into the hoops- hopefully).
She flew, arms cradled like she still held the red ball in her hand as she flew, dodging another bludger as she made her way back towards David. She inwardly growled at him having told her what he’d told her just a few minutes before, but didn’t actually make a sound. Just a look that (if he’d been watching) would tell him that he’d better watch out. Now she was mad, and when she was mad she was more focused on the task at hand, which was winning.
Carter had given her back the ball and now they had flipped the feigning of the ball to him and she made it to the other side of the hoops from him. Both made like they were going to throw the ball at once. She knew only one of them had it, she had it, but David couldn’t watch both of them. The question was, who would he be watching?
Arista and Carter both took aim at the hoops and Arista released the ball with one of her hardball throws. It was fast and hard, and right at the left hoop. The sixth year didn’t hang on in that spot too long though, as she heard the telltale sign of another Bludger. Let them try. They won’t make us lose. she thought as the black ball flew passed her once again.
Rista turned back around again to see if her hardball throw had made it into the hoop, and did a loop de loop as she waited to find out, allthewhile watching for Carter and Marcus. She hoped they were as ready as she was to kick some Aladren bum!
Thad got to the Bludger at about the same time and hit it towards Carter. "CARTER!" she called, noticing that the black ball was heading towards one of her two protégé’s just as the red one was hopefully going into the hoop since David was occupied.
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
You're getting annoying...
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
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Carter, Chaser
October 09, 2012 10:58 PM
Re: You're getting annoying... by Carter, Chaser
Carter took aim with his arm like Arista towards David and the goals. He was pretty sure David might figure out which of them had the quaffle in hand, but he was hoping they could momentarily confuse him. Once Carter saw the ball actually leave Arista's hand towards the hoop he moved slightly to fly around so he could get a better look at their handiwork. About this same time he heard someone shouting his name. He turned to see one of the Aladren beaters whack the bludger away from their keeper and saw it heading directly at him! Carter hesitated what felt like a second too long and had the bludger hit the front of his broomstick. The vibration from the hit shook through the wood and Carter heard what he thought might be a CRACK! The only problem was he didn't know if it came from the wood of the broom or from one of his own bones.Since he didn't exactly feel any pain he was willing to bet that the sound probably came from the wood. He quickly inspected the broom tip and upon seeing no damage (as far as he could tell) he dropped a few feet to keep from getting whacked again should the heavy little ball decide to swing back around. He tried shaking off the shock of such a strike but found that his ears were partially still ringing. He shook his head again, tyring to get his focus back. "Wow, those things suck!" he said aloud to no one in particular. He heard another metallic whizzing and turned to see the same bludger making its way back around. "Ahh crude," he thought as he whizzed out of its flight path and headed toward realitivly safe ground. He just hoped that the next play that took place went far better than this one seemed to. He had no idea at this point if his and Arista's play had actually worked or who had the quaffle. He was still trying at the moment to clear the cobwebs out of his little head.
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Carter, Chaser
Re: You're getting annoying...
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Carter, Chaser
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
October 09, 2012 11:47 PM
Small sacrifices for a hopeful win. by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
The two Chasers for Teppenpaw were both at Aladren's goal hoops, both were 'shooting' at it, though only one of them had the Quaffle. She had it this time, so when both of them made to shoot, only she had the ball to release. She released it with her baseball hardball throw her father had shown her when she was younger, before all these girls made him want a son so bad that he stopped caring about his daughters. This hardball was the only memory she had of him and she didn’t really use it unless she really wanted something. There was something she wanted this time, that was for sure. She wanted Teppenpaw to win!Arista hoped that the pair of them aiming at him would confuse the Captain, but she wasn’t sure if that would work out in their favour or not. Either way, they were about to find out. Arista heard the Bludger’s tell-tale signal and saw it heading right for Carter. She’d called his name as loud as she could to be sure he saw it too, and he hesitated. Damnit! I should have told him to move! she said as she flew fast as her broom could carry her to try to use her broom handle as a deflector to him. She was bigger than he was, and more apt to be able to get out of a Bludger hit without as much injury as an eleven year old.
Before she could get to him, the Bludger hit the front of his broomstick. Her eyes widened terribly fast and she watched the ball go for him again after he dropped down. Decided on a spur of the moment thing, that it would be better for HER to be hit than him, she told herself that she would take it for him, she’d take it for any of the Teppenpaws if it meant their winning. Arista got between the Bludger and Carter and knowing it was coming, and fast, closed her eyes and held her breath for impact.
“RISTA! WHAT ARE YOU DO-” Brielle screamed from the bench, but Arista was more stolid in her resolve.
The hit came just as she expected it to, she just wasn’t sure where it would hit her at. The black ball hit her thigh right next to her left knee head on and she not only winced, but an actual tear fell from her eyes before she caught it with her robe. I said I’d sacrifice for my team, and I have. There will be no tears. she said to herself, taking a deep breath in and out. She held her broom with one hand as she grasped at her leg with the other, flying away from the Bludger as fast as she could muster. All the while, she thought, Ouch… No. This doesn’t hurt. This is the sacrifice to win… But Merlin’s Beard…
She flew to avoid another bludger hit, biting her lip as she flew. She’d not been hit very much before then and granted it wasn‘t very hard, but it was genuinely not an okay feeling nonetheless.
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Small sacrifices for a hopeful win.
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
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Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
October 10, 2012 4:36 AM
Watching. by Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
Kirstenna held her breath as she waited to see the outcome of Carter's second attempt and cheered as it went in. She had honestly not expected it to, not because the first year was bad-he quite clearly wasn't-but because not only was David older and bigger and more experienced-though, for all she knew, Carter could have been playing since he was in diapers-but because, well, he should have been ready for it. Her teammate did keep getting the Quaffle, Marcus and Arista hadn't gotten in at all, Kirstenna would have thought David's focus would have been on him.The opposing Keeper threw off, presumably to one of his own Chasers but that wasn't what happened. Instead Arista got the Quaffle and the Teppenpaw Captain grinned. She had a lot of confidence in the sixth year though she had no idea what the redhead was doing. Probably trying to confuse David. That seemed to be the tactic that her Chasers were determined to use today. It seemed to be working, and Kirstenna wondered if that something that they'd decided on as a strategy.
She supposed it was as good as any. If the other team didn't understand what Teppenpaw was doing, they would be completely perplexed. Being that it was Aladren, they thought a lot, so they'd be all distracted trying to figure it out rather than playing. Brilliant! Unfortunately, Kirstenna didn't know if it was any match for the Imperius Curse.
The seventh year didn't hear the exchange between David and Arista and it was probably a good thing. She didn't care too much for trading insults that way. It got too personal, rather than being a friendly game. Kirstenna wanted to win badly, but that was in part because she didn't want people saying bad things about her or her skills as a captain. She would have been especially upset if she'd heard David's comment about Teppenpaw looking stupid. Kirstenna was so tired of everyone running them down, not just on the Quidditch pitch but in general. She never heard any other House be insulted repeatedly the same way, not even Pecari and their win had been a fluke.
It seemed that all anyone ever cared about was winning. Not the team, even though they wanted to do so, but the rest of the school. That seemed to be the only thing anyone ever respected in general. Being better than someone else at something and competing. Furthermore, some people had to have everything while others had nothing and it wasn't just the purebloods. It made Kirstenna sick to her stomach.
Sometimes, she hated this game and what it did to people. How it made them behave. She didn't even like how it made her behave. She'd wanted Arthur to be injured and quite frankly, still did. Along with David, Russell, Kitty, Thaddeus, Preston, and Arnold. And the Aladren reserves. Even if they played through the pain, they'd be at a disadvantage.
This was all the Imposter's fault. She was in control of this game. She was responsible for the ugliness and brutality of the other teams, which in turn was bringing out the worst in Teppenpaw. This behavior on both sides disgusted Kirstenna worse than any bludger related injury could have. The Keeper hated that woman more than she'd ever hated anyone in her life, even PETA who protested the circus all the time.
She glared at the Imposter once more, and looked up in time to see Carter avoid a bludger and Arista get in between it and the first year, wincing as the bludger hit her teammate. Kirstenna hoped her teammate would be all right.
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Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
Watching.
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Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
October 10, 2012 7:31 PM
Some help please Marcus... by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Time seemed to be going awfully slowly for the sixth year in the time she threw the Quaffle (hard-ball style) at the hoops, hoping she got another goal for the team and the point where the Bludger sacrifice had happened. Arista still didn’t know if their confusion had worked in the way of getting a second goal of the game for Teppenpaw, but she hoped, through the not quite blinding pain (but it was kinda close near her knee) that it had worked. A twenty point lead would be helpful to be higher in points to help Kate clinch the win even better. Teppenpaw didn’t often get to have many chances for goals, but this game it was all going to change.They had all pretty much kept to the Aladren side this game, which made her happy. The least amount of work for their Captain and Keeper, the better. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Kirstenna, she did. It wasn’t that she didn’t respect Kirstenna, because she did that too. It was entirely the fact that she knew if the Teppenpaw Chasers kept to the Aladren side, they had a better chance of winning the game and finally making it to Championships. THAT was the reason entirely.
The desire for her team to win became even greater when David started in with her. Nobody’s going to tell ME I can’t do something in any way, shape or form. There’s NOBODY in this world that’s going to call me or my team stupid just because we’re friendly people. We’ll show them. They’ll see… The fact that one of Aladren’s blasted Bludgers was aimed at Carter not once, but TWICE, didn’t help that either. The sixth year felt an older-sisterly feeling for the boy and she refused for him to be hurt once, much less twice, on her watch. This was why she had intervened and made the sacrifice herself.
Sure, it was stupid on her part. It probably sent all of her sisters and her cousin into a tale-spin, but she’d done it anyway. She wasn’t afraid of taking risks. Where’s the fun in winning without the journey, after all? What’s the win without the pain?
Speaking of pain… she thought as she moaned a little. Her leg was starting to throb, the worst of it was right by her knee. What if I broke something in there? was her first thought, before she glanced at the new broom Uncle Bryan had given her for her birthday in absolute terror. Oh my god… What if it’s broken?! she thought, eyes widening as she heard another Bludger fly by her head. She ducked to avoid it, thankfully, but the movement hurt pretty badly…
Flying slightly more gently, but still fast, she glanced to see if she could find Carter or Marcus and did a little loop and turned to see if they’d made the shot after all…
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Some help please Marcus...
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
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<font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>
October 10, 2012 7:57 PM
Kind of hard for him to do until I have a chance to Keep. by <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>
Thad did sweep in to get the rouge Bludger, and David breathed a sigh of relief even as he looked for the Quaffle, willing to dismiss the whole thing as a freak accident now that he wasn’t in immediate jeopardy. It helped that he didn’t see how the damned Teppenpaws could all avoid getting hit this time. At least one of them had to take some damage; there was a limit to how much even the universe could hate the bad guys, if in fact that was what the Aladren team really was. At the moment, he was starting to feel like they were the underdogs here. His players were good, yes, but not freakishly so, better than the professionals, if the limited reading he’d done on the subject with its lists of injuries was anything to go by, and none of them was the Superman.Arista and the first year were doing a lot of passing the Quaffle back and forth, but since they were staying relatively stationary and dodging the Bludger had led to him going high in the air where he could look down, and since there was nothing wrong with his color perception and they were in good light, he could see that it was Arista holding a red ball in the end and not Carter, and he moved accordingly to block her shot, rather than falling for the diversion. The ball was thrown with enough force that he didn’t quite catch it, and it bounced off his chest, but he caught it from that quickly enough that he thought the slip hadn’t been too noticeable, and he threw it back to one of his own Chasers with nearly as much force, an effort born from frustration. This whole encounter was getting too surreal for his tastes, and he wanted it to be over. It was high time that Kirstenna shared some of the love – more of it than she could stand, if it were all up to him, of course, but some of it, anyway.
Go away, he willed the Chasers. Get that cursed ball and get away from here, and let’s get on with it. This is not the way to play a game. He didn’t even feel that he was being hypocritical; in the usual games, it wasn’t that common that Aladren just essentially picked on the other team. Usually, there was a good old fashioned attempt at a bloodbath somewhere near midfield. He guessed it was only fair that the Keeper had to earn his keep sometimes, but this was too much. If this didn’t ease up, he was going to get nervous, he knew, and he did not think that him throwing a hissy fit in midair would benefit anyone in this game in any conceivable way. It was bad enough trying to keep up with the drama currently going on under his nose as he passed back even though it seemed to be going more his way than things before.
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<font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>
Kind of hard for him to do until I have a chance to Keep.
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<font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>
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<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
October 10, 2012 8:12 PM
Harder now. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
“Yes!” Russell cheered as his captain moved in the right direction and, within seconds, both the annoying Teppenpaw Chasers got hit by Bludgers somehow. “Yes, yes, yes! Go Thad, go Dave, hahahahahaha!”Dear God, a small remaining portion of Russell’s civilized mind chimed in. Now you’ve lost it. You’re cracked. The Quidditch-crazy is not going to be curable this time.
The rest was too busy pointing out They’re hit! Including her! She broke a streak like that for a first year who’s hit anyway! This is awesome!
The civilized part was worried. In daily life, where it dominated, Russell was not a particularly bloodthirsty fifteen-year-old wizard. In fact, he would go out of his way to avoid conflict in general, much less the bloody kind, and if he couldn’t avoid conflict, he’d try to talk or otherwise maneuver his way out before he’d even reach for his wand, never mind sock someone with his fist or the nearest heavy object. Philosophically speaking, he was opposed to violence except in extreme circumstances; used injudiciously, force would eventually lead to humanity ending as a few bloody scraps on the ground….or, given the feats some wizards were capable of in the histories, what was left of it. Quidditch was not nearly extreme enough of a circumstance for his civilized mind to condone pleasure at seeing a girl and a first year getting pummeled; it didn’t bother him, because the game was the game and it was all make-believe, in a way, anyway, but nor did think he was supposed to take pleasure in it.
The rest of him was too busy catching the Quaffle as David lobbed it back into play, with more force than Russell thought he’d ever seen the Keeper use before. It hit his hands with an audible smack and stung them a little. However, Russell could hardly fault him for that, and he barely noticed, anyway, occupied as he was in turning his broom around and flying, as fast as his now four-year-old broom would go, away from the Aladren goals.
They had to break out of this box this time, he knew. One more round like that, with the captain and the Teppenpaw Chasers trying to annoy each other and the Bludgers everywhere in close quarters and every move they made getting countered, and…he didn’t know. Would the team’s spirit break? Would one of them really lose it completely and commit a foul? He didn’t know, which was why he was determined for them to break out this time, to get away and keep the ball more than one move and, above all, get to Melcher.
He flew, but made himself look for opportunities to pass. He was a little desperate, but not desperate enough to try to run down the whole Pitch, or even a whole half of it. He wanted to be alive to enjoy their eventual goal, after all, and did not trust his own luck that far. He wasn’t even convinced that he was the best of the Aladren Chasers, but getting hit by a Bludger he could avoid could hardly help his skills or the team. After all, they needed all their Chasers on deck to get things going well. When he saw what looked like a good opening, when he couldn’t see yellow in his immediate vision and was close to another Aladren and the wind wasn’t against him, he took his chance and hoped against hope that it would work, that they would be able to finally get back over the center line and back to where they had been before.
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<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
Harder now.
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<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
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5
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
October 10, 2012 8:50 PM
And now harder still by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Arthur successfully blocked Mr. Browning, and even threw the Bludger off, but Thornton – he had revoked her right to a ‘Miss’ at some point, he noticed dimly; he found it interesting, but not half so interesting as the thought of knocking her off her broom – got around somehow and proceeded to become most annoying. His jaw clenched, listening to her sing some ridiculous song. Unfortunately, the Beaters did not seem to be in any position to do anything about it, and Mr. Wilkes was bantering with her.Arthur had heard his brother say that annoying the opponent could, under the right circumstances, be an effective strategy, but as far as he knew, Arnold had never been annoyed in return. And no one had to listen to any conversations going on between the Seekers, except maybe a Beater or so who ought to have more important things on his mind, whereas the entire Chasing squad had to listen to this exchange: Mr. Wilkes insulting, Thornton singing, and no one actually playing any Quidditch, which was their alleged purpose for being here today.
Arthur, at last, could take it no more. His back hurt, his eyes were beginning to hurt, his blood pressure was rising, and this was a waste of time for everyone involved, from him to the coach to random first years in the stands. This was unacceptable. “WILL YOU GET ON WITH IT?” he bellowed. They could flirt later, on their own likely ill-used time; some people had other, more important, things to do with their time. Arthur was one of these people.
Finally, they did, in fact, get on with it, but not in a logical fashion, and in one that, in the confusion of the moment, Arthur thought nearly got Mr. Wilkes killed but which he could forgive because of how things started to go up almost immediately after the unnatural lack of activity was broken all at once. Mr. Wilkes blocked the Quaffle, Thornton was injured, and Russell had the Quaffle back and was – Arthur felt almost overwhelmingly moved by the sight of someone doing something which not only benefited his team, but just plain made sense, moved until he almost thought his eyes stung with emotion – moving toward the Teppenpaw goals. Arthur followed him gladly, hoping to leave the past few minutes behind and never think too much about them again.
When the ball was passed, he was there, and he pulled it from the air before it even reached his position, leaning further off his broom than he usually did. He wanted this, wanted it badly; just then, if a Teppenpaw had gotten in his way, he would have plowed over them without a second thought, or tried to, but that didn’t happen and he was able to move away with the Quaffle in his hands, his heart pounding with a combination of relief and exultation. They were in it again.
He didn’t want to let go of the Quaffle now that he had it, but after a minute, he calmed down enough to know that he would have to. He took a deep breath, then, and at the best chance he saw, he lined up with one of his fellow blue-clad Chasers and he got ready to pass. Taking another deep breath, he narrowed his eyes, raised his hands, and made a short, strong, straightforward pass, willing it to complete.
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
And now harder still
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
0
5
Carter, Chaser
October 10, 2012 10:56 PM
Make it as hard as you like by Carter, Chaser
Carter watched in slightly disappointment as the Aladren’s keeper caught Arista’s toss towards the goal if just barely. “Drat!! he cursed to himself as he watched the quaffle go back into play. One of their chasers had the ball and was flying his way towards Teppenpaws goal. He had no doubt that either Marcus or Kirstenna would stop them before they could score, but still it had felt pretty good keeping them on their toes on their own end of the field. Keeping his eye out for any of players in blue he took off after the quaffle. The tell-tale sound of whizzing metal came from Carter’s left and not wanting to be caught unawares he took a quick glance to his left. The flash of metal heading in his direction made him pull upwards on the broomstick to avoid getting whacked again. That last whack still had his ears slightly ringing and his butt still tingly. After making sure that he had missed getting hit by the bludger, he took off again in search of the quaffle. He found it a little later in the hands of one of the Aladren Chasers. He took off on the tail end of that Chaser, but cursed slightly under his breath when the boy passed it to another teammate. He looked around and thought he may have spotted Marcus nearby. He tried signaling to Marcus to hopefully have him box the player in from either side.He had no idea if Marcus saw him, but if he was still intent on them trying to get the quaffle back for Teppenpaw. He flew as fast as he could to catch up with the Aladren and decided that instead of tailing him he would try flying above him. He aimed the broom higher into the air about ten feet above where the Aladren flew. He heard the whizzing of another bludger and barely moved just as it was about to bounce off his back end. He rolled his rolled his eyes in relief as he thought to himself how removing a bludger lodged in his rear was not the way he wanted to spend the rest of the game. Granted, it would definitely have given Medic Bailey something interesting to do with his time. He wondered if it had happened if he would have been the first student in Sonora history to undergo a bludger-from-your-bum removal. He mentally laughed off the thought and waited for the boy to try and pass the quaffle before he dropped down almost on top of him. He was pretty sure the boy had an idea he was being followed, but Carter hoped that he wouldn’t figure it out until Carter was well on his way back towards the goals with the quaffle in hand. He saw the quaffle leaving the boys hand towards another player in blue and he swooped around to try and steal it before it reached the other blue player. He felt the quaffle hit the tips of his fingers and he reached out harder. He felt the red ball full in one hand and as quickly as he could clutched it to his chest. He flew around away from Tepps goal and flew as fast as he could for Aladren’s side of the field. He swerved to avoid the bludger he could hear coming towards him, but didn’t avoid the one he couldn’t hear coming. The one he missed clipped him from the right side, but it was enough of a hit that he lost his grip on the ball sending it falling through the air. He other thigh throbbed from the spot where the bludger made partial contact and he grit his teeth against the pain as he headed down towards the ball. He had no idea if he would get to it before it was caught or hit the ground. The fact that his thigh was still throbbing as he flew after it didn’t help his concentration any.
0
Carter, Chaser
Make it as hard as you like
0
Carter, Chaser
0
5
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
October 10, 2012 11:07 PM
Oh, we will. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
Arthur completed the pass, and Russell grinned, feeling elated, almost lightheaded, between the success and the sudden turn in luck and, no doubt, at least a little just from the speed they were moving at away from David. Every blurry inch they covered made him feel a little better, a little more confident that they were back on track, that they were back on form, and that every inch the Teppenpaws took for the rest of this game was going to be hard-won and then a poor substitute for the mile Aladren would seize in retaliation.Unless, of course, Arnold caught the Snitch before they got there, but Russell, right now, didn’t want to think about that. Winning would be good no matter how it happened, but at the moment, after the embarrassment of being held up by the Teppenpaws that way for so long, Russell didn’t just want their win to be good. He wanted it to be great. For that to happen, they had to do what had just been done to them, only double, and with more dramatic plays and injuries to the other side. If they wanted a game of legend, he thought Aladren could pull one off today and still have plenty left to throw at Crotalus in the final a few months down the road. It was no problem.
Soon – as was proper, because his team knew how to play Quidditch, instead of messing around and counting on sheer dumb luck to get them through – Arthur was ready to pass again, but this time it didn’t go so well. Somehow, one of the Teppenpaws had recovered enough to get in the way. Russell’s charitable side thought the guy should have been an Aladren, determination like that; the rest of him was busy silently cursing and willing the Beaters to take him out. Which one of them was soon obliging enough to do, he thought, since the guy dropped the Quaffle. Laughing, Russell dove after it, caught it before the Teppenpaws could get there, and shot back off in the direction he had been going, regaining his altitude as he went.
Oh, yes, this game was back on. He was feeling almost giddy as he crossed the center circle, only just registering the blur of white marked off below, but feeling a thrill when he did. They were back in Teppenpaw territory; the Prairie Dogs were the ones on the defensive now. Let them see how it felt, see how well they liked it. He lined up with another Aladren Chaser again, took aim, and feigned an overhanded pass before switching to underhanded.
Maybe in as little as three plays – more, if they were being cautious, since they no longer had to be desperate, but that was beside the point – they would be threatening the Teppenpaw goals. And then, Russell thought with grim glee, fun was something the Aladren Chasers and Beaters were going to have. And they were going to have a lot of it.
16
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
Oh, we will.
183
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
October 10, 2012 11:50 PM
And gladly, you needn't worry about that by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Arthur scowled when one of the Teppenpaws intercepted his past, his hand tightening painfully on the broomstick as he turned to begin the chase back down the Pitch. At least, he thought, they were sure to have a chance to intercept this time; Mr. Browning, in his condition, ought to have learned the strategic value of not being too greedy when it came to the Quaffle. The moment he passed, that ball was theirs again.Before he could, though, the Quaffle left his grip by other legal means, and they got it back anyway. Arthur smiled thinly to himself as Russell – who seemed, from the look on his face, combined with the past few minutes, seemed to be getting a little carried away, but Arthur supposed there were worse things that could happen on the Pitch so long as he had enough of his mind to avoid a Bludger to the face of his own – retrieved it ahead of the Teppenpaw Chasers and got them moving back toward Miss Melcher. Arthur turned again, more cheerfully this time, and followed along, guarding his teammate against Teppenpaws trying to rise up right beside him.
Let us get there, he urged the universe. Just let us get there. They could have a messy back and forth in the middle of the Pitch, of course, but he would really rather not. He wasn’t his brother, to enjoy the blood and broken bones and tilting at a target that kept moving; he liked it best when things were going well and kept going well and were wrapped up without major problems. He was still prepared to let this game have those qualities in spite of his throbbing bruise and the mess at the Aladren goals, provided that neither of those things was repeated. They just had to keep going a little…bit…further….
Russell’s hands were moving – and then moving again, suddenly. Arthur smiled approvingly again as the ball came toward him and he pulled it in and wrapped it up to his chest protectively, even leaning forward a little to give it extra insurance against falling. That this was a slightly more comfortable position for him after the Bludger hit was merely a happy coincidence. He flew a short distance very quickly and then, with as little hesitation as he thought he could get away with, passed again, turning his arms to the side quickly and without much concern for the way it turned his shoulder. It was not comfortable, but if it helped conceal that he was passing, and which way, for even an extra second, that would do.
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
And gladly, you needn't worry about that
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
0
5
Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
October 11, 2012 12:12 AM
You're the ones who need to worry by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Arista watched David through her pained eyes as she bit her bottom lip to try to relieve some of the pain in her leg and knee. Yes, it hurt, but it didn’t hurt enough for her to stop playing. She was going to help Teppenpaw win, it wasn’t that bad… Was it? she thought to herself as she took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.We’ll win and this won’t matter… Medic Bailey will fix my leg and Carter’s and we’ll be fine… Once we win… she thought as she bit down on her lip harder. But not before… The pain thudded deeper and deeper inside of her as the seconds and minutes ticked on by.
David realized who had the Quaffle and followed the red ball as she hard-ball threw it towards the hoop and followed her throw, catching it, seemingly just barely. Damnit! she thought to herself as she flew as fast as she could towards the Quaffle as David threw it. Russell beat her to it and, cursing under her breath, she followed just behind him. Seeing Carter doing the same thing, she knew Teppenpaw still had a chance, Nothing’s going to stop us… Nothing… she thought as Russell started to pass the ball. She pushed to try to intervene, but Arthur got the ball first.
A low growl escaped her mouth as she flew on. Not only was she hurting, but she was mad. This was just not okay and the sixth year knew it. Teppenpaw finally had a chance to win and not even Aladren will stop them. She ignored each of the Aladrens around her and focused on the one task at hand. The red Quaffle in the sea of blue robes.
Ow… she groaned inwardly again as the throbbing worsened even still.
Arthur made to pass, it was the perfect time and Carter was right in there to get it. It was too close to Teppenpaw Territory for her liking and she wouldn’t let it happen if she could help it. She wanted to shout praises towards him, but the older Chaser was using all of her energy to not scream in pain right then. She hoped that she hadn’t broken anything (including her new broom) in her sacrifice, cause that would really suck…
Carter took off with the Quaffle and he pulled upwards avoiding another Bludger. She heard the sound too and also flew upward to be right behind him so he could pass if he needed/wanted to. He was trying to signal to Marcus, but Arista wasn’t sure he’d seen Carter at all. She stuck to him and the Quaffle like strings of spaghetti right out of the pot on a Friday night. Carter flew higher than the Aladrens and she did the same, almost as if she was his shadow.
Carter moved out of the way and she wondered what she was his issue, before she heard it herself. The tell-tale sign of the mean black ball. She did another loop de loop and cringed as her leg moved awkwardly. She willed Kate to find the Snitch, and FAST…
Arthur passed the ball and Carter swooped down to intercept. He pulled it in closer to his chest and she smiled as broadly as she could muster, flying right next to him, signaling to Marcus to go to Carter’s other side to keep him safe at least from another interception right away anyway. He flew away from Kirstenna’s hoops back towards David’s again. Carter swerved and she swerved with him, hearing the dreadful sound and cringing again at the movement.
However, it didn’t look like Marcus had seen her signal and Carter’s other side was left open and a Bludger clipped his side, losing his grip on the ball, it dropped down and too fast for Arista to grab for it. “You okay?” she called to him as she chased after it, still listening for his answer as they both dove for it.
Russell however, beat them to the Quaffle and sped off back towards Kirstenna’s hoops. Oh no you don’t… she thought as Russell crossed the center circle again. He feigned a pass overhand, and at the last second he switched it up. She reached in to grab it, but grasped back onto her broom handle to catch herself from falling off her broom entirely as she reached. The problem was, at the moment, using her left leg to hold onto the broom was not helpful…
Arthur grabbed the ball out of the air and wrapped it protectively into his chest. He flew a short way away from where he’d gotten the ball in the first place and passed it again. He hid it, but she knew he was passing. She looped above him and reached in to grab the ball with both of her hands off her broom handle. It was very uncomfortable, but she’d deal with that small problem later on. Once she had the ball safely in her hand and into the Aladren goal hoops. Having stolen the ball back, she flipped around to go back to Aladren’s side. She glanced on each side of her to find out where Carter and Marcus were at. Some Teppenpaw Teamwork would be wonderful right about then… Seriously wonderful…
She caught both boys eyes and she signaled to him that she was going to fake pass to him, but really pass to the other. They knew what was about to happen and so did she. Teppenpaw was going to win. Period.
She feigned the pass to one of her fellow Chasers and in a matter of milliseconds she’d passed to the other in what she hoped was a clear-cut pass right into his hands.
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
You're the ones who need to worry
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
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5
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
October 11, 2012 12:34 AM
I seriously doubt that. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
After the interminable period of time they’d all spent milling around the goals, wondering if this was seriously happening or was one of those weird pre-game dreams about unlikely situations that everyone had every now and then, it felt to Russell like the game had suddenly started happening very rapidly. Everyone was moving, the Quaffle was changing hands…His head was starting to clear slightly now that both frustration and the sudden deliverance from frustration were fading from his immediate awareness, but he still felt more energetic than usual, and more focused on winning at any…well, at least at more costs than he would usually think made any sense whatsoever.The part of him usually focused on being reasonable, on not getting caught up in things, seemed to have resigned itself to the inevitable and sat back to enjoy the ride; he’d figured they would get there eventually, if it was any kind of Quidditch game. It almost always happened. He would play for a bit in his usual frame of mind, and then, ever so gradually, the game, or the team dynamic, or something else basic and a little violent would seize hold of him and he would go Quidditch crazy for the duration of the game, and maybe even a little after it, if it was an especially rough day. He did enjoy it, but in a way he felt guilty about later, and so tried not to think about very much when he wasn’t in the middle of it.
Now, though, he was, and it felt pretty good. The goals he had were simple: score goals, assist other Aladrens in scoring goals, do anything possible to annoy the Teppenpaws as badly as they annoyed him. It was a lot less complicated than his motives and plans off the Pitch, that was for sure. Even his feelings were simpler and moved faster, as happened when the major fly in his day’s ointment stole the Quaffle back from Arthur’s pass somehow. He went from pleased to vengeful in about three seconds.
They were not making it back to David with that ball. No way. He flew after her, signaling one of the others to take the other side. If she passed successfully, he wanted her to have to work for it, and covering the opposing Chaser on both sides was a move they’d used before, and one Russell thought was pretty good; it made it harder for the Teppenpaw Beaters to take a direct shot at them, since they were in fairly close proximity to the Teppenpaw Chasers, and at least made it more of an effort for the Teppenpaw Chasers to pass the ball between themselves even if it didn’t work exactly as planned.
When she passed, he was on the side she only feinted to, and lunged forward to capture a Quaffle that wasn’t there. Undeterred, he occupied himself with trying to block the Teppenpaw formation, to give them fewer passing options, as he looked to see where the ball had ended up, and if the move to secure it no matter what she did had worked. There were no guarantees, but if things had worked out for her, he could just leave, then go in to mess their formation up again, or flat-out steal the ball again if he got the chance, once they got moving. He just wished they’d try a Hawkshead formation in such a way that Thad could Beat the front end off of it, hopefully taking at least one of their two more assertive and already damaged players out of the game for good.
16
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
I seriously doubt that.
183
<font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>
0
5
Carter, Chaser
October 11, 2012 12:49 AM
I don't by Carter, Chaser
Carter cursed as the ball fell out of his hands and fell through the air. He took off after it, but one of the blue robes beat him to it. Crap! he shouted in his head as he watched the blue robe racing back towards his goals. Please be able to stop them Kirstenna if we can’t he silently prayed as he took off after him. Both of his legs were still throbbing having been clipped by the bludgers, but Carter flew through the pain. He would worry about it after his team won. Right now he had bigger fish to fry. He watched as the blue robe completed a pass to one of his teammates and frowned that he wasn’t keeping up fast enough. He stopped frowning when he saw Arista steal the ball back from the blue guys. He heard her question and managed to nod at her question. Yeah was okay, but he was very sure the both of his legs would be pretty bruised come the morning. He watched Arista fly off with the ball and took off after her. He hoped that Marcus wasn’t far behind. She signaled to both of them that she was going to try something and Carter got her message (or at least he thought he did). He nodded towards her and looked towards Marcus. He couldn’t tell if the other boy had gotten the message too, but he had to hope.He flew off in the opposite direction from them so that he was on the left side of her. That way if Marcus had seen her signal he could take her right side. He watched her carefully trying to spot the moment when she would toss the ball towards one of them. He saw the moment the ball left her hands and realized it was heading in his direction. He swooped through the air, snatched it up and after wincing slightly from the pain in his legs, he looped back in the direction of Aladren’s goal. He held the ball as close to him as he could and flew with everything in him. He knew that Arista was probably somewhere behind him and he smiled inwardly at that thought. He turned his thoughts back to serious thoughts when he realized that he was probably surrounded by blue robes. Carter didn’t care. His only thoughts now were either passing the ball if he could or going for the goal and the keeper if he was close enough. The whizzing of metal told him that another bludger was somewhere close by. He got the strangest feeling from his left as he glanced to see it coming at him fast. The first year pulled up onto the broom and narrowly missed being hit by the darn thing. He almost sighed in relief as it raced past him, but held onto it when he realized it was coming back at him. He zigged out of the way and almost lost his grip on the ball again when another one whizzed past the front of his broom. He dropped down a few feet and looped back in the direction of the Aladren hoops. He looked around for either an opening to score or one of his teammates to pass to. He saw a yellow robe flying nearby and lobbed in with all his might in their direction. He only hoped that they caught it before the blue guys did.
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Carter, Chaser
I don't
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Carter, Chaser
0
5
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
October 11, 2012 1:06 AM
Then you have been sadly misled by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Teppenpaw intercepted and Arthur swore, but had forgotten what he said a second later as he turned to rejoin the game as it began to move back in its previous, highly unsatisfactory direction. Thornton was as much of an irritant as Errant used to be during the Crotalus games, and he wondered for a moment if he ought not do some soul-searching, try to figure out what he might have done that had displeased the heavens to the extent that they always saw fit to put a person on the opposing team who had the ability to frustrate him so, and start these unpleasant skirmishes over the Quaffle in the middle of the field. It felt…oddly contrived, to him.Then he decided that was taking Quidditch far too seriously. If he was going to be punished for anything he had done or not done or planned or not planned to do, particularly in the past few months, then he thought it would be something worse than something which was severely irritating only one day a year, and he understood enough about life and the world to know that in the large scale of things, this game was smaller than an atom, and infinitely less significant than the least atom of the broomsticks they played it on. This meant absolutely nothing. It was merely a diversion, pleasant for some, from noticing that they were the size of ants, something to distract them from worrying if children were about to step on them without even noticing. Nothing higher than them was ever going to notice Quidditch, at least played under its current rules, of that he was sure.
Seeing what Russell was getting at, Arthur nodded, glad to see that his teammate had not gotten so swept away in the great momentary drama of it all that he lost his ability to think, and he took the other side of the offending Chaser. She feinted in Russell’s direction, and a second later, a blink, she was tossing the ball in Arthur’s direction. He did not have time to think, only to react, and he still did not do so fast enough - he blamed the Bludger he'd taken; he did not deal as well with pain as he might have liked - since Mr. Browning ended up with the Quaffle again, prompting Arthur to swear again. That was...one of the least-desirable things that could happen, since Arthur didn't know if he'd learned to pass yet.
Luck, however, did seem to have decided to withdraw her favor from Teppenpaw and give at least a portion of it to Aladren, because the Bludgers now seemed very fond of Mr. Browning, nearly making him drop the ball again and finally forcing him to pass it. Arthur had been hanging back to avoid the strangely-twisting Bludger, but hurried; this time, he did a little better, but still only got out with the Quaffle balanced on his fingertips. The important part, though, was that he got it out and was back on his way toward Miss Melcher in an instant.
Able to see her pretty distinctly, now, he wondered what on earth had possessed her to get involved in Quidditch. He knew that she was not really a Melcher, per se, the way Mr. Melcher a few years ago had been, her father was supposed to be a terrible scandal, but he would have thought that such a person would want to be especially careful not to anger the family whose name she carried in those circumstances. Goodness knew that if he were anything other than a traditional Carey, he thought he would want to keep his head low. She was out here, though, and he hoped to get close enough, if he were feeling utterly ridiculous, to shout the question at her soon as he raised his hands and again passed the Quaffle, now sure that their triumph over the Teppenpaw Chasers, regardless of its effects on the bigger game, was close at hand. Soon, one way or another, they would reach Miss Melcher, and then they would make up those ten points, and possibly collect a little interest to make up for that debacle around the goals earlier. The fact that the move had not worked wasn’t enough; Aladren had looked poorly, not being able to prevent the interceptions or at least knock Thornton out of the air, so they had to make everyone forget that event.
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
Then you have been sadly misled
0
<font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>
0
5
Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
October 11, 2012 1:38 AM
Not so sure about that... by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Carter had obviously seen her signal, she only hoped Marcus saw it too. So when she feigned to Marcus and Russell flew in that direction she laughed a little outwardly, but was giggling like a child in love on the inside. That was AWESOME! she thought to herself as she watched the ball go in the opposite direction, right into Carter’s waiting hands.He snatched it up and she saw him wince just before he looped back around. I know the feeling kiddo… she thought to herself as she shadowed his loop back around to the Aladren side. He did as she’d showed him in keeping the ball as close to him as he could and she knew that he was flying with everything he had inside himself. Arista was right behind him, though she lagged behind just a little bit for only a second because she heard the whizzing of the Bludger. She flew up higher to avoid it, but then went right for his side again.
“I’m here…” she said, as she flew right beside him. Merlin’s Beard! This hurts… she thought as he zigzagged out of the way of another Bludger. She shadowed him, knowing it would come at her too if she didn’t. Arista and Carter dropped down to avoid another rotten black ball. AGAIN… They looped back, hopefully with Marcus following closely behind them, back towards Aladren’s goal hoops again. She saw Carter get ready to pass and she readied herself as best as she could as the ball flew out his hands and into the air.
Carter avoided another Bludger and dropped the ball again. Arista’s face fell as she dropped lower to try to catch it, but before she could grab at it, it landed safely (if not precariously) in Arthur’s fingertips. DAMNIT! she cursed to herself again.
We WILL get this ball back and Kate WILL get the Snitch… She has to! she thought as she bit her lip harder than before. Her leg was really hurting badly now, and she risked a glance down at her leg and broom. Her robes moved just slightly in the breeze and she saw the shiny new wood of the handle splintered a bit. That explains why my leg hurts even more… I need a time out to swap to my old broom that Bri has… she thought as she tried to signal to Kirstenna that she needed to swap out brooms.
I can’t fly on this one until I can get it fixed… she thought as tears threatened to force their way down her cheeks. Uncle Bryan got this for me… First time playing a game in it and I’ve already broken it… she thought as her leg hit the splintered part of the handle once more. Ow…
0
Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
Not so sure about that...
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Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser
0
5
Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
October 11, 2012 4:00 AM
I'm not either. by Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
Arista and Carter were trying to shoot at the goals at the same time and Kirstenna was confused. They couldn't both have the Quaffle, there was only one of those. She squinted, it looked like it was the sixth year. Which good as Carter seemed to be, was what the Keeper would prefer, because Arista had experience and it was more fair to put her up against David then Carter. Of course, it would be best if David was the first year but that just wasn't the case.Unfortunately, he caught it. Kirstenna swore. She was past just groaning at this point. For all the polish most of the Aladren had as important purebloods, they sure played like vicious animals. They were no better than they probably thought she was. Even David and Russell who were no more important than her in that respect were just like the rest of them. Of course, the other Keeper had only just barely caught it, and this was after letting a first year score on him. Maybe he wasn't any better at the job than Nic Sawyer was.
Of course, that was what happened when people were Imperiused. It wasn't necessarily completely Aladren's fault, it was the Imposter's. Everything was. Kirstenna would not be surprised if that woman was responsible for things like war, famine, and genocide. The Captain knew she was responsible for the illnesses of both former Headmistress Powell and Autumn Collins.
Someday, the Aladren team would go crazy from being under this curse. They'd all end up in a mental hospital, and be unable to play Quidditch and it was hard to feel bad about that at the moment. Unfortunately though, it would not be before Kirstenna graduated.
David threw the ball and unfortunately Russell caught it. He passed it off to Arthur who attempted to pass it back and Carter intercepted it. Good. Kirstenna was pretty impressed with that kid and glad she had put him on the team, though she wondered what Marcus was doing at the moment. It had been between Carter and Arista the whole time and the seventh year wasn't sure whether they had worked out something between them or not. She hated to admit it, because it was mean towards the second year, but the other two were better players.
Maybe they were trying to keep the Quaffle away from him. Which seemed unfair but was probably the best thing for the team. He was adorable and had a fantastic attitude but wasn't that good. A certain level of loyalty had put him back on the team. It was also what kept Kirstenna from swapping him and Kate. She felt bad for thinking it but her Assistant Captain was not the best Seeker. Of course, Jade Owen had gotten lucky, Arnold Carey was under Imperius, Marissa Stephenson had been more experienced and Cepheus Princeton...had gotten lucky too. It was not all Kate's fault and Kirstenna would have surely stuck up for her if anyone said anything.
A Bludger went towards Carter but he avoided it. Arista seemed to be sticking to him like glue. He passed the ball again, and Russell got it throwing it off to Arthur,who passed and Carter got it back. Unfortunately, when he attempted to pass it, Russell got it again, and sent it back to Arthur. Kitty didn't seem to be in this any more than Marcus did. Which Kirstenna supposed evened them out, but she didn't want to be evened out, she wanted Teppenpaw to have an advantage.
Arthur threw the Quaffle again. They were getting closer to her and she readied herself just in case. Carter intercepted again. This was starting to get really repetitive and a little dull. Kirstenna would much prefer the craziness that had been at the other end. Especially if it stayed at the other end. She winced as Carter was hit again. She hoped he would be able to stay in the game. They really needed him, she was tired of losing and feeling bad.
Russell got the ball again and then Arthur. Arthur threw it again and this time, Arista intercepted. At least that was different. She made like she was going to pass to Marcus-finally, the kid was getting some attention-but sent it to Carter instead. Russell lunged to intercept it before the second year could get it and Kirstenna laughed a little. If only he had fallen.Carter threw the Quaffle and Arthur barely intercepted.
She noticed Arista's signal, and looked around, wondering why. Kirstenna noticed something seemed to be wrong with the younger Teppenpaw's broom and nearly screamed. "Time out!" Arista needed a different broom, or this one fixed and it looked like Carter might too.
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Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
I'm not either.
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Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper
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