Tryouts Part Two on Quidditch Pitch

Captain Elly Eriksson

November 18, 2009 3:20 AM

PECARI Quidditch Tryouts Part One by Captain Elly Eriksson

Having donned some brown joggers and a yellow tee (it had a big black star in the middle, but, aside from her Quidditch robes, these were the only House-colour clothes she owned. Plus Elly thought the star only helped to cement her belief that Pecari could the Cup), Elly took her own broom down to the pitch and flew a quick lap, which was equal parts warm up and calm down. She wasn’t especially nervous about trying to run the team, but it wasn’t as though she’d had much experience – this was her first year being captain. She might be awful.

Before the hopefuls made it onto the pitch, Elly had tied her ginger curls back into a thick ponytail, re-read the sign-up sheet, and laid out some of the best school brooms for those who didn’t yet have their own. Although some had made it through the school never having their own broom, Elly would encourage anyone on the Pecari team to buy one; the school broomsticks were so unreliable, not to mention out-dated. For try-outs they would be perfectly adequate, but Elly didn’t like to rely on them in a game situation. She’d always been fiercely competitive, and Quidditch was certainly not an exception. Elly was determined to make a decent team for Pecari if it killed her.... or anyone else, for that matter.

Soon people started arriving on the pitch. Honestly, they were much younger than Elly would have liked. Not that she had anything against having first years on the team, but she could remember herself in first year: she could barely stay on a broom, let alone handle a Quaffle at the same time. Nevertheless, everyone was welcome to try out. It could happen that one of these tiny people turned out to be a Quidditch genius. Who knew? So Elly tried to stay positive, and when she was sure they had everyone gathered, she began with the introductions. “Thanks for coming,” she said with a smile. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Elly Eriksson, and Quidditch Captain for Pecari.” Those who didn’t know her surely would by the end of the year, and not just because she was Quidditch captain, and not just because she was often the loudest person in the common room, and not just because she also happened to be Head Girl – but a combination of the above ensured she would likely be remembered. Which was pretty cool. “I’m Seeker, so for this year at least, that position is not open.” It wasn’t just that Elly could call the shots that she’d dealt herself Seeker, but because she’d played the position for five solid years now, and had caught the Snitch in all but two of her games. Besides, she wanted to have the pressure of being the most likely cause of winning the game. “The rest of the positions are up for grabs. So we’re looking for a Keeper, two Beaters, and three Chasers. Now it’s your turn to introduce yourselves – just say your name and what you’d like to play.”

Checking them off on the sign-up sheet, Elly wasted no time after the introductions in getting down to business. “Right, I want everyone to grab a broom. We’re going to fly in a single-file line round the pitch and pass a Quaffle backwards down the line. If you drop it, go pick it up and continue.” Elly collected her own broom and the Quaffle she’d borrowed from Coach Pierce. She straddled her broomstick and pushed off from the ground. “Get in a line and follow me,” she called. Elly set off with a casual, steady pace, flying around the perimeter of the pitch about ten feet above the ground. “Everyone pay attention!” She called, and with a glance over her right shoulder, she back-passed the red ball to the next person in the line. “Carry on round the pitch,” she told them, as she herself pulled from the front of the line to watch the others’ progress. She needed to know they could keep hold of a ball and stay in the air before she asked them to do anything more difficult.

OOC: You will be judged on quality of posts and frequency of posting, not necessarily on how well your character performs. Part Two will be up soon.

Subthreads:

Trying for Keeper or Chaser by Jose Hernandez with Starbuck Gregory, Irene Liddowe, Demelza Eagle, Delilah Kerrigan

Reporting! by Irene Liddowe

Tryouts Part Two by Elly with Demelza Eagle , Starbuck Gregory, Jose, Caedence

Tryouts Part Three by Elly Eriksson with Demelza Eagle, Caedence

0 Captain Elly Eriksson PECARI Quidditch Tryouts Part One 0 Captain Elly Eriksson 1 5

Jose Hernandez

November 18, 2009 9:35 AM

Trying for Keeper or Chaser by Jose Hernandez

"Jose Hernandez," Jose announced his name when it came his turn during roll call and introductions. "I'm trying out for Keeper or Chaser." He'd said whatever on the sign-up sheet, but Seeker was closed to him, and Beater was quite beyond his comfort level. At that point, it was just as easy to say the two positions left as give a qualified 'anything'.

He was dressed in a yellow shirt with the words Use Solar Energy! enclosed inside the outline of a sun. It was the closest article of clothing in his trunk to Pecari's brown and gold. Unfortunately, combined with the black sweats that he wore because Saul had said they were the ones he'd worn during his first try-out, the shirt sort of made him look a bit like a bumblebee.

Bumblebees were kinda cool, so looking like one wasn't necessarily a bad thing, until one considered that bumblebees were hardly known for their grace in flying. Jose was a little afraid the color scheme would make his own already poor flying skills look even worse. Still, the outfit was comfortable and easy to move in, so he left it as it was. He was, after all, a California Pierce. No outfit could embarrass him anymore. This one was downright normal compared to some of the garish things his parents had put him in.

After Elly finished speaking, Jose went to the pile of school brooms and picked the one he recognized as his own from last year's practices. He could have taken the one Saul had always used, but he didn't think it would have been an improvement. He didn't expect he'd ever have his own. Saul hadn't managed it, and he'd been a Captain of the team for two years. He hefted the broom that he'd gotten familiar enough with that he considered it essentially his and moved back toward Elly and the other triers-out.

He kicked off the ground and found himself right behind Elly on the line as they started to fly around the pitch. He wasn't quite sure how that happened, and if he had noticed it sooner, he would have done something to prevent it. He wasn't nearly confident enough of his abilities to want to be that close to the new Captain, where she could see all of his mistakes.

It was too late now, though. He gripped the broom tightly as they rose in altitude. He was trying very hard not to let himself be afraid of heights but no matter what his head told the rest of him, his heart rate still sped up and sweat still broke out on his brow and his knuckles still turned white.

They leveled out at only ten feet over the ground, and he calmed down immediately. Ten feet wasn't bad. He could live from a fall from ten feet. He had lived from a fall from ten feet. It hadn't been fun, but he'd been back to normal in less than a week, and it only took that long because he'd managed to bang his knee in the landing and got himself a pretty good sized bruise. So ten feet was fine.

When she passed the Quaffle back to him, he caught it almost easily. It helped that she'd passed it right to him. If he'd had to lean over or change course to intercept or do anything besides let go of the broom and raise his hands up a few inches, he was pretty sure it wouldn't have gone nearly as well.

As he turned around to pass to the next player on the line, he felt a passing twinge of fear as he fought to keep balance on the narrow broom using just his legs and adjusting his own center of balance, but he tossed it off without incident. It was still a relief to get his hands back on the broom handle after the slight bobble, even if they were only ten feet up. And now he was leading the line around the Pitch. He was all right with that. He had two hands on his broom, he was only ten feet up, and they weren't really going all that fast. He could handle this.

1 Jose Hernandez Trying for Keeper or Chaser 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Starbuck Gregory

November 18, 2009 12:52 PM

Nervous hopeful by Starbuck Gregory

Starbuck stood next to the other hopeful Quidditch players biting her lip nervously. She had only been flying for a week or so and wasn’t very good. She ran a hand through her red hair that she had in a pony tail and rubbed the back of her neck, ‘maybe this was a bad idea’ she thought. She didn’t have time to rethink it as the Captain had begun talking. Everyone began introducing themselves so when it came to her she smiled nervously but spoke clearly. “Starbuck Gregory, I’d prefer chaser but keeper if needed.”

As Elly finishing speaking she followed one of the others to grab a broom, maybe if she made the team mom and dad would get her a broom for Christmas? She bit her lip though they wouldn’t understand why she needed it she didn’t care. Before getting on the broom Starbuck straighten her blue jeans and black t-shirt that had a random muggle rock band on it. It hung too big on her but she wore it in honor of her brother she frowned thinking about him and shook her head. ‘Don’t think about him right not Stary.”She thought to herself.

Finally she swung her leg around the broom and kicked off following the boy ahead of her. It was only ten feet off the ground and it seemed really cool they hadn’t gotten to fly much in the flying lesson. She had just gotten steady when the boy, Jose she remembered passed the Quaffle back to her. She left one hand on the broom and another reached out to grab the ball. She wanted to close her eyes but didn’t. ‘Keep your eye on the ball Stary’ She heard Mark’s voice in her head.

The Quaffle came closer and she took her other hand off the broom and caught the Quaffle. She put it under her arm and let out a sigh of relief when one hand returned to steady her on the broom. She bit her lip and turned around and passed the ball to the next person in line. Glad that she was getting used to riding a broom and even passing the quaffle.

0 Starbuck Gregory Nervous hopeful 0 Starbuck Gregory 0 5

Irene Liddowe

November 18, 2009 4:02 PM

Reporting! by Irene Liddowe

Irene could hardly believe her eyes when the letter for Assistant Captain had fallen into her hands. She had always held her position on the Quidditch team close to her heart, but to see that those high up did too? Amazing. Irene was more than ready to show up to Quidditch Try-Outs, feeling her energy running free through her veins, a feeling she had grown quite fond of over the past several months. The adrenaline made her feel so alive, like she was flying through life in a way that she enjoyed. Quidditch completely embodied that feeling, not to mention she had a great team with great people.

Irene was ready the morning of try-outs, her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She doned her closest house color clothes, including some brown shorts and a yellow t-shirt she had borrowed from Renaye. Her pale skin, not having spent much time in the sun for some time, soaked in the warm rays that hit her as she stepped outside. Air around Sonora always seemed so invigorating. Maybe it was the spells.

Irene joined Elly on the pitch, placing a hand on her shoulder and saying, quietly for only her to hear, "You'll be great! Show 'em how we run things on the best team in the school." She joined the group, itching to be back on her broom. Elly introduced herself, looking like she meshed quite easily with the Captain role. The players began to introduce themselves and the line-up was to Irene.

"Hi everyone. My name is Irene," she left out her last name, a memory of Brett coming back to her briefly, "And I'm going for Chaser this year." She smiled and nodded to the next person in line, secretly hoping they'd be quick about it. Irene wanted to get on her broom. She could figure out names later!

When the names were finally done, they all lined up behind Elly. Blah, blah, instructions... They had done this before in practice. When the word was given, Irene was in the air as fast as she could, rewarding her with a leap of her stomach. The flying began as did the Quaffle's movement. Elly, of course, had no problem. Irene noticed some others looked nervous, but that was probably a good thing. Nerves weren't always bad unless they held you back. The Quaffle landed in Irene's hands. She held it up, eying the next person in line before sending the red ball on its way. Irene turned her attention back to the line. If only they could go faster...

0 Irene Liddowe Reporting! 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Irene Liddowe

November 18, 2009 4:03 PM

Reporting <i>here!</i> by Irene Liddowe

0 Irene Liddowe Reporting <i>here!</i> 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 18, 2009 6:03 PM

Quidditch time! YAY! by Demelza Eagle

If a heart can even beat this fast, Demelza's is was beating a mile a minuet. She was feeling a mixture of nerves, excitement, and anticipation. Excitement would be the best word for it, though. That was just the way quidditch made her feel. As it should for anyone.

As the captain, Elly, introduced herself, Demelza flattened her yellow tank top that lay above her red-ish shorts. It was a close as she could get to the house colors! She had to show house spirit, and show how dedicated she would be! "Well," she thought, "at least my hair can represent the brown." She absentmindedly ran a hand through her maine of brown hair and listened to Elly. She really needed to focus. Goodness, she had a hard time with that. Jamie had always said so. But now was not the time to think about what Jamie had said.

So all she had to do was say her name! Well, that was easy enough...

"Demelza Eagle," She smiled, hoping that no one present was a thick pureblood from Delaware. Her name was trash over there... "I'm going for beater or a chaser," she said, guessing that the spots were already taken. She was being rather negative at the moment...

She waited for the roll call to finish up, instructions stated, and THEN she could mound her broom. She loved the feeling of air rushing into her face as she soared upwards on her brother's old broom, gripping the handle loosely. She loved to do wild things, like take both hands off the broom and soar on her broom like that. Although, that was the result to a lot of accidents, some of them rather bloody, and in this case, it would be very unadvisable to do that.

She didn't keep her eye off the quaffle as it moved upward in the line. By the time it got to the girl in front of her, everyone else had caught it, so it would be really embarrassing if she didn't catch it. Demelza stretched out her hands, her eyes still studying the ball, and caught the ball that was sent back to her lightly in her finger tips. Yes! Feeling very confident now, she quickly turned around, nearly fumbling the ball because she turned to fast, and passed it pretty hard to the person on a broom stick behind her.

She turned back to the line of players in front of her, wanting to just zoom out in the air, whooping, that she can do this. Of course that would cause a lot of distraction, and she was sure Captain Elly wouldn't like that. So, instead, she just kept it all to herself. She knew Jamie would be so proud of her right now!

0 Demelza Eagle Quidditch time! YAY! 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Delilah Kerrigan

November 20, 2009 12:21 AM

Doing my best by Delilah Kerrigan

Up until the actual day of Quidditch try-outs, Delilah had been rather calm about the entire matter. She had convinced herself that she and her friend, Mel, would both make the team, that they were both good players, and that there was absolutely no way they wouldn’t be accepted. However, the day of try-outs was a completely different story. She was an absolutely nervous wreck and had no idea why she would have thought that she could possibly make the team. She was totally unprepared for this. She was too young, too inexperienced, too uncoordinated, too everything! Her only saving grace was the broom that her sister had insisted that she get. Before her panic attack, she had tied brown and yellow ribbons around the handle in a show of House loyalty.

The ends of those ribbons now curled delicately around the ironclad grip she had on the handle as she latched onto every word that the Quidditch Captain had to say. The authority (and height) the older girl had over her was rather intimidating to say the least. She put on her most determined face that didn’t dare betray the anxiety she felt as she looked around. Not only did she have to prove that she had what it took, but she had to prove that she could do it better than the others standing around just waiting to do the same. It was definitely going to be tough. She studied each one as they introduced themselves until her turn came. “Delilah Kerrigan. Um, I’m interested in trying out for everything, except Seeker, of course.” Elly had made it perfectly clear that the position belonged to her. “I just really want to be part of the team…and win games.”

Maybe it sounded a bit awful to include the last part, but part of the fun of playing Quidditch was winning. After all, if they only played just to have fun, there would be no rewards for being the winner. In fact, they wouldn’t even bother to take score. And in order to win, they needed to have whoever was strongest in a position playing that spot. She didn’t know what she would be best at, if she would even be the best at anything, but she figured she could keep her options open instead of limiting herself to any one area. Hopefully, the Captain would understand this and not take it as her being indecisive, because she wasn’t. Not really. She was decisive in that she wanted to win – however that had to happen, including if it meant her not being on the team.

After introductions, she did as told. Straddling her broomstick, she kicked off the ground and got behind Mel. She gave the other girl a quick thumb-ups as they started around the pitch. Maybe if she stayed positive for another person, the feeling would rub off on to her feelings about herself, but as they continued on, she found that it was unnecessary. The lashing of the wind across her face and the vibration of the broom felt incredible and natural. She wasn’t good at many things, school being an especially low point, and maybe she wasn’t the best at Quidditch compared to others, but it was one of the things that she, personally, did best. Now, that she was feeling a bit more confident, she leaned a bit more towards having fun. Even if she didn’t make it today, she could say that she tried and she had fun doing it and maybe she would be surprised at how everything turned out.

Soon, her turn came, and ow, did it hurt. She didn’t catch the quaffle quite right and it ended up hitting her in the stomach. Her automatic reaction to clutch her stomach was the only thing that kept the quaffle from actually falling on to the ground, but boy, did it knock the wind out of her. Maybe she really should be a beater like she had said she was trying out for. Delilah thought she would be great at it by mere strength. She’d probably knock out everyone on an opposing team. Mel had certainly nearly knocked her out! She took an extra minute holding onto the quaffle as she made a mental note that she should really work on her stomach muscles even if she only played Quidditch for fun with her friend. Otherwise, she would certainly regret it the next day as her body yelled at her. Finally, with a slight grimace of pain, though lessened, she passed along the quaffle.

0 Delilah Kerrigan Doing my best 158 Delilah Kerrigan 0 5

Elly

November 25, 2009 10:53 AM

Tryouts Part Two by Elly

(OOC:If you haven't posted in Part One yet, you are still welcome to do so.)

After the first part of the try-out was successfully completed, Elly took hold of the Quaffle again and called her potential team together. “Okay, that was great,” she shouted to be heard, and made manic gestures with her free arm for everyone to gather round her in the air. “You’ve all made it through to part two,” she grinned. Not everyone had been brilliant, but there had been no catastrophes, and everyone could hold a ball while flying. Excellent start. “So, everyone who might want to play Keeper, um, which is everyone except Caede and Irene, you’re going to have a go in goal.” As she spoke, Elly began drifting closer to one of the sets of three posts. “Each Keeper will try to block three attempts at scoring, each attempt made by a different one of the rest of the group,” here she made another vague gesture indicating that all of them (except herself, as she would be watching carefully to see how well each of them performed) would have a go at throwing the Quaffle towards the goals. “Then we’ll swap Keeper, and another three can try to score, then we’ll swap again. That make sense?”

Assuming this did, in fact, make sense – it wasn’t rocket science – Elly tossed the Quaffle to the person nearest to her. “You shoot first,” she said, and pointing at a Keeper wannabe, she said, “and you Keep first. Remember, one attempt to score at a time, three shots per Keeper.”

Leaving the team to sort themselves out, Elly flew out behind the goalposts so she could get a good view of what was going on. Raoul had been Keeper since Stephen left, but honestly, he wasn’t an All Star. Plus the fifth year had signed up for Chaser, too – Elly might be tempted to try him in a different position. She’d see how everyone performed at everything and then get together the best team she could – that’s what captains were for. After the Keeping she’d get Demelza and Delilah to try beating. Caedence’s spot was practically guaranteed – she was ace – but she, too, would be leaving next year. It wouldn’t hurt to train up both the first years to play next year.

“Off you go!” Elly shouted, and kept her attention focussed on the players.

(OOC: Only a Keeper can decide whether the Quaffle is caught or not. Feel free to write your character trying to score, but you can only write the outcome when you are Keeper. Remember, quality is key.)

0 Elly Tryouts Part Two 0 Elly 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 25, 2009 8:15 PM

K-K-KEEPER?!?! by Demelza Eagle

After soaring down to the ground from flying in the air on her old broom, Demelza was feeling pretty confident. She had succeeded in catching the quaffle and threw it accurately enough to Delilah, who was behind her (however, she believed she may have knocked the wind out of her. It must have just been her beater strength). She was ready for whatever was throw at her next! Except, she wasn't guessing it to be keeper try-outs.

Demelza was no keeper. She thought the position less thrilling then the rest, and quite frankly, seized up every time the ball approached her. She hated keeper, and never had the skills for it. She could catch a ball, yes, but not while everyone was ganging up on her and she felt so much pressure. This was going to be her down fall to her try-out, clearly. But, she couldn't be a chicken, so she had to do it.

Listening to Elly explain what they were going to do, Demelza's nerves eased up a little. Oh, good, she would only have to humiliate herself three times.

Being the closest to Elly at the time, Demelza caught the quaffle as she tossed it to her and did as she instructed. Holder her broom a little tighter this time, Demelza flew up to the post.

Immediately, Demelza had a great idea. She never said she wanted to be a keeper, so what would it matter if she saved the ball or not? She was trying out for a beater: something she really wouldn't need to catch balls for. But her thoughts were interrupted as Elly yelled the signal to start. Forgetting everything she was currently thinking, Demelza focused on catching the ball, and only catching the ball. This really isn't that hard.

As the quaffle was thrown to her, Demelza made such a stupid mistake. Instead of catching the ball, the thought that was running through her head, she hit the ball. Hit it! She reacted instantly, and stupidly. The quaffle soared the length of the pitch. Oops... well, that most certainly wasn't showing any keeper skills. Feeling really embarrassed, she looked back at the next person who was to throw the quaffle at her and got herself ready this time.

Once again, the quaffle was speeding toward her, and this time she was going to be ready... but, once again, she blocked it, yes, but instead hit it over to the right side of the pitch instead of it being held gracefully in her fingers. oops.,.. again. Why was she so stressed out? She can do this!

As the third person threw the quaffle, finally, this time Demelza did catch it. YES! All together, she was hardly feeling confident, but at least she caught one! She had to admit, she was no keeper. And that was the truth.

Looking down towards the ground in failure, she passed the ball to the next player trying out for keeper and flew over to the group scoring. She grabbed the quaffle when it was her turn to shoot. She shoot it hard, once again showing her beater strength. Well, at least that was one thing she had. She didn't even look to see if it was caught or not. She felt rather angry with herself. But she knew she had to keep good spirits. Which is exactly what she tried to do.

She put on her usual smile and smiled toward her friend Delilah. Delilah was such a cool and great friend, and even if she didn't make it, she hoped that Delilah would make the team, because she deserved it. She was a great player, person, and friend. And Demelza was lucky to have her as a friend.

0 Demelza Eagle K-K-KEEPER?!?! 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Starbuck Gregory

November 26, 2009 4:47 PM

Chasers woo! by Starbuck Gregory

Starbuck took the Quaffle into her hands a bit nervous to be the first one to play chaser. She licked her lips tucked the ball under her arm and shot forward. She weaved a bit in and out. Quidditch was a lot like basketball she wondered if there was any rule like travelling but assumed not. She loved how the wind felt in her hair and how the world seemed to be rushing by, almost like a rollercoaster. Starbuck shakily took the ball out from under her arm, steadying herself with her thighs. She bit her lip as she took the ball into both of her hands and tossed the Quaffle towards the middle ring pretty hard.

As soon as the ball was out of her hands she put her hands on the broom and steadied herself. She didn’t watch to see if the ball went she flew done and around towards the other people trying out. She bit her lip and smiled at the others who were going. The try out seemed to be going well but she couldn’t be sure until Elly said something. She just prayed she got on the team, she really needed something active to do during the school year.

0 Starbuck Gregory Chasers woo! 0 Starbuck Gregory 0 5

Jose Hernandez

November 28, 2009 12:42 PM

Chasing a position by Jose Hernandez

Okay. Chaser first. Chaser was good. Saul had been a Chaser. Since Saul was now graduated, Jose almost felt it was his familial duty to step into the empty slot left by his cousin. He was less certain that his skill - if one could call it that - was good enough for Elly to think the same.

Demelza had keeper first, and Starbuck had the Quaffle, so he just had to sit tight and be ready to take his turn. Not prone to nervous twitching (unless under the influence of a sugar high, which he wasn't today), he nevertheless had to work hard at not bouncing on his borrowed broomstick and risk falling off.

It was the heights. Again. He was fine if he didn't have to go up as high as the Quidditch regulations demanded the goals be set at. But once he went over about fifteen feet off the ground, suddenly every muscle in his body started trembling, and making flying that high every bit as dangerous as Jose knew intellectually it wasn't.

He gripped at the broomstick in a white-knuckled grasp and tried to breathe normally (which wasn't working so well; he kept catching himself holding his breath) and watched as Starbuck made her first scoring attempt and Demelza very impressively knocked the Quaffle clear across the field.

"I'll get it," Jose volunteered, because it was falling fast and he'd be able to get down to a more comfortable altitude at least for a little while. He dove downward at an angle that wasn't so steep it scared him even more than flying at goal height, but not so shallow it took him too long to get to a distance from the ground he liked better. Once he was only about five feet over the ground, he zipped across to where the ball was resting on the grass, dropped even further, leaned over and scooped it up and then headed back up toward Demelza.

As he climbed in altitude again, his grip on both the ball and the broom became tighter. He was a little afraid the Quaffle was going to pop right out his arm, but he kept hold of it.

Only when he got close enought to take his shot at the goal did he fumble it as he tried to switch from holding it cradled against his chest by one arm, to holding it with two hands to make a shot. He muttered a Spanish word that had a remote possiblity of being a curse word but which probably meant 'potted plant' or something equally random. He and the Quaffle both fell a few feet before he managed to get control it again, and he didn't care that he was actually lower than the goals when he made his scoring attempt. He just threw it in the general direction of the nearest goal hoop and hoped.

He'd just wanted to get rid of the ball so he could grab hold of the broom with both hands and get in some quality hyperventilation. Dropping the ball and going down after it at the speed of gravity . . . not cool. If his fingers weren't so tightly clenched around the broomstick, they'd be shaking.

He didn't even care overmuch that Demelza blocked the shot.

1 Jose Hernandez Chasing a position 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Delilah Kerrigan

November 29, 2009 1:34 PM

Chasing a dream by Delilah Kerrigan

When Delilah had signed up for Quidditch, she had signed up for anything, because she had been willing to take any position if it meant being on the team. Yet, when Demelza got to tryout for Keeper first, she was a little disappointed. If she had given any thought to the position that she would like to play, she thought Keeper might be fun. It wasn’t as energetically charged as some of the other positions, but it couldn’t be said that it wasn’t just as exciting. A Keeper was the only thing that stood in the way of the Chasers and the goals, the final obstacle. It was all on the Keeper to keep the other team from scoring, hence, why they were called Keeper. Yes, she could certainly see herself in the position, but she wouldn’t argue if she got a different one instead, such as the Chaser position she was currently playing in.

She watched as Starbuck took a shot first, which by her inexperienced eye looked pretty good. Wow! Demelza’s block took the quaffle clear across the pitch! She didn’t think she’d ever seen any of her friends hit anything so hard. It seemed her friend was a natural at this. Of course, she still had two more shots to block, but already it seemed as if there would be no stopping her. Maybe she really was the best choice for the Keeper position. There was no way that she would ever be able to compete. Maybe she would be lucky enough to at least be considered for Chaser, but she wasn’t sure about that either. She would just have to wait her turn and hope she did well. She was glad that Jose volunteered to go next by going to get the quaffle so she had the chance to see how Demelza did again before she went.

Another shot blocked and it was her turn. The ball was to her left and she swung her broom down to get it. Holding on to the quaffle as if it were the most precious thing in the world and right now it was since if she dropped it, she was sure there was no way she would be considered for a position. Settling herself to the perfect height so that she was level with the goals, she circled around a bit. She didn’t have much time to think, just like she wouldn’t have such opportunities in a real game, and needed to aim as best as she could. Hoping against hope that she scored, even though it meant Demelza wouldn’t get it, she threw it with all her might towards the goals and she waited, waited to see what would happen. It was no surprise that Demelza caught it.

Icy disappointment shook through her. But it was short lived as Demelza smiled at her. It was only a game. It was only a tryout. She smiled back at her friend. Demelza had done well and she deserved to be congratulated on such. “Whoo! Go Mel! Way to keep!” She only hoped that when her turn came she could only do nearly as well. She would be lucky if she even caught one quaffle let alone launch one clear across the field. She just didn’t have nearly the strength to do something like that. Maybe she wouldn’t make for a very good Keeper at all, but she would still try her best when it was her turn. That’s all she could do. That’s all she could ever do.

0 Delilah Kerrigan Chasing a dream 158 Delilah Kerrigan 0 5

Jose

November 29, 2009 3:54 PM

Keeping my options open (Keeper try-out) by Jose

After Demelza finished her stint at Keeper, it was time to switch up the positions, and Jose found himself in front of the goals next. He was perfectly all right with that. If he'd really thought about it, he would have realized Keeper had two major advantages over Chaser.

First, Keeper didn't have to fly very far, and if the ball did get dropped, it either wasn't his concern to dive down after it, or if it was, there was no pressure to do it quickly because a goal would have already been scored. Second, the only time he had to take his hands off the broom was when he was actually blocking a shot, which was way less of the time than any other position (save Seeker, which Jose wouldn't want even if it was open) had to have at least one hand off the broom.

Of course, right now, he was about to get bombarded with goal shots that he was going to have to block, so he wasn't really thinking about it.

At least Deliliah's shot at Demelza had given him time enough to get his nerves back in check after his fumble and mini-dive, so he was only at his normal height-inspired level of anxiety again.

This was all Saul's fault of course. Jose's cousin couldn't have excelled in something easy, like Care of Magical Creatures or something. Nooooo, Jose was expected to live up to the example of a guy didn't understand the theory of gravity well enough to get that Quidditch was only played by people who were dangerously insane. And since Jose had been trained since birth that stage fright was not an acceptable reason to avoid performing on whatever stage presented itself, Saul's introduction of this stage to Jose meant a little fear wasn't going to get him out of playing the game.

He just wished it wasn't so ridiculously high up in the air.

"Ready," he lied when the first would-be chaser got hold of the Quaffle. He was a performer, though, so his readiness was immaterial. The show must go on. And he had to get a spot on the team, or it would be like a failed audition, and that would hurt. A lot. Besides, he was older and more experienced than the three first years trying out and surely that must count for something.

He just had to block a few shots and prove that a year's worth of Pecari Quidditch practices meant he wasn't completely useless on a broom.

Getting past his fear of heights was just one of the things he was going to have to work on some more. He was way better at that now than he was last year.

He gripped his broom and put it out of his mind as best he could by focusing solely on the Chaser now trying to score on him.

0 Jose Keeping my options open (Keeper try-out) 0 Jose 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 29, 2009 5:29 PM

Chasing back to the safe side by Demelza Eagle

When Delilah encouraged her, Demelza figured she had to explain herself. She thought she did good? She must be out of her mind! All she did was act on her fastest instinct. Leaning over to Delilah, she explained what really happened.

"Thanks, but I really didn't do anything awesome. All I did was act instantly, and I just got lucky. I had no idea what I was doing. I just got lucky. And, besides, your shot was really tough! It nearly smacked me in the nose, it did! You ought to try for chaser! Honestly, that was all luck. Don't make a big deal about it, I probably just looked stupid, swing my hands out wildly. You'll do way better than me, I'm sure. I don't have any keeper skills. Just a lot of guts, maybe." She finished her pep talk with a little smile. Well, that seem explained enough! She hoped that no one else thought she had any keeper skills, because then they would be sadly mistaken.

She was glad that keeper try outs were over for her and she could go back to the safe side: chasing. Chasing was the one thing she sorta knew what she was doing. But suddenly remembering something she didn't tell Delilah, she spurted out, "Oh, and about that quaffle going across the feild. I can only do that because my brothers used me as a human bludger when I was little. So I like to hit things, and, y'know, I'm pretty destructive. And good luck for your keeper try out!"

Waiting again for her turn to have a go on the quaffle, she did a little dance on her broom in the air, remembering the song that popped in her head. Then she realized she looked really stupid hovering back and forth and humming, so she stopped. Feeling a lot happier with herself, she tossed the ball toward Jose as he kept, and too late she realized she did it very carelessly, resulting in the ball to barely make to to the hoops, cutting it short of Jose. Opps... hopefully Jose can still catch it?

Once again, she was so unfocused that she she messed up. That is why those horrid muggle doctors wanted to put her on ADD medicine. She hated the muggle nurses from her school. They wanted to put her in a special-ed class because she would often not pay attention in class. But it wasn't because she had ADD, it was because she knew that it was a worthless school and she would one day learn everything she needed to learn at a magical school. And now she was here, at Sonora, and-

She was not focusing. She had totally forgotten she was 10s of feet up in the air on a flying broomstick, trying out for her greatest passion.

The only thing she probably can get out of this try out is the beater position, because she had most certainly shown hardly any skill in any other position. And she now realized that that was what she wanted to do. If only she could focus. But if it involves quidditch, she is sure that she can focus. And yet, she was not doing that right now. Opps....

0 Demelza Eagle Chasing back to the safe side 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Jose

November 29, 2009 7:49 PM

Well, that was easy by Jose

Demelza had the quaffle. She was talking to Delilah at the same time as she was supposed to be trying to shoot past him, which was clearly an attempt to throw him off, but Jose was onto her. He could spot a bluff at fifty paces.

Takes one to know one, and all that.

She seemed to be a little too into her performance though. Jose frowned and crouched lower on his broom. She was not going to trick him, though, no matter how into the bluff she was getting. Making a guess based on how Delilah was positioned, Jose shifted a little closer to the right goal, figuring she was lining up for a surprise throw over that way.

Oh, and that dance and hum thing. Tricky, but totally not going to throw him off. He was focused - because his sanity depended on it - and he was not going to be diverted no matter what song she was letting him catch snatches of.

For all his concentration, though, the throw, when it came, was a surprise, certainly.

He lunged forward, letting go of the safety of his broom just long enough to realize that the ball wasn't even going to make it to him, never mind to the hoops behind him. He sat back, returned his hands to the broom in front of him, and let out a breath of relief.

Chasers: 0. Keeper: 1. Go him. Go him.

He was even almost 80% sure that, if the Quaffle had been thrown hard enough, he would have gotten the block anyway. Well, 75% sure. He could have gotten that.

Easy.

Next.

0 Jose Well, that was easy 0 Jose 0 5

Delilah

November 29, 2009 8:51 PM

Not so easy? by Delilah

Luck? Demelza’s blocks and catches had been pure luck? Oh, no! Delilah could only imagine how good Mel would be if she were actually trying. There was absolutely no way that she was going to be able to make the team if everyone was that good. Though, at least Pecari would have a stellar team that she could cheer on. She would be really good at that. She could get pretty loud when she had a mind too much to Veronica’s annoyance. Though, if she didn’t make the team, at least she wouldn’t have to hear Veronica lecture her about not acting like a proper lady. She could only imagine if her sister ever went out for Quidditch how she would behave. She would probably wear a skirt with her hair curled and then expect the opposing Keeper to just allow her to score. She almost giggled with the silliness of the thought.

It was a good way to pass the time as she was waiting for her turn, though, she wasn’t quite sure what Mel was up since she was dancing around on her broom and then suddenly tossed the ball. Mel really was an odd duck though Delilah would guess that she was some sort of genius if it hadn’t been for the fact that she wasn’t in Aladren. Something like what she was doing could really throw the competition off. She half expected the quaffle to go in, but much to her surprise, far from it. She couldn’t believe that it had been anything less than amazing. Maybe Mel had been nervous? But that just seemed so unlikely. What had happened? Though, no matter the reason, she, at least, knew she wasn’t alone, which helped ease her nerves.

Delilah kept telling herself that this was just like back home. She was back home just playing Quidditch with her friends. She took a deep breath. Clutching the quaffle so hard that her knuckles turned white, she put on her fiercest face to the point that she almost wanted to growl. She was going to get a goal. She just had to. She zipped left. She zipped right. Then, she went up as high as she could and came speeding back down like some sort of falcon. She leveled out just as she got close the goals and threw the quaffle as hard as she could. As it went towards the goals, she crossed her fingers in that it would go through. If she didn’t have shoes on, she would have crossed her toes too.

0 Delilah Not so easy? 0 Delilah 0 5

Demelza

November 29, 2009 9:35 PM

Should I try that again to make it easier? by Demelza

Demelza's heart sunk as the ball was caught. She was being so stupid! Today just happened to be one of those days that she just couldn't set her mind on something. Just her luck! But this time, oh, yes, this time, she was going to focus with all her might. After Delilah threw a shot that Demelza thought worth a million dollars, Demelza turned her attention to the ball in her hand. She decided that this was going to be her last shot, and if she screwed up after this, then maybe she just wasn't cut out for quidditch. Not caring if someone else wanted to throw the next quaffle to Jose, she felt as though she had to redeem herself, and even if the quaffle didn't make it in, at least she knew that she focused on throwing the quaffle, and only throwing the quaffle.

Taking the red ball up to eye level, she pictured it in her head, swiveling toward the goal. Her goal. To throw a challenging, yet decent, shot. She drew the ball back behind her head, and with all her speed, and all her strength, she threw a hard ball toward the goal. And she stared at the ball, after it left her hand, as though it had all the answers to her test. She watched it in the few seconds it was in the air, and her concentrated face suddenly broke into a smile. The biggest smile she has ever had in a long time. And soon it was a huge grin, and she felt happy with herself. Proud, and she thought that her hot was worthy of an 'Eagle Hug', one that her brothers and Uncle specialize in. And though she had no one to hug, she gave herself a personal note to give her brothers the biggest hug when she next sees them.

Although she felt her shot nowhere near as impressing as Delilah's cool tricks, she still felt immensely satisfied with it. And she didn't do anything stupid, like shout something stupid or spin in her broom, nothing. But of course, she was prone to accidents, was a disastrous girl, and anything was possible around her.

But nothing happened.

(OOC: Demelza's author apologizes sincerely due to the fact that you have to deal with Demelza's craziness. Though, she thought she should give you a break with this one.)

0 Demelza Should I try that again to make it easier? 0 Demelza 0 5

Jose

November 29, 2009 11:33 PM

You can say that again by Jose

Hoh, boy. Delilah wasn't pulling out any of the stops this time, was she? Jose watched her dart about and stayed near to the center hoop since he couldn't even begin to anticipate which of them was her ultimate goal.

When she made her toss, it went to the right. Jose dived for it, one hand outstretched, but she had speed on her side and though his fingertips just barely brushed against the Quaffle's surface, it didn't so much as budge from its path.

Jose grabbed hold of his broom again and turned his head to watch it sail through the hoop. Dangit. That wasn't going to look good on his tally sheet. Keeper: 1, Chasers: 1.

He let the next chaser go fetch it.

0 Jose You can say that again 0 Jose 0 5

Jose

November 29, 2009 11:48 PM

You might want to recheck your definition of easier. by Jose

Jose was a little surprised to see it was Demelza who came back up with the Quaffle again, and he took a deep breath and bit his lip when he saw she was coming in for revenge. Not good. Not good at all.

But she wasn't making any bluff this time. It wasn't hard at all to figure out which goal she was going to go for. As she threw it, Jose put himself in the way.

And then grunted as it hit him full in the belly and knocked him, his broom, and the Quaffle backwards clear through the hoop of the center goal. Jose might have a year on Demelza, but he didn't exactly have a lot of mass. The force of her throw was more than enough to propel him back when he'd had no forward momentum himself.

He fought to stay on the broom, fought to keep from having a panic attack, and fought most of all to try not to lose hope that he was going to be making the team. That was Chasers: 2, Keeper: 1. He lost.

At least he hadn't needed to worry about dropping the ball. It was probably going to need to be surgically removed from his ribs. He flew forward into the center of the hoop and put his feet down on the bottom arc of the hoop to steady himself as he uncurled himself from around the Quaffle. He tossed it onto the next Chaser who hadn't gotten a shot against him, and then waved in the next would-be Keeper before joining the line of Chasers again.

He was probably going to need to swing by the Hospital Wing later to make sure nothing had gotten cracked there.

Ow.

0 Jose You might want to recheck your definition of easier. 0 Jose 0 5

Caedence

November 30, 2009 9:38 PM

Tryouts, combining parts one and two by Caedence

Caedence showed up as one of the first people on the pitch. Her beaters gloves were donned and her long platinum hair was in its usual sword like braid. She wore a black tank top and black capris. On her feet were simple flip-flops, not the best choice for quidditch, but Caedence was rather warm in all the black. But to heck if she’d take it off! She had to show this kiddies who they were messing with!

She glowered at each student in turn as they arrived (unless that student was Irene in which case she offered her a blank glance and hoped Irene didn’t get upset by it) measuring each face. A few students wandered too close to her and she made sure to glare at them until they got the hint. After all, there were people in this group that wanted her position! They could have it when she was well and gone and never before. Of course she’d need another beater around, but that was only one of the shorties. The rest would just have to deal with the fact that they wont be getting the spot they were after.

Elly started off the tryouts in the usual manner. Welcomes, I’m the captian. Caedence let out a snort when Elly said that the other positions were open to anyone. Yeah right, let the kiddies just try and pry her bat away. They’d come away with more than a few fresh bruises. The hopefuls introduced themselves one by one. When it was Caedence’s turn she spoke lowly and evenly, trying her best to stay intimidating. “I am Caedence Redoak and I am the beater on this team. Used to play chaser too.” It wasn’t an accident that she said that she was the beater. Like she said before, these tryouts would be for one spot only. That was not hers.

Elly started off the practice with a pretty mundane, yet necessary task of just passing a ball down the line. Caedence was a good girl and didn’t hurl the ball at the kids trying to harm them. After all, it would be helpful if she didn’t injure her teammates right? So Caedence played along nicely, glad to see no one got into trouble trying to handle both ball and broom at once. Caedence never had any issues with her broom after all. She’d been riding it for years. The two of them were almost able to read each other after a while.

Then it was time for the real tryouts. Caedence was going to enjoy this. When the metal balls weren’t flying everywhere, Caedence was a really fair hand at chaser. She got in line to toss the quaffle at the keeper hopefuls. She figured it wouldn’t be fair if she went easy on the kids, so she decided not to. Each time she was up against the hopeful keepers she would start off easy then get harder and harder on each kid. Caedence would feint left then throw right, or appear like she was going to take a slow and easy toss then go at it fast.

She was grateful for the twin’s training when she was a kid. She had gotten rusty over the previous year at her chasing abilities, but she was by no means dead at it. Every time she screwed up she heard Ash barking at her to try harder. Each goal she missed she heard Sorrel tell her to get her head back into gear. Caedence couldn’t believe that the little girl had grown up into what she was now. She missed Ash and Sorrel. They were her first coaches after all. She loved them dearly, even if they weren’t really the lovey type. But she did miss them. And Stephen and Zach. She was now that upperclassman that people were going to miss. Caedence just hoped that she was at least going to be remembered by… someone.

0 Caedence Tryouts, combining parts one and two 94 Caedence 0 5

Delilah

December 05, 2009 12:55 PM

Keeper certainly seems not to be. (Keeper Tryout) by Delilah

If Delilah hadn’t been so stunned that she had actually scored against Jose, she would have cheered in her excitement. There was just so satisfying with the way the quaffle had sailed through the air and into the hoop. She still couldn’t believe it. A smile a mile wide was across her face. She just couldn’t stop smiling. She probably looked like some mental patient, but it was so unbelievably awesome. If she weren’t already flying, she probably would be at this moment. As it stood, she pulled back to allow someone else to go for the third shot.

She was a little surprised that Mel took another one, but then she probably wanted to redeem herself after the first one had fallen short. Delilah couldn’t blame her. Tryouts were a nerve-wracking time and even if you were the best player or the best person for a spot, an off day or the tiniest mistake could cost the person a spot or the spot. Merlin knew that her stomach was already twisted in a thousand little knots over whether or not she would get the spot that she actually wanted or even a spot at all. There was just no telling.

But then sometimes there was. When Mel threw the quaffle hard enough to toss the Keeper back through the hoop, Delilah breathed a small wow. There was absolutely no way that Mel wouldn’t make the team. Delilah was sure of it and was really proud of her friend. Though, she felt a little bit bad for Jose since he had to take the brunt of it, but soon it would be her turn. In fact, it was her turn. She stretched her neck to the right and then to the left. She certainly hoped luck was on her side or at the very least, she didn’t have a totally off day since skill was going to be necessary.

Gripping her broom tightly, Delilah positioned herself in front of the center hoop and eyed the next Chaser warily. Would they go left or right or dead on? Would they try to fake her out? Would they have some fancy moves like she had already seen on some of the players? Focus. Focus. Focus. She tried not paying attention to whom was throwing the quaffle, but rather the quaffle itself. If she could keep track of that, then maybe she stood a chance. All she had to do was block one red ball. She could do this. She kept telling that to herself while watching nothing but the quaffle. It was everything at the moment.

0 Delilah Keeper certainly seems not to be. (Keeper Tryout) 0 Delilah 0 5

Elly Eriksson

December 06, 2009 1:14 PM

Tryouts Part Three by Elly Eriksson

“Nice job, everyone,” Elly called as the last Keeper finished up. “Let’s touch ground again for a sec.” Leading the way in a shallow dive, Elly hopped off her broom and onto the soft turf, and gathered everyone together on the ground. “Good news is you’ve all made the team,” Elly told them with a grin, “but some of you might start off the season as reserve players. I’ll put a list up on the noticeboard tomorrow so keep checking.” She hadn’t made her final decision about who to put in which position yet, but nobody was bad enough to turn down completely. Besides, with training for two hours twice a week they would be in great shape in no time.

“Okay, so if you don’t want to play beater you’re free to leave, or to sit in the stands and watch, whatever. If you’re trying out for Beater, listen up.” She waited a moment for anyone not interested in beating to leave before she continued. “Right, for those of you who don’t know, this is Caedence,” Elly nodded her head towards the only other seventh year there, her friend and roommate. “She’s the best Beater in school and we have her on our side, which is good news for us, bad news for everyone else. Still, she’s gonna need some help out there so we have one Beater position open. I’ve borrowed a Bludger and some bats from Coach Pierce,” Elly gestured vaguely towards the stands, as she’d placed the Bludger – in its box – and a pile of wooden clubs on the floor of the first row. “We’re going to use the goal post again, because as a Beater you’ve got to have good aim. Caedence is going to be one side of the posts, and all you guys are going to be the other side. I want you to hit the Bludger through one of the hoops, and Caedence will hit it back. Don’t try to knock each other off your brooms – I’m more interested in where the ball ends up than how hard you hit it to get there, okay?” Admittedly, if they could manage good aim and a hard hit it would be best, but just smacking the ball around with the potential of hitting Pecari’s own players wasn’t going to help anyone.

“You can each go grab a bat then, and Caede will let out the Bludger. I’ll be flying nearby to keep tabs on you. Off you go when you’re ready.”

OOC: same guidelines as before. Respond ASAP as I'll aim to have the list up soon.

0 Elly Eriksson Tryouts Part Three 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Demelza Eagle

December 06, 2009 3:23 PM

OH YES! by Demelza Eagle

Still not totally satisfied with her horried keeper skills, Demelza came to the ground, none to gently, straitened herself up, and stared toward the person talking. And she heard the best thing possible!

Everyone had made the team! Her and Delilah did it! She was feeling so much happier after that, and even if she only made it as a reserve player, she would still be part of the team! So it was sort of a win-win situation. But she was still determined to get the other beater spot (she wouldn't even consider Caedence not making the team... she seemed scary). And it was now her time to beat who ever else was going to try out for beater so she could get the spot. Quidditch was the thing she was best at, and this was the perfect opportunity for her to do actually do something she is good at.

Demelza listened to Elly introduce Caedence and what the beater hopefuls were to do. Hitting a bludger across the field, no doubt, would be the easiest part of the task, but it was actually making through the hole that would be the hard part. And if she couldn't do it, then that could be the cutting line between whether she made the beater spot or not. So she needed full concentration. Noooo... she whined to herself. She often had a hard time focusing.

She grabbed a bat, one that looked the least beat up, and soared back up above the pitch. She massaged her dominant arm, her left, and looked toward Caedence, waiting for the bludger to be released. With out meaning to, she happened to be the first one up. Clenching her jaw and hand around the school's bat, she looked determinedly toward the bludger that was speeding swiftly toward her. She glanced at the right goal hoop and decided that would be the safest place to shoot, because it was easier, in her opinion, to not hit the bludger strait. Preparing herself, she swung her bat back, and with all her strength, she shot the bludger across the field. She felt the familiar elbow-shattering feeling prickle in her arm as she waited, frozen in midair, watch the hard, solid ball, and trying to make it move with her eye command, as though where she looked, the ball would go.

However, the ball didn't go exactly where she wanted it to go, it did still make it in a hoop. The left hoop. Not the right. But that was ok for her: it's not like she said out loud that she was aiming for the right hoop. Someone could have read her eye movement, maybe, but it still did make it in a hoop. Barely, though, for it had first hit the rim, but curved inside. Trying to make it look as though she did want it to make it in that hoop, she threw her hands up in the air in relief, and gave out a little "Woo!"

Grinning widely, she flew back to the earth, put back the beater bat, and went to the stands to watch. She couldn't believe what had just happened, and was still trying to get over the shock. She leaned back in her chair, and hoped that no one else would make it in the hoop, because then she would have the position in the bag. YES! YES! YES! kept running through her head. She was so pleased with herself! YES!

0 Demelza Eagle OH YES! 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Caedence

December 09, 2009 2:12 PM

And now for the part I was born for! by Caedence

This was the fun part. Caedence grinned at all the little ones and the not so little ones. But it wasn’t a friendly grin of course. It was her wolfish challenging smile that she always reserved for challenges like this. What little kid could she trick today? Caedence thanked Elly for introducing her and then hurried off to release the bludger like her redheaded captain commanded. Using her favorite bat to beat the metal ball around, Caedence kept control of it as she made her way to the other side of the goal hoops.

The first kid was up and Caedence didn’t waste any time smashing it through a hoop at the girl. It was pretty light of a hit, since Caedence knew Elly didn’t want her breaking anyone today. The other girl seemed pretty ready for the bludger coming at her and Caedence couldn’t help a genuine smile come to her lips. The girl seemed to be doing a good job. Caedence saw her eyes flick towards the right hoop, so Caedence stayed behind the middle one. She wasn’t sure if the kid was bluffing or really just not quite at the bluffing stage in her skills.

It appeared that she was indeed bluffing as the bludger made it through the left hoop. “Nice one, Kid!” Caedence called out to the other girl as she bunted the bludger to stop its progress. Caedence again hit the ball around a few times to keep it under control as she waited for the next hopeful to come through. When the next one was ready, Caedence let her muscles tense up, she spun in a circle, releasing her energy and backhanded the bludger straight through the center hoop. She controlled the hit power-wise but it was flying a bit looser than she wanted to, drifting just slightly off her mark. Caedence blushed. Elly was so going to give her crap about losing aim just to show off for the kiddies.

0 Caedence And now for the part I was born for! 94 Caedence 0 5