Match #3 Two Lions Walk Into A Gobstones Match..

Summer really was approaching, wasn't it? Other than by the students all enjoying themselves about the grounds, you could tell by the colour of the trees, or by the wind on your cheeks as you walked across the grounds... Which is what Scott was currently doing, with only some rush in his step: he was running a little late.

Now. It would've been the honest truth to say that these last few weeks (however warm and summer-y they had gotten) had been a bit odd for Scott, at the very least... But it would also be the truth to suggest that he wasn't one to let those kinds of things alter his behaviour too much! Or his wish to continue and do things, in the long run... At least that's what he was trying to prove.

To himself, if to anyone.

That's all part of the reason why Scott, when he from Amadea had first heard about the club she was reviving, decided to sign himself up for it immediately. This, he'd thought, this is a thing to do. And he gravely needed those. At least until the would trains arrive to take him home, because only God knows what that'd all bring...

Another perk was the fact that Scott, who immensely enjoyed trying new things, had never played gobstones before. Not properly, anyway... His cousin Mia had of course played it, after all she'd run the club before, and he'd heard several times that his mother used to as well (usually when she thought the conversation was drifting too far into the quidditch world)... But Scott himself had only grown up with other varying marble games, that his grandparents would teach him and his brothers. Then of course, they'd usually managed to add one magical twist or another to them.

But so it was a good thing, that Amadea had been so kind as to tell him the rules beforehand.

He could see her now, too, as he was quickly approaching the green grass of the Club Area, and waved at her. She seemed about ready to get this all started! And so did his opponent.

Scott wouldn't have said he stopped in his track, because he didn't, but his step still wavered at the sight of Anastasia where she stood. He hadn't wished to remember the ball today, wasn't that the entire point? Except the sight of her didn't make him angry or sad. It just made him feel guilty.

"Oh. Uhm... Hello! To the both of you! Sorry I ran a bit late, this castle isn't without its obstacles. Not without them at all. A boy is helpless!"

"Scott Alexander and Anastasia Beckett,"

Amadea started to line them both up and set a start to the game, and especially emphasising the importance to follow the its rules... Scott looked at her with an earnest smile, trying his very best to listen, but caught his eye sliding regretfully to his opponent over and over again. y’all lovely creatures ruining his sick game

Perhaps it was good that his mind was a bit elsewhere, though, because should Scott have caught the part about "putrid liquid", this would've been a very different story indeed...

"Let the games begin!"

"Oh, me first? Now?"

Smiling apologetically at the girls again, Scott rolled the stones around in his hand as he took a first good look at the "field"... He'd never had much of a winning mentality to begin with, and now it was as if he'd been struck by a strange wish to lose, if only to make Anastasia feel better than she'd done when they'd left... No. Hopefully this'd be fun enough for the three of them however it went.

After all, summer was approaching.

ACTION: start with the classic throw, gotta try this out.

STR 11 | WIS 6 | ACC 8
Healer's Sage, Prodigal Charms Learner and Prodigal Transfiguration Learner

Character Statistics: Stamina 5| Evasion 9| Strength 5| Wisdom 9| ArcPower 7| Accuracy 5|
Abilities: Lovely Creature, Fearless

Action: Ana does the The Careful Throw

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𝓐madea smiled at the two Gryffindors as Scott hurried in, late, and Ana eyed the boy before looking away. Amadea didn't feel like it was her position to bring anything up, but she could practically feel the tension and awkwardness radiating from both sides of the board. Clearly there was history between Scott and Ana, though Amadea did not know exactly what it was. Being away from Hogwarts for so long had left her out of the loop; she felt like she should ask about it and help them clear the air and pave the way toward friendship, but at the same time she didn't want to pry. She wasn't here to play therapist and help try to fix everyone's problems, she was here to moderate a round of Gobstones. And if she didn't get her mind out of her thoughts, she would miss the throws.

Chastising herself mentally, Amadea locked her brain tightly and focused intently on the Gobstones round. Scott went first, aiming for one of Ana's gobstones. While his accuracy seemed to be on point, the strength behind his throw was less than adequate; the gobstone rolled toward the ring but bounced off the edge of the ring, whizzing away...straight toward Ana. Amadea leaped up, her fast reflexes coming in handy as she grabbed the gobstone out of the air before it could cause any damage. She took a deep breath, rolling the gobstone around in her hand before passing it back over to Scott. "Okay, uh, good first try," she said, trying not to sound too rattled. "Better luck next time?" She glanced over at Ana to make sure the girl was okay, and watched as she prepared for her roll.

Ana chose to go in a more careful route, which seemed fitting considering her opponent's gobstone nearly had whacked her in the head. While her roll was quite strong and Amadea could tell she had a good strategy, her accuracy was slightly off and the gobstone rolled right by Scott's and out of the ring. "That was so close, Ana!" Amadea said, smiling at her, hoping that her positive mood would rub off on both of the Gryffindors and would lead to the awkward tension leaving. "Better luck next time?"

Nothing too horrible had happened during the first round and Amadea let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. So far no injuries. Everything was going to be fine. "Alright," she said. "Round two! Ana, you're up first."

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Player 1: @Scott Alexander Classic throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 13 roll: 1 = crit fail Wisdom: DC ≥ 13 roll: 6 + 6 = 12 Accuracy: DC ≥ 14 (LC) roll: 17 + 8 = 25 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

Player 2: @Anastasia Beckett Careful throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 11 roll: 19 + 5 = 24 Wisdom: DC ≥ 13 roll: 19 + 9 = 28 Accuracy: DC ≥ 8 roll: 2 + 5 = 7 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

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ANASTASIA BECKETT TO POST FIRST.

Ana was nearly beaned in the face by Scott's gobstone and she pressed her lips together. Was Scott honestly throwing stuff at her face? If so, she was gonna just throw her stones at his. He didn't strike her as the type to do that though. Anyway, unless something had happened between him and Ami that she didn't know about, Scott didn't actually have a reason to try to throw gobstones at her face.

Her throw had nearly worked, so she decided to try the same throw again. What if she started pelting Amadea with gobstones? That ought to promptly end the match. Amadea seemed nice enough though, and it was really herself that Ana was mad at, so she decided to wait to use her set of projectiles for the moment. God, why did it have to be Scott of all people? Ana had resolved to be mad at most of the rest of the people she was avoiding, but she wasn't exactly mad at him. She wasn't sure what she was beyond awkward and embarrassed. She also couldn't help but wonder what Scott, and for that matter, Amadea and most of the rest of the school had heard about the ball. Thinking about that made her stomach turn and she forced her focus back to the game. Focusing on whatever weirdness there was between her and Scott was vastly preferable to dwelling on that cursed night.

Character Statistics: Stamina 5| Evasion 9| Strength 5| Wisdom 9| ArcPower 7| Accuracy 5|
Abilities: Lovely Creature, Fearless

Action: Ana does the The Careful Throw

"I'm so sorry! Really, I am!"

Scott had covered his mouth for the terrible moment right after the stone had left it, watched it fly, and felt his stomach jump at the relief of Amadea coming to his opponent's rescue. Really? Now what would she think. That he was trying to visually impair her, most likely.

"Aye, there's a reason I never tried out for the quidditch team, you know! We'd have lost half the student body by now if they'd ever given me a bat..."

Defending himself for a moment, Scott allowed himself to briefly remember all of the clumsy things Anastasia had done around him... Surely she wasn't one to judge his ungainliness now?
His gobstones skills, on the other hand, those she was completely free to laugh about. In fact Scott would probably prefer it if she did... He'd really like it if he managed to make her smile.

Looking over at Amadea, his timely rescuer, with a thankful grin- Scott nodded to her as if to say told you I've never played! and laughed as he shook his head. Maybe it was time to try and actually learn this game... Anastasia had missed her first stone as well, but it had been a close call after all.

And maybe it had something to do with his almost blinding her, but she seemed more focused now.

strength 11 | wisdom 6 | accuracy 8

ACTION: Scott uses the conscious throw

Reducio

Jesus Christ you guys replied quickly. Don't get me wrong, I love the enthusiasm for gobstones, but jeez

ALSO guys I'm so sorry. I messed up. I forgot Ana's a second year and I was using the third year DC's for her first round...however that doesn't really change anything because she still failed one of the rolls so everything's fine. It's fine. Everything's totally fine. (I fixed the other post) Also sorry you guys keep failing your rolls...just blame Tatsu not me

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𝓐s the second round began, Amadea assessed the players carefully. She gave Scott another reassuring smile, as if to say it's okay don't worry too much about failing. After all, it was his first time playing Gobstones and it did take some practice to get used to the game, especially for Purebloods like him who had never even played marbles before.

Marbles. Amadea's breath almost caught in her throat as the memories came flooding back to her. It was always there, in the back of her mind, the reason she started the club. But she hadn't let herself delve into the memories. It was too painful. She had skimmed the surface in her last conversation with Scott; maybe that's why the memories had been triggered. She looked away from him, trying to compose herself as she watched Ana throw her second gobstone. She looked determined, and Amadea crossed her fingers for the girl. As she carefully threw the gobstone toward one of Scott's, Amadea watched as it skipped along toward the ring. From Amadea's perspective, it looked like it was on course to hit one of Scott's. Unfortunately, before it could hit, it deflected off of one of Ana's own gobstones in the ring and it's trajectory was changed, rolling out of the ring.

"Oh my gosh, Ana, that was so close!" Amadea said, mustering the brightest smile she could. Amadea wasn't the best at reading people but she feared Ana was going to get up and run out of the match if she didn't hit one of Scott's gobstones soon, and Amadea wanted to do everything in her power to keep Ana happy. "That was just a warm up," she said brightly. "You'll definitely get it next time!"

She then turned to focus on Scott's roll. He took his time, thinking about a strategy before his gobstone rolled toward the ring. While he certainly put a fair amount of strength behind his gobstone, his accuracy was compromised by his powerful throw. It whizzed right by Ana's gobstone and out of the ring on the other side. "Jeez Scott, that was certainly a really strong throw," Amadea remarked; from what she had gauged, Scott was in a better mood since the game had started and she didn't have to worry about him becoming too discouraged to continue on. She suspected he was probably quite clueless about what she was picking up on from Ana's side of the ring from his ramblings about Quidditch and his first failure; then again, that was just who Scott was. He talked. A lot."Alright, time to redeem yourself Scott; you're up first for round three!"

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Player 1: @Anastasia Beckett Careful throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 11 roll: 9 + 5 = 14 Wisdom: DC ≥ 13 roll: 3 + 9 = 12 Accuracy: DC ≥ 8 roll: 10 + 5 = 15 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

Player 2: @Scott Alexander Conscious throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 15 roll: 19 + 11 = 30 Wisdom: DC ≥ 10 roll: 8 + 6 = 14 Accuracy: DC ≥ 14 (LC) roll: 3 + 8 = 11 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

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SCOTT ALEXANDER TO POST FIRST.

"Jeez Scott, that was certainly a really strong throw."

"Would it be fair to say I'm starting to notice a pattern? These stones are lighter than they might seem, mind you..." Scott threw one of them up in the air and caught it a couple of times, chuckling as he readied himself for the next round. He wasn't built for this game, was he? Chances were he wasn't really built for any game... Doesn't matter how strong or smart you are, if your brain can't really work with the rest of you there's not much to win.

Thankfully Anastasia had missed her second throw as well, but Scott had a feeling he wouldn't remain this lucky for much longer... She'd been much closer to a hit than him both of her prior turns.

"She's right, you know," Scott said to his opponent from across the circle, and gestured towards Amadea with a smile. "You keep getting real close. ...Don't worry, you don't need to say the same back."

Scott looked over at their moderator as she announced for him to begin the third round, and rolled the stones around in his palm as he got ready. The gratitude he'd felt towards the hufflepuff before was quickly returning as the game went on... There really was something essential about people like her, and activities like these.

Doing some mock warm-up of his right arm, and pretending to aim at Anastasia's head with a grin, Scott thought for a moment about what to do next.

strength 11 | wisdom 6 | accuracy 8

ACTION: Scott uses the conscious throw

Ana's pale cheeks flushed when the Hufflepuff tried to cheer her on. Lately, it seemed as though she couldn't do anything right, and it was getting to her obviously enough that a near stranger could tell. She didn't meet either of the older students' eyes as quickly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. God, she couldn't even play a children's game correctly!

Still, Scott's overly strong throw was strangely comforting. Either he was trying to comfort her - although she thought that rather unlikely given Scott's clueless nature - or he was also terrible at this game. Either one made her feel marginally better, not that that said much considering the fact that she was walking through the past weeks days in what felt like a fog.

A small grin appeared for a moment when Scott jokingly aimed his next throw at her head. It only lasted a moment, but it was the first time she had smiled at all in the past few days. How had everything gotten so messed up?

When it was her turn to throw, she rolled her stone between her fingers for a moment before deciding on a change of strategy. She wasn't the strongest, but her careful game plan was clearly not working, so she had to change something.

Character Statistics: Stamina 5| Evasion 9| Strength 5| Wisdom 9| ArcPower 7| Accuracy 5|
Abilities: Lovely Creature, Fearless
Action: Catapult Throw

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𝓐madea watched as both players easily brushed off their misses and prepared for the next round. She was glad they were both taking it in stride, not worrying too much about missing (from what Amadea could tell). Gobstones certainly wasn't an easy game, and Amadea could understand why they were having some difficulty. Scott jokingly aimed his gobstone toward Ana's head, and Amadea tensed, hoping that it wouldn't be taken the wrong way. Thankfully, Ana cracked a smile and Amadea let out her breath. Maybe this tension was finally starting to dissipate. She smiled and watched the next round unfold.

Scott took his time figuring out what to do and when he eventually rolled his gobstone, it seemed as though he had overcompensated from the last round. As opposed to throwing it with too much force, this time his gobstone rolled feebly toward Ana's, stopping only centimeters away from her gobstone. If he had thrown it with a bit more force, it definitely would have hit the mark. "What was that you were saying about the stones being too light?" Amadea joked to him as she watched the gobstone. "It's okay though, you'll get it next time easily!"

Next, Amadea turned to Ana to see what strategy she was going for. She opted for lobbing the gobstone forcefully toward the ring in a manner quite opposite of Scott. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to have the opposite problem he did. While the gobstone had plenty of force behind it, the accuracy of her throw was slightly off and it rolled by Scott's gobstone a centimeter to the left. "Ana, that was so close!" Amadea exclaimed. "Don't be too discouraged, gobstones is tricky." It was true; playing gobstones required a certain type of wit, strength, and accuracy that only came from practice. Even though Amadea hadn't played many rounds of gobstones, she had plenty of practice from all of the games of marbles she would play with her father.

Her smile faltered for a second as the thought came to mind and she quickly brushed it away, focusing back on the game. She decided it was time for a quick pep talk; she didn't want them to be discouraged by the first two rounds. She had confidence that the next round would be great for both of them. "Okay, new round, fresh start," she said optimistically. "Brush off those last two rounds, forget about them! Just focus on this now. You've had two great warm-up rounds and this round you guys will do better than ever! Ana, you're up first."

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Player 1: @Scott Alexander Conscious throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 15 roll: 2 + 11 = 13 Wisdom: DC ≥ 10 roll: 16 + 6 = 22 Accuracy: DC ≥ 14 (LC) roll: 20 + 8 = 28 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

Player 2: @Anastasia Beckett Catapult throw - DC results Strength: DC ≥ 8 roll: 19 + 5 = 24 Wisdom: DC ≥ 11 roll: 10 + 9 = 19 Accuracy: DC ≥ 13 roll: 5 + 5 = 10 Throw failure. Number of Gobstones left: 7

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ANASTASIA BECKETT TO POST FIRST.