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 <font color="yellow">Jake Manger, Seeker</font> with <font color="tan">Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>, <font color="yellow">Tobi Reinhardt, Beater</font>, <font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>
"Don't worry, I've arrived." by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis</font> with <font color="yellow">Joseph Umland, Chaser</font>, <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>, <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>, <font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>
Nailed it! (Snitch capture) by Jamie Park with Coach Grase
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Coach Grase
Quidditch Game 2: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw
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Coach Grase
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
July 18, 2016 6:07 PM
Come on, we've got this now. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
Come on, we've got this now.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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<font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>
July 19, 2016 9:20 PM
It's anyone's game by <font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>
It's anyone's game
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<font color=yellow>Natalie Varth, Chaser</font>
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<font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>
July 20, 2016 1:43 PM
It's anybody's bludger, too by <font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>
"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.
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<font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>
It's anybody's bludger, too
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<font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
July 20, 2016 4:53 PM
They're all mine! Hahahaha-ow by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
They're all mine! Hahahaha-ow
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
July 20, 2016 6:06 PM
You can't make a monkey out of me. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
You can't make a monkey out of me.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
July 20, 2016 10:03 PM
But monkeys are barrels of fun! by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
But monkeys are barrels of fun!
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<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Chaser</font>
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<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>
July 21, 2016 1:56 PM
Going for more of an Eye of the Tiger type of vibe by <font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>
Going for more of an Eye of the Tiger type of vibe
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<font color="yellow">Gabe Valenti, Chaser</font>
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<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>
July 21, 2016 2:44 PM
This game is definitely bananas, though.... by <font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>
This game is definitely bananas, though....
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<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
July 21, 2016 6:26 PM
That is for sure. by <font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
That is for sure.
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<font color='tan'>Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>
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<font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>
July 21, 2016 11:38 PM
I prefer quaffles in hoops to monkeys in barrels by <font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>
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.
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<font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>
I prefer quaffles in hoops to monkeys in barrels
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<font color="yellow">Nat Varth, Chaser</font>
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