2020, Stage 1 Group A: Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff

Things were, yet again, not going according to the plan. As Lydia cast her spell towards Dealla, the red headed girl could do nothing else but stare at the way the Ravenclaw girl dodged her attack; she had probably underestimated her, counting too much on the fact that she didn’t look too good.

It’s okay Lydia, you just need to concentrate more. Don’t let the frustration get to you! the badger girl told herself, before she quickly checked over her teammate, only to see her getting hit with a Flipendo.

They needed to turn things around and hit their opponents soon, or they might not be able to win the duel after all.

Looking back towards the Ravenclaw team, Lydia tried to concentrate as much as she could on the task at hand.

Action: doing as strategised.

Dee couldn't help the small smile that twitched across her face as she managed to just dodge the spell that Lydia had cast her way. It had been a close thing - she hadn't expected it, for the past few rounds both of their opponents had clearly been focused on Pericles, but her reflexes had kicked in when she had seen the blue light flashing towards her in her peripheral vision. Her aim may have been off for the whole duel, she may have given herself the worst cold she could imagine, but dodging, that was something she was good at. Years of training, really, even if involuntary half of the time.

But she wouldn't make it much longer. Her head was swimming, dizziness washing over her, and she'd given up trying to keep her nose from running at this point. She probably looked like an absolute mess, but was feeling too exhausted to really care. Her spell had missed Amadea yet again, although Pericles's success was a small ray of light on the horizon. She wanted to offer Pericles a supportive comment, or some banter, or something, but at this point it was taking most of her focus to just stand straight and point her wand in the right direction.

Her strength was near the end, she could feel it, but her pride would not let her give up. She would keep fighting until the last minute.

Pericles had triumphantly dodged and darted, dexterity put to the test as he drew fire. The moment Lydia looked away however, his wand whipped eagerly out, a triumphant Flipendo flying suddenly for Amadea. In that particular moment, the little wizard's mind decided to stray back to his decision of joining the dueling team. While Quidditch had been a truly tantalizing prospect, he knew he had a ways to go in Flying class before he was ready to ride his Silver Arrow into battle. But dueling, where the true determinants of success was one's tactic, skill, and stamina (if not a sprinkling of luck), sang its siren song and lured him in instantly. His body ached and his pulse raced at the thought of a potential loss. Yet the young heir thrived off of the adrenaline rush, the sensation of pushing one's limits, the thrill of a successful hit. Though nostrils flared with shallow breaths, eyes gleamed with strained focus, there was a twitch or two of a twinging smile. This was the sensation he'd chased, the growth he'd sought.

No, not getting Flipendo'd to pieces. Valor! Tenacity in the face of danger!

If going down, one must go gracefully, yes. But by Merlin try to take someone with you.

── ❋ ──

𝓢hoot, Amadea thought to herself. Things weren't going well for the Hufflepuffs this round. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lydia's spell miss Pericles as he darted out of the way. Unfortunately, she was so busy looking toward him that she didn't notice the spell flying toward her. Yet again, she stumbled backward, hit again by the Knockback Jinx. As much as Amadea wanted to just sit down and take a minute to regroup, she knew she could not do that. She was strong; she was a Hufflepuff. She could do this. Focusing, she prepared for the next round. They could do this.

── ❋ ──

Round 8

Dealla vs. Amadea

Reducio

Dealla cast Flipendo at Amadea
Wisdom DC: 9+3 = 12 for Veela+LC
Wisdom Check: [d20: 1] + 10 = 11 > 12 → Critical Failure
Effect:100 + 6 - 3 × 10 = 130 to self -3 AP for CoB

Pericles

Reducio

Pericles Dodge
Effect: 5 + 6 × 0.25 = 6 + 2 = 8 | 5 + 8 = 13

Amadea vs Pericles

Reducio

Amadea cast Flipendo at Pericles
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 11] + 9 = 20 > 9 → Success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 5] + 10 - 1 = 14 -1 for Charmer
Evasion Check: [d20: 5] + 13 = 18
14 < 18 → Miss

Lydia vs Pericles

Reducio

Lydia cast Incendio at Dealla
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 7] + 10 = 17 > 9 → Success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 14] + 5 - 1 = 18 -1 for Charmer
Evasion Check: [d20: 20] + 13 = 33
12 < 13 → Miss

This round between the Eagles and Badgers would be very similar to the last fair few rounds of the dual. There were, for the most part, at the moment, at a standstill. Lydia and Amadea focused on trying to hit the ever-elusive Pericles, but Pericles was having none of that. Pericles would dodge both the well-aimed Flipendo and Incendio that headed his way.

Dealla would be the only one from their team to attack, but that foggy feeling in her head, nausea in the pit of her stomach, and the congestion that filled her face severely clouded her judgment. So much so that her flipendo backfired on her. She would feel the force repel from the tip of her wand and the blue light hit her instead. The poor girl would stagger back a few steps but manage to recover herself. If one thing could be said about Dealla from this duel was that the girl certainly was tenacious.

OOC Info

1| You will have 72 hours from my timestamp to post your entrances and owl Santario Martin, your moves. So get them in before Thursday, November 19th to the time in my timestamp.
2| The word count requirement for duels is 50 words per post, but you may post more if you would like. Please do not describe your action before it is described in the mod otherwise you are giving the opposing team an advantage to strategize against you.
3| Any submissions after the 72-hour timestamp will not be counted. Failing to give actions means your team does nothing but passively dodges. Failing to post even though your action has been submitted means your action is void.
4| Please DM or Owl me with any questions on the mod.
5| Good luck everyone and have fun!

With as much concentration as possible, Lydia aimed her wand at Pericles, casting her Incendio towards the boy; however, the cast spell completely missed the Ravenclaw Prefect, that dodged the attack another time.

Clenching her jaw -she was starting to get tense, and that was not good; she needed to keep a clear head and focus on the duel- Lydia looked towards Amadea and saw her Flipendo fly towards Pericles, but the boy avoided it and well, the red headed girl couldn't help the frown on her face.

Frown that got a little better when she saw Dealla hit herself with her own spell, even though she was feeling quite sorry for the nasty cold that the Curse of the Bogies had given her. Lydia might have been competitive, but she wasn't a bad person.

The duel seemed almost stuck, with none of them hitting their intended targets; something needed to change, and Lydia hoped that it would change in favour of her and Amadea.

Action: doing as strategised.

Dee felt numb when her spell backfired, her own magic turning on her, again. She wanted to blame it on her cold, so bad by now that she had trouble breathing, trouble standing, really, her head pounding, but it didn't feel like it had anything to do with it. It felt like betrayal, deep in her bones.

At some point, this duel had changed from feeling like a battle against the Hufflepuffs into a battle against herself, even more so since she was the only one who'd ever caused herself any harm in this entire duel. She hadn't helped Pericles with their opponents, either. What was she even doing here?

Frustration bubbled up inside her, frustration at herself and her wand, and at the fact that her usually unshakeable self-confidence, her absolute faith that things would, in the end, go her way, was wavering like a leaf in the wind. Her eyes were burning and she could feel tears rising, but she blinked them away angrily. She would not cry, and she would not give up. It might seem impossible to win, but this duel still wasn't over yet.

── ❋ ──

𝓐madea and Lydia were trying to hit the Ravenclaws...to no avail. It seemed as though Pericles had taken a new approach to the duel; instead of shooting spells toward them he was simply focusing on dodging the ones they were sending toward him. While it certainly was an interesting tactic, it was making Amadea a bit more frustrated. None of her spells were landing. She took a deep breath. At least she did have to worry about dodging any spells this round as her opponent's spell backfired on herself. While Amadea felt bad for Dealla, who was also still dealing with the Curse of the Bogies that had been placed upon her much earlier in the duel, she also was grateful the spell hadn't hit her. Regrouping, Amadea focused. She could do this.

── ❋ ──

There was a spring in the step of the Ravenclaw duelist. Maybe it was brought on by adrenaline, the surge of speed spurred by desperation. He ducked, dodged, bobbed and weaved. There was an almost taunting tweak at the corner of his mouth, a strained smile that flickered in and out of view each time he spun from a spell's path, yet Pericles Dralt had enough decorum not to put a taunt to words. Though for all the fire he drew and evaded, they weren't climbing any higher on the hill of victory. He could hear Dealla casting to no avail. In the span of a second he witnessed the flash, her stagger, and the nigh playful quirk on the edge of his lips faded away. She was oozing awfully. The curse had her blinking furiously, or was it something else...? Flicking an attentive eye back at their opponents, ever watchful for the next incoming spell, Pericles called a quote. His tone was one of optimism under duress as he insisted to the witch besides him, "Rough seas make skilled sailors. Chin-up, captain!" Should she manage to meet his eye in the midst of it all, Dee would find Peri smiling.