Don't listen to her, on Quidditch Pitch

Coach Amelia Pierce

March 11, 2011 9:40 AM

Quidditch Game II: Crotalus vs. Pecari by Coach Amelia Pierce

The weather was much nicer for the second Quidditch game of the year than it had been for the first. The only clouds in the blue sky were big, white, and fluffy. It was also unseasonably warm for November, and Amelia was comfortable in just her normal flying robes. As Crotalus and Pecari were playing this game, she'd been careful not to choose anything with either of their colors on it, and so she was wearing mostly purple today.

She used her wand to levitate the box of Quidditch balls out to the center of the Pitch, and then waited while the two captains organized their teams give their speeches. With no approaching storm, she let the finish at their own pace, and only called them over when both seemed to be finished.

"Welcome to another Quidditch Game at Sonora Academy," she said after casting the sonorus charm so all the spectators could hear. "Today, Crotalus will be playing Pecari. So, Captain Charlie Abbott of Crotalus, would you shake the hand of Captain Jose Hernandez of Pecari now." They did so, and she sent them back to stand with their teams.

"You all know the rules," she said but gave the overview anyway, "10 points for a goal, 150 for catching the snitch and the game ends when the seeker catches it. We've got a great day, so let's play some Quidditch." She released the snitch and the bludgers, and picked up the quaffle. "Game begins on my whistle. One. Two. Three." She threw the Quaffle into the air and blew on her whistle at the same time.

The second Quidditch game of the year had begun. She just hoped there were fewer falls and injuries this time.

Subthreads:

Starting out right by Cap'n Jose, Chaser with Sophie Jamison [Chaser], Renée Errant {Chaser}

Long Thread Continues Here by Coach Amelia Pierce with Charlie Abbott, Chaser, Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Quidditch Game II: Crotalus vs. Pecari 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 1 5

Cap'n Jose, Chaser

March 11, 2011 11:51 AM

Starting out right by Cap'n Jose, Chaser

Jose had gotten up early - well, not really early, sleep was important before a game, but early enough - and had a good pre-game breakfast. Coming back to the fourth year room he shared with Jude, he got his brown Pecari Quidditch robes on, and double checked the roster to make sure he actually was still assigned to Chaser this year, then headed down to the pitch to claim his favorite school broom before someone else got it.

Making it out to the Pitch, he gathered Pecari around him, and began his third speech as Captain, and the first one he gave for a game he didn't see his team as the underdogs. But Pecari's young team was getting older now, and though Neal hadn't played Seeker before this year and he was up against Marissa who was the other team's Assistant Captain, but he didn't think it would matter so much given that they had Demelza Eagle as a Beater, and Crotalus had two first years.

"Okay, guys, we're in a good position this game. Our Chasers are every bit as good as their Chasers. Our Keeper," he nodded at Starbuck, "is so much better than their Keeper." Nic Sawyer was the guy Crotalus had pulled in without any training for the Final last year, so the kid had, at best, a few months practice even if his arms and legs were as long as the poles holding up the goal hoops. "And Demetra might be new as a Sonora Beater, but so are both of Crotalus's, so with Mel, we've definitely got the edge there. Mel, you're on Marissa, since Neal's still new at Seeking. Okay, guys. We can do this. Go, Pecari!"

Not long thereafter, Coach Pierce called him over and he shook Charlie's hand with a jaunty grin, and a good sportsmanlike 'Good Luck' that he didn't entirely mean, but kind of did because he liked Charlie.

He went back to his broom, and readied himself for take off as the coach counted up to three. At the sound of the whistle, Jose launched up into the air and, whether by luck or skill, the fifth year Captain found the Quaffle in his hands right off the bat.

"Whoo!" he cheered, as much to be flying Chaser in a game again as because he had the ball, and turned his broom up and to the left to gain altitude while also getting closer to the Crotalus goals. He didn't hold onto it long, though. Shortly after evening out at goal height, he looked around, spotted an opening to one of his brown-clad Chasers and passed the ball.

0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser Starting out right 0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser 0 5

Sophie Jamison [Chaser]

March 11, 2011 12:10 PM

Making sure it stays that way by Sophie Jamison [Chaser]

Crotalus was going down, Sophie had already decided. Pecari was going to win this game, no ifs, ands, or buts. What the fierce second year lacked in size, she made up for in heart and spirit. Her small stature was by no means a dilemma. With her dastardly dangerous cohorts, Delilah and cap’n Jose, the team would totally dismember their opponents. Her Crotalus best friend Ryan would have to understand, not that he seemed to really care about Quidditch.

The moment her blue eyes snapped open, she was ready to hit the pitch. No breakfast needed; she could run on pure excitement for hours. She popped out of bed, dug her robes out and dressed in them, then pulled her hair back into a blonde ponytail. Being quiet to try not to wake her roommate, Sophie glared at the girl in the mirror she now faced and hopped back and forth, whispering trash-talk. “Hey, you. Yeah, you. Crotalus is going down. Get used to it.”

When the time came for the match, Sophie skipped to the pitch, broomstick in hand. The twelve year old was so enthused she could barely contain it. Chasing was, she admitted, a great source of joy in her life. Of course, Keeping would have been better, but she knew she could probably get there one day. Starbuck had to graduate eventually. Plus, Jose was giving her Keeper practice as well, so if Starbuck was sick or hurt, Sophie could play Keeper. She didn’t wish harm to the older girl, but should a bad thing happen, the second year was ready.

Considering it was November, it was rather nice weather. The bit of breeze tugged a couple strains from her ponytail, and she nonchalantly tucked it behind her ear. Stepping on the pitch felt like heaven, and Sophie was definitely prepared to lose herself in the game. When things were heavy, Quidditch was an escape. Life was going okay nowadays, but there was no harm in letting herself be free for the game.

Sophie hardly listened to the coach’s opening reiteration of rule understanding, her gaze already fixed on the Quaffle in the box next to Coach Amelia. Her eyes followed the orb as the coach picked it up. Let’s go already, she thought as she bit her lip. When the Quaffle--finally!--went up, cap’n Jose launched into the air and gained its possession.

Jose passed, and Sophie was there. Her small hands shot out and wrapped themselves around as much of its surface area as they could span. A grin fleeted across her face for a moment before returning to her game-face. The blonde sped up to get a little closer to the Crotalus rings, a small brown blur, before she stopped by the hoops.

Her friend Nic was Keeper, but as cap’n Jose had pointed out, Pecari’s own was better. Nic’s extended range of protection due to his long limbs was, however, slightly intimidating. Sophie did not take the time to pause and consider this. She pulled back and shot at the ring second-furthest from her current position in hopes of making Nic goof up or get confused. It was entirely possible a Crotalus Chaser could get to it before it even made it near enough to the hoops, but all she could do now was hope.

12 Sophie Jamison [Chaser] Making sure it stays that way 34 Sophie Jamison [Chaser] 0 5

Renée Errant {Chaser}

March 11, 2011 10:18 PM

Making your job harder. by Renée Errant {Chaser}

Letting her Febre broom lean against her, Renée pulled her dark curls up above her head into a messy bun, a few strands settled on the back of her neck, while she waited on the pitch for the rest of Crotalus to arrive, and for Charlie to speak. It had been far too long since they had really played, and the practices hadn't satisfied anything within her. Quidditch had ceased being something that she joined to make her brother proud and garner some more attention from her parents, 'You guys have a second child too. I'm just as interesting.' She clutched her broom in hand, listening to Charlie, smiling nervously at her teammates, and then swung her legs over her broom, waiting for the signal for when she could kick off and rise in the air. She tensed as the whistle blew, sound ringing in her ears before she escaped it all, wind rushing past her face and held back curls, until she was aware that the game had actually begun.

"Oh, no you don't..." She grinned, excitement throbbing in her chest as she followed the Pecari's chaser throw to another then leaned parallel to her broom, speeding after the blond chaser ahead of her, dipping her broom handle so she flew low. The Pecari was nearing closer to the goals, and while Renée was sure Nic could handle a save, she was impatient and didn't want to wait for one. She wanted to feel the hard leather pressed against her palm. The Pecari chaser threw, and Renée shot up, hands still on her broom handle, feeling the Quaffle nestled between her chest and thighs. "Hah!" Her grinned widened and she made a sharp turn to avoid running into a goal hoop or Nic, and headed back towards Pecari goals.

One hand let go of the broom, and she got a better hold on the Quaffle, tucking it safely in her arm, grip loosening as she spotted Sam and Charlie. After a year of playing with them, they had to know of her fondness for drop passes, and raised herself a little more in height until she was almost above one of her fellow chasers. The Pecari goals were now in sight, and Renée leaned forward, raising her arm as if to shoot. She twisted her body and threw her arm forward, as if directing herself to the left goal hoop, but then simply let her still clenched fist open, neatly dropping the Quaffle to her hopefully aware Crotalus chaser. 'Catch it, catch it, catch it!' She bit her lip and looked below her.

0 Renée Errant {Chaser} Making your job harder. 0 Renée Errant {Chaser} 0 5

Demelza Eagle, Beater

March 13, 2011 10:37 AM

Knocking some brains out (I hope) by Demelza Eagle, Beater

Quiddtch, Quidditch, Quidditch! I didn’t matter that Demelza Eagle had been playing as Pecari’s beater for over three years; she still felt the same sense of excitement and thrill before every game. Some games she was more nervous than others (like the two times Pecari made it into the championship), and other games she was really relaxed about, but she was always excited—that factor never changed. The fifteen-year-old loved Quidditch and played it not as a hobby, but more because she knew some day she would get somewhere in life because of the sport.

Today they were only playing Crotalus, and in Mel’s most humble opinion, their new line-up was a bit of a joke. The chasers were only okay, not even close to the level of Pecari’s chasers, and their seeker was also half-way decent, but their beaters were two first years. But seriously—two first years?! Mel was far more experienced than all the beaters that were going to be on the pitch, it was kind of weird. Usually there was a little bit of competition, but today Mel was going to dominate the pitch. No bludger was going to hit one of her teammates, and many were going to his Crotalus people, Mel would make sure of that. Her strength was far superior to all the little first years that were going to be flying around. Mel could easily aim for someone’s head and knock them out. The Pecari practiced all the time nowadays, and had been working on her aim and strength for four years now. Some Crotalus player was going to get hurt today, and Mel would be behind it.

Her waist-length, straight mocha brown hair up in a high pony tail and her brown Qudditch robes on, Demelza went down to the Cascade Hall for a delicious egg and ham omelet. After she shoveled that down her throat, she grabbed her broom, a pretty decent one she received in her second year, glove, and beater’s bat. Then, she made her way down to the Quidditch pitch, not at all nervous about the game. She always played worse when she experienced nerves, so today was already looking bright. When she got there she kicked her old white sneakers into the ground, testing to see how hard the dirt was. It wasn’t frozen, for it was pretty warm out for November, and the sky was clear with no storm in sight. Demelza smiled. Today was really looking up for her.

She huddled with her team to listen to Jose’s speech, noticing how much bigger and taller she was than the other seekers. Demetra wasn’t all that bad, and Mel had been giving her special training, something Crotalus’s inexperienced beaters didn’t receive. However, Mel towered over many of the younger people being 5’10”, very tall for a girl and even someone in her family. Her little sister, Kat, was only a year and two months younger than her and was 4’7”. Then again, Mel was pretty sure that had something to do with her cerebral palsy. After she gave Jose a smile that clearly read, “Sure, I’ll get Marissa and everyone else on their team too,” she walked onto the pitch in her position, gave Demetra two thumbs up, and kicked off the ground hard, shooting far up into the air. Not wasting any time, she began flying around, looking for a bludger to mai—er, aim at someone. She grinned as she saw Sophie take a shot for the goal, but that faded away when she saw that the ball was intercepted by a Crotalus player. Spotting a bludger close by, she shot in its direction, ready to blast it at the player who was going to receive the ball passed to them by their Crotalus teammate. Careful that it wouldn’t hit any of her own players, as she always was, she swung her bat back and then brought it forward with as much strength as possible, making contact with the bludger and sending it off in another direction. The contact she made was right on, she could feel it! The sound was a nice and crisp CRACK, and the feel felt so right, like when she played tennis and sliced the ball perfectly, making it have top spin.

She began circling around some more, thinking it would be a good idea to take Marissa out early. One thing she really hated about aiming at the seeker, though, was that it was likely that her own seeker would be following her, so that it would be easy to hit him as well. She remembered well in her first year when her fellow beater, Caedence, had aimed for Aladren’s seeker in the final match of the year, but instead the other Aladren bater just tapped the ball hard enough to make it hit Elly instead. Mel did not want that to happen again. So, positive that no one was in the way (she was awfully close to Marissa), she aimed a passing bludger at the girl, hoping she wouldn’t notice it and that it would injure her enough to take her out of the game because Crotalus had no reserves. Crossing her fingers, she prayed that her bludgers would hit their targets and that no one would get in the way. Right now, both of the bludgers were aiming for Crotalus players and that was just the way Mel wanted it.

0 Demelza Eagle, Beater Knocking some brains out (I hope) 0 Demelza Eagle, Beater 0 5

Topher Calhoun, Beater

March 13, 2011 5:22 PM

Pecaris have brains to knock out? by Topher Calhoun, Beater

Topher got along with people, he thought. He was a nice guy. Liked a laugh better than a fight, anyway, and would usually try to get one out of a situation instead of the other.

For today, though, he was a Beater. Not his first choice for a position, and he didn’t know if he was strong enough to do the kind of damage he’d seen being dished out during the Aladren-Teppenpaw game (though he did have a whole new level of respect for the Teppenpaw and Aladren boys in his year), but he would play it the best he could. Not much else to do, was there?

Well, other than chatter to his roommate and fellow Beater from the time they got up until the time Charlie began speaking to them all, but he needed an outlet, and it was either talking about how great Crotalus was or complaining about something, and he was aware enough of how these things worked to refrain from complaining. So he was willing to take Phoenix not punching him anyway as a sign that it was going to be a good day for them. He was willing to be superstitious when that worked for him.

He only gave half an ear to Coach Pierce, assuming this was the fair play speech, instead summing up the competition. Both girls, one in his year. He wasn’t worried about Demetra. The other girl was really big, taller than him, so he thought she might be someone to watch, but she had ridiculously long hair hanging loose in a ponytail, which was a definite weakness. If they’d both been playing Chaser, he would have considered that so stupid that it would have become fair play to pull it while she was carrying the Quaffle, but since they were Beaters, he’d let it be a foul, though still a last-chance possibility. Honestly, he had cousins a lot younger than he was who’d heard of this radical concept called ‘braids’ when they were playing Quidditch.

Then the game was on, and Pecari was doing annoyingly well, and the Bludgers were helping them by not being around. Renee pulled off a nice swing in and recapture, basically what Russ had done in the last seconds of the Aladren-Teppenpaw game, but then Stupid Hair Beater, as he’d dubbed her, hit a Bludger back toward the Crotalus Chasers. Thinking angry things, because actually muttering them would take too much time and breath, Topher flew at it before he could think too much about it and hit it away, as hard as he could, from his people.

It hurt like whoa, the impact of his bat against the fast-moving metal ball sending an unpleasant shock back up his arms even after he’d sort of turned the wrong way to hit it, but it was now heading toward a Pecari. Maybe not as hard as it had been heading toward a Crotalus, but heading toward a Pecari, and Stupid Hair Beater was already running off and wasn’t around to fix his interception of that Bludger, so he’d call it a win for now.

0 Topher Calhoun, Beater Pecaris have brains to knock out? 0 Topher Calhoun, Beater 0 5

Sam Bauer, Chaser

March 13, 2011 5:49 PM

There's always a few. by Sam Bauer, Chaser

Sam was usually nervous before Quidditch games, and so wasn’t surprised to be again, but he thought it might be worse today than it usually was. Usually, he wasn’t playing in the successor to the match of the century.

Quidditch was about a lot of things to a lot of people. Belonging to a team. Channeling excess aggression in a socially appropriate way. Getting House points. Setting up for a career. He’d even heard there were some people who just did it to have fun. For the audience, though, it was usually about two things: House pride and entertainment. There was always an unsatisfied feeling in the House for a while when they lost, or when a game wasn’t sufficiently entertaining, and Sam figured he was going to end up being aware of it for a while after this one. Crotalus and Pecari were the traditionally aggressive, dramatic teams, but after Aladren and Teppenpaw had turned it into less of a game than a battle in the rain….Yeah, he had a feeling they were going to fall short. They had Demelza Eagle, who was older than all the other Beaters but also, from what Sam had seen, a little on the scatterbrained side where the other game had Edmond Carey, and he really didn’t see Marissa and Neal putting on a broom-dueling show like Arnold and Kate had.

He didn’t even bother thinking about the Pecari Chasers too much. They were gonna end up failing at life, at least compared to his team. Chasers were what Crotalus did well, and Sam thought that the set he was with was a good one. Charlie was one of the most experienced players in the school, Renee was a crazy chick, and he was…well, he was at least as good as the best Pecari could put out there, anyway.

Pecari taking the Quaffle first didn’t, therefore, faze him too much. It always changed hands a few times, and the first go – the one where only half the Pitch had to be covered – wasn’t really indicative of how the game would go. He wasn’t happy by any means when it became clear that Jamison was going to try to shoot, but that only lasted a second before Renee demonstrated why he thought of her as crazy but in a useful way.

He didn’t think quite as much of her trying to do a Brishen and take the Quaffle all the way down the Pitch when he and Charlie were both perfectly intact and able to take it off her hands, and considered it proof that the new Beaters were better at their craft than he’d expected that she didn’t end up in the medic’s tent with five or six broken bones after doing that with no rain to cover her, but had to admit it was nice and sneaky to change which player was assaulting the goals at the last second. Might have worked better if she hadn’t done it in such a way that he had to come up to do that, giving the Keeper a precious second to realize what had happened and accommodate for it, but hey, whatever. Once the Quaffle was in his hands, Sam moved as fast as possible to the side, toward the center hoop, and shot, hoping the Keeper would have been busy diving for the left and not been able to get to the middle as fast as he had.

16 Sam Bauer, Chaser There's always a few. 163 Sam Bauer, Chaser 0 5

Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

March 13, 2011 6:21 PM

That's not shiny. by Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

Marissa felt a little nervous while she was getting ready for the Quidditch game, but only enough that she thought it might give her a bit of an edge. Mostly she was excited and looking forward to it. An entire afternoon without studying, and probably not too hard a win, either, since the Pecari Seeker was brand-new and in third year. What more could someone in fifth year reasonably ask for?

Of course, later she would feel guilt, but that was later. Right now, it was a pretty day, so she almost certainly didn’t have to worry about the complications that had turned the first game of the season into such a tangle, and she was on a good team. That was what she was going to think about for now. She could always cut back on something else later if she found she really needed to make up the time lost on her work somehow.

There were the usual pre-game speeches, to which her main contribution was smiling in either a confident or confident-but-sportsmanlike manner, and then Marissa left the rest of the game to its own devices in favor of looking for the Snitch and keeping at least a bit of an eye on what Neal was doing. He was new, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get lucky. She really didn’t want to think about potential aftermaths of him getting lucky. There had never really been, that she could remember, any strong, overt negative backlash over the loss of a game, but she never discounted the possibility that someday there could be.

She thought she saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye that drew her toward where the Crotalus Chasers were moving back down the Pitch, but didn’t find the Snitch there when she got there. She did, though, hear the whistle of a Bludger, and when her head turned instinctively toward the sound, she found it right there and immediately shot forward to avoid it. Thankfully, she’d gotten used to flying fast a long time ago, so she flew straight toward Neal, planning to dive to avoid it once it was close enough to maybe register him as the closest player and attack if a Crotalus Beater didn’t swoop in to save her before she had to try that.

16 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker That's not shiny. 147 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker 0 5

Starbuck Gregory, Keeper

March 13, 2011 10:19 PM

It seems we have a few more then you do. by Starbuck Gregory, Keeper

If there was one thing in the magical world that Starbuck Gregory loved above all else it had to be Quidditch. The short red-haired girl had spent more of her time on the Quidditch Pitch then in classes the last four years. She had been on the team since her first year and she loved playing Keeper, it was like being a soccer goalie in the air. She hoped to one day play professionally, it wasn’t the best career choice but her passion was and would probably always be Quidditch.

So the morning of the Crotalus vs. Pecari game Starbuck was up early. She had made sure her broom and robes were in tip-top shape before going to bed the night before. She knew that no matter what she did on game days she would be up early. So she dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and threw her robes on before heading down to breakfast with her broom in hand. She was all smiles, she loved her team, and she knew they could win today! She sat down at the Pecari table and munched on some toast and scrambled eggs, she washed it all down with a glass of orange juice.

Once she was finished she went down to the pitch and joined her team. She smiled when Jose said she was a better Keeper then Crotalus’ but her eyes never really left the Assistant Captain Demelza Eagle. She had once called Mel her enemy but not the fourteen year old knew better she was jealous. Not jealous that Mel had been named Assistant Captain but jealous that she wasn’t close to her. Starbuck had a crush on Mel and had one since their first year probably. Of course Starbuck had dated a Muggle girl named Farrah for two years before finally ending it last summer.

Starbuck finally tore her eyes away from Mel and got her head in the game as she mounted the broom. She flew up to the goals ready to defend them to the death! She smiled glad to see Captain Jose got the Quaffle first and soon enough the game had started! She watched as the Quaffle was taken from Pecari possession and into Crotalus’.

She watched as the girl raced towards her and raised her hand to shoot but Starbuck saw her drop it. She wanted to laugh but knew another Chaser would probably be around and she wasn’t wrong. She smiled as the boy threw the Quaffle to the middle hoop and Starbuck easily caught it. Just as quickly as it had come to her she threw the ball to the closest Pecari Chaser, glad that she had been able to save it. It really showed that she deserved this position and helped her towards her goals of becoming a professional player.

0 Starbuck Gregory, Keeper It seems we have a few more then you do. 0 Starbuck Gregory, Keeper 0 5

Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

March 14, 2011 10:38 AM

It's Quality that matters, not Quantity by Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

Game day had finally arrived and Charlie did her utmost not to think of anything else. It was hard, she was so easily distracted, but no, today was about Quidditch and Quidditch only. She had to be a hundred percent in this game, and lead her team to victory. Just because losing to Pecari was so... lousy, really. Charlotte had no intention at all of letting that happen. Positive thinking: they could win this game and by Merlin thay would win it. The thought alone put a smile on Charlie's face as she finished tying her dark hair into a tight braid, and, as it was getting long again, she pinned the braid up for good measure. there was no point at all in positive thinking if she couldn't see on the pitch because she hadn't sufficiently secured her hair. As she'd already reminded herself once that morning: today wasn't about looking good, it was about Quidditch. This was also the reason she'd let her diet slip - a very rare occurence while she was at school. She's strted with nuts and seeds with yoghurt, but then the toast had smelled so good, so she'd had one slice of granary bread with the teeniest scraping of butter. It had been delicious, and no doubt the carbohydrates would give her an extra burst of energy on the pitch, should she require it.

After breakfast, Charlie headed out to the pitch to meet her team. It was a beautiful, sunny day, great for relaxing, and - no, she sternly reminded herself, it was great for Quidditch. That's all. Getting that red leather ball through the opposition's hoops, and knowing that her team were well trained, and that Pecari wouldn't know what had hit them. "Okay, you lot, gather round," she called her team together, and decided they looked the part in their matching robes, and a split-second after that she reminded herself that looking the part wasn't what was important. "We have got this," she told her teamates confidently. She looked over at where the brown-clad players were gathering, and she was still convinced they could win this.

"Beaters," she looked at Topher and Phoenix. "They are going to under-estimate you," she predicted the opposition's behaviour. "I know it's your first game, but you guys have been working really hard, and I know you've got this in you." They didn't necessarily have the power of older, more built-up Beaters, but these kids could aim, and that's what would have to be more important today. "You'll have to defend Marissa - they'll see her as our best bet at winning. They're right," she added as an after-thought, "so we have to keep her in the game." Phoenix had been trained as Seeker, too, but Marissa was by far the strongest player, and could easily out-fly Pecari's newbie Seeker. "Pecari have a reserve, so if you take anyone out they'll still have a full team" - which was their best advantage so far as Charlie could tell - "so only go for their Seeker or Keeper. We'll handle the Chasers." Here she moved to consult Sam and Renée. "Guys, we are awesome," she couldn't help a smile as she said this statement of fact. Crotalus had always had a strong Chaser team, and this year was no exception - Renée was practically fearless, Sam was intuitive, and Charlie had more experience than anyone else on the filed today. Beyond that, they worked well together, had practised hard, and there was no way that Pecari's Chasers were a match for them. "Just keep doing what we always do and there won't be a problem."

Marissa obviously knew what she was doing. She was veteran Seeker by now, not to mention Assistant Captain, so charlie didn't say anything to her past, "Catch the Snitch, all will be fine," before she appraised Nic. It was a blessing in disguise that her last Keeper had been sick one day and Charlie'd happened to pull Nic in to save the day. He'd signed up again this year, so this wasn't his first game, and now he had a term of practise to boost his skills. Plus he had unusually extended reach with his lanky limbs. "Nic, the Pecari chasers are crazy," she said without any indication that this was a matter of personal opinion, because everyone would surely agree, "so watch out for stuff you just wouldn't think a normal person would try." At least Tepps and Aladrens were fairly predictable in their play (though admittedly the last game had been surprisingly violent); Pecaris were only predictable in their unpredictability. "Just stop the ball going through the hoops, you'll be fine." Now everyone had been dealt with, Charlie looked up once again to see how the Pecaris were looking, and Coach Pierce called her over to shake hands with Jose. She returned the opposiing Captain's smile even as her inner monologue reminded her to focus on Quidditch, and merely laughed at his offer of luck. She liked Jose, but this was as close as Sonora came to war: Pecari were the enemy. They needed to be crushed.

Returning to her team, Charlie uttered one last encouraging, "We can do it!" before mounting her broom and kicking off on the whistle. She bounced off the balls of her feet, giving a final push from her toes that launched her into the air, a light autumn breeze chilling her cheeks and ears as she gained altitude, but the sun warmed her back and shoulders. It was a beautiful day, and only the game starting was capable of truly drawing Charlie's attention to Quidditch and holding it there - she wasn't supposed to be thinking of anything else today. This was the game, this was where her thoughts needed to be.

Pecari got the Quaffle first, but that wasn't a big deal. In fact, Charlie sort of preferred it that way, because it meant all the Chasers went speeding off the the hoops at one end of the pitch, while she hung back and waited for Sam and Renée to bring the Quaffle back to her. Then they just took it down to the other goals and scored without hassle. That was generally the plan, and often it worked, but today, for some reason, the Pecari Keeper wasn't playing along. Starbuck had played the position for a good while now, Charlie supposed - maybe she was actually getting good, which didn't sound like it would be good news for her team. On the other hand, If Crotalus was known for anything, it was surely that its players (and non-Quidditch-playing members, for that matter) always had a trick up their sleeve. As such, when Starbuck threw the Quaffle back out into play, Charlie swept in, intercepted the ball mid-flight. Quick as a flash, she flung it back in the direction it had come, though this time to the nearest hoop, which was on Charlie's right - the Keeper's left. The throw was short and so easy to aim, and in her six years of playing Chaser Charlie had worked up some strength in her short-distance passes. The throw was quick and on target, and had taken very little effort indeed, which was always a bonus. They could keep doing this for a while, if necessary. She and Sam were both right at the hoops, Renée only a little further back, and the Pecari Chasers were probably still trying to make it down the pitch from their unsuccessful goal attempt at the very start of the game. Intercepting was easy from where they were, and the Keeper could only catch so many.

0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser It's Quality that matters, not Quantity 0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser 0 5

Cap'n Jose, Chaser

March 14, 2011 11:19 AM

We've got that, too. by Cap'n Jose, Chaser

Sophie caught his pass and made it the rest of the way down the field to take a shot at Nic. Jose hung back some, ready to intercept any Crotali who tried to bring the Quaffle back to the Pecari side after the goal - but Renee stopped both the goal and somehow managed to get past Jose despite the Pecari Captain placing himself directly in her way. He blamed the school broom and decided that maybe it was time for the California Pierces to own one decent Quidditch broom between them. Surely Maria would agree to that more readily than Regina had when Saul asked.

Still the broom got him back to the other side of the pitch, not so quickly that he could intercept the drop pass, but soon enough to cheer Starbuck's catch. He flew upwards, hovering above the main field of play in case anybody on Crotalus tried what Russell had done at the end of the last Aladren game. Not many people had seen it, since it was overshadowed by the Snitch getting caught seconds before, but that last shot had made it in past Kirstenna and he didn't want the same thing to happen to Starbuck when it counted.

Sure enough, Charlie tried it. Jose dropped down out of the sky in his best dive that he'd been working on with Neal and Dana, and intercepted the second shot at the goal before Starbuck had to kill herself getting over to the left hoop on almost no notice.

Hugging the red leather ball to his chest, he leveled out and swung back toward the Crotalus side, gaining altitude again as he'd lost quite a bit during his interception maneuver. With a broom that had already proven inferior once, he didn't want to hold onto the ball for too long a run, so he watched for a good opening to one of his chasers, and passed at the first opportunity.

0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser We've got that, too. 0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser 0 5

Nic Sawyer, Keeper

March 14, 2011 11:47 AM

But mine easier. by Nic Sawyer, Keeper

Nic still wasn't what he would call good at Keeping. His ability to fly a broom had improved vastly since he started attending regular practices, and that accounted for the majority of his progress on the Keeping front as well. Being a fast runner, he'd rarely played Goalie during gym's soccer games at his Miami school, but even the few times he had were not really at all like Keeping. That was all in the legs, and legs were useless on a broom.

Still, he was better than no Keeper at all, which made him good enough, so here he was, at his second game at Sonora, and the first where he was actually a part of the formal roster. He listened carefully to the parts of Charlie's speech that applied to him. Stopping the ball from going through the hoops, he had learned during practice, was much easier said than done, but he took note of her appraisal of the Pecari's unpredictability and wondered if it was at all like Renee's.

Eventually though, the speeches finished and the whistle blew, and Nic got himself up to the Crotalus goals. He only barely beat the Quaffle there as Sophie took Pecari's first shot only a minute into the game. He honestly wasn't sure that he would have been able to get to the appropriate hoop in time if Renee hadn't swooped in and grabbed it before he had to prove himself.

Despite that - and it was probably Eliza's fault he thought it at all, and if it had been Charlie or Sam he would have just been grateful - he resented the interference and thought he probably could have saved that himself. Sophie had thrown from pretty far back, and he had long arms, so he'd just needed to get close enough to deflect.

He totally would have had that if Renee hadn't stolen his glory.

1 Nic Sawyer, Keeper But mine easier. 165 Nic Sawyer, Keeper 0 5

Renée

March 14, 2011 1:34 PM

Taking a shot... going in... going in... going...? by Renée

Being a chaser was the only indication that the potion hadn’t been faulty when it made Renée a Crotalus instead of a Pecari. She just honestly couldn’t imagine working with any other chasers; Sam always seemed to know what the other two were thinking and was so easily adaptable to the various situations. And Charlie was someone Renée admired immensely. She was the most experienced player, and it showed in every play that she executed. Then there was the rest of the team that Renée had to admit she liked better than last year’s lineup. She had started off as a first year chaser last year and so didn’t have a prejudice against Topher and Phoenix. And she wasn’t proven wrong after Topher hit the bludger away from Sam, just appearing out of nowhere to save the day. She grinned at him while he shot off to hit bludgers at more Pecaris. Then waited in those few seconds for Sam to make the shot.

‘Going in… going in… going – ugh!’

She pouted as the Pecari Keeper made the save, grinned as Charlie made the interception, and then let loose a low growl when she saw Jose swoop down from above. Her widened dark brown eyes swept the pitch for the nearest Pecari chaser and she hadn’t even noticed she was speeding for Jose until she was. She rose up further into the air, one hand raised in a fist that she used to bump the Quaffle out of its trajectory. There was a light slap of leather on her knuckles and then it was rolling off. Renée twisted her hand around and grabbed the ball before it fell much further, and swooped around another player, dodged a bludger, intending to make another pass to either Sam or Charlie.

It took her three seconds before she was back in range, and she had already happily noted that she, Charlie and Sam were keeping the pressure on the Pecari goals instead of the other way around. Of course it had been disappointing that the Keeper had managed to make the save, but then Jose had had to step in so perhaps that meant that she didn’t have as much faith from her team, particularly the captain (Renée had already forgotten making the save in place of Nic).

She caught sight of Sam and raised her arm, flying from above him, intending to pass, but then she grinned when she saw Charlie, made a convincing feint towards her at the right goal hoops, and then quickly twisted on her Febre to make her own shot at the center. She bit her lip in surprise, her hand accidentally giving a spin on the ball, and watched as it made its way to the center goal hoops, before it made a sharp spin towards the left.

0 Renée Taking a shot... going in... going in... going...? 0 Renée 0 5

Starbuck, Keeper

March 15, 2011 12:47 PM

Gone! by Starbuck, Keeper

Starbuck did a quick loop around the hoops to recover from the shot taken at her expecting one of the Pecari chasers to get the Quaffle. Yet she was wrong, Charlie got the damn Quaffle and flung it back towards the hoop, a save Starbuck wouldn’t be able to save. “Damn.” She muttered as she tried to get it but smiled when she saw Jose grabbed it and took it down the pitch. Thank Merlin for the Captain!

She watched closely as Jose passed off to another Chaser and saw Renee grab it and took it back towards her. Where was the rest of their team? The pressure was all on her! She sighed as the girl made a third shot at the goals. There was bit of a spin on the ball so Starbuck watched it closely. It seemed to be making its way right to her arms but it turned left. She smiled and dived for it grabbing it once again. “Pecari let’s go!” She screamed as she threw out the Quaffle as hard as possible.

The other chasers better get on it and put some pressure on the Crotalus she couldn’t keep being everywhere at once! She growled swearing to hex the next person who took a chance at her goals.

0 Starbuck, Keeper Gone! 0 Starbuck, Keeper 0 5

Demetra Mason, Beater

March 15, 2011 4:19 PM

Ready. Aim. Fire. by Demetra Mason, Beater

Demetra was increasingly nervous as she began her morning. She had woken up earlier than usual, before breakfast even started. She prolonged her usual morning shower by a good ten minutes, and even wrote a short letter to Jacob before heading down to eat. She picked at her food, eating an orange and nibbling at a slice of toast.

She was the only first year on her team, but the opposing team had two first year Beaters. She didn't know how she felt about her skills anymore, but she was confident Demelza Eagle could outdo the others on the pitch. She told herself this was she tugged her curls into a perfect French braid back in her dorm. Father hadn't been happy about her making the Quidditch team, but her mother had convinced him to allow her to stay on. She knew that she owed it to her mother to win this game.

She grabbed her Lightening Streak 380, her gloves, and her Beater bat and sprinted down to the Pitch. Once there, she listened to Jose's short Captain speech, accepted Demelza's two thumbs up with a nod, and took to the air.

The game moved quickly, like every other game in the sport, but it was much easier to keep up with than the Aladran versus Teppenpaw match. Her eyes followed her team's chasers, and looked out for any bludgers. Just as Starbuck made a save, Dem caught site of a bludger. It wasn't too far away, so she swooped down a couple feet. Swinging her bat, she aimed toward the first figure clad in red, which happened to be a Chaser. She grinned at the loud, "CRACK!" coming from her swing. Hopefully it'd be enough to keep them off of her team's Chasers.

0 Demetra Mason, Beater Ready. Aim. Fire. 0 Demetra Mason, Beater 0 5

Charlie Abbott, Chaser

March 16, 2011 6:34 AM

This is getting repetetive by Charlie Abbott, Chaser

Charlie cursed aloud when Jose appeared out of nowhere to block her shot - she swore a great deal more on the Quidditch pitch than anywhere else, and would have felt bad for using such language in front of younger students (when as Head Girl and Quidditch Captain she was deifnitely supposed ot be setting a good example) if she hadn't been distracted by the game - as she was positive Starbuck never would have caught it if it hadn't been for Jose. She hadn't even seen him. Charlie didn't want to give the Pecari team more credit that they deserved but right now it looked like they maybe deserved a little credit. But just a little, because even as Jose took off with the Quaffle, Renée was right on his heels, and she brought the ball back again within moments. She was a genius on a broom - give it a couple more years of practise and let age and maturity do their work and this kid was going to be unstoppable. Charlie knew that after she graduated the year after this one, she would leave the team in Marissa's capable hands. She also knew she'd be leaving some extraordinary Chasers who would uphold the Crotalus legacy of having the best Chasing team. The Captain couldn't be more proud of her team as Renée took another shot at the goals.

What, another save? This Keeper was too good - with any luck Topher and Phoenix would notice and send their efforts this way. Although a reserve was waiting to take over if necessary, Charlotte doubted that Dana had Starbuck's skills; she didn't know her fellow sixth year very well, but knew Smythes well enough to know that their girls didn't play Quidditch. She had respect for Dana for even signing up, but there was no chance she was actually going to be any good. Not like Starbuck, who saved their third goal attempt, and then - yes! She made exactly the same mistake as last time. Charlie reach up and intercepted the ball once again, and threw it back as fast as she could into the hoop furthest from the Keeper. She knew that this move had been used in games before, which was probably why Jose had been anticipating it, but she didn't think it had been used twice in such quick succession, at least not in memorable history at Sonora. If the Keeper was good, the only way they were going to get past her would be to confuse her, and this method not only did that, but it kept Crotalus Chasers near their own goals. Their defense stratergy was a strong offense, and here it seemed to be working. They were going to keep the heat on Starbuck, no matter what. Eventually she would tire, or maybe one of the Crotalus Beaters would send over a well-aimed Bludger - Charlie had every faith in their aim.

On the topic of Bludgers, no sooner had Charlie let the Quaffle go, hopefully sending it to victory through one of those hoops, she saw one of those evil metal balls out the corner of her eye and hastily retreated back from the goals and out of its way. Who'd hit that there? Were they mad? Admittedly, there was quite a huddle of Crotalus Chasers just in that part of the picth, but that Bludger, if it saw fit, could just as easily take out the team's own Keeper. That would be fantastic! Not that Charlie had anything personal against anyone on Pecari's team, of course - in Quidditch nothing was personal, it was just game play. So as she tried to send telepathic messages to her Beaters to take hold of the Bludger that had just gone by and use it to take Starbuck out of the game, she wished the Keeper no personal injury as she turned back to the goals to see whether her shot had made it through this time.

0 Charlie Abbott, Chaser This is getting repetetive 0 Charlie Abbott, Chaser 0 5

Sam Bauer, Chaser

March 16, 2011 2:41 PM

But never boring. by Sam Bauer, Chaser

Though not too surprised by it, Sam swore under his breath when his goal didn’t make it – regular exposure to Charlie had made him much more comfortable with that kind of language, though good old Crotalus caution had thus far kept him self-aware enough to not demonstrate this in class or, Merlin forbid if mercy existed, around his mother – but couldn’t even manage that when two more attempts were also failures. What was this chick, a Keeper-bot? They’d tied up the real Starbuck Gregory somewhere and replaced her with a Polyjuiced-up strong Seer who could see the future as it happened and be right where the ball was all the time.

And people thought Crotalus was the dark wizard House just because it had a few purebloods and a few catty girls and a few people with the ability to plan their way out of a paper bag in it. Stupid people.

Still, though, the ball hadn’t gone anywhere near the Crotalus end since the first minute of the game, and unless she was a robot when Muggles couldn’t make good AI yet as far as he knew and wizards would short out the electrical wiring needed for it if they tried, she had to be getting tired. Her yelling at her own Chasers confirmed this in his mind. So if they could just keep this up….

Charlie seemed to share his thoughts on this, and readied himself to block any Pecaris who tried to pull another Jose from pulling another Jose. The firstie Aladrens had gotten pretty banged up, but had still played well, and he reckoned being a third year Crotalus meant having a lot more endurance than the average firstie Aladren if the Pecaris wouldn’t stop when it became clear he was in their way.

And ready to try a fourth close-to-goal interception, if it came to that. Hopefully, that Bludger from the Pecaris would just knock their super-Keeper down and both let Charlie’s goal work and him score another before the whistle blew.

16 Sam Bauer, Chaser But never boring. 163 Sam Bauer, Chaser 0 5

Topher Calhoun, Beater

March 16, 2011 9:44 PM

No, it's not by Topher Calhoun, Beater

Looking for anyone in danger from the Bludgers, Topher spotted Marissa charging the Pecari Seeker, a Bludger on her heels. A look around made him think she was running from that instead of chasing the Snitch, since there was no sign of anything shiny that he could see. He wondered if he could....

If he got this wrong, Charlie would kill him. Topher knew that. He accepted that risk.

"Marissa," he called, making a mental note, if he ever became captain and maybe if he didn't, to suggest that they develop some code words. The idea came from the spy-slash-war game he'd sort of accidentally helped make up when he was supposed to be learning about the Vampire Wars, so it felt a little stupid, but it would be seriously helpful right now to have a way to tell Marissa to duck now without there being any chance the Pecaris would hear and know what he meant. Admittedly, if one Pecari ever heard the same code twice, they'd have to change the whole system or at least go to a backup one, and it would be best to change it after one potential hearing, but it would still be better than gesturing forcefully with his bat and hoping she got it right.

Right now, though, that was all he had, so he went with that, already knowing this had been a bad idea. He hit the Bludger more or less toward the Pecari Seeker, but was pretty sure it would go wide because he'd been extremely conservative in his guess about how much room he had to make sure it changed targets and didn't hit Marissa.

0 Topher Calhoun, Beater No, it's not 0 Topher Calhoun, Beater 0 5

Topher Calhoun, Beater

March 17, 2011 12:24 AM

Being all strategic and stuff, kinda by Topher Calhoun, Beater

One Bludger now clear of Marissa, Topher flew back toward the bizarre back and forth going on between the Pecari Keeper and the Crotalus Chasers, hoping to find some way to help his team's cause.

He saw that Other Pecari Beater - he had seen her in class before, Moore or Morgan or something like that was her last name - was going to make a shot, and grimaced, realizing he couldn't get there in time to stop it. Stupid slow-ish broom, and stupid self, getting tired swooping around all over the Pitch after the Bludgers, hitting them, beating - ha, that was a good pun - the Pecari girls there, figuring out where everyone was and what they were doing and how he should deal with that.

To be a position traditionally associated with dumb muscle, Beater could actually require some skills.

He saw that no one had gotten hurt by Other Pecari Beater Girl, which was a relief, and that the Bludger was loose and Charlie was trying to score. It seemed pretty straightforward to him, now, how he could help the team. Mustering his strength, he swung at the Bludger, sending it straight for Pecari Keeper Girl so she would either be hit (and so unable to save) or have to run from the Bludger (and so be unable to save) if all went well.

He felt proud of himself for that, but less once he thought about it and realized he hadn't actually checked to see that Pheonix was looking after Marissa before running off to the next thing. That had always been what got him into trouble at home: thinking of two good ideas, both of which would have worked like a dream on their own, but which he put into close time blocks and didn't link together very well. He needed to work on that.

0 Topher Calhoun, Beater Being all strategic and stuff, kinda 0 Topher Calhoun, Beater 0 5

Demetra Mason, Beater

March 17, 2011 1:12 AM

Stopping your plans in their tracks. by Demetra Mason, Beater

Demetra was determined not to let her team down. She owed it to Jeb and Mother to win this game. She owed it to Pecari, to Demelza. She had been training hard, and she would not go finish this game halfheartedly. Her first bludger of the game had not damaged any one, and that infuriated her. Now, she was angry, and ready to beat some one off their broom. Preferably their Seeker, or a Chaser. Ah ha! she thought, welcoming a new idea.

Even better than taking out their Captain would be almost as damaging as their Seeker. She looked around for one of the bludgers, only to see it headed toward her own Keeper. Now was the time to prove herself. Leaning forward to speed up her Lightning Streak 380, she flew straight toward it. She was in a position where if she pulled left a little, she could get around in front of it.

Building up all her strength, she hit it with all her might toward the Chaser she knew to be their captain. As soon as she'd sent it away, she felt the pain in her shoulder. Maybe she had hit it a bit too hard. Rolling it in both directions, she thought about it. It didn't hurt enough for her to have pulled anything, but it was still sore. She would have to keep playing though. It would feel better in a moment, she was sure. She laughed when she saw that she had sent a rather well aimed Bludger as well as put the strength behind it. She turned around, winked at the Crotalus beater who had sent it to Starbuck, and silently prayed that her hit went where she wanted in to.

0 Demetra Mason, Beater Stopping your plans in their tracks. 0 Demetra Mason, Beater 0 5

Demelza Eagle, Beater

March 19, 2011 9:13 AM

Doubling the imensity of our plans by Demelza Eagle, Beater

Demelza was proud of Demetra so far in the game. If Pecari's chasers couldn't pull their act together (which, had happened before in previous games), then the older beater supposed that her and Demetra would have to try and knock down every Crotalus player one-by-one, all by themselves. It could be a new school record or something!

Demelza was also proud of Starbuck, her roommate. She was rocking out there! For some reason, Pecari's chasers just could not get possession of the ball, and Crotalus had taken many shots on goal, many of which Starbuck had been about to save. "C'mon, defense, guys!" Mel shouted out to her teammates, hoping they knew what she meant. "Get the ball back in our hands, come on!" This was quite frustrating; their chasers were good. Why couldn't they beat Crotalus? Deciding that she needn't worry about them, she instead chose to go bludger-hunting and kick some Crotali butt.

Once again, doing as Jose suggested, she planned to aim another bludger at Marissa. Her first one Marissa was barely able to dodge, dammit, but that was okay. Demelza could keep shooting at her all day. However, her stomach did a flip when she looked over at the Pecari goals after hearing a crack from that direction. The bludger was heading towards Star! And Mel wasn't there to stop it!

Thank God for Demetra. She would make it big someday, Mel just knew it! However, she barely had time to take a breath from relief--Demetra had aimed the ball at the Captain Chasers. Hmm. Good plan, my minion. Two seconds later Mel double-teamed with Dem and aimed a bludger at Captain Crotalus, and much harder hit one because she had more strength, but she was a bit further away, so they would probably reach her at the same time, as long as Demetra was just as on target as Mel was confident she was. She pulled back her long, muscular arm, and brought back her professionally-made bat that her favorite professional Quidditch player, her very own brother, had gotten for her, and made direct contact with the bludger, making it shoot off in Cap’n C’s direction. If they both hit her, that could do some real damage. Demelza's was coming from one direction and Demetra's was coming from the complete opposite direction. Boo-yah! That was what Mel called teamwork!

0 Demelza Eagle, Beater Doubling the imensity of our plans 0 Demelza Eagle, Beater 0 5

Renée {Chaser}

March 19, 2011 1:29 PM

Taking one for the team: Why I hate being a team player. by Renée {Chaser}

And once again the Pecari Keeper had made the save. This was getting very nearly frustrating. As good as they were, Renée didn't doubt that at some point the Pecari chasers would get it together and at least make it halfway towards Nic. But she also knew that the Pecari keeper couldn't keep up the saves forever... could she? Renée watched Charlie take another shot, Sam getting ready for another interception, and Renée decided to lower herself to go on the other side of Charlie, so that they all would more and less block the pass back Starbuck would again try to make towards one of the Pecari Chasers.

Her neck stiffened on instinct as she heard a faint whistling through the air. Turning her head to the side, she immediately yelled out a warning to her captain. "Charlie - your le - ungh!"

Something hard rammed into the back of Renée's head as a second bludger caught her in her descent parallel to Charlie's level. She slackened on her broom, seeing stars, and began to spiral down, wind rushing up to greet her. By the miracle of Merlin she managed to grip the wood tightly between her legs and thighs, straining her body so she fell slower, far below the action above her in the sky. Tears sprang to her eyes, more out of shock than in pain. But then the pain hit and more tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Ow!" 'Ow!' "Ow!" 'Ow!' "Ow!" 'Ow!' She cried and she thought at the same time.

But the pain didn't last too long, a sweeping feeling that washed over her and left with a throbbing pain in the back of her head to be remembered by. She managed to pause in the air, arms lifted hesitatntly to the back of her head, fingers raking through the thick curls just above the back of her neck where she felt a bump and something warm and stiky. She breathed deeply, looking around for Coach Pierce and raised her thumb in the air just in case she had thought there was a need to blow the whistle. 'No need.' Renée thought. 'I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine.' And angry. And she wanted to score.

Shaking it off, she leaned forward to grip her broom in her hands and rose again in the air, slower paced than she had been going down, and blinked away the oddly colored spots and stars she saw in the sky. She squinted above, trying to see where the action was now taking place, and impatiently brushed away the tears, ready to get back into play.

0 Renée {Chaser} Taking one for the team: Why I hate being a team player. 0 Renée {Chaser} 0 5

Neal Padrig, Seeker

March 19, 2011 1:40 PM

At least the normal ones aren't by Neal Padrig, Seeker

The transition from Chaser to Seeker wasn’t as shaky as Neal had imagined it would be. It wasn’t long before he had almost completely detached himself from the mindset of his previous position enough to focus solely on his new goal: get that Snitch. There were times when his mind would wonder and he’d see a good in for him to go after the Quaffle during some practices, but he had enough sense to not do it and to train his thoughts back onto his original task. The position change had done wonders for his ability to pay attention (on the Pitch at least) and he felt his mood in a total upswing. The nervous-energy-fueled excitement definitely put the third in year in higher spirits, there was simply no arguing it.

Knowing that he had a lot riding on his hunch to play the spot, Neal knew he had to really do his best if he wanted to catch the Snitch and prove to his team that he’s not a total waste of space. Their dynamic was pretty good and he felt he had positive relationships with his teammates, but that only made him more eager to not let them down. If he wanted to do anything right, it had to start with this game. If they lost this game, he had a feeling he’d lose more than just his newfound spot on the team. He might have done well with practices (with much thanks to Jose for some moves he passed on), but now was the real test.

With his eyes tight from all the focus he was giving the Quaffle, Neal silently cheered Jose on for getting a hold of it first before taking to the sky in search of the only ball that had to matter to him. Well, one of the only balls; he still had to keep an eye out for the Quaffle unless he wanted to get slammed on by Chasers. And how could he forget Bludgers? If he thought those things were on his tail before, he was sure they’d be ten times more likely to get aimed at him now.

Darting to a spot in the air he felt was far enough away from the action to get a good look around for the Snitch, Neal was determined to keep his head on making a quick capture. He wasn’t worried about the colorblind thing because the snitch was still light colored and had a particular tone and shine to it that was enough to catch his eye, but the thing was still lightening fast.

He was trying so hard to focus on finding the Snitch he hadn’t noticed Marissa making a beeline for him until she was close enough to warrant suspicion. She was older and had more experience at being a Seeker than he did, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing or that he couldn’t do it. Eyeing her distrustfully and backing away when he felt she was much too close, Neal almost thought she was going to try and collide into his broom. He was more than ready to fly up and out of there when she suddenly dove out of view, only to be replaced by a Bludger.

Noticing it coming right for his chest, Neal didn’t have much time to do anything other than follow his original plan and soar upwards. This resulted in the Bludger crashing into his right shin. Instead of going up, the hit to his shin had him sent off at an angle, but at least it got him out of the blasted thing’s way.

It didn’t take long before the shock ebbed and the pain start to register. Oh Merlin did it hurt, and he had to squeeze the broom as tight as he could to keep himself from screaming out. He wasn’t going to look at it, he was going to let this distract him. It hit him that the whole incident was probably a set-up. He had been daft enough to follow right into whatever trap Marissa led him too because he was too curious about what she was doing to assume the worst and get out of the situation. He was always too curious for his own good. He never felt so stupid. So much for trying to be of use.

Flying off in another direction to avoid any sort of demonic Bludger boomerang effect, Neal tried to gather up his flying thoughts and stop thinking about how much his leg was throbbing and start to focus on getting that Snitch. It all came down to that, and if he could pull it off this would all be worth it. If he got the Snitch, having a Quidditch battle wound would be cool for him, but if not it’d just be a reminder that he wasn’t good enough. There was really no more room for screwing up.Seeing Renée soaring on her broom in her Crotalus Quidditch robes out of the corner of his eye, Neal felt his attention subside for only a split second until she zoomed off. Yeah, he’d have to avoid looking at her too if he wanted to keep focus.

Now more than ever, Neal was determined to find that Snitch. His disheveled hair and robes and the bone fracture he could feel sweating blood was sure to make him look like he wasn’t going to get sidetracked to easily from now on. Catching a suspicious glint from the opposite side of the field a few feet from the ground, Neal grinded his teeth to deal with the pain his wound got when the wind burned against it as he sped off for what he thought might be that golden ball.

0 Neal Padrig, Seeker At least the normal ones aren't 0 Neal Padrig, Seeker 0 5

Topher Calhoun, Beater

March 20, 2011 1:35 AM

Busy, busy, busy (and WoTW) by Topher Calhoun, Beater

If Topher had seen Demetra wink at him, his reaction would have very likely worsened Crotalus' position, but he was too busy realizing the Bludger was no longer targeting the Pecari Keeper and rushing to hit it, not bothering to aim because he didn't have time, away from his captain to notice the other first year. He hoped he'd avoid damaging another Crotalus, but really, the most important thing after keeping Seeker-Assistant Captain Stephenson in the air was keeping Captain. Abbott in the air. Anyone going out of the game when they were the only team without a reserve would be demoralizing, but it being Charlie would be super-demoralizing. It would also be strategically disastrous, since she was their best Chaser.

He'd only just saved their second-biggest asset, though, when maybe the third, Crazy Renee, suddenly cried out and started heading down. Topher forced himself to quell a wave of panic. He had been at the Aladren-Teppenpaw match right along with everyone else, and had seen that the coach and medic were more than able to handle this sort of thing.

He wasn't as successful at quelling a moment of despair, though, and went after another Bludger so it could help him work through his feelings. Renee was nuts, and had this weird vibe Topher didn't really know if he liked, but she was a good Chaser, and now she was concussed. There was a good chance Pierce was going to pull her out, and even if she didn't, people were not durable enough to play their best when they had just taken some high-speed iron with a little more aggression than could be accounted for by its velocity to the head. Maybe a part giant could, but Renee was too short for that, so he was going to assume she'd been impaired.

And oh, yes. Something was still going on with the Quaffle....

0 Topher Calhoun, Beater Busy, busy, busy (and WoTW) 0 Topher Calhoun, Beater 0 5

Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

March 20, 2011 5:24 PM

No more Bludgers, please by Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

(OOC: As per the note on the OOC board I'm writing as if Starbuck missed the Quaffle))

The sound of cheers from the Crotalus supporters told Charlie that her goal had been successful - finally - and she turned back to face the goals in time to see a Bludger heading straight towards her. She heard Renée call out, but it was okay - the firstie Beater on the other team had hit the Bludger right where Charlie was looking. The sixth year ducked out of its way and combined her evasie moanouever with a dive to catch the Quaffle. She was on top form this game, and her angle and greater mass than the Keeper (though in usual circumstances Charlie wasn't sure she'd brag about her weight being greater than a fourth year's, despite her obvious height advantage) enabled Charlie to grab the Quaffle first, scooping it up as she turned back into play.

With one arm holding the Quaffle into her side, Charlie flew back to the game, keeping her eyes open for Bludgers, Beaters, and Pecari Chasers, and she noticed that Renée had lost height, too. Plus she didn't look sturdy - ah, and there was the tell-tale Bludger. Charlie grimaced; having a Chaser taken out of the game definitely wouldn't be good, but playing with one of them damaged wasn't ideal, either. Wondering whether Renée needed a time-out, and whether one would be permitted on these grounds, Charlie decided the situation at the Pecari goals was too perilous to try making another goal attempt just now - there were still two Bludgers in the vicinity, and it wasn't worth getting all her Chasers concussed for a quick goal.

Making a quick decision, Charlie looked to see who was more likely to cathc the ball out of Sam and Renée, and she flew closer before making a quick pass. She flew out a little herself, hpoing to draw the Bludgers away from the goals so maybe she could fly back to the posts once she regained possession of the Quaffle, and would have a clear run for another goal attempt. Merlin knew they needed all the attempts they could get with Starbuck's current track record. The girl was like a machine. Until then, Charlie kept half an eye on Renée in case her crazy Chaser took a turn for the worst. The Crotalus captain would really rather this game didn't turn into a massacre reminiscient of the Aladren-Teppenpaw game earlier in the year. Unless, of course, the damage was all to Pecari's players.

0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser No more Bludgers, please 0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser 0 5

Cap'n Jose, Chaser

March 21, 2011 11:02 AM

Don't listen to her, by Cap'n Jose, Chaser

He was momentarily diverted from the action by noticing that Neal was hit. His leg did not look good, and Jose felt kind of bad for not realizing the injury had happened sooner. Both bludgers were here and accounted for - Renee had taken a hit, and Jose himself had needed to dive a little to avoid the rogue one deflected away from Charlie - so it must have happened pretty early in the game.

Pecari's newest Seeker seemed like he was willing to keep going though, and Coach didn't seem inclined to pull him out any more than she was Renee and the Chaser had just taken a hit to the head and only barely managed to keep her broom. Trusting Neal to know what he was doing, Jose turned back to the game in progress just in time to see the Quaffle go into the goal.

Charlie had done the same thing twice. And judging by where Sam was, even if he'd been prepared for it, he couldn't have done the same thing he'd done last time. He hadn't expected it, though, so he'd been out further in the field, waiting for the Quaffle to come to him when Starbuck threw it out. Charlie had messed that up though and it never made it to him. Next time Starbuck made a save, he swore he was going to be two feet away from her and there would be no way it could be intercepted.

Worse even than the goal, though, was the fact that the Quaffle didn't even make it into Pecari possession before Charlie had it again. Having made the first goal already, she seemed content not to make another immediate run on the Goals, but Pecari couldn't let it stay in Crotalus possession this near their side any longer.

When she passed the ball on to her teammate, Jose was ready for it. Pushing his broom to its limit, he sped in and plucked the red leather ball out of its flight path from one red robed figure to another. He turned his broom toward Nicodemus Sawyer, and took the Quaffle as far from his own goals as he dared. With Renee potentially groggy, this was farther than he would have a few minutes ago, but he was still only approaching the middle of the pitch when he took an opening to pass the ball to one of his fellow Pecari chasers.

0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser Don't listen to her, 0 Cap'n Jose, Chaser 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

March 21, 2011 11:04 AM

Crotalus Scores! (10-0) (nm) by Coach Amelia Pierce

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Crotalus Scores! (10-0) (nm) 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

March 21, 2011 11:07 AM

OOC: Moving thread up for ease of reading (nm) by Coach Amelia Pierce

1 Coach Amelia Pierce OOC: Moving thread up for ease of reading (nm) 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

March 21, 2011 11:13 AM

Long Thread Continues Here by Coach Amelia Pierce

OOC Recap:

First goal attempt at Pecari foiled by Renee
Bludger at Marissa hit Neal hit in the leg; he's still playing
Three shots at Crotalus foiled by Starbuck, Jose, and Starbuck
Charlie's most recent shot at Crotalus scored (Score 10-0)
Bludger at Charlie hit Renee in the head; she's still playing
Jose just attempted to pass the Quaffle near the center of the Pitch.

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Long Thread Continues Here 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

Charlie Abbott, Chaser

March 23, 2011 5:50 AM

Quaffle is Red. Ergo it is ours. by Charlie Abbott, Chaser

The past few minutes of the game had been exciting, so much so that Charlie had no idea where Marissa was or how she was doing - she hadn't thought about her Seeker since the very start of the game when Renée had originally taken the ball from Pecari's possession. She liked to keep an eye on everyone on her team, but for the time being it was better than all her attention was kept on what she was doing as she played the game and was doing fairly well to stop pecari from gaining any points advantage. Admittedly one of her Chasers had been injured, but these things happened it Quidditch - it was an occupational hazard that you would inevitably get hit by a Bludger from time to time. Charlie just hoped that Renée really was okay, and that marissa was doing fine, too - her Seeker and Assistant Captain was perfectly competent and usually Charlie had no need to worry about her, so she hoped this was one of those normal days.

Still focused on the game before her, then, Charlie saw the Pecari Captain out of the corner of her eye as the Quaffle left her hands. She muttered another expletive - that Jose was getting on her nerves this game - but at least she could anticipate what was going to happen. She was already facing the right direction to follow Jose's mad dash down the pitch, and her own broom was faster than his school rental. She flew beneath him, hoping to remain more or less undetected, and when the Quaffle left his hands she flew right up in front of him to snatch the ball out of the air before it could reach its intended recipient. Quaffle once again in hand, Charlie continued on her upwards curve and leaned to the left for a speedy but gentle turn to face back in the direction from whence she'd come. With any luck Pecari's brief possession had given her Beaters time to get the Bludgers away from the goalposts and hey, maybe they'd have taken the Keeper out, too, but that seemed like asking for too much.

Reluctant to travel too far with the ball, Charlie had no intention of trying to score agai just yet. Yes, more goals would be good - crushing Pecari into oblivion would make her feel a lot better about the number of times their attempts at goal had been thwarted (not to mention how many times Jose showed up out of nowhere to ruin her plans) - but there was no point rushing into them and risk giving away the Quaffle. Instead Charlie went to complete the loop she'd begun when intercepting the Quaffle from Jose with a fast yet steady downwards slope, and passed the Quaffle from a reasonable height - a little higher than she'd have really liked but not too high to cause a problem to the receiving player - to the nearest red clad Chaser. Nobody could say that the Crotalus Chaser team weren't pulling their weight this game; they practically owned the Quaffle.

0 Charlie Abbott, Chaser Quaffle is Red. Ergo it is ours. 0 Charlie Abbott, Chaser 0 5

Renée Errant {Chaser}

March 24, 2011 10:35 AM

Can't argue with that logic. by Renée Errant {Chaser}

She joined her fellow teammates in the air, the cheers of Crotalus fans circulating in her mind, undistinguished between the vague buzzing she still heard in her ears. She shook her head to clear it, the pain now practically gone, leaving her with just a weird sense of distortion. She blinked hard to clear her vision, turning her broom and watched as a blob of red headed toward her. ‘Oh, right… that’s the Quaffle.’ She lifted her hands off her handle, keeping herself stationary in mid-air as if she was just playing an easy game of catch. ‘Boba!’ Renée scolded herself, watching as Jose swooped down and intercepted the pass Charlie had sent to her. ‘Shake it off… get it together.’

She continued to blink furiously, watching as her vision gradually cleared away the various multicolored lights and allowed her once again to see Charlie in possession of the Quaffle. ‘All right, all right, don’t give up on me yet…’ A blob of red shooting down from above. She lowered her Febre broom, tilting it up and with a dull thud, she cradled the leather bound ball between her and the wood, not quite comfortable with letting her firm grip on the handle go. But she had to get flying, and so gripped the ball in one hand, shooting off closer towards Pecari goals.

It was wind and color; Renée’s vision was assaulted by red and yellow blurs, and the occasional sinister brown streak that she dodged. She dropped in height suddenly, avoiding that familiar whistling in the air, and mustered enough strength and control to stretch her arm back and lunge it diagonally upward towards her closest fellow chaser. It shot off like a bullet, no trace of unsteadiness though her arm was now shaking from the power she had put into it. She watched it rise towards – she couldn’t make them out – either Sam or Charlie, and ignored the slight wetness she felt running down the back of her neck. Her forehead was sweaty, a few curls dampened on the skin, and her head felt heavy. Still, her mouth was stretched in an excited grin. Marianna would be horrified, she was sure, and use this moment as a justification for the ugly sport that Quidditch was…

… but Renée found it all so very beautiful.

0 Renée Errant {Chaser} Can't argue with that logic. 0 Renée Errant {Chaser} 0 5

Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

March 24, 2011 3:05 PM

Restarting the Seeker thread with a WotW by Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

Marissa could have kissed Topher. Non-romantically, because that would be beyond weird, but anyway. Her plan had actually, sort of, worked. She’d been thinking something more along the lines of “Neal is taken out of the game and they have to put in non-specialized Dana” than just “Neal breaks a leg,” but she’d gotten hit often enough to know that it always hurt like the dickens and would cloud up one’s focus very quickly.

Things got better still shortly afterward, when Crotalus finally scored a goal. About time. Feeling elated about this turn of events, and that Crotalus seemed to still have the Quaffle – they really were with it today – she looked down, scanning for the Snitch and quelling still more of the background noise of pessimism that was always in her head so the worst of it was an indistinct murmur she couldn't finish thinking through. They had this one. They could win it. No problem whatsoever.

The ground spread out below her, looking somehow soft from this height. The stadium seats and the people in them looked like a child’s toy, one of those really realistic ones that were hard to find but which she still liked and kept around her room at home. Except she’d never played sports games with her toys. Or put a Barbie on a little Barbie-broomstick (not least because a broom might have been the one thing Barbie didn’t have) and zoomed her over a stadium full of the old-style Polly Pockets, the ones from before they started making them and their accessories so big that they were just mini Barbies and didn’t fit in the pocket at all. The crowd was about as small and hard to distinguish as a group of those would have been from even a little distance.

For a second, looking down on it all, Marissa felt dizzy in a way she hadn’t since her first few flying lessons. Then she shook her head and got back to work, keeping half an eye on Neal all the while.

16 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker Restarting the Seeker thread with a WotW 147 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker 0 5

Nic Sawyer, Keeper

March 25, 2011 11:18 AM

Bored now. by Nic Sawyer, Keeper

Aside from that first attempt, being Crotalus's keeper was kind of boring. He hadn't done anything this game. The one time the Quaffle went anywhere near him, Renee grabbed it first and took it away and it never came back. Oh, the Pecaris tried, but Crotalus was superior enough in their Chasers that it never made it closer than half way back.

On the one hand, this was good. It meant a lot of excellent things for his team - they were getting goals (or one goal anyway), they were dominating the Chaser action, and they didn't need to worry about a lucky shot getting through their own goals. It also meant Nic couldn't possibly mess up and look like a fool in front of Rachel Bauer, who was almost certainly watching today.

On the other hand, it was both really dull and he hadn't been given a single chance to prove himself or look impressive for Rachel Bauer, who was almost certainly watching today.

And judging by what the seekers were doing, it didn't look like he'd get a chance to do anything at all before the snitch was captured. Well, given the relative seeking merits between an injured Neal Padrig and the experienced Marissa Stephenson . . . maybe Aladren would let Nic prove to Rachel that he was a Quidditch Player worth noticing.

1 Nic Sawyer, Keeper Bored now. 165 Nic Sawyer, Keeper 0 5

Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

March 25, 2011 5:40 PM

Sorry about that by Cap'n Charlie, Chaser

Continuing towards the goals and keeping one eye on the Quaffle and one eye out for Bludgers, Charlie was starting to be certain again that they had this game in the bag. Their Chaser team had really kept the pressure on pecari, the Beaters seemed to be doing a fairly good job, and Charlie had seen Marissa out the corner of her eye so knew their Seeker was doing well and good. Renée's Bludger accident and possibly injury aside, Charlie couldn't have asked for a better game. If only they could get a few more goals past the surprisingly good Pecari Keeper this might be a game to go down in Sonoran history.

With the taste of vistory tangiable in the air, and the hope of eternalizing the game with a good few goals more, Charlie felt a burst of renewed enthusiasm. She could be incredibly competetive when the opportunity presented itself, and it was sure presenting itself right then. The Captain glanced again over at Renée and, seeing her Chaser was readying to pass, Charlie put herself in a good line to make another attempt at the goals. It wasn't a particularly elaborate passing system, so Starbuck would know they were heading her way. Hopefully the Keeper was tired from her earlier goal-saving stint and Charlie could confuse her with a little feinting.

As Renée passed the Quaffle, Charlie was ready for it. She caught the ball and carried it on its path diagonally across the pitch, coming closer to the goals and bringing her nearest to the right hoop. She made to aim for the right and did a double-feint, changing direction of her hands as if to throw into the center hoop, and instead passing the ball sideways, sending it neatly in the direction of the right hoop, even as Charlie's broom continued onwards towards the middle. The double feint was risky because if the Keeper missed the second section, or was just too slow to react, they'd end up going to the right hoop, anyway. however Charlie liked to think she'd gotten the move well practised. Whether it would fool Starbuck or not was another matter entirely.

0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser Sorry about that 0 Cap'n Charlie, Chaser 0 5

Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

March 27, 2011 11:37 PM

...And ending it with victory! by Marissa Stephenson, Seeker

Crotalus still seemed to have the Quaffle, but not to be actively trying to score – more like they were toying with the Pecari Chasers – and the Snitch was nowhere in sight. Marissa shifted her shoulders and adjusted her grip on her broom, hoping she got something to go on soon. Seeking lost some of the fun after a few minutes with no real action, and while she wasn’t sorry that Neal didn’t seem inclined to duke it out the way the Teppenpaw and Aladren Seekers had at the last match, it would have been more interesting.

There was, though, always avoiding the Bludgers. She didn’t expect she’d be able to pull off another move like the one she and Topher had put together to thwart that first one and injure Neal, so her best bet was to just avoid them altogether. The way the Beaters had all chosen to congregate on the goals was both lucky and unlucky; on one hand, no one was actually trying to put her in the hospital wing right this second, but on the other hand, it would be harder for her Beaters to help her out if one randomly whizzed by. They didn’t have much of a reason to come this way with so many nearer targets, but she imagined a simplistic magical AI…thing had just as much of a potential to glitch as a Muggle sci-fi one.

She flew out toward the far end of the Pitch, back toward Nic, in the hopes that more would be there than had been at the middle, enjoying the feeling of the wind against her face. Once she was there, she started making long ovals around the area, thinking it would make her less dizzy than actual circles, and scanning the ground, occasionally glancing up so she wouldn’t be one of those unlucky people who had the Snitch appear and be caught by the opposition right on top of their heads.

By the sounds of it, Crotalus had just attempted another goal when she looked off to her left and thought, for a second, that she felt her heart and lungs both stop at a flash of light. After that second, she dove. She knew she had it almost two seconds before her fingers fully closed around the Snitch and her arm automatically went up to announce the win to the school.

16 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker ...And ending it with victory! 147 Marissa Stephenson, Seeker 0 5

Coach Amelia Pierce

March 28, 2011 8:54 AM

Crotalus Wins! 160-0 (nm) by Coach Amelia Pierce

1 Coach Amelia Pierce Crotalus Wins! 160-0 (nm) 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 0 5

<font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

Quidditch Game II: Crotalus vs. Pecari by <font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

Starting out right by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Chaser]</font>

Making sure it stays that way by <font color=brown>Sophie Jamison [Chaser]</font>

<font color=red>Renée Errant {Chaser}</font>

Making your job harder. by <font color=red>Renée Errant {Chaser}</font>

<font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>

Knocking some brains out (I hope) by <font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>

<font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

Pecaris have brains <i>to</i> knock out? by <font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

<font color=red>Sam Bauer, Chaser</font>

There's always a few. by <font color=red>Sam Bauer, Chaser</font>

<font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

That's not shiny. by <font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

<font color=brown>Starbuck Gregory, Keeper</font>

It seems we have a few more then you do. by <font color=brown>Starbuck Gregory, Keeper</font>

<font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

It's Quality that matters, not Quantity by <font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

We've got that, too. by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

<font color=red>Nic Sawyer, Keeper</font>

But mine easier. by <font color=red>Nic Sawyer, Keeper</font>

<font color="red">Renée</font>

Taking a shot... going in... going in... going...? by <font color="red">Renée</font>

<font color="brown"> Starbuck, Keeper </font>

Gone! by <font color="brown"> Starbuck, Keeper </font>

<font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>

Ready. Aim. Fire. by <font color=brown>Demetra Mason, Beater</font>

<font color="red">Charlie Abbott, Chaser</font>

This is getting repetetive by <font color="red">Charlie Abbott, Chaser</font>

<font color=red>Sam Bauer, Chaser</font>

But never boring. by <font color=red>Sam Bauer, Chaser</font>

<font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

No, it's not by <font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

<font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

Being all strategic and stuff, kinda by <font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

<font color="brown"> Demetra Mason, Beater </font>

Stopping your plans in their tracks. by <font color="brown"> Demetra Mason, Beater </font>

<font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>

Doubling the imensity of our plans by <font color="brown">Demelza Eagle, Beater</font>

<font color = red>Renée {Chaser}</font>

Taking one for the team: Why I hate being a team player. by <font color = red>Renée {Chaser}</font>

<font color="brown"> Neal Padrig, Seeker </font>

At least the normal ones aren't by <font color="brown"> Neal Padrig, Seeker </font>

<font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

Busy, busy, busy (and WoTW) by <font color=red>Topher Calhoun, Beater</font>

<font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

No more Bludgers, please by <font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

<font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

Don't listen to her, by <font color=brown>Cap'n Jose, Chaser</font>

<font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

Crotalus Scores! (10-0) (nm) by <font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

<font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

OOC: Moving thread up for ease of reading (nm) by <font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

<font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

Long Thread Continues Here by <font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

<font color="red">Charlie Abbott, Chaser</font>

Quaffle is Red. Ergo it is ours. by <font color="red">Charlie Abbott, Chaser</font>

<font color="red">Renée Errant {Chaser}</font>

Can't argue with that logic. by <font color="red">Renée Errant {Chaser}</font>

<font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

Restarting the Seeker thread with a WotW by <font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

<font color=red>Nic Sawyer, Keeper</font>

Bored now. by <font color=red>Nic Sawyer, Keeper</font>

<font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

Sorry about that by <font color="red">Cap'n Charlie, Chaser</font>

<font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

...And ending it with victory! by <font color=red>Marissa Stephenson, Seeker</font>

<font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

Crotalus Wins! 160-0 (nm) by <font color=white>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>