Reluctantly Keeping. on Quidditch Pitch

Captain Topher Calhoun

June 12, 2013 1:24 PM

Crotalus Quidditch Try-Outs by Captain Topher Calhoun

Sign-ups had been, to say the least, disappointing. The kind of disappointing where, between thinking about that and already stressing about his RATS to the point of feeling physically ill sometimes when he looked at a syllabus, Topher had accidentally discovered that he still had a pretty good arm with thrown objects as well as for hitting things with a bat, though he had remained composed enough to not try hitting a pillow across the room with his Beater’s bat just for comparison value. For one thing, weight and charms issues made comparing his ability to throw a pillow and throw a Bludger completely impossible, and besides, knowing his luck, the damn thing would have burst and gotten feathers all over the room and then he would have set it on fire trying to fix it and had to try to explain why he needed a new pillow and, in the end, looked like a crazy person. This would not have been good.

He really didn’t know what they were going to do if the House didn’t spontaneously decide to turn out in response to the second, more pleading and think-of-a-certain-other-team-sailing-to-victory-type message he had added to the House bulletin board. They had a Beater and a Seeker, which was in theory enough to win the game, but he doubted the Coach would let them on the Pitch with so little – for one thing, it would be either boring or a complete farce – so he had spent the past few days feeling increasingly anxious about Quidditch on top of his classes. At this rate, he thought he might have a nervous breakdown before midterm and never have to worry about championships or exams or his reputation at all.

There was no point in just sitting around waiting for that to happen, though, so instead, he booked the Pitch and got together a set of Quidditch equipment and some spare brooms and set up for a tryout just as though the list was full of enthusiastic enemies of Aladren, all of whom were in peak physical condition and had spent their summers in expensive training camps full of World Cup winners with names he couldn’t even pronounce. Then he crossed his fingers.

“All right, then,” he said when people showed up. “Welcome to this year’s Crotalus Quidditch team. We few, we chosen few – “ way too few, but then, weren’t there always? – “are going to flatten all the other teams into the ground and win the Cup this year. Tell all your friends and tell them to come to the next practice, we can always use reserves.

“For now, Cepheus, start Seeking. I want you practicing every moment possible, my friend, and I trust I don’t need to tell you about not telling the Aladren friends anything about it, right?” Topher had been pleased to see the girl Aladren friend at the ball with Pierce last year, since that meant it was much less likely that she was kissing strategy secrets out of Cepheus and sharing them with her own House’s team. Since that had, he was objective enough to admit, been pretty far-fetched to begin with, anything that made it less likely was good. “I need a Beater to go with him, both of you warm up for a while, then practice together, practice defense and offensive measures. We don’t know how things might fall out in a game, it’s good for everyone who could end up working together to be used to it.

“Leo – you two are brothers or something? We’ll try you out as a Keeper.” They hadn’t, he realized, really had a Keeper last year; the last game had been played with Nic Sawyer in the goals. He had actually gotten pretty good, by the end. “Linus, man, don’t go easy on him, you or anyone else who’s here for Chaser. It’s learn fast or go home around here.” The false bravado didn’t feel like the best idea he’d ever had, but he would go with it anyway.

He looked around at the team. “Almost every year since I’ve been here – “ except two, but those didn’t count – “Crotalus has made it to the finals,” he said. “This year, I want us to do that again, but this time I want the end of the story to be different, people. I want us to win. So let’s do that, and remember, anyone you can drag to practice. Let’s start with what we’ve got.”

OOC: Welcome to try-outs! Walk-ons are very welcome; Keepers can assume they were given turns and had shots made at them (remember to be realistic; blocking every single one ever isn’t too likely), Chasers that they worked in groups of three to play against the Keeper. If Chasers write a sub-thread with a Keeper, it’s up to the Keeper if the shot is blocked. Beaters, practice, but do try not to kill your teammates - save it for the games :). Creative, detailed, realistic posts are what we're aiming for with everyone. Good luck!

Subthreads:

Reluctantly Keeping. by Leo Princeton with Viktor Volkov, Percival Everett Waterford II

Can we win this time please? by Cepheus Princeton with Gareth Whitebriar

0 Captain Topher Calhoun Crotalus Quidditch Try-Outs 0 Captain Topher Calhoun 1 5

Leo Princeton

June 14, 2013 2:23 PM

Reluctantly Keeping. by Leo Princeton

Every waking moment had been drenched with his older brother talking to him about Quidditch. Leo had been hoping to enjoy his first few weeks at Sonora away from his family, but it seemed that staying at home would have been better. At least at home he could have avoided his annoying brothers when they went to school and he didn't. The afternoon of Leo had almost taken a nap instead of going to the try-outs, but Cepheus had made sure to walk him there himself. He was such a nag. Leo was annoyed, to say the least, but he followed along, reminding himself that a week's worth of free Charms essays were in sight. When he arrived on the pitch and saw how massive it was and how few Quidditch players there were, Leo wished he had bargained for more. He glared at Cepheus before looking back at their captain, bored.

Leo almost snorted at the thought of the few of them smashing others in matches, but a well-timed elbow from Cepheus stopped him. He glared once more at his brother, but didn't say anything. The more Calhoun spoke, the more Leo asked himself how he had been talked into this. Leo hated breaking a sweat and he hated hard work. He was always doing his best to get out of it and now he was voluntarily getting himself into it. How did he get into this? And Calhoun didn't want a bloke named Linus to go easy on him? Leo almost groaned.

Well, at least as Keeper he wouldn't have to be followed by a bludger like the others. His grip on his broom tightened and he reluctantly turned to the hoops, but not before muttering to Cepheus, "I hate you." He looked over at Linus and sighed. "Shall we get this over with, then?" He mounted his broom and rose. He flew over to the hoops and turned on his broom so he was facing his opponent. The only experience he had with keeping, really, was from watching his family members during their informal matches. Leo's grandaunt was one mean Keeper. Leo had his knowledge of rules and regulations to rely on while playing the game, but he had never been up in the air except to race on his broom. If Chasing wasn't so dangerous, Leo would have been interested in that. Then he could have shown off how fast his broom was.

"Are you going to throw Quaffles at me then?" asked Leo. "I'm not really familiar with try-outs, to be honest." Obviously. He was only a first year and, he noted, the only one so far. Maybe he should have convinced Nellie to ignore her parents' wishes and join Quidditch. At least then he wouldn't be the only one having never actually played the game before.

40 Leo Princeton Reluctantly Keeping. 263 Leo Princeton 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

June 14, 2013 2:35 PM

Can we win this time please? by Cepheus Princeton

It was only a couple weeks into the term and both of Cepheus's brothers were angry with him. Cepheus had been, admittedly, a nag, but he was fiercely competitive. One look at the sign-up sheet had told him that desperate measures were necessary and so he had turned to Leo. It would be good for both the team (he hoped) and for Leo, but how good it was would measure on the team's success. Cepheus, as the years before, didn't think he could stand losing any more. It was to the point where just seeing the Carey twins made Cepheus's blood boil. He couldn't wait till they graduated or he beat Arnold Carey at his own game. Whichever came first.

As expected, Cepheus had found Leo ready to sleep and he had dragged him to the pitch. He kept his youngest brother in line and listened to Topher welcome them back to the team. It was discouraging how few of them there were and Cepheus could only imagine how many members the Aladren team had. His fingers tightened around his broom and he grimaced. They needed to win the cup this year. Americans were all about the underdog, weren't they? Crotalus was certainly the underdog this year.

It was obvious that, despite Cepheus's immense dislike for the Carey twins, he did have close Aladren friends and he nodded at Topher's comment. "Of course," he said. His lips were sealed when it came to Quidditch secrets. He loved his mates, really, but he loved winning just a little more. The mention of a Beater made Cepheus look around for Gareth, wondering if his room-mate had decided to come. He knew of Gareth's fear of heights now since the challenges last year and Cepheus was impressed with how well Gareth had kept it a secret. A fear of heights was one of the worst to have as a Quidditch player and it hadn't seemed to diminish Gareth's abilities at all. He just hoped his best mate showed up for try-outs since they had worked together every single year.

Cepheus nodded when Topher asked if he and Leo were brothers. They had the same family name, but if that wasn't obvious enough they looked strikingly similar. Leo looked a bit more like their mother than Cepheus did, but they had the same blue eyes and blond hair. Once Topher set them off to work, his younger brother made sure to mention how much he disliked him and Cepheus just rolled his eyes and moved on to his job. He didn't care if Leo loathed him for all eternity so long as he did his job and Crotalus won the Quidditch Cup this year.

He grabbed the Snitch and let it fly. After closing his eyes and counting to three, he rose up on his broom and made eye-contact with the Beater he was going to work with. "Try and knock me down," he said. "Don't get afraid of getting too close. Might as well pretend it's the real thing, yeah?" He gave a half-smile before zooming off, his eyes peeled for any sign of gold.

40 Cepheus Princeton Can we win this time please? 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Viktor Volkov

June 17, 2013 6:37 PM

It's not all that bad when I'm playing Chaser. by Viktor Volkov

Viktor hadn’t been sure whether or not he wanted to try out for Quidditch, so he had decided not to sign up. Though, thinking about what his father would say if he didn’t had changed his mind. He knew his father would be disappointed in him. He was supposed to be Head of Family one day and with that came responsibilities that he was to be learning like how to be involved, be social, set an example. He would be lucky if he didn’t have to join everything, but perhaps, one activity would be enough for his father. It was a popular activity after all.

It ended up being a last minute decision to go to the try-outs and as such, he was running slightly late. He threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and his running shoes before heading down to the field. He arrived just in time for the speech from who he assumed to be the Captain of the team. Looking around, though, there didn’t seem to be too many people trying out. He supposed he was in luck then and they would need him. Admittedly, that gave him a little bit of a cocky attitude, but he swallowed it down. After all, he was still just a first year.

He raised a dark eyebrow in response to the Captain’s speech. They had never won in all that time. Really? He supposed it was better than them being the absolute loser team, but it wasn’t great to always make finals and then lose either. Last place and second place were always the worst places to be. Last place meant you were the worst, but second place meant you were just short of being the best. He had no intention of being anything other than the best. Thankfully, that was not too much of a stretch for him. Most everything came easily much to the chagrin of his cousin, Irina.

The thought made him smirk a bit, but he forced himself to pay attention to what they were to be doing. He opted to try out for Chaser. He thought it might be nice to try out for that. Other than the Seeker, the Chasers were the stars of the game, if he were honest. The Beaters tended to be looked at as the muscle and the Keeper tended to be overlooked. None of those positions suited him well. He might have tried out for Seeker, but it was clear the team already had one of those. No, the choice was clearly for Chaser.

That meant he would be going against his roommate, Leo, who was being put in the Keeper position. He wondered if the other first year had seen him or not since they were about to go against each other. Hearing Leo’s question, he decided to answer, “I’m not either, but throwing quaffles at you sounds like fun.” A lopsided smile crossed his face. “Come on, you have it easy. All you have to do is block the quaffle from going in.” He mounted his broom and headed into the air. “I bet I can score at least ten shots against you!”

0 Viktor Volkov It's not all that bad when I'm playing Chaser. 0 Viktor Volkov 0 5

Gareth Whitebriar

June 17, 2013 9:26 PM

They can’t stop us this year by Gareth Whitebriar

It seemed like every year they played, they came so close only to fail in the end. Aladren had been the bane of their existence from the start, but Gareth felt that this year was their year. Sure, they didn’t really have a lot of players, but the same was true for Aladren. Most of their rival’s team had been lost to graduation and that could only help them in the end. The Carey brothers were still there, but Gareth was certain that he could knock them from the sky this year.

This year, Gareth was determined to win. Cepheus was a damned fine Seeker, he knew that and his roommate knew it. They just had to defeat the compaction and show the rest of the school that Crotalus was the new Champion. Gareth gave a sharp nod to Topher when he finished his speech. He would do his best to help the team reach that goal.

His stomach knotted when the speech came to an end and it was time to begin. Try-outs were always difficult for the large Crotalus. After a summer spent mostly on the ground, he had to force himself back into the sky. His brother hadn’t badgered him so badly over the long holiday, so Gareth had managed to avoid flying for the greater part of his time away from school. That, coupled with not playing last term made the fear near crippling.

Damn it, I should have practiced over the summer, he thought when his muscles tried to lock up. Gritting his teeth, Gareth forced himself to launch and take his place in the sky next to Cepheus.

“I won’t hold back,” he agreed gruffly, flexing his arm to get a feel for the bat in his hand again. The crushing fear had been compressed and locked down again, ignored in favor of familial glory.

0 Gareth Whitebriar They can’t stop us this year 0 Gareth Whitebriar 0 5

Leo Princeton

June 19, 2013 4:24 PM

Is that good or bad? by Leo Princeton

Leo hadn't recognised his room-mate at first, not until he was up in the air and came face-to-face with Viktor. He hadn't seen Viktor's name on the sign-up sheet back in their common room, but Leo hadn't checked it frequently enough to have known if his room-mate had signed up anyhow. He knew he and Viktor weren't going to be facing off during matches, but for the try-outs he felt strange being attacked by his room-mate.

Viktor's response to his question made him frown. Viktor had better be teasing. Keeping had sounded like the easiest position out of them all. The Seeker had the responsibility of the match's outcome on his shoulders. Chasers were threatened by bludgers and the opposing Chasers - too dangerous. Beaters worked hard to be muscular and strong enough to handle the bludgers and Leo didn't want any of that. So Keeping was the easiest position, really.

Still, Leo didn't want to take the comment lying down. He snorted. "Ten shots? I bet you can't even make five in!" It would have been easy enough for anyone with good enough hand-eye coordination to throw a quaffle into the hoop at close range, but Leo was there to try his best to block it. If his room-mate was as new to playing Quidditch as he was, Leo didn't think he would have to worry about feints. Professional Quidditch players were bloody amazing when it came to faking passes or throwing quaffles to places they didn't seemingly aim at.

It was time to bite the bullet and Leo sat in front of the hoops, far enough to keep from smacking into one if he turned too quickly, but close enough to protect them. He had seen his father take a similar position during one of his family's scrimmages. "Right, then. Go on. See if you can get one past." He smirked, though his hands tightened a bit around the wood of his broom. Flying wasn't the scary bit. It was the lunging out to use his body to protect metal hoops that could very well protect themselves that frightened him. To an extent, of course.

40 Leo Princeton Is that good or bad? 263 Leo Princeton 0 5

Percival Everett Waterford II

June 22, 2013 12:35 AM

Joining the Chase by Percival Everett Waterford II

Percy was beginning to notice a trend. He had deliberated long in getting his name up on the sign-up sheet, and now he was running late for try-outs. Maybe it was his own subconsciousness trying to sabotage his chances at being on the team, or maybe he just needed to get with the program. The summer had been a bit strenuous, quite a bit like school had never ended, he had studied for most of it all against his will. The whole charade was ridiculous, but he couldn't let his parents down. So, in the end, he was racing to the Quittich Pitch trying to fulfill obligations.

By the looks of things, practice was already underway by the time he arrived. One of the older boys was flying with Captain Topher, wielding a bat. Looks like the second beater position had been filled. Scanned the field, he spotted a seeker practicing and a keeper/chaser pair squaring off. He sighed, and momentarily considered doing the team a rather large favor and heading back to the common room. No, he had come this far and it sounded like Quittich is a great boost to prestige in some circles, and he would need all the boosting he could get. He was just going to have to make this work.

Mounting his broom, Percival sailed up in the air with only a mild case of his broom trembling, looking to careen wildly out of control. He had practiced this as well over the summer,away from his 'trainer'. He had worked out most of the kinks of his technique, but hadn't the chance to try it under any kind of pressure. Try-outs might get interesting. Deciding it would be best to report in to the Captain first, he maneuvered his broom towards Topher and waved. "Sorry I'm late. I guess I'll try my hand at chasing." He gestured towards Leo and Viktor, then with a little effort got his broom pointing in their general direction. Once he got close enough to the first years he called out to them, "Mind if I join in?"

2 Percival Everett Waterford II Joining the Chase 1502 Percival Everett Waterford II 0 5