Here we go! on Quidditch Pitch

Coach Grase

July 09, 2016 2:09 AM

Quidditch Game 2: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw by Coach Grase

Midterm had been good for Juliet. To the disagreement of her siblings (and Sophie), she had gone off her pain medication the first day of break. Much to everyone’s surprise, Juliet’s shoulder remained quiet, and had regained almost full range of motion. As excited as she was, however, she listened to the advice of her slightly paranoid family and waited a week to make sure everything had healed properly before picking up a bat, or more importantly, reporting the good news back to her coach. Juliet had decided that day was as good as any to send her brown barn owl, bearing the letter of good health from her physician, soaring off into the morning sky from the window in her quarters.

Juliet could hardly contain her glee as she put on her gold uniform shirt; the green dragon emblazoned upon her chest seemed to smile up at her. She grinned back at him, enjoying how well the snug razorback shirt still fit her. Not wanting to draw too much attention away from the student’s own uniforms at the game, Juliet zipped a simple black hoodie up her shoulders. She then confidently strode from her room down to the pitch, leading her own one man parade.

Being so wrapped up in her excitement, Juliet didn’t notice how cold it actually was out until she’d reached the pitch and retrieved the case the housed the game balls. The natural temperature outside had to be below freezing. Having only a vague idea of how the weather charm over the pitch functioned, Juliet opted to wing it, as every degree warmer she could get would certainly be better than nothing. After a few botched attempts, she got the temperature to rise up to what she could only assume was around forty degrees fahrenheit. The cold from the previous game paled in comparison to today’s match.

Watching the players assemble in two clumps, one brown, one yellow, Juliet felt a pang of guilt. While they it was certainly important for them to get accustomed to playing in all kinds of weather, especially if any of them wanted to go pro, she still wished she could have done more to adjust the temperature. If they all make it out of today without catching a cold, it will be some kinda miracle. Juliet pushed the cold out of her mind and channeled her excitement again, casting the sonorus charm on herself and announcing the day’s teams to what little spectators had arrived. The loudness of her voice was overshadowed by the annoyingly chipper tone it contained, surprising her. Juliet could have sworn she sounded just like her twin sister.

“Alright kids,” she said, readjusting her voice back to its regular volume. “You all know how this works. Keep it fair, be safe, and have fun.” After the players all got into position, she released the bludgers and the snitch from their bindings, and prepared to toss the quaffle up after them. Soon enough, that’ll be me, Juliet thought. She grinned widely, then blew the whistle between her teeth and chucked the quaffle into the air with significantly more oomph than she had planned.

Subthreads:

Here we go! by Jake Manger, Seeker with Sammy Meeks, Beater, Tobi Reinhardt, Beater, Jamie Park, Seeker

"Don't worry, I've arrived." by Joella Curtis with Joseph Umland, Chaser, Gabe Valenti, Chaser, Ben Pierce, Chaser, Ingrid W, Chaser

Nailed it! (Snitch capture) by Jamie Park with Coach Grase

0 Coach Grase Quidditch Game 2: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw 0 Coach Grase 1 5

Jake Manger, Seeker

July 12, 2016 2:23 AM

Here we go! by Jake Manger, Seeker

Jake took a deep breath and tried to keep calm. This was his first real match. Sure, he’d been through others before, but he’d been riding the bench ever since Marcus had convinced him to join the team. That lecture his cousin had recited about House loyalty felt like a lifetime ago now, but here he was, still a member of the Teppenpaw team through all its trials and tribulations. And now that dedication was paying off, and he was on the starting roster.

He was terrified.

But also excited, he had to note. If it was something so scary that Jake didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t have. This was something he wanted, something he’d been training for years now to achieve. Seeker for the House team was an honor and a burden, one that was furthered by this year’s newest broom being sent to his metaphorical doorstep. (Dad really needed to chill out with the gifts; it was getting ridiculous.)

The dark-haired boy did his best to be excited instead of scared, hyping himself up to the point that sleep was difficult, at least by his standards. Jake was normally a pretty sound sleeper, so anything less than a perfect eight hours was abnormal. It was with six hours under his belt, however, that he was trudging off to the Pitch for his debut game as Seeker.

Something felt kinda weird about playing against Pecari, maybe because their Seeker was Jamie Park. Jake had never been close to Jamie, but the other boy kinda scared him a bit. Not to mention the fact that their older siblings were dating. It was too bad Arnold and Ji-Eun weren’t still at Sonora, actually; this game would have been a great date for the two of them, if they could tolerate the cold.

And boy was it cold. Jake had definitely felt worse, but he’d never had to be athletic in such low temperatures. He made sure to cast a warming charm on himself in the locker room, after which he glanced around to see if any of the younger students needed help doing so. Anyone who asked for his help surely received it; that was sort of what being a Teppenpaw meant.

Soon enough, he found himself--and the others--on the frozen tundra of a Pitch, waiting for the whistle. Jake stretched his fingers to keep them nimble as Coach Grase spoke, focusing his eyes even now on the Snitch, which was still strapped in its box. Don’t lose sight of it, he told himself, his blue eyes following it into the air as she released it. With the Quaffle and the whistle sent into the air, Jake shot off, feeling like he was hot on its trail despite the cold all around him.

12 Jake Manger, Seeker Here we go! 280 Jake Manger, Seeker 0 5

Sammy Meeks, Beater

July 12, 2016 2:47 AM

Me go, too! by Sammy Meeks, Beater

Ahh, yes. The day had finally come. That lovely, beautiful ~~freaking freezing what the heck~~ day for the sport ball. Sammy woke up a butt ton of times during the night, and while she’d managed to fall back asleep pretty easily, she still lamented the lost time before her big day. But she couldn’t help it! She was just so excited! It was game day, and everything was going to be perfect. Everything was-

Holy popsicles, Batman! It was so damn cold! Like, given that it was January, the brunette supposed she really ought to have seen this coming in some way, shape, or form, but the weather outside had completely blindsided her. Wasn’t there magic that could make the weather always seventy degrees and sunny? And if not, why was no one funding that kind of magical study? That was what magic’s real purpose was: to change the factors that otherwise could not be controlled but super duper sucked!

But, y’know, whatever. Sammy totally wasn’t bitter or anything. She just wanted to get into that air, frigid as it may be, maybe shake off the icicles, and hit some stuff at people. Was that so much to ask? She didn’t think so, anyway. Playing Beater was so much fun. There was sort of an intrinsic violence to it you just had to get over, but it felt good to swing a bat again, just like playing baseball. Plus, being the Seeker’s Beater meant you were more defense than offense anyway, so there was always a chance you didn’t have to actually hurt anybody.

She didn’t particularly mind hurting people though because they did sign up for this with the full knowledge that there were Bludgers out there. Plus, since it was a fair part of the game, everybody always knew it wasn’t personal or anything like that. (Which was a great cover if it ever became person. ~~She wondered what she’d have to do to get Barnaby Pye to play…~~

The game began before she knew it, and she was off, bat in hand, to find some angry little Bludgers and convince them to do her dirty work. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember if Liliana said who was supposed to be the Seeker’s Beater for today’s game. She might have not been super paying attention to the Captain’s speech, a bit distracted by her Assistant.) Either way, she didn’t see Atlas anywhere, and there seemed to be a Bludger heading toward Jamie, so Sammy appointed herself that mantle and took off after it.

It never got too close to him because she intercepted and sent it away, toward the other team’s Seeker, Jake Manger. Sammy shot a thumbs up at Jamie, although she doubted he even noticed(or cared). Rolling her eyes slightly, she followed a decent distance behind him, keeping her brown eyes peeled--what a gross metaphor--for the other Bludger in play.

12 Sammy Meeks, Beater Me go, too! 310 Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Joella Curtis

July 13, 2016 11:11 AM

"Don't worry, I've arrived." by Joella Curtis

Joella had enjoyed (the majority of) her fourth year at Sonora but something had definitely been missing. Despite the challenges being a great deal of fun, the cancellation of Quidditch matches for that whole term had not sat well with Joella and she knew she wasn’t alone in this. Team practice had continued but now she was finally able to play under her title of Assistant Captain.

So far this term, the fifteen year old had kept herself busy and was involved in a number of things that had the potential to distract her from her Quidditch but fortunately she’d managed to stay focused in spite of this. In the back of her mind, Joella was aware that she should be putting more consideration into the CATS exams that she would face at the end of the year but ultimately it was Quidditch that was most important to her and that was the route she had long dreamed of following.

Joella was evidently eager to get back into playing matches and had been working very hard this year to make sure she would perform her very best when Pecari’s first game finally arrived. Liliana had also worked hard to make sure the whole team were ready and that they were in good physical condition. This didn’t really help Joella to solve her own dilemma as she would have liked to observe which players took their own initiatives to organise themselves outside of practices. However, the strict requests were a good move on Liliana’s part to ensure that their enthusiastic team were at optimal performance level for their match.

The fifth year knew the importance of this match as they needed to win in order to get through into the final match, where they would then get the chance to play against Aladren again and get a shot at winning the Cup for the first time since before Joella had started at Sonora. Neither were something she wanted to miss out on. Winning would be great and winning against the team’s archrivals sounded even better.

Joella had thought the conditions for the Aladren-Crotalus match before the midterm break had been cold enough, what with the wind they’d endured as well, but that certainly didn’t compare to the freezing temperatures today. The Pecari always checked the weather before getting fully dressed in her Quidditch uniform so made sure to add a thin base layer under her clothes which provided extra insulation.

On arrival at the pitch, Joella warmed up with the rest of the team, making sure to put extra effort into this preparation stage because it took far longer than usual to feel properly “warm”. As she took her place alongside her teammates, broom in hand, when it was time for the game to start, and watched Liliana shake hands with Liac Reinhardt, she couldn’t help thinking about how that would be her next year. It was strange to think how far she’d come in the past four and a half years. Joella had always been talented and picked up Quidditch as a serious hobby from quite a young age, but when she’d started out in first year she’d lacked the tactical knowledge and experience of playing actual matches (Q-Ball games were definitely not the same thing) which meant she’d relied a lot on her older teammates for advice and instruction. Now here she was, one of the strongest players on the team and in a position to help others and give them direction. It was a nice feeling, like she was giving back all that she’d received.

The new Quidditch Coach said a few words and then the whistle sounded and Joella instantly pushed off from the ground, her eyes locked on the Quaffle. Years of practise meant she was very quick off the mark, but so could everyone else be so she had to fly fast to gain that initial advantage for her team. She grabbed the Quaffle first and sped off away from the rest of players who could knock it from her grip. She flew a good distance into the Teppenpaw half of the pitch to allow her fellow Chasers to get themselves some space away from the Prairie Dogs so that they could receive a pass with potential for interception reduced.

When she felt it the right time, Joella passed the Quaffle to one of her teammates who looked ready to receive. She threw hard enough that it had plenty of power to make the distance between her and the brown-clad player and was also accurate so that the recipient shouldn’t have to slow their flying a great deal in order to catch it.

8 Joella Curtis "Don't worry, I've arrived." 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Joseph Umland, Chaser

July 13, 2016 11:42 PM

Me, too! by Joseph Umland, Chaser

Joe wanted to think he was just shivering with cold as he got up and, trying to chat normally and confidently with Gabe, got ready for the Quidditch match, but he was pretty sure that at least a few of the rattles his teeth underwent as he cleaned them and looked for an extra pair of socks and such had something to do with nerves. The hands on his watch seemed to have something wrong with them, now creeping along as though the gears had been filled with molasses and now moving much too fast. He kept kind of wanting to hit something, or dance, or yell, or just do something other than carry on as though he wasn’t nervous at all, but refrained. There was nothing wrong, the more modern books he’d read asserted, with being afraid, but even most of them didn’t go so far as to imply it was okay to act afraid.

John had lent him his broom (”don’t get too used to it, though, because I’m going to be the one riding it when we play you guys in the spring”; this, Joe understood, had meant something like what most people would use phrases like ‘good luck’ or ‘I believe you can do it’ to express) a week earlier to practice and play the game on, so he was a bit better equipped for the first match than he had expected to be. John’s broom, secondhand when his brother had gotten it for his last birthday, was hardly as nice as Joe’s roommate’s broom, among others, even so, but he thought it was at least a bit faster than the school brooms and felt a bit better with it. His fingers tapped nervously against the handle even so, though, when he didn’t pay attention to them, though he hoped that looked like impatience to get to the game and get in the air to anyone who noticed it.

Calm down, he told himself as he listened to the pre-game speech. It’s not life or death. That was what his mom, who didn’t fundamentally get this kind of thing, would say. Dad and Julian would have understood, though. If they won today, the eight members of the team would be heroes, at least until the championships. If they didn’t…well, honestly, Joe didn’t think much would change, but that wasn’t as consoling as it might have been when he considered the part where they could be temporary heroes instead. He really, really wanted them to be temporary heroes, so he tried to focus on the fact that he’d never heard anyone really have a good word for the Pecari Seeker even though the Seekers weren’t really his problem.

The Chasers, on the other hand…had Joella Curtis always been that tall? He couldn’t remember.

The leaders shook hands, the brooms were mounted, and the whistle blew. Joe kicked off hard, the cold running over his legs like water from a faucet as he moved his feet from the empty air to the stirrups of the broom after takeoff. He looked for the Quaffle amid the flurry of too-quick, too-large bodies all around him and saw the dot of red (he could have lived, he thought, had it been a few shades brighter, but since they weren’t playing Crotalus, he guessed he could live with it being the more subdued shade of red it was, too) and saw it moving rapidly away from him, along with a brown robe.

It hadn’t been unbearably cold on the ground – indeed, Joe thought it had been warmer on the Pitch than it had been outside it, though he guessed that could have just been something to do with nerves, too, like how he’d felt too hot when he’d been in a church production when he was younger – but up here, the cool air stung his face as he sped after Joella. She was, he noticed with a little alarm, going pretty deep into Teppenpaw territory; he needed to watch out for Beaters if he tried anything, as she had to look like a pretty awesome target to them right about now and Joe would rather not have his first game remembered for a friendly fire incident. He dropped lower in the air, watching, trying to keep his broom going steady while figuring out everyone else’s positions even though he knew that if he could see the Beaters, she probably could, too, and that it was probably actually therefore in Teppenpaw’s best interests that he couldn’t see them right now….

He saw she was going to pass and, barely thinking, replicated what he’d done in try-outs, putting on a burst of speed and reaching out to knock the ball off its trajectory from his slightly lower position. While surreptitiously elbowing them both in the ribs very hard in such a situation might have its benefits, he would rather not get crushed between the Pecaris. As the ball fell, he dove after it, but someone else got to it first….

16 Joseph Umland, Chaser Me, too! 329 Joseph Umland, Chaser 0 5

Gabe Valenti, Chaser

July 14, 2016 9:30 AM

The cold doesn't bother me anyway by Gabe Valenti, Chaser

”Meet the Tepps, meet the Tepps, head on down and greet the Tepps.”

Gabriel Valenti was filled with excitement as he woke up to Game Day, theme song of his favorite baseball team, the Mets, temporarily altered in his brain to fit the situation. Gabe loved game days, whether they were his games or the games of his older, also athletic siblings. He’d missed Mattie’s last football game, as the season had ended before Gabe got home for Christmas, as well as Emma’s soccer playoffs. So he hadn’t really had a game day for either of his siblings since Emma’s baseball tournament in the summer, and hadn’t been home the day he was going to play an organized sport in well, years. The International Statute of Secrecy had a weird rule about wizards not playing non-magical sports, which Gabe had thought was pretty lame, and had resulted in him not playing in an organized league in almost two years. But that was all about to change. It had been fun to get to see his cousin win in the last Quidditch game, but she didn’t share in the traditions of his immediate family. Finally, it was Gabe’s turn.

Too excited to rest, the twelve year-old’s body had decided to ignore the norms of sleep schedules as he darted down to the Quidditch Pitch very early in the morning. The weather was unpredictable here at Sonora, and he wanted to have a good idea of what he was getting himself into. The boy smiled as he felt the crisp air cut across his cheeks. While it was pretty cool and all how Sonora could basically ignore all the rules of weather patterns and just not have a winter if it wanted to, it would have been pretty weird if they had had a heat wave or something in the middle of winter. The weather today, however was similar to the winter weather he had always known. He was feeling nostalgic as he ran a lap around the Pitch. It was cold, almost as cold as ideal skiing weather, which would have been below freezing. He’d skied for hours in weather much colder than this, and his mind immediately swirled with the thought of being able to ski through the air. That would have been awesome.

He stopped and chatted quickly with a prairie elf before darting back up to his room. The elves seemed to be in charge of the food around here, so since year one, Gabe had made a point of befriending them. Before long, he was back in his dorm room, getting ready with his roommate for the big day.

“It’s gonna be awesome!” he exclaimed to Joe, exuding positivity as he dug for clothing from his drawer. He’d decided that his clothing strategy for Quidditch would be similar to his strategy for skiing, putting on a base layer of pants and a long sleeve shirt. Mom had gotten him a canary yellow quarter-zip fleece for Christmas, and he gladly wore it now. While his family didn’t totally understand the house system, they certainly understood team spirit. He put on a pair of maroon wool socks before pulling over a pair of gray trekking pants, careful to tuck his layers one over the other so that no cool air could make its way in. He was glad Mom wasn’t here, she would have gushed about it. Throwing his flying gloves, goggles, and other flying gear in a drawstring bag, he grabbed his racing broom and ran downstairs to Cascade Hall.

His cousin was there, of course, waiting tentatively at the Teppenpaw table when he approached. Although she preferred to do game days on her own, she had accepted his request to have breakfast with him that morning. The game was early in the day, so he didn’t eat the full traditional game day breakfast, just a bowl of oatmeal with some fruit in it, and scrambled eggs. He guzzled down water as he babbled on about Quidditch and sports to his cousin. He was so excited it was finally here!

After family breakfast, he said his goodbyes to his little cousin before heading down to the locker room, bag still on his back and broom in hand. The game was almost here! He did some stretches, chatting cheerily with his teammates and sharing words of encouragement as everyone got ready. He still had some time before the game, so he examined his racing broom, polishing any scratches and clipping away at any stray bristles. He’d flown practically every day since starting here at Sonora, but today was the day that he needed all of his equipment to be in tip-top shape.

The chubby twelve year-old put on the rest of his uniform when he thought speeches were about to be made, adjusting his fingerless gloves and double-knotting his sneakers, and pulled a black gaiter over his throat. He put his ski goggles on top of his head before throwing on his flying robes. He opted to go without any warming charms - he was used to skiing in this sort of weather, and he practiced flying every day, rain or shine or whatever freak weather event Sonora decided to throw at him. Showtime!

He practically bounced onto the Pitch, carrying his broom on his shoulders as the captains shook hands. The ground felt hard under his sneakers - good for a quick kick off. The second year couldn’t wait to just get on with it already.

Pulling his ski goggles over his eyes, it was finally time to mount his broom. His knees bent in anticipation - the whistle was taking forever - his hands gripped at the handle of broom, until finally he heard the shriek of the whistle.

He burst off the ground with all his twelve year-old might, straight into the fray of yellow and brown robes. It was the sort of situation where it almost paid off to be smaller than many of the other flyers, darting around the mix of brooms and limbs. His stomach clenched as he saw the red of the ball being carried off by a blur of brown, and he flew down and around from the pack to try and get a better look.

Joe seemed to have locked in on Joella first, and Gabe leaned over, flattening himself out as much as he could as he shimmied his broom down the Pitch, several feet below the pair of chasers. His roommate had won Best Flyer in their year last year, and Gabe was excited for the whole school to see Joe’s skills. Teppenpaw had worked really hard, and Gabe was so excited for all of Sonora to see what their young house team could do on their own.

Joe got the ball free from the Pecaris, and it was time for action. Bursting forward, he snagged the ball out of the air with his right arm. Throwing his roommate a quick grin, he got a better grip on the ball, curving his wrist and tucking his whole arm around it as he kept it close to his chest, elbow tucked into his body. Playing backyard football with his big brother and his friends had come in handy for this moment.

He figured that Chasers might have also followed the Quaffle down, and so quick as he could, he darted up, flying several feet at a steep incline. Once he felt better about his altitude, he zigged this way and that, careening forward like a madman in the hopes of evading enemy Chasers and Bludgers. The joyful laughter as the wind cut against his face probably did not help the appearance that he was insane.

But the Teppenpaw Quidditch team had seen him fly like this before, and hopefully they would know what was coming next. When he felt he’d made as much progress as he could, dark eyes locked in on a friendly-looking yellow blur below. Beginning his descent, he quickly dropped down to fly parallel and a couple of feet above them before he passed the ball down, with any luck into their waiting hands. Once the ball was out of his hands, he pulled up abruptly, hopefully becoming a roadblock to any opposing Pecaris. He didn’t see what happened to the ball as he braced himself for potential impact.

0 Gabe Valenti, Chaser The cold doesn't bother me anyway 330 Gabe Valenti, Chaser 0 5

Ben Pierce, Chaser

July 14, 2016 12:20 PM

Just let it go by Ben Pierce, Chaser

Ben slept well the night before his first real Quidditch game, going to bed early to make sure he was able to fall asleep by his normal time. He knew it was important to be well rested to play well, and played in enough other sporting events that he had a routine all ready to help him settle down and sleep. Of course, he still woke up earlier than normal, and excitement upon seeing that the sun was up meant there was no going back to sleep. Sunrise in January was a lot later than sunrise during normal sporting seasons anyway, so he figured he got enough sleep. Next, he ate a good breakfast - his lucky breakfast of toast with peanut butter, scrabbled eggs, a banana, and a large glass of milk - then spent the rest of his time before the game making sure his broom was in perfect condition, getting dressed in layers with his Pecari Quidditch robes on top (robes were very accommodating for that; it was way more uncomfortable trying to get a turtleneck under a baseball uniform when it was cold out), and doing some warm-up exercises.

Once out on the Pitch, he didn't think it felt as cold as he'd felt this morning walking from Pecari's Commonroom to breakfast, so hopefully the sun would continue to warm things up as the morning progressed. In any event, he was from Boston and thought it was way warmer than the temperatures he'd endured over midterm, so when he asked one of the older students for a warming charm, it was only because he didn't want his unprotected fingers getting stiff and messing up his catches and throws.

He listened attentively to the captain and coach, and kicked off the ground when the whistle blew. He did not make it to the Quaffle first, but Joella did, so he wasn't too upset by that. He flew ahead, trying to put himself in a good position for a pass. Joella must have thought so too because she tossed the ball his way.

Too late, he spotted Joe Umland coming up from below, and the pass was interrupted, but not cleanly, the ball was going down, and Ben dove for it. Unfortunately, Gabe got there before he could, and Ben turned around, grimacing as Teppenpaw claimed possession of the ball and started heading away from their goals.

Ben chased after, flying above Gabe as he did all sorts of hi-jinx that probably made him a difficult target for bludgers but very easy to keep up with if one wasn't following every little turn the guy made but just marked his progress toward the Pecari side of the field. Ben might be a little easier for the beaters to pick off, but he trusted Atlas to keep him safe and his own ears to warn him of incoming danger.

Eventually, Gabe passed, and Ben dove down to intercept from above as Joe had intercepted from below. Coming down was easier for two reasons; gravity worked in your favor so you could move faster, and if you only managed to knock the Quaffle off course, like Joe had done, you were already going downward so it was easier to recover the falling ball. This was what Ben did, initially just swatting it away from its intended target then scooping it up for himself in two distinct but coordinated moves.

He turned back around and headed for Ginger Pierce once more. He knew she was a distant relation of his, but even if he actually knew and was close to her, which he wasn't, this was sports and going easy on anybody was not part of the game. Had he actually caught Joella's pass, he'd have gone for a shot at her, but Gabe had recovered too much distance for his team for Ben to risk it now.

He flew back to made up the lost ground and an extra couple of yards for good measure, flying much straighter than Gabe had done and at close to his best speed, hoping more to simply outrun any bludgers shot at him than to avoid them, so while he covered amount the same net distance, he held the ball for a shorter period of time. Satisfied by his progress, he looked for a good passing opportunity and shot the Quaffle toward his brown robed teammate.

OOC: I am assuming the restriction on wizards playing muggle sports that Gabe mentioned either doesn't apply to local summer kids leagues and/or, being Pierces, his family knows the loopholes to get around such lame regulations.

1 Ben Pierce, Chaser Just let it go 339 Ben Pierce, Chaser 0 5

Joe Umland, Chaser

July 15, 2016 2:25 PM

No right, no wrong, no reasoning for us.... by Joe Umland, Chaser

Joe breathed easier for a moment when the ball he had just sent flying ended up in Gabe’s hands. He returned the grin and followed, watching with some delight as Gabe took evasive measures to avoid Bludgers and Pecaris and such things. His roommate’s public demonstration of flying skill probably meant he’d lose a bit of prestige when this year’s yearbook came out, but that didn’t even occur to him as Gabe reclaimed some of the ground Joella had covered and Joe followed behind him. Instead, he just thought, with more than a little satisfaction, that anyone who had underestimated their team because all of its Chasers were on the small side was probably feeling kind of stupid right about now. Teppenpaw was a contender and that was all there was to it.

Unfortunately, though, one of the Pecari Chasers had no reason to have ever looked down on or understimated Gabe and Joe and Nat, as he was someone their size, too. Ben intercepted Gabe’s attempt to pass pretty much the same way Joe had intercepted Joella’s, which Joe guessed he had to admit was fair enough. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if the ball was just going to bounce back and forth between the six Chasers for the whole game, nobody ever getting close to a goal unless someone got desperate and tried a really long run that would inevitably end in a Bludger….

Well, if it did, that would at least still prove that the Teppenpaw Chasers were a force to be reckoned with and that Joella and Ingrid and Jack and Louis and Arianna (only the last personally known to Joe, and he actually hoped he could get to know her better in less contentious circumstances than a Quidditch match, but John rambled enough that Joe felt more familiar with the rest of the Sonora Quidditch world than he really was) should watch their backs. The strategic part of his brain kept trying to point out that this might not actually work to their advantage, that Aladren underestimating them severely might give them their best chance of winning the championship if they made it that far, but that thought kept getting shouted down by adrenalin and pride in what they’d accomplished so far. If the Beaters could just take out one Pecari Chaser, though, he thought he and his yearmates could really get some stuff done….

In the meantime, though, the action was moving back toward Ginger, and that was unacceptable. Throwing caution to the winds, he flew more aggressively toward the ball than before and intercepted Ben’s pass, his stomach feeling as though it was doing backflips as he actually got a grip on the ball for the first time in a real game and dove with it to avoid the Pecaris. It felt weird, doing things without thinking; he wasn’t sure, as he turned around again, if he liked it at all.

He didn’t hold onto the Quaffle long, passing it quickly at the first opening he saw toward one of his teammates. He hoped the opposition would expect him to go longer to reclaim more ground and thus might not be in position yet, though he had no idea if that was a realistic thing to hope for or not at the moment. Everything he had read and studied about Quidditch had flown out of his head minutes earlier and he hadn’t a clue where it had gone or when it was coming back. Hopefully, he thought dimly, 'not far' and 'soon.'

16 Joe Umland, Chaser No right, no wrong, no reasoning for us.... 329 Joe Umland, Chaser 0 5

Gabe Valenti, Chaser

July 16, 2016 9:27 PM

I'm free! by Gabe Valenti, Chaser

Gabe punched the air in frustration as Ben grabbed the ball. Sure, it was fun to be playing his first official Quidditch game against one of his buddies, but it had been slightly more fun with Teppenpaw in possession of the Quaffle. He quickly spun his broom around, shaking off the bad feelings as he did so. An interception was lame, but he could hear his older sister’s voice in his head, teasing him for letting one bad play get to him. There was a lot more game to play before it was all over. Or potentially, not a lot of time at all. Quidditch was weird.

He flew slightly above Ben and to his left, speeding as fast as he could while shimmying side to side, always conscious of the possibility of a Bludger strike. The second year had never actually had a bad run-in with a Bludger, but he didn’t plan to find out what that was like, either. His cousin had taken a couple of bad Bludger hits during her own team’s Quidditch practices, and those didn’t look like any fun at all. He pumped his knees, one after the other, still tucked close to the sides of his broom as he tried to keep his body loose. His body was starting to get warm between the multiple layers, physical exertion, and adrenaline pumping through his body, and a gloved hand pulled down at his gaiter as he moved forward.

And then it happened. Gabe’s seemingly calm, puzzle-loving roommate went after the ball like a linebacker ready to crush a quarterback. Amazing! Gabe whooped loudly, momentarily forgetting that he was not a spectator, but in fact, an active participant in the game. Blushing slightly, he moving forward. Right then and there, he decided that he would have to demand that his roommate practiced Quaffle interceptions with him. It appeared to be Joe’s specialty.

Inspired, he darted forward, flying closely to Joe’s left. He remembered his cousin’s observations about short-pass game, and her opinion that it basically made a group of chasers a bunch of sitting (floating?) ducks, awaiting a Bludger that was inherently inclined to go after high densities of flyers. But Gabe was confident in his speed, and besides, Joe’s enthusiasm was making the second year feel brave. The dark-haired boy whose messy curls flew out every which way as he powered forward was eager to show his teammate that he was equally as committed to the success of the team.

But quickly, before Gabe was entirely expecting it, Joe passed the ball his way. He blocked the ball with his chest, the layers of clothing between him and the ball blunting the impact slightly. He silently thanked whoever it was that had the idea for gripping charms as he fumbled a bit with the ball. That was pretty clutch. Ha, ha.

Excited, he flew straight now, though maybe that would throw off anyone used to his usual shimmy. His body was flat against the broom, and the Quaffle held below him as he went faster and faster, knowing no fear as he crossed the halfway mark and picked up speed. Going fast was his favorite part of flying, after all. It was like being on a roller coaster, only better because you got to control it, and anything could happen next.

Speaking of roller coasters, he had not been checking at all to see if Nat and Joe were keeping up with him. Whoops, that was no good at all. Gabe was fast, but he doubted he could make it down the rest of the field himself without a Bludger or Pecari catching up to him. Besides, he was no ball hog, not at all. He took a sharp incline, going higher and higher, inclining further and further until he started to make a backwards loop, although he never quite turned enough to be completely upside down. Hopefully it might throw off some Pecaris, though, as his head turned from side to side, looking up and down to see if there were any yellow blurs behind him, and -

Aha! There was actually a yellow blur above him! His teammates were so sneaky! His body and broom at about a 45-degree angle with the ground, ankles and right arm all hanging tightly onto the broom, he chucked the ball with his left arm across his body and over his right shoulder and to his teammate, before swinging himself with all his might over his broom, to be sitting atop the broom again, facing towards Ginger and the Teppenpaw hoops instead of the Pecari hoops, his original direction.

His whole body was warm with excitement and adrenaline. He had flown almost upside-down, and in a game, no less! The only thing that would make that even better was if his teammate caught the ball and scored the first Teppenpaw goal against Pecari. He was fast, but his teammates were so clever and he was sure either Nat or Joe could make the shot. Gabe would love to say that he had assisted the first goal that Teppenpaw had shot as an independent team in years.

OOC: Ben - For reference, found that rule here. Not sure how strict it is, but assuming that Gabe’s family isn’t entirely comfortable navigating the legal system of the magical world and generally prefers to follow the straight and narrow.

0 Gabe Valenti, Chaser I'm free! 330 Gabe Valenti, Chaser 0 5

Ingrid W, Chaser

July 17, 2016 6:57 AM

Yup, free of that pesky Quaffle (you're welcome) by Ingrid W, Chaser

Ingrid was tingling with excitement for their first match, not only of this season, but for an entire year and a half. She was also on tenterhooks about showing her skills in front of Coach Grase. It was a surname she’d seen emblazoned across a pro uniform only a handful of years before. There had been magazine articles about her. And now she was here, in their very own school. Ingrid hadn’t thought it possible that there would ever be anyone in school she looked up to and wanted to impress more than Liliana, but that was now rapidly changing... Maybe the coach was even unofficially doing some scouting? Ingrid knew it was a tough go of it to become a professional Quidditch player (which was why she had the totally rational and down-to-earth back up plan of being a dragon handler - something that gave her a bit of a soft spot for Coach Grase’s former team, given their logo) but if she impressed Coach Grase, and if Francesca just got on with it and married into a family that contained a pro-Seeker, then maybe she’d have some decent connections.

The morning of the Quidditch match, she bounced out of bed - an unusual occurrence reserved only for match days and Christmas morning; for all that she was a bundle of energy once she got going, Ingrid was rarely a morning person. The day was freezing but she’d survived enough Chicago winters to not truly be bothered. Her mum had packed her back off to school with several underlayers imbued with warming charms, knowing how Sonora’s weather had a strong Irish temperament, in spite of the desert setting. She slipped these on under her robes, glad she could stay warm without anything too bulky which would impede her range of movement.

She had a big plate of eggs and bacon for breakfast, choosing wholemeal toast because even though it tasted like cardboard there was something about it being better and releasing energy more slowly that meant it would keep her going for longer. After washing that all down with pumpkin juice (because sure, she could see the benefit of a hot drink on a cold day, but coffee and tea tasted really gross) she was ready to go.

As they lined up against Teppenpaw, she felt a fluttering of nerves in her stomach that maybe didn’t quite reflect the opponents they were facing. Still, even though Teppenpaw was a new and fairly young side, Ingrid had a number of reasons to feel anxious about the match, besides the fact that Coach Grase was watching. One, the biggest and most important reason: they had to win this if they were going to lock horns again with Aladren, and they had to because Theodore was graduating this year and she had never put a goal past him. Two: she liked winning. Three: although they were overall quite young, so was she. Sure, she had a year advantage on her fellow Chasers, and at the moment that put her a whole grade level above them, which made her feel pretty big, but it was her and Ben and admittedly Joella, who was ace but actually the differences between the Chasing teams weren’t huge. She knew Liliana could stop anything but she really didn’t want it to get that far, that often. She wanted to show that she could do this.

As the game kicked off, she got into a defensive position. It wasn’t her favourite place to play, as it didn’t usually see the most action - it definitely wasn’t the dynamic, out in front, give-us-your-best-moves place she’d hoped to be in front of Coach Grase - but someone had to do it. You couldn’t all just clump around the Quaffle. She cheered as Joella got it, trying not to resent her getting such a cool slice of the action (because people like that - people who put their own glory above being in a team, and weren’t able to take a needed and valued, but less glamorous, backseat were… well, basically Jamie Park. And if there was one thing that was worse than not getting her best shot at impressing Coach Grase, it was being in anyway like Jamie Park). And besides, it looked like she might be needed early on, as the Teppenpaw team managed to take possession and secure a pass. But then Ben was in there, which was, again, good, because it showed he could hold his own against the kids in his year group. Although they seemed to have the upper hand, as they took it back again, and again managed the pass that Pecari so far hadn’t been able to pull off.

She was going to be on them though. They were coming far back enough to be in her territory. She had the disadvantage that, being further up the pitch, she might have been visible to Gabriel during his run - although with all that was going on at any given moment, it was hard to tell on a Quidditch pitch - but she was pretty sure she could still get in someone’s way, even if she lost the element of surprise. She focussed her attention on one of the Teppenpaw Chasers, who was no doubt trying to line themselves up to receive from Gabe, flying very deliberately towards them, ready to mirror any shimmy they made, her eyes locking on and her body language clear: I am in your way, and I am going to stay there. Gabriel seemed to have entered into evasive manoeuvres as well, whether due to her or some other perceived threat, she wasn’t sure. She continued to make her presence known, doing her best to get between the Teppenpaw Chasers. She guessed she was still far enough back to be out of Gabriel’s peripheral vision, or he just had some kind of lapse or no other choice, because she suddenly saw the ball heading towards the Chaser she’d been marking. He had good aim, and she was still further back, but putting on a burst of speed, she was able to dart forward, brushing the other player (not hard enough to seriously knock them off balance or be considered a foul but perhaps enough to startle an unseasoned flyer) and scoop the ball out of the air. She was already facing the right way, so flattened herself out, knowing that she’d been so close that the Teppenpaw could easily get on her tail, provided they hadn’t lost control from being jostled.

As there was a decent chance that she had a close tail, she wanted to get rid of the ball quickly (or for a Bludger to come along and smack someone just behind her out of the air). She knew at least two of them were behind her, or had been when she’d started this run (and she was flying straight on a pretty decent broom), so that put the odds in favour of a long pass, which any of her tails would then have to chase hard to catch. She scouted around, hoping the unaccounted for Teppenpaw Chaser wasn’t ready to pounce, and gave her hardest throw to a Pecari player a good few metres further up the pitch.

13 Ingrid W, Chaser Yup, free of that pesky Quaffle (you're welcome) 322 Ingrid W, Chaser 0 5

Liliana Bannister, Keeper

July 17, 2016 10:31 PM

Thanks, dear :* by Liliana Bannister, Keeper

Quidditch that year was exciting. Not only did they finally have a real Quidditch Coach, but that Quiditch Coach had been a real player on a real team just three short years ago. And the coach was a she! Liliana wasn’t exactly a Quidditch fanatic in that she hoped to go pro after graduation (in fact she had knuckled down over her studies to avoid exactly that) and she wasn’t the sort to obsess over the different players, but she did follow matches and she was up to date on most of the current Quidditch news and as such she knew a bit about Coach Grase as did, she suspected, quite a few of the other players.

In addition to the new Quidditch Coach that was stirring up excitement, it was the first time in a few years that Teppenpaw and Crotalus had each fielded a full team. And while Liliana was ecstatic that this would produce more Quidditch games for the year, she was also nervous that this would cause Pecari to fall back behind one of the newer teams, robbing her of the chance to face down Theodore on the Pitch one last time before graduation.

Today, however, she had other worries. She had sent Ginger a note before the game, wishing her luck—since their unlikely friendship was still under wraps so to speak, and had then made her way to the pitch. She arrived before the other members of her team had, the biting air causing her to worry that her fingers might freezez up during the ame and so cast a hand warming spell on her Keeper’s gloves. The weather wasn’t the coldest that Liliana was used to and she was glad to have put a thin thermal under layer beneath her Quidditch robes.

She had forgotten about the spell until little Ben Pierce asked if someone could help him out and she happily complied, offering the same service to the rest of her teammates. Once everyone was properly warmed up, Liliana gathered her team of seven players and three reserves with a smile. “Teppenpaw on it’s own is a new team, some of us have played them before when they were working with Crotalus, but we shouldn’t underestimate them. Crotalus played well against Aladren last term, loosing the Snitch to Dill being the main contributor to the loss.

“Jamie, even though this will be Jake Manger’s first match, he’s been practising with the team for a few years now so I expect you to take him seriously. As for the Chasers, you’ve all been up against Ginger Pierce. She has drastically improved since when she first started and has learned some new tricks—” Liliana felt slightly guilty for having taught Ginger those tricks herself but how was her team to know that the Teppenpaw and Pecari Keepers had formed a little alliance? “—I know that the weather is a bit chilly, and I don’t want anyone playing if they feel like they can’t. Please remember that we have three very capable reserves that I’d like to have see some game time this year so that they’re not catapulted into it next year. So we can have some rounds a little into the game.

“Anything else? No? Well then, go out there and be the fabulous players that I know you are! We’ll have a celebratory party in the MARS room after everyone showers whether we win or lose. And maybe that’s a bit Teppenpaw-y but we’re going to have fun with our first match of the year!” She put her hand into the middle of the circle and waited for everyone else to follow before saying “Pecari on three. One, two, three. PECARI!”

Feeling like she’d adequately prepared her team, Liliana went to shake the captain of the Teppenpaw team’s hand and took her place on the field, excited for the match to start. When Coach Grase blew the whistle, she flew to her preferred spot in front of the hoops, keeping that particular secret to herself though she was sure Ginger had probably picked up on it by now since she was a sharp witch. From this vantage point Liliana felt ready for anything. She could see the majority of the field and she felt secure in knowing each hoop was only a ‘short’ dive away.

As the game started, her warning about the Teppenpaw players rang true. Two of the newest Teppenpaw recruits intercepted the Pecari players twice, passing the Quaffle back and forth as though it were second nature. They had scored against Theodore more than the Aladrens had scored against Ginger, after all. The Quaffle came closer and closer to the scoring range and Liliana prepared herself… And then little Ingrid Wolseithcrafte who had fallen apart in tears over the whole Team v. Jamie Park worst enemies thing intercepted the Teppenpaw duo of Valenti and Umland. Liliana grinned. She had faith in the youngest Wolseithcrafte, that she would grow up to be an amazing Chaser just like her older sister, Francesca (who Liliana had always admired) and her older brother (her opposite was a good player loathe as she was to admit it), and she let out a little cheer as Ingrid passed the Quaffle further up the Pitch and towards her other little prodigy, Ginger.

Liliana thought of three of the other players as her prodigies. There was Joella who Liliana counted as her closest female friend at Sonora since they had played Quidditch together for five years now and were in the same house, there was Ginger who Liliana had taken under her wing after watching the poor girl’s first match, and then there was Ingrid, the younger sister of the witch Liliana supposed she admired most in the Sonora world she had become accustomed to.

There were other Quidditch playing females at Sonora—Sammy Meeks, a Beater on Liliana’s team, for one, but Liliana saw how the younger witch was strong and confident and she admired her and felt she didn’t need someone to hold out a wing. Uzume Shinohara had also played from the moment she started Sonora basically, but there was something about the Japanese witch that screamed Independence. Liliana had, of course, a soft spot for Lily Spencer whose older brother, Adam, had been so wonderful to Liliana when they’d played together and who she had been Assistant Captain for. And then there were the two new players on Aladren and Teppenpaw, a first year and second year respectively, but Liliana didn’t know them in the same ways she knew Joella, Ginger, and Ingrid.

The latest, most surprising addition to the ranks of female Quidditch players at Sonora was a fifth year. Liliana felt as though Makenzie Newell, rather than any of the new first year witches was a newer addition since she had already established herself as one of those society witches whereas the others didn’t quite have a place at Sonora yet to contradict. Yet she had still been impressed with the way the younger, society witch held her own in the ranks of the Quidditch players. But she wasn’t quite sure what to make of her just yet and, despite Ginger’s pressing to allow her to join their “Secret Cabal of Keepers,” she hadn’t made the move to do so. Liliana was a possessive, selfish witch at heart and she didn’t welcome intruders or interlopers easily.

Liliana’s sharp eyes watched for Ginger’s reaction to Pecari’s current control over the Quaffle, knowing that this was the last time she would face off against her biggest prodigy and biggest secret yet. While she kept a mental notebook for her own players, little things to tell them about after the game that could use their improvement, she kept one for Ginger too. She felt the Teppenpaw Keeper had grown into her own and likely didn’t need many more of Liliana’s tips but as the witch’s private, secret coach she felt as though it were her duty to continue to inform her opposition and ally until otherwise asked. And, since this was the last time they’d play against each other, Liliana knew she would feel no shame in passing on every last one of her secrets and tips. After all, there was only one other female Keeper at Sonora and Liliana did not feel like sharing with her.

10 Liliana Bannister, Keeper Thanks, dear :* 274 Liliana Bannister, Keeper 0 5

Tobi Reinhardt, Beater

July 18, 2016 12:07 PM

Me three by Tobi Reinhardt, Beater

Makenzie Newell had been asked to the Ball by Isaac Douglas. When he’d first heard the news, Tobi had tried to shrug it off, act as though he didn’t really care. After all he hadn’t told a single soul about his crush on the Crotalus Keeper and he hadn’t really been planning on it either. Even if he’d even briefly considered it in the past, he had long forgotten his desire to tell Liac, thinking his excitable best friend wouldn’t be able to handle it. Unfortunately, he had been sitting next to Liac at dinner when the news got round to the Teppenpaws and he hadn’t been able to keep his face from falling and the secret had been out. He was just glad that Arne hadn’t been there to see it. He loved his little brother, he really did, but he knew he’d never have been able to live it down. There were some things, like Tobi’s quietness, that Arne just didn’t understand.

Tobi wasn’t sure if he would have asked Makenzie anyway—he wasn’t shy, just quiet, and he knew that if he had ever made the decision to ask her he probably would have been able to do it, no stuttering. But he had also semi-convinced himself that things would never work out between them for a variety of reasons, most of them causing him to be rather self-deprecating. So he wasn’t in the best of moods as he head to the Quidditch Pitch for their team’s first match of the year. And he didn’t even chance a look out into the crowd to see if she was there, not wanting to get distracted nor to play badly if he saw her and was reminded of how he had failed to ask her first.

Lost in thought over Makenzie, he nearly allowed a bludger hit by Sammy Meeks to knock him off his broom but luckily he was able to deflect it and send it back into a mess of brown robes* before adjusting himself into a better position in order to guard his team members from a Pecari assault. Even though his heart wasn’t in the game and, in all fairness had never been in the game, he needed to make sure his head was. He couldn’t allow his fellow team mates to get hurt by a bludger—stray or otherwise, simply because he had gone and fallen for someone who he’d never be able to have anything with.

“Alright, Reinhardt, time to snap out of it,” he said to himself. “It’s your own fault and in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?” So, even though his chest was aching something fierce, Tobi pushed his thoughts of Makenzie out of his head to focus on the game at hand.

*OOC: Tobi sent the bludger to the Pecari chasers.

10 Tobi Reinhardt, Beater Me three 289 Tobi Reinhardt, Beater 0 5

Joella Curtis, Chaser

July 18, 2016 6:07 PM

Come on, we've got this now. by Joella Curtis, Chaser

Joella could not really understand what it was about the Aladren Quidditch team that the Pecaris were missing. They had a high level of skill too, she would proudly argue. The main difference between the two leading teams was that Pecari actually possessed a special element called team cohesion which Joella was certain the Aladrens were too heartless to have. Not being able to spot the significant reason why they must always win throughout Joella’s entire Quidditch career at Sonora so far made it all the more frustrating but each term the Chaser returned with even more determination.

Before they could get on with facing off their longtime Quidditch rivals, however, Pecari needed to overcome their first hurdle, Teppenpaw. Despite Liliana’s warning not to underestimate the newer team, it was clear from the surprising success of the yellow-clad Chasers in intercepting passes that Joella was doing exactly that. They didn’t sound good on paper but somehow they had managed to stop the Pecari Chasers from making one single successful pass and she didn’t like how that sounded, even if they had managed to regain possession of the Quaffle again fairly quickly. Joella needed to step up her game and put these rookies in place.

Following the interception of her own pass at the very start of the game (which had only for a fleeting moment looked to be in Pecari’s advantage), Joella found herself having to shake off an apparently well aimed bludger using various methods and returned to a more key position once she was rid of it with a brief irritated glance in the direction of one of the Teppenpaw Beaters who she assumed must have sent it her way, unless all four Beaters had been incompetent at getting the bludgers under their control quickly upon the Coach’s whistle.

The young Tepps were back in possession long enough to exchange a successful pass but then Ingrid was in their way. Joella was pleased that the younger girl had stood her ground in a defensive position as she was now able to carry out an interception perfectly and stop the yellow boys getting any close to Liliana. They’d been covering too much ground in Pecari territory for her liking - any ground at all was way too much. As expected Ingrid regained the Quaffle for Pecari and made a start at getting it back into the side that it should be.

Joella made sure to fly at a similar pace in her position up ahead of her teammate. Quite wisely Ingrid decided not to hold onto the Quaffle for too long and passed it her way. The fifth year was ready and caught the firm pass easily; it had plenty of power to reach her with good speed. Joella grinned, thinking not for the first time that Ingrid had a very high chance of turning out as awesome as her older sister, and raced in the direction of Ginger Pierce and the Teppenpaw hoops, scarlet ball tucked securely under one arm.

The team captain’s comments about Ginger’s improvements had not gone unnoticed by Joella and she had narrowed her eyes a little at the time when Liliana referenced “new tricks”. It made sense for players to pay more attention to those of the opposition who played the same position as they did but it was also interesting, she thought, that Liliana should know so much about Ginger’s developments when she could not have seen the Teppenpaw Keeper play for a year and a half at the very least.

Joella kept her mind fully focused on the game, however, and she reminded herself that this was important and she couldn’t afford to relax too much. She flew in a zig-zag motion (a useful tactic taught to her as the Woollongong Shimmy), covering a considerable distance of the pitch before making a strong pass towards a teammate once she became aware of opposing forces closing in on her again.

8 Joella Curtis, Chaser Come on, we've got this now. 295 Joella Curtis, Chaser 0 5

Natalie Varth, Chaser

July 19, 2016 9:20 PM

It's anyone's game by Natalie Varth, Chaser

It hadn’t always been the case but Nat was now often waking up early. On the day of Quidditch try outs she’d woken up extra early, as she did now, and attributed waking up even earlier than normal to her excitement for the day to begin. It was cold out, colder than she was used to, despite the temperatures dropping to sometimes low twenties at home. This chill though, this had to be below freezing! Trying to tell herself that she was exaggerating as she got ready for the day, she quietly tiptoed to her trunk and pulled out the fuzzy toe socks Andrea had given her for Christmas. She’d written home during her first year so many times, the letters always emblazoned with yellow and maroon swirls and geometric shapes, that her family was well aware of her color preferences.

After pulling on the socks and adjusting them she felt a surge of warmth. Whether it was from the physical barrier of her suddenly bare feet meeting warm fleece again or the sentimental value warming her she didn’t know, and suspected it might be both. She quickly dismissed the idea as the warmth didn’t last nearly as long as it should have, and spurred her into getting dressed fully. Another present, this time from Carter, she pulled on the tight fitting, long sleeved top that she was now using as the base layer for her daily Quidditch practices. Only having one was inconvenient laundry wise but she was more than happy to do excess laundry when she could wear something special. Marigold had told her Carter had tutored a few kids in his class and made the money to buy it. Amanda had sold some of her things, which Natalie felt troubled about, in order to purchase the special gloves, and Jerry had tried valiantly to make her the scarf she would later adorn herself with. Jerry, for all his poor fingering skills had made a very decent accessory. It was far from perfect quality but it was perfect for her.

After pumping herself up with the help of her apparel, she headed to the kitchens. She didn’t usually go directly there unless it was a big day and she needed to be off quickly. The house elves were expecting her, her having informed them of her stopping by the day before, and pointed to a small box on a distant counter. After wishing her luck for today, her scooping the package up and thanking them profusely, she dashed to the pitch. The run warmed her and she quickly became hot while running through the non-open-air corridors. At last she was at the field though, and found her way to the shed where the school brooms were kept. Coach Grase was already outside, waving her wand over the pitch.

As Joe and Gabe arrived she made her way over to them, smiling broadly. Their first game. IT wasn’t too long before the game was set into motion. The actual pitch was warmer than she expected, and a temperature she was already used to. January in Brownsville was colder than it was up here. Of course, once she was fling the wind factor would reduce it so she was still thankful for the warm layers.

The beginning of the game looked promising. Despite possession having gone to Pecari, Joe had flown over to the opposing team and intercepted their pass. Gabe had broken formation with her to charge after it, but she wasn’t far behind, speeding to catch him and flank him as they did in practice, she was ready to catch his pass after he had caught the falling quaffle. But luck, and even practice, was not on her side. The boy who had been the intended recipient of the Pecari girl’s pass that Joe had interrupted had now intercepted the pass intended for her from Gabe. Oh, how exciting! Not dwelling on the failure of one pass, she pursued him, falling behind Joe who was now quickly gaining on the boy. Joe, she admired, was a very talented and speedy flier. Gabe also headed towards him, splitting finally to catch Joe’s pass closer to the end zone. She slowed, knowing they’d be heading in the opposite direction, Joe already flying towards her. She rose higher, granting clear passage for Gabe to spin around and come zooming underneath. Already making her way in the opposite direction, she almost caught up to him, gaining, gaining, and he passed!

Intercepted! A new Pecari girl jostled Nat, seeing that Nat was closer having had the lead on Joe. Joe, though, couldn’t be spotted quickly and Nat didn’t have time to waste looking for him. Gabe was ahead of her- she still had a fellow chaser nearby, her priority now was to get possession back. Fortunately for her, the girl who now had possession, the girl who’d started with it, was trying to make another pass. Once again she flew above the player in possession of the quaffle. The first Pecari girl was racing towards Ginger, and about to pass. Despite it looking pretty solid, Nat was still willing to try Joe’s move earlier, diving right between them. The fact that the pass would almost undoubtedly have been successful was all the more reason to bring out the trickier tricks. She wasn’t as strong a flier as Joe but she succeeded in knocking the quaffle out of it’s planned trajectory, amd into her waiting arm. This knocked her off balance only slightly, and whipped her broom around, now below the two PEcari chasers, towards the opposite end of the field. It was the first time in the game that she’d successfully gotten the quaffle, she just hoped she’d be more successful in passing than she had been in catching this game. Trusting her two fellow Tepp chasers to catch up and the beaters to keep her safe, she decided to fly straight rather than the fancy dodging she and Gabe usually practiced. Right now ground needed to be made up.

She got a considerable distance before a Pecari chaser was on her again. Surveying the pitch, she spotted yellow, and pressed on. Hopefully Pecari would expect her to pass forward, but she stopped abruptly, hoping the opposing Chaser would continue flying forward, then passed. It looked promising, but so had the Pecari pass she intercepted. It was anyone’s game, she just hoped it would land in her teammate’s arms.

7 Natalie Varth, Chaser It's anyone's game 331 Natalie Varth, Chaser 0 5

Jozua Sparks, Beater

July 20, 2016 1:43 PM

It's anybody's bludger, too by Jozua Sparks, Beater

"I'm what?" Jozua asked with enough dismay that it was clear he'd heard his reassignment but was hoping he'd gotten it wrong. Practicing with school brooms had helped his flying skills considerably since his embarrassing performance at tryouts, but he in no way felt competent enough to take the captain's place. The guy clearly had some kind of deathly plague of death, but surely he was still the better option, right? As far as Jozua was concerned, a fifth year vomiting on the other guys seemed a scarier alternative than a puny first year smacking bludgers at them, but either this was not a universal opinion or someone higher up the chain of authority, like maybe the nurse or the coach or somebody, had already vetoed the idea, because nobody suggested it as a viable alternative to giving Jozua a beater's bat and telling him to keep the Teppenpaw chasers safe.

This was not supposed to happen. Jozua was supposed to be freezing on the bench, not freezing in the air. He was not prepared for this. He had gone to bed last night secure in the belief that his most contentious interaction with the opposing team today would be that Lily might stick her tongue out at him from the Pecari bench.

Instead, he was standing with the rest of the first string players who were not a deathly greenish color (Jozua himself was looking a bit green, too, but that was merely nerves rather than a cruel virus with an obvious preference for Pecari to win today), holding a broom in white knuckled fingers, and trying desperately hard not to hyperventilate.

The only bright side was that he was so pumped full of terror and adrenaline that he was actually sweating rather than freezing in this weather.

The whistle blew, and Jozua spent the first minutes of the game bouncing back and forth, generally contributing to the Pecari game effort by being a yellow robe somebody might accidentally pass to but not ever getting close to the black balls he was supposed to be herding. Fortunately, Gabe was super good at evading them without help and Nat and John hadn't yet been targeted.

Then Nat made a straight run and Jozua chased after her, kind of feeling like a toddler trying to keep up with his big sister, but when a bludger went after her, he managed an awkward block and spent the rest of her longish run trying to get control of it. Finally, though, he did, and swung hard, aiming for Joella, figuring the oldest Chaser on the pitch was an obvious choice to take out of play, at least temporarily, but the bludger flew wide of his target, charging wildly at nobody in particular. It was close enough to the main grouping, though, that it wouldn't be long before it caught a heat signature and chose its victim at random.

Jozua winced and muttered, "Oops." He flew after it, knowing he was already too late to stop it from finding somebody, and dearly hoped he hadn't just caused a friendly fire incident. "Hit a Pecari, hit a Pecari," he chanted under his breath as he flew after it, to try again or maybe rescue a teammate if it found a Teppenpaw and they managed to evade the initial onslaught.

1 Jozua Sparks, Beater It's anybody's bludger, too 348 Jozua Sparks, Beater 0 5

Ginger Pierce, Keeper

July 20, 2016 3:56 PM

Waiting and Watching by Ginger Pierce, Keeper

When Ginger saw him that morning, Liac looked awful. She tried to convince him to go back to bed that instant and sleep until he was healthy again but ultimately it had been his call not hers and he'd shown up at the game anyway to give his team a captainly pep-talk and shake Liliana's hand, as was the honor due his title. Ginger just hoped he didn't get her older friend sick, too, and she gave Liac a worried look as Jozua was assigned to play beater and the Teppenpaw captain settled onto the reserve bench to watch the game he couldn't play.

Consequently, she was a bit slow kicking off, but between them, Teppenpaw's chasers gave her plenty of time to get to her end of the field and fly a few loops around her hoops to help keep her warm. California born and raised, she hated the cold. Warming charms, heavy clothes, and winter accessories aided her efforts to ward off a chill, but her exposed cheeks had already started to hurt long before the Quaffle threatened her too closely.

At first, the teams just seemed to be testing each other out and the ball never seemed to travel terribly far in one direction at a time. Ginger tried to keep up with what was going on but mostly she just noted when most of them were flying towards her or not. Twice they got near enough to pick out where the Quaffle actually was but then it was intercepted and on its way back toward Liliana again.

Her mentor was much too far away to exchange any nonverbal commentary with, but she seemed, from what Ginger could see, to be comfortably waiting in her usual perch above the goals. Easy for her to do; the Pecaris were doing a slightly better job at keeping the ball on the other side of the field than Ginger's team was.

Only slight though, she noted in pleased pride as Nat ran the Quaffle back over the center line again. Teppenpaw was definitely holding its own so far. Maybe, just maybe, they might even win this time. That would be new and exciting!

She made another loop around her hoops, hoping the bulkiness of her winter gear wouldn't interfere with her ability to make a save. Her maneuverability was slightly hindered, but overall, she was better trained and possessing a longer reach after two years worth of growth spurts since her last game. She was so ready to stop some Quaffle!

Heck, the jacket under her robe might prove to be some welcome padding later.

1 Ginger Pierce, Keeper Waiting and Watching 302 Ginger Pierce, Keeper 0 5

Ben Pierce, Chaser

July 20, 2016 4:53 PM

They're all mine! Hahahaha-ow by Ben Pierce, Chaser

Ben grimaced as Joe intercepted again, this time keeping hold of the Quaffle and making a short run with it. He succeeded in his pass to Gabe but Gabe's was lost to Ingrid. Ingrid got it to Joella but again Joella's pass to Ben was interrupted and the Quaffle kidnapped by Natalie Varth.

Muttering under his breath, Ben turned around again for what seemed the upteenth time already and followed after her. He was gaining and was just about in position to start crowding her when ... she wasn't there anymore. He would have called his next move "skidding to a stop" if he'd been on the ground, but he wasn't so he wasn't quite sure how to describe his slowing half turn as he tried to figure out what just happened, where Nat went, and most importantly who had the Quaffle now.

Unfortunately, sitting still was just about the worst thing a person could do during a Quidditch game and the Bludger found him and made that point very clear. Ben put on a burst of speed to try to escape its malice, but he'd been dead in the air and he didn't have time to accelerate away in time. He twisted just before impact, taking a direct hit just below his left shoulder blade, where he though it would do the least damage.

Between the extra layers he'd worn for warmth and the lack of a delicate bone in that fleshy part of his back, he didn't think anything was broken but he still let out a loud cry of pain because, broken or not, that had hurt. He flew away quickly, trying to put distance between him and his attacker.

And now he really had no idea where the Quaffle was.

1 Ben Pierce, Chaser They're all mine! Hahahaha-ow 339 Ben Pierce, Chaser 0 5

Joella Curtis, Chaser

July 20, 2016 6:06 PM

You can't make a monkey out of me. by Joella Curtis, Chaser

Joella loved Quidditch more than anything which was pretty much common knowledge because she didn’t hesitate to reveal this passion to everyone and anyone she had the fortune or misfortune to come into contact with. That being said, her classmates had very much offended her last term by electing Uzume Shinohara as “Most Quidditch Obsessed” and she still hadn’t forgiven the Crotalus girl. Joella did wonder if the yearbook editors had fixed the results so that she wouldn’t get both that and “Best Flier” (which was admittedly a better award anyway but that was besides the point) because that was better than believing her classmates tuned her out the majority of the time that she spoke to them.

The Pecari was competitive in nature and Quidditch really brought that trait out in her more than anything. Right now, these Teppenpaw Chasers (as lovely as they might be off the pitch - not that she knew any of them personally) were getting on her last nerve. Who did they think they were, making her look bad in front of Juliet Grase of all people? Joella knew a good handful of professional players fairly well through her sister Franki (who had played for the Nashville Negators herself for a few years) but that didn’t stop her feeling excited by the fact that Juliet Grase was now the Quidditch Coach at Sonora.

Joella had high hopes to become a professional Quidditch player when she left Sonora and with any luck her fellow Chaser Ingrid might choose not to make the same mistake of wasting her talents as her older sister unfortunately had. Even though they both had plenty of time before they needed to be worrying about scouts, the fifth year was not content to be made to look a fool in the way she felt she was now.

Her flying skills had always been solid and forever improving but it had to be said that Joella’s main weapon in Quidditch was her ball skills. This not only referred to her shots but also her passing, but so far two out of two of her passes had been intercepted and she did not like it, not one bit. The Teppenpaw girl Chaser had somehow (how!?) managed to get hold of the Quaffle and secure it into her possession.

Fuelled by outrage at this sneaky interception of her perfectly set up (or so she’d thought) pass, Joella turned her broom around quickly by ducking down and round, having to flip herself over so that she was on top of her broom and hanging under it for just a split second. She had full intentions of speeding up the action of the game in the hopes that these newer players wouldn’t be able to keep up. Before she could do anything, however, she needed to regain a hold on that muggle-loving leather ball.

Joella heard a cry of pain but ignored it as she caught onto the girl’s tail. It could have been one of her teammates for sure and she did care about them but right now it was dog eat dog, or rather boar eat dog. The Chaser directly in front of her slowed abruptly, almost resulting in Joella crashing right into her (apparently the girl had not realised just how close she’d managed to get) but even if the fifth year was in a very hotheaded state, it seemed to be the optimal arousal level for high performance on her behalf so her eyes and reaction time were especially sharp.

She’d stopped just in time but now the Teppenpaws were making a pass and she had to dart forward in the right direction to intercept very quickly so that the ball had hardly had time to leave the possessor’s hands before it met hers. And she was off, tucking the Quaffle under one arm and making a swift hair-pin turn to get back up the other end of the pitch. For a moment Joella felt very chuffed with her one-man act (which hadn’t been a great display of team playing but she’d got the job done and right now that was all that mattered) but then she spotted Ben and she could tell that it was he who had sounded pain shortly before.

The young boy was still up on his broom and seemingly continuing to play , however, and that was the main thing so with any luck Joella was not one Chaser down just yet (this was why having a good number reserves was so useful). She flew full force in the direction of the Teppenpaw goals but the opposing Chaser girl had covered a good deal more distance that Joella had originally been willing to give her credit for. The fifth year so badly wanted a goal opportunity but knew better than to get too cocky and jumpy ahead of herself. For now, she needed to make a successful pass (she could not take anymore of this intercepting lark) and get into a good position without another bludger attacking her in the meantime (which was more than likely to happen).

Once she had flown a good chunk of the pitch with the Quaffle still securely in place, Joella made the decision to pass. Upon making this decision, she didn’t hang about to aim towards the first well-placed Pecari Chaser she saw, not slowing down all that much from the fast speed she had picked up on her latest top of the range broomstick but hopefully not compromising accuracy.

Joella powered on for the hoops, hoping that the Quaffle had made its way safely to friendly hands but having learnt not to rely on it.

8 Joella Curtis, Chaser You can't make a monkey out of me. 295 Joella Curtis, Chaser 0 5

Ben Pierce, Chaser

July 20, 2016 10:03 PM

But monkeys are barrels of fun! by Ben Pierce, Chaser

The impact site hurt, of course, but as Ben rotated his shoulder a few times, it seemed to be working okay. Maybe he wasn't quite totally up to top form right this moment, but he was in playable condition, and he located the Quaffle in Joella's possession. Nat had flown into Pecari territory, so following after her had brought him back toward Ingrid's defensive position and he caught her eye and signaled that she should go back up Joella, try to get into position to score, and he'd hang back, nurse his wound, and cover the defensive side of things for a while.

He wasn't quite sure how much of that she got from a wave toward Joella and the fact that he wasn't going after her, but he figured she should at least be able to follow the key point of "Me defense, you go score goals now." In the meantime, he held back, taking up rear guard action, and continuing to try to work the kinks out of his back and shoulder to prevent them from stiffening up and becoming a problem.

This really wasn't the impression he'd been hoping to make for Liliana and Joella for his first game - to say nothing of Coach Grase who was a bona-fide, genuine, real-deal professional Quidditch player - but at least he knew enough to know when he shouldn't try to hog the lime-light and let someone who wasn't physically injured back up the lead chaser and help the team try to score. With any luck, by the time the Quaffle came back his way, he would have shaken off most of the sting and would be able to defend his team's territory at his best (or close to his best) form.

He'd need it. Nat, Gabe, and Joe were proving to be really good at this chasing business.

1 Ben Pierce, Chaser But monkeys are barrels of fun! 339 Ben Pierce, Chaser 0 5

Gabe Valenti, Chaser

July 21, 2016 1:56 PM

Going for more of an Eye of the Tiger type of vibe by Gabe Valenti, Chaser

Gabe had only just gained his bearing when his stomach promptly sank all the way to the ground. Intercepted, again. Darn it! He knew he shouldn’t be frustrated, the Pecari team was mostly older and more experienced than the Teppenpaw chasers, but his team had worked so hard! From years of little league, he knew better than to say that the Teppenpaws all-out deserved to win -wins were earned, not given - but at the very least, Gabe thought they deserved to get a better showing from him.

He was zooming behind the rest to catch up, still shimmying sideways and up and down as he moved forward with purpose. The younger girl chaser completed a successful pass to the older one, and his blood only pumped faster through his veins. He had to catch up to the rest, he just had to! Leaning forward on his broom, he willed it to go as fast as it could, relishing the feeling of the cold air slapping against his face, his cheeks turning red and raw against the breeze.

It looked like Pecari was getting ready to take the first shot of the game, when Natalie intercepted! Gabe punched the air in celebration, proud of his best friend for her first Quaffle possession of the game. As she dropped down below the Pecari chasers, he swerved his broom down and slightly right, descending a couple of yards before turning back around to head towards the Pecari hoops.

Marking Natalie’s position, and moving forward with her (though at a bit of a distance) he was well-positioned to witness the first Bludger strike of the game. Gabe cringed. Sure, Ben was not on his team, but the Pecari was his friend, and the impact had not looked at all pleasant. He wanted to go to him, to fly over and check that his buddy was okay. But Quidditch was not like baseball, or soccer, or hockey or any of the other non-magical sports that Gabe had grown up playing. Even in football, play came to a halt when someone had been tackled and ball movement stopped. Not Quidditch. Play did not seem to stop just because someone was injured, otherwise Gabe guessed there was really not too much of a point to having Bludgers out there in the first place. It was probably the only thing that Gabe did not entirely love about the wizard sport. Friendly competition and aggressive play were both concepts he could definitely get behind, but Bludgers just felt plain mean.

Distracted by the shock of the hit, he had not set himself up successfully to receive Nat’s pass, and the Quaffle was back in Pecari hands. Okay, it was time to get back to business. Giving Ben a supportive head nod he hoped the other boy would see, he turned around and started off after the older girl chaser and the Quaffle.

She was going fast, and not for the first time, Gabe silently thanked his parents for the top of the line racing broom he had received for Christmas last year. His parents might not understand much about magic, but they understood sports, and they had wanted to show their youngest son that they supported him, even when he was nearly a continent away at his magical boarding school. He had promised his parents and siblings a full account of his first game, of course. He really wished they could have made it to come see him play, but travel was a bit less convenient when you relied on non-magical transportation.

He was continuing to speed behind the older Pecari chaser - slightly alarmed that he had allowed her to get this far at all - when out of nowhere, she released the Quaffle! Dark eyes grew wide as he kept careening forward, grabbing the broom tightly between his thighs as his arms let go of the handle to reach forward and close around the ball like a venus flytrap snapping up his prey!

Haha, it was his! His left hand grabbed back at the broom handle to swivel the broom in a swift one-eighty degree turn as his right arm cradled the Quaffle close to his chest, shamelessly proud of his graceless catch. And his mind raced.

Ben, last he saw, was still back closer to the Pecari hoops. Gabe wasn’t sure how injured his friend was, or if he was simply playing defense. The older chaser was moving towards the Teppenpaw hoops, and hopefully had not yet noticed his interception. He wasn’t sure where the younger girl chaser or Joe or the Bludgers were, though from observing the Aladren vs Crotalus game, he assumed at least one of the Bludgers was always targeting a Seeker. And Nat, he assumed, having last had the ball, was somewhere in between Ben and Gabe, so long as she hadn’t been thrown off by a Bludger or something.

All these thoughts careened through his mind like a bunch of Bludgers as he darted towards Ben and the Pecari Captain and their hoops. Whenever he had tried to go for distance, it seemed like the Pecari had always had time to set up their mark. With the hope that Nat or Joe was somewhere nearby, and that the Pecari chasers were not, he decided to try something different.

Having only darted forward a few yards, he caught sight of a flash of yellow, faked a pass towards them, before quickly hurling the ball towards a more distant yellow flyer with all his might. Gabe bit his lip as he watched the action play out, hoping that one of his throws would finally succeed. Gabe usually wasn’t one for strategy, his report cards clearly were a testament to that. But he knew he had to give it his all - brainpower and grit and everything in between - if they were going to beat Pecari today.

0 Gabe Valenti, Chaser Going for more of an Eye of the Tiger type of vibe 330 Gabe Valenti, Chaser 0 5

Joe Umland, Chaser

July 21, 2016 2:44 PM

This game is definitely bananas, though.... by Joe Umland, Chaser

At first, Joe had thought the ball going back and forth a lot might not be the worst thing for Teppenpaw, as it would at least showcase that they were good enough to stand up to the other teams. Now, after actually going back and forth several times without anyone ever really getting anywhere, he was starting to reconsider that opinion. He thought he might be on the brink of getting dizzy just from all the flying and turning at high speeds.

Gabe received his pass, but Ingrid intercepted the next one. Ingrid successfully passed to Joella the Tall, but Joella’s pass was intercepted by Nat, whose pass was in turn intercepted by Joella again. Joe borrowed, in his head, a choice bit from his brother Paul’s vocabulary at that; he had been distracted by Ben Pierce taking a Bludger, first turning his head when he heard a cry of pain and then looking for the offending projectile to avoid it himself.

He hoped John, if he was in the crowd at all, didn’t notice; his brother would severely disapprove of him showing any fear of the Bludgers and, more importantly, would use it against him with impunity if Teppenpaw made it to the Championship. Family ties wouldn’t, for a few hours, mean much more than they had between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians if Teppenpaw made it to the Championships. John was bound to go completely Richard the Third on Joe’s unfortunate posterior if their teams met no matter what happened today – if Joe had been in John’s shoes, the first thing he would have done was make it clear he had no qualms about turning his own little brother into paste, as that probably stood an excellent chance of intimidating the heck out of said brother’s equally inexperienced teammates; even knowing he’d be on the receiving end of the projectiles involved, he couldn’t fault the strategy if his brother chose to go with it – but there was no reason to make the strategy look even more appealing by showing fear right now.

No matter why it looked like he had done it, though, he had missed a pass and the ball was back in Pecari hands. Not good. He turned again to follow it, hoping Jozua would get Bludger-happy again, and made a wild charge forward after Joella when he saw something red pass him by out of the corner of his eye.

Oh, that was good. She hadn’t even slowed down. Maybe his brother should ask her to the Ball, because that had been kind of awesome. He just hoped it hadn’t been too good, though, and that one of his teammates had taken on his role as He Who Intercepts Stuff on the other side of her in time to prevent the Pecaris from getting it…He looked around everywhere for that flash of red and grinned when he saw that Gabe was heading back toward the Pecari hoops.

He turned again and flew after his teammates and started to move forward, closer to Gabe, when he thought his roommate was going to pass to him. Instead, though, Gabe feinted. Joe, thinking quickly, hunched over a little further as he flew on. It was a long shot, the Quaffle not blending in with Teppenpaw yellow at all, but if he could confuse some Pecari for just a few seconds into thinking he had the Quaffle, it might increase Teppenpaw’s chances of holding onto the ball.

16 Joe Umland, Chaser This game is definitely bananas, though.... 329 Joe Umland, Chaser 0 5

Joella Curtis, Chaser

July 21, 2016 6:26 PM

That is for sure. by Joella Curtis, Chaser

Joella had way too much faith in Pecari today and was even now continuing to underestimate Teppenpaw after time and time again being forced into realization that that really wasn’t something she should be doing. Her team did not seem to be on top of their game today but she wasn’t a bad enough sportsman to separate herself from this. She was very glad of her strong focus on her fitness during training as she was racing all over the pitch today and Ingrid’s initially perfect positioning seemed to no longer be ideal. Where was that girl?

The fifth year did glance back early enough on her charge towards the Teppenpaw hoops and Ginger Pierce (who still made her feel guilty because of that ridiculous dream she’d had before midterm in which she had literally been beating the poor girl up) to notice that her pass had been intercepted before she got way too ahead of things and ended up waiting for a Quaffle that was never going to come her way. She didn’t hang about, again having to make a sharp turn and thinking she was probably going to wind up dizzy or at least whip around so quickly at some point that she’d manage to knock herself off her broom.

It was very disheartening to see the Quaffle flying away from her alongside a billowing yellow robe but she needed to push all negativity out of her mind right now and focus on maintaining control of her broom as she really pushed herself to her limits speedwise (she definitely wasn’t able to push her racing broom to its limits quite yet).

The Teppenpaw in possession of the Quaffle was clearly going to pass to Mini Umland so she darted forward to snatch back her ball but he was tricking her and there was nothing she could do but clasp air between her outstretched fingers and hope above all hopes that one of her teammates would step in before the pass was complete. Even with her broom and her speediest flying, there was no way that Joella could chase after the Quaffle and intercept the pass that way. For the time being, she had to settle for keeping an eye on the two young boys that she’d managed to position herself in between and make sure she had a good escape route should she need to get away from them to receive a pass.

Joella was very conflicted as to whether luck existed in sports. On the one hand, she wanted to be rewarded for good playing or good results by suggesting it had nothing to do with luck whatsoever but at the same time this felt like a real bout of bad luck. It felt like she committed the worst crime imaginable and this was her karma. Teppenpaw was a team that had risen from nowhere. When they had existed as part Teppalus, the team had contained none of the Chasers from the trio that was currently doing a surprisingly good job of keeping the Quaffle away from their Keeper. Yet here they were, working their magic and sending her into overdrive.

8 Joella Curtis, Chaser That is for sure. 295 Joella Curtis, Chaser 0 5

Nat Varth, Chaser

July 21, 2016 11:38 PM

I prefer quaffles in hoops to monkeys in barrels by Nat Varth, Chaser

After her failed pass, Nat relinquished possession to “the first Pecari girl.” She really had to learn their names. Seeing Joe and Gabe further down the pitch, she stayed near the now injured Pecari chaser she’d been fending off earlier. Hopefullythe quaffle would be headed down this way again soon, and she wanted to be there to receive any pass. If things didn’t work out that well that quickly at least they had Joe and Gabe further down.

Watching the Pecari fly off, she marveled at the girl’s exceptional flying. She wasn’t the fastest, but she was confident and bold. Immediate respect flooded Nat, along with a renewed vigor for friendly competition. She watched as the quaffle flew from her to. . . Gabe! She was ready for the two boys (Joe would undoubtedly back him up) to make their way over to her again, and turned sideways in order to both see their progress and be able to head towards the hoops again quickly.

The girl wasn’t following them nearly as quickly as she’d expected. She expected Gabe to pass to Joe but his body language was a little different from normal. Granted, she was seeing the pass from a different angle than usual, but something was strange. Fully alert and aware of just how “tricksy” Gabe could be, she caught on right away after Gabe feigned a pass, and got ready to catch it.

Joe mimicked having the ball, and not much later the quaffle was heading towards her! Gabe’s aim was pretty on target, she only had to drive her broom forward a little, the direction she would have flown in anyway in order to circle towards the hoops. The quaffle landed neatly in her arms, and she blazed down the rest of the field, hoping again that the beaters would have her back. Risky, but they were so close now!

She was within the inner sanctum. The opposing team’s goals loomed overhead. Flying up to meet them and the Pecari Captain, Nat hoped the other two Pecari chasers had not caught up. The girl she admired seemed to be farther behind Joe and Gabe, but even she couldn’t be counted out. Bracing herself , she flew towards the lower left hoop, hoping to lure the Pecari Keeper lower. Enough years of basketball had made her a fairly proficient shot at shooting from “half court” though she didn’t quite have the muscle strength to do always accomplish it. She was older now, and practicing trick shots through the hoops with Gabe on a semi regular basis. She was fairly confident that, were the keeper to follow her direction and guard the lower hoop, she could jerk her broom up and send the quaffle even higher, shooting for the middle hoop. Of course keepers were all about defense, and she couldn’t guarantee the girl guarding wouldn’t be able to just as speedily block the shot, but she saw no other choice at the moment. If the girl didn’t move at all she could always shoot for the lower hoop anyway.

Flying close enough to make a shot, she began to execute her new strategy.

7 Nat Varth, Chaser I prefer quaffles in hoops to monkeys in barrels 331 Nat Varth, Chaser 0 5

Jamie Park, Seeker

July 22, 2016 12:37 AM

Actually making an effort by Jamie Park, Seeker

Jamie woke up on the day of the match, swearing loudly as the cold air hit him. He didn’t understand the weather charms of Sonora, and why anyone had thought this was a desirable climate to mimick. Sure, he was from New York, and used to the cold, but that didn’t mean he liked it. As soon as he graduated, he was going to move some place perpetually warm, like Florida or Hawaii, where he could spend his free time surfing and have a hot, perpetually-bikini-clad girlfriend. Screw the cold. Who wanted that? He put on his usual game clothes, the long-sleeved tee of his favourite team under his Pecari robes, trusting on warming charms to keep the cold out. He wasn’t going to let some damn cold snap cramp his style, and there was no such thing and as a cool and flattering woollen sweater.

He ate a pretty sensible breakfast, having opted for the sugary option too many times and found himself hungry halfway through first period, he had at least learnt how to eat reasonably sensibly on a match day, even if he seemed more or less impervious to any other advice. In actual fact, he had been trying more, in general, lately. However, it wasn’t any of Liliana’s team building or her leading by example that had got through to him. It was a magazine article, on one of his favourite players, Chase Hawkins - a guy who just pulled off the sweetest moves to dodge bludgers or get his grip on the Snitch. It had detailed the guy’s typical week and… man, it was tough. Jamie had always coasted along, ignoring most of the articles on training regimes, assuming that they were for the mere mortals, for those who needed to try. He had always assumed that his idols were born of pure, raw talent, and it was a mold he had been confident he himself fit into. But if that was what Chase Hawkins did… And so Jamie had started to actually try. It was a hard habit to get into after a life of coasting but he at least tried to try. Liliana’s team regime kept them pretty busy, and he’d kept his head-down, lessened the yawns and snarky remarks, and actually (at least most of the time) tried to put one-hundred percent effort in. Sometimes even one-hundred-and-ten, if he felt he was on the verge of getting something - a new dive, a new personal best on an obstacle. He let himself slack off when he felt he had a genuine excuse, like being tired, but for the most part he took the training more seriously than he ever had before. He’d even been to the MARS rooms a couple of times, to run his own drills (inspired by Chase Hawkins’ regime) but Liliana’s tough schedule didn’t leave much room for this, and Jamie was poor at self-disciplined study. He needed someone to demand things of him, otherwise he tended to be on the lazy side.

He listened - actually, listened, instead of just plastering on his most attentive face, which had perfected for teachers over the years - as Liliana spoke, giving her nothing but a curt, serious nod when she told him to take Jake seriously. The fact that they had reserves who were ready to snap at his heels and take his job if he displeased Liliana might have been a contributory factor to his newfound seriousness, although without the catalyst of knowing what Chase Hawkins did in a week, it was likely that he would have struggled to keep a lid on his cheek and keep his motivation up. Very occasionally, Jamie knew that his mouthing off lost him more friends than it gained, but it was easy to look at people like Shino and tell himself that it didn’t matter, because it kept him the right ones, the ones with a sense of fun. He watched the captains shaking hands, as the new Quidditch Coach talked them through playing a good, clean game. He had to admit that she was an upgrade on Olivers, being not only a real, actual Quidditch player but also pretty smoking hot. He was going to have to make sure she knew at some point that he was passed over for captain because he liked to give all his focus to Seeking, seeing as it was the most important job, and not because there was like… something wrong with him. He wondered if she’d buy that, given that she herself wasn’t a Seeker, and the rest of the team tended to like thinking that everyone mattered equally… He tried to recall if she’d been a Seeker’s Beater, for the most part… Then she might get it.

He kicked off as the whistle blew, sticking close to Jake. It made sense for Seekers to be on each other, and he thought he might have the upper hand in flying skill, which he could use to get in the way, or maybe even freak Jake out a little. As Jake chose his preferred altitude, Jamie kept pushing upwards for just a second more, so that he practically skimmed the other Seeker as he levelled out. He threw a grin over his shoulder to let Jake know it hadn’t been an accident. Whilst it was definitely tactical and not just his usual show-boating, it was lucky that Sammy Meeks was straight in on the Bludgers, as he’d really been giving more attention to his rival than to the metal balls. Sammy was pretty cool. He didn’t know her well outside the team cos she was just a kid but she seemed fun and laid back. He returned her thumbs up as she kept on chasing down the Bludgers, before returning his attention to the search for the Snitch.

13 Jamie Park, Seeker Actually making an effort 284 Jamie Park, Seeker 0 5

Jozua, Beater

July 22, 2016 3:34 PM

I have a delivery for a Joella Curtis? by Jozua, Beater

Jozua slowed in his pursuit of the bludger when he saw it had locked onto a Pecari player, as he had been devoutly hoping. And ... a hit! He'd scored a hit! Jozua simultaneously felt a whoop of victory bubble up even as he winced and felt guilty for hurting the guy. It must not have been a terrible hit, though, because Ben stayed on his broom and seemed like he intended to just shake it off and keep playing. Jozua felt a rise of respect for the older kid, then remembered he had a bludger to wrangle before the Pecari beater snagged it and sent it at one of Teppenpaw's chasers.

It took some doing, and by the time he chased it down and got control over it, Natalie was all the way back toward The Pecari end of the pitch. Sweet! While Joella was presumably distracted by seeing if her captain would make a save, Jozua lined up his shot and tried once more to take out Pecari's top Chaser, doing better this time at getting the bludger to go in the direction he meant it to go. Whoo!

Maybe this whole game wouldn't be a total disaster for him after all!

He still had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting out a warning, but presumably the sound that had cracked across the field as his bat hit the bludger would serve the same capacity and he wasn't a totally dishonorable creep who hit cruel metal balls at girls when their backs were turned.

1 Jozua, Beater I have a delivery for a Joella Curtis? 348 Jozua, Beater 0 5

Liliana Bannister, Keeper

July 22, 2016 4:53 PM

I prefer that too--if it's on the other end of the Pitch by Liliana Bannister, Keeper

Liliana watched at the new Teppenpaw Chasers ran rings around her more experienced Chasers. And she grimmaced as the Quaffle bounced around, going forward into Pecari territory to be taken a small amount back into Teppenpaw and then going even further into her half of the field. She watched as the new first year Beater took a whack at her second year Chaser, and groaned internally as Ben was hit. Teppenpaw was shaping up well. And the way it was going she was almost sure that they would soon be one of—if not the best, team at Sonora. There was just a cohesiveness that didn’t seem to be present in the other teams. And Liliana was frankly jealous. She hated those little twelve year olds more than anyone at the moment, but she respected them.

And then, the next thing she knew, Natalie Varth, a second year muggleborn (because Liliana had made it her business to know the names of all the Quidditch players) was attempting to fake her out. Varth was not a bad player by any means, Liliana thought. But she was younger and inexperienced and Liliana had been playing Quidditch for probably just as long as Varth had been alive and had been flying for longer. Which was kind of a weird thing to think about, Liliana mused as the blonde Chaser got closer and closer. But that was neither here nor there and she remained where she was, having figured out by now how much reaction time she needed depending on the distance of the Chaser to the hoops and the tell tale sign of the Chaser pulling back his or her arm to shoot.

Liliana had dropped a little lower at first, when Varth seemed as though she would stay on that path towards the lower hoop, but as with any sensible player, she moved upwards when she saw the Keeper going to guard the lower hoop. But Liliana was bigger and faster and had been playing longer (and, in all honesty, was almost positive she had a better broom) so she lingered for a moment in her slightly lower position, letting Varth think she would stay there until the end and then she moved quickly upwards in one of her faster saves yet, managing to catch the Quaffle in time and grasped it firmly, searching for a player to pass it to.

Spotting Ben Pierce who had dropped back to help with defense after getting nailed with Jozua Sparks’ bludger, Liliana aimed and threw the Quaffle with all her might to her second year Chaser. It appeared Sparks was gearing up to whack another bludger and Liliana hoped that Ben would be safe from the onslaught—or at least safe enough to catch and fly with the Quaffle for a distance, perhaps safe enough to catch, fly and pass without much difficulty. Maybe she was being over-hopeful—after all, this match seemed to be Teppenpaw’s match, but all Liliana knew was that she had to move on to face Theodore one last time before they graduated.

10 Liliana Bannister, Keeper I prefer that too--if it's on the other end of the Pitch 274 Liliana Bannister, Keeper 0 5

Sammy Meeks, Beater

July 22, 2016 5:04 PM

Sorry, this delivery has been rerouted to Ginger Pierce. by Sammy Meeks, Beater

As far as Sammy could tell, things were going pretty well. (Ooh, that rhymed!) No Bludgers had come near Jamie since she had repelled the first, so the majority of her job currently was to follow him around, brown eyes vigilant, on the prowl for any sign of danger to the team’s precious (eugh) Seeker.

She let her eyes wander to the main action, assuming the Bludgers were all hanging out that way. From what she could tell at the distance, the action seemed pretty intense; neither side at this point had gotten very far. But that was fast changing, a tiny little yellow girl blurring toward Liliana. That was whatever, though; the Pecari captain wasn’t about to let a midget score on her.

What she did notice, however, was a yellow-clad Beater situating himself to strike. Now, Sammy had appointed herself Seeker’s Beater, but she was pretty sure Atlas wasn’t even playing today, so she had legitimately no idea who was guarding the Chasers, if anybody was. And who would this kid be aiming at? Who was Pecari’s best shot at reaching Ginger’s rings?

“JOELLA!” The realization shrieked through her. Disregarding all practicality of the game, she blasted off in that direction, passing Jamie and shouting, “Be right back!” as she went. After that semi-audible farewell with the gentleness of don’t die on your own, Sammy was focused, speeding off toward Joella as fast as she could, leaning down to get as streamline as possible. She had to make it. She had to save her... friend. Just friends. Right. Don’t make this weird.

“Joella!” Sammy called as she got nearer. “Joella, MOVE!” The younger girl knew she wouldn’t have time to take a swing at the Bludger, but she charged forward, her bat out to hopefully block. In the moment, she felt nothing but adrenaline, but if she’d been watching herself from the outside, she would’ve felt like a real knight on the way to a joust, lance ahead of her. But there was no time for her usual silly daydreams. She had to get there. She just had to.

And she did. Maybe Joella had seen the Bludger and moved, but Sammy intercepted it anyway, a solid clunk as the Bludger bounced off her bat. She glanced around to find Joella, eventually finding her and sending a dopey, crooked grin her way. “Hehe…” Wait! she snapped herself out of it and took a sharp nose dive to catch up with the falling Bludger so she could redirect it. With as much force as she could muster while dropping and swinging a still-reverberating bat, Sammy sent the Bludger toward Ginger, hoping that maybe with the excitement at Pecari’s end, the Teppenpaw Keeper wouldn’t be paying attention. That’d be pretty A+.

12 Sammy Meeks, Beater Sorry, this delivery has been rerouted to Ginger Pierce. 310 Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Ben, Chaser

July 22, 2016 5:14 PM

I'll try, boss! by Ben, Chaser

Arg. Pecari just could not catch a break this game. Ben growled a little under his breath as Gabe intercepted a beautiful sly pass from Joella. Worse, Joella's attempt to intercept back was foiled by Gabe not actually passing to the guy she was marking. Instead it went to Natalie and Ben's back muscles had protested loudly enough that'd he'd had to pull short his attempts to bully her off course. In a game this close, he didn't really want to be responsible for causing a penalty shot either, though he was sure Liliana could handle it.

She handled Nat's shot now well enough, after all. Ben grinned and whooped as she saw it coming from half a field away and pulled off a glorious save even though Nat had thrown it at a hoop Ben hadn't been expecting her to go for. But that was why Liliana was the captain and Ben was just a second year playing a position that wasn't even the one he liked best.

He heard another crack of bat on ball - the sound made by people playing the position he was best at - and glance around nervously, not wanting to be caught flatfooted again and take a second hit, but he quickly located the source and saw he wasn't the one in the crosshairs this time. "Joella, watch it!" he shouted in warning then turned back just in time to see Liliana throwing the Quaffle at him.

He caught it with only a minor fumble then turned his broom and high-tailed it out of there. With any luck, Joella was giving the bludger a run for its money and Ben counted on it being thus occupied to make a longer than normal run for the center line, though he was careful not to fly too straight at a stretch because that bludger could be redirected at him at any time.

It happened much sooner than he'd hoped. A bat met wood with a loud crack. Panicking a little, he went into extreme evasive mode, but fortunately realized before he recklessly divested himself of the Quaffle that it had just been Sammy rescuing Joella and it was some Teppenpaw rather than him who was in hot water. He charged forward once more, fueled by the power of lingering terror and adrenaline. Just shy of the pitch center, he spotted an opening and took it, throwing the red ball toward his brown robed teammate.

1 Ben, Chaser I'll try, boss! 339 Ben, Chaser 0 5

Jake Manger, Seeker

July 22, 2016 5:30 PM

Let's go for gold together! by Jake Manger, Seeker

Honestly, Jake was kinda surprised how exhausting just flying and looking around could be. He’d done practices and stuff before, obviously, but this was different. His bright blue eyes actually kinda hurt from the strain of searching for the golden ball against the nothingness of the sky. Not to mention the fact that the wooden broom was starting to hurt his legs. And while he’d sort of expected something to end up hurting, it wasn’t this. He’d thought he’d get hit by a Bludger or sustain some other kind of real, tangible injury. No one was going to pity him for achy thighs. (Not that he was particularly seeking pity, but that seemed to be a good measure of the severity of pain; if people felt bad for you, it meant your struggle was something remarkable.)

But he was having fun, too, and he was really glad he’d picked Seeker. Or, more accurately, that Marcus had made him be Seeker based on his small, aerodynamic stature. Jake wasn’t nearly as small as he’d been when he was eleven, but he still definitely stood on the small side for his age, so this position was great for him. Plus, he was mostly removed from the stressful part of the game, the back-and-forth volley of the Quaffle. Jake wasn’t particularly competitive, he just liked to have fun, so even though Seeker was technically the most important position since it was his job to end the game and would secure them a load of points almost impossible to overcome.

He was still removed--which was also weird for him, since he was such a people-person and liked to be in groups-- so that he could basically just make it a nice loop around while he hunted for the Snitch. Unless he saw it exactly, there was no reason to rush, really, so most of the game was just him floating about, keeping himself company. Plus he had the Beaters watching out for him, so while he did keep vigilant in case he had to dodge, he was mostly free to enjoy himself.

It was impossible to keep track of the Snitch the whole time; it was too small and too quick for any normal person’s eyes to really follow indefinitely. Still, Jake did his best to keep his eyes focused on it and/or in search of it ~~and not looking at the Teppenpaw rings, where his eyes were naturally drawn, an urge he had to resist with every ounce of mental strength he could spare.~~

A glimmer of gold caught his eye, and he chased after it at a moderate speed, saving his real energy for emergency status. He noticed Jamie was kinda sticking close to him, and he was a little bit self-conscious about the way he’d been looping now, but it was okay. They’d been bench-buddies before (although Jamie had threatened to hurt Uzume Shinohara, which was a bit unsettling), and their older siblings were dating, so Jake turned around and waved at him. “This is fun, isn’t it?” he called back.

12 Jake Manger, Seeker Let's go for gold together! 280 Jake Manger, Seeker 0 5

Ingrid W, Chaser

July 23, 2016 1:20 AM

I think she'll appreciate it more by Ingrid W, Chaser

What, in Merlin’s name, was happening? Whilst neither side was generally getting anywhere fast, the Teppenpaws kept popping up, like their annoying little prairie dog mascot, really working the Pecari chasers hard. When she got over the shock of this, she was going to look forward to playing them again. Even though they were younger and less experienced, maybe all being the same age was helping them somehow. They obviously had a lot of time to bond, but their ability to know where each other - and the Pecari chasers were going to be - was getting ridiculous. She would have suspected them all of taking Divinitation, were it not for two things… One, they were all a year too young for the elective. Two, it was all a steaming heap of dragon dung. At least the Pecaris were, for the most part, giving as good as they got. It was all staying fairly central. But then there was the tell-tale crack of a Bludger. She whipped towards the noise. It was a shaky shot, but strong enough to get someone who was standing still… She winced as it hit Ben, though was proud of him for staying on his broom and seeming to do his best to shake it off. She gave him a wave as he headed back down field and gestured towards Joella – message received.

She kicked forward, enjoying the sharp sting of the cold wind, as she sped towards the heart of the action. Not that she was happy that they were playing with an injured Chaser, or that Ben had got hurt (both on the tactical and personal levels) – she made a mental note to offer him some bruise balm after the match, and to be careful with any congratulatory or consolatory back slaps – but she had to admit she felt better being out here. Except the precious time it had taken them to re-arrange themselves had seen a pass go to Natalie Varth, who was now heading into her former territory... and through it, safe into the scoring area. She held her breath, but made sure to keep moving, her attention on her surroundings as well as the attempt at goal. A crack came from behind her, just as a groan came from the Teppenpaw section of the stands, which told her two important things... Liliana had saved the shot, and there was a Bludger somewhere near. However, it was Joella's name that started being shouted in warning, and so Ingrid focussed more of her attention on the Quafle and where that was going. Ben had caught the pass from goal. She maintained her position, but was ready to dart forward should it be needed. The second crack sent him scurrying – obviously being hit had made him nervous – but a quick check behind her told her that it was good news. She adjusted her position to compensate for Ben's new flying pattern as best she could, but was relieved when he realised the danger wasn't for them, and straightened himself out.

She met him near the centre line, letting it be a short pass in case his shoulder was still bothering him, and sped off into Teppenpaw territory. The Bludger was now aimed squarely at Ginger Pierce... It was a shame it would arrive substantially before the Quaffle, if it got there, as teaming those two up would be a great distraction. However, it might knock Ginger out cold, which would make for an even easier goal. It was less likely but would be a great gain... Doubting she could make it all the way down the pitch, especially with at least one Bludger very firmly in this end of the action, she threw a firm pass towards a team-mate, hoping that Pecari could get their own shot at goal within minutes of Teppenpaw having done so. And, if they succeeded where the Prairie Dogs had failed, that could be a nice turning point....

13 Ingrid W, Chaser I think she'll appreciate it more 322 Ingrid W, Chaser 0 5

Jamie Park, Seeker

July 23, 2016 1:40 AM

There can only be one winner, doofus by Jamie Park, Seeker

Jake didn't seem rattled by Jamie's close flying. In fact, as they looped the skies together, Jamie taking care to throw in the occasional lurch in Jake's direction, he seemed.... fricking chipper about the whole thing.

This is fun, isn't it?

Jamie rolled his eyes. Teppenpaws. They probably all, deep down in their little goody-two-shoes hearts,genuinely believed all that “It's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts,” guff. Sure, this was fun for Jamie because he was getting to fly, and fully planned on grasping his fingers around that little gold ball first and being a hero. Winning was fun. Spending air time with Jake was not.

“It'd be more fun if you took a Bludger to the head,” he glared back. Did Jake think they were buddies or something, just because their siblings were boning? Jake probably thought pretty much everyone was his buddy, but Jamie wondered whether he'd been singled out for extra special attention. The first year Ji-Eun had been dating Arnold, Jake had given her a Christmas present, so he seemed to think anyone who was in his life even by proxy was his friend.

“I'm not Ji-Eun, y'know. You're not my special little Jakey.” And ever since said Christmas present – some ugly-ass socks which Jake had either made or at least decorated himself (what kind of guy did that?) Ji-Eun had been all over him. She fussed about him. She thought Jake was adorable. She gave him things she made at baking club. And sure, she gave them to Jamie too, but it still rankled with him. Even though he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, he was annoyed because Ji-Eun treated Jake like the little brother she'd never had. Except she did have a little brother already. Him. He may never have valued his sister very much but it didn't mean he wanted to share her, or the cookies she made, with some fuzzy little Teppenpaw interloper.

He was preparing to give another shock to little Jakey, when Sammy suddenly was telling him she'd 'be right back' and was diving into the chaser action. It was fine. He was fine. It wasn't like he needed a babysitter. But... like, rule one of Quidditch was 'take out the Seeker' and Sammy was meant to be guarding him, not running in to save Joella. Given that Teppenpaw was playing a first year who looked like he was going to hurl chunks on the starting line, Jamie doubted it was a deliberate ploy to lure Sammy away, and more just a total accident. Still, he was now alone in the sky with Tobi, who was definitely experienced enough to take advantage of it. He ducked around to Jake's other side, aiming to keep the Teppenpaw Seeker in between him and any Bludgers his team might be thinking about sending Jamie's way. Hopefully Sammy would be back soon.

13 Jamie Park, Seeker There can only be one winner, doofus 284 Jamie Park, Seeker 0 5

Gabe Valenti, Chaser

July 23, 2016 3:00 AM

Agree to disagree by Gabe Valenti, Chaser

Everything was awesome! When Gabe had feinted towards him, Joe had done such a good job pretending to have the ball that it even threw off Pecari's most experienced Chaser! And somehow, Gabe had thrown the ball hard enough at Nat that it actually reached her. He'd completed his first pass! Finally! The boy who could barely write a coherent Potions essay (there were always so many more interesting things to write about then, you know, the main topic) had successfully come up with a strategy to get the Quaffle past the more experienced Pecari chasers. That Joe's quick thinking had played a key role in his success made no difference to Gabe, that was what good teamwork was all about. It was all about the We, and not the Me, like his old little league coach had always said. Man, Gabe had missed being part of a team.

Gabe continued to fly forward, to catch up with the action. Nat did a cool fake as she took Teppenpaw's first shot on goal of the game, but the more experienced Pecari captain made the save. He felt ready for the rebound, but somehow had not factored in Ben when setting up to snag the ball. It seemed his friend was going to play through the pain. Well, that meant he was fair game, and Gabe began to fly after him.

"S'alright!" he called out encouragingly to Nat, as he zipped his broom around. They would get their second chance soon enough. He was sure of it.

But as he followed Ben back towards Teppenpaw territory, the strain of such intense play for so long was beginning to wear on him. Gabe flew nearly every day, of course, it was his favorite thing about being magic. The thing was, this afternoon flights were just for fun, and not quite at the fervent level that the Pecari team demanded he play. It was awesome to play against such a cool team, to be pushed to levels he had never had to push himself before. That was the whole point of competition. He just wished he could take a quick timeout.

That desire was a non-starter, however, because their only reserve was playing Beater, and currently aiming the Bludger at another Pecari, Gabe noticed. It was pretty cool of the first year to play reserve. It must be tough to go into a game day, not knowing if you were going to play, and in what position. He made a mental note to congratulate the kid after the game, win or lose.

One of the Pecari beaters shout the name Joella, but Gabe wasn’t sure exactly who that was. It definitely wasn’t a Teppenpaw, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t the Pecari captain, so it must be one of the two chasers. But the answer came soon enough as that same beater defended the chaser that was apparently Joella, and aimed the bludger instead at Ginger. On top of that, Ben had just made a pass to the chaser who was not Joella. This was Not Good.

He was catching up with Ben and not-Joella and the Quaffle, but began to slow down. He had to be careful now, between the two teams there were at least three chasers and a keeper in the area, plus he hadn’t really been paying attention what the seekers were up to. With this many flyers in a similar space, the bludger that the Pecari had just hit was especially dangerous. Even if it did successful hit Ginger (he cringed at the thought) it might linger around the area, and that was no good for him.

His fear of the bludger had made him hesitate, and that was no good, no good at all. Not-Joella had just gone for the pass, the Quaffle was airborne. But Gabe was flying too high above them, no way he intercepted it cleanly before someone else got to it. Everyone out here was playing too hard for that. But he had to do something.

Taking a deep breath, he dived down a couple of yards, as sharply as he dared, and took a leaf out of Joe’s book. He smacked the ball as hard as he could out of its intended trajectory and downward. It wouldn’t get the Quaffle out of the Teppenpaw side of the pitch, but it wouldn’t get it any closer to the hoops, either. Hopefully, it would allow Ginger some more time to dodge the bludger. He pulled up out of the dive as quickly as he could. His aim was that if anyone was marking him again, the move would throw them off.

0 Gabe Valenti, Chaser Agree to disagree 330 Gabe Valenti, Chaser 0 5

Jamie Park

July 24, 2016 11:25 PM

Nailed it! (Snitch capture) by Jamie Park

Things were settling back down, the game getting into a steady rhythm. His beater was back by his side, and Jamie had settled back into being his usual cocky and (over)-confident self. It was starting to be, as Jake had said, fun.

He saw the glimmer of gold out of his peripheral vision and took care not to snap his head sharply towards it. Carefully, as if still scanning, he moved to get a better look. And there it was. He dived well to the left, keeping an eye on it out of the corner of his eye. He was confident that he was a better flier than Jake, and would have liked to think he had the better broom (though after getting a look at Jake’s whilst they’d been flying alongside, he wasn’t totally sure… His had been a gift for passing his CATS, but that was already last year…. Jake’s broom looked pretty shiny and his family was pretty minted).

Once he felt he had enough distance - either from getting the jump on the younger player or because Jake simply hadn’t followed, assuming him to be feinting - he veered sharply right, his fingers closing around the little golden ball.

It was a strange feeling… Knowing that he had worked for this, and got it. It added to the sweetness. He landed, with a big grin on his face, looking forward to the backslaps, the congratulations, to being everyone’s favourite person for the next few hours.

13 Jamie Park Nailed it! (Snitch capture) 284 Jamie Park 0 5

Coach Grase

July 27, 2016 4:15 PM

Game over! Pecari wins! 180-30 (nm) by Coach Grase

0 Coach Grase Game over! Pecari wins! 180-30 (nm) 0 Coach Grase 0 5

Coach Grase

Quidditch Game 2: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw by Coach Grase

<font color="yellow">Jake Manger, Seeker</font>

Here we go! by <font color="yellow">Jake Manger, Seeker</font>

<font color="tan">Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

Me go, too! by <font color="tan">Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis</font>

"Don't worry, I've arrived." by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis</font>

<font color="yellow">Joseph Umland, Chaser</font>

Me, too! by <font color="yellow">Joseph Umland, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

The cold doesn't bother me anyway by <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

Just let it go by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

No right, no wrong, no reasoning for us.... by <font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

I'm free! by <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

<font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>

Yup, free of that pesky Quaffle (you're welcome) by <font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>

<font color="tan">Liliana Bannister, Keeper</font>

Thanks, dear :* by <font color="tan">Liliana Bannister, Keeper</font>

<font color="yellow">Tobi Reinhardt, Beater</font>

Me three by <font color="yellow">Tobi Reinhardt, Beater</font>

<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

Come on, we've got this now. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>

It's anyone's game by <font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>

It's anybody's bludger, too by <font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>

<font color=yellow>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>

Waiting and Watching by <font color=yellow>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>

<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

They're all mine! Hahahaha-ow by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

You can't make a monkey out of me. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

But monkeys are barrels of fun! by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

Going for more of an Eye of the Tiger type of vibe by <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

This game is definitely bananas, though.... by <font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

That is for sure. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>

I prefer quaffles in hoops to monkeys in barrels by <font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>

<font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

Actually making an effort by <font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

<font color =yellow >Jozua, Beater</font>

I have a delivery for a Joella Curtis? by <font color =yellow >Jozua, Beater</font>

<font color="tan">Liliana Bannister, Keeper</font>

I prefer that too--if it's on the other end of the Pitch by <font color="tan">Liliana Bannister, Keeper</font>

<font color="tan">Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

Sorry, this delivery has been rerouted to Ginger Pierce. by <font color="tan">Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

<font color=tan>Ben, Chaser</font>

I'll try, boss! by <font color=tan>Ben, Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Jake Manger, Seeker</font>

Let's go for gold together! by <font color="yellow">Jake Manger, Seeker</font>

<font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>

I think she'll appreciate it more by <font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>

<font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

There can only be one winner, doofus by <font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

Agree to disagree by <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>

Jamie Park

Nailed it! (Snitch capture) by Jamie Park

Coach Grase

Game over! Pecari wins! 180-30 (nm) by Coach Grase