Amy Fox, Quidditch Coach Extraordinaire
October 10, 2007 11:48 AM
Quidditch Match One: Aladren vs. Pecari by Amy Fox, Quidditch Coach Extraordinaire
The first match of the season dawned bright and early on the second Saturday of October. The day's forecast predicted that the temperature would be typical for Arizona at that time of year: mid-80s, sunny, with a light breeze. The perfect weather for a day of Quidditch. As the day was still rather early, however, Amy had placed a heating charm upon herself to ward off the morning chill. Although temperatures in the high-60s might seem rather warm to someone from up North, Amy, a true Floridian, found the temperatures to be a bit nippy.Reaching into her pocket, Amy extracted the rosters of each team, examining the players. The Aladren roster seemed to be quite the same as the years before. Anne and Ben had been obvious as the Captain and Assistant Captain. Zoey finished off their trio. Each had been on the team for quite some time so each was practically a given. Zack and Paul had also been on the team for a few years and Hyana had had her first year on the team the year previous. Chris Dupree was the only addition to the roster, replacing Geoffrey.
Flipping to the next sheet of parchment, Amy glanced over the Pecari roster. The most obvious change was that the blonde Bludger-chaser had been benched. Not that Amy could have hardly blamed the Cravens. While the girl had some obvious spunk, she had been injured by a Bludger in almost every game that she had been a part of. The chances of her getting injured in yet another game were astronomically high. Amy herself would probably have benched her. The replacement had come in the form of a girl named Meredith Lail. Amy knew very little of the girl, so she wondered if she would work well with Saul, the new Assistant Captain, and Lizzie. With Stephen as Keeper and Elly as Seeker, the seven was complete.
The teams seemed rather evenly matched. Amy found herself, for the first time, quite interested in how the game would pan out. Of course, while the students were either snot-nosed brats or hormone-raging teenagers, it was hard to ignore the fact that the fifth and sixth years on the teams had gotten better, some even good at the sport. Amy wondered who would win. It didn't matter that Aladren hadn't made it to the championships. And it certainly didn't matter that Pecari always did.
Walking out onto the pitch, Amy's aqua robes swished around her as she magically led the trunk of Quidditch balls to their preferred location. Dropping them to the ground, Amy replaced the rosters in her pocket and then chanced a moment to look around the pitch. The most noticeable addition from the night before was the medic's tent. Shaking her head, Amy removed her gaze, not wanting to catch sight of the medic. She and Wolfe never agreed, especially when it came to the dangers of Quidditch. It was too early in the morning for her to get into an argument with the likes of him.
Within a few minutes, students and professors began to trickle into the stands. It was almost time for the match to begin. Walking back to the shed, Amy entered her rooms, dropping the rosters off on one of the closest tables and proceeded to grab her bag of equipment. In the mere minutes it had taken Amy to retrieve her gear, the stands had seemed to fill. Marching back to the trunk of Quidditch balls, Amy dropped her bag to the ground and began rummaging around inside. The first item she removed was her broom. The specially-made, one of a kind item was one of her most prized possessions. She then removed her goggles and protective gloves before closing the bag once again.
The teams would soon be entering the pitch. Pulling on her gloves, Amy made one last sweep of the pitch. Everything was in order. She had forgotten nothing.
Soon the Als and the Pecs had made their way onto the pitch and gathered 'round. She waited a moment for silence before covering the rules, "You know the rules, but I'm just going to take a moment to remind you. No dirty plays. Wear your uniforms at all times. Don't leave the pitch or you'll be disqualified. If you get sick or injured, the medic is over there." At this she pointed in an off-handed manner to the rather large tent that was located on the pitch. "Captains, shake hands and then return to your teams."
Moving off to the side, she opened the trunk of balls. "Instead of being on the count of three, as in previous years, I'm just going to sound a whistle," she mentioned at the last moment. The first to be released was the Snitch, which paused in the air above her head for a moment, before flying away. The next to be released were the Bludgers. The large, metal balls zoomed off in the air. After placing her goggles on her face, Amy grabbed the Quaffle.
Retrieving her broom, Amy straddled it, ready to push off the ground and join the players in the air once the ball had been thrown. Raising her wand into the air, Amy looked out at the teams, before sounding off a loud whistle that reverberated throughout the field. The ball was immediately tossed into the air. The game had begun.
OOC: Alright, I need your name, your team and your position in the name heading. Be sure that you read all of the previous posts before posting so you won't miss something important. I expect these posts to be detailed, with special attention being paid to spelling and grammar. That being said, good luck and have fun!\r\n\r\n
Subthreads: Pre-Game Team Meetings (nm) by Amy Fox
Spectators Post Here! (nm) by Amy Fox
Starting off by Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser with Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser, Lucas Smythe, Aladren Keeper, Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser, Paul, Aladren Beater
Beating is quite fun by Paul Tarwater, Aladren Beater with Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater, Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker, Zack Dill, Fox
Up, up and away by Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker with Zack Dill, Alderaanian Seeker
On the bench *hums 'Centerfield'* by Caedence Redoak, Pecari Benchwarmer with Irene Liddowe, Pecari Alternate
[Post match] Beginning the celebrations by Lexi Stafford with Chris Dupree, Lexi
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Amy Fox, Quidditch Coach Extraordinaire
Quidditch Match One: Aladren vs. Pecari
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Amy Fox, Quidditch Coach Extraordinaire
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Amy Fox
October 10, 2007 11:48 AM
Amy Fox
October 10, 2007 11:49 AM
Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
October 10, 2007 1:26 PM
Starting off by Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
Saul was so ready for this. It was his first game as the Assistant Captain. As such, he was literally bouncing on his heels as Coach Fox reiterated the rules, and when the whistle sounded, he was off like a shot as if all the coiled tension and excitement inside of him had worked exactly the same way as a slingshot. He grabbed hold of the Quaffle as he flew past it and headed for the Aladren goal posts.Catching sight of the Keeper as he drew nearer, he was mildly surprised to recognize Hyana. Since he knew her through the EEs and company, he'd half-assumed she was a Pecari, too. He supposed that explained why she hadn't been on his tour last year.
Well, he wasn't going to let it distract him. He had a red ball and mission. He angled toward the right hoop with diligent determination. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of Pecari brown, and he quickly changed direction to get a better idea of the positioning of the other players. Recognizing the Pecari player as a chaser, he faked a shot at the goal he'd been aiming toward, but actually threw the ball toward his teammate since she had a better shot at the goals.
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
Starting off
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
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Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
October 10, 2007 5:23 PM
Taking over by Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
When Meredith saw she made the Pecari team, she was sure her cheer could be heard all the way back home in Tennessee. She did feel bad about Irene and Caedence, because both were awesome players and both were friends of hers, but she knew that in the end, the team just wasn’t big enough. It stunk, but it was true. The morning of the first Quidditch match, Mere couldn’t have been more awake or excited. She must have showered, dressed, and eaten in record time. Her hair was pulled back in her usual ponytail, her Quidditch gear was on, her faithful Nimbus was in hand and she was rearing to go. There was no point in even trying to hide it and it must have been something of a pain for those who either weren’t used to her high spirits or didn’t have the same morning pep that Quidditch games brought to her.Mere gathered with the other players around Coach Fox. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she clutched her broom with anticipation. The coach only said a few sentences and it felt like an hour had gone by, but finally the balls were let loose and the whistle was blown. Mere was quick to mount her broom and kick off into the fair Arizona air with her team and the opposing team. This was it. Her first real Quidditch game at Sonora Academy.
It looked like Saul beat Mere to the punch and grabbed the quaffle first. It reminded her a lot of the warm ups at tryouts and she laughed inwardly. She kept a good passing distance from him while following towards the Aladren goals. He looked to be aiming for a shot, but just in case, Meredith got closer to the hoops where Hyana was keeping. She kept herself open and in a position where she could easily sweep in for a shot at the goals. It was a good thing too because rather then sending the ball towards the hoops, Saul sent it towards her. She wouldn’t let the Aladren chasers take advantage of the ball in the air.
Meredith flew fast and caught up to the quaffle, not leaving the general zone of her shot. She could feel her hands tremble ever so slightly. Eyes were on her now and she had to make the shot count. She flew closer and was quick to aim the ball. Saul had looked like he was aiming right, so hopefully Hyana would stay right. Mere shot for the left hoop with the most strength she could muster while trying to keep her accuracy. She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers and toes as she watched the ball sail through the air.
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Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
Taking over
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Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
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Paul Tarwater, Aladren Beater
October 10, 2007 5:53 PM
Beating is quite fun by Paul Tarwater, Aladren Beater
Paul had woken up very early this morning to shower and get ready for the first Quidditch match of the year. He ate a big breakfast, grinning at how their first match was against Pecari, Aladren had to win against them this time, they just had to. Everyone on the team had some experience (Chris had said he'd played on the team before as well) and Pecari just couldn't beat them this year!Though Paul hadn't practiced a lot due to the overwhelming amount of people on the pitch all the time (who happened to be extremely annoying), and Paul didn't like to deal with him. It was bad, yes, but he believed he had enough to make it here. What more was it than tension release he had to do? And to protect his teammates and harm others. All things that he had a liking for, not that harming others was fun exactly, just it helped relieve the tension. As in, hah, take that, see what I get every bloody day? Well, okay, it was fun as well.
Pulling on his uniform, Paul headed down to the pitch with his splintering broom and bat. Hand-me-downs from his father that Paul was given. Thomas Tarwater had been extremely proud that his son was playing Quidditch as Thomas had when he was younger. And he was also glad Paul wasn't as "desocialized" as he was at home (apparently all people in sports were sociable, and Thomas was worried that his own detatchment over the years reached his son, but since Paul was in sports that wasn't the case, Paul wondered if his father ever realized how extremely wrong he was).
Meeting with his team, Paul looked around. Though he wasn't smiling as many of the people he saw were, Paul couldn't deny he was excited. Quidditch didn't make him as happy as that day he found the quiet place in the Gardens thanks to Danae, but it was still a good thing. There was more than one way to release his tension after all. He looked at Anne though, when he needed to, and watched watched until she was finished shaking the Cravens' hands and it was time to kick off.
With a quickly disappearing grin, Paul kicked off and entered the warm air, fully ready to Beat any Bludger into a Pecari's face. Spotting one right off, he sped towards it, not wanting either of the extremely scary Cravens or even Chris to get to it first, he wanted to hit that Bludger.
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Paul Tarwater, Aladren Beater
Beating is quite fun
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Paul Tarwater, Aladren Beater
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
October 13, 2007 12:26 PM
Up, up and away by Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
Whoop whoop! Quidditch! Whoop! Elly was in one of her shiny happy moods as she joined Meredith and Caedence in getting ready for the first game of the season. She did spare a moment of sympathy for Danae; whether or not the other girl in the dorm was interested in Quidditch, she still had to put up with her roommates getting up early every so often to play. With this is mind, Elly got ready as quietly as possible whilst in the dorm room, saving her squeaks of excitement for the Cascade Hall. Unable to eat anything due to a combination of nerves and excitement that made her stomach feel like a cement mixer, Elly drank a large glass of fruit juice (managing not to spill any of it on anyone else) before heading down to the supply shed. After a horrifically panic-filled search, Elly finally located her preferred broom underneath a pile of other Cleansweeps. She’d never played on any other broom, and breathed a sigh of relief as she left the shed with her broom.Several minutes before the game, Elly arrived down at the pitch, clad in her brown Pecari Quidditch robes, and Seeker’s gloves. In an attempt to keep her hair out of her way, she’d tied back her orange curls in a braid, one rather messier than Caedence’s. It was unusual to see Caedence headed for the reserve bench instead of the sky, but then Meredith had a shot at playing for the team, instead. Elly wished that all of them could play, Irene, too, but there simply weren’t enough places on the team for everyone. Lizzie was an excellent Chaser anyway, and, like the Cravens, Elly wanted what was best for the team.
Once the coach’s pre-game spiel was over with, Elly mounted her broom and kicked off hard from the ground, which was nicely firm for good upward acceleration. The warm breeze rushed past Elly as she climbed higher than any of the other players. Reaching a good altitude for Seeking, she glanced down at the game in time to see Saul and Mere making good headway in scoring the first Pecari goal of the game. Elly couldn’t help but smile before devoting all of her attention to Snitch-Seeking. After all, it was no good if the Chasers scored goal after goal if Elly then failed to gain those crucial hundred and fifty points.
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
Up, up and away
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
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Lucas Smythe, Aladren Keeper
October 13, 2007 12:38 PM
Eeek! by Lucas Smythe, Aladren Keeper
To say that Lucas was nervous about his first game would have been one of the greatest understatements ever made. He was practically terrified. It wasn't as though he'd never played Quidditch before, but those had only been little matches between him and his cousins, nothing like this.He'd signed up to be a reserve on the team in hope he'd get to play Chaser some time since that was the position he was used to - he'd never been a keeper before and wasn't so sure how great his catching skills were, but he certainly didn't want to let his team down since Hyana was unable to play this match.
After listening to the coach's speech, he had flown up to his position where he now waited, trembling half with anticipation, half with nervousness.
He watched the Pecari team gain the quaffle and let out a slight groan - this was it, he'd actually have to try and catch the ball. Surely it couldn't be that hard as keeper - he'd caught it often enough as chaser, would it really be much different?
One of the Pecari chasers looked like he was about to shoot, so Lucas edged over to the right a little in preparation. He watched then as the ball was passed to a girl rather than being shot, and now she was heading for the hoops.
Lucas inwardly had a big panic as she took her shot at the left hoop, the furthest from where he was. It felt like slow motion to him as he began to fly toward the fast moving quaffle, but it was all too late. He watched with a disappointed grimace as the ball went through the hoop. He groaned, he'd let the team down on his first match - great going.
Despite the quaffle having gone through the hoop, Lucas sped onward to catch it before the Pecari team did. He caught it, if a little late for his liking, and threw it toward the nearest Aladren chaser.
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Lucas Smythe, Aladren Keeper
Eeek!
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Lucas Smythe, Aladren Keeper
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
October 13, 2007 9:17 PM
My sentiments almost-exactly. by Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
Through a self-preservatory effort of will, Anne forced her eyes to focus on Coach Fox to the exclusion of everyone and thing else as she lead her team across the Pitch. Once they reached the center, she mentally weighed the situation and, without wasting much time, decided to keep on looking at or through the ex-Beater. Looking at the Pecaris made her feel sort of sick, and while throwing up would beat being hauled off the Pitch in hysterics, she was smart enough to know it would still be impossible to live down. She and the Aladren team had enough problems without anything like that.The speech seemed to go by in a rush. Anne had no idea how much of it she was actually taking in and processing. Bits and pieces stuck out in her mind - wear uniforms, no dirty plays, the standard stuff. By the time she and the Cravens were told to shake hands, Anne felt as though she had been run through a wringer backwards. She didn't smile at them, not least because she felt as if she'd contracted tetanus, but she didn't fall apart, either.
Now that they were about to see some action - she had been thinking of the game in terms of war for about two weeks - Anne tried to draw some assurance from the team itself. It didn't work. Lucas and Chris were still unknown quantities for another few minutes, and the Pecaris were good. She had done everything it was within her power to do, but she had long since stopped believing her best was or could be enough. She smiled at them, hoping to boost the overall morale even if she couldn't boost her own, just before the whistle blew.
Pierce beat the other five Chasers to the Quaffle, getting the game started as he started towards Aladren's end. Anne followed, urging her old-as-Merlin broom to go faster. She wanted to keep the Quaffle as far away from Lucas as could be managed. He was an all right kid, but anyone could lose their head during their first game. Plenty left it until a later game. To her frustration, however, she didn't manage to steal the red ball from Pierce, prevent his pass to the new girl, or steal it from the new girl. The shot went in.
She resisted the temptation to look upward to see what Zack was doing. If he could catch the Snitch quickly, the way he had in their first game together, everything would be okay. He had to be at least as good as Jennifer Zucchero, and the Crotalus captain had beaten Eriksson. Lucas had the Quaffle back, and he was throwing it at her. Anne got the best grip she could on it as it landed in her arms and dropped in the air a few feet to avoid the Pecari Chasers before flying as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
A Bludger whistled by, just missing her elbow. Anne did her best to think of that as a good thing. She had specifically told Paul and Chris to protect Zack if they had to let her, the other Chasers, each other, and Lucas get slaughtered by the iron balls of doom to do it. Losing again was too awful to be contemplated, and being hospitalized would be a small price to pay for a victory. She took the first safe-looking opening she saw to pass the Quaffle off to one of the other blue-clad Chasers.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
My sentiments almost-exactly.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
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Caedence Redoak, Pecari Benchwarmer
October 14, 2007 3:52 PM
On the bench *hums 'Centerfield'* by Caedence Redoak, Pecari Benchwarmer
Caedence wasn’t in much of a rush to get up that morning. She tried to get excited with Elly and Meredith as they got dressed, but she couldn’t muster it. She was a benchwarmer this season.It wasn’t like she didn’t sign up for it. What was it she wrote on the paper? Will be reserve? Yeah, she did say that. Oh well, she couldn’t be too awful upset, as she did ask for it. Still, she missed the butterflies associated with the day of a game. She still felt a ghost of the excitement, but it was hidden.
She made her way to the pitch, feeling slightly more excited the closer she went to the pitch. Her broom was left in the dorms, as she didn’t want to ride a faulty broom, if she should be put into a game. She followed Elly to where the brooms were kept. “You really need your own broom, you know?” She commented to Elly as she picked up a pretty good looking Cleansweep from the pile, careful to avoid taking “Elly’s” broom from her.
Making her way over to the Cravens, she shouldered her broom. She listened to the Craven’s speech. Always similar. After they finished with their speech, she turned to listen to Coach Fox’s speech. She went over the rules, like always, then had the Captains shake hands. Caedence followed Irene over to the bench. Plopping down next to her, Caedence offered Irene a small smile like a ’what you gonna do?’ kind of smile. At the sound of the whistle, Caedence “kicked off” out of habit, but found herself still on the ground, on the bench. She sighed.
Watching the match go by wasn’t as near as fun as when she was in it. She still found herself holding her breath as the ball went towards the hoops. She let out a triumphant holler as the ball made it through the hoops. “YEAH MEREDITH! GOOD JOB GIRL!” She turned to Irene, “It’s not too bad, really, being on the bench, but I wish I was up there, you know?” She said with a shrug.
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Caedence Redoak, Pecari Benchwarmer
On the bench *hums 'Centerfield'*
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Caedence Redoak, Pecari Benchwarmer
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Zack Dill, Alderaanian Seeker
October 16, 2007 10:56 AM
In your beautiful, your beautiful balloon? (wotw) by Zack Dill, Alderaanian Seeker
It was the first game of the season. Zack wasn't entirely sure what he felt about it. After his bludger encounter in his last match, he was rather more apprehensive than he had been for any previous game, but logic told him that he was no more likely to be hit this time than he was for any of his previous games. Unfortunately, that just made him belatedly anxious about all the times he'd taken to the air without having realized what he was risking.On the other hand, it had been years since he last caught a snitch in a formal game, and he was feeling determined that this was the game that would break his losing streak. He was up against a girl two years younger and several years less experienced. Ginger had been in the same grade as Elly and she'd been the Seeker before this red haired girl was even on the team (at least, that's how Zack remembered it, but his memory for Quidditch players who weren't the Seeker was less than stellar).
He arrived at the Pitch early so that he could collect his broom from the supply shed. Enterprise was in a stack of other WarpSpeeds, but Zack had no difficulty recognizing the broom that he'd claimed as his own back when he first started Seeking. It was starting to get old now, but the trusty broom was still in decent shape with no major damage or irritating quirks.
He joined up with Anne after changing into his uniform. (Owning a sports uniform still took him by surprise every time he thought about it, but he didn't really think about it too much anymore unless he caught sight of himself in a mirror - which he did on his way out of the locker room. He had stopped a moment to admire how natty he looked with it freshly cleaned for the new Quidditch season. He thought he might even look taller wearing it. Then he shook his head in self-annoyance and hurried out to meet up with his captain.) Anne seemed a bit off, but he attributed that to determination to win and followed her out onto the pitch proper.
Coach Fox gave the usual instructions to play by the rules, and then began releasing the balls. Zack had eyes only for the snitch, but he lost track of it when some Pecari kid launched into the air and blocked his view of the golden winged ball. With an irritated sigh, Zack mounted Enterprise and rose up into the air. He kept some attention on the location of the two bludgers as he rose, no longer trusting his safety entirely to the team's beaters.
Reaching the standard Seeking altitude, Zack gave a cursory glance toward the Pecari girl, but she seemed to be watching the Quaffle go through his team's goal instead of looking for the Snitch, so he ignored her and the antics of the Chasers as he settled into his job: playing Hide and Seek with an alien species.
"Ready or not, here I come," he mumbled under his breath and mentally tried to broadcast the same thought to the telepathic Snitch.
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Zack Dill, Alderaanian Seeker
In your beautiful, your beautiful balloon? (wotw)
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Zack Dill, Alderaanian Seeker
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Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
October 16, 2007 12:44 PM
That it is by Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
On his arrival to the Quidditch pitch, Chris gave a sigh of relief, thankful that the temperatures weren’t high. It was still warm for him since he was from New York state and he would be undoubtedly be sweating by the end of the game due to the physical intensity, but it was bearable.Waiting with his team, he shifted anxiously from foot to foot. This would be his first game in a couple years. Most people probably didn’t remember that he had been on the team. He wasn’t returning to his former position of Keeper, but rather to Beater. Perhaps, it was a good thing; as Beaters saw more action than the Keeper, and he could really show, prove what he could do. To help, he had used water to force back his hair into a ponytail, which created a tuft of curls at the end. He normally didn’t do this, but if he didn’t, his peripheral vision would be deterred, which was a heavy disadvantage for a Beater.
When Coach Fox began her speech, Chris was glad it was short, just a reiteration of the rules. Then, came Anne’s, which was rather minute. Chris’ purpose was to protect the team’s Seeker at all costs. Logically, speaking, it also meant that the Seeker was just as important on the other team, which also meant that though he would be protecting Zack, he would also be targeting the Pecari Seeker.
Chris mounted his broom and kicked off with his team. He closed his eyes for a minute before the Coach blew her whistle. The feel of being up in the air was as natural as breathing for Chris. He had no idea how he had ever managed to give it up. Opening his eyes, his game face on in the form of steely determination, he was ready. Just in time too as the whistle sounded. Chris gave a soft muttering of expletives, as a Pecari Chaser took control of the Quaffle.
He didn’t have time to think about it though as he had a mission. Spotting a bludger, he leaned forward on his broom, a little old, but still fast, as it had been a new model when purchased, he zoomed towards it. At the same time, he saw Paul doing the same thing, but Chris was closer. His beater’s bat in hand, he hit the quaffle, aiming it upward, hoping it would hit the orange-haired girl that appeared to be the Pecari Seeker.
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Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
That it is
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Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
October 16, 2007 4:36 PM
Chasing by Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
"Whoo!" Saul cheered as the Quaffle went through the far hoop. "All right, Meredith!" He gave the new team chaser a double thumbs up and a wide grin as the Aladren Keeper dove after the ball and tossed it to the Aladren Captain. Anne set off toward Stephen's end of the pitch and Saul turned his broom to chase after her.His chosen broom, sadly, was not the fastest one in the field today, but when he bent over and put everything he could into speeding up, he was able to gain slowly on the older girl. They were about three quarters of the way to the other side when he'd caught up enough to try to mess up or at least slow down her flight so that the other two Pecari chasers could get in better positions for blocking and intercepting.
He nudged his broom up against hers, his front-most broom tip pushing against her trailing bristles. The first swipe did nothing but ruffle a few outliers, but his second attempt made a good connection and pushed sideways at her broom's back end.
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
Chasing
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
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Paul, Aladren Beater
October 16, 2007 9:48 PM
Beating by Paul, Aladren Beater
Paul was able to his the Bludger over by one of the Pecari Chasers, really hoping to keep it away from the Cravens and truly wanting to hit Elly hard in the head. It seemed Chris was beating Paul to it though, unfortuantly, as he made the first whack for the Pecari Seeker. Though he'd be just as happy if it was Chris, or even the Cravens, who knocked her or any of the other Pecaris down (though it was doubtful the Cravens would make the mistake of knocking their own players down).But right now he shouldn't set his sights on Elly, the snitch had yet to make an appearance, and Chris seemed to have the idea for the Seeker. They were easier than the Chasers, since there was only one, after all. And being his first time Beating (Paul had heard he was Keeper before) he should get something slightly easier. And someone had to keep a tab on the Chasers and Keeper. Paul drew in a little closer to Chris. "Chris, keep your eyes on the Seeker, she seems to see anything, get her," he said as quietly as he could so Elly didn't here, then went off to the area where the Pecari Chasers lay.
They were by the Aladren goalposts, which wasn't good. What if they already got a point? No, Paul noticed as he drew nearer that Lucas had gotten it and Anne had the Quaffle. Paul noticed though, that one of the older Chasers was trying to corner Anne, which wasn't something a Beater should tolerate. Locating the nearest Bludger, Paul flew up as fast as he could on the old broom, and used his bat to smash it right at Saul.
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Paul, Aladren Beater
Beating
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Paul, Aladren Beater
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
October 17, 2007 9:19 AM
Being chased (tag: a Craven) by Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
If there was one thing Saul had learned over the last few years of playing Quidditch, it was that bludgers and Pecari chasers had an abusive relationship. The bludgers loved Pecari chasers and Pecari chasers got beaten up by them. So when he heard the distinctive crack of a beater bat smacking a bludger, Saul looked around, spotted the one coming right at him, and decided to do something Pecari chasers very rarely did: run away and save himself.Abandoning his attack on Anne, Saul dove. He half hoped the bludger would keep after her, but as previously observed, bludgers loved Pecari chasers, and this one seemed no exception. It followed him down and Saul jinked to the right but it didn't shake loose.
Spotting one of the Cravens, he flew in that direction, trying to coax as much speed out of his broom as he could so as to stay ahead of the nasty black ball until he could pass by his own team's beater and lose his unwanted pursuer. "Present for you, Captain!" he called out as he flew past the sixth year. "Happy Birthday!"\r\n\r\n
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Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
Being chased (tag: a Craven)
82
Saul Pierce, Pecari Chaser
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5
Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
October 17, 2007 2:50 PM
Being beaten isn't by Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
OOC: I assume you meant he hit the bludger, not the quaffle :PBIC:
The Pecari team was starting off well, with one goal already. Elly hoped it would only continue. Zack, the Aladren Seeker (or the Alien Boy, as Elly had thought of him since her conversation with Nikki), had joined her in the sky, and Elly tried her best to keep a vague eye on him, too, as she looked out for the Snitch.
The trouble was, she only had two eyes, so with one of them on Zack and the other looking for the Snitch, Elly heard the bludger before she saw it shooting upwards through the sky right at her. With little time to react, Elly urged her broom forward. She shot a few feet across the air, which thankfully was sufficient to get her body out of the way of the bludger, but not her broom. The tail end was angrily buffeted, tipping the broom handle down so sharply that Elly almost went sliding off the end. She urged her damaged broom onwards a little longer before righting herself, eager to get out of the way of the bludger’s return course.
Once safe, Elly peered over her shoulder to assess the damage. "Damn it all," she muttered under her breath. Several of the twigs were bent, some broken entirely, but all in all it didn’t look like it was going to hinder her progress to a noticeable degree (though she was already considering using a different broom for future games; broomsticks didn’t last long once they’d been damaged).
Great, so now she was going to have to keep one eye out for the Snitch, one eye on Zack, and one eye looking out for bludgers. Unfortunately, there were only two eyes to utilise, so she just had to be extra vigilant.
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
Being beaten isn't
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
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5
Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
October 17, 2007 3:31 PM
Chasing on. by Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
Mere pumped her arms up as the quaffle went into the Aladren’s left hoop beautifully. She felt a wave of relief and pride run through her. There were cheers from the crowd and her teammates. That feeling it gave you was what the game was all about. She looked down by the reserves when she thought she could make out Caedence’s voice through the loud stadium. She returned Saul’s gesture and then chanced a quick glance to find the Captains. She wasn’t going to let them regret picking her. When the other team got possession of the ball and flew towards the Pecari hoops, Meredith followed.Saul closed in on Anne who had the quaffle. It looked like he was trying to make her spin out. Mere sped up, keeping a little below the two in case the quaffle was dropped, but ready to rise if Pecari got possession again. She rooted for Saul to get the quaffle from Anne. It looked like one of the beaters had other ideas. Mere’s eyes followed the path of the bludger that Paul had whacked. She had been lucky not to have one whiz by her or at her so far, but it was bound to happen. It was going to happen to Saul sooner though and she didn’t know if he could tell. Those bludgers could really move fast and he looked focused on Anne.
Mere cut her shout to him short because Saul had a keener eye than she could tell from her viewpoint. He dropped away from Anne and led the bludger away. Mere didn’t keep her eyes on him for long. That's what the beaters were for, not that she didn't feel a tug to grab a bat and smack the bludger away anyway. Boy did she want to grab a bat, but she had other things to focus on. She sped up to find the Aladren chaser with the quaffle and try to get it back. That was her job now.
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Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
Chasing on.
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Meredith Lail, Pecari Chaser
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5
Paul, Aladren Beater
October 17, 2007 5:38 PM
Well well by Paul, Aladren Beater
Paul grimaced as the Bludger missed Saul and headed
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Paul, Aladren Beater
Well well
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Paul, Aladren Beater
0
5
Paul, Aladren Beater
October 17, 2007 5:49 PM
Dang mouse by Paul, Aladren Beater
OOC: Ignore below pleaseBIC: Paul grimaced as the Bludger was lead off by Saul to, of course, the Cravens. He had hoped after smashing the Chaser off his broom, Paul could fly back and get that Bludger before anyone else could. And, of course, Chris's Bludger had missed Elly (though he had to supress a giggle at her nearly falling off from being tipped). And, hoping, Paul made his way up to where that Bludger was headed, bat being clutched so hard he may get a sliver. Not that something as trivial as that mattered now. Paul just had the urge to hit someone.
And it was quite the well known fact that Pecari Chasers were hard to stay on their brooms. Giving Paul a better chance, at least mock-statictically, to knock someone down and far below. It was quite the stress reliever, and Paul knew why many people who had anger in them went straight for Beater when they tried out. It was the most relaxing, plus protection against a giant metal ball wasn't bad. As they were the only ones allowed to hold bats (the point of a Beater).
Noticing Meredith Lail, a girl he'd spoken to last year, also try for Anne, Paul wanted to get to the Bludger quick. Despite disliking her best friend for reasons that he needn't say, Paul had nothing personal against the girl. This didn't mean that if he got to the Bludger in time, he wouldn't send it her way. Quite the opposite really. She was the best bet too, with Chris on Elly, Saul by the Pecari Beaters, and Lizzie Lavine off somewhere not too close to Anne, Paul had to get Meredith aiming for her.
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Paul, Aladren Beater
Dang mouse
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Paul, Aladren Beater
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5
Lizzie Lavine, Pecari Chaser
October 17, 2007 7:54 PM
Well, here's a pretty mess! by Lizzie Lavine, Pecari Chaser
There was nothing more exhilarating to Lizzie Lavine than the opening quidditch game of the year. Pecari was up against Aladren, a foe which, in her opinion, wasn't going to be that difficult to face. However, the opening match meant the beginning of a season and yet another chance for the Pecari team to win the championship. The past few seasons had been most upsetting for Lizzie and the team, coming so close yet ultimately tripping at the proverbial finish line. Anyway, the morning of the first game sped by in a rush- before Lizzie knew it, she was kicking off at Coach Fox's whistle.The game had started off well for Pecari; Saul had gotten the quaffle right off the block, and moments later, the new chaser, Meredith, had scored. After a moment of celebration, the game was back on, and Lizzie was marking the quaffle from afar. The next moment, Saul was waltzing with a bludger and the quaffle had passed from Anne Wright to some other Aladren chaser, who Meredith proceeded to tail. Lizzie sighed and picked up Anne as a mark, coming in close to the opposing captain.
She kept on the side closest to the Aladren chaser in possession in hopes of blocking any potential passes or opening up a pass from Meredith. Now all Lizzie could really do was watch, wait, and make sure to keep a tight tab on Anne.
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Lizzie Lavine, Pecari Chaser
Well, here's a pretty mess!
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Lizzie Lavine, Pecari Chaser
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5
Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
October 17, 2007 10:41 PM
No kidding. by Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
The first inkling Anne had that things were going awry was the sudden lurch of her broom. Wavering, half-off balance, she grabbed the handle with both hands to resteady herself and turned her head to see what was wrong with the tail of it. Saul again. What she wouldn't give for one of the bats the Beaters carried...She was starting to speed up when he abruptly wasn't on her tail anymore.Swinging around, she caught one glimpse of him outrunning a Bludger. Praying Paul and Chris were keeping a close eye on Zack, she started scanning the Pitch for some sign of where the Quaffle had gone. She'd been a bit busy after the pass, with the result that she'd lost track of what was going on. Saul obviously didn't have the Quaffle, and the younger one didn't appear to, but Elizabeth wasn't within eyeshot.
After a few seconds, Anne spotted the Quaffle in the hands of one of her teammates. She felt, for at least five whole seconds, almost optimistic because at least one thing was, for the moment, going right. The feeling vanished like fog in the sunlight when she found Lizzie between her and what she wanted to do. Dives were not her specialty, but they were the only legal ways out of the situation, as the only other way, period, she could think of was to fly with intent to collide and hand the Pecaris a nice penalty shot to get past her Keeper. As that wasn't a desirable outcome of her actions, she dove under the action.
There was still a long way between her and the ground when she leveled out her broom, only having one moment of panic where she thought it wasn't going to do as she wanted, and began flying fast in an attempt to shake off anyone on her tail. She didn't look back to see if there was. As she got another blue uniform in sight and aimed for it, Anne tried her best to fight down the screaming anxiety attempting to claw its way out of the back chambers of her brain. Ninety matches out of several hundred said things were out of her hands now.
Hurry up, Zack, she silently willed her Seeker. Hurry up and win this thing for us.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
No kidding.
59
Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
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5
Ash Craven (with implied Sorrel), Pecari Beater(s)
October 18, 2007 3:29 AM
Getting in on the action by Ash Craven (with implied Sorrel), Pecari Beater(s)
OOC - apologies people, I've had an absolutely crazy week!IC
There was nothing the feeling of an impending game. The air absolute buzzing with the weight of potential... for clobbering people. Beating, as far as much of the school could probably be concerned (Quidditch fans or not) was a Godsend. It nicely ate up much of the spare aggression of the Craven twins, reducing their desire to bully down to teasing, light jossling and the occasional over-heavy "pat" on the back. They resisted the urge to completely crush Anne Wright's hand when shaking it, although they certainly applied more pressure than necessary. They made sure to grin in an oh-so-friendly way at the Aladren Beaters. The fact they were Aladrens made them laughable enough, but one of them was only a third year! They flexed their muscles, less noticeable under their Quidditch robes, but still prominent enough for the act to be considered a threat display.
On the whistle, the Cravens kicked off, being sure to use all their leg muscles to their full advantage to give them momentum. Once in the air, their weight could come in useful, when thrown into a turn, or used to propel their brooms hard forward (the same way a heavier person's tobogan would arrive at the bottom of the hill first) but it could be a real slow down, and the worst one was ascents. With Sorrel headed for the Seekers, Ash tried to work himself into the main throng of the game. His Chasers were nipping along nicely, and the Bludgers seemed to be sufficiently far away that, even if the Aladren Beaters got to them first, it didn't look like they could use one to prevent a shot at goal.
Ash dropped back. Whichever way the goal went, the chances were the action would be heading back in his direction. He'd let the weaker Aladren Beaters exhaust themselves by trying to stake the first hit on the Bludgers, if that was what they so truly desired. Glancing back, he cheered as Pecari (as his newest Chaser, flattened the nervous looking Aladren like she was a steamroller and) scored the opening goal. Although it could be put down to the Aladren's nerves, Meredith was still certainly showing that she could pull her weight. He followed the Chasers as the sped by, dropping a little in altitude, so as not to get in the way of the Pecaris' interception attemps.
He heard the familiar 'crack' before he could see where the Bludger was heading. He pushed himself higher, but Saul - sensible to the usual magnetism of Pecari Chasers, perhaps - was already diving out of the way. The Bludger did seem particularly fond of the boy's company, as he was able to bring it alongside Ash with a quick 'Happy Birthday'. Grinning, half at Saul, half wolfishly at the Bludger, Ash trained it off his teammate, by - rather than bringing the bat against it in a swing - allowing it to run into the bat, and push the object backwards, absorbing as much of the shock up his arms as he could, meaning that - for a few, precious seconds, the Bludger just lazily rolled off at the angle of the impact. It would gather back its desire to attack soon enough, and bomb off when it sensed its next quarry, but the two seconds it had afforded him were all Ash needed to sweep the game for the best target. He saw Anne, heading back upwards after an apparent dive. If the Aladren with the Quaffle needed to pass, and only had one option, rather than two, it would make it significantly easy for his already monumental Chasing team. Heaving his bat back as far as he could, Ash used all his daily-weight-trained muscles to hammer the metal ball at the Aladren captain. He'd had to account for the fact she was moving and maths and angles weren't his strongest point (although he'd picked up the most useful aspects of Quidditch timing by virtue of playing so long). It was aimed to land just in front of her, and block her off from the rest of the team. Although if it broke her ribs in the process, that was more than welcome. Ash threw himself flat against his broom handle, chasing after the Bludger, in case in needed any extra encouragement towards the Aladrens, or away from his team, once it got into the crowded game zone. He also wanted to plant himself firmly between it and the third year, in case his hit on it had given him ideas of grandeur.
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Ash Craven (with implied Sorrel), Pecari Beater(s)
Getting in on the action
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Ash Craven (with implied Sorrel), Pecari Beater(s)
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5
Irene Liddowe, Pecari Alternate
October 19, 2007 4:20 PM
On the bench with you! *joins in humming* by Irene Liddowe, Pecari Alternate
That morning Irene had woken up early. Not really 'woken up', but she had opened her eyes and hadn't been able to drift off again. All she could picture was the upcoming match. Irene had full confidence in her team and, after talking to Sorrel, she did feel a little better about the whole repeat-reserve thing. But, being completely honest to herself, she was still dying for a spot... Being a reserve wasn't bad. In fact, Irene liked it, but when you have something good, you cen't help but wonder if there is something better...Irene threw her brown hair into a ponytail, grabbed her Blurr 3000, and made her way to the pitch. As much as she wished she would be in the air(without the drawback of one of her teammates being clobbered), Irene was feeling amazingly excited about the prospect of being near a game! Not matter what, it was still Quidditch. Irene listened to the captains' speech. Play hard, kick butt... all that good stuff. Irene headed towards the bench after all the pre-game arrangements were finished. She returned Caedence's smile in the same way it was given, leaning her broom against the bench.
Irene cheered as the game started, feeling more into it now that everything was in action again after so long. It wasn't long until Meredith had control of the Quaffle and scored with it. From beside her Caedence shouted, but Irene was screaming her own congrats to her teammate.
“It’s not too bad, really, being on the bench, but I wish I was up there, you know?”
Irene nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. It's nice to cheer on your team, but sometimes you'd like to be cheered for," she said, watching as Aladren got posession. "But I shouldn't complain. At least we get to practice with the team. Poor Josh and Raye can't even do that," she looked into the stadium and waved at them and then found Brett, grinning waving at him too.
OOC: Hectic hectic week. And I've been sick. I'm so sorry for my absense! I'll probably be on a little more now. Things have chilled a bit.
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Irene Liddowe, Pecari Alternate
On the bench with you! *joins in humming*
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Irene Liddowe, Pecari Alternate
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5
Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
October 21, 2007 7:33 PM
Which seems to have come to a halt. by Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
There was one sound every Chaser knew well and had a deep-rooted dislike for. It seemed logical to think the Seekers and Keepers were also familiar with and prejudiced against it, too, if they had any sense. The aftermath of the sound made by speeding Bludgers could be as detrimental to their persons as to the Chasers', and worse for their teams. The cold fact of the matter was that the Chasers were easily a team's most expendable players, as they seldom did much to help determine the outcome of a game and had the most-held position on the Pitch.Anne was feeling rather more aware of that fact than usual as she picked up on the distinctive whistling sound moving in her direction. She would sooner be hit herself than see her team lose again, but that didn't mean she wanted to be removed from the game. She felt helpless enough as it was. Watching the action from the ground would be torture, pure and simple. Lacking the time to think of a better plan for avoiding serious injury, she threw herself sideways and to the left.
The move, designed primarily to protect her vital bits from a full-on assault by the Bludger, was far from graceful. It also lead to another half-panicked moment of certainty that she was going to fall off her broom, keep falling until she hit the ground, and die. Making it lead to winding up even farther from the action than she had been at first, too. It did what she meant for it to do, though, and kept all seven Aladren players in the air, so she could deal with an extra clause or two in the contract. Anne was careful not to make any straight lines or pauses immediately afterward, just in case she had been marked for destruction or some such.
She also decided, right then and there, to keep as far away from her Seeker as she could, even if it meant going out of the main action zone again. Even if she wasn't being marked for destruction - she never knew how seriously to take what occurred to her under stress anymore - it was a bad idea to put the captain and the Seeker too close to each other when they weren't the same person at the best of times. Maybe it was the Pecari legend and Aladren's disappointing Quidditch record skewing her judgment, but now did not feel much like the best of times.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
Which seems to have come to a halt.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
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Zoey Welsh, Aladren Chaser
October 22, 2007 6:48 PM
Trying to keep up is not easy... by Zoey Welsh, Aladren Chaser
OOC: Sorry if some of this is off, it's hard figuring out what's going on. BIC:Zoey pulled her hair into a ponytail and then quickly braided her curls so that her hair was completely out of the way for the game. She had been on the team for four years now and despite her knowledge and experience, she was still rather nervous when it came to playing. Not to the point where her hands were shaking or she couldn't focus, just to where her heart was beating a bit faster than normal and Zoey felt as though her face were hot from nerves.
Walking to the pitch, Zoey pulled on her chaser gloves and adjusted her gear before pausing with the rest of the team. As usual, Zoey felt as though she stood out. Thankfully, the boys seemed to be hitting their growth spurts as most were either her height, slightly taller, or only a few inches shorter. Not only was she constantly dealing with her height, but Zoey now felt as though her legs were lopsided. Ever since she was in that cast, she felt as though one calf was larger than the other. It was all rather annoying and embarrassing.
Focusing her attention on the coach, Zoey listened while her gaze wondered around the pitch. It was nice out, but she might have to worry about the sun hitting her eyes in the wrong spot. This was perfect weather for Seekers. Absentmindedly, her gaze landed on Zack as she thought about Seekers. She hoped he wasn't too concerned about the game, but it was hard to determine with him. Slowly, her eyes moved to Anne, who was off shaking hands.
Soon the game started and Zoey found herself in the air. It didn't take long for the drama to begin. It never did when it came to the Pecaris. The blonde scored relatively easily against... Lucas. Zoey frowned, but continued on with the game. Lucas was still new, and this being his first game would give him a taste with just how quickly everything went.
Somehow, during the time after the goal happened and Anne getting the quaffle, Zoey ended up with the quaffle in her hands. Tucking it close to her body, Zoey quickly flew off and away from the Aladren area and off into Pecari land. Looking back, Zoey saw Anne flying off due to a bludger. While looking back, she noticed the blonde tailing her. Zoey's frown deepened. The girl reminded Zoey of Hyana. Or rather, all the bad traits Hyana tended to show off while playing. Turning back around, Zoey continued through the line of players towards the Pecari goals. She would have been more than happy to pass the quaffle, but Anne was busy and without any knowledge of where Ben was currently, Zoey had no choice but to keep going.
She only hoped that the Pecari Beaters stayed preoccupied with Anne. Closing in on Stephen, Zoey lowered herself down close to her broom, muck like she had done in practice. When she knew she was close enough, she angled her broom perfect to the goals and gave herself a twist and she shot the quaffle at the goals. Zoey knew Stephen had just as much experience in Quidditch as she had, but she hoped that her shots had enough twists in them to rough him up enough to allow the goal.
6
Zoey Welsh, Aladren Chaser
Trying to keep up is not easy...
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Zoey Welsh, Aladren Chaser
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5
Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
October 23, 2007 12:59 PM
But then I suppose that's the point by Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
The damage to Elly’s broom was only affecting her flight a very little, in that she had to put a touch of extra effort into turning corners than she was used to. Definitely time to get a new broom – or just a broom, in fact, because Elly had never owned one herself. Still searching for the Snitch, Elly began to wonder how much brooms cost, and how she would go about getting one. Perhaps she could talk to Irene? Her relatives own a Quidditch supplies store, didn’t they? Maybe Elly could purchase her broomstick from them.Glancing back down towards the game to ascertain the locations of the bludgers (getting almost hit was definitely enough to make her want to avoid being actually hit), Elly noted that Aladren were now in possession of the quaffle and, by the looks of it, heading towards the goals. Elly didn’t concern herself with worrying about that – Pecari had an excellent Keeper. What she did concern herself with, however, was the tiniest glint of gold below game height. Could it really be the Snitch already? Elly had never spied the tiny ball so early into a game before.
Deciding it was far better from a winning perspective to be safe than sorry, Elly angled the tip of her broom handle downwards, preparing for a dive. Zack was closer than she was, and he certainly had more experience at Seeking than she did. Elly’s only chance would be if he didn’t notice for just long enough to allow her to get there first.
Taking a deep breath, Elly mentally crossed her fingers (because actually crossing them would complicate holding her broom somewhat) and took the plunge, diving back towards the ground.
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
But then I suppose that's the point
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
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5
Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
October 23, 2007 1:38 PM
Indeed, it is. by Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
A snarl escaped from the normally nice to the point of boy scout Chris. The game was in play and testosterone was getting in on the act. He had failed to do the intended damage to the Pecari Seeker and now the bludger was gone for the moment. Wiping the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead with his shirt, he took a moment to survey how the Chasers, Keeper, and other Beater were doing.The Captain had the quaffle and was heading towards the goals, a good sign indeed. Not so good was the fact that the Pecari Chasers were tailing her, one especially getting a little too cocky, as he pushed against Anne. 'Come on, come on,' he urged in his mind. He knew Anne would rather she be taken out than the Seeker. He gave a small mental cheer when Paul hit a bludger towards the kid. He would have done it himself, but he wasn't in position to not to mention the fact that the sooner he took out the girl, the more chance Zack had of getting the snitch.
He turned his attention back to the Seekers. Zack. Check. Elly. Elly? He saw her flying towards the ground. She had spotted something, which just might mean the win for Pecari. 'I don't think so,' he thought with a grin, as he spotted a rogue bludger. Gripping the bat tightly, he took aim, this time slightly down and to the side, which would hopefully at the very least if not take her out would deter her from the target. The bludger made a satisfying cracking sound against his bat, as they made contact.
Once the ball was on its path, Chris followed behind. If she managed to avoid the bludger by some miracle, he had every intention on finding it and sending it back. His only thought was that the only one who would be getting the snitch today was going to be Aladren if he had any say.
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Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
Indeed, it is.
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Chris Dupree, Aladren Beater
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
October 24, 2007 2:33 PM
Doesn't mean I have to like it by Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
Elly couldn’t quite believe it – as far as she could tell, Zack wasn’t gaining on her, but she couldn’t really spare time to look round to make sure. The Snitch was still in sight, about halfway between where Aladren were trying for a goal (or had the outcome of that been decided already? Elly couldn’t be sure) and the grass below, darting around like a flame. Checking her grip, Elly continued her dive, increasing her speed just a little, aiming right for that beautiful ball. It would be so fabulous if she managed to secure a win for her team, though it would be a shame for Mere’s first game to be so short.The Snitch was there – it was right there! Elly bit her lip as she flew towards it, intent on her goal. Her undivided attention proved to be more of a hindrance than help, though, as Elly heard the telltale whoosh of a bludger far too late. She turned her head to the noise, daring to take her eyes of the Snitch for a split second, only to discover it heading right at her at a fantastic speed. There wasn’t much time to make a decision; if she kept on course for the Snitch she’d collide with the bludger before getting there, and her quest would likely have to be abandoned in favour of the medic’s tent.
With only a moment’s hesitation, Elly hauled her broom handle up, choosing remaining in tact over being bludgered, and urged her broom onwards out of the bludger’s path. Naturally, she had forgotten that the damage already inflicted on her broom would hinder its progress. As Elly had already discovered when turning corners, the Cleansweep now had minor issues with sudden changes in direction. A consequence of this was that Elly had not been entirely successful in removing herself from the bludger’s path, as a sickening crack shortly made her painfully aware. The metal ball had crunched into her knee, knocking Elly painfully off course and making her shout an expletive that in usual circumstances would have earned her a detention for sure.
With a sick feeling rising from her stomach into her throat, Elly clutched tightly to her broomstick with her gloved hands. She was no longer able to keep herself balanced with her knees, as she was accustomed to doing, seeing as one leg was now refusing directions from her brain, and so was more or less useless. She couldn’t see the Snitch any more – had Zack caught it already? Or had it merely darted elsewhere, still to be sought? Knowing that there was no way she could play with such little balance, not to mention the shooting pains up her leg that were gradually becoming more persistent, Elly began a rather wobbly descent. Luckily she was already fairly close to the ground, and the Medic’s tent wasn’t all that far away.
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
Doesn't mean I have to like it
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Elly Eriksson, Pecari Seeker
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5
Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
October 24, 2007 5:33 PM
Well, at least it's almost over now. by Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
Anne was just congratulating herself on being quick enough to evade the Bludger when she picked up on the sound of an iron ball cutting through the air again. She had no way of knowing if it was the first one or the other one, the twin she had assumed was off trying to kill the Seekers, but it didn't really matter either way. What mattered was keeping all of her bones in top condition. The quick, awkward sort of half-spin she executed to escape damage almost failed - she could have sworn she felt it stir her robes as it went past - but, in the end, it didn't.Bludgers attacked whoever was nearest - it was something to do with the design of the charms on them, she thought. They were, when not being hit by a Beater both strong enough and close enough to make their velocity too great, as impartial as it got. Being alone was, therefore, a pretty good way to get hit, as there were no other potential targets for it to assault. Instead of trying to cover Zoey, who was currently leading the pack of Chasers back towards Baxter, she made a line for the nearest Pecari Chaser and tried to get as much in that set of brown robes' way as Lizzie had been in hers a few minutes earlier.
Undesirable as it had been, the Bludger-ducking had, after a fashion, done Anne some good. There hadn't been time for desperate preoccupation with the game while she was trying to keep on her own broom. It had given her a specific aim-of-the-moment, which was to manage to save herself without giving Pecari an advantage of any kind. Now, she had a new aim: give any additional Bludgers some brown-robed options if they came her way, and to block any attempt by a Pecari Chaser to steal the Quaffle from Zoey before she attempted to score.
As the action closed in on the Pecari goals, however, she dropped below again, in case either Zoey or Stephen had a moment of bad luck, inattention, or both and accidentally dropped the Quaffle. It also kept her away from where she thought the Seekers were, which was above the goal posts, and in a decent position to try to take the Quaffle if it made it through the hoops. Anne realized she was grinning as Zoey went in for a complicated shot, though she had no idea why. She was almost sure she wasn't finding anything amusing.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
Well, at least it's almost over now.
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Anne Wright, Aladren Chaser
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Paul, Aladren Beater
October 24, 2007 6:36 PM
Almost, not quite all by Paul, Aladren Beater
Paul turned at the crack and dull sound of something falling. Did Chris hit someone? Or the female Craven? The quaffle was with Zoey, who was already on her way off to Stephen's side, meaning the falling had to be a body. Turning rapidly Paul noticed, with a hint of glee, that Elly had fallen. Chris had hit her! Oh Paul could have jumped up. There was a tad of upset in his stomach that he wasn't able to hit Elly, let alone anybody, yet, but mainly he was giddy.Elly was Seeker. If she fell, Zack was the only Seeker left on the Pitch. And that meant they would win! Also, Paul liked entertaining the thought that a Bludger hitting you was just as painful as an angry Sierra Tarwater. And he felt they were even on that bit, though Elly hadn't known what happened to him... still. It was amusing. Pecaris had stayed true to their Quidditch ritual, one fell off nearly every time they played.
Paul turned to his new task, the Bludger that just missed Anne. He would have to hit it at one of the Pecari Chasers, and hopefully hit one of them as well. And Zoey could score them a point, against Stephen while Paul took out another player. They'd be two down, and Aladren would have a better chance at winning. Dropping low Paul sped towards the Bludger, and allowed his bat to make contact with the Bludger and he directed it to the nearest bat-free Pecari.
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Paul, Aladren Beater
Almost, not quite all
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Paul, Aladren Beater
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Fox
October 24, 2007 11:27 PM
<font color="pink">NO MORE POSTING</font> (nm) by Fox
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Fox
<font color="pink">NO MORE POSTING</font> (nm)
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Fox
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Zack Dill
October 27, 2007 6:59 PM
But I can take advantage by Zack Dill
As was normal for Zack, he ignored everything going on with the Quaffle in favor of seeking the snitch (and now avoiding bludgers). Fortunately, no bludgers had come after him so far this game - the Beaters were on top of their game because he'd seen Elly nearly get hit once when he'd heard the crack of a bat a little too close to ignore.He'd looked away and started looking for the snitch again, calling out quietly under his breath, "I know you're out here." Then at the same time he heard another crack of a Beater's bat meeting a bludger, he spotted it. He looked first for Elly, and found she already had her eyes on the Snitch and was going for it.
Ignoring the bludger and trusting that to Chris, who he knew was nearby, Zack kicked into gear and dove after the golden ball. By virtue of his relative position to its location, Zack's delay in noticing it wasn't going to hinder him too much. Elly had very impressive eyes.
As the distance closed, he heard a girl's scream from about where he expected Elly to be, but he didn't turn around to see. It was pretty obvious at this point that Chris must have tagged her. Besides, the little golden alien was nearly in reach and everything else was secondary.
He gave an extra burst of speed to the Enterprise, chasing after the snitch as it made a sharp turn to the right. Five feet and closing. Just needed to go a little faster . . . four feet, three, two. . . . Zack reached out his gloved hand and closed that last foot. His fingers closed around it, and he whooped with triumph. "Got him!" he shouted, waving the alien victoriously over his head so that all could see his capture.
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Zack Dill
But I can take advantage
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Zack Dill
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Fox
October 27, 2007 7:01 PM
<font color="red">Aladren Wins!!!</font> (nm) by Fox
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Fox
<font color="red">Aladren Wins!!!</font> (nm)
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Fox
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Lexi Stafford
October 29, 2007 12:00 AM
[Post match] Beginning the celebrations by Lexi Stafford
Lexi had always known that she didn’t really have a choice about coming to the Aladren/Pecari match, even if for some strange and outlandish reason she had decided she didn’t want to see it. After all, Ben had been promoted to assistant captain, and it would have been the height of rudeness not to come and cheer on her beloved twin brother in his moment of glory. And, of course, she had Chris, who, while on paper was less important than the former, was definitely going to be more fun to watch.Even without her slight bias aside, Lexi was proven correct. Chasing-wise, the game wasn’t the most interesting she’d seen in her years at Sonora. One shot, one score. Yes, the chasers generally didn’t manage all that much in any of the games she’d seen (something she would die before she told Dalila, as her friend and roommate might very well kill her for voicing that sort of opinion, and Lexi was enjoying living at the moment). Still, this was a bit low, even for them.
The beating, on the other hand, was rather intense. Hard for it to be otherwise, with the Cravens playing, but to her surprise, it seemed to be the Aladrens that were the more bloodthirsty pair. After all, none of the Aladrens had, as far as she could see, ended up injured, while the other team’s seeker had not only gotten hit, but actually went out of the game, which was pretty damn remarkable. And Chris had done it as well, in his very first game, that she knew of, as a beater.
Now, perhaps there was something a bit strange about being proud of one’s boyfriend’s ability to maim 13 or 14 year old girls, but it was just one of those beater things. Lexi honestly couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to date someone who didn’t play the position as well after a particular violent match. It was hard to understand if you hadn’t gone through it what the adrenaline rush was like when you hit someone, barbaric though it may seem.
Unfortunately, with Elly Erikson out of action, the end of the match left much to be desired, excitement-wise. After all, Pecari didn’t have a back-up seeker so far as she knew, and so really there was only one feasible outcome. However, the decisiveness of the matter meant that she could begin to make her way down the stands a few minutes before the game was actually completely, and consequentially didn’t have to fight the crowds in order to get down to the pitch to congratulate the winning team. Or, really, in her case just one team member in particular.
She did give him a second or two after getting off his broom in order to catch his balance before essentially jumping on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly. There was enough commotion now on the field, what with everyone either crowding around one of the two teams or heading back to the school, that the two of them should have gone unnoticed. After a few seconds, though, Lexi pulled back and grinned at Chris. “Congratulations! You played amazingly!”
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Lexi Stafford
[Post match] Beginning the celebrations
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Lexi Stafford
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Chris Dupree
October 29, 2007 11:41 PM
Joining the celebrations by Chris Dupree
The bludger had connected with the Pecari Seeker. Zack had gotten the snitch. They had won. Chris headed down onto the field with the rest of the team. Getting off his broom, he stumbled slightly in a daze. They had won. A wide grin was spread across his face. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins when Lexi attacked him with a more than welcomed kiss. He pressed her close in a hug regardless of the fact that he was sweaty. This was the perfect reward for the win.He gave a small grunt of protest when she moved away, but the grin remained. “Thanks. I can’t believe we did. I have to give you a lot of credit for playing beater. It’s way harder than playing keeper. At least, I think so.” The great thing with being keeper is that one hung around the goals and only had to worry when the quaffle was nearby. From practice and his first game, he thoroughly knew that the beaters had to be tough. They had to watch themselves, take care of their teammates, and try to take out the other team. It was strenuous.
Being so close to Lexi drove his senses wild. In an instant, his hands were on either side of her face, his lips meeting hers. After a few moments, he pulled away slightly, resting his forehead on hers before another quick kiss. “I need to hit the showers, but after are you up for a little celebrating?” While he loved the win, it was more of an excuse to spend time with her. Though, he knew he really didn’t need one, but it was still a happy occasion.
The one down side was the slight feeling of guilt for hitting the poor girl. He would have to apologize to her later. It hadn’t been anything personal, just sound strategy. Even so, he hoped that she wasn’t badly injured, which he gave voice too, “Did it seem like the Pecari seeker was in much pain?”
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Chris Dupree
Joining the celebrations
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Chris Dupree
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Lexi
November 02, 2007 11:04 PM
Continuing the celebrations by Lexi
Lexi chuckled a little at her boyfriend’s admission, though she was sure he had meant it seriously enough. “It’s sad, but true,” she replied, with a mock-mournful face. “No one ever gives us anywhere near enough credit. We try and we try and we try, yet we get nothing but slanderous accounts of our evil deeds against the other team, and guilt when we don’t do our job well enough. Still, a hearty welcome to the ranks of the violent and unappreciated.”If she hadn’t been somewhat distracted, Lexi probably would have given Chris an indulgent, yet slightly amused look when he kissed her again. As it was, she had to wait until she had been properly released before she could roll her eyes at him. “I swear, Chris, you’re completely insatiable, aren’t you?” she asked, only half-joking, with a slight glance around. While she had started this, there was a limit on PDA, and older brother, and, quite possibly, ex-girlfriend in the vicinity put a damper on things. Besides, she had been clean, and she wanted to stay that way as long as possible.
Sidestepping out of his arms, she shooed him away toward the locker rooms. “Yes, go, shower, please. And I’m up for whatever you are, though won’t you have a house party or something you’ll need to go to?” His last question gave her pause. She could remember having the same guilty feelings that it sounded like he was going through after her first match, and going and apologizing to Caedence later. Or, rather, trying to apologize, since the other girl hadn’t been all that gracious about it. Understandable, she supposed, just not entirely helpful to assuaging guilty feelings.
“There’s no reason she shouldn’t be perfectly all right,” Lexi said carefully. “I really couldn’t tell how bad a hit it was, though it looked serious.” Much as she might like to, she couldn’t sugar-coat it for Chris when he asked her about what it looked like had happened. “I mean, bludgers are pretty nasty, so there’d have to be some pain, but it’s one of those things you expect if you play quidditch, particularly if you’re seeker. Now, go on. I’ll wait for you over by the stands.”
Having thus sent off her boyfriend, she headed over toward the designated meeting area, before sitting down and leaning back against the paneling and watching everyone else. She really should have gone and congratulated Ben, she supposed, but Bella should be doing that, and Lexi could add hers later. One of those priority things.
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Lexi
Continuing the celebrations
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Lexi
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