I wanna fly like an eagle! on Quidditch Pitch

Brad Hayman

August 23, 2010 12:25 AM

I wanna fly like an eagle! by Brad Hayman

Brad was totally pumped for Quidditch. He hadn’t played last year, which made it all the more important that he really show his stuff when it came time for try-outs. In his determination, he trekked out to the Pitch and borrowed one of the school brooms from the shed. He didn’t have a broom of his own yet, but he hoped to get one soon if he made the team. He wasn’t sure if that would happen, though, since money was tight in his very large family; there were a total of nine people in it, and that was a lot of mouths to feed, as Ma always said!

He kicked off from the ground and into the sky. He slowly but surely traveled up and up until he reached one of the sets of hoops. This was the Keeper’s territory, the place where he hoped to spend a lot of his time this year. Brad thought soccer goalie was a heroic position, but it was nothing compared to this! Goalies got to save balls, but they didn’t get to fly at the same time!

The second-year started off by simply imagining the incoming Quaffles and darting around to catch them as they approached the hoops in their evilness, his longish, red hair getting whipped up in the wind. After a while, Brad wished he actually had someone to practice with; this imaginary stuff was fun and all, but it probably wouldn’t do him much good. The try-outs were real!

“Hey!” he exclaimed when he saw someone walking on the pitch down below with a broom in hand. “Hey, can you help me train for Quidditch try-outs?” he continued to shout. “Do you know where they keep the Quaffles around here?” He looked at them with eager green eyes. His older brothers Lenny and James always helped him out when he wanted to be the best goalie ever for soccer try-outs. He felt a surge of homesickness for a moment but quickly shook it off. He wasn’t alone here! All the people he’d met here were super-cool, especially Nina, so he could find help wherever he turned. And real superheroes didn’t get homesick!

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Renée Errant

August 23, 2010 9:13 PM

Playful Feint by Renée Errant

The excitement Renée first felt on her arrival to Sonora had quickly been replaced by boredom and homesickness. She was actually surprised by the latter since she hadn't ever thought of herself as the sort of person who would miss her home. But as she lay wide awake the first night after the opening feast, she had suddenly realized that for a whole school year she would not see her parents or brother. Well, besides school breaks and holidays which she was definitely looking forward to.

'Now what am I going to do about the boredom?' She asked herself. She soon found herself wandering the castle grounds. She thought she might check out the gardens, but then she spied the pitch and headed over there instead. On a whim she had decided to try out for the Crotalus Quidditch team. She didn't really believe she would make it, she was only a first year after all, but she thought it would be fun in any case.

There was only one other person on the Pitch that day. Renée's wide brown eyes tracked him as he flew around the hoops. She giggled a bit as he kept darting left and right, apparently defending the goals from invisible opponents. She turned her attention away to search for a broom. She hadn't flown in a long while and her body had started to itch for it. Sometimes she wondered what life would be like if she had been born without magic. 'A lot less adventurous and a lot more boring.' She thought decisively. 'After all, I wouldn't have Quidditch in my life.'

She searched around the field until she found a shed where spare brooms and other equipment were kept. She hoped no one would mind that she borrowed one. She gripped one of the shorter brooms and pulled it out, intending to head for the goal posts on the opposite side of the field when the flier above her suddenly shouted something.

“Hey!” Renée turned to appraise him. “Hey, can you help me train for Quidditch try-outs?” Renée smiled surprised.

"Yeah, sure!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "I'm trying out too!"

“Do you know where they keep the Quaffles around here?”

Renée turned away from him to search through the shed before she came out with a rather worn beaten looking barely red Quaffle. She tucked it into her arm before hopping on her broom and kicking off the ground. Her body immediately relaxed as the wind whistled in her ears, brushing against her form, coursing through her long dark curls. She flew level to the boy. "Will this do?" She raised the Quaffle in her hand, feinted throwing it to him, and shot at the left goal hoop, excited to see whether or not he'd catch it or not. Practice had stared.

0 Renée Errant Playful Feint 0 Renée Errant 0 5

Brad

August 25, 2010 1:15 PM

I'm a newbie, unfortunately by Brad

“Sweet!” Brad shouted back when the girl said she was trying out too. This was perfect! They could help each other out so they could be in top form for their try-outs! He hoped she wasn’t vying for the same position as him. Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d never seen her around the Aladren Commons, so she was probably in a different House, anyway. It wouldn’t matter, then! Awesome!

Brad grinned when she retrieved the Quaffle. “Victory!” he exclaimed, holding out the last syllable for a long time. His eyes followed her as she flew up, eventually reaching his level. “Will this do?” “Definitely!” he replied enthusiastically, though without the shout factor this time since she wasn’t all the way down below anymore. He held out his hands to retrieve the ball, but to his surprise, it left her hand and traveled in a completely different direction! “Wha?” he said as he turned his head to the side to see the ball pass through the left hoop. “Aw, man!” He darted over to the ball to try and recover it. It was falling fast, so he tried his best to speed up; unfortunately, he just wasn’t quick enough. The Quaffle escaped him and landed on the field with a thud.

When he got down to ground level, Brad stayed on his broom and dipped down to pick it up. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment on the return trip to the hoops. He tossed the ball to the girl. “I’m new at this,” he admitted. Brad didn’t like to admit his weaknesses, but it was something that even the great heroes knew they had to do at times. “But I think if I work really hard, I can be the best Keeper the Captain’s ever seen!” He nodded, gaining back his confidence.

“What’s your name?” he asked suddenly. “I’m Brad Hayman," he pointed to himself with his thumb, "And I’m an Aladren!” He smiled out of pride for his House.

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Renée Errant

August 25, 2010 8:23 PM

Let's Try This Again, Shall We? by Renée Errant

Renée gave a 'whoop' as the Quaffle went through the goal and did an awkward sort of twirl in victory. She steadied the unfamiliar broom, her tan hands gripping the wood, and looked below her to see the boy retrieving the fallen Quaffle. She bit down on her tongue to stifle a laugh once she saw his face was slightly red. She smiled at him and caught the Quaffle he tossed easily in her hands.

“I’m new at this, but I think if I work really hard, I can be the best Keeper the Captain’s ever seen!”

Renée let herself laugh at his enthusiasm. "I believe you." She said genuinely. "Unfortunately for you, I'm going to be the best chaser this school's ever seen." Her eyes brightened as she teased him.

She balanced the Quaffle on the broom between her thighs as she lifted her hands to put her curls into a loose bun. "I'm Renée Errant." She said. "I'm in Crotalus." She scrunched her nose a bit as she spoke the name. She had been so sure she would be placed in Pecari... "I think 'Brad' is a nice name." She smiled again at him. "Are you a first year like me?"

She began to toss the Quaffle from hand to hand, eager to start practicing with Brad whenever he was ready. A lot of people found the seeker an exciting position but sometimes Renée felt that the only important players were the Chasers and Keeper. The Seeker only ended the fun, and the Beaters just worked out their anger issues.

"So..." Renée gripped her broom tighter in her hands and raised herself a couple more inches in the air. She shot a grin towards Brad. "Ready to try again?" She didn't wait for his reply and instead threw the Quaffle again, this time towards the right goal hoop and laughed delightedly, waiting to see if she would get it in again this time.

0 Renée Errant Let's Try This Again, Shall We? 0 Renée Errant 0 5

Brad

August 26, 2010 9:43 PM

We shall! by Brad

“I believe you.” Brad perked up at this confidence boost, giving the girl a smile. She was pretty cool! “Unfortunately for you, I’m going to be the best chaser this school’s ever seen.” His smiled broadened at the unexpected challenge. Well, that proved there was more than one side to her! If he thought about it, she was kind of like one of those double agents Brad sometimes came across in his comics; she acted all nice at first to catch him off-guard and then she'd come back to bite him in the end. He knew she wasn’t evil, though, since this was just a game. Still, he felt extra-motivated now that Quidditch was even more similar to saving the world!

“Nice to meetcha,” he replied. When she complimented his name, he wasn’t sure if she was doing that whole double agent thing again. Maybe he should be careful around this girl just in case she really was a supervillain. It didn’t seem likely, but there was a chance. After all, some villains were the people you’d least expect! What really got him suspicious was when Renée seemed to assume he was a first-year. Arch nemeses did tend to belittle their justice-seeking opponents, didn’t they? Brad stroked his chin as he pondered this.

“Actually, I’m a second-year,” he replied, trying not to sound defensive about it but letting a tiny trace of annoyance show through. He wanted to make sure they were equals in case they needed to duke it out in the future in an epic battle, even though he still didn’t think it would come to that.

“Ready to try again?” Brad immediately assumed the ready position. “Fire away!” Just as he said it, he saw the ball shoot off toward the right hoop. His face screwed up from the effort, his eyes going wide and his lower lip shooting out like he was a sad little boy. A second later he exhaled sharply from the pressure of the Quaffle against his stomach.

“I did it!” he exclaimed triumphantly. He grinned from ear to ear. “Take that, evildoer!” he shouted at Renée in his revelry and pointed a finger at her. A few moments later, he realized what he’d said and that he hadn’t actually meant for it to come out of his mouth. “I mean…Take that, Renée!” He kept grinning and tossed the ball back to her, hoping she'd forget about his slip-up. He couldn't let her know he was onto her!

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Renée Errant

August 27, 2010 4:48 PM

Reckless by Renée Errant

Renée watched as Brad caught the ball against his stomach and gave a playful groan that transformed instantly into a burst of laughter at Brad's exclamation.

"Evildoer?" She continued to laugh as she caught the tossed Quaffle. "Okay... I'll show you evil."

She tucked the Quaffle tightly in the curve of her right arm and gripped her broom in her left hand before flattening against the broom and speeding in Brad's general direction. Grinning broadly, she suddenly changed direction and threw the Quaffle in the middle goal hoop. She had meant to distract him by making him believe she was going to crash into him, but she was disappointed to see her Quaffle hadn't flown as fast as she would have liked, and she nearly fell off her broom with her sudden change in direction. Nevertheless, she was still grinning up a storm as she watched Brad try to block the goal again.

She adjusted herself more securely on her broom, her mind suddenly flashing to a time when she was very little and her father had taken her on a camping trip to Deer Isle. It was early morning and he had decided it would be fun to go flying while skimming just above the lake. He put her in front of him while they flew, letting her graze her fingers above the water. Suddenly she thought she saw a flash of gold, and had begun to lean in too far. One more small tilt and she would have been gone, entrapped beneath the surface of the green-blue lake. Her father had steadied her though, much more fearful of her safety than she was. Even now, at eleven, Renée was reckless. It was just her nature, and not that bad a quality to have for Quidditch. It made her more daring, and willing to try new things.

'I wonder if Brad is reckless too?' she thought to herself. 'Or does he like to play it safe?' Renée was always looking for someone to go on adventures with. She didn't really seek out people with calm personalities or contemplative natures. She liked daring qualities, and exciting people.

"Hey, Brad," she began, but then uncharacteristically grew shy and stopped herself. "Uh, never mind." She focused back on their game. There would be plenty of opportunities later to figure out who at Sonora would be best to seek out adventure with. Someone just as reckless as her.

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