Disgruntled on Quidditch Pitch

Jade Owen

April 05, 2014 2:12 PM

Disgruntled by Jade Owen

She wasn't a natural leader; Jade had never been keen to leap into the role of authoritarian. Yet somehow she had managed to run a club for a number of years, and now found herself Captain of a Quidditch team (although it was currently dubious as to whether any games would actually be played under her leadership). Still, she held no official role that gave her the capacity to take command, and for that she was exceptionally relieved, given the current circumstance. For the better part of a week now, there had been no adult presence at Sonora, and, thus far, the school had not yet descended into anarchy. This result was due in part to the Head roles and Prefects being more organised than perhaps Jade would have given them credit for, and in part to the more rebellious types, such as herself, holding back... at least for the time being.

No, she was not a natural leader, but nevertheless the seventh year had taken steps to ensure calm. For a start, once it became apparent that the staff had, in fact, abandoned the school, she had wasted no time in ascertaining that there were no creatures that would require expert attention; the thought had been the first to her mind. The owls could not leave the grounds, but the prairie elves had always taken good care of the birds before, and Jade saw no reason for them to stop now (although she would check the owlry more frequently than usual for the time being). She had also check the usual places that the Care of Magical Creatures professors kept the particular animals that had been brought in for special classes, but she hadn't found any, and had concluded that it was too early in the term for external subjects to already be present. Perhaps in another day that would not have been the case. Jade had also been mildly more vigilant in her forays into the labyrinth, in case some of the more independent creatures that lived within the grounds of the school required any assistance or attention. It was the one area in which Jade felt qualified to offer help; she was in her seventh year studying the subject, and it had been the only class in which she'd always gained consistently admirable marks. In fact, if any of the prefects, or Thad or Alicia, asked her to run the CoMC classes then Jade would probably agree to it... but as yet nobody had approached her. She didn't blame them; she hardly had a reputation for responsibility.

However, there was one other arena for which Jade felt some sort of obligation, and that was on the Quidditch pitch. Again, one of her primary responses to the no staff scenario had been panic that she would not be able to access the Quidditch supplies. It seemed, however, that the supply shed was not locked down and inaccessible; in fact two of Pecari's second year students had already gained access to its contents, so her worst fear was not realised. Yes, the self-appointed guardians of the school were muttering about banning the sport entirely, but Jade saw no reason at all for stopping experienced players from being able to access broomsticks.

Naturally, not everyone had the required amount of common sense to be sufficiently vigilant on the pitch with no medic around, so in her copious amounts of free time, Jade had taken to sitting in the stands - occupying herself by reading, sketching, or occasionally by flying herself - to keep an eye on the proceedings. She would permit students to use Quaffles and Snitches, but only the two practise Bludgers (which wouldn't cause anywhere near so much damage as the real deal) would be allowed out of the shed. In fact, Jade had removed the game Bludgers from their usual positions and cast a concealment charm upon their container to prevent students from accessing them. She'd have liked to charm the balls themselves, but she didn't have the knowledge or skill to alter the properties of such a magical object - she doubted any of the students did.

Today Jade was practising the banishing charm on a collection of broken quills and screwed up balls of parchment when she became aware of another presence on the pitch. She looked up from her seat at the bottom of the stands to see who had joined her there.

0 Jade Owen Disgruntled 221 Jade Owen 1 5

Francesca Wolseithcrafte (and Teddy)

April 15, 2014 1:09 AM

Let's try to make you... gruntled? [Tag Adam and Anns] by Francesca Wolseithcrafte (and Teddy)

Francesca was finding herself relatively unperturbed by the absence of Sonora's staff. Of course it had been a shock when they had first found out but it had taken her very little time to digest that piece of information and accept the new status quo. It probably helped that her own life was affected comparatively little. She was settled into her current grade but without important exams immediately pending, and had always been very disciplined at self-directed study anyway. So long as chaos didn't break out, she was fine to sit tight, keep studying and wait.

The one thing that had really gutted her was the cancellation of Quidditch. She could see the sense in it and certainly didn't want to be risking breaking bones when the medical care consisted strange sixth year who wanted to use them as practise patients. But her life did feel a little empty without it. She was glad of her friendships with Adam, Ginny and the Anns, and that she therefore had a sense of belonging outside of the team, but she missed the actual game.

Fortunately, that wasn't gone altogether. They still had access to the equipment (aside from the proper Bludgers, which she wouldn't have wanted anyway) and Jade Owen was often to be seen in the stands, keeping an eye on things. As she made her way down to the stands with Teddy, she glanced up and saw the older girl was at her usual post, so made her way over.

“Hello,” she smiled, “We were thinking of having a pick up game,” she gestured down to the equipment shed where Teddy was getting out the supplies, “You'd be welcome to join. I think we're an odd number at the moment, assuming the people I asked all come and don't bring spares,” she explained. She had written to Adam and the Anns, asking if they wanted to join her and her brother, and informing them that they were welcome to invite anyone else they wanted to. So, currently, she had between two and any number of players. “It's most of your team I've asked,” she added, realising that Jade might not really be inclined to play with a bunch of kids, as she probably saw them, but that having her own familiar housemates around might sweeten the deal.

13 Francesca Wolseithcrafte (and Teddy) Let's try to make you... gruntled? [Tag Adam and Anns] 250 Francesca Wolseithcrafte (and Teddy) 0 5

Jade

April 22, 2014 3:36 PM

I'm game if you are. by Jade

Francesca Wolseithcrafte was, in Jade's mind, just a little bit creepy. She couldn't really put her finger on what it was that made her creepy, or why Jade felt that way, but the feeling persisted. Her little brother, who also played on the Aladren team, just seemed to be sort of quiet and stand-offish, and so Jade would admit to being surprised when she was unexpectedly invited to join their game. Her surprise might have been evident as she blinked and raised her wayward eyebrows a little at the suggestion, but if Francesca noticed it then she wasn't letting on; she merely went on to explain that the others who may or may nor be joining them belonged to the Pecari team. She probably assumed that might persuade Jade to play. She was probably right.

After hesitating for just a moment to glance up at the younger brother, who was collecting supplies from the shed, Jade shrugged and replied, "Yeah, alright." She didn't have anything specific planned, and so long as they were on the pitch then Jade could still fulfill her intentions of keeping an eye on things, so on a practical level in made sense. Besides, Jade hadn't played Quidditch since their championship game last year (she didn't have anyone at home to play with, even if she thought their ancient and decrepit broomsticks could handle a game of Quidditch).

The seventh year stood and brushed some grime off the buttocks of her jeans before pocketing her wand and striding from the stands onto the pitch. She tried not to be too self-conscious, or obviously wary, of being with two Wolseithcraftes on the pitch. She supposed she ought to be more relaxed around them, considering their family's reputed contributions to getting girls back into Quidditch (especially as concerned her own team), so she tried to shake off the funny feelings as she sought out her preferred broom. It was identifiable by the star and her initials that she had carved into the handle in her first year.

0 Jade I'm game if you are. 0 Jade 0 5

Adam Spencer

April 22, 2014 3:56 PM

Always up for good sportsmanship. by Adam Spencer

Since the school had been interrupted by some magical force that had whisked away the professors, Adam had felt unsettled. It wasn't because of the purple clouds or the lack of adults, but the lack of a consistent timetable. He was becoming more organised and hadn't realised how he enjoyed consistency until it was disrupted. Now he didn't know what to do with himself except pass the time playing Quidditch and a bit of the detective. So far, of course, there had been no sign of any professors, only a sudden influx of prairie elves coming into visibility.

Adam, as the dutiful brother, had kept a close eye on his sister, hoping she wouldn't go mad with all the uncertainty that currently surrounded the institution. They both were accustomed to rules and regulations and adults as authority figures. None of his cousins seemed half as concerned, Cepheus especially, and so Adam had followed their lead and kept calm for his sister's sake. Charlotte would have attempted to write home by now, but it didn't seem as though any owls were going very far out of the owlery. He could only imagine how frantic Mum would be at the lack of correspondence.

Quiditch practises were another loss for Sonorans; Rupert felt it must severely from what Adam could see. His cousin often went to the MARS practise room to bat Quaffles around and stay dedicated to his exercise despite the cancelled matches. When Adam had received teh invitation from Francesca, it seemed only proper to invite Rup along.

When they arrived at the pitch together, Adam saw Francesca, her brother and Jade together, what he considered to be an odd combination. Rup waved an arm at his team-mate. "'Lo there," he called as they closed the distance between them and the others.

"Hello," said Adam with a smile. "Haven't started the pick-up game yet, I see."

"Are you joining?" asked Rupert to Jade, hopeful. "I'm itching to get back on the pitch."

40 Adam Spencer Always up for good sportsmanship. 257 Adam Spencer 0 5

The Anns

April 27, 2014 7:53 PM

We are, too by The Anns

Annette and Annabelle Pierce headed down to the Quidditch Pitch together, each carrying the personal broom that they had been gifted when the family decided that Quidditch was something they would sanction their female members to participate in once more. Francesca had suggested they could invite a few more people, so in the interest of getting a bigger group to play, Annette called out to the Common Room in general as they were leaving that a pick up game was starting shortly on the Pitch and anyone was welcome to join them. The twins hadn't waited to see if anyone would take them up on the offer, though.

"Hi," Annette called out as they drew nearer the group already gathering on the Pitch. She was careful to include Jade and Rupert in the greeting to show she wasn't holding a grudge that she had not been selected as the new Assistant Captain. Annabelle waved, without any such consideration because she actually wasn't holding a grudge over the same thing and didn't need to show she wasn't, and added her own greeting, "Hello," to the assemblage.

Annette continued, addressing Francesca as the organizer of today's entertainment. "We told a few more Pecaris about this, but we don't know if anyone else is coming."

1 The Anns We are, too 246 The Anns 0 5