And they were beginning strong.

“Cecilia Merrick goes after Arno’s ball. But Arno is too strong — he’s masterful at dribbling just out of her reach.” Indeed, with a powerful side dribble, Arno evaded Cecilia’s attacks, and brought the ball to the front, right up to the goal.

“Arno is up to the goal, preparing to make his shot.” Bam. The ball went past Denise’s outstretched hand, and landed square in the side of the goal, bouncing on the water innocently. Although he was no coach, a quick analysis of the situation reasoned that Team 2 should have been more proactive in their attempt to stop Arno. However, he only continued, “It was good strategy to aim it to the corner. Denise did not catch it in time, that’s one point for Team 1.”

“The ball is now Team 2’s, and looks like Denise decided for Jada to start the game.” 

The players, as if bounding to attention, suddenly latched onto an opponent as they were supposed to. The East Asian boy of mild disposition, in particular, caught his eye: who seemed to have been sinking as he tread water. “Erast, despite looking like he’s drowning himself — are you okay there? — makes a valiant effort and presses onto Maisie. Charlotte is completely over Arno, I don’t think he can even move anymore. But, Prat is coming for Charlotte, and despite him, Charlotte drives forward, and breaks free from Prat.”

He continued his narration as the ball flew across the water once more, and soon, into the goal. “Jada takes this opportunity to pass the ball to Charlotte, who then shoots her shot. Congratulations, that’s one point for Team 2.”

“The ball is now Team 1’s the ball is passed to Arno.” Archer frowned. “That seems like a bad decision, considering he’s almost underwater. And with Charlotte pressed on top of him, the ball goes underwater and that’s a foul.” The first foul in the game already committed so soon, and a classic one at that, the underwater ball soon bounded up again, and was pushed over to the other team with some dejection.

In a quick succession of movements, the ball was headed towards the gaol again. “The ball is Team 2’s again, Maisie recovers the ball and passes it to Cecilia, who passes it to Charlotte. And Charlotte, shoots. Yet another point for Team 2.”

“Ball is once more Team 1’s, and Prat gets the ball. But Jada is body blocking him. However, she fails, and Prat perseveres. Like Arno, he aims for the corner as well, and --” He was almost ready to deliver a stunning narration of how the ball would tear through the net like it had before, yet then, the unexpected happened, and Archer's eyes widened as it slipped from Prat’s grip. “Wait, the ball dropped! How did this happen?” Nerves, unsteadiness, uncertainty — both mental and physical factors could have played into it, but no matter the reason, the game goes on!

“And so the scramble for the ball begins again. Jada’s almost got it, but no, it goes to Maisie!” And the ball was now Maisie Gemmell’s, what would happen next?

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Things moved very fast in the water, and it was much more difficult to keep pace than she had imagined. Cecilia's encouragement to 'give it their all' could not have anticipated the confusion that ensued when the ball—and the game—erupted.

Perhaps it should have been no surprise that she would lose that first face off. It was surprised when somehow at the end of this first period of time, she ended up with the ball. The ball felt distinctly heavy in her hands despite the fact that physics would tell her it had to be light enough to float. Unless it was enchanted? Had she signed up for magical water polo without being fully aware of it? It wouldn't be that strange considering all she'd endured thus far: a first year boy pushing her, a deft pass to Cecilia, and the sinking feeling of her legs growing tired at treading water when they weren't racing back and forth across the water.

Muggle sports were exhausting.

Even so, she best get rid of this ball lest more members of the opposing team start jumping on her and trying to steal it. She stole a faint glance towards the net. How comforting it might be to be a Keeper or, in this case, a goalie again.

But for now, best press on.

Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 9
Muggle Condition | Perfectionist

Perhaps it was unwise for Erast to participate in a sports event so soon after the International Magical Olympic Games at Koldovstoretz. Strokes of luck in decent mastery of a sport and a strong teammate could only tide one over for so long before the harsh truth of the matter hit– Sports was hard. It mattered little that his previous figure skating partner and capable players were on his team, because he himself sucked! While his peers seemed to glide through the water with ease and vigour, Erast found himself swept up in the disturbed waters as he treaded water. The force of the rocking waves in the water threatened to throw him off his balance, a sore reminder of his lack of practice with swimming in more challenging waters.

The muffled sound of his name above water from the Uagadou Headmaster barely reached the brunet as another wave whipped him in the face in his attempt to press Maisie Gemmell. No, of course I am not okay, was the petulant response that burned on his tongue. Erast clenched his jaw and mouth shut, before the impulse to snap the nice man became a reality.

Glancing to where the ball had been retrieved by the opposing team again, Erast wiped his bangs out of his eyes, steeling himself for another round.

Stats: Stamina – 4 | Evasion – 6 | Strength – 3 | Wisdom – 7 | Arcane – 3 | Accuracy – 7
Abilities: Metamorphmagus (Year 1)
Actions: As strategised!

date ; xx/xx/xxxx mentions ; @person languages ; english | thoughts

place ; location xxxx ; wordcount description description ; ooc notes

XXXXXThis water and all that movement was rather quite a bigger challenge than Prat had expected it to be. He had an inkling, knowing it'd be hard to traverse through the pool but he never imagined for it to be this hard.

Only thing making it harder was the continued existence of his opposition team. Charlotte something something had ruined Arno's chances of scoring and was now pressing him. Curse you lottie. Out of most of his teammates, Prat did not have to worry for Arno, Tatiana or Rafal, as it was going, all of them were able to hold their own.

Erast, Erast Yan however was an entirely different case as the boy seemed to currently not be able to swim, he was worried Erast might end up drowning or fluid filling up his lungs. He did not want that for him, or any of his teammates.

Arno however, had managed a good swoop off the ball right off the bat and capitalized on it, good work on the noodle boy, and he seemed adept at swimming too, that was a boon for the team. Prat did observe as the ball ultimately found it's way into Maisie Gemmell's hands. They had their work cut out for them.

xx

𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝟔 | 𝐄𝐕𝐀 𝟗 | 𝐒𝐓𝐑 𝟔 | 𝐖𝐈𝐒 𝟕 | 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝟕 | 𝐀𝐂𝐂 𝟏𝟎 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 | 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 | 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 coded by elena clarkxx

x

Denise was aware but distracted at the same time. Everyone happened so quickly, she wasn't able to process it.

Baam! Arno Dorian was so quick, that Denise missed it as it flew past her hands.

Team 1, one point.

Great. Denise thought.

Now, the ball is at Team 2's possession. Well, everyone was attacking each other, Erast Yan was attacking poor Maisie Gemmell, but that poor boy doesn't even look like he can swim at all. Clearly, he wasn't able to do much damage. Lottie Winfield though was able to get all over Arno and Denise cheered. Prat Pass tried to come for Lottie but she broke free. She was clearly a good swimmer, compared to Denise who wasn't exactly very skilled.

Finally, Jada Blake passed it to Lottie, who scored.

Now, it's Team 1's turn again. But for some reason, Arno Dorian looked like he was drowning... wait Lottie is still on him...

Denise laughed as Mister Engelbrecht declared a foul, well, it's their fault, isn't it, despite Lottie pressing on him. And boom, they scored again.

Denise was enjoying the ego boost but she can't feel safe just yet.

The ball was Team 1's again and poor Jada struggled to body block Prat. At least Prat slipped the ball into the water and now... it's Team 2.

Denise didn't know if this moment means they will break a tie. If so, she needs to defend... and hopefully will be successful. She positioned herself and concentrated, ready if it tries to pass.

Abilities: Healing Sage

STA [7] | EVA [5] | STR [5] | WIS [7] | ARC [5] | ACC [6]

Action: As Strategized

Mentions: Reducio @Maisie Gemmell @Jada Blake @Charlotte Winfield @Cecilia Merrick @Anthonie Engelbrecht

The first goal. Arno had dribbled across the pool, somehow managing to avoid all of them, until her got close enough to the goal before shooting and scoring for the opposing team. She sighed, at least now it was their turn.

Jada started with the ball, the defenders crowding towards her. She dribbled away from them as much as she could before passing the ball to Charlotte, who had an open shot. Unsurprisingly, she caught it and scored, levelling the two teams. Adrenaline was rushing through her, she doubted she could cool down even if she wanted to.

Back to team one. They pass, foul, and the ball gets turned over. Maisie, Cecilia and Charlotte work for another goal. Jada, tired from the last play moved to body block Prat as best she could, trying to prevent him from getting involved in the active play. He got the ball but dropped it, just as he was about to score. Maybe her blocking had done something after all...

She scrambled for the ball as it fell, not letting the opportunity go to waste. She almost had it when Maisie grabbed hold of it. At least they were playing together. She returned to her position, treading water, ready for whatever was to happen next.

Action: As Strategized

Reducio WC:221/200 Charmer Stamina: 8 Evasion: 7 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 7 ArcPower: 6 Accuracy: 4

The rapid pace of the game left Cecilia with little time to contemplate her strategy. Everyone seemed to have an objective. Tackling an older opponents seemed like a massive gamble, but she lunged at him anyway. Unfortunately, he was simply too swift and tall for her. Did an eleven year old ever stand a chance against such an older boy? Probably not, but that would not stop Cecilia from expressing her disappointment when he scored a point. Perhaps she would leave the offense to someone more skilled, like Lottie.

Soon enough, her efforts turned into assisting her teammates. Upon catching the ball, Cecilia flashed Maisie a grateful smile before tossing it to Lottie. Then her brows furrowed when Erast plunged under the water. Though he was clearly going on the offensive, she grew slightly concerned until he resurfaced. With the erratic flapping of his arms, he seemed more like a fish out of water than in it. Though she would direct her attention back to the ball, Cecilia occasionally glanced over at him – just in case.

After a the ball travelled across the water, Lottie managed to score. With both hands raised high above her hed, she erupted in cheer. Watching Arno grab the ball once more filled her with dread, but she quickly let out a relieved sigh when Lottie pressed on top of him.

When Prat pushed past Jada, her heart sank at the thought of them scoring another goal. Yet for some reason, he lost his grip and provided them with the perfect opening. Cecilia grinned upon noticing that Maisie snatched the ball. “Brilliant work, Maise!”

action: as strategised
stats: stamina 6 ; evasion 8 ; strength 4 ; wisdom 6 ; arcane power 6 ; accuracy 6
wc: 269