Quidditch: Ravenclaw v Gryffindor Spectators

Interacts with: @Cade Darkbound and @Valencia Deathstout.
Mentions: @Rafael D'Spacito (secondary to a statement by Valencia only)

"Missed the first game," Mathias replied. It was disappointing really, win or loss there was nothing like a good Quidditch Game. "But I doubt they decimated your house," he added at the mention of a failure against Hufflepuff. From what he knew Hufflepuff was a powerful House, the win was likely fairly earned through dedication to their craft but Ravenclaw's cleverness was unmatched. It being -their- house a guess based on their affinity for Ravenclaw, the casual chatter where they discussed captains. "And I bet they have a gameplan to make up for their previous failings," he added with incredible seriousness considering this was just a 'game.'

A game for some, it was more a passion for him.

Apparently the Gryffindor Captain was a bit of a 'jerk'. What a shock he mouthed, half behaving himself. The silent words just came out on their own.

"Haven't really gotten to know my housemates," he replied in response to the mention that Cade knew one of Slytherin's beaters. "I tend to keep to myself... shy," he lied. Not about not-knowing the Slytherin beater or really most of his housemates but rather the -why-. He was certainly not shy, he appeared at ease with others, lacking the characteristic social anxiety shared by many of his wizarding peers. "A... work in progress it would seem," he smiled warmly and extended a hand in greeting. "Mathias Pride," he announced "house Slytherin." While they seemed to easily identify his house outside of the classroom when out of his house robes, he lacked their skill. Perhaps they shared a classroom. It did not matter, he was obviously not paying attention enough to his peers if he missed their faces. Or perhaps you can use this statement as how you knew his house, I do not mind you knowing his house. "Looking forward to tomorrow's game also. Obviously hoping for a house win, be good for morale." Not that they needed a morale-boost, their house only admitted the most exceptional but he was in public and decorum demanded a certain behavior. Especially... Especially in front of wizards of potential social merit.

Yes, in many ways he was the typical Slytherin. Duplicitous in some regards. Earnest in most things. The girl he was talking to was pretty, he would have thought they were together with how casually they exchanged words. Admittedly he was surprised when she asked for the young man's name, Cade was certainly the object of interest for the moment.

Regardless of Cade's answer one could suppose, Valencia would address Mathias. "Had no idea Ravenclaws and Slytherins were enemies. I just like the house," a partial truth most certainly. "Much like how we latch onto sports teams with no physical or geographical association. Falmouth Falcons anyone?"

Judging from the buzz amongst the students afterward, Ami had missed out on an epic face-off between Gryffindor and Slytherin last fall, and she severely regretted skipping the match. She'd wanted to attend, of course, wanting to support her friends on both teams and to take some notes for herself, but after leaving her writer's position on the Headliner and relinquishing her hold on Quidditch-related articles and commentary... well, her newfound freedom and lack of responsibility was simply too good to be true. In all reality, she probably should've attended regardless to take notes for Hufflepuff's own match against Slytherin, but who said that she was good at planning ahead?

However, she certainly wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, and maybe watching the other teams pummel each other into the ground would soothe her nerves for the upcoming match against Slytherin. The Snakes played hard, dirty, and ruthlessly, and she needed everything available to her to keep her mind away from the stress and pressure of the upcoming match. Even if they had lost to Gryffindor in the fall, she'd be lying if she said that she was worried about the battle yet to come. But, tomorrow was far away, and today, she was here to support her friends.

Time to do a roll call with a sprinkle of exposition, eh?

Settling into a lone seat in the spectator stands, her notepad and pencil in hand, Ami squinted down at the pitch to try and find a certain head of nerdy blonde hair. Cecily had become captain not long after she'd achieved the prestige of co-captain, and Ami couldn't be more proud of her Ravenclaw friend. Cecily had been on the Ravenclaw team longer than anyone she knew, and despite her occasionally underhanded methods of obtaining the Quaffle, she was also one of the best fliers she knew. Not only was she a more than capable athlete, but she also had a good head for strategy and was accustomed to responsibility. Frankly, Ami was somewhat amazed that Hufflepuff had pulled off a win against the eagles, with Cecily leading the chasers' charge against the badger brigade with a might that rivaled a giant's. The two girls had become the best of friends over the years, and this year, with the added bonding over their love of Quidditch, they were closer than ever. There was no doubt that Cecily was going to pull off some seriously impressive moves this game, and Ami was excited to watch. Maybe she'd have to talk to Santario about borrowing the Slytherin's camera, sometime...

But on the other team were many more familiar faces, some sweeter than others. Ami never would've guessed it, but Ana had become someone she intended to look out for, both on the pitch and in the halls of Hogwarts. Of course, she would have no qualms smashing the blonde's pretty head into the dirt during their face-off in the spring, but there was no need for those types of thoughts now. She knew that Quidditch was a pretty important part of Ana's life, and she was excited to watch her play without wishing for her to fall off her broom from 200 feet in the air. Even now, as she watched the separate teams prepare for the match to start, she wondered exactly why she had hated Ana so vehemently last year. Honestly, she couldn't remember- all she could recall was the absolute joy of having another girl her age around during Christmas. However, she made a mental note to intercept the inevitable bouquet of flowers that her mother would send as congratulations to Beckett, regardless of whether Gryffindor won or not... there was no need for her to get an even bigger head than she already had.

And finally, Ami spotted an increasingly familiar head of red hair amongst the scarlet robes, smiling to herself with a mixture of pride and affection. When Decipio had joined the Headliner team who-knows-how-long ago, she never would've imagined that the two would become proper friends. Headliner members came and went frequently, and Ami had also ended up souring many relationships that had started out amicable. But somehow, through the power of letters and writing, no less, the two redheads had become... friends? Friends, definitely friends. The Gryffindor had shared her story of how she'd switched from position to position before finally making it as a first-string seeker, and Ami truly admired her persistence and dedication. If there was anyone in this entire school who deserved that honor of chasing that golden bastard ball, it would've been the Gryffindor co-captain. Their love of Quidditch, desire for the truth, and strange appreciation of vegan delicacies may have been what drew them to one another in the beginning, but Ami knew that the two of them would likely remain friends for a very long time to come.

The match was likely to be a highly entertaining one, and Ami was perfectly content to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Huddling into her warm jacket against the cold weather, the American sighed in content and prepared herself to be amazed by her friends.

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After a little while of him sitting in silence, twisting that ivory-colored wand within the digits of his hand, he noted another student who decided to show up and managed the courage to sit at least near enough to him to give him a smile. Odd, these new faces this year seemed to be friendly for some reason, very much unlike how his first-year had gone at the school. Regardless, he'd tip a slight nod of his head towards the girl in greeting before he let himself focus back towards the pitch.

Time passed and it seemed more students started to fill the seats of the benches, words of the students passed through him almost unnoticed, that was until one decided to pick up their words and insult one of his closest friends and dormmate. The spinning of the wand within his grip had stopped and the tip wasn't directly pointed towards the girl, @Valencia Deathstout, "Oi, keep ya' mouth shut about Rafa," he yelled out towards the girl who was sitting a bit away. Where did these, he assumed first-years, get off talking behind people's backs?

Hell, did his own reputation not reach the ears of these little ones? A dangerous game they were playing if they thought that their words in the open wouldn't matter. With his own removal from the dueling team for attacking his own weak teammate, the multiple occasions of his own quick spellcasting against the annoying student body, he had no problem with setting these students in their place. Although he hadn't specifically wanted to get into an altercation with anyone today, he could not let someone bad-mouth one of his friends behind their back.

Before he would even flick his wand though, those golden irises of his caught a familiar face entering into the stands. Ami. Zykeal would snicker slightly at the fourth-year as she went to sit down alone and keep to herself. Unfortunately, he didn't feel like having to take her on at the moment and he decided to let his wand continue to rotate as a drum-stick would throughout his fingers as he looked towards the girl who decided to speak ill of his friend, "See you in the halls," he mouthed, not audible.

Currently OPEN to interactions | Outfit
Others Mentioned: @Ami Procoppio | @Paige Chase | @Rafael D'Spacito

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Open to interactions. | Interacting with @Cade Darkbound, @Mathias Pride, @Zykeal Lane

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Valencia merely shrugged, the smile from before not quite faded. "No, no. I'm afraid we have no history at all. Again, just something I heard." She said raising her hands up rather defensively. Perhaps she shouldn't be one spreading rumors, though what else were they supposed to talk about? Well, there was the game of course. And with that, she accepted the handshake as one would. His touch was cold from the weather, which more than likely made her's all the more plausible. "Valencia Deathstout." She replied with candor, unable to keep herself from wondering if she'd ever have to address this boy after the event. She'd recalled seeing him around the common room and then a few classes, but never anything beyond that.

Eyes drifting back to Mathias. She nodded, head turned slightly to the side in wonder if she had offended him or not. "I suppose we aren't enemies.. I was just curious, that's all." She replied plainly, not touching on the subject further. God forbid they get into the topic of house prejudice. Valencia herself didn't have any standing grudges with the other three houses, nor did she even interact with them that much besides the classes they shared. Perhaps it would do her good to branch out, but then again, a very risky thing to do.

"Shy, hm? Well, the progress seems to be coming along nice considering you approached us first." Valencia meant this in the nicest way possible, though it seemed her overly sarcastic personality tended to get in the way when joking with her peers. She herself wasn't all that shy, more so just reserved, closed off in a way. It could be looked at all the same, though.

Her attention seemed to be grabbed again when the English league Quidditch team was mentioned. "Oh hell yeah, wicked good team." She said in agreeance, trying to recall the last time she'd watched a professional match. She knew the Montrose Magpies were good as well, but then again everyone knew that didn't they?

Now would have been the time she would quiet down and merely focus on the players coming out onto the pitch, though a voice directed at her caused the Dhampir to jump in her seat. Unlike the two boys she was talking to, this one had anger in his voice, apparent anger. She should have been embarrassed, getting called out in the open like that, but at the moment all she could do was raise an eyebrow. What was he going to do to her, being all ominous like that? "Ah, seems I touched a nerve, eh?" She called back, not quite meeting his eyes.

Interacting with @Paige Chase

February 6th.

A lot of the school had been talking about the upcoming quidditch games and on February 6th Ravenclaw would be competing against Gryffindor. If you were to ask Simon Kincaid who he wanted to win, the boy probably couldn't choose. Not knowing any of the quidditch players personally, that brought him to those he knew from each house and the boy had close friends in both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. In fact, the two students closest to him at Hogwarts were one in Ravenclaw, one in Gryffindor. For him personally, he'd chose his own house of Hufflepuff but for this game, that wasn't an option.

He had been invited by his Ravenclaw friend, Paige Chase, to come watch the game - or at least some of it. His genetic condition made him unable to stay outside very long but he could manage it in small doses. Besides, he had never seen any sort of quidditch match before and he felt that needed to change since it was the most widely discussed topic within the Hufflepuff Boys' dormitory.

Applying sunscreen and slipping on his favorite hooded sweatshirt, Simon grabbed his bag and made his way out across the grounds of Hogwarts to the Quidditch Pitch. The game had already begun and the stands were already packed.

He looked through the sea of blue, attempting to find her and it took him a moment before he was pretty sure he spotted her. Passing by the warm tea and hot chocolate he apologized to those he cut in front of to get to where she sat. "Hey, you," he smiled to her. "How's this quidditch game going?"

Paige would look up to see who was talking but than smile warmly. She pat the seat next to her. "Hey, Glad you could make it! Sit down. They haven't technically started yet. The players are kinda just getting the before game taunting in, ya know?" She looked back to the quidditch pitch. "Only one eagle so far. WOO! You got this!! @River Dewlight . Paige turned and saw many students were talking already. Whatever. Simon was probably way better than all of 'em. Paige rubbed her hands together and looked around. "The one day I'm not prepared... jeez my hands are cold!"

She shivered just a bit, but would wait to get out cocoa later on. She rubbed her hands on her legs. "You know, I'm goin' to be honest~ both the Ravenclaw team and Gryffindor door team are quite good. But I'm goin to stick to my house for this one." She would still show support for the lions of course, everyone deserved support... yeah, okay. That was her mom talking. Paige is usually competitive but all the things her mom as taught her were coming back. Paige mentioned she would be right back. She got up and got herself some hot tea. She wasn't in the mood for chocolate, she had it all day in between classes, her being a chocolate lover and all.

@Simon Kincaid n

I can't change the direction of the wind,
but I can adjust my sails to always reach
my destination.

@Cade Darkbound | @Valencia Deathstout
Briefly mentioning @Jackson Valentine | @Zykeal Lane
Open to interactions.
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sta 6 | eva 7 | str 0 | wis 7 | arc 4 | acc 6
seer
#b76e79

There was no way she was going to miss this.

Okay, so she did miss the first game, and the one after that, but not this one. The weather had taken a sharp turn in change and now Everly was hurrying towards the spectator area, bundling up in jackets and mittens, hair blowing in her face from the harsh winds. It seemed like quite a couple of people had arrived already, taken to watching the Quidditch players prepare themselves on the Pitch for the upcoming game. Everly shivered under all her layers of protection. Even if Quidditch seemed like fun, even she didn't want to play in these conditions.

Everly climbed her way towards the seating area, eyes scanning the area for people she recognized. First she spotted her duelling partner and sent him a nod of acknowledgement. A flash of hair and a Ravenclaw scarf...

"Cade!" Everly hurried over. The Ravenclaw boy seemed to be involved in a conversation already, but there was no stopping the Gryffindor. Exhaling a breath, she paused and it took a moment to register what was happening.

"Oh, good, so we haven't gotten involved in any drama yet," she said drily.

This might not turn out as well as she thought.

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Interacting with @Valencia Deathstout @Mathias Pride @Everly Charlton @Rafael D'Spacito

The girl denied anything to do with the Gryffindor captain. And Cade laughed as she raised her hands. "Alright, your secret is safe with me," he said as if he didn't believe her. He smiled gently, giving the girl a hard time amused Cade to no end. Deathstout... Cade knew that name distantly. She must be one of the older pureblood families, he decided but said nothing on the subject.

Cade internally agreed with the boy. Ravenclaw would have a set plan for going against the Gryffindors. There was no doubt about that. It was Cade's house that was known for its immeasurable wisdom and creativity. If anything there would be a very close game. Cade stayed silent, preferring to people watch. He chuckled lightly as Valencia psychoanalyzed the Slytherin boy. He was pleasantly surprised at her fast quip, he had the impression she wasn't terribly interested in entertaining the boys.

"I can relate to that, but Hogwarts has changed me. I guess being around so many talented wizards can do that." Cade grasped the offered hand firmly and displayed a tight-lipped smile. "Well met, Pride... You don't mind if I call you that?" Pride was another name he'd heard of.

The conversation soon turned into one of the professional quidditch teams. Cade perked up and immediately dove into the conversation. " I could stand behind the Falcons. Wimbourne Wasps are my favorite team. They did brilliantly back when Ludo Bagman was beater. The current lineup isn't the best, but they're still in the league." Cade shrugged. Teams often went through glory years and slower years, Cade was confident that his Wasps would make another comeback.

It was then that the Gryffindor quidditch captain himself hovered on his broom before them. Cade's eyes widened. "Speak of the devil," Cade mumbled. He was astonished that the captain would approach them. Cade waved back to the quidditch player before his broom sped back down and around the pitch to make his rounds. Cade elbowed Valencia's side, "I dunno, he seems pretty nice." A crooked smile returned to Cade's face.

Cade whirled around after he heard his name being called. His brown optics searched the stands. "Who's that?" Then recognition sparked across his features. "Everly!" He waved at the first year Gryffindor. "Good of you to support Ravenclaw," He joked knowing fully well she was here for her own team.

Closed to Interactions

"I don't know how long I'll be able to stay but I thought I'd check it out. This is my first quidditch game, you know." He wasn't sure if she knew that. The stands were high but heights never bothered him and he could also see why they were such - as the game was played in the air. Students on brooms were high above them and he was glad that it was a cloud covered sky.

Paige mentioned being cold and he wished he had gloves or a scarf to offer up to her but he didn't. Simon's body temperature, being a dhampir (although still unknown) was lower than that of the average person and therefore he just didn't take a chill as quickly. His hooded sweatshirt was just fine for a chilly day like this.

She excused herself to go get a drink and Simon hoped that would warm her up. He looked around at the others in the stands, finding himself surrounded by Ravenclaws but didn't mind.

When she returned he smiled, "aww, Paige, you didn't have to get me something," and he took the cup out of her hands and forced a small sip. He was expecting it to be hot chocolate like she had gotten over the holidays when he visited her in Hampshire and they went ice skating but it wasn't. The surprise caught him off guard and he began coughing a little and handed the cup back.

"I had mentally built myself up for some hot chocolate tasting," he admitted to her. "You're evil, Paige Chase. Evil," he teased.

Interacts with @Zykeal Lane, @Valencia Deathstout and @Cade Darkbound
Mentions @Rafael D'Spacito

He would accept the handshake, his own grip was firm but not hard. There was a decorum for these social situations. There was a basic standard that he would have to meet. "Pride is certainly fine by me," in fact he preferred it. It was the surnames that held the power in the wizarding world. what families used to identify themselves, their value in terms of fiscal wealth, power, and purity. His name was not one to hide from. He was never given Cade's full name and it would be improper to ask. There were worthwhile connections to be made even with muggle-borns and half-bloods.

Reputations mean something, even bad ones.

He would eye the pitch and attempt to get a glimpse of Rafael D'Spacito. Idle warnings, even if nothing more than hearsay and gossip were often worth heeding. Would not have been a problem had it been for Zykeal Lane, not that he knew the second-year's name or his present relationship with D'Spacito. Not that it mattered, not that he cared. The boy was twirling around a metaphorical gun like it was some sort of plaything, a dangerous weapon he perhaps fancied a toy that he would point at the pretty redhead, Valencia. It was a foolish, childish choice. The decision made by beta- males that thought that force and intimidation was the only way to the top.

Of course, he was also older. The first year did not stand a chance. While he was indeed a pureblood, reared as one should be, his parents and his tutors abided by the law. He had not received his wand until he had an admission letter to Hogwarts in his hands. He did not wield his wand until he was in the classroom. He did everything right, but in some regards it left him behind. He had not mastered the remedial spells a first year would have learned as of yet, because the homework system just opened up.

It was fine, sometimes he fought with the intention to lose.

"Great Team," Mathias admitted in response to Cade's favor of the Wimbourne Wasps. "They just never seem to bring the sort of show I am looking for," he admitted but seemed distant. The was in thought, he was in fact watching Zykeal out of the corner of his vision. He started to stand up, the girl had moved on for the most part from the implied threat of using a wand as a pointer. "But there is something that I cannot let rest," he sighed.

It would seem that Valencia had touched a nerve. Not that Mathias knew anything of his past, his propensity for reckless action against his own 'weak' peers but there was a great enough a red flag to draw his attention. "You know, it is a huge stadium... you might be able to enjoy watching the game..." his voice trailed off somewhere else.

He would approach, unless stopped, Zykeal Lane and extend his left hand to him. Why his left? Simple, most people were right-handed (if Zykeal is the exception then he extends his right) and most would cast with their dominant hand. It would encourage him to disarm or at the very least move his wand to his non-dominant hand. "Mathias Pride," he would announce. "Friends with-- that jerk on the pitch?" He chose 'jerk' over 'Rafael' intentionally. His voice did not carry the tone of threat or condescension but rather humor, a half smile that met only one side of his mouth but did somehow find his eyes. "So are the rumors true and you are seeking to keep it a secret or was what I heard a lie?"

The point would likely get lost. He might even get himself pummeled. That is if he got there. That is if Zykeal ever took his hand to shake. If he did not find a set of knuckles in his eye or if perhaps he could defuse the situation in a way that would not require fists or wands.