Day 1 Spectator 2024/25 Stage 2

Day 1, Afternoon
Duel Match 5

There was a distinct feeling of unease that climbed up her spine. Swallowing she tried to set it at ease because this wasn't her day. She was here for Mylo as evidenced the handmade sign she held up. And yet, there was distinct feeling that whatever happened there, on that stage, could happen tomorrow too—something bad.

But she had to remind herself so too could something good occur. Mylo, the most responsible Ravenclaw around (and possibly the most responsible student around), was an excellent duellist. She knew better than anyone as she had deftly negotiated that they'd teach her how the sport worked. All Mylo had to do now was not be a coward—this was the one aspect of spellcasting on which they had disagreed. Mylo was a little bit more conservative than she was, and she desperately wanted them to not pull any punches.

That, perhaps explained the sign: "DON'T BE TOO RESPONSIBLE MYLO. SHOW THEM WHAT YOU GOT." It was longer than anything she'd ever sewn on a sign before and was therefore a bit cramped, but they'd be able to read it. They might have to squint a little, but it was clearly legible in her opinion.

Mylo, like her, would be up against a Hufflepuff squad. And just like in her match, she knew nothing about their opponents. She didn't know very much about Mylo's teammates either, except that Cassian had lend her some notes once and Jessamine was a captain. Still, she'd cheer: "Let's go, Mylo! Cassian and Jessamine too!"

Now, all was left was to wait and watch it all unfold.

@Mylo Atkins, @Cassian Clarke & @Jessamine Hemlock
Open to interactions, especially from Ruth Fairchild who asked. : )

match 5 - afternoon

It was easy to find her best friend in the crowd. Maisie’s elegantly sewn signature sign was being hoisted above the girl’s head and Avis chuckled at the message that was clearly visible from where the Ravenclaw stood by the duelling club’s doorway. Glancing over the list posted on the wall for any familiar names, Avis pushed past the group of students gathered in front of it with a few mumbled apologies and found herself picking through the crowded stands to an open seat next to her friend, which she’d seemingly saved luckily.

“How long did that one take you?” Avis questioned, gesturing towards the sign as she plopped down. Maisie had made a similar one for Avis’ first Quidditch match but this one had taken much longer by the looks of it.

Avis turned her attention towards the piste and grinned when she noticed the girls’ mutual friend and resident “boring” prefect, Mylo Atkins.

“WAHOO GO MYLO!” she yelled, hoping they would hear her through the hustle and bustle of the crowd. It was loud now but once the duel started, everyone would settle down to watch. She’d heard this was supposed to be a good match with some impressive contenders but the only thing Avis really knew about the separate House duelling teams was that a few of her friends were competing and therefore, she would be attending to support.

Turning to Maisie, she wrinkled her nose and clasped her hands together tightly, trying to urge the butterflies away.

“Merlin I hope they do alright!” she said, her competitive nature taking hold. Avis knew Mylo could hold their own on the piste but duels were always hard to watch, knowing she couldn’t jump in and help them.
Speaking of which…
“You nervous for tomorrow?” she asked Maisie gently, knowing she didn’t get nervous easily but it didn’t hurt to check.

Match 5, Afternoon

𝕽uth wasn't exactly sure what drew her to the duelling club to watch the duelling matches. She was interested, yes, yet she found no reason to come as she barely knew anyone. That said, she came anyways. Besides, it was Hufflepuffs against Ravenclaws. Showing the house spirit was certainly something Ruth felt capable of doing, even if it meant just gracing the duelists with a presence that Ruth hoped was at least a teensy, teensy bit comforting.

As she entered the room, casting a look to the other side where the duelists were assembled, she made a subtle show of wrapping her Hufflepuff scarf around her tighter. Despite being indoors, Ruth felt that having something that told the rest she was a proud Hufflepuff might heighten her house spirits. She grinned to herself. To whoever even took a glance, it may have seemed like an act of reassurance or encouragement.

Ruth made her way to the stands, jostling and muttering apologies as she made her way to the center, hoping it'd provide a somewhat good view. Having a short stature made it crucial to pick a good spot, at least, that's what she thought. It was annoying to sit behind someone a head taller than you, for sure. She glanced up every once in a while as she stepped through the gaps between people, then almost stopped short, eyes narrowing at the sight before her. Was that--?

Yes, yes it was. A banner hoisted up, unique due to its embroidered text, clearly sewn. Whose work other than Maisie's? Deciding it was better to sit with someone she knew than not, Ruth sped up swiftly, her smile growing brighter as she realised Maisie wasn't alone. Avis, too, was there. How lovely!

It seemed the girls had already begun their cheer. Ruth could barely hear the name over the loud uproar of spectators, did they say 'Milo'? She shook her head to herself, then intercepted them, raising a hand to greet them. "Hello! Hope you don't mind me joining you," she managed to say in the chaos, eyes lingering at the fortunately clear space next to Avis.

Interactions Open
Currently interacting with: @Maisie Gemmel, @Avis Greymond

Time: 10:30 - 11:30 Date:02/08/15

Dialogue: #696969

【Ｍａｔｃｈ　３　－　Ｍｏｒｎｉｎｇ】

Like the snow piling up on the ground, these past few days have left Azzure with little hope. Its barely been a week since... whatever the hell that family reunion was. Azzy couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. It felt like in one moment the ground had fallen right out of her feat.

These past few days, she could only seem to explain as blurs. For the first time in her life Azzure couldn't talk her way out of this. The sky was dark, snowy, sad. It felt so damn ironic. Like all the stars aligned and agreed to start making her life a living hell. (Like she didn't have enough things to worry about her life.)

'this is all her fault...'

The words seeped into her mind, poisoning her every thought.

'This is all Ara's fault'

Ara Villa, the single most annoying thing about her time in Hogwarts so far.Which is an impressive bar to hit. Out ranking the stairs and Goddrick Gryffindor in Azzure's list of annoyances is a hard thing to achieve, but that walking corpse somehow managed to do it.

That glorified trashcan was so icy and unfeeling and she might as well not exist. Or well... that might be too high of a compliment to give to her. Azzure's life would be so much better without her in it after all. Cousin or not, Ara Villa has proven to be nothing but a thorn in her side.

Azzure's footsteps thumping loudly as it made contact with the hallway floor. Azzure couldn't care less about the stares she was receiving, all she wanted was a normal life back. For all she knows someone with a knife was right at her back, planning on how to run after they killed her.

She turned around... but like tumble weeds in the desert, nothing was found. The hallway was barren, no person behind her. No, just her, the winter wind howling, and... chatter?Now of course Azzy didn't expect there to be no one in the corridor, thats stupid and benign, but as she rounded the corner the chatter became louder. Her ears perked up, and she couldn't help but find herself thinking, 'Whatever this is, it might just be the distraction I need right now.'

Azzy put her hood up, her hands in shoved in her pockets as she approached the source of all the noise, entering the room without bothering so much as a glance to the paper that was stuck on the room's wooden door. The room was warm, the fireplace at its hearth crackled and danced the tune of comfort. For once, Azzure found herself relaxing in the atmosphere and blending in with all the happy faces that seemed to gather around something in the middle.

Azzy knew she was relatively short, but damn was it painfully clear now. She could barely see above the heads in front of her, but she could make out voices that rose above the rest, one of which was more than familiar... but Azzure, not wanting to throw a fir for no reason at all, needed to get closer to the piste.

Fortunately for her though, Azzure's build helped her weave through the crowd until she was right at the feet of the piste. Right at the feet of Ara. Azzure's stomach twisted. Not only because she's having a disagreement with Ara, but because Ara genuinely looked affected...

Azzure knows that they both watched their cousin die. Gosh, the sight of it appears to her every night and she barely knew the guy! What more for Ara who's known him her whole life... the hatred, the resentment, it was still there, like a shackles around her hands, keeping her from reaching out, but like snow piling up on the ground, that resentment was buried under the crushing weight of guilt.

Azzure couldn't move, a heavy feeling rose in her chest as her heartbeat quickened. her vision began to blur. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to get them to focus, but when she looked down at her hands, all she saw were the tears that fell from her eyes. Azzure quickly moved to clutch at the side of her hood, bringing it over her face, using it as a shield to keep Ara from recognising her.

Never in her life did she feel so powerless. No voice to talk her way out of this. Azzure could only watch through blurry eyes as Ara stood on the piste, smirking and cracking jokes as if nothing happened. Like sun and moon, Azzure ran away. weaving out of the crowds, her hands keeping her hood above her head as to hide the tears that fell. But before she left, she took one glace back at the piste, before realizing she was once again unable to see it in the crowd. But deep down, there was only one thing Azzure wished to say.

"Win, Ara." With that she left, walking back into the cold winter night away from the warmth and quietly wiped her tears away.

Reducio

Word Count: 859
This is a: SoloRp
Mentioning: @Ara Villa

A wide smile came over her face as Avis came to join her here, cheering for Mylo. They were a force together, and hopefully that fervent energy would carry across the way and into team Ravenclaw. Avis' scream certainly carried. "YEAH GO MYLO!!" she echo'd as she waved the sign.

Speaking of which, she answered, "A few days. It's just these are a lot of letters." Her finger pointed towards the stitching above. "But I couldn't just make them an ordinary sign, you know," she added with a little laugh. After all, Mylo needed to remember not to just run away when times got hard up there. They had to fight.

With a nod, she acknowledged Avis' hope. Maisie had been on the bad end of a spell more than once. Hopefully, Mylo would come out relatively unscathed. She was reaching into her satchel to pull out some cauldron cakes when Avis asked the one thing she had been trying to not acknowledge: “You nervous for tomorrow?”

Biting her lip, she took breath. Then, she said more softly, "It looks so real." And it did mostly because of all these people. "You'll be here tomorrow," she said. It sounded somewhere between a statement and a question. She knew Avis would always show up, but she also just needed reassurance.

But this quiet moment was intercepted: "Hello! Hope you don't mind me joining you."

With a wave, it was the dark haired girl who'd helped her before running off awkwardly down the corridor. She seemed a bit more together this time, even if she likely was supporting Hufflepuff. Letting Avis answer as the girl seemed to want to sit beside her, Maisie decided to be a good sport. After all, maybe some people were just shy. "Cauldron cake?" she offered.

@Avis Greymond, @Mylo Atkins & @Ruth Fairchild

Afternoon slot - Match 8

It was a beautiful day - well, not to many as the relentless neverending shower of rain drops bombarded the by the minute muddier grounds, but definitely to the young Raveclaw descending down into the dungeons.

Sabrina's finger briefly slid over the parchment of the dueling club's doors, almost as if underlining the name her gaze was fixed on: Avis Marlong. A stern faced, caramel loving raven who had her first official duel today, and most importantly, the reason Sabrina was here.

Pushing her way through the crowd, Sabrina knew she was late, could tell from how the room vibrated with magic let loose and buzzed with chatter and cheers. Somehow making her way to the front, she raised her makeshift paper banner -the result of a genius last minute idea and the reason for her late arrival - up above her head.

In a blue cursive letters, it simply read "Do it for Kāga, Birdie". A strange message for some - okay, most - but that was the point. Despite saying she would come to distract her, Sabrina didn't want to single Avis out.

The moderator, it seemed, was her former beater buddy, Prat @Prat Pass. If he were to look her way, Sabrina would smile and wave at him, not shouting greetings only out of respect for his current role. Distracting her friend was one thing, doing the same to a moderator - the responsible referee-ish and arguably most important figure in a duel - another.

Speaking of. Sabrina finally focused on the Ravecnlaw trio. Her smile wavered the moment she saw what state her friend was in. There were scorch marks on Avis' robes, her usually neat figure ruffled and most likely bruised. All prejudices aside, these Gryffindors seemed like total snakes. "Go Ravenclaw! You can do it!" she cheered, swallowing some not pretty remarks she wanted to shout at the opposing team.

WC: 316 | Mentioning: @Avis Marlong and Prat Pass

Speech | Thoughts | Emphasis

match 5 - afternoon

Avis laughed at Maisie’s remarks about her special sign. “No, no you could not. I think it’s brilliant!” she announced, glancing over her friend’s work once more. Avis had seen plenty of Maisie’s projects but they never ceased to amaze her, especially when all of her creative talent fit neatly in Maisie’s left pinky, so to speak.

After a few moments settling in and observing the duelists warming up, Avis waited expectantly for Maisie’s answer. Personally, she couldn’t wait to see her best friend absolutely destroy someone on the piste but she did seem a bit more nervous than Avis had expected. It made sense she supposed. It did look daunting to be up on that piste for real. She gave her a warm smile and patted her shoulder.

“Of course I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it,” she beamed and then glanced at the Maisie’s creation. “Can’t promise there will be a sign though,” the girl joked.

Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through their conversation and Avis looked up to see Ruth standing in front of the open seat next to them. She smiled and gestured at the seat.

“Course, but just so you know, we’re going all out for Ravenclaw!” Avis joked with a friendly wink. “I like your scarf though. Where can I get it in blue?” she added, studying the Hufflepuff garment wrapped snugly around the girl’s neck.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the moderator announced Round 1 and Avis settled in, her focus on Mylo.

As the duel went on, Avis winced at the immediate hold the Hufflepuffs had on her fellow birds. The popping firecrackers added to the chaos of spells being shot back and forth and Mylo seemed to be in the midst of them. The commotion seemed to have ruffled their feathers because their Knockback Jinx bounced off his teammate with a bright red flash of light. Avis leaned forward in her seat, trying to assess the damage.

“Merlin’s Beard,” she muttered. This was not going well.

Holding her breath as a Hufflepuff girl aimed a skillfull Rictumsempra at her friend, she let out a breath of relief when they managed to dodge out of the way. Glancing at Maisie with a grave expression, the Ravenclaw sank back into her seat hoping Round 2 might go a bit less left for the Birds.

open to interactions