Slytherin v Gryffindor 3rd Game Finished

Wren was ecstatic.

She had been flying, not for the first time of course, but flying was exhilarating to her. She had been so happy when the bludger had come straight to her giving her a perfect shot at the Slytherin first year Roman Kingston. It had hit him perfectly he had been knocked right off his broom. Though frustratingly enough, Nico Shymane, a second-year prefect, had caught Roman as he was falling.

Then if that wasn’t enough torment to Wren, Bridget Collins had tried to blatch her. By pure will and strength Wren had managed to stay on her broom.

This Quidditch game was getting more heated than Wren had ever anticipated. Rafa had to do a penalty lap, for an attempted, but failed, blatch, on Koko and Dan, but in the heat of it all they managed to find some joy, when Hugh grabbed the Quaffle and had hurled it into the goal tying Gryffindor and Slytherin up ten to ten. Wren cheered then.

“YES! GO LIONS!” 

The penalty lap was fine in itself. It wasn’t as if it was Koko’s fault that the lap needed to be taken, but what could she do to prevent it? She guided her broom to the outskirts of the field, unaware of the faces the team’s captain was making behind her.

That was a contributor to her evasion. Not only was Koko a genuinely jumpy person, but seeing a person out of the corner of her eye, flying at her full-speed? She wasn’t going to be hit, no way! Koko could have sworn she felt Dan’s presence behind her, urging her to drop the broom when she did. It was lucky, too. Otherwise, both of them would have fallen, and she didn’t want to think about falling down onto the hard ground below.

A grimace crossed her features as she made her way back onto the pitch. Gryffindor had scored, all because she hadn’t been there to stop them. “Look,” she said to Dan, “I’m going to put you on your broom. It’s better, trust me. You can do what you like, and so can I.” Her tone was cold as the Arctic; her words were clipped. It wasn’t that Koko was feeling discomfort; no, this was something more. She felt useless for perhaps the first time in a while, and it was all because of her team’s captain. It was stupid to think that way, because it had been Koko who had chosen to save him rather than Erin, but here she was, coming back to the field after nearly having been blatched.

Some things were just for the best, though, she told herself as she set her jaw and flew straight for Dan’s abandoned broomstick.

As strategised

[font=Times New Roman]C[/font][font=Times New Roman]harlie huffed at his next reach for the quaffle, unsatisfied with his clear lack of skills that seemed to hold him back, if anything. Last round was a bust- and so was this one. The ball floated out of his reach as if taunting him- he wasn't nearly fast or keen enough to slip through the chaos that was ensuing. Bodies seemed to be flying every which way, ramming and slamming with reckless abandon- Quidditch was certainly not for the feint of heart. 

To say he wasn't sure what he'd gotten himself into would be a vast, fein understatement. He had no idea what was going on, and his disappointment and frustation only seemed to further that blindness. The quaffle had been just in his grasp, but he'd yet to really do anything this game. 

He reared back again to watch the insanity unfold before resuming to what he and his teammates had planned. He wasn't down for the count- and he was going to keep trying.

Doing as Planned

Penalty lap done. From this moment on, Alexx was free to proceed as needed and help her team. She bit down on her lip as she thought about the stakes here; what was at risk. Her pride? Well, yes. The Quidditch Cup? More so. She didn't understand it, the desire that humans had to win, and perhaps her time taking penalties should be more minimal than they actually were, but when she weighed her odds, at least she wasn't playing potentially the last match of the season only to be taken out. At least she hadn't been hit by anyone.

One thing that Alexx had prided herself in was the fact that she hadn't been knocked out all season. That was amazing, all things considered since it seemed like everyone was getting taken down at least once. Sure, she'd been hit, but Alexx was tough. She could take it. That was what it was like growing up with brothers. You learned to be able to handle that type of stuff; the roughing became easier and easier to get through. Now? It served Alexx well on the Quidditch pitch. She moved quick, with resilience, and didn't let people coming at her bother her. Unlike those unruly lions, she wasn't plagued with pride. Instead, it was ambition.

doing as strategized

Slytherin's hoops had quite obviously been left unguarded as Koko had swooped down to save their falling seeker just minutes prior. They'd obviously hoped that Gryffindor wouldn't see the opening through the chaos of bludgers and blatching, but they had. Despite the fact that Ruby had gone in attempts to put the Quaffle back through the hoops, Gryffindor's Keeper had taken it and scored. Well.

They were tied, and although Thora would argue that Slytherin was better off, having many more of their original players still standing and mounted on their broom or someone's else's, but again, they were not without their losses. Her team still had a pretty high chance of winning this match, but they would have to play for it. She couldn't see the Snitch anywhere from the sidelines, and though she couldn't be too sure based on her low vantage point, it didn't seem like Dan had either. But then again, she could be wrong. Either way, he had to located the tiny ball fast.

New Gryffindors seemed to fill in positions as fast as the first strings were taken out, and it was this round of new players that took Thora's eyes off of the scene above. Evelynn and Marla. Two redheaded lionesses, and two people that Thora knew. It would be hard to see them hit (if they ever were), but Quidditch was Quidditch. Some things had to be done.

Though they now had three players back in the game following penalty laps, Bridget'd just missed her blatch. It was unfortunate that they weren't able to take out Gryffindor's last beater to minimize the threat towards everyone, but they'd already done a considerable amount of damage. It was okay. But then an opposing Chaser--and Gryffindor's new captain, apparently--flew straight at Koko and Dan, intention obvious. 

"Watc--" The words died on her lips as he missed. Koko and Dan, like the rest of their first strings, were valuable players. They couldn't afford to lose both of them just like that. And besides, Koko's elimination would mean that Thora would need to fill in, and although she was definitely ready after a season of practice, Thora didn't want to see her falling through thin air and eventually crashing into hard ground.

But what hit Thora wasn't the unfairness--no, a blatch was a perfectly fair action--but the hypocrisy of it all. She'd heard many a time of Slytherin's supposed cheating because of their use of blatching, but the truth was, it was simply a foul. No, it certainly didn't feel great to go flying off of your broom with only impact and pain to look ahead to, but it wasn't illegal or anything. There had been plenty of boos and general disapproval towards Slytherin's blatches--among them, some from Gryffindor's own team--but here was their captain. Blatching. What a hypocrite. 

Anyways, Koko and Dan were safe, as was Roman, who'd been saved by Nico. Slytherin was doing pretty well. Now, if only they could win...

Action » Benched

Unconscious

Action: Doing as strategized

The game was starting to turn ugly, in the most wondrous way. Gryffindor players were falling from the sky like some sick, twisted confetti of bodies, landing on the ground with loud thuds. A bit of remorse for enjoying the pain did flow over her, but caught up in the game she became concerned with winning no matter what.

Amidst the falling red was a flash of green: Roman. Tyr's knuckles went white as she clenched her fists, waiting for the moment he collided with the ground. Nearer he got, but within a second he was caught by a flash of green that raced underneath him. Nico. Thank Merlin for that.

Only a few more strategic plays, and this game could be Slytherins. What better way was there to experience her first game?

Action: Benched

Piérre watched in awe as Hugh Lowe snatched the Quaffle and then proceeded to fly to the other side of the field and score a clean goal on the Slytherin side of the pitch. At the spectacle, Piérre couldn't help jumping to his feet and shouting out with excitement as he pumped his fist.

"That's what ya do, Hugh!" Piérre screamed as loud as his falsetto could manage. Considering he was nothing but a young eleven year old whose voice hadn't dropped yet and was likely not to drop beneath a countertenor, it was pretty loud and very shrill.

Still, the teams were tied and both Seekers were occupied. It really was anyone's game, and Piérre wanted to be in the very middle of it.

Cheering and Doing as Strategized

The game continued. This time, some new faces emerged from the Benches. Their new Beater, Roman, for example. Good for them. So she thought. Once again, there were alot of players who got hit and send down to the bottoms of Quidditch Hell. Roman sent a few of the Gryffindors to a certain doom but- 'Roman!' That soon counterattacked him... a Bludger flew right into his chest, throwing him off his broom. As quick as the dhampir could, she'd fly down and gracefully catch him on the back of her Tinderblast. 'That was a close one..' Nico muttered. With a sigh of relief, she flew abit higher. 'Would be a bummer to get kicked off your broom on your first day now, wouldn't it?' Roman wouldn't be able to see, but the Prefect smiled warmly at him. So far, she hadn't really said much. But seeing one of her teammates getting slammed down on their first day shook her a lil. 'You're not the first Beater I saved. Probably won't be the last either.' She chuckled as if to calm him down if he got spooked by the Bludger earlier. Both teams weren't playing very fair, but then again, Quidditch is a rough game. Nico herself wasn't sure about the details. She just did whichever they agreed to do. Strategy and all that. Hopefully the Gryffindors didn't take it too personal.

Action: Doing as strategised