Ain't no rest for the wicked. on Quidditch Pitch

"Coach" Pye

November 12, 2016 10:50 PM

Quidditch Match 1: Aladren v. Pecari by "Coach" Pye

The conditions for the first match of the year were just satisfactory. When Alfie got out off bed that morning and looked out to the sun shining, he had thought it would be a lovely day. However the air was chilly and a slight breeze blew through his open window, reminding me that it was, indeed, late fall. Aladren was playing Pecari, and Alfie was looking forward to a relaxing morning of spectating.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the universe had other plans because at breakfast, Alfie was rather hastily asked to referee the day’s match. He was a fair-minded professor who didn’t play favourites in class despite having a younger sibling to grade amongst other students plus he had been one of the first faculty members to the breakfast table and so he assumed that was why he had been asked.

Referring a Quidditch match he’d been planning on just watching wasn’t top on Alfie’s list of things he wanted to do with that morning, but he still took it as a compliment that he was well-known for his fair judgement that he’d been asked to referee when his house was one of the teams playing.

He smiled to himself, congratulating that small success, as he walked over to the Pitch, leaves crunching beneath his feet. And he was smiling still as he tossed the Quaffle up in the air and blew the whistle after having the captains shake hands. “Ready, steady, go!” he shouted as he launched the mishappen red ball. And then, he retreated to a wooden chair he’d transfigured into a slightly more comfortable sofa-armchair so that he could at lest have something cushy beneath his butt as he watched.

OOC: Regular posting rules apply + regular Quidditch rules (both IC and OOC). Have fun!

Subthreads:

Start as you mean to go on. by Captain J Curtis, Chaser with Ben The Hippo, Beater, Kit Reid, Chaser, Louis Valois, Beater, Ingrid W, Chaser, Luke Powell, Keeper

New tricks by Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

Ain't no rest for the wicked. by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater with Captain Clark Dill, Seeker, John Umland, Beater, Jamie Park, Seeker

Watching and Waiting by Lena Westley, Keeper with Luke Powell, Keeper

Watching and waiting. by Amelia Layne, Reserve

Watch and wait no longer by Clark Dill, Seeker

10 "Coach" Pye Quidditch Match 1: Aladren v. Pecari 30 "Coach" Pye 1 5

Captain J Curtis, Chaser

November 13, 2016 1:13 PM

Start as you mean to go on. by Captain J Curtis, Chaser

This was it. Her chance to prove herself. Joella had waited so long for her time and now it was here. She’d worked her team as hard as they would let her in the run up to their first match of the year and she hoped that it would show in their performance today. Although she was serious about winning for a number of reasons, the Pecari captain hadn’t let herself get so obsessive that practices became too much for everyone. At least she hoped she hadn’t. She was aware that most people weren’t using this as a stepping stone in their career and for that reason she had to cater for all levels of ability and competitiveness, alongside making sure they were unbeatable. Joella had thus made special efforts to maintain the fun element of training sessions because she didn’t want to turn into a tyrant who was far too concerned with their own aims to recognise that of the team.

Hopefully her attempts at creating the fittest, best-skilled team would pay off and the game would be a good one. Despite simply having to win this match, Joella did hope that Aladrens’ loss of good players and influx of inexperienced ones in more recent years wouldn’t have made them suffer too greatly. She liked a challenge, and whilst she loved to win, she wasn’t looking for an easy win.

The weather didn’t look unfavourable when she woke up on the morning of the match, feeling excited at the thought of the competition that lay ahead. The sun was shining, which bode well for temperature, but when she stepped out to check, the air was cold and a breeze whipped through the fabric of her clothes. Joella was in her sixth year and had played enough matches by this point to be pretty smart when it came to dressing appropriately for the weather so she got changed according to the day’s climate.

The brown-robed captain greeted her teammates when they joined her on the pitch and didn’t hang about long before putting them to work with a good warm up. She began with a gentle jog as a pulse raiser before progressing onto stretches. There wasn’t much time for skill practices but she brought a few Quaffles with her for anyone who wished to use them before the game commenced.

“Alright guys, huddle in,” Joella called her teammates closer, putting her arms around the shoulders of two of them with the expectation that everyone else would do the same so they’d all be standing in a circle. “Come on, quick, we’ll be starting soon,” she added because she knew she wanted to address all positions individually.

“We beat Aladren last year, and we’re going to do it again,” Joella got straight to the point. “If you all do your best up in the air today, that will be more than enough to see us through to the finals. I’ve been really impressed by all of your progress in training so now’s your chance to show everyone else what you’ve got.”

Joella had gone through everyone’s roles for this first game and made sure they all knew what they were doing, as well as reminded them individually of key things they needed to bear in mind, at their last team practice but she still wanted to reiterate a few points to boost their confidence if nothing else.

“Chasers, that Quaffle is ours. We need to make sure we’re pushing up the Aladren end as much as possible - we want to be attacking at all times, no defensive playing if it can be helped. But if they do get into our half, you know what to do. So long as you remember all that we’ve done in training, we’ll be running the show.” There was so much more that Joella wanted to say to her Chasers but she knew to have faith that they would keep all advice she’d given them in training in mind. She loved having an all-girl Chaser trio and especially warmed to these two particular teammates. Since the Chaser position was her position, she had the most advice for them but as any good captain should do, Joella did know the other positions well so they could certainly benefit from her coaching and she was careful not to play favourites.

“Beaters,” Joella turned to Ben and Sammy to give them a brief run through of what she wanted them to be doing. “I trust you two know your jobs,” she smiled confidently. “But remember, even though you, Ben, have been assigned to the Chasers and Sammy to Jamie, you are a duo and if you communicate with one another, you’ll be unstoppable.” She spoke more to Ben than Sammy because this was his first year playing Beater for the team and she always kept Sammy informed of all tactical plans before making them known to the rest of the team anyway (so that she could give her own input), but she directed a grin and a nod at Sammy at the end.

It made sense to her to have Ben mark the Chasers, since he had played in the position alongside her and Ingrid in the past so knew their playing well. And Sammy was the senior Beater so it seemed logical to have her protect their precious (not to mention irreplaceable) Seeker, and surprisingly she and Jamie seemed to get on rather well. As she was assistant captain, as well as senior Beater, it seemed only appropriate not to be too controlling of Sammy and also not quite as much with Ben as she was with the other players, so that he could take more direct orders from his fellow Beater.

“Luke, you’re totally ready for this,” Joella gave her relative a light squeeze since he was beside her in the team huddle. “It’s pretty chilly today so just make sure you stay warm. If us Chasers are doing our job properly, you shouldn’t get too much action, I’m afraid,” she grinned jovially at her Chasers in an attempt to relieve any pressure her words might have on them. “But even so, you need to be prepared at all times - no turning your back on the match, got it?”

“And last but definitely not least,” the captain began to rap up her peptalk, aware that she didn’t have long. “Jamie, keep your head in the game and just do your thing. Sammy’s got your back. Clark’s not catching another snitch so long as you’re around.”

“Now, any questions?” Joella asked the team as a whole, specifically for the benefit of Luke and Lily as it was their first formal game and she didn’t want any last minute concerns to be left unaddressed.

“Okay, let’s do this,” she grinned once her team seemed prepared. “”Hands in,” she put her hand in the middle of the circle. “Pecari on three. One, two, three, PECARI!”

Joella couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she made her way onto the pitch to shake Clark’s hand. She felt like she should make some sort of comment but she couldn’t think of anything to say to the Aladren captain without coming across as a bad sportswoman so she settled for “may the best team win” and left it at that.

She was disappointed that Coach Grase wouldn’t be witnessing the Pecari team’s first performance with her as captain but she refused to let this change her mood because if they did as well as she thought they could, Pecari would be playing in the championships at the end of the year.

Joella was up in the air after the Quaffle the moment it was released, her reaction time faster than ever. Her hand closed around the leather ball and she sharply changed her course from travelling upwards to heading in the direction of the Aladren hoops. She couldn’t wait to score a goal against Clark’s girlfriend - as easy as the task sounded, it was bound to be satisfying. But there was a lot of ground to be covered before that would happen, relying on a number of seamless passes.

Aware of a well-positioned teammate keeping up her fast pace, the blonde sent a firm pass their way. The Chaser position had always suited her well and from a young age she’d excelled with her ball skills so aim was no problem, especially since she added a little extra power to avoid the wind sending it off course. If it turned out to be unnecessary, the recipient of the pass might just find the catch a little sharp, but Ingrid and Lily had trained with her enough that she was more than confident they were capable of keeping a hold of it.

8 Captain J Curtis, Chaser Start as you mean to go on. 295 Captain J Curtis, Chaser 0 5

Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

November 16, 2016 10:03 PM

New tricks by Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

Clark had been plagued with dreams the night before what may be his very last Quidditch match should Jamie repeat his victory form last year's final. Over the seven hours he had laid in his bed, he had alternately won, lost, been too sick to play, been abducted by his birth father in the middle of the game, turned the the dark side and and made a Faustian deal to win, refused to compromise his morals and declined an offer to guarantee a win at the expense of failing a single Transfiguration exam, and, perhaps most strangely, playing a version of the game where the participants rode flamingos instead of brooms and his flamingo had been actively trying to sabotage his game.

It was an exhausting night and he felt decidedly unrefreshed when he got up and headed down to breakfast in the morning. Knowing Jake Manger was taking divination, he'd found a seat near the Teppenpaw Seeker to ask for insight into the dreams (obviously not mentioning the personal aspect to his alien abduction) and pretty much concluded that he was just nervous about potentially ending his previously impressive Seeking career on a double loss and he was somewhat blaming his older model broom for his loss last year. While he was glad there were no greater Signs and Portents behind them, he was still a bit irritable that he'd lost a night's worth of much-needed sleep over something so obvious.

On the plus side, Jake had offered him a nicer broom.

He'd never had a problem with the old one before that game and it hadn't made financial sense to buy a new one with at most two games left in his Quidditch career, but if Jake had one just lying around, Clark wasn't going to spurn it. He spent the rest of the morning before the game testing it out and getting used to its differences in maneuverability and speed. Jake was shorter than him, so it wasn't perfectly optimized, but it was a seeker's broom, so it had that going for it. Now he had a much better chance of keeping up with Jamie if they had to race for the snitch again this time, but, on the other hand, it was always a risk going into a game with an unfamiliar broom.

Well, if they lost today, at least he wouldn't need to worry about splitting his time between Quidditch and RATS study this year.

Wait, no, he wasn't going to consider losing yet. It was far too early in the day and year to get defeatist already. He had won every one of his games except that last one, he could come back from this. He was actually a very good Seeker and now he knew Jamie had vastly improved from a showboating slacker and Clark had been working on new tricks that would hopefully be more effective against Jamie's Stuck-On-You strategy than his previous methods which had basically depended on spotting the snitch first and having a head start.

Clark was a quick study, and learning from one's mistakes was a mark of a brilliant mind. He could do this and the Aladren team would take back the Cup that had been theirs for so long. He'd fallen into a false sense of security and the belief that he couldn't lose had been shattered. Today he would show that one loss was not the end of him.

Having pepped himself up on his walk to the Pitch, and feeling more alert between the brisk autumn air and the sugar and caffeine from breakfast, he gathered his team around him for their pregame pep talk. "Hey guys and gals," he greeted them cheerfully, glad that he could use the plural in the latter address, "Here's our rematch. We can do this. John, take out Jamie if you can, and don't worry about it if I'm close by. He won last time because he never left my side. I want a little more breathing room this time around, and we've been working on my abilities to run." He grinned a bit even though this was truth and not really a joke at all. He had discussed this strategy with John before, but he wanted the rest of the team to know he had a plan to come back from his previous defeat against this same Seeker. Morale and all that.

"Jack, you're lead Chaser. You, Arianna, and Kit, work together with the plays you've been practicing and keep mostly to short passes when possible. Pecari's fielding some really good interceptors, so watch out for them. They've got a first year in their goals, so try to take advantage of him not having very long arms. Lena, watch out for combos and be ready to change directions fast. You do have reach, so use it. Louis, keep our Chasers safe, and take out or disable Joella if you can; she's their best player." He had thought about instructing the French Chaser-turned-Beater to target Ingrid as well, but then remembered he'd seen them together at the last ball, and decided that was a conflict of interest he might lose. "As always, keep alert and play smart. That how we win. Let's do this." He put his hand into the middle of the huddle and waited for the rest of the team to join him for the rally cry, "Aladren!"

He shook Joella's hand when instructed to do so and returned her platitude with one of his own, "Good luck," despite a momentary inclination to quip back that 'we will' because, besides being rude, that was the sort of thing Snitches and Karma liked to prove wrong. Overall, he thought his Karma balance was probably better than Jamie's and there was no sense in blowing an advantage like that on a stupid remark.

He returned to the rest of his team and kicked off with the whistle blow. He never for a moment thought Aladren might have an advantage with their Head of House being the referee today - that insulted both Pye's integrity and his own team. They would win by their own significant merits or not at all.

And to start off with, Clark's merits included a whole new Seeking pattern that he had meticulously calculated out over the summer as possibly being even more efficient than his previous one. It was also much more complex and he didn't think Jamie had the mathematical background to predict it today on its first use in a game. He also planned to mix up his flight speeds periodically in order to keep things difficult for Jamie. He'd also worked with John over the past few weeks, teaching him the new pattern, including speed variations, so the Aladren Beater would know when a sudden speed up might put a little extra space between the two Seekers. At first, though, he kept to the steady pace that had been his trademark in most of his previous games, hoping to convince his opponent that it was business as usual, just with an altered flight pattern. The first speed up, at the point marked G on his pitch map, would probably be John's best chance of catching a clean shot. But first, Clark had six other letters to get through before he got there. Plenty of time to lull Jamie into the same old same old.

OOC: Mentions of past actions with Jake and John okayed by their authors.

1 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker New tricks 277 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker 0 5

AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

November 17, 2016 2:54 AM

Ain't no rest for the wicked. by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

For perhaps the first time in her short but sport(y) life, Sammy did not wake up very keen on playing a sportball game. Though she couldn’t see it, her heart was on the mend, but being around Captain Joella was really, really painful. She couldn’t even show the hurt, both because showing weakness was lame and because she had done this to her own freaking self, getting so dang attached to a girl who was never hers to begin with. Sammy felt dumb and embarrassed over the whole thing anyway, but having to fake being okay was just the very worst thing.

It was why she hadn’t spend much time with her group of friends lately. She tried to make time with Gia for one-on-one stuff, but admittedly, it was kinda hard to invite Gia to do stuff and not Jax, who was, aside from Joella herself, easily the worst person to be around right now. And while she had ended up being somewhat honest with Gia--she turned down group plans with a serious “I can’t” and hoped that sufficed; Gia had to know why--she was still sorta lying to her, sparing her from some of the hurt. At least Sammy hoped so. Basically, she told her “I think I’ll be okay soon”, but honestly, she didn’t think that. She didn’t think that at all.

Talking to Laila had helped a bit, but mostly, it had just sedated her. Sammy got the rage out, finished up shouting about the whole thing, and now found herself feeling sad and lethargic a lot. The part of her brain that was logical and not an idiot told her that it would get better, but the part of her brain that was an idiot, which was like seventy-five percent, just felt mopey.

She sought out Jamie for the pre-game breakfast, mostly so she had an excuse not to sit with her friends in her year, and tried to be jovial through the meal, although her lack of bacon mountain was a clear red flag to anyone who knew her well. At least she was better when they got to the Pitch, warm ups rubbing some fire into her, if only a little. She made an effort to stand between Jamie and Ben during Joella’s speech, and she even had the energy, accompanied by a muted but eager smile, to offer her boys high-fives. Ben was her partner, her other set of eyes and other swinging bat, and Jamie was under her protection. And they had this.

Sammy’s own shout of “Pecari!” with the rest was less enthusiastic than past games, but it was safe to say she was running on an average person’s normal. It was a depleted version of herself, but it would have to do. With hands on either end of her bat, she stretched her arms back one last time while her captain shook hands with Aladren’s. Clark Dill was good, but Jamie was better. They’d proved that last year. As she mounted her broom, she mouthed over to Jamie, I got your back, tapping her back with her bat to further reiterate. Do your stuff.

And then they were off, rocketing into the sky, the shriek of the whistle echoing around in her empty head. Sammy didn’t see who got the Quaffle because it wasn’t her job, looking instead for other prizes, her little maniacal sidekicks. Finding one not too far from her current position, she caught up to her Bludger buddy and sent it hurling at Clark right out of the gate. Then she reattached her eyes (metaphorically, because, like, ew) to Jamie and his surroundings. Nothing and no one was going to stop him from getting that little Snitch. (See, it’s funny, because it rhymes with-

12 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater Ain't no rest for the wicked. 310 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

November 17, 2016 9:39 AM

Are you calling me wicked? Wicked cool, I hope? by Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

Well, they said a battle plan never lasted past first contact with the enemy. He probably wouldn't go so far as to call Pecari 'the enemy' but the axiom worked well enough for rivals, too. He had only just reached and gone by the point designated as 'A', the starting point of his new pattern, but still had most of the distance to point B remaining when Sammy Meeks cracked the first metal clue of today's Pecari strategy at him: she seemed intent on keeping him from following any kind of pattern at all.

Fortunately, his own revised strategy for this game involved a lot more running from bludgers than had been his norm previously and the simple two-step methodology of doing so did not vary depending on if it was a friendly-fire bludger or one launched by the opposition. Step one: notice a bludger attack. Step two: flee for your life.

The other good part about practicing this as part of his main strategy was that the panic he had normally felt in the vicinity of bludgers was much reduced after so much exposure in practice. As such he remained calm, put on a burst of speed and jinked and juked as randomly as a he could (humans were notorious for not actually being able to truly be random - however, this was one of the few instances where it was fortunate that Clark was only half-human) trying to lose the pursuing metal encased alien beast creature of destruction.

Locating John, he led the merry chase toward his bat-bearing assistant captain, trusting his best friend to make good use of the gift and let Clark get back to their previously scheduled route. He could just loop back and start over, as his flight and retreat from the bludger assault had swung him back around past point A again, so it would be very easy to just start the whole thing over from the very beginning.

Just as soon as John took care of his pursuer.

1 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker Are you calling me wicked? Wicked cool, I hope? 277 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker 0 5

John Umland, Beater

November 17, 2016 1:17 PM

Wicked cool, my friend. by John Umland, Beater

John had also not slept well the night before the match, though not because of Pecari. He had had a packet of letters from home, and one of them had included a word search puzzle.

This was not, in and of itself, anything that strange. He and his friends and family regularly exchanged all sorts of puzzles, riddles, and pages from things they’d read. This one, though, had come with a letter which had boasted that the puzzle would have him begging for mercy, a prearranged code word which had let him know to go to the ninth line down. It had started out reading YOKSCRFCEJWUGDAW; he used the tabula recta to shift that three letters back into VLHPZOCZBGTRDAXT, then used their current keyword to turn that into PTOLEMYPTOLEMYPT. From there, it was just a tedious matter of counting squares until he had plaintext, which he could only stare at in utter confusion for a few minutes, because it was GSTEVCECKISINRCIA.

G. Stevcek was Billy Boy. He had gotten this latest nickname after John had managed to show Joanie a picture, so she could at least know who she was speaking to if he figured out she was a friend of John’s and succeeded in cornering her, not to mention try to avoid getting cornered in the first place. That much he was sure he was reading right. No way he inserted spaces, though, made much sense of ISINRCIA. There was an obvious and readable answer, but he was having a hard time figuring out why Bill would be there….

Right before bed, he had finally had an idea, and it had resulted in poor sleep. There were two reasons: either he was going to really elaborate lengths to introduce himself into the neighborhood…or everything John thought he knew was wrong. His gut violently rejected that idea, but his brain couldn’t help but point out that the balance of evidence was in favor of it and that emotions were not relevant. It had not made for a quieting thought to go to bed on.

It was morning now, though, and he was making himself focus on the game. Quidditch was not something he was wrong about. He and Clark had a brilliant plan to get the trophy back and it was going to work and if it didn’t, John also had a back-up plan - shouting rude things at Park to distract him. He hoped, though, that he wouldn’t have to resort to it. For one thing, he liked to think he was better than that, and for another, Clark didn’t actually know he had this plan. He had a feeling his friend would disapprove of it.

John had been puzzled to see Clark with Jake Manger, of all people, at breakfast, but then the captain showed up with a visibly nicer broom than usual. Jake really was, John mused, a decent sort when he wasn’t on the Pitch; since it was Clark, it never occurred to John that coercion could have been involved in obtaining the broom. Jake had surely just lent it to him without even thinking that this could well set Teppenpaw up for a finals loss. Joe was probably going to want to smack his team’s Seeker when John gloated to him about it, John thought happily as Clark began his speech to the team. His brother had to be at least one of a very small group, a Teppenpaw whose Teppenpaw-ness was proved by the fact that he worried about not being good enough for his House….

He grinned when Clark reiterated about not worrying if he was nearby when a chance to hit Jamie was available and nodded, trusting Clark to indeed get out of Dodge if that happened. While Clark was shaking hands with Joella, John took a moment to add a last-minute bit of reinforcement for Louis. “You’ve got this,” he said to the younger Beater. “Just remember what we’ve practiced, don’t feel sorry for any of them, and don’t panic if you make a mistake or if they catch you a in fork.” John had borrowed the chess term to apply to situations like the one in one of his early games as a Beater, a situation where he had to choose which teammate to defend or whether to defend or attack. “Good luck.”

Clark began his grid and John began his vigil. Soon, quicker than he’d really expected, Sammy Meeks took a shot at Clark and threw Clark off the grid. Luckily, this, too, could work to their advantage, throwing Park off further as John raced in as fast as he could on his own school broom and smacked the Bludger toward the Pecari Seeker instead, hoping to catch him off-guard in the early-developing chaos. If he could injure Park right now, it would all get so much easier, though just unsettling and alarming him would work, too. It looked like Meeks was not going to just come and go as much as she had in the last match, which was unfortunate from where John was sitting (an unprotected Seeker was often a nervy Seeker, he thought) but John thought he could work around her. She was good, no doubt, but he was bigger than her. He could probably hit the Bludger harder and further and have the stamina to continue doing so longer just because of a happy (for him, anyway; not so much for her) accident of biology.

16 John Umland, Beater Wicked cool, my friend. 285 John Umland, Beater 0 5

Ben The Hippo, Beater

November 18, 2016 9:36 AM

The Hippo attacks! by Ben The Hippo, Beater

Ben was ready for this. So ready. Sammy was an awesome person and beating partner and he felt he had learned a lot under her leadership over the last couple of months. Sure his dad and uncle had both been beaters, so he imagined he had awesome beating blood flowing though his veins, but Dad and Uncle Four never really actually played Quidditch with him much (took him to watch games, yes, absolutely, but there wasn't really a great spot for any kind of broom flying near their muggle neighborhood), so their contributions to his training were mostly moral support and anecdotal accounts on how they handled some in-game situations.

Ben's practical experience was all either on baseball diamonds (a cross training sport that should not be underestimated for beaters) and under Sammy's tutelage. Still, he'd been working and training hard, and having been a chaser would no doubt help him know how to best mess with the Aladrens trying to mess with Pecari's mission to score goals.

A mission Joella was clearly very keen on and in a good position to carry out as she got the Quaffle first, claiming it before the echoes of the starting whistle had faded. Ben flew off in search of a Bludger to aid in this mission. It looked like Sammy had found one really fast and he grinned and shot her a thumbs up as she whacked it towards Dill then hurried on his quest to find the other one for Pecari. There!

Ben pushed his broom into high gear, hoping to reach it before Louis did. The fourth year Aladren had many of the same advantages and the same lack of previous games as a beater that Ben did. And while Louis might not have the same quality Beater blood pumping through his heart that Ben did, Louis did have and extra year's worth of growing and an additional year of experience playing Quidditch in general. Ben felt this made them pretty close to perfectly matched and he was excited about seeing how they actually played against each other.

*And the first victory goes to Benjamin the Hippo Pierce!* the announcer in his head crowed! The thirteen year old Pecari grinned and tapped his bat against the second bludger, gaining control of it enough to set up for a good hit. He surveyed his options and chose an Aladren chaser who looked like they might be thinking about trying to intercept Joella's pass.

Ben wound up and cracked his bat hard against the metal ball, sending it screaming, straight and true, toward his chosen target. Yes!

*And The Hippo attacks!*

1 Ben The Hippo, Beater The Hippo attacks! 339 Ben The Hippo, Beater 0 5

Kit Reid, Chaser

November 19, 2016 12:35 AM

Hippos don't fly. by Kit Reid, Chaser

Excitement was not a strong enough word for this day. Today was the first day that Kit would be playing her first real competitive Quidditch game. She had worked hard to learn all of the plays and moves. She was ready. Well, at least, that’s what she told herself until she got on the Quidditch field. If she had been simply competing against other first years, then she would have been full of confidence that she would win. However, she was going up against players that were older and more experienced.

She took a deep breath. Kit just had to remember that there were Aladren players who were equally older and more experienced. Two of them she was counting on to keep her safe, because regardless of how old, big, experienced, or anything else one was, those bludgers were scary. Some of the players that were in control of them were equally scary. She was just hoping that the other players didn’t try aiming those things at her too much!

Kit clutched her broom. She had gotten it right after she had made the Quidditch team. It was a much better model than the school broom had been. It had a decent amount of speed to it with good control. She also liked that she had been able to customize the model to have pink accents, which matched the pink ribbon that she continued to tie on her broom for luck.

Once they were up in the air, Kit was disappointed to see that the Pecari Quidditch Captain had possession of the quaffed almost immediately. She tightened her grip on her broom and leaned forward. She didn’t follow Joella. She knew that she had no chance to get the quaffle directly away from the girl and even if the Pecari tried to make the pass, she would be able to push past her. No, the best thing to do was to follow one of the other Chasers in the hopes that she could intercept the eventual pass. With this in mind, Kit went after one of the Pecari chasers, tagging behind them as much as she could without obviously blocking them.

Part of her was hoping the Joella would make the pass to this particular Chaser and part of her hoped, she wouldn’t, because Jack was a more experienced Chaser and if he was able to intercept the pass, he had a better shot of making it to the goals. Of course, her tiny frame allowed for her to weave in and out of the others more easily. She loved the feel of the wind on her face, as she urged her broom forward faster. She needed to get closer. The Chaser was definitely moving with a mission. She was edging closer and closer. She was in the perfect position to get the pass when all of a sudden she heard a terrifying sound.

It seemed to happen all at once. Her head turned, her blue eyes widened, and without a second thought, she pulled back just missing the whirling bludger. Oh, no! She lost the Chaser that she had been following. Oh, please, please, she hoped that someone else from the Aladren team had been close enough to get the pass and that it hadn’t gone to the Pecari Chaser. If it had, it meant that the opposing team was that much closer to scoring.

That just couldn’t happen, but realistically she knew there was a good possibility that the Pecari team would win. Having two new first year Chasers on a team was probably hurting the Aladren team, but she had hoped and determination. It was always those that were the underdogs that the crowd sympathized with. So, even if they lost, they would be winners of popular vote. She held onto that, because Kit Reid was in absolutely no way a loser.

0 Kit Reid, Chaser Hippos don't fly. 363 Kit Reid, Chaser 0 5

AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

November 21, 2016 1:14 AM

Nah, fam, just the normal kind of wicked by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

Welp, she didn’t hit Clark. Sammy hadn’t really expected to--the Aladren was too good, and he had the good fortune of an Assistant Captain Beater, just like another fabulous team--but it did feel good to spread a little chaos so early on into the game, throw him for a loop. Clark Dill had to be completely off-guard as much as possible if they wanted to win this game. Jamie could definitely do it on his own, she had every faith, but her job was reassurance.

She found it a bit annoying that John Umland sent the same Bludger back toward Jamie. “Really?” she groaned aloud, catching up to deflect it. With a thunderous crack, she redirected the Bludger, once more sending it en route to Clark. Once more, she didn’t expect to actually nail him (haha), but she was playing a sort of game with John now, waiting to see who would back down first and send the Bludger somewhere else, at a Chaser or something. Sammy took a brief moment to stare John down, an eyebrow raising daringly.

Still, she rather hoped this showdown would end (obviously in her victory) soon as this being the whole game would be dreadfully boring. At that point, she and John might as well have dismounted brooms and just played catch with a baseball or something as it would achieve the same result. But for now, she would defend her Seeker to her very last ounce of strength. Hopefully, it ran a little deeper than John’s, or at least deeper than he expected of her. She was a girl, but she was a girl not to be counted out.

12 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater Nah, fam, just the normal kind of wicked 310 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Louis Valois, Beater

November 21, 2016 3:13 PM

But hawks definitely do! by Louis Valois, Beater

Waking up and glaring disbelievingly at his alarm clock, Louis was just about to roll over and make proper use of his Saturday by going straight back to sleep when he realised that it wasn’t just a Saturday, it was the Saturday! He immediately sat bolt upright and threw off the covers, stretching his arms up into the air and then tumbling slightly dramatically out of bed. He wasn’t going to miss the Saturday by sleeping in!

A quick shower later (approximately the length of Ugly Heart, a muggle song he’d discovered over the summer) and he was dried, dressed, and heading down to the Cascade Hall to fuel up for the first Quidditch match of the year!

Truth be told, Louis had been a little disappointed when the team roster had gone up on the Aladren noticeboard. Offering to change position had been a calculated decision, and he still didn’t regret it, but he was going to miss being part of the chaser trio with Arianna and Jack. He enjoyed spending time with them, and was going to have to make sure to see them outside of practice more. Jack was in his classes, so that was easier, but he’d have to make a special effort to spend more time with Arianna. After their summer adventure, he felt closer to the younger girl, and wanted to continue their friendship.

Slight disappointments aside, there were definitely positives to being a beater. It was refreshing to play a different position in the sport, and John was pretty cool, and very helpful with showing Louis the ropes. He’d gratefully read everything on the reading list given to him (Louis liked to do his research, especially seeing as he hadn’t played beater before!). Luckily, his flying ability and hand-eye coordination gained from chasing transferred well to being a beater, and Louis was in pretty good shape so strength wasn’t much of an issue. He’d spent a lot of time enthusiastically training, both with John and with the chaser team. All in all, he felt well-prepared for today’s game.

As well as feeling good about himself, Louis was confident in the Aladren team. He’d done the comparisons with the Pecari team, and didn’t think the Aladrens came off too unfavourably. Their chasing team was a little weaker (although Arianna had more experience than Lily Spencer, and Jack had more experience than Ingrid), but their beaters were well-matched. The seekers were well-matched too, although Clark did have many more wins to his name than Jamie did, so the evidence suggested Clark being the better seeker. Both keepers were new, even if both could already fly, and Lena had the advantage of being older, bigger, and stronger, whilst Luke was only a little first year. Yes, Aladren were back in with a chance, and with even more determination after their narrow defeat last year.

Louis nodded along to Clark’s pre-game speech. Taking out Joella Curtis was definitely high on his list, and Ingrid too if he got the opportunity. He wasn’t letting whatever was going on between them affect the game. Right now, she was just an opposing chaser, and a dangerous one at that. John’s last-minute advice was much appreciated, and made Louis even more confident. They had trained long and hard, they had (hopefully) prepared for any eventuality. They were Aladren, and they were going to win!

Joella started off with the Quaffle and, whilst this might seem bad, it did increase the chance of a chaser interception. Having no Joella on the other end of the pass was a good thing. But chasing wasn’t his job anymore, so Louis pushed those tactics to the back of his mind and went on a bludger hunt. Annoyingly Ben got there first, and the other bludger was in use. Narrowing his eyes, Louis tried to think tactically. Who would Ben send the bludger at? Kit was rather close to a Pecari chaser and- yes, Ben was aiming at Kit. Louis shot after the bludger, not quite fast enough to deflect it from Kit, but luckily she managed to dodge (he sent her a mental apology), and now he had control of a bludger! Wheeling round, he managed to get in front of the bludger, his bat the only thing between him and the ugly ball of metal. Joella started to pass, and Louis grinned. An adrenaline-driven thwack sent the bludger straight and hard towards the chaser Joella was aiming at. See how they liked that!

9 Louis Valois, Beater But hawks definitely do! 314 Louis Valois, Beater 0 5

Lena Westley, Keeper

November 23, 2016 3:54 PM

Watching and Waiting by Lena Westley, Keeper

Lena was looking forward to playing Keeper for the Aladren team, remembering how she had considered joining at one point and ultimately had banished the thought for fear of displeasing Olivier. Looking back, her interest in Quidditch had probably started after hanging out with Clark. Now she and Clark were more than friends, playing Quidditch together, and she and Olivier were pretty much back to the way they always had been. She hoped he wouldn’t be upset by her playing this year- he could be too overprotective sometimes- but took the chance, making the educated guess that he wouldn’t risk confronting her about it lest it lead to a repeat of their last confrontation. She didn’t care for a repeat of that either, but if worse came to worse she was going to choose Quidditch and Clark.

The only thing that had worried her had been letting the team down. Keeper was an important position, and there was only one per team. Every goal the opposing team would try to make would have to be blocked by her. The Secret Cabal of Keepers had helped relieve some of the stress she had been putting on herself, being able to practice blocking and picking up tricks from Ginger. Not having skipped practices, she was now fairly confident she would be able to make a decent Keeper. She had no problem flying quickly, her movements on brooms had always been of the speedy variety. Faking was more of a problem, but she found that if she waited a second longer, until the actual throw was made she could reach the quaffle in time.

She felt none of that worry now, sitting on her broom in front of the highest hoop. The quaffle was far enough away that she didn’t have to lower herself yet to a better position to block all three hoops. From her perch she could see the passing of the quaffle, and the heated battle of the bludger. John had Clark’s back as always. The sight didn’t surprise her per se, she had seen Clark targeted before, but something about this time made her feel differently about it. Maybe it was because her feelings for Clark were more intense than just easy friendship, maybe it was the vantage point. She noted the difference but brought her eyes back to the chasers. As much as she wanted to watch Clark, she equally wanted to protect the goals. Clark was an excellent Seeker and could easily close the game in their favor but she was determined to not let Pecari score.

No one was close to making a goal though. She continued to hover at her elevated position, waiting for the quaffle to come closer.

7 Lena Westley, Keeper Watching and Waiting 279 Lena Westley, Keeper 0 5

Jamie Park, Seeker

November 24, 2016 9:28 AM

No rest for me then by Jamie Park, Seeker

Jamie would never admit it to anyone but he was actually feeling kind of nervous. They had a title to defend. That was a very different feeling than being the plucky have-a-go heroes looking to end Aladren’s obscene winning streak. There was expectation. There was something to lose. And, if he didn’t succeed, it possibly included his own skin. Joella was - and again, he would never admit this to anyone - a tad scary. She was obsessive about the sport. She tried to keep training fun but she just had this… vibe. He didn’t think she’d take a joke about it very well. And not that he saw this as a joking matter, but if she couldn’t relax and laugh about things, she was quite possibly going to explode if they lost. It was weird. He had previously thought of her as one of the more chill members of the team, but she seemed to be changing...

He was pleased when Sammy came to join him at breakfast. She was definitely someone who would lighten his mood. He held his bacon up to her in toast, although her breakfast was somewhat diminished from the pile he’d seen her with a few weeks ago, when they’d invented the whole bacon-cheers thing.

“Here’s to defending our title,” he grinned, “Wow, sounds big and responsible huh?” he said, the grin still in place, and this was the only reference he would make, to anyone about how he was feeling about what rested on his shoulders. He glanced at Sammy’s reduced plateful of food, wondering if all was well. He hesitated, on the verge of asking, but backed out. If all was not well, he wasn’t sure he knew how to deal with that. He was used to chipper, happy Sammy, and he wasn’t exactly well known for an ability to handle emotional matters.

“Y’know, I hear hardcore Beaters put away a whole pig before a big match. You’ve barely got an ear there. Have more bacon,” he advised, adding a couple extra rashers to her plate. He smiled, hoping at least she’d smile back because he wasn’t really sure he had much more to offer than that.

Once they got to the pitch, he followed the warm up, and even offered warming charms to the younger players. He didn’t think it was that cold out, putting on a long sleeved top had sufficed for him, but some people came from warmer climates, or might have been deceived by the sun being so clearly out. He joined the team cheer with some enthusiasm, though he gave more to Sammy’s high five, and gave her a further thumbs up as she said she had his back. He was glad it was Sammy who was his personal bodyguard for the game. Not only was she more experienced, she was just on his wavelength. He actually didn’t feel cramped by having her around, but felt better for it - like some of that smushy stuff about TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves More might actually have some merit.

On the whistle, he launched into the air, the freshness of the breeze combined with the adrenaline doing a lot to shake some of the remaining cobwebs out. Ok, he was still a little nervous, but it felt more like a buzz now, more like a positive thing. He had planned to tail Clark pretty closely - loathe as he was to admit it, whatever game Clark was playing had worked well all these years, only know Jamie was the one cashing in on it. However, Sammy got things stirred up and started pretty early on, sending a Bludger at the Aladren Seeker. This left a good gap between him and his counterpart, and one he wasn’t keen to dash into with a Bludger on the loose. John was pretty prompt in returning the ball, placing the Seekers at a distance with their Beaters slugging it out. Jamie had no doubt that Sammy would be more than equal to the task of dealing with that. Sure enough, it went back Clark’s way with a resounding crack.

“Thanks mate,” he grinned. It being foolish to follow it and leave himself open, he stuck for now in closer proximity to Sammy than to Clark.

“Hey, if there’s a chance to send him running for it, and let me get in and mark Clark, that’d be good,” he added, as quietly as the wind would permit him. He was pretty sure John and Clark were too far away to hear.

13 Jamie Park, Seeker No rest for me then 284 Jamie Park, Seeker 0 5

John Umland, Beater

November 24, 2016 2:05 PM

No worries, I'm happy to keep you busy. by John Umland, Beater

The deflection of his Bludger was unwelcome, but not altogether unexpected. What was unexpected was the glimpse of Meeks’ expression John caught as he flew after it again. He had only seen it for a second, and was not good at reading faces anyway, but he could have sworn she had meant to challenge him personally.

John didn’t think much of Pecaris, as a rule. Most of them struck him as people interested only in physical thrills, grooming, and socialization for socialization’s sake - all topics John found profoundly boring. There were a few exceptions, though, and that look made Meeks (who already had a general lack of excessive or bizarre grooming working in her favor) at least temporarily one of them. She had just completely foiled Plan A and looked like she knew it.

More relevantly, though, Jamie was now clinging to her, which John thought he could use. He knew Clark’s pattern. If he could drive Jamie and Sammy away from it, keep them stuck to each other and chase them around….

The only flaw in this plan was that he’d necessarily have to keep less of a watch on Clark while he chased them around the Pitch, he thought as he hit the Bludger back toward the Pecaris, knowingly playing tennis (something most Beating manuals advised against, as it wore down both Beaters and rarely advanced any valuable strategic objective) to give himself a moment to think. John thought he was pretty good at his position, but he didn’t think anyone was good enough to be in two places at once. That would give Pecari’s other Beater a chance to relieve their Chasers and hit Clark. John would take that chance if he was in a Chaser game and saw it, and he knew better than to underestimate Pecari on the Pitch. They were, it had to be said, good at the game, one way or another.

For now, he put himself between Clark and the Pecari duo, closer to his friend but with a clearer, more direct view of his enemies. This involved flying at an angle he found less than comfortable, but after seeing his brother fly upside-down over the summer and then deliberately making everyone around him think that he himself was not as good on a broom as Joe, John couldn't help but feel he had a bit of something to prove. He was too far from his direct opponent at the moment to say it out loud (when Beaters were close enough for anything resembling melee, it was...ungood), but still thought Your move, wondering if Sammy would change tactics now or if this was just the game she was going to play.

16 John Umland, Beater No worries, I'm happy to keep you busy. 285 John Umland, Beater 0 5

Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

November 25, 2016 10:52 AM

You guys have fun. by Captain Clark Dill, Seeker

Clark returned to the starting point of his pattern and began it again for the second time just as Sammy cracked her bat on the bludger and shot it back his way again. John was there this time, though, and Clark continued on, trusting his teammate and looking around for the snitch, his first real chance to do that much this game. Jamie was a good distance away, far enough that he was hoping that the snitch would show up quickly now while Jamie was too far off to even try to overtake him, not to mention distracted by John's second return shot.

He moved through his pattern, flying quickly, forgetting that he wanted to take it slow at first, but at this point, he just wanted to cover more ground and search more area during this probably short window while he didn't have a shadow marking him too closely and the nearest bludger was still busy passing between Sammy and John.

Unfortunately, there was no early flicker of gold to be seen, and as John positioned himself a little farther away, Clark felt it necessary to slow down his pace. His guardian and friend was still positioned to protect him from Sammy yet, but if the Pecari Pierce decided to come at him from where the Chasers were, he'd need to provide most of his own initial defense. It was too hard to watch for both snitches and bludgers at the breakneck pace he'd just been using, and he couldn't risk overlooking the winged golden ball during a moment of defensive distraction.

However, he'd now nearly gained point B on his pattern map and he was back on his primary Seeking plan, the Quaffle hadn't gotten near Lena yet, and so all was shaping up very nicely for Aladren's chances this game.

1 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker You guys have fun. 277 Captain Clark Dill, Seeker 0 5

Luke Powell, Keeper

November 25, 2016 3:45 PM

Doing the same, but doing it better. by Luke Powell, Keeper

Luke knew that the outcome of the game was very important to Joella, and he didn’t doubt that the rest of the team had a lot riding on it too. If they won this match, they got through to the finals and had a shot at winning the Cup. If they didn’t, then that was essentially the end of their Quidditch year.

The first year Pecari enjoyed team practices and had found that it was nice to belong to a team, but the idea of actually competing against other houses excited him. He had always got a thrill out of surfing competitions. Luke knew he was part of a strong team and that made his chances of winning all the more likely, which was certainly a good thing.

Being the youngest member on the team meant that he could quite possibly be the weakest link, although he wasn’t going to assume that was true, so Luke felt as though he had something to prove. Right now, he was a nobody at Sonora but that was sure to change the moment he made his first awesome save today.

And it was going to be awesome, it just had to be. Luke was not a worrier and therefore he did not fret in the lead up to game day. However, when he did finally make his way to the pitch, he felt a few inevitable nerves. This was the first time he’d ever played Quidditch on such a big, not to mention serious, scale and it was bound to be a little bit daunting. The Pecari tried to focus his mind during the warm up and allow the familiar routine to instill his natural confidence.

Joella called them all to join her and he was glad of the quick pep-talk, reminding him that an entire team had his back. It was strange being away from his extended family (in the wider sense of the word), who he was so used to having around him for support, but now he had new friends and he’d discovered that life at Sonora wasn’t half as bad as he might have expected.

The captain sounded so confident and that was a good sign. Joella was good at being positive and supportive like that and Luke had nothing but admiration for how cool his aunt-cousin had grown to be. The first year paid attention to everything the older Pecari said because he still couldn’t wait for when he finally got the chance to fill one of the Beater positions, but knew it was time to really get his head in the right place when she addressed him directly. “Got it,” he grinned and nodded in response to her words of advice.

The Keeper position wasn’t the most active position, unless his team were doing really badly (which was obviously not going to happen), which kind of sucked but Luke was aware that there were upsides and downsides with everything. He’d worked a lot with Joella in preparation for this match and knew how much skill went into playing Keeper. There was no way he was going to suggest that Keepers had it easy when Joella’s sister had been the most amazing (in his mind at least) professional Keeper he’d ever seen.

Luke prepared for take off whilst the captains shook hands, scanning the crowds and trying not to think about how many of the pretty first year girls might be watching him. That was another cool thing about being on the team - the girls were bound to flock to him when they saw how great his was in the air. Although that meant he had to do well… which he could do, Joella Curtis said so!

The whistle blew and he pushed off from the ground eagerly, heading straight for his hoops but glancing behind to watch the action along the way. It was important to know which end the Quaffle was heading for right from the start. Luke shouldn’t have doubted Joella for a second, however, as he saw her speed towards the opposite goals with the Quaffle tucked neatly under one arm. This probably was going to be a quiet match for him then, but that only made winning all the more important because he simply couldn’t complete the term only having been in the one game.

Luke sat up in front of his hoops, observing the whole scene and suddenly feeling very proud. He was only a first year yet he was the Pecari Keeper. It didn’t matter if he hadn’t had much in the way of competition for the spot - this was an achievement and he would so rub it in Zane Kinsell’s face when he got home. Someone had to wipe the smirk of that boy's face every once in awhile, and not always by resorting to violence.

He looked across the pitch at the distant Aladren Keeper. He didn’t expect much from her, even if she was a seventh year (so very old and grown up). And that wasn’t because she was a girl, since his female-dominated team were proof of just how awesome girl players could be. Luke had heard that she was dating the Aladren captain though and that she’d only just joined the team because of that. So he was going to be that star Keeper on the pitch today, that was already a given.

Now he just had to wait patiently for his moment of glory and keep warm in the meantime.

8 Luke Powell, Keeper Doing the same, but doing it better. 374 Luke Powell, Keeper 0 5

AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

November 25, 2016 4:57 PM

Winners usually do. by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

Bad news: she was gonna have to back down first from the little game of pseudo-catch she played with John. Jamie needed to mark Clark, which meant sending Bludgers at the Aladren Seeker’s face was no longer a very viable strategy. Not that it was a good strategy to begin with--any idiot who picked up a bat could probably tell you that much--but she’d been trying to use it to assess John, to see how long she could occupy him, goad him into baa-aa-aad decisions (get it: goad/goat?) But now the game had to end.

Or maybe… modify? Sammy was forming the inklings of an idea. It came on a lot more quickly than it felt, internally a struggle but actually an instant. Sports were like that. You thought you were standing there thinking and planning forever, but you didn’t have forever because the batter was swinging or your teammate was passing or the opponent was tackling. Wizards and witches thought they invented time travel with their little time-turners, but Sammy had a secret: athletes had been doing it for years, slowly time in their minds, spending decades in a second, growing intimate with a moment. It was beautiful.

With a crack of the bat, Sammy sent the returned volley back toward the blue boys over yonder, but not quite at them. The trajectory would miss decidedly, but the hope was that John would follow after. Then Jamie could get back by Clark, with Sammy never too far behind. And speaking of Jamie, she sent him a thumbs up, encouraging him to get back on Clark’s (and, the odds were fair, the Snitch’s) trail.

12 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater Winners usually do. 310 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Ingrid W, Chaser

November 26, 2016 4:06 AM

Better late than never by Ingrid W, Chaser

Match day was always exciting. Ingrid had always been driven to do her best for Liliana because she admired the older girl, and things hadn’t changed with the passing of the torch. But as well as admiring her as a player, Joella was rapidly becoming one of her closest friends at Sonora. It was a different dynamic than she’d had with Liliana, who was friendly but so much older than her that they rarely hung out outside of Quidditch-related activities. She had maybe also had Liliana up on a tiny bit of a pedestal… With Joella, she had admiration and determination to win for her as her captain, but she could picture partying with her afterwards and sharing the victory as friends, and that was a new and different sort of driving force.

If they won. Ingrid didn’t want to take that for granted. She always tried to tread the side of the line that was positive and showing team spirit but without being cocky. Firstly, there was the notion that pride came before a fall, which rarely made it a good idea, but she also didn’t think Pecari had much to brag about. They’d only just wrestled the trophy off Aladren after their long winning streak, and she couldn’t help but think that might have been more fluke than anything. She certainly still felt that Clark Dill was the more consistent Seeker, and all it took was a microsecond of distraction on Jamie’s part for their dreams to go up in smoke. She would be quite glad when he graduated, even if they had to put a rookie first year in his place. She just didn’t trust him not to let his ego or some pretty girl get in the way of what he was meant to be doing. And not having faith in your Seeker was a pretty demoralising place to be…

After a hearty breakfast with the rest of the team and the warm up on the pitch, Ingrid was champing at the bit… She couldn’t wait to get into the air again and actually play for real. She often did Quidditch camps over the summer, though they were getting less fun the older she got… There had always been more boys than girls, but as they got older they were getting more vocal about whether women belonged on the pitch. Some had even thrown out suggestions of what should be done to girls who didn’t know their place, and they were not in the least bit pleasant… It made her see what a political safe haven Sonora really was. It was a strange little bubble, but one she was very grateful for.

She kicked off as the whistle blew, heading up front early on as Joella dived into the scrum. There were a few strong cracks of Beaters’ bats in the early minutes of the match, and things seemed to be taking off fast, although as many of the hits were defence as attack, and no one got taken out. The rookie Aladren Chaser had been marking one of their players but the Bludger sent her flying. Still, it was a lot of action in a small space, and unsurprisingly, Joella turned instead to her to receive the pass.

It seemed, however, that Louis had caught up with the Bludger that Kit had managed to dodge, and was intent on sending it her way. She tried not to read into that. She was the Chaser most open for the Quaffle and a logical target. At first, she’d been glad that they wouldn’t be face to face any more, as she thought that had the potential to be awkward, for all that they’d reached a tentative sort of neutrality at the very least, but apparently him having the power to aim metal balls at her head was also not a very comfortable situation.

She caught the pass from Joella just in time to do a barrell roll that took her out of the path of the bludger, before starting forward to the Aladren goals. Dodging the metal ball had slowed her down though, as she wouldn’t have been surprised if she had a Pecari tail, or another Bludger with her name on it. It made it risky to pass but she couldn’t see herself getting uninterrupted to the scoring zone either. Better to do it earlier, she reasoned, so that anyone who had had to manoeuvre to catch up with her had had less time to see the fruits of their labours.

She tried to draw close to another Pecari, aiming to make the throw short and sharp but without going so near that it made it a dead give away that she was getting ready to pass to them. She sent the ball their way.

13 Ingrid W, Chaser Better late than never 322 Ingrid W, Chaser 0 5

Jamie Park, Seeker

November 26, 2016 4:27 AM

Pecaris know how to party by Jamie Park, Seeker

Jamie was expecting the bludger to be sent hurtling down into the Chaser game (though, as they were dominating with the Quaffle right now, perhaps it was better that it didn’t - this fact, however, had broadly escaped Jamie’s notice and consideration. A kinder person could call it ‘focus’ on his own position, but there was perhaps a trace of selfishness… A belief that the Chasers and what they were doing was only of secondary importance to him). He was taken by surprise for a second when Sammy appeared to send it back towards Clark and his boyfriend.

Had he been able to read Sammy’s thoughts on the strange nature of time in sports, he would whole heartedly have agreed. He felt, once he realised and leapt into action, that he had sat there far too long, although actually he did need to follow the Bludger at a carefully calculated distance… Sammy had shot to miss - once he followed the trajectory of the shot, he could clearly see that. He knew his girl, and there was no way she was tired yet or that sloppy. If the metal ball wasn’t heading for Clark’s face it was because she meant for it not to. Which gave John a choice…. Let the ball go, and give Jamie time and space to catch up with Clark, or go running after it, and give Jamie time and space to catch up with Clark. He grinned.

“Come with?” he requested of Sammy, returning her thumbs up. John wasn’t slow. Timing was crucial and tricky. If he realised the ball was off course and caught up to it before Jamie was alongside Clark, he’d have a chance to get a clean shot at him. Unless, of course, Sammy was there. There seemed little sense in making a mad dash that broke his cover when he could just take her along with.

“Oh, and if you get a chance to make a shot at Clark, don’t hold back - I can handle myself.” He would prefer not to. It was better to stick like glue to Clark’s side, but if they had a chance to dispose of him completely, that definitely worked to their advantage too.

He began to head for Clark, though he took a diagonal away from the Bludger to do so.

13 Jamie Park, Seeker Pecaris know how to party 284 Jamie Park, Seeker 0 5

Clark Dill, Seeker

November 26, 2016 1:36 PM

After the game you can write an instruction manual for us by Clark Dill, Seeker

Clark looked back at the sound of the bat meeting bludger, but it was just Sammy again, and John would take care of that one. Clark kept going. After another few seconds, he glanced back again to see what was going on and saw the bludger had gone a bit off from where Clark was - close enough that it couldn't easily be ignored, but far enough not to be an immediate threat. Given the way Jamie was making his way in, that was likely on purpose.

The Pecari seeker would want to hang close to Clark again. That made sense. That was how they'd won last time. Clark was pretty much planning his strategy around it.

He made sure he kept his pace nice and easy, so that when he reached the speed-up point John could be ready with a hit just as Clark picked up speed suddenly and hopefully put a little bit of distance between himself and Jamie. That bludger was John's now and it shouldn't take more than a minute to reach point G and they could put that part of their plan into action.

The key would be not to give Jamie any clues about what was coming. He had to remain calm and not tense up. Jake's broom was a nice one and it was obeying his commands cleanly, so Clark trusted it would answer swiftly when it was time to move. Point D passed behind him and Clark made the one-hundred-and-fifteen degree turn with an easy precision his old broom had had trouble matching. Clark was going to need to thank Jake profusely the next time he saw him.

He glanced around again, checking to see if John had caught up with the bludger yet and to determine if the other Aladren would be holding onto it for point G or if John thought he had time for another volley exchange with Sammy to try to keep Jamie away from him in the first place.

1 Clark Dill, Seeker After the game you can write an instruction manual for us 277 Clark Dill, Seeker 0 5

Ben Pierce, Beater

November 26, 2016 2:17 PM

Glad you think so by Ben Pierce, Beater

Ben watched as his bludger successfully scare the smallest of the Aladren chasers off course, opening up a passing opportunity. He didn't watch to see if it was taken, but instead followed the passage of the bludger, which was going right to Louis. Ben went to guard Joella, as she was their strongest player as well as the one currently holding the Quaffle, but Louis went for Ingrid, once it became obvious that was who Joella was passing to. Ben didn't get there in time, but Ingrid managed a nice barrel roll to protect herself and Ben caught possession of the bludger before it could try for her again.

He batted it around for a little bit, waiting to see if there was going to be a good chance to protect Ingrid's pass, but it looked like she was going short and he didn't want to risk hitting either of the Pecaris in there, so instead he swung his bat around hard and smacked the bludger out toward a blue-clad chaser who didn't seem to be too dangerously close to anybody else and therefore a relatively easy target.

Ben wasn't really expecting this one to connect, as presumably the target chaser would see (and hear) it coming, but he was trying to time it so that the sound of the bat cracking against metal might potentially scare any Aladren trying to intercept Ingrid's pass, hopefully making them look around at that critical moment instead of going for the Quaffle.

1 Ben Pierce, Beater Glad you think so 339 Ben Pierce, Beater 0 5

Louis Valois, Beater

November 26, 2016 5:01 PM

If a Pecari, better never by Louis Valois, Beater

Ingrid managed to neatly avoid Louis’s bludger and, whilst he was glad not to cause any injuries, this was Quidditch and Louis could be a rather competitive player. Ingrid’s barrel-roll meant his attempt at sabotage by bludger had failed and, even worse, that Ben had possession once more. Getting into a rally of sorts like was really the worst part of beating (this was meant to be Quidditch, not swivenhodge!), and the problem was only exacerbated by the allocation of beater roles that was popular in Sonora Quidditch. Still, Ben couldn’t hang on to the bludger forever, despite his attempts to seemingly do so, and therefore Louis would soon be able to have another crack (pun intended) at the Pecari chasers.

As soon as he’d hit the bludger, Louis had followed along behind its general course. As such, he was in a good position when Ben hit it, and was ready for action. Keeping ready for Ben’s hit meant that he managed to swerve in time to get between the bludger and the Aladren chaser who was in need of protection. A grin came to his face. He knew what his next move was, and with all of his strength and determination he hit the ball straight at Joella Curtis. There were no Quaffle politics behind this, simply the fact that Joella was by far the strongest of the Pecari chasers. He might be confident that Clark would catch the snitch, but the Aladrens weren’t as strong on the chaser front. With Joella out of the game – or at least distracted, he wasn’t going to get ahead of himself – it would give the Aladren chasers an advantage. Mind already moving on to think of his next play, he willed the bludger to catch her by surprise.

Now he was bludgerless once more, the temptation was to have a look at the seekers and other beaters, to see how they were doing, but he resisted. His three years as a chaser had reinforced the importance of focussing solely on his aspect of the game, and he wasn’t going to drop that habit now his role had changed. Of course, he did have to keep an eye on the other bludger (if given the perfect opportunity, he would definitely have a go at Park), but he didn’t let the battle for the snitch distract him. Noting the current position of both bludgers, he moved once more into a fairly central position, so as to be ready to protect all his chasers and respond to Ben’s next move.

9 Louis Valois, Beater If a Pecari, better never 314 Louis Valois, Beater 0 5

John Umland, Beater

November 26, 2016 5:35 PM

I prefer to do it my way. by John Umland, Beater

For a moment, John thought Sammy was, indeed, going to send the Bludger back to him, something he found a little disappointing. The one thing he respected about her House was, after all, that they played well, and continuing this game with him was not smart for her. John was nearly sure that, barring something weird, she would wear out before he would if they kept it up. This made tennis wholly detrimental to her.

Then, though, he realized the trajectory was all wrong. Either she had gotten tired far, far faster than he had expected or she was trying to lure him into a trap. Probably the latter.

Instinct said to chase the Bludger. She probably knew this. It was natural - just as Chasers and Seekers were trained to flee Bludgers at all cost, Beaters trained to not mind being near them, to go after them aggressively. Therefore, going after it was probably what Sammy wanted him to do...if she was thinking. Was she thinking? He cursed his failure to teach himself Legilimency. It would be dead useful, both on the Pitch and in life….

Irrelevant. He dismissed the thought in favor of noting Clark’s position. Was going back to Plan A feasible? He bit his lip, then went toward the Bludger.

What to do with it, though? If he smacked it back toward Meeks, he wore her down and gave Clark a moment to set up his move. Unless she just hit it in a completely different direction next and it took him so long to retrieve it that it ruined the plan. However, it looked like the best way to possibly separate her from Park, which would increase the odds of success. Another downside was that the Pecaris would think he was stupid, at least for a minute or so, but….

He checked Clark’s position again and deflected the Bludger, hitting it a little further away from the Seekers and following it. Let the Pecaris think he was backing off and just trying to keep the Bludger away from everyone while he was preparing to loop around and hit Park in the face the minute Clark was ready.

16 John Umland, Beater I prefer to do it my way. 285 John Umland, Beater 0 5

Cpt Joella Curtis, Chaser

November 26, 2016 7:29 PM

Never underestimate a Pecari. by Cpt Joella Curtis, Chaser

Joella could breathe again once Ingrid was safely on her way with the Quaffle. The younger girl did a good job of making the catch and dodging a bludger pretty much simultaneously.

The captain sped forward so that she was ready to back up her teammate whenever she needed it. Joella always made sure she had the best broom about and she never forgot to include flying drills in her training. There were a number of aspects of flying and skills that could be built upon and built upon to improve speed, control and all-round efficiency, to name but a few key elements of flying as a Chaser.

As it turned, right now that was all very important because the sound of a bludger whistling through the wind alerted her that it was headed her way. Joella made a split-second decision and directed her broom towards the ground way beneath her, shooting downwards at a steep angle.

Travelling fast, she switched her flight direction again by sharply heading back up higher in the air with the hopes that the speed of the bludger would cause it to plummet into the ground. With any luck, Ben would have noticed and be ready to redirect it on the rebound. Joella’s next move was to whizz right underneath one of the Aladren Chasers on her way to higher altitude for extra measures, so that if she hadn’t already lost the bludger she would now have tricked it into changing target.

Joella’s bludger-dodging circus act seemed to have done the trick but she was in no position to receive Ingrid’s pass. She didn’t lose location of the Quaffle, however, and hoped that it would land swiftly in Lily’s arms, only for Joella to snatch it up right before entering the scoring area… which would actually work out rather well. But right now that was getting ahead of herself and she pushed forward to get in a prime position to be ready to support her teammates, keeping herself on the lookout for anymore of those pesky bludgers (not that they were so much pesky as challenging and exciting).

8 Cpt Joella Curtis, Chaser Never underestimate a Pecari. 295 Cpt Joella Curtis, Chaser 0 5

Amelia Layne, Reserve

November 26, 2016 7:39 PM

Watching and waiting. by Amelia Layne, Reserve

Amelia did not actually bounce around on the morning of the first Quidditch match jabbering at her teammates and spontaneously hugging the ones she felt most comfortable with, but it was a very close thing indeed and it took all her willpower not to do it. When she was nervous, she lost her head, and today, it seemed, the result was a barely-controllable sense of jubilation.

This was, she knew, ridiculous. She was just the trainee Seeker. Nothing she did or didn’t do was going to change anything one bit. Unless something awful happened, she wasn’t even going to touch a broom after the first two minutes of the game, when she carried one from the center over to the bench for reserves. If they won, that was wonderful, and if they lost, that was bad, but it was not through anything she did or didn’t do that the team would do either. There was no reason for her to be so excited when all she could do was sit and watch. Knowing this, though, didn’t do a thing to make her stomach or her feet any more inclined to sit still, and for the first time she thought she understood why people really loved sports. She felt part of something even though she wasn’t really.

Kit, however, was, and Amelia was torn between being jealous of her roommate and excited and proud for her. Amelia tried extra hard not to jabber at her in the dorm or at breakfast in case she was the sort who got sick when she was nervous and who found it made it worse for someone else to talk, but she beamed at her as the team got together (at last! It had seemed like the morning was going to go on forever) and whispered “good luck!” before Captain Clark started talking to them.

Mostly he gave directions. Amelia wasn’t sure if she was a little disappointed or not. She had thought that captains were supposed to give these really elaborate speeches about honor and sacrifice and death and glory and stuff before big games, and from what she had gathered, this was a big game – a rivalry game, even. Overall, though, Amelia wasn’t sure Aladrens were really ones for good speeches; she had noticed that a lot of her Housemates seemed to be fairly reserved as a rule, unless something they were particularly interested in was in front of them. This, however, was not the time for rambling about whatever the captain was reading this week, so she guessed it made sense that he got to the point. Even if it was a bit anticlimactic.

Professor Pye seemed to follow her observation about Aladrens getting to the point sometimes, because it was only a few minutes later that everyone else was in the air and Amelia was on the bench, gripping it with both hands and swinging her feet beneath her blue robes as she craned her neck to try to see what was going on. Since that hurt, though, she also looked every now and then at the cheerleaders. She didn’t really understand that – why should Teppenpaw girls care about Aladren, or vise-versa? And there weren’t really enough people for each House to have its own cheer team, or at least, in Aladren, not enough girls – but she hoped they were having fun and that the ones willing to wear blue made her teammates feel confident and supported and all.

16 Amelia Layne, Reserve Watching and waiting. 360 Amelia Layne, Reserve 0 5

Luke Powell, Keeper

November 26, 2016 7:43 PM

Yeah, what she said. by Luke Powell, Keeper

Luke weaved through his hoops with ease, handling his broom so casually and confidently. He was a natural sportsman and he liked training hard so Quidditch worked out nicely for him.

The first year kept a good eye on the game as instructed, whilst he ensured that he didn’t get cold waiting around at his end of the pitch. Lena was certainly going to get all the action, but the thing he was most envious about was the bludgers flying about and those loud smacks against the Beaters’ bats.

“Oh yeah! Go Pecari!” he whooped, momentarily hovering still and punching the air with his fist as he watched two of the Chasers dodge enemy bludgers. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to be so vocal, especially since they were so far away and the effect of the wind meant they probably wouldn’t hear, but perhaps he wanted to remind those pretty girls in the stands that he was still here and very much part of the Pecari team even if he was going to have to be patient about having his turn in the spotlight.

Luke rubbed his gloved hands together and then grabbed hold of his broom and returned to his method of maintaining a comfortable body temperature. He spun around and upside-down and switched directions going through his hoops, putting on a little show of his own because the adrenaline of being in his first match needed to be exerted some way or other.

The rookie knew he was supposed to be focusing on the match but the Quaffle was safely in Pecari possession in the Aladren half of the pitch now and he’d have plenty of time to position himself if that suddenly changed. There was no harm in having a little fun to pass the time. The last thing Luke wanted this game to be was boring.

8 Luke Powell, Keeper Yeah, what she said. 374 Luke Powell, Keeper 0 5

Louis Valois, Beater

November 26, 2016 8:09 PM

I beg to differ by Louis Valois, Beater

Annoyingly, Joella had manoeuvred her way out of a nasty bludger accident (well, not that he was actually wishing bodily harm upon the older chaser), but at least Louis’s actions had made sure she couldn’t be the recipient of Ingrid’s pass. That left Lily Spencer, the youngest and most inexperienced Pecari chaser, as the only possible option for Ingrid to pass to, thus increasing the chances of Aladren gaining possession. Kit might be new to the game, but both Jack and Arianna were experienced (Jack much more so, but Louis had confidence in both of his old chaser buddies), and there was a high chance that they would manage to successfully intercept either this pass or Lily’s following one. Hopefully that would mean Aladren would regain possession of the Quaffle before it got near the goal hoops. Louis didn’t doubt Lena’s ability, but it was always much less stressful if the Quaffle didn’t make it within scoring range.

But the interception hadn’t quite happened yet, and at no point could Louis afford to relax. He was not going to give Pecari the upper hand if he could help it! He considered diving after his bludger, but knew that would be both unsuccessful and a waste of time. Despite his confidence and experience on a broom, he wasn’t faster than a ball of metal falling quickly to the ground, especially when it had such a head start whilst he was still at the initial point of its trajectory. Let Ben do the running around for now, which would hopefully tire the younger boy out a little. Louis was ready to defend his chasers and take back possession of the bludger, which would maybe lead to another shot at Joella, or Ingrid. If he could just take one of them out, that would be perfect…

Come on, Aladren! he thought to himself, grinning a little as he mentally urged the Aladren chasers on. It was great to be in the air again, playing a match. He always forgot quite how much he loved Quidditch, and training was no substitute for a real game.

9 Louis Valois, Beater I beg to differ 314 Louis Valois, Beater 0 5

Clark Dill, Seeker

December 22, 2016 7:03 AM

Watch and wait no longer by Clark Dill, Seeker

Clark saw it. The glitter of gold that could only be the telltale flash of an alien creature known here by wizarding folk as a snitch. He dared not hesitate in case Jamie had seen it, too, so he just dropped into the dive and hoped maybe for a few moments lead. That was the best he'd get, probably, given the Pecari strategy kept them so close together. His counter plan had given him minor reprieves, but this sighting hadn't occurred during one of them. It would be a tight close race for the finish.

This time though, Clark's broom - formerly Jake's- was up to the challenge. Had he been on his own, he was pretty sure this game would have gone as the last one had. Today, though, as they came in for the final stretch, Clark and Jamie were neck and neck. They both reached for the tiny flying alien's body.

Clark's own flying alien body was approaching seven feet tall these days. His arms were just plain longer.

His thin narrow fingers closed on the winged ball first.

"Whoo!" he shouted gleefully, pulling out of the dive and waving it aloft. This game was Aladren's once more!

Ooc: Jamie being right beside him approved by his author.

1 Clark Dill, Seeker Watch and wait no longer 277 Clark Dill, Seeker 0 5

"Coach" Pye

Quidditch Match 1: Aladren v. Pecari by "Coach" Pye

<font color='tan'>Captain J Curtis, Chaser</font>

Start as you mean to go on. by <font color='tan'>Captain J Curtis, Chaser</font>

<font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

New tricks by <font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

<font color="Tan">AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

Ain't no rest for the wicked. by <font color="Tan">AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

<font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

Are you calling me wicked? Wicked cool, I hope? by <font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

Wicked cool, my friend. by <font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

<font color=tan>Ben The Hippo, Beater</font>

The Hippo attacks! by <font color=tan>Ben The Hippo, Beater</font>

<font color=blue>Kit Reid, Chaser</font>

Hippos don't fly. by <font color=blue>Kit Reid, Chaser</font>

<font color="Tan">AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

Nah, fam, just the normal kind of wicked by <font color="Tan">AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

<font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

But hawks definitely do! by <font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

<font color=blue>Lena Westley, Keeper</font color>

Watching and Waiting by <font color=blue>Lena Westley, Keeper</font color>

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

No rest for me then by <font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

No worries, I'm happy to keep you busy. by <font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

<font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

You guys have fun. by <font color=blue>Captain Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

<font color='tan'>Luke Powell, Keeper</font>

Doing the same, but doing it better. by <font color='tan'>Luke Powell, Keeper</font>

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

Winners usually do. by <font color="tan">AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

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

Better late than never by <font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Chaser</font>

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

Pecaris know how to party by <font color='tan'>Jamie Park, Seeker</font>

<font color=blue>Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

After the game you can write an instruction manual for us by <font color=blue>Clark Dill, Seeker</font>

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

Glad you think so by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Beater</font>

<font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

If a Pecari, better never by <font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

I prefer to do it my way. by <font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>

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

Never underestimate a Pecari. by <font color='tan'>Cpt Joella Curtis, Chaser</font>

<font color="blue">Amelia Layne, Reserve</font>

Watching and waiting. by <font color="blue">Amelia Layne, Reserve</font>

<font color='tan'>Luke Powell, Keeper</font>

Yeah, what she said. by <font color='tan'>Luke Powell, Keeper</font>

<font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

I beg to differ by <font color='blue'>Louis Valois, Beater</font>

<font color=blue>Clark Dill, Seeker </font>

Watch and wait no longer by <font color=blue>Clark Dill, Seeker </font>