Better late than never. on Quidditch Pitch

Professor Sophie O'Malley

October 18, 2016 10:44 PM

Flying Lessons! by Professor Sophie O'Malley

When Sophie didn’t see Juliet at lunch, she knew that something was wrong, so she did what every loyal and concerned family member would do: hike up to the staff quarters and barge into her space. The Juliet she found was quite a shamble. How had she gotten so low without striking Sophie’s notice? It was definitely about her Quidditch thing, the team not wanting her back and all that. The end of Juliet’s professional career. After a long, serious talk, Sophie told Juliet to continue laying in bed and brought some ice cream (sometimes when things were bad, it was important to let yourself have those days) and promised to handle Flying Lessons today if she promised in return to make another go of it on Thursday, when they would meet next.

The blonde probably could have just gone and gotten Isis, as substituting was her literal job, but she instead decided to just run them herself. If nothing else, Sophie missed having cause to stand on the Pitch, brooms at the ready all around her. She was a former athlete too, after all, much longer retired. She wasn’t sure she’d been on a broom since her school days, which were already longer ago than she really wanted to admit.

“Surprise, it’s me again!” she joked as the first years arrived, as they would have met her the day before in their first Potions class. “As you probably realize, I am not the Quidditch Coach. I’m your friendly Potions professor, Sophie O’Malley. Unfortunately, Coach Grase could not make your lesson today.” Sophie paused briefly. “She sends her regards and assures that you are in very capable hands. I’m not a professional like she is, but I used to play on this very field, back when I was in school. You’re looking at a former Pecari Quidditch Captain!”

“But enough about me,” she insisted. “If you’re an experienced flyer, I won’t bore you with silly introductions. Grab a broom from the stack over there”--she gestured to the pile nearby--”and take to the air. Just don’t do anything stupid because I need a moment to talk to the rest of these guys before I can really keep an eye on you. Feel free to do laps or, if you want, there’s a few Quaffles over here you can throw around.” The small professor paused to allow the shuffle of broom-grabbing and movement, since otherwise it would have just distracted from what she was saying anyway. In the meantime, she eyed the first years before her and, now able to observe better here as opposed to her classroom where they were seated, checked if any were already taller than her. At just under five foot tall, it wasn’t too far-fetched a concern.

“Great, now for you new fliers,” Sophie smiled. “Your turn. Go get a broom.” She had been, during this whole time, leaning casually against her own broom, but she now sat it on the ground and stood upright. “Now, what you’re going to do is hold your dominant hand over the broom and say ‘Up’. Like this: Up!” The broom shot into her hand in a quick but controlled fashion. “Once you’ve gotten that far, I want you to mount your broom, gently kick off, and hover in the air for a few seconds before coming back down. When you feel ready, go ahead and try flying higher. Don’t worry if other people progress faster than you, either; there’s no shame in taking your time. If you have a question or concern, I’ll be down here watching you guys. So go ahead and give it your best shot!”

OOC: All mentions of Coach Juliet Grase were approved with her author. Remember not to have anything too dramatic and painful happen to your character; if they fall off the broom, Sophie would catch them before they hit the ground. Make sure to follow site rules: not writing for anyone else, using a minimum of 200 words, and doing your best to be creative. Now fly, my pretties, fly!

Subthreads:

How thrilling. by Emerald Brockert,Aladren with Sawyer Matheson, Teppenpaw

Watch me fly! Or not... by Kit Reid, Aladren with Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

Better late than never. by Natalie Atwater, Pecari with Ayla Tremaine, Teppenpaw

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Salali Bly, Pecari

12 Professor Sophie O'Malley Flying Lessons! 34 Professor Sophie O'Malley 1 5

Emerald Brockert,Aladren

October 22, 2016 11:11 PM

How thrilling. by Emerald Brockert,Aladren

In direct contrast to how she felt about the library, Emerald eyed the pitch with a total lack of enthusiasm. Sport had never been even a slight interest of hers. She didn't have moral qualms about it-evidence had never panned out in favor of WAIL and she wasn't super fussed about being the ideal young pureblood lady- or was even lacking in ability-well, she likely was based on never really trying, but she wasn't particularly clumsy or uncoordinated. It was simply completely uninteresting to her.

In fact, Emerald didn't even care to learn how to fly-and she loved learning! Even things that were technically most likely impractical and completely useless. She very much enjoyed random trivia, but that was interesting . There was nothing at all interesting about sports or flying. Not even the trivia.

But there she was, resigned to her fate. If Owen hadn't gotten out of flying lessons due to his asthma, certainly she wasn't going to be excused just because she found it both useless and uninteresting. It didn't matter who her grandfather was or the fact that he completely agreed with her.

Honestly, she didn't know why this class couldn't be optional. Other classes were electives, why shouldn't this be one? Why Sonora had more interesting things that weren't even currently being taught even as that such as Ancient Runes or History of Magic but all first years had to learn to fly? Why not let the students who enjoyed this sort of thing do it and let her go back to the library where she belonged?

Emerald sighed as Professor O'Malley began the lesson. She had a borrowed broom of her own, one that had been her father's. Men in her family often had brooms-though Owen most likely did not- but they were rarely too beaten up to use since lack of interest in sport seemed to run in their family. So she had an ancient broom but it was in excellent condition.

She put it down on the ground, and placed her hand over it as instructed. In an even more unenthusiastic voice than usual, she said "Up." Unsurprisingly the broom stayed still. Emerald sighed. She did want to pass this class despite it being an utterly pointless waste of time.

However, before she could try again, the person next to her spoke up and she turned her attention to them. She might not have been the most social person ever, but even conversing with her classmates was preferable to flying. "Hello there." Emerald said by way of greeting. "I didn't quite catch that."

11 Emerald Brockert,Aladren How thrilling. 358 Emerald Brockert,Aladren 0 5

Sawyer Matheson, Teppenpaw

October 24, 2016 7:59 PM

The Thrill is Gone by Sawyer Matheson, Teppenpaw

Flying was not one of the lessons that Sawyer was looking forward to. It wasn’t the actual riding on the broom that made him nervous, but the actual height. He was a creature that much preferred the earth to the air. Even though he had grown up in the magical world and knew people travelled on brooms, the idea that a stick of wood could hold him up made him feel uneasy. And what if something happened to that piece of wood? If he were several feet up in the air, the fall down would not be a pretty one. No, he much preferred travel by other means. Unfortunately, flying lessons were a requirement.

As such, that meant that he found himself on the Quidditch Pitch as required for flying lessons. He was a little confused, however, when the Potions professor showed up. But he was fairly easy going and waited with the other first years to see what was going on. He smiled at the couple of people that he had already made friends with. Before he had the chance to go over and talk to any of them, Professor O’Malley started the lesson. She definitely didn’t waste any time in doing so though he wished she had. The longer he could push off getting on a broom the better. However, the fact that she was an experienced flyer helped a little.

Not being an experienced flyer, he stood by the others that were also learning. As instructed, he went over and picked out one of the available brooms. He tried to pick the one that seemed the sturdiest. It was a little beat up, but that was okay. He was never one to judge by appearances. He just hoped that he didn’t come crashing down on it. Once he came back to his spot, he watched as she commanded the broom to her hand. Judging from her tone of voice, he surmised that it was much like training an animal. You had to be the master or it would master you. The trick was to be whether his uncertainty would play into that.

Sawyer put his dominant hand, his left hand, over the broom. “Up!” The broom rolled a bit, side to side, but didn’t come up. “Up!” He tried again, yet still just slight movement. He knew that it was his own fear that was keeping the broom from reaching his hand. Taking a deep breath, he pushed down his fear and in his most forceful tone said, “Up!” The broom jumped into his hand and he gripped it tightly in amazement. The broom had come to him. Oh, no! Now, he was going to actually have to try riding the thing.

Thankfully, the girl near to him seemed to be having similar issues. “You need to be more commanding.” He didn’t want to outright say that her lack of enthusiasm seemed evident since he didn’t really know her and it could have been taken the wrong way. But it didn’t seem to have mattered since she hadn’t heard him anyway. He decided to try a different approach. “Hey. I’m Sawyer,” he replied. “Anyhow, I was just saying that I think the broom can tell how you feel. Like I was having trouble with mine. I think it knew that I didn’t really want to ride it. So, I had to work on being in control.”

0 Sawyer Matheson, Teppenpaw The Thrill is Gone 365 Sawyer Matheson, Teppenpaw 0 5

Kit Reid, Aladren

October 24, 2016 10:21 PM

Watch me fly! Or not... by Kit Reid, Aladren

Kit marched down to the Quidditch Pitch in excitement for flying lessons. She had never ridden a broom before, which was going to make it a little difficult if she wanted to tryout for Quidditch. Of course, the fact that she might not be good at it or that she might not enjoy it had never crossed her mind. All she knew was that she wanted to fly. She wanted to feel like she was dancing in the sky.

Joining her class, the Aladren was practically bouncing on her heels with enthusiasm. Though, the professor that she had expected to see wasn’t there. Instead, it was their Potions professor. Were they not going to be learning to fly after all? She paused mid-rock. But her fears were quickly quieted when the professor announced that she was going to be teaching them. Oh, good. She needed to learn how to fly before she made a go at Quidditch. It would have been rather unfortunate if she would have been unable to tryout just because she didn’t know how to fly.

Once they were allowed to get brooms, Kit practically ran over to get one, but stopped as soon as she reached the location. Picking a broom was not an easy process in the least. She didn’t want one that didn’t feel right. She picked up three different ones before she found the one that spoke to her. Yes, this was the one.

Taking it, she went back to the professor. The command was simple enough, but before she could test it out, she pulled a pink ribbon out of her pocket. She tied it around the end of her broom for good luck. There, now she was all set. Placing her broom on the ground, she held her hand over it and with absolute confidence commanded, near demanded, “Up!” She made a joyful little noise when the broom met her hand. So far so good. But she still had to learn how to actually ride it.

Positioning the broom, she made an attempt at balancing on it. She thought it would be pretty much like riding a horse, but she quickly learned that it wasn’t when the broom moved one way and she moved the other. Hitting her bottom off the ground, she knew that would hurt tomorrow, but nothing serious. She was closer to the ground than she would have been on a horse. Thankfully, however, she hadn’t tried going up very high. Brushing it off, she got up to try again. “It’s really not as easy as it looks,” she commented to whoever was nearby.

0 Kit Reid, Aladren Watch me fly! Or not... 363 Kit Reid, Aladren 0 5

Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

October 25, 2016 9:09 AM

Watching by Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

Kir didn’t need flying lessons. He had grown up in a comfortably middle class household (a step or two down from his father’s own upbringing but still comfortable and pleasant) that felt brooms were just a basic thing that every child should have and learn to ride. He also had a Quidditch mad aunt who forever encouraged them to skirmish when they visited. It was kind of fun, he guessed, although he was expecting the level at Sonora to be a bit more serious than the one in Aunt Lola and Aunt Catriona’s backyard. He hadn’t really considered signing up for the house team because he could kind of take it or leave it, and he wasn’t expecting that they were desperate enough for players to really care whether he joined or not.

He joined his class, broom in hand. It wasn’t the most expensive model out there - it was a waste of money, in his family’s opinion, to buy highest quality racing brooms for eleven year olds who didn’t have the skill to handle them and who would quickly outgrow them. Anyone who did was usually displaying that they had more money than sense, although Kir suspected it might be politic to keep that particular opinion to himself if he saw anyone on an overly good broom. What he had was something solid, a well-respected brand that wasn’t going to go wrong if crashed several times.

It was a bit of a surprise to see their potions professor again, especially as he’d been expecting a moderately famous ex-Quidditch player. He was a little disappointed not to meet Coach Grase. Even if he wasn’t the most avid follower of the sport, he had a healthy interest, and it was kind of cool to have her as a teacher. He was pleased to learn that experienced flyers didn’t have to stay with the other first years, as he had reckoned on being very bored for most of the class if they were going to practise hovering for an hour. He mounted his broom and did a lap or two, wondering whether to start a game with someone else. He found himself drawn to the beginners group though, rather curious about how they were getting on, and whether any of them were throwing a fit over having to fly. He happened to be nearby when one of them came unseated. Kir hopped down, reaching out a hand to help her up. She was an intriguing contradiction… She seemed to have decided her broom needed to be prettier before she would deign to mount it, having decorated it with a pink bow. It was amongst the most ridiculous things he’d ever seen. But she brushed herself off in a very business like way, and her comment… It was hard to say why, given that she didn’t really venture an opinion either way, but it made him feel like she wanted to master this, in spite of its challenges.

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it,” he smiled. “I could give you hand, if you like? I can fly already but I was curious as to how the beginners were doing,” he added, by way of explanation as to why he was over on this side of the field.

13 Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw Watching 366 Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw 0 5

Natalie Atwater, Pecari

October 27, 2016 5:29 AM

Better late than never. by Natalie Atwater, Pecari

Atwater girls did not fly. Brockert girls barely did, and not since WAIL really, though it was generally more of a lack of interest than a Rule. In the Atwater family, it was a Rule. Natalie and Kelsey had only been taught enough prior to school so as to look superior to Muggleborns who'd think brooms were only for cleaning. Kelsey had asked to be taught a little for that reason and being that she was the bossiest person ever insisted Natalie do the same since while flying and sport were improper, Kelsey believed one could never ever allow Muggleborns to get the wrong idea that they were equal to purebloods in any way. Still, the first hadn't spent a lot of time on one but she could do the basic "up".

Of course, Atwaters didn't go into Pecari and here she was. Come to think of it, that wasn't all that common among Brockerts either but not unheard of. However, she was literally the first Atwater ever sorted into the house. Kelsey had looked slightly horrified as Natalie had flounced over to the Pecari table before retaining her icy demeanor and going up to collect her prefect badge. Natalie couldn't help feel sorry for the Crotali.

As it was, she was running late. It was not entirely her fault, it was Fabian's for forgetting to give her his broom. He had one, he used it sometimes, but not all that often. Fabian preferred outdoorsy camping stuff and archery to flying and thought people took Quidditch way too seriously and were way too competitive. Still, Natalie couldn't help but be slightly embarrassed when she saw that Coach Grase was not there and Sophie was subbing. Sophie, after all, was someone who actually knew her already being that she was married to Natalie's cousin Ryan. She didn't think Sophie would say anything about this to her parents or Kelsey or anything but still.

She took her borrowed broom and stood over it, trying not to draw much attention to herself, in hopes Sophie wouldn't notice that she was late and give her detention or dock Pecari points for it. If she lost them points, that would turn her housemates against her before she really even had a chance to know them or them her. Hopefully, Natalie would be able to count on family loyalty or even house loyalty. Sophie had been a Pecari, surely she wouldn't want to take points away from them.

Natalie placed her hand over the broom, "Up." It shot into her hands and she mounted it. As Fabian's broom didn't have the sidesaddle charm on it and Natalie didn't know how to do it, she have to ride astride, the unladylike way. Now what to do? She felt playing Quidditch was going too far and she'd never truly had much interest. Besides, Fabian brought up good points.

Actually, she was generally indifferent to flying, air was not her element, water was. She loved swimming and boating. Still, right now, she had to get through flying lessons, pass them but not excel, while being superior to Muggleborns and halfbloods. Great. How was she supposed to do that, other than sabotaging their brooms which would likely get her in deep trouble? Plus, she didn't even know how she would go about such a thing if she were so inclined. It was so frustrating having to do things so precisely and so she barely even tried. She knew she was never going to measure up to her sister so what was the point of bothering?

She flew off into the air. Before long she noticed one of her classmates was at her side. "Oh, hello." Natalie greeted them.

11 Natalie Atwater, Pecari Better late than never. 371 Natalie Atwater, Pecari 0 5

Kit

October 27, 2016 8:14 PM

Or Helping? by Kit

Kit had accepted the offered hand with social politeness. In her eagerness to try again, she hadn’t looked at the rest of the person the hand belonged to. Though, the offer of help warranted further attention. Her head tilted up and blue eyes surveyed the boy. She had seen him around, but hadn’t had the formal introduction. Well, that just needed changed. “First things first. I’ll only accept your help if I get a name. Mine is Kit Reid of the Connecticut Reids.”

Getting her broom, she swung her leg over. She kept her feet on the ground while she got herself positioned. “Okay, so I’m having trouble with balancing. I thought it would be like when I ride Sir Beauregard, but it seems to be completely different. My parents just Apparate everywhere so I haven’t really ever been on a broom. Not to mention my mother would find this to be highly in appropriate. She doesn’t think ladies should ride brooms.” It went without saying that her mother didn’t floo either.

Kit was by nature talkative, so she may have ended up telling him more than he actually wanted to know. Returning focus to the task at hand, she gave him a smile, “Sorry, we’re supposed to be working on getting me up in the air. So, I’ll try again and you can tell me what I’m doing wrong?” She hoped that he would ride along with her so he could correct her if she did something wrong. She had to have flying perfected if she wanted to try out for Quidditch. If she couldn’t fly, she certainly couldn’t be expected to catch, throw, or do any of the things that would be expected.

0 Kit Or Helping? 363 Kit 0 5

Ayla Tremaine, Teppenpaw

October 31, 2016 12:44 AM

I'm fashionably late as well by Ayla Tremaine, Teppenpaw

The Tremaine family didn’t encourage the girls when it came to flying. The oldest for Ayla’s aunts, Aunt Astrid, had always gone against the grain when it came to things like that though. She not only played Quidditch all through school, but played semi professionally as an adult, and insisted on buying all of her nieces their first brooms. Ayla hadn’t been the biggest fan, as Astrid was basically the black sheep of the family, and always seemed to stir up family drama at get togethers whether she meant to or not.

The young witch also wasn’t super keen on flying as it messed up her hair, and skirts were obviously not appropriate attire. She knew her way around a broom though, that had been another one of Aunt Astrid’s gifts. She’d packed it along, somewhat grudgingly, as it took up space that could have been used for something more important, like shoes. Now that it was time for mandatory flying lessons, and she looked over the pile of brooms lying in front of them, she was glad to have her own. Her broom had been top of the line when she got it, but that had been several years ago now. She had hardly used it, so it still looked new, and her parents had it outfitted with cushioning charms.

The class soon separated into groups of students that already knew how to fly, and those that required help. Ayla made her way towards the few who had already mounted their brooms, and placed hers on the ground. She put her hand over it, said “up”, and as her broom rose into her hand, she swung her leg over to mount it. She pulled her long blonde hair up into a messy bun to keep it out of her face before kicking off and then grabbed the handle with both hands, steadying herself as she rose in the air. She was a little on the cautious side with her flight, not pushing her broom too fast, or daring to go too high. Ayla was really grateful for the cushioning charms also, and made a mental note to include that in a letter home.

She flew leisurely around the pitch, opting out of the Quidditch parts, and focused on controlling her own broom. She looked back to see where her friends were, just in time to catch Kit falling off of her broom. Ayla turned her broom back in the direction of the Aladren girl, but Kir had gone to her friends aid before she could get to her. That was nice of him, she still didn’t know much about him, but she could appreciate that he at least seemed to be kind. That would make sense though, he was a Teppenpaw after all. She’d have to check later to make sure Kit was ok though. Not wanting to interrupt, Ayla turned her attention back to the sky and noticed one of the Pecari girls nearby.

Ayla hadn’t had the chance to officially meet her yet, and it didn’t look like she was too interested in throwing around a quaffle either, so she decided to take advantage of the situation. She flew up beside the other girl, and smiled when she greeted her.

“Hi! Nice day for flying, isn’t it? We haven’t met yet! I’m Ayla Tremaine, of the Palo Alto California Tremaines.”

5 Ayla Tremaine, Teppenpaw I'm fashionably late as well 367 Ayla Tremaine, Teppenpaw 0 5

Salali Bly, Pecari

November 02, 2016 2:00 AM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Salali Bly, Pecari

Salali had been excited for this day since the moment she learned that it was coming: flying lessons. Her life had been a whirlwind of adventure ever since she found out about magic, but even in the time since then, she had never imagined getting to actually fly! She didn’t have her own broom (that’s what they called them, right? She thought she’d seen one at the orphanage, so she’d have to test it out when she got back.) so she was going to have to borrow one of the weird looking sticks with bristles from the school. That was okay, though.

The Coach lady wasn’t here, though, and instead they were being taught by their Potions professor. That seemed kinda weird, but who was Salali to judge? What really caught her attention was the bits about “experienced fliers”. Other kids got to do this before now?! An eager jealousy flooded quickly through her before fading away as she was now in position to learn how to do it herself.

She was going to fly!!!

The first time she called “Up!”, nothing really happened. Or at least, most people would have probably considered it nothing. But Salali was not most people, and the relative nothingness of the reaction, a slight rolling of the broom, inspired clapping and giggling. She had made the thing move! “Up!” she tried again, and the broom’s motion grew more restless. One more time, she thought firmly. “UP!”

This time, the broom shut into her hand with a mighty thwack! It stung quite a bit, but it was her excitement that caused her to drop it again. “I did it!” she exclaimed eagerly in a neighbor’s direction.

12 Salali Bly, Pecari !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 372 Salali Bly, Pecari 0 5

Kir

November 02, 2016 6:57 AM

That's also a possibility by Kir

First things first. I’ll only accept your help if I get a name. Mine is Kit Reid of the Connecticut Reids.

Well, given her placement in the beginners group, it had been likely that she was either a Muggleborn or a Society Pureblood. He found himself rather glad it was the latter… The values of Pureblood society were something he was strongly against, but the people… The people, on an individual basis, were salvageable. What Kit had said was exactly the sort of thing Aunt Catriona would have said in her first weeks of school. And what his dad would have said. It was still… weird to hear it but he had to remember that under all the frills and drummed in lessons, were actual people. People who could be funny, or sweet or amazing, so long as they were given enough room to try.

“Kir McLeod,” he answered. She had said she’d only accept help if she heard a name - she hadn’t specified that it had to be an ‘appropriate’ one, although he wondered whether that was what she’d meant. “Of the McLeod Foundation,” he added, not quite able to resist the chance to reflect her introduction, and perhaps also pique her curiosity.

“I see…” he mused, when he said her mother didn’t approve of flying. He called Kit Reid’s mother all the words for ‘stupid’ that he could think of in his head, but refrained from saying any of them out loud. “You seem to have a different opinion,” he ventured, curious to tease Kit’s character out a bit… “Entering the rebellious teen phase early?” he asked, wondering whether Kit’s mother merely didn’t like it personally or whether Kit really was pushing the boundaries of what her family found acceptable.

“Hmm… Balance is a tricky one. You just have to… kind of find it,” he explained. “But how about I hold the tail of your broom to start with, and run along with you. That way you’ll have a few more seconds to find it before going over. If it looks like you’ve got it, I’ll let go.”

OOC - permission for Kir to act as described during your next post

13 Kir That's also a possibility 366 Kir 0 5

Kit

November 07, 2016 9:05 PM

Definitely improving. by Kit

Foundation? Kit had never heard anyone introduce themselves with Foundation attached. “What’s the McLeod Foundation?” She couldn’t help asking. There were people that frequented social gathering who belonged to Foundations, some had even founded some of them, but they usually didn’t attach it to their names. Rather they would issue some invitation or another in order to raise awareness of said cause and have some sort of auction. She didn’t really know all of the details beyond her parents having to go to such things. She knew that she would have to as well once she was older.

“I…” She hesitated for a moment. Did she really disagree with her mother? “I guess I do.” She said it firmly, standing her ground to her invisible mother. “I want to go out for Quidditch. It seems like fun and why shouldn’t I be able to ride a broom? It might not be the most appropriate thing, but what if there were an emergency? I certainly wouldn’t want to have to depend on someone else to rescue me.” Kit hadn’t thought about it much before, but she didn’t think she could ever play the part of damsel in distress. She was far too independent for that.

Sure, she liked boys. She found them fun to be around and they were definitely good looking, but to actually expect that they would always take care of her? She knew that she was supposed to think that way, but she just didn’t. She wanted to know that when push came to shove, she would be able to land on her own feet. Besides, what if the boy in question weren’t as powerful as her? Or what if he didn’t care about her? Or cared more about himself? She had definitely done far too much reading to where it was acceptable for girls to have adventures. But wasn’t she having one of her own?

Kit decided she was and she was having it with Kir. She listened intently while he came up with a game plan to get her up in the air. “Sounds good to me.” She appreciated that he was helping her. She started going while he held on to the back of the broom. Her efforts concentrated on feeling the balance in the broom. There! She was going! She almost had it until she started thinking about it too much. Her feet touched the ground. She wasn’t quite ready to go higher, not unless she felt a little more confident in her balancing abilities, but at least she hadn’t fallen off.

Excited, she dropped her broom and ran over to Kir. Not thinking about it, she hugged him. “Thank you! Thank you! I did a lot better!” Letting go, she stepped back, regaining some sense of composure. “That was great. Can we try it again? I was caught a bit off guard with actually flying.” She laughed a bit at her silliness. “I think I can do it on my own this time, but maybe you can ride beside me to make sure I’m doing okay?”

0 Kit Definitely improving. 363 Kit 0 5

Kir

November 08, 2016 7:04 AM

In leaps and bounds by Kir

“It’s a charity. A charity my father and aunt founded,” he replied, when she asked about the foundation. He couldn’t pretend he hadn’t been hoping for that, and it was sort of satisfying, even if it simultaneously felt like he was skating on very thin ice.

She seemed to hesitate before nailing her colours to the mast, but did so with considerable style, at least having some good arguments to back up her viewpoint.

“Preaching to the choir,” he informed her, when she argued her case for witches being allowed to fly. “It’s also a completely modern invention that it’s “improper” - it’s been a solid part of magical heritage for a very long time. This whole propriety thing is only a generation or two old. Just in case you want something else to tell your mother. Go back a generation or two… Ask the older women in your family. See what they say…” Of course, some of them didn’t admit it, and there had been families that were prudish even before all the WAIL and DISCUSS nonsense. They’d just grown in number thanks to that. Hopefully now though, sense was being restored. If this witch was anything to go by, the arguments were too flimsy for the younger generations not to see straight through them, now that the initial hysteria about the whole thing was over.

He ran as promised, and when he felt the broom was wobbling considerably less, he let it go and watched Kit glide a few feet before setting her toes down. He gave a whoop of enthusiasm for her progress, and Kit herself seemed delighted as she ran over and hugged him. He was still too young to be embarrassed about hugging from girls, and had a sister, and a family that tended to push somewhat against gender segregation and the mentality that boys were a certain way, girls were a certain way and that each should find the other icky, so had also had plenty of female friends growing up. He hugged back, simulataneously giving Kit a pat on the back.

“You’re welcome - credit to you too, you did a great job. Sure, I can,” he said slowly, as she asked about him flying beside her, “though I don’t promise to be able to do much except be fallen on if I’m in the air too,” it was one thing to keep one’s own balance, another totally to try to catch someone else’s. “Maybe keep your toes near enough the ground that you can put them down if you’re in trouble,” he suggested.

13 Kir In leaps and bounds 366 Kir 0 5

Emerald

November 15, 2016 6:02 PM

It was never there. by Emerald

Emerald nodded. "I know, I'm not very enthused about riding it either. It's just never something that's appealed to me you know? Never really had interest in sports and being a girl, it's not really something that's been very encouraged for me and my sisters. I mean, WAIL is stupid and makes zero sense, but I seriously prefer books." Her sisters weren't all that interested in flying either though in Topaz's case it probably would have been an improvement and Amethyst wasn't quite two years old yet so was too young to be interested in anything but screaming and crying. Sapphire was also fairly little but was at an age where she was developing interests. However, Emerald couldn't envision her ever being an athlete, she seemed to be the most delicate of them all. Which made the Aladren feel slightly more protective of her than of Topaz, Jasper or Amethyst even though the five year old seriously still got on Emerald's nerves.

They all did except Ruby. Ruby was her best friend in the entire world and the first year actually missed her. Currently, Emerald was writing to her much more than either of her parents. She didn't write the younger kids at all. For one thing, the only one who could read was Topaz, who admittedly was pretty advanced at it for her age. She supposed the reason she liked Ruby most was that she was the closet in age to Emerald and she was really sweet. Plus, the Aladren had been rather young herself when Ruby was in that annoying baby and toddler stage.

"Oh, I'm Emerald Brockert of the Western Brockerts. Pleasure to meet you Sawyer." She gave him a friendly smile though did not curtsey given his own lack of standard introduction for those belonging to her social class and usually those not in it especially Muggleborns and halfloods thought it was odd. However, she wasn't going to snub him either. Besides, talking to him was preferable to flying. "So how are you liking Sonora so far? Personally, I'm pretty excited to be here." And away from my younger siblings she silently added. Okay so far, things weren't perfect, as at home she had her own room and here she had four roommates but they overall seemed decent enough.

OOC-Sorry this is short and that it took me so long to reply.

11 Emerald It was never there. 358 Emerald 0 5

Natalie A.

November 26, 2016 4:49 PM

I reiterate my original title. by Natalie A.

"Nice to meet you." Natalie replied. "I'm Natalie Atwater of the Colorado Atwaters. She had of course heard of Ayla's family both because she was from the western side of the country and because Kelsey naturally tried her best to make sure Natalie knew who was important to interact with. For her part, the Pecari was just not going to worry about it too much. Her sister didn't know everything even if she thought she did. Though it was more that she just wasn't going to be rude to those of a lower social standing than that she was going to be rude to someone who was. If there was someone she didn't like, she'd just avoid them.

"Sorry if I don't curtsey. It's a little awkward on a broom to begin with and I'm not all that used to flying anyway." She figured that Ayla probably knew where she was coming from there. "I've only done it a little, it wasn't really encouraged for me to know more than the basics. I only learned enough because my sister thought she should be on a higher level than the Muggleborns when she started school and of course, her thinking she knows everything thought I should do the same, so Father compromised between his two conflicting values of distaste for Muggleborns-which is not nearly as great as my sister's-and what is proper for a lady to do and taught us each the very barest minimum of basics the summers before our first years."

"Is that why you've been on a broom before too?" She asked. "I mean, you're not with the beginners so I mean, I figured that you have."Unless of course, Ayla had been down with the beginners and got it right off and Natalie just hadn't noticed. There were times when she wasn't all that observant and she'd personally been a bit flustered with being late and Sophie subbing.

And Ayla wasn't playing Quidditch so Natalie didn't figure she was the tomboyish type either, putting her most likely category as the Pecari in this arena.

"Yeah, I guess. I'd rather be swimming though." Natalie replied. " I mean, at least the weather is nice. Not too hot, cold, rainy, windy or snowy. That would be dreadful. Honestly, I don't know why weather charms don't keep things the perfect temperature and conditions at all times. Granted, I don't mind rain occasionally." Rain was water after all. "But it would probably be awful to fly in."

OOC-Sorry it took so long to reply.

11 Natalie A. I reiterate my original title. 371 Natalie A. 0 5