Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind on Quidditch Pitch

Coach Pierce

October 06, 2012 3:26 PM

Game One: Aladren vs Teppenpaw by Coach Pierce

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 Captain Kirstenna,Keeper with Arthur Carey, Chaser, Carter Browning, Chaser, Captain Wilkes, Keeper, Russell Layne, Chaser, Carter, Chaser, Laurie. Beater

Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind by Arnold Carey, Seeker with Derry Four, Beater, Preston. Beater , Kate Bauer, Seeker

From the bench... Again... by Brielle Thornton,Reserve

Recentering (nm) by Coach Pierce with

0 Coach Pierce Game One: Aladren vs Teppenpaw 0 Coach Pierce 1 5

Captain Kirstenna,Keeper

October 06, 2012 7:38 PM

This is it. by Captain Kirstenna,Keeper

This was it, this was Kirstenna's last chance to prove that she wasn't a complete failure as a Captain. Well, she supposed that if they won, the championship would be her last chance to prove herself, but if they didn't win this one, they wouldn't be playing again. She wouldn't be playing again.

It was a sad thought. Kirstenna had really come to enjoy Quidditch, despite the Imposter and the fact that they hadn't won. Personally, she didn't even really think that she was a bad captain. She ran perfectly acceptable practices without being too hard on anyone and least her team wasn't psychotic. It wasn't Kirstenna's fault or theirs that the Aladrens were Imperiused. Though she was pretty sure that Arnold Carey really did have some natural talent as a Seeker. But being under the Imperius curse probably helped.

And she'd really come to have real affection for her team. Aside from Sam, they were the closest thing the Teppenpaw had to friends now. Ever since Brian had been kidnapped and Sophia had fallen prey to Renee Errant's dark powers and Quentin graduated, Kirstenna had been alone and it really got to her at times. Stupid Imposter. She knew that there were some people that she just wasn't going to connect with but the ones she had were gone. Well, Sophia wasn't, but she might as well be.

It made her sad. It really did. Losing a friend hurt more than anything, more than losing Quidditch games or the way her father's family-other than Quentin-rejected her and her parents. The Teppenpaw had always wanted a best friend and now she didn't have one. She missed Brian a lot too and couldn't help but feel his kidnapping was her fault. If she hadn't told him her theories, he wouldn't have tried to stand up to the Imposter and been captured. He'd still be here.

Sometimes Kirstenna would think about him. She'd wonder if he was okay, if he was even still alive. She wondered what it would be like if he were still around. Maybe he'd have been Quidditch Captain instead of her, but that would have been okay. They would have been able to hang out and become the sort of friends Kirstenna had always wanted. She missed Sophia too, but that was completely hopeless. It was just too late.

Brian, though, was another reason that she wanted to win. For him. Tobar too. And for everyone else she'd ever been on the team with. For Kate, Arista, Derry, Laurie, Marcus, Carter, Solomon, Brielle, Eris, Enion, Hannah, Lucie, Andrew, Dmitri, Colleen, Ben and Jessica. For the entire House, past, present and future.

The Captain turned to face her team, possibly for the last time. She couldn't believe they actually had four reserves this term. "Okay guys, I know Aladren is tough but we can do this. We're pretty good. Arista, you were amazing last year. Derry, Laurie, you're terrific Beaters and I think you're just as good as your cousins, if not better." Derry almost certainly had to be and Laurie at least wasn't psychotic. Though it was likely not Preston Stratford's fault he was that way. It was the Imposter's."Kate, you're a great Seeker and don't ever think otherwise. Marcus, I feel you've done a good job so far and you'll continue to improve. Carter, you show a lot of promise. Reserves, I have every confidence that if someone gets taken out, you'll do wonderful filling in.This is going to be our year."

It just had to be. Winning wasn't everything, but it would mean so much to Kirstenna, to feel that sort of pride. She'd felt it before, like after the concert when she'd totally nailed her song but not when it came to Quidditch. She really didn't know what it was like and it was something she wanted to experience just once. All Kirstenna really wanted was to win just one game, just this game. Winning the Championships would just be a bonus.

As the Imposter began to speak, Kirstenna sending her nemesis the usual glare, she shook hands with David Wilkes and took her spot in front of the goals, watching as possibly the last game she'd ever play unfolded.

11 Captain Kirstenna,Keeper This is it. 161 Captain Kirstenna,Keeper 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 06, 2012 8:20 PM

Game day is indeed upon us by Arthur Carey, Chaser

Here they went again. Arthur couldn’t pretend to be very worried about the game. The sun was bright, which would hinder Arnold somewhat, but most likely not more than it would Teppenpaw’s inferior Seeker, and he did not think that much of the Teppenpaw Chasers, either. One of them was difficult to hit with Bludgers, if their game with Crotalus the year before was anything to go by, but he believed Preston was tougher and more bloodthirsty than Mr. Calhoun, and the other two were very small. Arthur expected he and Russell and Katrina would be able to walk over them with contemptuous ease. Derwent might pose more of a threat to Arnold, but his brother was used to flying injured and Arthur was slightly more used to seeing him injured by outsiders and not doing anything about it now, so he wasn’t too worried about that, either.

Another Aladren victory was almost a sure thing. It was just a question of how tidily they’d come by it. He listened politely to the speeches of both Mr. Wilkes and Coach Pierce, and looked over the Teppenpaw team to make sure that there had been no surprise substitutions. It seemed there had not been. He revised his appraisal of the game from ‘almost’ to a sure thing. Today was not the day the Pecari upset would be repeated in any fashion.

He looked over at his brother fondly, though only Arnold himself, if he had been paying attention, would have recognized the expression. As it happened, Arnold was not paying attention, but waving to his opposite number on the Teppenpaw team instead. Arthur decided it was for the best, at this moment at least, not to consider too much whether or not the gesture was supposed to be intimidating, mocking, or genuinely friendly, since there were moments when he thought of it and concluded that had things gone just a little differently, his brother could have ended up in Teppenpaw, and where should they have both been then? He couldn’t imagine them being split up that way, since Arthur knew there was no way in any reality with any vague resemblance to this one in which he could have gone there. Aladren was his place, as it was Arnold’s, which worked out well for both of them. In no other House, after all, could they have been part of a generally excellent Quidditch team, rather than Arnold just being a particularly brilliant Seeker, and neither could they have made such connections as they could in Aladren. Crotalus had a lingering reputation from the old days, but Aladren was where most of the people who were going to be somebodies went now.

As everyone mounted their brooms, Arthur looked around the stands, but wasn’t able to make out faces distinctly or see if his future sister-in-law was here. Anthony was one reason he expected that he and Arnold would play better than usual, he didn’t fully understand the relationship between his brothers but was sure that Arnold wouldn’t want to look foolish in front of their younger brother any more than he did, but Fae was, he had to admit, another. Arnold especially would not want to lose in front of his future wife. A dramatic scene after the game did not seem completely improbable if she was here, but it wasn’t the whole reason he hoped she was present. Still, there was nothing he could do about it now. He mounted his broom, kicked off….

…And got the Quaffle. For a moment, Arthur didn’t completely process that, his hands having moved automatically when he found himself near the red ball, but then it caught up to him: he had the Quaffle. That was the only important fact he needed to know at this exact moment, at least until the Beaters caught up with their charges. That, and which way to fly, which took a second longer to sort out in the tangle, but which he quickly figured out and headed in.

He dodged a yellow blur, swerved to the side when he thought he heard a whistling noise behind him and to his right, but made fast and steady progress toward Miss Melcher. What was it about Teppenpaws and resident half-bloods, he wondered? From what he’d heard, North Carolina’s had gone there, too, when she was in school. He rose in the air to avoid another Teppenpaw and then, on his way back down, passed the Quaffle down and at an angle to one of his fellow Aladrens, hoping the move would go through smoothly and take them perhaps, as they had started in the middle and had, for the most part, better brooms as well as better people, all the way to Miss Melcher’s position and a quick first goal of the game.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Game day is indeed upon us 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 06, 2012 9:40 PM

Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Teppenpaw was the first team Arnold had ever played against at Sonora, so going up against them again felt – especially given how strange the rest of this year had been – almost like a homecoming, of sorts. He still remembered that game fondly, usually with a smile, when he thought of it. Their Seeker had been his first introduction to the idea of girls playing Quidditch, their Beaters had inflicted the first of the long list of Sonora Quidditch injuries he had sustained on him, that had been the first time he’d played Quidditch in the rain and Seeker for an audience and caught a real Snitch…Good memories, all. He was in a genuinely good mood as he got ready and went down to the Quidditch Pitch, shielding his eyes against the bright sun and guessing that this was going to be a long game because of that alone.

It had been a long time since they’d played Teppenpaw, now that he thought about it, even in spite of that time Coach Pierce had rearranged the schedule and made them play Crotalus in the first game. Looking over their team, he saw Kate Bauer was still the Seeker and gave her a friendly wave. He liked her; she’d given him a hell of a good game back then, and while he hoped he was the one who won today, he couldn’t think of many scenarios where he lost where he wouldn’t think that she had earned it fair and square.

When the whistle blew, Arnold went as straight up as he could, then made a few loop-the-loops and a figure eight once he got to fifty feet before settled in for the long business of looking for the Snitch. The light was bright enough to hurt his eyes, and he rubbed them for a second before squinting down at the green, his brown eyes flicking from place to place around the Pitch very quickly as he looked for any sign of the Golden Snitch. He didn’t really want to catch it just yet – that would take all the fun out of the game – but if he could spot it, he would know if he needed to catch it fast, and he wasn’t going to just fly around too much without doing anything.

After a few moments of not seeing the Snitch, though, his mind started wanting to wander, and he had to drag it sternly back to the task at hand, and not to whether Fae was watching, and how he wanted to impress her with his performance today and not get hurt too much in the process if she was, since his mother had said her mother had specifically mentioned that as something that bothered her, and how surely even he didn’t really believe she’d sit with the Teppenpaws. She’d said she still wanted to at least be friends, too; there was no reason involving that for her to go to the other side, since she wasn’t in Teppenpaw and didn’t, that he knew of, have any family in Teppenpaw and her best friend was dating an Aladren and not a Teppenpaw….He shook his head. No girls, or at least not girls who were not on brooms and therefore in a different category than regular girls, much less girls who were special girls for him and his teammates. He was out to get the Snitch today, not the girl.

He looked around, with unusual caution, for the Bludgers. He really hadn’t thought about her getting upset about Quidditch injuries before, but he didn’t want her to now.

Far below, he saw a blue robe – Arthur, he thought, from the hair; Kitty also had dark hair, but would be a smaller figure than his brother – heading toward the Teppenpaw goals and grinned, speeding up to fly past Kate. “Nice day for it,” he called, just as a greeting and acknowledgment. It was important to do that, and he had developed a superstition about being sure to speak to the opposing Seeker anyway; the one time he hadn't had been the one time he'd lost. He might change policies if he played in the World Cup or something, but he really didn't think that was ever going to happen.

A second later, as he flew away from the Teppenpaw Seeker without paying nearly as much attention to his direction as to the rest of his surroundings, a cloud covered the sun for a moment, taking away from the glare. Arnold made the mistake, though, of blinking at that time and seeing dark green for a second. Rubbing his eyes again, he started flying toward the Aladren spectators, all the while looking, as best he could, for the gold speck which would mean victory or defeat.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Carter Browning, Chaser

October 06, 2012 9:40 PM

It most certainly has by Carter Browning, Chaser

Carter woke up extra early that morning so he could get some extra flying in for their game this morning against Aladren. He had no idea what to expect from them, but he was certain they wouldn’t get the better of him. It didn’t matter to him that most of their team probably consisted of older classmates who were familiar with the Pitch. He spent almost every day since making the team out on the field flying around it getting to know every pole and turn. He had flown soo much at one point the was sure his butt probably had sores on it, but that didn’t stop him either. Just as he was determined to show Kirstenna that he was worthy of being on team, he would show the other team that Carter Browning may be small, but he was a force to be reckoned with. After his stint on the pitch he went back inside to shower and get dressed. It wouldn’t do for him to reek of sweat before he played his first game. As he showered he thought of all the ways he could possibly move to get a leg up on his opponents. He had no idea who any of them were yet, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Carter threw on his most comfy pair of black jeans, his favorite rugby shirt, his lucky sneakers and his team robes which he had gotten after making one of the Chaser spots. He grabbed his broom and headed down out of the Teppenpaw dorms towards Cascade Hall to see about grabbing some breakfast before he headed out to the pitch. His grandfather always warned him about playing on an empty stomach. “Canna concentrate boy-o if yer stomach is talking to ya” Grandpa Browning always told him. Carter kept that in mind as he piled his plate with pancakes and sausage. He always thought his grandpa was a little nutty, but he never ignored the old man’s advice. He found that as he ate his stomach stopped flipping around. He found it odd that he would be this nervous. He’d never been nervous playing Quidditch before. Maybe it was because it was about to play his first game at school in front of all of his fellow students and he didn’t want to make his house look bad. As he understood it, his house had never won a game and this was his captain’s last year to try. He really didn’t want to let Kirstenna down. He wanted her last year as captain to be a great one and if he could help make that happen, he wanted to try.

He finished up with breakfast and headed out of the hall down towards the field. The walk down to the pitch felt a little longer than the other times he had done it. Carter shook his head to clear his thoughts and jogged over to where his team was assembled. He took his place beside Marcus and waited for Coach Pierce to finish talking to them all. He nodded to the rest of his teammates and tried to look serious. That was when Kirstenna addressed them all. "Okay guys, I know Aladren is tough but we can do this. We're pretty good. Arista, you were amazing last year. Derry, Laurie, you're terrific Beaters and I think you're just as good as your cousins, if not better. Kate, you're a great Seeker and don't ever think otherwise. Marcus, I feel you've done a good job so far and you'll continue to improve. Carter, you show a lot of promise. Reserves, I have every confidence that if someone gets taken out, you'll do wonderful filling in. This is going to be our year." she told them all. Carter was pleased that she felt he had promise. He was more determined than ever to show her how right she was about him. Once Kirstenna finished her pep talk he mounted his broom and prepared to kick off the ground into the air. Hr heard the whistle blow to start the game and he kicked off into the air.

He saw the quaffle take off into the air and before Carter could grab it, it was snatched up by one of the Aladrens. Carter frowned slightly, but was determined to get it from the other player. He followed the other Chaser as closely as possible, avoiding the bludgers that flew freely through the air. He kept an eye on Aladren’s other Chaser and where his own beaters were located, watching closely for an opening to steal the Quaffle for Teppenpaw. His chance finally came when he saw the other boy attempt to pass it to one of his teammates. He swooped around from near the other boy and caught it cleanly before his teammate could grab it. Tucking it safely under his arm, Carter zoomed like a rocket away from his team’s goal area and towards Aladren’s. He kept his eyes peeled for Marcus should he need to pass the Quaffle, but made an attempt for Aladren’s goal and keeper. He waited until he was close enough to try before flying head long at Aladren’s Keeper hoping to give himself that one second he would need for their attention to be on him and not the goal before he made his move. Once he was sure he had it he made his move. He wrapped his way around the poles and tried to slip the quaffle into the goal passed the keeper. He threw the quaffle with all his might and waited. If his stunt worked, Teppenpaw would be sitting on their first goal of the game. He held his breath a little as he watched the quaffle sail towards its target.

0 Carter Browning, Chaser It most certainly has 0 Carter Browning, Chaser 0 5

Derry Four, Beater

October 06, 2012 10:41 PM

A new thing to think about by Derry Four, Beater

Derry Four was the oldest beater on the Teppenpaw team now, and had been last year as well. As such, he often took the lead on the beater practices when Kirstenna didn't have him and Laurie working with everyone else. They'd trained well this year, and when he had learned that the first team they would be up against this year would be Aladren his first thought had not be dread over facing the returning Champions, but elation that he and Laurie would get to go up against the two beaters they new best in the school, even though Teppenpaw had not played against Aladren since Derry and Preston had been first years.

Derry knew exactly what Thaddeus's strengths and weaknesses were. He'd taught Thad a lot of what he knew about being a Beater. More than that, he knew Thad didn't like being a beater, and that was perhaps even more of an advantage than the size and strength that age had granted Derry over the younger Aladren Pierce.

Preston and Laurie were also cousins and had probably played with sticks, brooms, and bludgers at home together before. Unfortunately, Preston did not have Thaddeus's dislike of his position (rather the opposite; Preston seemed even more dedicated to being a beater than Derry was) and Preston was bigger and older than Laurie, and may have also taken a hand in training his little cousin. The advantage was not as clearly in Teppenpaw's favor on the Stratford side, but Derry knew Laurie was a strong player, and better and bigger than Thad at least. Thad had many talents but the greatest one he had in Quidditch was mostly a stubborn refusal to give up.

Derry had considered several strategies for how the Teppenpaw beaters ought to deal with Aladren. It seemed to make sense to put Laurie up against Thad since they were both the less experienced players, but there was a glaring problem with that. In the recent Aladren games that Derry had watched, where Thad was a beater, they had played him as Edmond's replacement for guarding the Seeker. Derry wasn't quite sure he understood the logic of this, but he would readily admit that he wasn't as smart as most Aladrens and they probably had a very good but complex reason for doing so. However, the logic that Derry liked to follow placed the larger, older, and more experienced beater into contention with the Seekers; protecting Teppenpaw's only way to win and sabotaging the opposing team's opportunity to do so.

So instead of telling Laurie that he was on Thaddeus, Derry instructed his teammate that Laurie was to cover the Chasers and Keepers while Derry handled Kate and Arnold. It would then be in Aladren's court whether they set Pierce against Pierce and Stratford against Stratford, or if they mixed it up. Derry was fine with it either way. Kate and victory were safer if Derry faced Thaddeus. The rest of the team was safer if they put Thad up against Laurie, and Derry was sure he could hold his own against Preston. Preston might be more blood-thirsty than a Teppenpaw was normally capable of, but Derry had wanted to be a Beater for as long as he could remember and had learned to fly and bat well before he had learned to read and write.

He didn't think any Aladren could say that, even Thad, despite Derry's best efforts. Though, to be fair, that was partly because Thad learned to read and write way earlier than Derry did.

Kirstenna gave a solid speech, and he really hoped they'd win this time. Teppenpaw was about due for a victory, he thought. Aladren might have won all but one game in the last four years while Teppenpaw hadn't won any, but that really meant only two things: Aladren was sure to underestimate them, and Teppenpaw really wanted to their turn to win. Derry was optimistically sure they could do it and chance would surely favor them now that the scales of fairness were so terribly unbalanced. Pecari had won out of nowhere two years ago, and now it was Teppenpaw's turn to do the same.

He watched the bludgers fly off after Amelia - er, Coach Pierce - let them go, and when the whistle blew, he flew after one of them. He captured it and then looked around for Arnold. He couldn't tell yet whether Aladren was fielding Thad or Preston as the guy's protector and decided that meant he had an early opportunity for an easy shot. He flew in closer, lined up his aim, and swung his bat with a loud crack, sending the bludger right for the blue clad seeker just as Arnold removed one hand from his broom to rub at his eyes.

1 Derry Four, Beater A new thing to think about 189 Derry Four, Beater 0 5

Brielle Thornton,Reserve

October 07, 2012 1:32 PM

From the bench... Again... by Brielle Thornton,Reserve

Aubrielle was now seriously glad that she was only a reserve. Their first game was against Aladren. It wasn’t that Bri didn’t know how to play, she did. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Teppenpaw to WIN, she did. It was just that she didn’t really have any desire whatsoever to be beat up by Aladren… She’d seen and heard about some of the things Aladren’s players had done to players on the other teams and was just appalled last year when Andri joined Aladren’s ranks. Yes, Andri was only their reserve this year again, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be playing them (or like them for that matter) the year after…

Bri shook her head as she thought about the nightmare she’d had the night before.

Andri had come flying right at her (as they were apparently both actually playing in the game). She’d been playing Seeker and Andri had been playing Beater. The bat made contact with the big black ball and it came whizzing right at her. Bri froze completely and it hit her head on. Then she woke up, completely on the floor tangled up in her sheet and blanket.

She shook, slowly untangled herself and got back up into bed, sweat pouring from everywhere. Is this what it means to be really nervous? she thought to herself. B hadn’t been this nervous last year, sure, she’d been nervous, but never this bad! She’d never even been this nervous to do a show on stage and she wasn’t even a starter!

Perhaps it could have something to do with the fact that it was Kirstenna’s last year as Captain. (Arista had banged it into the new second year’s head that Kirstenna and Teppenpaw winning was one of the most important things in the world this year, after all). It also had some merit that she was nervous they were playing Aladren. Andri was on Aladren, and Bri would had to see her end up having to play and getting hurt in doing so. (Maybe that was why B was a Teppenpaw?) Shoot… Maybe that’s why she, herself, only wanted to be reserve…?

Brielle hadn’t been able to go back to sleep that night, instead, she’d stared at the walls around her until the light started to permeate the room. When that happened, she got out of her bed and with a yawn, got herself dressed for the game. Her black leggings and yellow ¾ sleeve shirt she wore were covered by her robes even though she didn’t have to have those on yet. Last thing she wanted to do was forget the robes! She’d need those, especially if she ended up playing, anyway.

Leaving Teppenpaw Commons, she went down to Cascade Hall to try to eat. She, however, filled her plate with all things tasty and then proceeded to fall asleep in it. Waking up a while later from commotion around her in the Hall, made her realize that she could well be late now!

Forgetting about her plate completely, she ran out of the hall, robes flowing behind her.

***

Brielle ran out to the Pitch, a mite breathless by the time she’d gotten there, she was still alone. “You mean I’m not late?” she said into the air of the Pitch. With a big sigh, she lay down in the grass, looking up at the sky. There was something about this blue sky, bright sun and fluffy white clouds above her that reminded the twelve year old of a stage set. “I love weather like this…” she said as Aladren and Teppenpaw players started to arrive on the Pitch.

B got up off the grass and walked towards the other Teppenpaws. Kirstenna looked at the lot of them and Brielle looked back at her, before turning to their large team. This is as big as Teppenpaw’s team ever was, according to Arista, Bri was proud of that. Teppenpaw was on the up and up and she was very proud of them for it. They would win this year, she was sure of it. There was more Teppenpaw spirit than ever before (again, according to Arista) and that would lead them places, she was sure.

"Okay guys, I know Aladren is tough but we can do this. We're pretty good. Arista, you were amazing last year. Bri heard Kirstenna mention her sister, and glanced at her grinning face and nod, before turning back to Kirstenna again. “Derry, Laurie, you're terrific Beaters and I think you're just as good as your cousins, if not better. Kate, you're a great Seeker and don't ever think otherwise. Marcus, I feel you've done a good job so far and you'll continue to improve. Carter, you show a lot of promise. Reserves, I have every confidence that if someone gets taken out, you'll do wonderful filling in. This is going to be our year."

Brielle was definitely proud of Arista’s work the year before. She’d been the one to keep their game going, which was something for sure. Kirstenna had noticed too, which made Bri feel better. Oddly enough, Brielle at that point, sorta wished she would have been playing first string for the first time. She wanted Kirstenna to notice her too. “It WILL be our year.” she said, strongly and theatrically sure of herself. Sure, she’d said it for Kirstenna and the rest of the team, but she also said it for herself too.

Kirstenna stopped talking and Coach Pierce welcomed them all. Brielle hadn’t even noticed that the rest of the school had all shown up by now and had made their way into the stands. “Oh wow…” she said in a soft tone to one of the other Teppenpaw players. She wasn’t sure who, but that didn’t matter. “There’s a lot of people out there…” she finished as she bit her lip.

"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?" Kirstenna shook David’s hand and flew up to the Goals as Coach said that the game begins on her whistle and ends when a Seeker catches the Snitch.

Coach Pierce released the Snitch and Bludgers and tossed up the Quaffle on the count of three, the teams both mounted and flew to their positions. One of the Carey twins got the ball first, but Carter stole it back. “YES! You can do it Carter!” she called from the bench as the game unfolded in front of her. She sat at the edge of her seat, worried and excited at the same time.

0 Brielle Thornton,Reserve From the bench... Again... 0 Brielle Thornton,Reserve 0 5

Captain Wilkes, Keeper

October 08, 2012 1:51 PM

Let's get to it, then. by Captain Wilkes, Keeper

David paced back and forth before the game, including a few rounds in front of the team itself. He suspected that was not the best move he could have possibly made, tactically speaking, but the nervous energy had been building up for him since about seven the previous night, keeping him up, and he had gone through a little too much coffee this morning, and standing still wasn’t, somewhere in the midst of it all, really an option. He hoped – expected, really – that his head would clear once he was in the air, but for right now, he was all wound up. The anxiety before the performance, for him, was almost always worse than what he went through during it.

“So,” he said. “Teppenpaw.”

David had never played against Teppenpaw. The last time Aladren had faced off against them had been when he had still been safely and happily on the bench as a reserve. He hoped the rest of the team didn’t have that on their minds. “Well – it’s more of the usual, I think, lads,” he said, wondering for a second why he’d ended his sentence that way before deciding it wasn’t really important. “We shouldn’t have too much trouble, but don’t get too overconfident, they’re not made of complete fail. Their Beaters are especially likely to be a Problem, and their Chasers have a track record for making crazy desperate moves. If they do, you guys – “ he looked between Thad and Preston – “you unleash all hell on them as soon as they start, help ‘em break their bad habits, yeah? Just aim for whoever’s holding the Quaffle at that moment, if they pass or if they don’t – “ people being worried about the crazy one passing, and thus aiming at the wrong person, was the only way he could think that people got away with crazy long runs – “it doesn’t really matter, if they’re wearing yellow, they need to be hit, right?”

The perks of being on the villain team, he thought fondly. He had already decided that if they made it to the Championship next year, when it was far too late for Coach Pierce to do much of anything – to him, anyway – about it, he was going to lead the team out while magically blaring the Imperial March at top volume. More than half the audience wouldn’t get it, but he would have a story to tell his great-grandkids until they murdered him from sheer boredom at hearing the tale again. “Russell, Kitty, Arthur – you guys rule, you know this, here’s hoping I don’t see any of you again until the victory party. Arnold…just win again. Reserves, be ready.”

He thought about it. “I think that’s all,” he said, relieved to be done with it. Talking like this was not in his nature – Mr. Tough Guy, like; he found it hard not to stammer or at least laugh at himself half the time – and giving orders to the Careys and Stratfords and Pierces of the world was not a good long-term strategy, he never felt right doing it, and the speeches were the worst. He hoped he had to give another one in a few months, but that didn’t make him any less glad that this one was over. “Let’s go pulverize them.”

He shook hands with Kirstenna Melcher, and though he was a little unnerved by how she’d looked at the coach for a second there, he chalked it up to being put against Aladren and gave her a nod anyway. Neither of them, he thought, was really suited to this captain thing, but here they went anyway. He flew up to his goals, nodded again in approval as Arthur took the Quaffle….

…And promptly found himself watching as the Littlest Teppenpaw sailed merrily down the Pitch. “Dudes!” he yelled, forgetting that he was a little afraid of his team’s Beaters in his indignation. So it was a first year. Smaller target, sure, but more breakable, and he didn’t think Preston and Thaddeus were as squeamish as he was outside of the abstract about beating little kids senseless since they did both play Beater more or less voluntarily. David was aware that he’d have trouble doing it if he thought about it, but that was why he gave the Beaters their orders instead of playing their position.

He watched the first year closely, just in case he tried a last-second pass, glad that the red Quaffle stood out well against yellow robes, then had to twist around when he decided to wind around the hoops, which made David decide it was much less morally suspect for the Beaters to hit him now, and he batted the Quaffle away from the goal it was eventually sent for with the tips of his fingers. Then, to make that look more deliberate and less like he’d had a little trouble with the first shot, he bounced the ball back and forth between the tips of his fingers a few times before throwing it, as hard and directly as possible, toward one of his own Chasers.

16 Captain Wilkes, Keeper Let's get to it, then. 169 Captain Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Carter Browning, Chaser

October 08, 2012 6:09 PM

I love a challenge by Carter Browning, Chaser

Carter had stayed pretty close to the goal area to see if his shot had managed to sail into the goal. He wasn’t all that surprised when it was stopped by Aladren’s Keeper. I made a first good shot at it he told himself watching to see what the older boy would do. I’ll just have to make my next shot better He was a little miffed that his first attempt bombed, but he wasn’t going to let it get him down. He still had an entire game left to make more attempts. The fact that he had been bold enough to make that first move made him really proud of himself. He kept an eye out for the beaters and Aladren’s chasers making sure to keep an extra special eye on where his own people where located. He wasn’t entirely sure which ones of the guys in blue out on the field were the beaters, but he would watch for them just the same. He wanted to make sure he didn’t miss anything if he could help it. So far the only thing he had to really worry about were the free flying bludgers which so far he had managed to avoid. He heard one sailing in his direction and stuck himself along his broom dropping a couple of feet to avoid it. He turned his attention back to the action happening around him and almost missed Aladren’s Keeper hurling the ball towards one of his own players.

Carter grinned as he took off after the flying quaffle, determined that it would not reach its intended goal. He managed, barely, to get in front of it and caught it hard against his chest. It momentarily knocked the wind out of him, but he quickly shook off the shock and clutched it close to his chest. He took off into the air across the field trying to come up with a small game plan since he had already tried the other move and it hadn’t panned out so well. It would probably be a short amount of time before he tried it again. He saw one of the bludgers flying towards him out of the corner of his eye and had barely managed to duck before it sailed about an inch away from his head. The blood was racing through his body soo fast that he could hear it pounding through his ears. He had to breathe in and out a couple of times to clear his head as he looked around him to see where his people were at. He was a little relieved when he spotted Arista not to far away from where he now flew. He looked over in her direction hoping that she saw the signal he was giving her before deciding he was going to wing it her way. From where she was at she looked like she had a better chance of scoring on them than he did. He swung himself around and took careful aim before lobbing it in her direction. He just hoped that she caught it before one of the Aladren’s did.

0 Carter Browning, Chaser I love a challenge 0 Carter Browning, Chaser 0 5

Captain Wilkes, Keeper

October 08, 2012 6:27 PM

My advice is to get over it as soon as possible. by Captain Wilkes, Keeper

It was a fact generally assumed that an Aladren Keeper in possession of his current Chasers could, after blocking the occasional random attack against the Aladren goals, relax for a while, since while it wasn’t entirely uncommon for his players to have some fun with the opposing Keeper, no one really did that to them. It took, then, a second for David to realize that the little first year had somehow intercepted the pass back to an Aladren Chaser, a development he could only respond to, initially, with a sort of outraged squawk.

It was a good thing, for Aladren, that the first year had apparently not bothered to read up on the Quidditch rule where Chasers could only score against the goal guarded by someone whose robe color didn’t match theirs, because if he’d taken another shot, David thought he might have been surprised enough to miss it completely. This did not happen. He had warned that the Teppenpaw Chasers were desperate, and this one had demonstrated already that they were desperate to the point of appearing a little suicidal, but this. Did not. Happen. He had, when he had been forced off the bench, chosen this spot specifically because this did not happen. David thought of himself more as a commentator than a Keeper, because no one ever got near him. That was a fact, and he did not want that to ever, under any conditions, cease to be a fact, because if it did, he was a target for Bludgers just like everyone else, as witness Nic Sawyer, and he did not want to break his neck for a stupid game he didn’t even like that much anyway.

“Get it back,” he yelled, hoping that his Chasers and Beaters were already so focused on doing that that they didn’t hear him, but hoping to convey a message about how he was seriously reconsidering his nonviolent policies to any who happened to hear. He knew that if he ever did just hex someone, it would be in the heat of the moment, right after they lost a game because one person had done something incredibly stupid, but if they thought he would persecute with extreme prejudice after the game, then right now, that was fine. He was not supposed to have to work this much for a living, and since the other two Teppenpaw Chasers presumably knew which end of the Pitch they were supposed to shoot at, he was going to have to work again soon if one of the Chasers did not get the Quaffle back.

He crossed his fingers, flying a few unusually fast and forceful loops around the goal hoops to help his feelings of stress wind down while he waited to see if his Chasers were going to do their jobs or if they had finally just gotten so sure of themselves that they neglected to play the game and made him have to understand how normal people felt about sports and fume about that because he'd never wanted to understand how normal people felt about sports.

16 Captain Wilkes, Keeper My advice is to get over it as soon as possible. 169 Captain Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

October 08, 2012 6:48 PM

I'd listen to the man. by Russell Layne, Chaser

Teppenpaw had not played Aladren since Russell was a first year, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have an opinion of their team. In fact, that encounter several years back was pretty much the basis of Russell’s opinion about Teppenpaw. That game had been long, it had been bloody (six people, him among them, had needed to visit the hospital tent by the end of the match; one more, and they would have had a whole team of convalescents), and it had been a good introduction to what the past four years had mostly been in terms of Sonora Quidditch. Some of the lineup had changed, on both sides, but he didn’t see Teppenpaw as anything less than a dangerous opponent who had the advantage of having not played against Aladren in so long that they weren’t too familiar with what strategies Kirstenna Melcher might be using these days with the most experienced of the school’s four Seekers.

He knew, though, that his teammates didn’t necessarily see it the same way, so David’s opening speech didn’t surprise him that much. Truth to be told, he thought they were going to win, too; he just didn’t think it was necessarily going to be easy. Keeping all of his thoughts to himself, though, he chuckled when he and Arthur and Kitty were deemed rulers and settled to checking his broom one more time while waiting for the game to begin.

Coach Pierce gave a brief speech, shielding her eyes against the light that made Russell squint, too, and be newly grateful that he wasn’t a Seeker, and then it was on. Arthur got the Quaffle immediately, and Russell was expecting an easy first run against Captain Melcher, provided that the Teppenpaw Beaters were doing the entirely sensible thing and concentrating all their combined energies on attacking Arnold, when one of the Teppenpaw Chasers intercepted the pass and shot off toward David.

“Huh,” Russell said, a little impressed and a little pleased with himself for calling the fact that the Teppenpaws weren’t just going to roll over and let them win too easily, and turned his broom to follow the Quaffle. The Chaser – a new guy, no one he recognized; a first year, he thought he had heard, their other one didn’t like being a Chaser so much and had gone back to the reserve bench – would pass soon enough, and then Aladren would recapture the ball and they’d either manage to get to where they could take a shot or else they’d just go back and forth in the middle for a while, constantly passing and intercepting. He hoped they didn’t do that for too long, but he knew, as the veteran of one too many Crotalus games, that it could very easily happen.

This time, though, it didn’t happen at all. The new Chaser went all the way across the territory Arthur had cleared for Aladren, back across the center line, and then across the Aladren half of the Pitch and to David without passing or getting, to use the captain’s word, pulverized by the Beaters. Russell sighed and got ready for a long, bloody, painful game. This was not going to be pretty, pleasant, or anything even remotely close to those adjectives. It looked like, after the other teams had lost a little spirit in the past few years, maybe, that they were back to Quidditch games being nothing short of wars of attrition, with no prisoners taken and no quarter granted unless Arnold and the other Seeker struck up some kind of weird relationship around the rest of the game. Maybe being Seeker wasn’t so bad, after all; Arnold got hurt more than they did, and had to deal with the light, but he seemed to have less Quidditch stress than the rest of them did most of the time.

David saved, showed off a little, and started to pass the ball back to Russell…only to have the same Teppenpaw Chaser intercept. Russell had to say this much for him, he had lots of energy. Not much sense, since he promptly flew away from the goals instead of taking advantage of no one expecting that and therefore maybe no one but Russell figuring out what had happened for a few seconds, but he had energy. And a death with. Russell followed, and when he tried to pass to one of the Thornton girls, Russell intercepted it.

Thanks for the ground, he thought, though he decided to save his breath for flying instead of pausing to yell it at the Teppenpaws. They had given Aladren a gift, going away from the goals for a little distance, so he could take it with good grace and also save some time. He went almost as fast as his broom would go in the opposite direction, the Quaffle held securely under one arm as he shot through the air, hoping to outpace the Teppenpaws by a little before he slowed down enough to make a close pass toward one of his own players.

16 Russell Layne, Chaser I'd listen to the man. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 08, 2012 7:38 PM

It might be for the best by Arthur Carey, Chaser

For a moment, Arthur didn’t realize what had happened, but there was enough noise coming from the Teppenpaw side of the Pitch that it didn’t take him long to figure it out. “Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” he muttered, turning quickly enough that his stomach and head both momentarily objected and moving after the Teppenpaw Chasers, intent on getting the Quaffle back. If they were going to rack up many points – or really, given the way games went sometimes, any points at all – in a game that went on more than ten minutes, he thought it would early, before everyone was too tired to aim properly when passing or shooting.

He didn’t, though, get a chance, and while he didn’t really understand what Mr. Wilkes was shouting as they approached him, Arthur was fairly sure that he understood the feeling behind it very well. If he had tried that, covering about two thirds of the Pitch in one flight, Arthur was sure he would have completed the mission as long as he didn’t actually sustain a head injury or serious internal damage, but that he would have only done so with a broken arm, if not a broken rib to match. The Teppenpaws, though, had all the luck for that kind of thing.

Well, they could keep it. He would rather have the skill to successfully rebel against Fortuna any day. Aladrens didn’t need luck; they had money, brains, and talent, which would outdo luck any day, and even if the other team had those, too, Aladren also had determination – or at least a fear of failure. He wasn’t even sure anymore if the will to win was really stronger than the will just not to be humiliated as those who climbed to a height and then fell from it always were, but nor did he care. It worked, whatever it was, and that was all that was important.

He put his hands together in the shortest expression of applause when Mr. Wilkes successfully saved the shot, then started mapping out their course back across the Pitch in his mind when…the Teppenpaw Chaser, a Mr. Browning, if he wasn’t mistaken, intercepted that pass as well, and decided to withdraw for the goals. Arthur watched him with interest, wondering if he would actually pass, or if he just wished to give the impression that he was going to pass to one of the other Teppenpaw Chasers before he attacked the goals again. He hoped it was the former, of course, since that gave Aladren a chance to get the Quaffle away from him, and was pleased when that was what happened and Russell intercepted, but he had to admit, he was curious to know whether or not it would have worked if he’d gone the other way. Mr. Wilkes was a person Arthur had trouble evaluating; seeing how he reacted was always amusing, as long as he wasn’t feeling too emotional about the game and getting upset about plays. That might come later, but for now, Arthur was still expecting an easy and almost purely enjoyable game.

Russell, however, was playing the game, so Arthur also sped along on his broom, thinking again of the role money played in Quidditch, and when the Quaffle was passed again, he caught it, completing the move before another interception could occur, and immediately sped back up to the pace they’d been using before the pass, putting more distance between them and Mr. Wilkes. He did not keep it long, though, before he passed again, feinting left before passing right and putting a lot of force behind the pass to his teammate.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser It might be for the best 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 08, 2012 7:42 PM

It's also never far from my mind by Arnold Carey, Seeker

His eyes weren’t completely clear, but there was nothing wrong with Arnold’s ears, and he caught the whistling sound of the Bludger just in time to, still with only one hand on his broom, fly out of the way, swaying on his broom as he did so before he got his grip back. He could fly one-handed and had practiced no-handed more and more over the summer, but he was usually expecting to when he did, rather than having to do it on the fly like that, and without taking a second to adjust his seat on the broom first. He was glad to have both hands on the broom again once he did.

Glad, though, was something he only had the luxury to be for a few seconds before the Bludger swung around and was back after him; he had not gotten far enough out of his way, and had then paused to adjust, so he was still the closest person to it, and that meant he was still its target. Ducking to avoid its second attack, Arnold flipped his broom around – another move he had spent more time practicing since the last game – and dove for the ground.

If he was incredibly lucky, Kate would think he had seen the Snitch, and he might just pull off a Wronski Feint without even meaning to, or at least get the Bludger to switch its focus to her instead. He thought it was more likely, though, that he would give one of his team’s Beaters time to intercept it, or else that he’d lead it into the main game. Either way, though, he would get it off him, which meant he would be able to play uninjured a little longer and have a better chance, in that condition, of finding and then, once he had found it, winning a race to and maybe small fight over the Snitch. Winning with a broken arm – and leg, and head, and anything else that happened to get in a Bludger’s way as he pursued his goals – was more romantic and dramatic, but it was a lot harder.

Thoughts of Fae were, for the first time in a good long while, about the furthest thing from his mind as he pulled out of the dive and flew, his head pointing more toward one bank of seats than toward the sky, toward the side of the Pitch he hadn’t been on when the Bludger had been aimed at him. He was grinning to himself, thinking that he liked playing Derry Pierce, his fellow fifth year was a good Beater who kept things interesting. His head was all in the game now, at least for right now, anyway, and he went first higher, then lower a few more times, to make himself at least a harder target to hit if he couldn’t really make himself less of one, and he squinted against the sun as he refused to let his eyes or body stay in any one specific spot for more than a few seconds. The Snitch would be near-constantly moving, as would the Bludgers.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker It's also never far from my mind 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Carter, Chaser

October 08, 2012 7:56 PM

Perhaps...perhaps not by Carter, Chaser

Carter saw the quaffle sailing towards Arista and was pretty sure it would reach her when one of the Aladren Chasers grabbed it before she could. Carter cursed under his breath for his mistake and watched the Aladren take off across the field. He took off after him as fast as his broom would carry him, weaving his way around the bludgers and the other players on his own side. He was determined that if he couldn’t catch up to him, he would at least give the Aladren’s something to think about. He flew up slightly higher trying to dodge a particularly stubborn bludger when he caught sight of the Aladren Chaser below him. The boy had made it to their side of the field and was getting ready to make a pass to one of his teammates. Carter tried to get to the quaffle before it reached its goal, but was a tad too slow. He missed it by mere centimeters. He took off after the new chaser who caught it determined to get it back. He almost lost the boy when he feigned left, but managed to pull away to go for it when the boy passed it to his teammate. He caught it again, just barely and sped away from them cradling the quaffle to his chest.

He kept his eye on the beaters as he zigged and zagged his way across the field. He dipped slightly narrowly avoiding a bludger that had been hit in his direction either by one of the Aladrens or by one of the Teppenpaws aiming for the other team. He knew that he was getting incredibly lucky with missing the stupid bludgers that flew at him and that sooner or later his luck may run out. Until that happened he would fly his little butt off. He flew with everything in him as he bolted towards Aladren’s goal. Whether his next attempt was stopped or not would not stop Carter from trying. He dipped past another bludger narrowly hitting him in the arm as it whizzed past. It almost made him drop the quaffle. Almost. He hugged it close to himself and continued towards his target. As he flew towards the goal he blocked out everything going on around him as far as the movement of the other players. He refused to let them distract him. He hoped with his next move that he could get the keeper to follow him before he made his shot. He started to fly right at the keeper again only to drop in flight, swing around behind the poles and backtracked before coming out by the side of them and winging the ball towards the goal. He just hoped that he hadn’t gotten his aim wrong when he made the shot.

0 Carter, Chaser Perhaps...perhaps not 0 Carter, Chaser 0 5

Laurie. Beater

October 08, 2012 8:53 PM

Yippe! by Laurie. Beater

Laurie had spent the best part of his summer at Quidditch Camp honing his beater skills. The redhead had eaten Quidditch since he was born due to his father, and Laurie couldn’t be happier to be the only child to share that passion with him. Out of the siblings, Laurie was the only one that actually liked the sport. Darren was more of a socialite than anything else and Larissa was a girl. The fact that his little sister was girl didn’t mean she couldn’t play, but social norms dictated that she couldn’t, not that Larissa actually wanted to. She didn’t even like to fly, which was a shame, really.

Anyways, the Teppenpaw was determined to play his best game ever today. This game was against Aladren, and he really wanted to win and show Preston he wasn’t all that. When they had been younger the cousins had been sort of close. That had been a long time away. They actually avoided each other like the plague. The Teppenpaw had found better people to spend his time with and no longer needed Preston for anything, other than creaming his team to a pulp at this game.

The first thing Laurie noticed when he entered the pitch was the brightness of the sun and how that would be detrimental for the catching of snitch. It wasn’t his job, but he thought about these types of things all the time. Laurie liked to strategize about things, and he often ended up with very crazy moves or plans. He had an overactive imagination.

The redhead joined with the rest of his team and listened to Kirstenna’s pep talk. He beamed at the mention of him being better than Preston and decided they were going to win. He could already see the Teppenpaw team celebrating the championship.

Laurie was already anxious about getting on his broom and starting the game. It was obvious by the way he was fidgeting.

AND…Coach Pierce gave them the go.

Laurie jumped to his broom with a smile on his face and zoomed away. He swung his bat to get a feel of it. This was life; this was what he wanted to do as a career. He was going to become a professional player. The sun was getting in the way of his vision, but he managed to get a glimpse of a bludger not very far from where he was. He flew to his left and went after it before swinging his bat and sending it towards an Aladren chaser, since Derry was working on the Seeker.

0 Laurie. Beater Yippe! 0 Laurie. Beater 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 08, 2012 9:58 PM

Congratulations, Lawrence. You've successfully made me angry by Arthur Carey, Chaser

Only two factors kept Arthur from being a Beater, and size wasn’t one of them. Just on the basis of height and mass, he knew he would have looked far more natural carrying a Beater’s bat than Thaddeus did, and that he likely could have done more with that bat than his esteemed colleague could, as well. Unfortunately, that was part of one of the two factors keeping him as a Chaser; when he was busy with the Quaffle, he kept it in check well enough, but when he had something designed for hitting things with in his hands and was in the middle of a highly emotionally charged event, feeling frustrated and seeking to annihilate the other side, Arthur had an unfortunate habit of lapsing into behavior which would have been more appropriate in those of his distant ancestors who’d embarrassed their parents by finding ways to participate in Muggle wars solely for the excuse to kill things with their large collection of enchanted swords.

Arthur very much agreed with his mother that this was a flaw of his. He prided himself on his self-control, and beating someone over the head with a stick for no better reason than that someone not being Arnold was not the behavior of a person with a lot of self-control. Sometimes, though, just sometimes, he slightly regretted it. At the moment, seeing that same Teppenpaw Chaser heading for the goals again, he decided to use it.

He could not do much about the shot, not without risking a tangle which could result in injury for two Aladrens to only one Teppenpaw and, whether there were injuries or not, make the team look very foolish, but he could do something about preventing the scenario which had just played out from repeating itself. It was interesting to see what Mr. Wilkes would do under pressure, but not that interesting, and it was high time that the ball got somewhere far away from the Aladren goals and stayed there. Instead of even trying to intercept the Quaffle, then, Arthur instead flew directly toward Mr. Browning and counted on being a fifth year and reasonably tall to do the rest of the work of herding the first year away from the Aladren goals. If it didn’t work, he was confident of his ability to extract himself from the move without colliding and thus avoiding a foul, but he thought it would. As a first year, if he’d had a fifth year sweeping at him like an overgrown bat with no intention of stopping, he thought he would have gotten out of the way, too.

Only once did he take his eyes off his target, looking for a Beater and wondering if he could also herd Mr. Browning right into an intimate acquaintance with a Bludger. That would be a little trickier to manage, but if it could be –

Wham.

Arthur heard the whistle, but by then, it was too late to do anything about it except throw himself forward on his broom, more instinctually than anything, to try to lessen the impact, and he didn’t get far with that. The Bludger collided hard with a spot just below his left shoulder, driving some of the wind out of him and leaving in its wake a place which ached terribly, then began to sting and ache at the same time. Gasping, Arthur looked around wildly, couldn’t find the Quaffle, and continued sweeping toward Mr. Browning in the hopes of both deflecting him from it and possibly setting the Bludger on him.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Congratulations, Lawrence. You've successfully made me angry 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Preston. Beater

October 08, 2012 10:16 PM

It shouldn't by Preston. Beater

Preston couldn’t really remember playing against Laurie in Quidditch before, which meant that it probably had never happened. The fifth-year knew that his cousin was mad at him for what he had done last summer, but he couldn’t really blame him for it. The Stratford’s were trying to expand and they needed good acquaintances to do so, not lowly muggleborns. The redhead was just looking out for the family and his cousin. Laurie hadn’t seen it that way and now glared at him every time he got. The Aladren didn’t take it personal, but he sometimes got annoyed by the infantile reaction of his younger cousin.

The Aladren didn’t know how Laurie was going to react to this friendly game between them, but he was sure his team was going to win. There was no doubt about it. They didn’t have a change in the line-up and by now they had become a very good Quidditch machine. Aladren was unstoppable. It was an honor being part of something so big.

The sun was very bright, he realized as he entered the pitch to join the rest of the Aladren team. He was a little bit late, due to a small mishap. He couldn’t find his beater gloves. Preston had been sure he had left them in his trunk, but they ended up being under his bed. He had been surprised to realize this little lack of memory.

The redhead cracked his neck while waiting for the game to start. He had been having trouble with sleep lately, and he was sure it was due to stress. It was still early in the year, but Pres was already reviewing everything. He didn’t want to get more stressed due to irresponsibility. No, he wanted to ace every single exam.

Coach Pierce finally gave them the go to start the game, but Preston didn’t fly out right away. He stood there assessing the players before going up. One of the Teppenpaw Seekers started trailing Arnold, and Preston immediately zoomed after them. The Teppenpaw beater aimed a bludger towards Arnold, but his teammate evaded it like a pro. Preston grinned and followed the wayward bludger towards an enemy player. They couldn’t have an injured seeker, even when Arnold had a knack for playing in not the best conditions.

He finally caught up with the bludger, he aimed and swung his bat to hear the familiar crack that meant he had hit the murderous ball and it was on its way towards the Teppenpaw seeker. They were here to win and they were going to. They couldn’t lose to Teppenpaw, because that would be beyond humiliating.

0 Preston. Beater It shouldn't 0 Preston. Beater 0 5

Kirstenna, Keeper

October 09, 2012 10:19 AM

Fortunately, you're not the one with the Beater's bat. by Kirstenna, Keeper

As Arthur Carey got the Quaffle right away, Kirstenna groaned inwardly. This game was not off to a good start but what could she expect? Things never went their way. They were at a disadvantage, not because they weren't good, but because Aladren was under Imperius and the Imposter wanted Teppenpaw to lose. She glared at the woman again, mentally called her something as foul as she was, and prepared herself in case the other team tried to score.

She pondered, yet again, the unfairness of it all. If someone was going to be given an advantage that way, why couldn't it be Teppenpaw that was under the mind control? Of course, it was better to be on a level playing field from the beginning but it wasn't as if Aladren was fighting dirty, the Imposter was.

Arthur attempted to pass the Quaffle and Carter intercepted. The Teppenpaw cheered as the ball began to move back the other way. The first year was really showing promise and she was glad she'd chosen him for the team. All the practice seemed to be helping him to improve quickly, and Kirstenna felt he also had quite a bit of natural talent that would take him far in the sport.

Of course, she had faith in all her players. Arista in particular had come a very long way. Not that the sixth year had ever really been bad but last year she'd been fantastic and Derry's training had really been a lot of help to Laurie, who was good to begin with. Kirstenna was extremely glad to have the fifth year's help with it since he seemed to know a lot about Beating. Which might sound like a scary thing but it helped them an awful lot.

Actually, she was concerned about Derry often. He lived with the Imposter or something. The vile woman had somehow done a really good job of convincing people that she was the real Amelia Pierce and Derry's mother had apparently been taken in. Kirstenna was both worried that the Imposter would hurt him-which would make them down a player, they had four reserves who were decent players but the fifth year was far better-and that she'd use him for her nefarious purposes, the way Seth Brockert had been sucked in by the Beetle Lady. Merlin only knew what that woman was up to now that she was no longer working at Sonora. Maybe Derry would get Imperiused too, but instead of being better like Aladren, he would become a worse player. Or she could end up trying to make him take out his own team instead.

She wondered why the Imposter, who was some Savannah Carey, had it in for the Pierces. Kirstenna didn't really understand pureblood society but perhaps she and the Real Amelia Pierce had once been partners and not just in the "in crime" sense. Their families hadn't approved which had lead to Amelia Pierce's disownment and eventual death, because the rest of the Careys had killed her out right for soiling their relative's reputation. The Imposter, angry at the situation, had vowed revenge on the New Hampshire Pierces, and decided to take her er, friend's place, because the Imposter loved Amelia Pierce that much. Because they were both so evil. Now the Imposter was going to either try to harm Derry or turn him into her minion.

Kirstenna watched as Carter zoomed down the field, noting that he was not passing the Quaffle. She frowned slightly. The Teppenpaw captain supposed it was one way to keep it out of the hands of the Aladrens but the thing was that this was a team and Kirstenna didn't really approve of one person hogging all the glory and being a show off. Plus, it made him a target for Bludgers.

Now, the first year was trying to score and it might all be worth it if he made it, but he didn't.She hadn't really expected him to, when he was going up against a Keeper who had played for years. However, David threw the ball at one of the Aladren Chasers and Carter intercepted it right away again, passing it off towards Arista instead of taking another shot. Which, he actually probably should have done given he'd for whatever reason been going away from the goal posts. Unless he was trying to confuse the Aladren Chasers or something, like apparently he sort of was Kirstenna.

Russell Layne intercepted the ball and passed it back to Arthur and she readied herself again just in case they made it down. Carter got the Quaffle once again from the Aladren fifth year and headed back down the pitch towards the goals, going for another shot as Laurie sent a Bludger at Arthur, getting him on the shoulder. It wasn't good to be happy at another's pain, a bit Imposterish perhaps, but she couldn't help but be pleased nonetheless and hoped it was bad enough for Arthur to be taken out for the rest of the game, but of course, quickly healed afterwards.

11 Kirstenna, Keeper Fortunately, you're not the one with the Beater's bat. 161 Kirstenna, Keeper 0 5

David Wilkes, Keeper

October 09, 2012 11:24 AM

I'm sneaking a Disillusioned one in next time. by David Wilkes, Keeper

David had long since internalized the habit of not swearing out loud very much – enough that it had been sort of weird even during his captain’s speech, one of those things he assigned to the role of ‘Captain Wilkes,’ an entity which didn’t have much to do with day-to-day David at all – but he was not so inhibited in his own head, and came up with a few new combinations when the Teppenpaw Chaser flew around the hoops again. He wasn’t, honestly, completely sure that was even legal, he remembered something from that Quidditch book about what direction the Chasers could shoot from but didn’t remember it if extended to whizzing around the Keeper’s head like a mosquito before that point, but it did annoy him, and he had, as previously noted, picked Keeper when forced to pick something specifically because it was the position where he was least likely to be annoyed.

Following the Chaser with his eyes, he saw him heading toward one side and started that way, too, but not quite quickly enough – the Quaffle slipped just past his fingers and into the hoop this time.

Be nice, he willed himself as he retrieved the ball, wanting very much to kick something. You are not that guy who throws helmets after the football games. You are not even at the football games. Good for the little guy, you like underdogs, he can go pro after you no longer have anything to do with this sport and that’ll be fantastic for everybody….Well, except you, because he’ll have a ton of money and if he does this again today, you’ll probably have a hit out on you, but that’s cool, too….

Arthur appeared to be trying to block the Teppenpaw out of another interception, which was just fine with David. If they collided, they collided; the worst that could happen was that Teppenpaw got a free shot at the goals, and since they had spent the game so far pretty much taking one of those every two minutes anyway, he really didn’t see what difference that would make. He threw the ball back to one of the other Aladren Chasers and willed them to shape up and go bother Kirstenna with it. She was the super-Keeper around these parts, she’d probably enjoy the challenge, and then they’d both be happy.

16 David Wilkes, Keeper I'm sneaking a Disillusioned one in next time. 169 David Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Arista Thornton, Chaser

October 09, 2012 1:36 PM

Being a giant mosquito. by Arista Thornton, Chaser

Arista was antsy before the first game of the year. Part of it, she knew, was because they were playing Aladren. It had been YEARS since Teppenpaw had the pleasure of playing them, Arista hardly remembered what happened the last time they played against one another apart from the fact that most of the players ended up in the Hospital Tent at some point in the game. Let’s not repeat that for Teppenpaw this time… If Aladren wants to, that’s up to them… she thought to herself as she walked around the whole week before the game. We will win. We will win. We will win. she chanted inside her mind every chance she got.

There was a serious need to win this time. Both for Kirstenna’s last year and for Teppenpaw House. Arista was tired of the other houses poking fun of them for ‘being the friendly house’. Sure, they were friendly, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t want anything like a win. Teppenpaw had spirit, at least this year, and it wasn’t just her. Carter, her little protégé had caught on brilliantly and the sixth year was thrilled that Captain Kirstenna had seen it too and put him on the starting roster with her as a Chaser.

If it were up to Arista and Carter they’d win hands down. Of course, that meant that Kate had to catch the Snitch before Arnold did. Ris had a lot of respect for her roommate and wished her well, reminding her that whatever happened she knew that she did a good job and she knew what the other sixth year could do.

Arista had a hard time falling asleep the night before the match. She figured she would, but it had been a while since that had happened. Even staring at the snow globe Uncle Bryan had bought her when they were in England didn’t calm down her nerves like it usually did.

What if we don’t win tomorrow? she thought to herself, as she stared at her ceiling. Glancing around the room at her roommates, she wondered what they were all dreaming about as she yawned. She was tired, but just couldn’t sleep for the worry of a possibility of losing the game. Her mind was racing at something near 1000 miles a minute and she sighed as she heard one of the other Teppenpaws move around in their sleep. She didn’t know which one of them it was, but at the same time did it really matter in their darkened room?

But what if we do? was a second thought, and a more persistent one for sure. With another long sigh, the red-head rolled onto her side and tried once more to close her eyes. This time, thankfully, sleep worked and as she dropped off into dreamland her thoughts were on the win she was sure would happen that next morning and the friends on the team that she’d made.

***

Waking up with a start, hearing the others get up and moving, she got up and in a whirlwind of activity got herself ready. Black leggings and a long-sleeve yellow shirt with her black socks and sneakers was what she’d decided on wearing under her game robes and as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her red hair was all over the place atop her head and she shook it out, bent over and brushed it into a pony--tale at the top of her head. The length of it, she wrapped into a bun to keep it out of her eyes and her long bangs were held back with bobby pins. “Much better.” she said to herself as she looked around at the now empty room. With a sigh, she grabbed her broom and robes and left the room to go get something to eat at Cascade Hall.

Walking into the hall with her robes over one arm and her broom in the other, she sat down by some of the Teppenpaws from the team and some that were not on the team and filled her plate with French toast, one of her favorite breakfast foods. Eating quickly, but not too fast at the same time, she looked at the others and said, “Are we ready to win?”

Some nodded to her, some looked at her funny, still more shook their heads at her. “No really, we can win. Aladren may be the team that wins mostly, but Pecari beat them and so can we!” she said, standing up and picking up her broom and robes again. “See you on the Pitch!” she told the rest of the team, waving as she walked towards the door.

Arista wanted nothing more than to win for Teppenpaw that day. It was high time Teppenpaw won the Championships! Well, passed high time, if you’d asked her!

Arista got to the Pitch earlier than the others and, leaving her robes on the ground near the benches, she mounted her new broom from London and flew a few laps around both sets of goal hoops while she waited for the others to arrive. Slowly the team arrived, including Bri (who she’d seen on the grass, but didn’t interrupt while she flew). Kirstenna spoke, and Arista moved closer to the group of them to hear what she had to say. Though the sixth year didn’t dismount her broom, she hovered near the group.

"Okay guys, I know Aladren is tough but we can do this. We're pretty good. Arista, you were amazing last year. Arista grinned and nodded towards Kirstenna as she kept talking. “Derry, Laurie, you're terrific Beaters and I think you're just as good as your cousins, if not better. Kate, you're a great Seeker and don't ever think otherwise. Marcus, I feel you've done a good job so far and you'll continue to improve. Carter, you show a lot of promise. Reserves, I have every confidence that if someone gets taken out, you'll do wonderful filling in. This is going to be our year."

Arista nodded in agreement and grinned even wider from her hover on the broom.

“It WILL be our year.” Brielle exclaimed in her theatrical voice that made Arista chuckle at her younger sister. At the same time, she knew Bri was right. This year belonged to Teppenpaw!

Coach welcomed them and started talking. "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?" Kirstenna shook David’s hand and flew up to the Goals as Coach said that the game begins on her whistle and ends when a Seeker catches the Snitch.

Coach Pierce released the Snitch and Bludgers and tossed up the Quaffle on the count of three, the teams both mounted and flew to their positions. Arista had noticed the blue sky, bright sun and fluffy white clouds but wasn’t focused on them as Arthur Carey beat her to the Quaffle. With a groan, she took off after him, but Carter beat her to it! She smiled as the first year caught up to him and stole the ball back.

She heard Bri from the bench, “YES! You can do it Carter!” and echoed her sister. “Atta boy! Go for it!” she called out to him as she followed behind him to grab the red ball if he needed her to. The boy, however made a run halfway across the Pitch just as she was known to do (and he had done at Tryouts) and shot at the hoops. She watched, feeling anxious and excited at the prospect of Teppenpaw actually getting points in a game and she flew to sit underneath the hoops just in case the ball dropped back down again.

Carter was making this run, he wasn’t going to pass it and Arista understood why. Aladren was known for interfering and stealing balls back. I guess he was really listening when we told him that…? she thought as she wondered if he would actually try to pass it after all. When he didn’t, she shrugged and dropped down underneath the hoops to rebound the ball when David got it, whether Carter made the shot or not.

Rista watched as David caught the Quaffle instead of it going in and she shouted, “It’s alright Carter! We will get it!” towards him so that he knew she was there and on his side for this win. David through the ball back out to the other Aladrens, but Carter intercepted it. She grinned at her little protégé as he tried to pass it to her. She reached for it, but Russell intercepted back and she growled inwardly at that. Darnit! she thought to herself as she went back after Russell again.

Carter had gone away from Aladren’s hoops though, she wasn’t too sure why, unless it was that he was trying to confuse them? Which looked like it was the case, so she shrugged it off and watched Carter wind his way to Russell and the Quaffle and steal it back. Arista laughed and wondered if he’d gotten that from her at practices or if that was something he had done originally.

Carter went for another run around the hoops and took another shot a the goals just as Laurie sent a Bludger right at Arnold! “NICE ONE!” she shouted towards the younger red-head. The black ball hit him on what looked like his shoulder. Arista hoped it would take him out, but it wasn’t looking like that. Nuts… she thought as she turned her attention back to the fact that Carter was shooting at the goals again.

When the Quaffle slipped right through David’s fingers, Arista (and probably the entire Teppenpaw bench and side of the Pitch) exploded in cheers! “YES!! ATTA BOY CARTER!” she called, rushing towards the hoops again to deflect any rebound steals from Aladren’s Chasers.

When she spotted Arthur going right at Carter, her eyes got bigger than dinner plates. Intervene or let him hold his own…? she thought as she’d made up her mind on what to do. She intercepted the pass from David to his Aladrens and made a run between Carter and Arthur, making it a point to shout, “MOVE!” to him as she flew high and doubled back closer to Aladren’s goals.

Now it was Arista’s turn, David hadn’t played against her in a long time and wasn’t sure of how gutsy she really was. She was the Thornton’s risk taker after all, and she probably always would be. She flew fast and headed right at David’s hoops, but feigned a shot before careening around the hoops again like a giant mosquito. Teppenpaw would win, even if it took driving Aladren’s team mad to do it!

With the ball in her control still, she flew all around, diverting around any black Bludgers she heard coming her way, hoping that she would drive David crazy enough to miss it when she actually would attempt to make the shot into the hoops. Until she thought he had been driven to that point, she held tightly to the ball and flew around like a crazy person.

0 Arista Thornton, Chaser Being a giant mosquito. 0 Arista Thornton, Chaser 0 5

David Wilkes, Keeper

October 09, 2012 4:18 PM

Gets out the giant can of bug spray. by David Wilkes, Keeper

David’s fit of bad temper died down into resignation when the pass was intercepted. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered, giving Arista Thornton a flat look and waiting to see what she was going to do, hoping that she’d gotten lucky one time last year and was a target the Bludgers could actually hit today, but not expecting it. Clearly, karma was catching up with the Aladren team, and it was, indeed, a deeply unpleasant person. That, or the Teppenpaws were practicing unauthorized magic on the Quidditch players in their dorms, learning to cast spells to twist chance and probably using Supersensory Charms just for an added boost, and even though the Head Girl was a Carey Teppenpaw, he still thought cheating like that was more of an Aladren thing.

He flew when Arista did, but then she…didn’t shoot. Okay. His face twisted into an expression which might technically have been classified as a smile, he flew again, watching her until it began to seem evident that she was just having fun with him.

Karma, he thought gloomily, thinking of the times when the Aladrens had done this to other teams – especially Pecari, really. They had always had fun winding Pecari up. With Teppenpaw, he just remembered a lot of frustration, since they hadn’t been able to get a goal past Kirstenna until the last second, officially after Arnold had already caught the Snitch. It scared him a little that he remembered that. It scared him more that he was having to dodge Bludgers the Amazing Untouchable Teppenpaw – now one of a set, he thought, with the same lack of affect that he’d initially looked at her with – missed. Maybe her Evil Plan was to get him flattened and open the goals up so that her team didn't have to deal with any resistance at all. He had to admit, as far as Quidditch-related plans went, it wasn’t that bad, assuming that her luck held.

Finally, though, he started to get annoyed, and decided to see how Arnold’s strategy of talking the opposition to death worked for other positions. “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…” It wasn’t even a blatant lie, he thought. He would be ashamed. Not so much that it would really bother him if it helped him avoid injury, but he would be ashamed of it. He wasn't sure if that fact made taunting her better or worse, but it was there nonetheless. He felt proud of himself. One of the few things his family agreed on was that it was only after someone wasn't ashamed of things anymore that they were beyond all hope.

16 David Wilkes, Keeper *Gets out the giant can of bug spray.* 169 David Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Coach Pierce

October 09, 2012 5:12 PM

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

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

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 09, 2012 5:34 PM

Yeah, Bludgers are kind of hard to ignore. by Kate Bauer, Seeker

Kate was, for a pleasant change, actually in a good mood as she put on her yellow Quidditch robes and headed for the Pitch. She had been waiting for three years for the rematch against Arnold Carey, and now that the chance was in front of her, she was determined to be the one who was just half a second faster, or less injured, or whatever had happened last time this time. She had come closer to beating the famous Arnold Carey than she had anyone else in her entire career, basically, and had been dreaming of really doing it since her second year. It was time to make those dreams a reality.

The brightness of the sun wasn’t a completely welcome sight, but there were a few clouds in the sky, here and there, so she just had to have faith that they were going to favor her and help blind Arnold. She smiled when Kirstenna assured her she was a great Seeker, knowing it was probably more because the captain was nice than because she believed it but still feeling confident that she was going to prove the point today. She hadn’t, in the long picture, been a great Seeker, but she thought she might have a chance of being remembered as one if she could just beat Carey, at least for a few years, until a few more of her teammates graduated. Maybe a little longer, if she could somehow do it again next year. Being the second person to do it instead of the first would, after all, be a little less impressive on its own….

The sheer Layneishness of the thought was something that barely bothered her as they headed for midfield and the handshake. Kate had long since recognized and accepted her own hypocrisy on that point. Nothing wrong with it, she thought. Everyone was a little bit of a hypocrite, deep down. She was self-aware enough to admit it, and that was what counted. When Arnold waved at her, Kate smiled and waved back, picturing the look on his face when he realized she had the Snitch at the end of the game, and resisted the impulse to change the wave into a rude hand gesture just before kickoff.

“Not for you,” she shouted back when Arnold announced it was a nice day for it, and then took up ignoring him in favor of looking for the Snitch. Confident or not, if she saw it, Kate planned to go straight for it, rather than waiting to give the game time to be played. She wanted this over as quickly as possible.

She did, though, see it when Derry hit a Bludger at him and cheered quietly…just in time to see Arnold dive. She hesitated, wondering if he was trying to avoid the Bludger or if he’d just seen the Snitch, but she finally decided to follow him, just not to get too close. That didn’t work either, though, because she guessed she’d gotten closer than she meant to, because the next thing she knew, a Bludger was heading toward her, and by the looks of it, Aladren had finally noticed that it might be smart to put the bigger of their two current Beaters in their big former Beater’s place. Great.

Kate flew up, higher, to avoid the Bludger, trusting Derry to catch it and hit it toward Arnold again. Meanwhile, she had a glitter of gold to look for, and curse the way she couldn’t see something the size of a walnut clearly across the whole Pitch even in good light about.

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker Yeah, Bludgers are kind of hard to ignore. 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Thad Pierce, Beater

October 09, 2012 6:00 PM

Is that your metaphor for me? by Thad Pierce, Beater

Thad had not been having a good game so far. Oh, the day started well enough. He woke up with his alarm and did a couple warm-up exercises to get the blood moving and ate a good breakfast, made sure he was well hydrated, and got out to the pitch with his personal broom (which was newer than the ones some old captain had gifted the team with some years ago and had been thoroughly checked over last night) with plenty of time to spare. He'd thought the sun was a little bright, but it was a comfortable temperature for a game and he rather have sun than rain. Sun didn't make the bat slippery in his hands or the bludgers hard to find.

David's speech was not his worst one, Thad's take-off had gone smoothly, and Arthur got the Quaffle right away. It was after that when things started to spiral in the wrong direction.

Derry had gotten a bludger and gone after Arnold. Ordinarily, Derry was the least scary person Thad knew. However, Quidditch Beater Derry was not Ordinary Derry, and Quidditch Beater Derry was kind of creepy. Thad had been fortunate enough that on the occasions when they had batted bludgers around in the backyard, they both had bats and they were pretending to be teammates, but that just meant Thad knew what went through Derry's head when he was Beating, and right this moment he somewhat wished he didn't.

See, Quidditch Beater Derry told him about which parts of the body hurt the most when hit with a bludger, and how the different kinds of injuries would affect the ability of the target to continue playing. Quidditch Beater Derry liked to explain that it was better to injure a player than take them out entirely because that meant a fresh alternate would be brought in who wasn't battered and exhausted like everyone else. Quidditch Beater Derry showed him how to practice aiming bludgers, so they would hit right where you wanted it to go, and Derry was actually very good at that. Much better than Thaddeus was. Plus Thad was both two years younger, and smaller in relative stature to those his own age than Derry was, so Derry could put a lot more power behind a bludger than Thaddeus could.

So when it looked like Preston was going to change his usual position and deal with Derry and the Seekers this game, Thad was more than a little relieved.

That meant he was up against the other Stratford, Lawrence or Laurie or something, who was also older and bigger than him, but not by as much as Derry was. It also meant he was dealing with the giant mob of Chasers that liked to weave in and out between each other in a blue and yellow pack. Thad got the bludger once and sent it after the annoying little kid to no avail - he was quick and tiny - and Laurie got the bludger once and sent it after Arthur to much better effect - and there were too many people in the way for Thad to get there in time to stop it; he'd very nearly run over Kitty in an effort to do so but managed to avoid a collision with his own teammate though Arthur paid for it.

By the time Arista got hold of the Quaffle, Thad was sure Preston had let him handle the Seeker part of the game for his first two matches out of pity and the certainty that Thad just wasn't good enough to keep up with all the moving parts involved with the Chaser mob. He almost wished he was up against Derry because surely even Derry couldn't make him feel this incompetent.

Finally, though, while Arista was weaving around and David taunted her, Thad finally caught up with the bludger again and thought he had a good shot at Teppenpaw's oldest Chaser. He swung his bat and it clanged against the metal ball and flew as fast and true as the smallest beater on the Pitch could make it go toward the yellow clad girl with the Quaffle. Even if it hit her throwing arm, like he was hoping, he doubted he had the strength to make it do much more than a bad bruise, but even a bruising might throw her off her aim a little.

0 Thad Pierce, Beater Is that your metaphor for me? 0 Thad Pierce, Beater 0 5

Arista Thornton, Chaser

October 09, 2012 8:53 PM

The cat came back... by Arista Thornton, Chaser

Arista had been flying like a crazy person. This, she knew. She was also not afraid of it. Who cares what the other team thinks of me. What matters is Teppenpaw winning today, if they think I’m irritating, good! I don’t care. she thought to herself as she spotted the look on David’s face in one of her many trips around him and his hoops, still holding tightly to the Quaffle.

God… I’m actually ENJOYING myself right now! she thought to herself as she chuckled. So this is why Aladrens do stupid stuff like this… Not only does it sidetrack the other team, but its fun too! She flew towards David and feigned like she was gonna shoot, but didn’t. Instead she’d gone over his hoops and around again. This is awesome! she thought as she’d seen that he had actually followed her! What a hoot!

She heard bludgers and dodged them just as nicely as she had done in years past. The unmistakable sound of the black ball was something her ears were attuned to and they didn’t scare her, in fact, they made her realize where she was more than anything else.

“Thornton, are you here to play ball or just look stupid?”

She’d heard the words and looked to David as if he was ridiculous. He doesn’t scare me, doesn’t intimidate me, nothing. I am Chaser, hear me roar! she thought as she looked back at him. “Who’s the stupid one? I’m not the one that let a first year get a Quaffle passed you!” she said back at him.

“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…”

“Funny you should say that, I’m not outclassed by him, I told him to go for it! You don’t scare me!” she said as she flew by and around again, spotting Carter out of the corner of her eye. He was right in the spot they had planned, set and ready for her. Perfect… she thought to herself as she started to sing.

“The cat came back, the very next day. The cat came back, you thought she was a goner but the cat came back… She just couldn’t stay away…” If David was going to try to distract her, why couldn’t she do the same? She repeated the same words over and over again as she laughed inwardly. This is hilarious!

Arista weaved around again as she sang, and heard the clang of the bat on the metal ball. She knew by sound where it was and where it was headed, so she ducked down and it missed her entirely. Looking back up, still in control of the Quaffle, she saw it head towards David. This could be interesting… she thought as she made her way to the spot where she and Carter had planned to meet up after he’d started with the ball.

She got up to him, firstly checking that he was okay with his almost encounter with Arthur, and handing him the Quaffle directly, but kept her arms in position so others would think that she still had it. They were about to confuse the Aladrens. They’d all think she had the ball, and he’d get close enough to put it in, but then pass it right to her where she would take the shot. If it went in, great, if not, he would rebound it and they would try again. Carter and Arista at least were bound and determined to keep the ball on Aladren’s side. If it was staying on Aladren’s side, there wasn’t much for Kirstenna to do on the other, and they had a better chance of scoring so Kate could get the Snitch.

At least this year she wasn’t almost alone in the hunt for points!

We can do this, we really can. Teppenpaw can BEAT Aladren. Let’s do this! she thought to herself as she watched Carter carefully as he went off with the ball. She followed him closely, arms still looking like she had the ball.

0 Arista Thornton, Chaser The cat came back... 0 Arista Thornton, Chaser 0 5

Carter Browning, Chaser

October 09, 2012 9:04 PM

the very next day by Carter Browning, Chaser

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.

0 Carter Browning, Chaser the very next day 0 Carter Browning, Chaser 0 5

Captain Wilkes, Keeper

October 09, 2012 9:22 PM

I thought you were a bug . Get your species straight! by Captain Wilkes, Keeper

Not bad, David thought upon hearing her reply. Not bad at all. I did open myself right up for that one. “Sheer dumb luck,” he hollered back. “You’ve got the tactical mind of a concussed flobberworm if you’re recommending plays like that.” This, he felt, was accurate, if indelicately phrased; if any of his tried to carry the ball across that much of the Pitch once, he’d be inclined to yell at them after, even if they didn’t get hurt. He wouldn’t do it, because he was a shameless coward, but he would really want to, and might passive-aggressively slip a remark about that kind of thing into his next general address at practice at least. Her people were either cheating or lucky, not actually good at Quidditch, if they were trying that kind of thing.

She started singing, he had no idea what, and David laughed. “Seek therapy,” he said. “I seriously doubt you’re bright enough to become an Animagus.”

Insulting someone else’s intelligence was, he had to admit, more familiar to him than calling someone chicken was, even if he was couching it in different language here. In elementary school, calling other people morons in the biggest words he could come up with in the heat of the moment - a task he had done better with, he thought, on the first try than the second this time, which was weird, but whatever - had been the only way he’d had available to him for retaliating against those who took what he would swear before Congress was genuine and unreserved pleasure at stealing his homework, damaging his books, and occasionally assaulting his person. They didn’t get it, and he got some satisfaction out of knowing they were dumb enough to not know they were being called dumb. Not as much satisfaction as he would have gotten from setting Thad and Preston and their bats on them, that was true, but some. He had refrained from that at Sonora because people at Sonora had generally either been pleasant or at worst ignored his existence entirely, but he still remembered how to do it.

“Chicken! Get her – “ he started to yell as Arista flew away, then just yelled when he saw a Bludger and shot up in the air to avoid it, assuming Thad would go get it, then hit it back in the right direction. If he didn’t, David was going to entertain fantasies of yelling at a Pierce for a good long time after this game, even if he never indulged them. Maybe his Beater thought in terms of Muggleborn and pureblood off the Pitch, maybe he didn't, but they were supposed to all be Aladrens out here.

16 Captain Wilkes, Keeper I thought you were a bug . Get your species straight! 169 Captain Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Thad Pierce, Beater

October 09, 2012 10:29 PM

This is just getting annoying by Thad Pierce, Beater

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.

0 Thad Pierce, Beater This is just getting annoying 0 Thad Pierce, Beater 0 5

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.

0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser You're getting annoying... 0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser 0 5

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.

0 Carter, Chaser Re: You're getting annoying... 0 Carter, Chaser 0 5

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.

0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser Small sacrifices for a hopeful win. 0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser 0 5

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.

11 Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper Watching. 161 Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper 0 5

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…

0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser Some help please Marcus... 0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser 0 5

Captain Wilkes, Keeper

October 10, 2012 7:57 PM

Kind of hard for him to do until I have a chance to Keep. by Captain Wilkes, Keeper

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.

16 Captain Wilkes, Keeper Kind of hard for him to do until I have a chance to Keep. 169 Captain Wilkes, Keeper 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

October 10, 2012 8:12 PM

Harder now. by Russell Layne, Chaser

“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.

16 Russell Layne, Chaser Harder now. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 10, 2012 8:47 PM

But that's why I've got Preston by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Turning, Arnold saw Preston hitting the Bludger toward Kate and he nodded to himself. The game was on, and the Beaters were all playing to win, which was, of course, as it was supposed to be. Half the fun of the game would be gone if there weren’t competent Beaters who were playing as hard as the Seekers; he’d rather play lousy Beaters than a completely lousy opposing Seeker, of course, but it was better when everyone was good and the winner deserved to be, well, the winner. Winning too easily was never as much fun as a good fight.

At least for now, anyway. A few times, he’d gotten injured enough, or been playing long enough, or just been in a bad enough mood that day that he’d wanted the game over with and he really hadn’t cared if it was a good game or not, but by and large, Arnold enjoyed playing Quidditch and wanted to do it right. Today was one of the days when he felt that way.

Glancing at the rest of the game just in time to see Arthur get hit by a Bludger made him think his twin might not agree with him – Arthur didn’t like rough games as well as Arnold did, much less ones where the ball seemed to be spending a lot of time with the other team – but at the moment, there wasn’t much Arnold could do about that, so after silently echoing David’s earlier exhortation for the Beaters to give Teppenpaw hell, he ignored them again and flew in a new direction, looking around for the Snitch or for any suspicious movements from his opposite number.

Not finding it, and getting tense as things stayed at the Teppenpaw end of the Pitch for a longer time than felt right, without any movement away from the goals even if the Teppenpaws were constantly getting the ball and throwing it at the goals over and over again, Arnold made a few extraneous, fast loops, just to break the monotony, and then, coming out of the last one and feeling a little dizzy, he spotted it, glimmering on the grass twenty feet below him: The Snitch.

Which brought up, of course, the critical question: to go for it, or to let it go?

He glanced toward the goals. Go for it. But as he dove, he blinked, just at the wrong second; when he looked again, it was gone again. Pulling his broom upright, Arnold smacked the handle in frustration, though he did pull the blow before it landed, and looked around the surrounding area in the hopes of spotting it again before it got far away, rising back up in the air to get a better view.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker But that's why I've got Preston 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 10, 2012 8:50 PM

And now harder still by Arthur Carey, Chaser

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 Arthur Carey, Chaser And now harder still 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 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

Russell Layne, Chaser

October 10, 2012 11:07 PM

Oh, we will. by Russell Layne, Chaser

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 Russell Layne, Chaser Oh, we will. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 10, 2012 11:50 PM

And gladly, you needn't worry about that by Arthur Carey, Chaser

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 Arthur Carey, Chaser And gladly, you needn't worry about that 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 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.

0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser You're the ones who need to worry 0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

October 11, 2012 12:34 AM

I seriously doubt that. by Russell Layne, Chaser

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 Russell Layne, Chaser I seriously doubt that. 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 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.

0 Carter, Chaser I don't 0 Carter, Chaser 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 11, 2012 1:06 AM

Then you have been sadly misled by Arthur Carey, Chaser

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 Arthur Carey, Chaser Then you have been sadly misled 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 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... 0 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.

11 Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper I'm not either. 161 Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper 0 5

Coach Pierce

October 12, 2012 1:54 PM

Recentering (nm) by Coach Pierce

0 Coach Pierce Recentering (nm) 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Preston. Beater

October 12, 2012 8:36 PM

And here I am by Preston. Beater

One thing Preston loved about Quidditch was the quickness in which it passed. There was never a dull moment in a game and Merlin this one had surpassed his expectations. He had never had any respect for the Teppenpaws, but today they were actually playing quite well. It was a surprise. Now, when they won it would be more satisfying victory. The Aladren could already savor the well deserved victory.

Even when Teppenpaw had stepped up their game they weren’t a match for the Aladren team. They had the best beaters, chaser and seekers at school. Their constant winning streak was a beacon to their awesomeness. No one could deny it. They basically owned the Quidditch Pitch.

It was weird that the two beater groups were a Pierce-Stratford team. The Teppenpaw Pierce was bigger and older than the Aladren Pierce, but the Aladren Stratford was more experienced than the Teppenpaw Stratford. It was weird how Preston had never played Quidditch with his little cousin, which would have given him an advantage over Laurie, but they weren’t in speaking terms. And besides, his cousin had played Chaser for a while. No, he had the upper hand over Laurie, but Derry had it over Thad.

The redhead wasn’t really paying attention to the Chasers or the other beaters, since his job was focused on taking Kate out of the game. Without a seeker Teppenpaw would suffer a great loss.

The Teppenpaw Seeker dodged the bludger he had sent her way. Preston frowned at that turn of events and went looking for a bludger to send towards her again. He spotted one flying not far from where he was and went after it. He swung his bat and made direct impact with it. The force and aim were considerable as he saw the bludger flying to where Kate was. He was not going to make this easy. He wanted to win. He was going to win.

0 Preston. Beater And here I am 0 Preston. Beater 0 5

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 18, 2012 2:26 PM

Yes, there you are. by Kate Bauer, Seeker

Deep down, Kate was somehow sure this was it. She had a whole year left at school, during which it seemed very likely that they were both going to keep playing the game, but she just had a feeling that just as she and Aladren had first played each other in her second year, they were playing each other – with her and Arnold as Seekers, anyway – in her second to last year for the final time. There wasn’t going to be a rematch next year. For her, anyway, beating Aladren was something to do now or never.

Well, game on. Knowing Arnold’s proclivity for distracting the opposing Seeker, she avoided him for the moment, flying to look for the Snitch, not to engage with her enemy. She was a little worried about it, since most of his games did end with neck-in-neck races for the Snitch, which implied he was at least a little better than average at spotting it, but if she could find it on her own first, then she would be okay….

Assuming, of course, that she didn’t get hit by a Bludger. She looked up, and there one was, soaring straight toward her – and doing so too fast. It caught her a glancing blow, which threw her off-course as she accelerated at the same time and the forces went against each other.

Spinning, her shoulder aching, Kate forced herself to grit her teeth and grab her broom with both hands to get herself back in control and back on the hunt. Once she was pointing entirely in one direction again, she looked around for – she didn’t even know for sure. Arnold, the Snitch, something she could work with here.

Arnold was what she spotted first, and he seemed to be looking intently for something. Was the Snitch in that area? He wasn’t too high in the air. Maybe he thought he had seen it and was looking for it again now. Or maybe he’d just lost it and decided to concentrate heavily on one bit of the Pitch at the time. The big game – the one they weren’t part of – seemed to be getting dirty, so she was guessing he’d want this over at least as much as she did, for his brother’s sake (and, she thought grimly, for Aladren’s sake in general; they weren’t looking so good this time around). She decided to go over there and see what was up.

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker Yes, there you are. 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 18, 2012 2:43 PM

Isn't he awesome? by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Still moving up, his eyes darting all around the grass immediately beneath him and just around it, Arnold bit his lip in frustration, realizing that the Snitch had gone again. Maybe it had gone behind him when he was still too close to the ground to see in every direction, then off at an angle, or maybe he was just looking so hard for it that he wasn’t finding it, he didn’t know, but either way, for all purposes which were at all useful to him, it was gone again, which meant the game was still on, and from what he was picking up, that wasn’t a good thing. It was all right for him and Preston right now, but they had to live with two of the Aladren Chasers, and Arthur, at least, was going to be in a killing mood if what Arnold thought was going on was going on and kept going on much longer.

He remembered another game where the Chasers had sat around one Keeper for a long time, a really long time, though he hadn’t played in it – Crotalus versus Pecari a few years ago, he didn’t even remember which year, but he did know it had gotten kind of boring watching in the stands. If he remembered right, one of the Crotalus Chasers had finally broken it off herself, even though her team hadn’t yet lost possession of the Quaffle; presumably, they had all gotten kind of bored with how things were going, too. There was a point at which messing with the rival team was fun, but then, after a while, especially if they weren’t able to fight back, it just got boring, or – at least for him – made you feel like a lousy human being, but both ways were something less than fun.

What he was doing at the moment wasn’t much fun, either, so when he saw Kate heading his way, he decided he might as well have some fun if she didn’t seem in immediate danger of catching the Snitch. Hopefully, they would be able to give the audience something entertaining to watch, too. Arnold did see that as an important part of the game; there were other things on the line, including House pride and House points and maybe the occasional romance, but really, at the end of the day, the game was supposed to be about enjoying themselves and entertaining a crowd. Looking one last time, hard, around the area for the Snitch, he determined that it almost surely wasn’t there, then looked up, frowned intently, and then shot straight up in the air, his hand held out as though to grasp the Snitch.

A momentary diversion, but it would give people something to get excited about for a minute, and get him to another part of the Pitch, and who knew. Maybe they could even have an exciting finish when one of them did find the Snitch. The final chase was half the fun, after all. He felt a little disappointed if catching the Snitch was too easy.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker Isn't he awesome? 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 18, 2012 3:02 PM

'Awesome' is not the word I had in mind. by Kate Bauer, Seeker

Kate wasn’t too far away from Arnold when he looked up, then shot off as though to go catch the Snitch. It tickled the back of her mind that maybe he was feinting, but her mind wasn’t overly involved in things by that point; when he’d sped off, her heart had given a great leap in her chest, and she had been following him even before he extended his arm, furthering the ruse. She had to catch him; that was the important thing, the only thing she thought much about for a second.

After she gained some of her ground back, though, she got on with the conscious process of looking, and she didn’t see the Snitch anywhere. It didn’t make much sense – why would he want her on his tail going up? It was kinda hard to try a Wronski Feint without any ground for the opponent to plow painfully into, though she honestly didn’t think either of them was good enough to pull that maneuver off the way it was supposed to be pulled. Now, if he saw it, she was right in there with him to get it. The only thing she could think was that he was trying to get her Bludgered again, but they were close enough that she might manage to catch him with it, too, and even if she didn’t, then Derry would probably be able to deflect it without too much trouble.

Or he was just cracking up, or just trying to confuse her, or…Kate decided it was in the best interests of her mental health not to try too hard to understand Aladrens. It was a lesson she thought she should have learned a long time ago, given that she had an uncle and a sister in that House, but what could she say, Uncle Geoff hadn’t even been a name until Momma suddenly informed them she had a brother just before Rachel’s first year and Alicia was…a riddle. Kate had always privately figured her little sister for a Crotalus of the frilliest type before she started school and started wearing blue even more than that wacky Classics tutor of hers and Isaac’s did, so she didn’t think it was too safe for her to speculate about Aladren behavior based on that relative, either.

For now, she decided to see if she couldn’t get him to plow into the ground, or at least split off from her again. “Oh!” she cried, as though very surprised, and then dove for the ground, copying the move of acting as though she were reaching for the Snitch…only, just as she started the dive, she thought she saw it for real and felt, for the second time in far too few minutes, a sensation like she was definitely having problems of a cardiac nature as she registered what she was seeing, but this time, she was already moving in one direction as she tried to reorient herself and be sure of what was really what….

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker 'Awesome' is not the word I had in mind. 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 18, 2012 3:36 PM

It was 'fantastic,' wasn't it? by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold grinned when he saw that Kate had followed him, but figured out quickly enough that she knew he didn’t have the Snitch, so he lowered his arm so both hands could be back on the handle of his broom as he continued to fly, looking for the Snitch for real. At least there had been a bit of a thrill there, in running fast, and maybe the spectators had sat on the edges of their seats for a moment. The rest of the players didn’t seem in any hurry to go home, and he didn’t really expect to lose to Kate if she stayed close by, so he thought he could afford his moment of fun.

Looking all around, he thought he saw a glint from the corner of his eye, but it turned out to have been either his imagination or a reflection of some kind, and he was completely distracted from it by Kate’s sudden exclamation. Turning quickly, Arnold looked in the direction she was going, looked again –

“Huh,” he said, then dove, too.

Part of why he had done it so often in the past few months had definitely been to help work off some of the stress that Fae and CATS and everything else was causing him, that had really even been the bigger part of it, and another part had been because he just enjoyed the exercise and the risk a lot, but knowing that it was a useful skill to have was definitely a chunk of the reason why Arnold spent time practicing very fast, steep dives. With enough practice, he stopped noticing the blur that was the ground so much, and learned to see through the wind in his eyes, and barely thought at all about the possibility of falling off and maybe breaking his neck just from the force of being caught, even though he thought that was about as unlikely as actually hitting the ground would be. It could be fun, just on an evening when he thought his brain was going to gently drip out of his ears if he tried to cram one more theory into it, but during a game, it let him focus on what he was doing when he needed to focus on that, let his world pretty much narrow to the objective, which was usually always the same: get there first.

Kate had a bit of a head start on him, though, so this time, the goal had been slightly adjusted, so that part of it was catch up and the next section was get there first. He wasn’t concerned about it, he knew he could catch up to her, but he was focused on doing so just the same, because not focusing would mean messing up, and he was not going to mess up. He was going to get there, and if the Snitch was there when he got there, he was going to catch it and Aladren would go home with another win, simple as that.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker It was 'fantastic,' wasn't it? 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 18, 2012 3:55 PM

You aren't much good at guessing games, are you? by Kate Bauer, Seeker

For a second, Kate worried she was going to unseat herself in her alarm, but then, under the pressure of knowing that this might well be it, everything clicked together, and she entered the dive as planned, then began to change direction as she went, quickly enough that she thought she had some hope of getting there first but not so fast that she thought she was in danger of coming off the broom. The coach would catch her if she fell, she knew, but from what she remembered from the good old days when they’d all been newer to the game and falls had been a regular occurrence in games, that probably wouldn’t stop the game, which would mean that Arnold would just be able to basically stroll over to the Snitch and pick it up at his leisure.

That sounded fun. If by ‘fun’ one meant ‘not remotely fun at all.’ If that happened, Kate thought she might very well get killed tonight, but if she was, she would beg for the privilege of doing the same to Arnold Carey before it was done to her. Her Teppenpaw ideals knew it wouldn’t really be his fault if she fell off her broom and he took advantage of the time to catch the Snitch without opposition – she knew perfectly well that, in that position, she would catch the Snitch and not feel one bit bad about not giving her competition a fighting chance – but this wasn’t Teppenpaw, this was Quidditch. It was not a game really designed to bring the best out in people.

The Snitch was, she could see now, fluttering, not darting. It might stay in the area another minute, which would make it a lot easier to catch, or it might shoot out of sight at any second. She had a theory that they could tell when the Seeker was approaching and actively ran and hid when they sensed it, though she had never bothered looking it up to see if she was right or not. Now, she sort of wished she had, but it wasn’t like she’d really have time for a subtle approach anyway….

Her shoulder twinged, and she turned her head that way half-instinctively, only to catch a glimpse over it of Arnold Carey gaining on her. Nope. Definitely on time for being subtle. She pushed her broom to go faster, her eyes darting back to the Snitch and locking onto it, willing herself to get there by a margin of just seconds, that was all she'd need....

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker You aren't much good at guessing games, are you? 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Coach Pierce

October 18, 2012 10:34 PM

Time Out and Restart by Coach Pierce

OOC: Apologies for the delay. Between being ill, not having internet for a few days, last minute house guests, and a birthday, this past week got away from me. BIC:

She had almost forgotten - or perhaps she had suppressed the memory - of the mess that had been the last Aladren-Teppenpaw game. As Amelia took to the air, following the blue and yellow robed players, parts of it came back to her. She couldn't help but wonder if the long stretch between these two teams facing one another had been the mere oversight she had initially taken it for, or a deliberate but subconscious avoidance of the rematch. As the bludgers immediately began to fly with vicious intent, she could not entirely dismiss the later possibility.

Teppenpaw scored early and she announced the new score to the spectators as the game continued. Soon, Arthur took a hit that didn't seem too bad. Carter's broom was also hit but it still seemed to work well enough. Arista took a bludger to the knee, but leg hits - while undoubtedly painful - were neither lethal nor as debilitating as a hit higher on the body. Further away, Kate took a glancing blow as well, to her shoulder it looked like, but shortly thereafter engaged with Arnold in a Seekers' Duel so she was clearly doing all right.

Amelia kept her whistle close for all four incidents, but did not use it. Amelia prefered a general policy of non-interference and none of the hits looked like it merited a stop to play or an enforced visit to the Medic's tent.

After another few exchanges, two bludgers converged on Carter, hitting both his broom and his person at almost the same time. This time, the whistle made it up to Amelia’s lips, but she didn’t blow into it. The injury looked no more serious than any of the others, again striking the legs, and the broom was only nicked and remained in the air.

There were a few more near misses, but none of them connected. A few more passes and interceptions were made. The ball alternated between a Teppenpaw advantage and an Aladren one. It never made it to Captain Melcher, and it never made it back to Captain Wilkes either. The Seekers were having fun, and Amelia was just starting to enjoy herself when she saw Captain Melcher waving and calling for a Time Out.

She’d seen nothing to warrant an official whistle blow to stop play, but the Captains always had a right to call a time-out, so, honoring Captain Melcher’s request, Amelia blew the whistle and called out, loud enough for everyone on the pitch and in the stands to hear, “Time Out requested by Teppenpaw.” The official rules stated it could last up to two hours if the game had already gone on for over twelve hours, but Sonora games did not ever reach that length so they had a different maximum length. “Both sides will meet at the center line in five minutes.”

Once that time had elapsed, she waited while the stragglers joined her in the air over the center circle. The players (less the Keepers who were at their appointed posts at the far ends) arrayed themselves with the Aladrens on their side and the Teppenpaws on theirs. Amelia hovered between them, holding the Quaffle in one hand and her whistle in the other. “Game resumes on three. One. Two. Three.” She blew the whistle, threw the quaffle up, dove below the range of play to get out of the way, and released the stasis spell she’d put on the bludgers to keep them from attacking people during the time out. Time had been called after the Snitch was spotted but before it was caught, so it had had the duration to find a new hiding spot. The Seekers would need to find it again before the game could end.

0 Coach Pierce Time Out and Restart 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Russell Layne, Chaser

October 18, 2012 11:25 PM

Here we go again.... by Russell Layne, Chaser

The ball had begun a weary, depressing trek back and forth between the Aladren and Teppenpaw Chasers, changing teams almost every other play, but Russell thought that things might be about to improve. Two of the Teppenpaw Chasers were injured now, he thought they might have even taken some broom damage in that last battering they’d gotten, and he could see Arnold and Kate in a dive his roommate was sure to win, if the Snitch really was there, and Arthur had the Quaffle and was in the middle of passing when – the whistle blew.

Russell fumbled the ball which had been heading toward him, dropped sharply in the air to retrieve it before it could hit the ground, and looked around wildly, trying to figure out which Seeker had the Snitch…only to realize it had been a time-out. He said a word his mother would have strongly disapproved of; habit kept it quiet, but the venom in his tone would have done to take out an army with. Of course Melcher had called a time-out; she had realized she was on the brink of losing, and the only way to stop it, instead of taking it like a man, was to stop the game and let her Chasers get their affairs sorted out so that they had to start the whole thing over again, Arnold had to find the Snitch again…

His expression was not pleasant, despite his best efforts to smooth it out, as he tossed the Quaffle back to Coach Pierce and tried to take advantage of the brief respite from the non-stop action they had been in for the past half a dozen plays. Or had it been more? Less? He was getting fuzzy on the timeline of the past few minutes, everything blurring itself together after they had finally broken away from the Aladren goals….

Russell rubbed his temples, wanting very much to take a nap. He guessed he could propose that one of the alternates take his place, but he was not going to be the one who folded under pressure; Arthur was injured, and if he could keep playing, then Russell could, too. Even if he collapsed at the end of the game, he was determined not to do it a second before his roommate did. He was angry, now, even here on the ground, and he was spreading it around to his own team, in the form of a fierce internal competitiveness, as well as to the other team, who he really wanted to shout at. Among other things. On the ground, he knew hitting them wouldn’t really make him feel better, since the only one anywhere near his size was a girl, but part of his brain begged him to reconsider his position even so.

Too soon, the break was over, and though he felt a little more clearheaded than he had as he went back to the center circle, his eyes still fastened onto the Quaffle with greater intensity than they might have usually, and he was determined to get it back as soon as possible. When Coach Pierce blew the whistle, then, he didn’t waste any time. Neither knowing nor caring what anyone else was doing or trying to do, he lunged forward and snatched the Quaffle out of the air, and was off toward Kirstenna within seconds.

They had to get there this time. They had to. His jaw was clenched painfully as he focused on that one thought. It was only with great reluctance than he finally lined up with another blue robe and made the first pass of the restart, extending his arm as far toward his teammate as possible to shorten the distance the ball would have to cover and looking for Teppenpaws in case he needed to block them.

16 Russell Layne, Chaser Here we go again.... 183 Russell Layne, Chaser 0 5

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 19, 2012 9:31 AM

Let's end this. by Kate Bauer, Seeker

For one glorious second, Kate thought she was going to get to the Snitch. It had moved abruptly, but up and more or less in her direction, and she had really thought she might get there –

And then the whistle blew.

The word she used, loudly, at that moment was not one usually favored by young ladies. She flushed, torn between embarrassment at her loss of control and her exertions catching up with her and her temper not really abating all at the same time. She had been close, so close, but…She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to tell herself that Arnold probably would have outrun her in the end, he always did, the rich side of his family supported his involvement in the sport and bought him much fancier brooms than her dad, the only person in her family who didn’t think she was essentially endangering not only her but her sisters’ future by doing this, could afford, but….

“Thanks a lot,” she said snappishly, though she forced herself to keep it under her breath and not actually directed at Arista or Kirstenna as they landed. Kirstenna was, after all, the captain, one just wasn’t supposed to snap at the captain, especially in front of the rest of the team and on the Pitch, and she had to live with Arista for another year, so it was probably best not to let her hear too much about Kate’s thoughts and feelings, either. She rubbed her arms and glared at the Aladrens instead for the length of the time-out.

When it was over, Kate kicked off as soon as she was able and, as quickly as possible, got away from the tangle of Quaffle-oriented players. Then she turned her attention to getting away from her opposite number. She’d found the Snitch herself last time, she could do it again, and this time without the race.

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker Let's end this. 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 19, 2012 11:31 AM

Let's make the best of it by Arthur Carey, Chaser

When he realized play was stopping, Arthur was momentarily torn between competing emotions of happiness, since he assumed this meant his brother had caught the Snitch and they could go rest now, and frustration, because Aladren had never gotten its revenge for what had happened earlier in the game. A second later, though, frustration took over as he realized Teppenpaw had taken a time out. Ostensibly, it appeared that the two annoying Chasers, Thornton and Mr. Browning, were changing brooms, but since he knew for a fact that Browning had taken at least one of his hits at the other end of the Pitch, Arthur was sure that it was really just a ploy to stop Aladren from scoring.

A dirty trick. He would have to tell Arnold to recommend it to Mr. Wilkes sometime. If they could call a time out just because the game wasn’t going their way, why, they could have avoided all of that unpleasantness earlier. He was right on the brink of going over to suggest it to Mr. Wilkes himself, only held back by the fact that it acknowledged he wasn’t sure they would be able to control the Quaffle once play resumed, when the time out ended and they had to get back on their brooms.

It was harder this time than it had been when the game began, and Arthur could tell as soon as he was in the air properly that it had been easier to keep going than it was to stop and start again, but he pushed as much of the discomfort as he could as far back in his mind as he could and focused on the Quaffle, which he was deeply relieved to see Russell catch right away and start moving toward the goals they had been after all this time.

Once more, he thought, refusing to think that the game could easily drag on as long again as it already had, while Arnold looked for the Snitch again. One more time. We get to the goals, and then it’s over. If it wasn’t over then, he would redefine his goals, but right now, all he could think of was getting where he meant to go and then having it over with.

When Russell passed, Arthur caught the Quaffle, carried it, then, feeling too tired for anything original, double-feinted, acting as though he were going to pass one way, then as though he were going to pass the other, before turning as quickly as possible to really pass in the original direction. His eyes followed the Quaffle as it made its way toward its intermediate goal of his fellow Chaser, willing it to complete, half-hoping he could accidentally magic it there, though he really didn’t think he had the emotion or energy right now for that to happen. He had never been much of one for accidental magic; such accidents as he’d had, after very early childhood, had been half-deliberate…Usually the more dramatic for it, he guessed, but...he made himself focus on the game.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser Let's make the best of it 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 19, 2012 11:33 AM

That sounds like a good idea by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Unlike some people on the Pitch, including his own brother, Arnold was a little relieved to hear the time out announced. He had been worried, for a few seconds there, that Kate might just beat him to the Snitch; not very, but its motion had not helped him out too much, so the possibility had been there. He wasn’t sure he would have wanted to go back to the Aladren common room, much less his dorm room, tonight after losing in the first game. Losing the final, as he had one time, was bad, but losing in the qualifying rounds was…worse, he was nearly sure of it and had no desire to become really sure of it at all.

His feelings of relief, though, mostly faded when he saw the states his teammates were in as they got to slow down for a moment. Russell looked like he was about to have a stroke, and though he was trying to hide it, he could tell that Arthur was tired and annoyed. When the time out ended, he got on his broom determined to end this as quickly as possible, before someone got really hurt; he didn’t know why, but it seemed that only he and Kate really brought out the best in each other when Teppenpaw and Aladren played Quidditch. The rest of their teams just went all to pieces and tried to tear each other to pieces. He liked playing against her, but it wasn’t worth all this for everyone else.

Since she had spotted the Snitch last time, he shadowed her, figuring this would at least both give him an advantage once the Snitch did make itself visible again and maybe do something to shield him from the Bludgers, since he’d remembered Fae again once he was out of the game. It occurred to him that this probably fell under the category of being an idiot about her, but…well, pain wasn’t really going to help him win, was it? So he did have some other reasons to worry about not inviting the Bludgers this time.

He kept his eyes open, looking for any flash of light which seemed right to be the Snitch, sticking pretty close to the competition as he did and hoping that Preston had his back, because his mind was more on the Snitch right now than it was on the Bludgers. It had been fun, but it was time to end this one.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker That sounds like a good idea 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Russell Layne, Aladren

October 19, 2012 1:22 PM

We don't have much else to do. by Russell Layne, Aladren

The pass to Arthur completed, and Russell decided that maybe the restart wasn’t such a bad thing, since things had – if he remembered it all correctly, anyway – started going wrong during the very first pass when they had started the first time. This time, they hadn’t. That meant this was better than that. He was pretty sure Teppenpaw wouldn’t agree, but well, which House was known for intelligence and logical thinking, again?

Oh, right. That would be Aladren.

The space between them and Kirstenna was growing narrower by the second, and Russell nodded approvingly when Arthur started to feint to him, and then pass to Kitty – only to realize that the second move was a feint, too, and that the Quaffle was coming back toward him again. Kitty was going to feel left out if this kept up, but keeping the Quaffle away from the Teppenpaws was the priority, and whatever their thoughts on each other off the Pitch, there was no doubt that he and Arthur worked well together on the Quidditch Pitch. He didn’t know if it was because they were people who knew each other, to some extent, off of it, or just because they’d been playing Chaser together since they were first years, or some combination of the two, but it worked, and that was what mattered. He caught the Quaffle on the tips of his fingers, then pulled it in closer and kept flying for the Teppenpaw goals.

A stray thought in the back of his head warned him that he should maybe make his flight path less direct, both to shake off the Teppenpaws and, more importantly, to shake off the Teppenpaw Beaters, who wouldn’t take kindly to this reversal of fortune and, unfortunately, were not bad Beaters by any stretch of the imagination. For a second, he tried to ignore it, but it began to bother him, and he rose up in the air, veered right, went back left, went a bit higher up, and then went to a position lower than the one he’d started out, aiming to confuse and annoy and throw the Teppenpaws and hopefully not his teammates. Shaking his head a little as he settled down, wishing he’d covered more space but also that the Teppenpaws thought he was still on the move, he made another pass, crossing his fingers for luck as soon as the Quaffle cleared them. Things were going good right now, but the game could always shift and be something completely different than it had seemed in an instant.

16 Russell Layne, Aladren We don't have much else to do. 183 Russell Layne, Aladren 0 5

Arthur Carey, Chaser

October 19, 2012 3:12 PM

No, we don't by Arthur Carey, Chaser

For a moment, Arthur wasn’t sure what to make of Russell’s antics, but then he thought about it for a second as he attempted to follow along and nodded to himself, deciding it made a certain level of sense. Keep the enemy on their toes, keep them guessing, maybe make them lose their patience and go in the wrong direction. It was as good to do anything else. There were few things too strange to try if it would get them a little closer to the Teppenpaw goals.

He was always a second behind his roommate, but could catch up quickly enough since he had gotten a new broom more recently, and was there the next time Russell wanted to pass the Quaffle. He caught it, though it turned in his hands as he did and it took him a few seconds to get his balance back and have a firm grip on the ball, and kept on going toward the Teppenpaw goals.

They’d make it this time; he was sure of it. He also went out of his way to weave around, back and forth in a way he was sure nearly extended the length he’d traveled to twice the ground he’d covered but which did keep him clear of a Bludger, then made the smallest signal he hoped his fellow Aladren Chasers would be able to see and recognize before feinting to the side and then tossing the Quaffle down this time.

It was a move it would have been smarter to make when they were all fresh, when drills requiring pinpoint timing or at least something near to it were far more likely to work out well for them, but they hadn’t done it then, and perhaps Teppenpaw wouldn’t think they were up to it now, and wouldn’t have seen it coming. He hoped so, anyway. It was unlikely that they were capable, with two of their Chasers being so young, of that kind of maneuver, and since Aladren hadn’t gone in for anything too complicated yet this game, hopefully they had been lulled into a sense of security which could be used to destroy – well, annoy and confound, anyway – them now. It seemed worth a try, anyway; if they lost it, he’d be in trouble, as close as they had been to trying for a goal, but they would have plenty of time to retrieve it.

0 Arthur Carey, Chaser No, we don't 0 Arthur Carey, Chaser 0 5

Kate Bauer, Seeker

October 19, 2012 4:12 PM

I'm sure we differ on the details, though. by Kate Bauer, Seeker

The Snitch was staying stubbornly out of sight, but Arnold Carey wasn’t joining it in that quest. Kate gritted her teeth in irritation at the sight of him shadowing her, willing this situation to reverse itself, so he was the thing which was far away and the Snitch was the thing she saw in the corner of her peripheral vision.

Go away, she thought, pulling her gaze away from him resolutely to scan the ground again. I don’t feel like dealing with you or flirting with you right now.

A few minutes earlier, it had been different, but that had been before her near miss with the Snitch. She had been so close to having it, she had been all but able to feel it in her hand, and then they’d had the time-out. Now she didn’t know if she’d see it again, at least in this year, when it wasn’t in someone else’s hand, and it was immensely frustrating. Far too frustrating for her to want to play games with Arnold while they killed time before the Snitch appeared.

It occurred to her, vaguely, as she looked that the only time she really interacted with guys was when she played against a male Seeker or Beaters. She wasn’t sure what that meant. It didn’t seem like a good time to think about it, though. The Snitch was her priority right now. Her possession or lack of a life was something to think about later, when the hurly-burly was done and she was feeling more pro-other people than she was right now. The only thing she wanted to interact with right now was a walnut-sized lump of what she was assuming was fake gold. Other people were just what was between her and that goal, and needed to move over.

16 Kate Bauer, Seeker I'm sure we differ on the details, though. 170 Kate Bauer, Seeker 0 5

Derry Four, Beater

October 19, 2012 6:32 PM

I support Kate's details but am otherwise just scenery by Derry Four, Beater

The first part of the game had not gone well for Derry. At least, it hadn't gone as well as he had hoped it would. No doubt, it hadn't gone as well for him as Kate had hoped it would either. The first hit at Arnold had missed and that was really the only one he'd managed to send toward the Aladren Seeker before the Time Out, in part because of Preston getting the ball a couple times and in part because both Arnold and Kate had moved too close together to really get a good shot at the one without endangering the other.

That lack of bludgers flying at Arnold wasn't the real problem though. If he didn't injure the other team's Seeker, it made Kate's job harder but it wasn't the end of the world. The real problem was that Preston had gotten two at Kate and one of them had hit. Even the one that missed, she had needed to dodge first before he was able to get it away from her. The other one though, that had almost made him ask to go switch with Laurie during the Time Out. The only reason he hadn't was because it looked like Carter and Arista had gotten a little banged up, too, so Laurie wasn't exactly on a golden streak either.

Derry made a mental note to work on defense a little more in the next few practices. That was really the most important part of a Teppenpaw Beater's job anyway since they couldn't really hope to match aggression with the other Houses. Neither Derry nor Laurie were really naturally aggressive types of people.

While waiting for the time out to end, Derry did take a moment to sheepishly apologize to the Assistant Captain of his team. "Sorry about that bludger. I couldn't get there in time." Small comfort, and not exactly inspiring that he'd be there next time, but what else could he say? He'd been further away than he really should have been and hadn't realized Preston had found the bludger he'd been looking for until it was far too late.

When the whistle blew for the second time, restarting the game, Derry was determined that this time he would do better. Kate would not get hit again, and if Arnold stayed safe because Derry wasn't going to risk getting too far away from her again, well, Kate was just going to have to catch the snitch with luck and skill rather than because her opponent wasn't in fit shape to fly.

He stayed close, but not so close he crowded her or impeded her vision, trying to hover unobtrusively behind her like a broom riding body-guard. After a few moments, he noticed that Arnold was being less unobtrusive but similarly hanging around her as well. Just as well, then. Derry wouldn't want to hit a bludger at him while he was this near to Kate anyway. And if Preston was less cautious, Derry thought he was in a good position to get in and redirect it right at Arnold.

It was a good place for a Beater to be in right now, even without a bludger. If an opportunity presented itself, maybe he could even get in Arnold's way when he tried to dive after a snitch or something.

1 Derry Four, Beater I support Kate's details but am otherwise just scenery 189 Derry Four, Beater 0 5

Arnold Carey, Seeker

October 20, 2012 4:19 PM

I really appreciate you staying that way.... by Arnold Carey, Seeker

Arnold could see Derry, when he looked that way, which was both a good and a bad thing. On the bright side, this meant that he was right about probably not being a target for immediate assault because of his proximity to the Teppenpaw Seeker, and that he was more likely to notice if there was an attempt to hit him with a Bludger. On the not-so-bright side, if he could see Derry, then Derry could see him, and having a Beater no doubt just looking for an opening to break your head open was not necessarily the best position a Seeker could be in, especially when he was focused on just wanting to end the match right now.

Losing that one time, Arnold thought, really had been good for him. For a while, before that game, the game had nearly stopped being fun for him, because he had felt this enormous pressure to win, all the time, and worried about what would happen if he didn’t leave Sonora with a perfect record as Seeker. Now, he wasn’t going to, so he knew that the answer was “absolutely nothing” and he was free to enjoy the game again, so it had been good for him to lose once. Losing twice, though, was another matter, not something he wanted to do. He could live with it, if he did, but he was going to do all he could to prevent it, for the rest of the team as well as himself.

How one ended the game, though, that was important, he wanted to do it right…but would settle for however worked. When he heard a little whirring noise and then the Snitch was about two feet away from him, then, he only stared at it for a second before deciding to trust his eyes and only felt a bit of regret over the lack of drama as his arm, more instinctively than anything, reached out and he plucked it from the air.

He wasn’t sure anyone had noticed, though, and waved it around in the hopes of catching the coach’s attention before anyone got any more battered than they already were. “I caught the Snitch!” he called, only thinking after the fact that Kate might not believe him even if she did hear, given his record of trying to mess with his opponents.

0 Arnold Carey, Seeker I really appreciate you staying that way.... 181 Arnold Carey, Seeker 0 5

Coach Pierce

October 20, 2012 4:48 PM

Aladren wins! 150-10 (nm) by Coach Pierce

0 Coach Pierce Aladren wins! 150-10 (nm) 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

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

Game One: Aladren vs Teppenpaw by <font color=silver>Coach Pierce</font>

<font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>

This is it. by <font color=yellow>Captain Kirstenna,Keeper</font>

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

Game day is indeed upon us by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

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

Girls, gold, and glory are all on my mind by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

It most certainly has by <font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>

A new thing to think about by <font color=yellow>Derry Four, Beater</font>

<font color=yellow>Brielle Thornton,Reserve</font>

From the bench... Again... by <font color=yellow>Brielle Thornton,Reserve</font>

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

Let's get to it, then. by <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>

<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

I love a challenge by <font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

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

My advice is to get over it as soon as possible. by <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>

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

I'd listen to the man. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

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

It might be for the best by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

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

It's also never far from my mind by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

<font color=yellow>Carter, Chaser</font>

Perhaps...perhaps not by <font color=yellow>Carter, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow"> Laurie. Beater </font>

Yippe! by <font color="yellow"> Laurie. Beater </font>

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

Congratulations, Lawrence. You've successfully made me angry by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

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

It shouldn't by <font color="blue"> Preston. Beater </font>

<font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>

Fortunately, you're not the one with the Beater's bat. by <font color=yellow>Kirstenna, Keeper</font>

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

I'm sneaking a Disillusioned one in next time. by <font color="blue">David Wilkes, Keeper</font>

<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>

Being a giant mosquito. by <font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>

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

*Gets out the giant can of bug spray.* by <font color="blue">David Wilkes, Keeper</font>

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

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

<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>

Yeah, Bludgers are kind of hard to ignore. by <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>

<font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>

Is that your metaphor for me? by <font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>

<font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>

The cat came back... by <font color=yellow>Arista Thornton, Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

the very next day by <font color=yellow>Carter Browning, Chaser</font>

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

I thought you were a bug . Get your species straight! by <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>

<font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>

This is just getting annoying by <font color=blue>Thad Pierce, Beater</font>

Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

You're getting annoying... by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

Carter, Chaser

Re: You're getting annoying... by Carter, Chaser

Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

Small sacrifices for a hopeful win. by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper

Watching. by Kirstenna,Tepp Keeper

Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

Some help please Marcus... by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Chaser

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

Kind of hard for him to do until I have a chance to Keep. by <font color="blue">Captain Wilkes, Keeper</font>

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

Harder now. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

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

But that's why I've got Preston by <font color="blue">Arnold Carey, Seeker</font>

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

And now harder still by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

Carter, Chaser

Make it as hard as you like by Carter, Chaser

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

Oh, we will. by <font color="blue">Russell Layne, Chaser</font>

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

And gladly, you needn't worry about that by <font color="blue">Arthur Carey, Chaser</font>

Gets out the giant can of bug spray. by <font color="blue">David Wilkes, Keeper</font>